SmokyBeast: July 2013

July 30, 2013

Beast Masters Vol. 1 - Review: A.H. Hirsch Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey 16 Year Old

The Best Beast You'll Never Drink

Welcome to Beast Masters, SmokyBeast's tour of the world's most impressive private whiskey collections.

Señor Colton, BeastMaster

While most of what is acknowledged to be the world's greatest whiskey is completely unattainable, it lives on in the cellars of private collectors. This week SmokyBeast had the privilege of a private tasting from the collection of Jonathan Colton. Jonathan started collecting in the late 1990's, during the height of the "bourbon glut" when some of the best juice in history was readily available for those with the will and the means. Today he boasts a top-notch bunker of world-class bourbon, and he was kind enough to pour us some of the highlights.

Jonathan poured us so many phenomenal whiskies that to do this story justice, we had to split them into three parts. The first part is dedicated to a single beast: A.H. Hirsch Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey. The second episode will be a tour through the entire Pappy Van Winkle line, all from original Stitzel-Weller bottlings. The third installment will be a tasting of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection from the early 2000's (and it may have a few surprises thrown in for good measure!).

So with over a dozen drool-inducing bourbons in Jonathan's tasting, why you may ask are we only featuring one in this first review? Well to put it simply, because it's widely acknowledged as the best bourbon in the history of the world. It was the subject of the non-fiction work "The Best Bourbon You'll Never Taste" by Chuck Cowdery. Rather than trying to paraphrase Chuck's vast expertise on the subject, here are a few excerpts from the text:

In the spring of 1974 a batch of bourbon whiskey was distilled in Pennsylvania at a small distillery near Schaefferstown. The distillery went out of business and the whiskey was ‘rescued.’ Some was bottled and sold right away and the rest was allowed to continue aging in Kentucky [...] As the story goes, a former executive of Schenley Distillers Corporation acquired the whiskey initially and launched the brand. His name was Adolph Hirsch and he named the product after himself. [...] Adolph Hirsch’s 400 barrels of bourbon, minus 15-20 years of evaporation, translated into about 4,244 cases of A. H. Hirsch Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey.

A. H. Hirsch Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey exhibits everything bourbon lovers love about bourbon: rich, dark, caramel and vanilla, chocolate and coffee, sweet but not too sweet, full-flavored but not heavy, balanced with just the right amount of smoke, and spices like anise and clove.

Chuck's book chronicles the long and winding tale of these barrels as they made their way from the original Michter's (aka Pennco) Distillery in Pennsylvania to be bottled by Julian van Winkle in Kentucky. (No, the Michter's you can buy today is not the same, it shares only the name.) It's undoubtedly a greater level of detail about the history and provenance of a liquor that we'd ever even dreamed. The take-away is that, while simple on the surface, there are so many variables that go into the production of a bourbon - from the recipe to the season, to the production method, to the warehouse, to the care and transport, to the age - that no one really knows what makes one bottle so much better than the next.

Tasting Notes

So this hooch could not be more over-hyped if John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix reunited for a posthumous reunion concert in its honor. The only remaining bottles sell for $650 a pop, and chances are that they won't even be available that much longer at any price. Could anything be worthy of these outrageous expectations? We read Chuck's book, looked up all the online reviews we could find, got our taste buds primed to the point of ecstasy, and geared up for our first sip.

Appearance: Translucent tree bark.

Nose: Eagerly, weak-in-the-knees-y, we impatiently wait the necessary twelve minutes for the glass to open up (however tempting, gulping this down straight out of a newly opened bottle would be a travesty). Our noses are repeatedly shoved into the glass with all the delicacy of a 1980's cocaine freak.

The fragrance is so subtle. There's definitely orange rind. There's definitely cloves and honey. Raisins, nutmeg, walnuts, brown butter. There are some spices going on - cinnamon, crushed pepper, mint. It all runs together into a sort of sweet musk... Julep Cologne.

