Fantasy Bourbon Championship! Four Roses 125th Anniversary Small Batch vs Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year

It's the moment we've all been waiting for.  Thanks to all our readers for patiently putting up with vacations, time off with family, gifts, feasts, drinking, seeing old friends, and all the other holiday necessities while you desperately waited for the Fantasy Bourbon Championship!  Your wait is over!

The King of Hype vs The Crowd Favorite

Literally, no exaggeration, we've seen Pappy Van Winkle on the shelf in two liquor stores this season (the below bottle was not bought retail, it involved close personal favors and hefty IOUs...).  One of those bottles was marked at $699.00, the other $999.00.  The suggested retail price of PVW15 is $79.99.  Is there any other product in the world that sells for over ten times MSRP?  (ok maybe BitCoins!)

Four Roses 125 was *nearly* as tough to find this year as Pappy.  In some states you could still get lucky.  At the industry events we saw this year, it was spoken of in hushed tones and reverential praise.  While SmokyBeast's War of the Roses preferred the 2012 Limited Edition Small Batch, there was no doubt that the 125th is a world-class bourbon.

It's all come down to these two.  Six other beasts of bourbon lay defeated on the battlefield and as sunrise draws near, these two master samurai draw swords and prepare for war.

2013 Pappy Van Winkle 15-Year & Four Roses Limited Edition 125th Anniversary Small Batch

Face-to-Face

They are equally dark, however the Pappy is more red and the Roses is more brown.

Nose-to-Nose

PVW15:  The more we smell it, the better it gets.  Huge chocolate, vanilla, honey roasted peanuts, saddle leather, pipe tobacco, and deep oak.  So rich and endless, it's just unstoppable.

4R125:  Dry & crisp, some more exotic spices (curry?  cumin?).  Very subtle and complex.  Sophisticated.  Lots of wood.  But to be honest we're still dreaming about the Pappy.

Pappy absolutely slaughters the nose.  1 Point PVW.

Body-to-Body

PVW15:  Damn it's tasty.  So much warmth going down, just a true whiskey-drinker's whiskey.  Big, bold, not shying away from being a high-test, ballsy beast.  All vanilla & cocoa, woods & leather.

4R125:  It's a lot more complex.  Green apple skins, chile peppers, campfire rocks, cinnamon, cloves, sour tangerines.  They all come together so nicely.  It's a spicy and crisp, sophisticated monster.  But again, the simple, straight up, sweet rich char of the Pappy is unbeatable.

Pappy takes the palate, 2 to nothing.

End Game

PVW15:  Warm and beautiful, it really hits home in the finish.

4R125:  Lovely, dry crisp, woods & spices, little fruits and sugars.  These are both an unbelievable treat to experience.

& Taking Home the Trophy Is.....   (drumroll please)

Ok, so to be honest, we really saw ourselves putting either Four Roses or Angel's Envy in the gold medal spot this year.  They both are so good, so unique, and so well made.  We almost threw Pappy into the mix out of obligation.  "Can't have a bourbon contest without Pappy, right??".  After all, it's the new Buffalo Trace sauce, the Stitzel-Weller was the real stuff.  At this point it's all hype, the real gems are elsewhere.  Well, we have to be honest.  After multiple tastings, blinds, non-blinds, tasting against every other sauce under the sun...  The Pappy reigns supreme.  It's Pappy 3-to-0 in the championship!

Brackets

And The Winner Is...

The final round is worth 3 Points!  And the winners are...

Player	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7	Total
Bo Wang	1	0	1	1	2	0	0	5
BennieFF	1	1	1	0	2	2	3	10
Kurtis	1	1	1	1	2	0	3	9
Daniel Forth	1	0	1	1	2	2	0	7
Justin Sloan	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	3
JOHN REYNOLDS	1	0	1	1	2	0	3	8
Chris Jones	1	0	1	1	2	0	0	5
Zach Raymer	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	3
Josh Lawrence	1	1	1	0	2	2	0	7
Matt Zimbler	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	2
Stephen Joos	1	0	1	1	0	2	0	5
Jason Brown	1	1	1	1	2	2	0	8
Soko	1	1	1	0	0	2	0	5
Carla C.	1	1	1	0	2	2	0	7
espitz00	1	0	1	1	2	2	0	7
Joe S.	1	1	1	1	0	2	0	6
Kelly Beggs	0	0	1	1	0	2	0	4
Jake Van Nuland	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
Stefan Bing	1	1	1	1	0	2	0	6
jesterpee	0	1	1	1	0	2	0	5
Bruegengaters	1	1	1	1	0	2	0	6
Maggie Wafford	1	1	1	0	2	2	0	7
djfivenine	1	0	1	1	2	0	0	5
J	1	0	1	1	2	2	0	7
zak rotello	1	0	1	1	0	2	0	5
Brent Sehnert	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	3
ZacP in RI	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	3
dave nichols	1	1	1	1	2	2	0	8
stl cork'd	1	0	1	1	2	0	0	5
a-dig	1	0	1	0	2	2	0	6
Kevin M	1	1	1	1	2	0	0	6
Rush Thrift	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	3
Michael St.pierre	1	1	1	1	0	2	0	6
Sarah Ilinitch	1	0	1	1	2	2	3	10
Danny Cakes	1	1	1	1	2	2	0	8
Matt Rychtanek	1	1	1	1	2	0	0	6
Dan Gilbert	1	0	1	1	2	0	0	5
Glencairn	1	0	1	1	2	2	0	7
Charles Binger	1	0	1	1	2	2	3	10
oak	1	1	1	0	2	0	0	5
Tim Moon	1	0	1	0	2	2	0	6
Lucy Crow	1	0	1	1	2	0	0	5
Jeff Roth	1	0	1	1	0	2	0	5
paulgetto	1	0	1	1	2	2	0	7
Bryan Nanna	0	0	1	1	0	2	0	4
Max Burstein	1	0	1	1	2	0	0	5
Tom Kimball	1	0	1	1	2	2	0	7
Thomas Hurst	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	2
Will Moller	1	0	1	1	0	2	0	5
Mikel Isaacs	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	3
TJ	1	1	1	1	2	2	0	8
Arok	0	1	1	1	0	2	0	5
T.J. Thompson	0	1	1	0	0	2	0	4
whiskycorner	1	0	1	1	0	2	0	5
Stephen Grim	1	0	1	1	0	2	0	5
Vincent Licata	1	0	1	1	0	2	0	5
whattastesgood.net	1	0	1	1	0	2	0	5
britney tucci	1	1	1	0	2	2	0	7
Ravensfire	0	0	1	1	0	2	0	4
Reuven Weinstein	1	1	1	1	0	2	0	6
Funky Tape	1	1	1	1	2	0	0	6

Say What??

Well we can't really call Pappy a dark horse contestant, because after all it was our number one seed, but for whatever reason all the early point leaders chose Four Roses to take the title!  So here we have three brand new players coming out of the woodwork to finish in the lead!  Quite a contest!  Congratulations to BennieFF, Sarah Ilinitch, & Charles Binger, our big winners!  Please hit us up on Facebook.  One of you may be getting an extra special present from Santa this year.  And as our big winners, you are all invited to be guest judges in the next SmokyBeast tasting marathon!

Happy New Year

Well it's been a wonderful year and we want to thank all of you for spending time with us this holiday season and all year.  2014 is shaping up to be another awesome year for whiskey, we are putting together some typically impossible tastings and featuring some amazing new treats.  Have a happy and healthy celebration tonight and toast a glass of something dark and lovely!

Cheers/SB