Palate: Well frankly, we just weren't prepared for the body. There's a quality to it that's extremely difficult to put into words. It's not so much the flavor. It's actually more of a chemical thing that happens when it hits your tongue. It's like an effervescence, like the liquid instantly evaporates upon contact with the tongue and spends it's time floating somewhere in the middle of the mouth. It's SOFT, so full of flavor and yet so unbelievably delicate. This was what we noticed before even tasting different flavors. The TEXTURE was so unusual, so amazing, and so rare.

The flavors are fruitcake, wheat, more of the nuts and chocolates, and that old-timey warm mellow hint of wood.

Finish: Lasting, but again very subtle. All the spices and fruits continue their graceful float above the surface of the mouth, drifting slowly away, leaving a hint of wood and leather.

Review

Rarely in life has anything so completely lived up to this ridiculous a level of anticipation. $500 dinner for two at Gordon Ramsay's restaurant - vile. War & Peace - like reading paint dry. The King's Speech - spoiler, he wasn't much of a talker. A.H. Hirsch was one of those magical moments when you hype and hype and dream and dream, yet in the moment you're still completely unprepared for how awesome the experience actually is. Think sky-diving. Think Star Wars. That's the kind of rodeo we're talking about. What Port Ellen did to us for scotch, Hirsch has done to us for bourbon. Even more so. If you ever get the chance, treat yourself to this experience before it's too late. It's a real piece of history and won't last forever.

Thanks to Jonathan for this unique treat. Come back in a few weeks for BeastMasters Vol 1 Part 2 where we dive into the miraculous beast that goes by the name Pappy!

Click here to continue reading BeastMasters Volume 1, Part 2...

/sb

July 24, 2013

Review: Old Forester Birthday Bourbon - Na Na Na Na Na Na They Say It's Your Beast

The year was 1870...

And it was a hell of an auspicious one:

January 3rd: Construction begins on the Brooklyn Bridge
January 15th: The Democratic Party is first symbolized in a political cartoon by a donkey
January 27th: The first college sorority is established
February 3rd: The 15th Amendment is passed
February 26th: The first subway is opened in New York City
April 29th: The Chicago Base Ball Club plays the St. Louis Unions in the first official "National Association of Base Ball Players" game
June 26th: Christmas is declared a federal holiday
September 18th: "Old Faithful" is named (previously just referred to as a "that there geyser")

Can you imagine waking up one day and saying "Honey, they've given us Christmas off this year, shall we take the new 'subway' to the 'base ball' game?"

"Medical Grade" Bourbon

Another thing happened in 1870: a pharmaceutical salesman from Louisville named George Gavin Brown put his signature on a sealed bottle of whiskey. At the time some distilleries would deliver whiskey in barrels, to be tapped by the pubs and poured into their own bottles or decanters. This opened the door for all kinds of tampering, watering down, and general chaos. Other distilleries used glass bottles. Young Mr. Brown was a marketing genius. He declared that he would exclusively sell whiskey in bottles, and each bottle would be sealed in wax and bear his signature. He called his bona fide hooch "medical grade" and named it after one of Louisville's leading physicians Dr. William Forrester. (The second 'r' was dropped after he retired).

20 CC's of Straight Bourbon, STAT!

The medical grade designation served two critical purposes for the Forester brand: It became a statement of quality and forced all the other distilleries to follow suit; and perhaps more importantly, it allowed the distillery to remain open throughout Prohibition in order to produce medical alcohol. This gives Forester the unique claim as the longest continuous producer of bourbon in the country.

George's Birthday

Over a hundred and thirty years later, George Gavin Brown's company still bears his name. Brown-Forman is a multi-billion dollar liquor distributor with global distribution. In 2002 they released the first Birthday Bourbon, a small batch bottling of whisky distilled on George's birthday - September 2nd. The 2012 release is a 12-year vintage barreled in 2000 and bottled at 97 proof. Happy birthday old George, you've come a long way!

Tasting Notes

Appearance: Gorgeous dark root beer color.

Nose: It smells like those milk-chocolate covered pecan turtles you buy in nut stores. Very lovely nose, not particularly huge, but well balanced and sweet.

Body: A lot of honey and caramel, nice thick texture, definite oak but not over-wooded, hints of black licorice / anise, some hot red pepper, and some distant fruit - maybe cantaloupe.

Finish: Very smooth, little burn on the throat, but with a nice chest warmth and a medium-length finish drifting across the tongue and up into the nose. The wood is prominent in the finish and we're brought back to the sweet nuttiness.

Review

At around $45 dollars, this bottle feels like a home run. It drinks like an older whiskey, showing the maturity of the brand and the excellent choices made by the distillers. It's a SmokyBeast "A-". These bottles can be a little hard to find, so if you see one pick it up. It'll be YOUR birthday sooner or later and this might be just the ticket.

But seriously it's awesome to find something these days for under $50 that is absolutely delicious. The Birthday Bourbon drinks perfectly at 48.5% without any water or chaser. It's dark and lovely, and is a treat that you can enjoy every day without breaking the bank. A great find, a great story, and a very enjoyable beast.

/SB

July 18, 2013

Review: George Dickel Rye - The Double Mellow-ed Beast

Highfalutin

One of the most common comments we've been hearing is that while people love to learn about vintage malts from the seventies and Kentucky bourbon that is nearly impossible to find, you'd also like to get reviews on some slightly more attainable options. So in an effort to be less highfalutin and offer up the goods on some booze that's a great value, we found a delicious rye for this week's review.

Dickel

Dickle Rye is available at Beacon Wines priced at $35.99 for a LITER! That's equivalent to under $25 for a standard bottle. Sure there's room in life for the occasional two hundred dollar of hooch, but wouldn't it be nice to find a Tuesday night booze? Something you could drain with a few of your less favorite friends in a few hours and not cry over?

So what do we look for in an affordable bottle of rye? Well rye is supposed to be spicy, but we want the spiciness to be balanced with mellow-ness and drinkability. George Dickel, the original founder of the distillery in 1867, invented a two-phase "mellow-ing" process that includes chilling and charcoal filtration. So proud was George of the result that he declared his hooch as smooth as scotch whisky and dropped the 'e' from his spelling of the word, hence "George Dickel Rye Whisky". A bold move my friend, but can it stand up to his claims?

Tasting Notes

This rye is perfect for cocktails or (if it's THAT kind of night) shots or whiskey & cokes. But we decided to try it neat for a fair review and to see if it holds water on its own.

Nose: (four drops of water per ounce) - Like we'd hope for and expect, there is a ton of spice in the nose. We get a lot of anise/black licorice, cloves, and cinnamon stick. There's also a pleasant farm quality here like wet grass and hay.

Body: There's definitely a burn here, but it's still quite drinkable. There's some sweet molasses / honey going on surrounded by apricot / peach fruit. It's not tremendously complex, but there are some nice flavors here and it's definitely got the mellow-ness as advertised.

Finish: A little throaty burn on the finish, followed by sweet flavors in the mouth and warmth in the chest.

Review

This bottle is a no-brainer to have around for cocktails or a neat shot with a chaser. It's a great drinking man's rye. Think about bumping Jack Daniels or Jim Beam from your shopping next time around and giving Dickel a shot. You may be pleased with how it turns out.

Here are some classics that work very well with Dickel Rye. Recipes are listed for reference with a few SmokyBeast twists thrown in, you can't go wrong with any of these. And if you click the pictures, they will take you to the best cocktail bars in NYC that mix up our favorite versions...

Rye Manhattan

Manhattans at Pegu Club

3/4 oz sweet vermouth
2 1/2 oz rye whiskey
1 dash Angostura bitters

SB Tip: Try adding a second bitters on top of Angostura like Regan's #6 Orange Bitters or Fee Brothers Cherry Bitters.

Rye Old Fashioned

Old-Fashioned at Little Branch

Muddle fruit in the glass (oranges and cherries are good, a little bit of pineapple or peach is great) with two teaspoons of simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water heated until the sugar dissolves) and two dashes of Angostura bitters
Add crushed ice above the muddled fruits
Pour Rye to taste (1.5 ounces for sweet, 2.5 for strong)

SB Tip: Angostura is good for an Old-Fashioned, Fee Brothers Whiskey-Barrel Aged Bitters are GREAT!

Sazerac

Rinse the glass with absinthe or Herbsaint.

Sazerac at Raine's Law Room

Spill out.Add rye and simple syrup to taste.
Two dashes of Peychaud Bitters.

SB Tip: A sazerac isn't right unless you cut a wide lemon twist (white meat only, no pulp) and twist it over a lit match until it sparkles!

We hope you have a double mellow day and enjoy! /SmokyBeast

July 17, 2013

Fortune Smiles On The Beast - Disco Drams Part 4

Once in a while the angels blow their trumpets, the clouds part, and the planets align. We're talking about when WPIX does a weekend Honeymooners marathon; When you get a refund from the IRS; Or when you get invited to a private tasting on the Brooklyn waterfront complete with rare scotch, fine cigars, and a dinosaur-sized slab of prime rib.

Our hosts: Norm Brodsky - entrepreneur, author, and whiskey aficionado; and Rob Levin - CEO & publisher of The New York Enterprise Report. The setting: a steamy sunset over the Manhattan skyline. The subject at hand: a nineteen-man vote on three vintage malts.

Let the games begin...

Brooklyn Sunset

Contender #1: Signatory Vintage Craigduff 1973 Cask Strength

Some history from our friends at RoyalMile: "Craigduff was distilled at the nearby Glen Keith distillery. Lightly peated barley from Glen Keith maltings was used in conjunction with controlled amounts of concentrated peated water, being added to each wash charge. Peated water was brought in 45 gallon drums from Stornaway, on fishing boats into the port of Buckie. The peated water was run through the small still at Glen Keith, which was coupled to an angled condenser to concentrate the peatiness in the remaining water. We understand the drive behind the experimental distillation came from a sister company in Japan. Apparently, during the course of the experiment, a sample of the concentrated peated water, whilst en route to Japan, was intercepted at Heathrow airport by Customs Officials who were convinced it was whisky in disguise, and decanted a fair bit of the drum before realising, too late, that it was in fact just water."

Tasting notes from Master of Malt:

Nose: Toffee and supple sherry, a little dry oak, cocoa and soft wood smoke drifting up from an oak fire with a sprig of rosemary thrown in for good measure. Quite a bit of sweetness too.
Palate: Gently sweet, cedar, maple syrup and chocolate. Coffee beans, herbal and intense.
Finish: Good length with hints of peat smoke and tar on the finish, with a big whack of barley malt.

SB notes: This was a dream of a dram. Warm and full with perfect sweetness. Despite the experimental peating process, it didn't taste particularly peaty. The sherry and wood were out front with an excellent balance of warmth and sweetness and just a hint of smoke. It was thick and substantial in texture and had a superbly smooth finish with wood, smoke, and fruit.

Contender #2: Samaroli Glenlivet 1977 Coilltean

Notes from PartySource: "My roots in Glenlivet date to the late 1980s, when the standard issue Glenlivet 12-year-old was a healthy 86 proof and redolent of a peachy-malt delicacy nearly unrivaled on the Spey. I'm pleased to find in this 1977 distillation (which date corresponds roughly to my first tastes of the brand) glancing reminders of those glorious first sips of Glenlivet's special nectar. In this case, it culminates in a crescendo of Speyside perfection. The peach-pear-oak quality is more stylish than ever, brought to an ineffably pretty, classic Livet palate. After 33+ years in wood, the dram is superbly fresh." -Jay Erisman

Tasting notes from Wine&CheesePlace: "With a traditional character, unleashes intense concentrated aromas. The slow development in the glass makes it mysterious and surprising, definitely very satisfying from a hedonistic point of view. Dry prunes, tamarind, toffee pear, leather, raisins, developed tones of vanilla and many other aromas follow in succession with a long aromatic persistence. Embracing on the palate, with considerable delicacy and elegance, a perfect match between nose and palate. Superlative and unrivalled, of very rare quality.

SB notes: This was a very delicate lady with lots of sweet cake and vanilla, some soft citrus, and white oak. Perhaps we should have tasted it before the 'Duff since it was much more subtle. Not dissimilar to Scapa, but even more refined with the 34 year age - it was elegant and dangerously smooth.

Contender #3: The Highland Park 30 Year

Notes from MasterofM alt: "The nose is full and rich. Some floral notes develop with hints of acacia honey. Dark toffee with honeycomb and notes of juicy sultana. There are some date notes with a touch of sugary fresh pastry. The palate is warm and rich. Notes of winter spice and sherried raisins, hints of mixed peels and manuka honey sweetness. A little mocchaccino note lies somewhere in the mix with a little rum. The finish is long with toasty oaked spice."

Official notes from Highland Park: "Highland Park 30 Year Old merits time and attention. It has spent 30 years maturing so treat it with respect; you’ll discover the characteristic fudge sweetness together with complex aromatic spices and dark chocolate orange. It has a drying finish, leaving a gentle smoky flavour and a mildly salty aftertaste – the result of 30 years ageing in the Orkney sea spray."

SB notes: What a way to finish the pack! This had everything we look for in a top-flight scotch. Smooth, crisp smokiness, big wood flavors, and - yes - "fudge sweetness" is an accurate descriptor. It just oozed that "men's club leather" character that is so desirable in a malt. The longest finish of the three with all the notes coming together: savory, smoky, and full of dark fruits.

And The Winner Is...

Heading straight to a vote after we finished the third "taste" (they were really more like 3/4 of a full pour!), it was so difficult to decide between the Craigduff and the Highland. The 'Duff was definitely the most unique and different malt, the peat and sweet coming in at unexpected angles. The Highland was just straight brilliance with outrageous flavor and drinkability. Without time for reflection one vote went to the Highland. It was impossible to find anything wrong with it, and while the 'Duff won hands-down for creativity, a little more smoke might have pulled us over. Our host Norm sided with 'Duff.

Glasses raised in the air for the big vote (drum roll please....)

Craigduff: 8

Glenlivet: 2

Highland Park: 9

So the Highland took it by one vote! It turned out that our rash decision could have swung it either way. Honestly it was too close to call. With a little more time (maybe 2 or 3 more glasses) we could easily have been pulled over to the big 'Duff. Either way they were both remarkable, memorable beasts and it sure was an enjoyable contest.

Oh and did we mention that these three beauties were just the beginning?

Until next time. /SmokyBeast

July 11, 2013

Bunnahabhain 23-Year Review - Smoky Like Sunday Morning

Smoky Like Sunday Morning

Existing as smoky beast lovers such as we are can be difficult in the summer months when trends tend toward daquiris, margaritas, Coors Light, and the other undignified yet thirst-quenching warm weather libations. In preparation for a well-deserved summer holiday vacation, hubby and wife went searching for something both smoky and cool. The Commodores-era Lionel Richie of single malts if you will. Something with smoldering Islay smoke yet suitable for an early evening with toes in the pool. Something Easy.

A. D.

Buying independent bottlings of scotch is usually a great option. Companies like Douglas Laing, Signatory Vintage, and Berry Brothers & Rudd specialize in hand-picking their own casks from select distillers. They take great care in barrel aging and bottle each cask at precisely the right time when the spirit is mellowed but not over-wooded and has just the right flavor.

When you buy an Original Bottling (OB in whisky-speak) from a distiller, one of their goals is brand consistency. In other words, every bottle of Glenfiddich 18 on the shelf needs to have the same smell, taste, and color (we don't mean to pick on Glenfiddich, just chosing a brand at random...). In the real world, barley and yeast are living things that change depending on the season and the conditions. With cruel efficiency, the distillers must play God to combat the variability of nature. So they do all kinds of nasty things like chill-filtering and caramel coloring.

Independent bottlers have no such restraints and produce a unique expression of each cask, celebrating the distinct characteristics of the vintage. And folks like AD Rattray certainly possess the required expertise for the venture:

A D Rattray on Facebook

Founded by Andrew Dewar and William Rattray in 1868, A D Rattray Ltd came to represent a number of well-known Highland Malt distilleries. In the late 1920s the partners sold the business to William Walker. Well-established as a whisky broker, Walker set about expanding the business with the acquisition of a number of smaller merchants. A D Rattray Ltd has returned to the family and is owned by Mr Tim Morrison, previously of Morrison Bowmore Distillers and fourth generation descendent of Andrew Dewar. Today the company’s principal purpose is to bottle unusual and exclusive casks of Scotch Whisky, with each one chosen to reflect the different styles of the six individual whisky regions of Scotland. Whether from Mr Morrison’s own stock or independently sourced, only casks which are found to be of exceptional quality are bottled under the A D Rattray Cask Collection label and released into selected markets.

Bunnahabhain 23

We loved the Bunnahabhain Toiteach, a great big peat bog monster of a dram and one of our first reviews on the site. The 23-Year promised to be more refined, lighter, and according to its tasting notes at KLWines: "Supple in texture, light in fruit flavor, hints of earth and smoke, with that little kiss of vanilla on the back end." That sounded appropriate for the east coast's current July heat wave. Also this model was available in a half bottle, perfect to pack in an overnight bag and still leave room for wifey's weekend wardrobe. The half bottle is also nice because for around $70, you can experience a nice old beast without breaking the bank.

Tasting Notes

Appearance: Light gold. Not the most attractive color, but we give them points for honestly with no artificial coloring.

Nose: Granny Smith apples, lemon zest, briny ocean salt, and mild peat smoke. Reminiscent of fishermen who convert old rowboats into smokers and grill that morning's catch right on the beach.

Body: Delicate, sweet, with nuts, oak, chocolate, lemon cake, and stone fruits.

Finish: The smoke that's been hiding behind the sweet layers comes alive big-time. Almost to the point of burn but just shy, it's very pleasing and long - more peaty than smoky, a back-of-the-mouth tart herbal burst. Coming out of the smoke, the apple and citrus return for a nice well-rounded fruity and peaty finish.

Review

With a beachfront balcony and a school of dolphins paying a late afternoon visit, a couple of rocking chairs and two glasses of Bunnahabhain is just the ticket. At around $140 dollars a bottle, this might not be our everyday dram, but it's a great treat for a well-earned special occasion. It has earned a solid SmokyBeast "B+". Just right for a balance of lightness and smoke, a good choice for our weekend getaway. Don't call us, we let the cell phones die yesterday... /SmokyBeast

School of dolphins swim by at the beach

July 5, 2013

Review: Van Winkle Family Reserve 12-Year 'Lot B' - The Holy Grail of Beasts

In Search of Van Winkle

This post is entitled ‘The Holy Grail’ because over the last few years, that’s what the product of the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery has become: this elusive, impossible-to-get-but-everyone’s-talking-about-it, holy grail kind of thing. Ok, the real Holy Grail is the Pappy van Winkle (the 15, 20, or 23 year). Stay tuned for reviews of Pappy. For now, the closest we're getting is the Van Winkle "Lot B", the 12-year Family Reserve. Still, even with this semi-holy, slightly more attainable grail, we felt like we could finally get to the bottom of the mystery... is it really worth the price, but more so, is it worth the search?

The Holy Grail

We always want what we can’t have: in love, in life, and yes, in whiskey. It doesn’t make it better, it just makes us want it more. So we were curious as to whether the hype was true, or whether it was, well, just hype.

The history of the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery is not up to our typical scandalous marketing-hype phenomenon. It doesn’t involve hookers, fighting or contraband. Instead it’s a noble tradition involving four generations beginning in the late 1800’s with Julian P. “Pappy” Van Winkle, Sr. A travelling salesman for a wholesale outfit, Pappy eventually bought the company as well as another distillery, which was combined to make the Stitzel-Weller Distillery that churned out such brands as Old Fitzgerald, Rebel Yell, and Cabin Still. Pappy pretty much ran the place until he was in his 90s when he passed away and left the operations to his son Julian, Jr. Eventually, he was forced to sell the distillery, but held on to one of the labels called Old Rip Van Winkle. In the early 80s, Julian Jr.’s son, Julian III, took over and continued the family business. Recently, the Van Winkles joined forces with Buffalo Trace Distillery, which is now where all of the Van Winkle’s whiskey production now takes place

I guess the one note of scandal here is that Pappy was able to continue to produce his product during prohibition by operating under a “medicinal license”. If that’s the case, then call us Dr. Smokybeast.

Sku’s Recent Eats [Link: http://recenteats.blogspot.com/2011/11/pappy-van-winkle-know-your-bottle-codes.html] has a cool tidbit about the bottling of the Pappy line of beverages. On the bottle (usually below the back label) there is a code that will tell you when and where your booze was bottled, down to the minute and the bottling line in which is was filled. While this probably isn’t of interest on most bottles, it’s of particular note here because you can determine whether your bottle is from the old Stitzel-Weller Distillery, or was bottled more recently in the Buffalo Trace location. Of course the older bottling is more valuable and sought after, only contributing to the mystique of this hard to come by brand.

We made a night of it...

Tasting Notes

Nose: Honey, honeysuckle, orange zest, citrus and a hint of cherry.

Body: Very rich and smooth, almost creamy, buttery. A hint of smoke but not a lot – surprised that we like it as much as we do given that our blog is dedicated to the smoky varieties.

Finish: Complex body turns into a complex finish: white chocolate, smoke and tree bark; warmth but with very little burn.

“All right, we’ll call it a draw”

The verdict is that it’s good. Really, really good. We like it even despite it’s hefty price tag and it’s virtual unavailability. If you can get your hands on a bottle of Special Reserve, then do so immediately, but don't do it as an investment. Sure, in 20 years, we’ll probably be cursing our 20-year younger selves for drinking the profts that could have paid for 4 years of our daughter’s college. But life is short – enjoy it now! Besides, when the bottle is worth 100 times what you paid for it, you’re not going to want to drink it anyway. So call in a favor to your local liquor store and see if they can get you a bottle of the Van Winkle Special Reserve. It is actually worthy of the hype.

Rating: A-

July 1, 2013

Exclusive Review: Sneak Peak at Balcones Brimstone Resurrection - The Beastliest, Smokiest Beast Ever to be SmokyBeasted

"In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself within a dark wood where the straight way was lost." -Dante Alighieri

The Lone Star Beast

Earlier this summer we featured a review of Balcones Brimstone entitled The Lone Star Beast. We were blown away by it. It is without a doubt the most (arguably the only) successful attempt at a deeply smoky American whiskey. We then got the chance to interview head distiller Chip Tate. Chip let it slip that Balcones would be releasing a special single cask of aged Brimstone as part of their fifth anniversary celebration. The new release would be called Brimstone Resurrection. So the other day, when a package arrived from Waco, Texas, our smoky beast spidey-senses were at full tingle.

First some background about Brimstone

It's made of high quality Texas blue corn (very rarely used for making whiskey). The flavor comes from a secret process that involves smoking the actual distillate (the high-test liquid that comes out of the still prior to barrel-aging) using scrub oak.

Now it's important to understand that when most people talk about 'smoke' in a whiskey, they're talking about using fire (typically peat fire or charcoal) to roast the barley at the end of the fermentation process prior to distillation. The concept of actually applying smoke to the liquid after it's been distilled is new to us and perhaps new to whiskey making.

A Whisky That Would Make Dante Proud

This uniquely smoked whiskey is Brimstone. In the case of Resurrection, Chip applied the Brimstone process to one special cask - "The Burned Barrel":

"in the case of this one barrel, we messed up. We burnt the corn to the bottom of the still while distilling it-badly burnt it ... very badly ... hammer and chisels badly... The result is a wonderfully powerful and subtle Brimstone whisky. Sun grown corn, then roasted, burned, twice boiled and then "raised up" in a heavily charred barrel to be released in the third year as Brimstone Resurrection! A whisky that would make Dante proud."

Resurrection is bottled at full cask strength - around sixty-four percent, according to Chip. We couldn't imagine anything being as intensely smoky (and delicious) as the standard Brimstone, so after some brief mental preparation, we opened the flask and got ready for a head-to-head.

Tasting Notes

Nose: The standard Brimstone gives up sweet honey and molasses right out of the bottle. The Resurrection has a more sinister nose. That thick smoked meat flavor is right out in front and there's something like a rubbery burnt edge to it. Here's the thing, though: add a few drops of water (we'd recommend six drops out of an eye-dropper per each half ounce taste), twirl the whiskey around the bottom of a tasting glass in the palm of your hand for a couple of minutes to give the water a chance to open it up, and then nose it again. Now it's a whole different story. The sweetness of the original is there, but with a wicked chipotle barbecue counterpoint.

Body: We tasted Resurrection neat just for the experience, though even the most hardcore drinker would probably add some water to a hundred and twenty-eight proof beast. Straight from the bottle it is an absolute monster. The rawness of the spirit is all-encompassing and the depth of the smoke is totally insane. From the original Brimstone we got a strange and overwhelming French Toast flavor. Charred ends of egg and battered bread meeting sweet syrup... Once we've added water to the Resurrection, the body is just off the charts. All those great french toast elements are there, but there is a deeper spice. Now we're getting anise, dark chocolate, crispy bacon, fresh thyme, and cumin. The wood is so much more up front in the body than with the standard Brimstone, as if that french toast was cooked over an open bonfire in the first week of summer, with the steaming wood releasing loud pops and cracks as the moisture hisses through its pores.

Finish: The only analogy we could muster for the finish is like Mexican mole sauce. Mole is one of these impossible combinations of ingredients that can be absolutely disastrous in the wrong hands: ancho, poblano, black pepper, cumin, cloves, anise, tomatillos, garlic, sesame, dried fruit, cocoa, and thirty other ingredients that you'd have to be crazy to put in one dish. But in the right hands, a certain magic happens. This is the case with Resurrection - it's almost too deep to describe. Hot pepper, layers of spices, thick smoke, honey, meats, woods, chocolate, every sip uncovers something new. And somehow they all just combine into one of the most intense beasts we've ever encountered.

Review

Balcones Brimstone is a remarkable whiskey. It's the kind of thing that strikes you with a craving when you're in the right mood, and you go rushing home to sit on the deck, put on some good tunes, invite a few friends over, and have a glass. Resurrection on the other hand, is like a look into the soul of whiskey. It's something that you drink alone, in the quiet of the night, with only you and your thoughts. It's dark, it's piercing, and it brings you to a primal place of fire and rock. As Chip put it:

"there are just so very few bottles of each cask-probably not more than 100-150 per barrel. Remember that evaporation in Texas heat can easily be double or triple the usual rate in Kentucky or Tennessee. That means that we only started with a few hundred bottles to begin with and the angels have taken more than their fair share since then. I wish there were more bottles, but hopefully it will make those bottles that are available that much more special."

Indeed this is a special bottle. Not an everyday whiskey, but one that will not quickly be forgotten. This is a very important moment in American craft distilling, an experience that is totally unique in the world. Completely different from the peat monsters of single malt, off the charts from rye or bourbon, an experience in American whiskey that's going to get a lot of people talking.

Click here to continue reading - Balcones, The Birth of a Beast, Part 4...

/SmokyBeast

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