The Pilgrimage to Bourbon Country - One Miraculous Day in Kentucky Part 2: A Private Tour of Willett Distillery with Drew Kulsveen

April 30, 2014

The Pilgrimage to Bourbon Country - One Miraculous Day in Kentucky Part 2: A Private Tour of Willett Distillery with Drew Kulsveen

Last week we kicked off our recap of spring break in Kentucky with a look inside Four Roses.  It was inspiring to see the inner workings of one of our favorite distilleries.  But our day on the Bourbon Trail was just getting started.  There were some miraculous things to come.  

The next stop was Willett Distillery.  Willett may in fact be our most beloved operation.  Most everything they've touched over the years has been gold, though in recent history it's been sourced from other distiller producers and bottled by Willett.  Recently Drew Kulsveen, a fifth-generation Willett, has resurrected the family business and started producing whiskey again.  When our hosts Alan and Brock told us that Drew had agreed to give us a personal tour of the distillery, we all of the sudden got extremely excited to meet Drew and perhaps get to taste a sample of the new product - the first original Willett whiskey to be produced since the 1970's!

Willett is the picture-perfect fantasy of a Kentucky distillery.  At the end of a dirt road, you find a small property with a series of rickhouses, a small pond and fountain, and the farmhouse-style distillery.

Mill and outside of main distillery 

Spring and rickhouses

Drew starts the tour by showing us the inside of some previously used barrels.  

You can see the char on the inside of the barrel.  And if you look really closely at the side, you can see a vertical line that shows how deep the whiskey soaks into the wood.  This is the key part of barrel aging!

We get to taste some of the fermented mash (beer) that's about to go into the still.

The still itself is a tall hand-hammered copper thing of beauty.

Cuts are made, heads and hearts.  Willett doesn't make a tail-cut, but reuses the tails as part of the next batch.

And of course the hearts go into the barrels.

Yup, check out that fill date.  This is bona fide new Willett whiskey, distilled in 2012!

Drew took us into the rickhouse for a closer look.

Four stories of beautiful oak, filled to the brim with new Willett whiskey, patiently awaiting its time to get bottled.  It's like a big room full of heaven.

Drew takes us all the way up to the fourth floor...

And sneaks between the rows with his drill and a glass to retrieve us a taste of his new baby.

Well, not to spill the beans too much, but we can tell you that we tasted three different products.  A rye whiskey (just a couple months short of being a "straight rye"), a high-rye mash bill bourbon, and a wheated bourbon.

While all the whiskey was young, you could immediately taste the quality of the distillate.  The rye was sweet and spicy.  The bourbon was all fresh corn and vanilla.  For us, the wheater was the winner of the three.  We remember thinking "we'd probably buy this right now, but we can't wait to taste it in a few years!"

More than anything, it was just so amazing to be part of the birth of this new chapter in the history of Willett.  Everyone there treated us like family, and that's what this place is all about.  Generations of family dedicated to making great whiskey and sharing it with the world.  The pride in the product could not have been clearer.

Thanks again to Drew, Alan, & Brock for an amazing time.  Here are the three of them are enjoying a dram.  Cheers guys, what a great day!

Brock, Drew, & Alan

While you might not get a personal tour from Drew, make sure you stop by Willett if you're ever in the area.  It's a class operation and they're really onto something special.  /SB

The Pilgrimage to Bourbon Country - A Miraculous Day in Kentucky Part I: Four Roses

April 23, 2014

The Pilgrimage to Bourbon Country - A Miraculous Day in Kentucky Part I: Four Roses

Kentucky in April was one of those magical experiences that we'll remember for a lifetime (& hopefully repeat again next year!).  We started on Friday at Keeneland, a beautiful place to see the races.  

Then on Saturday we were off down The Bluegrass Parkway deep into bourbon country.  

If you haven't been to Kentucky this time of year, it's simply ideal.  The flowers are out, the weather is a crisp high sixties during the day and forties at night.  The bourbon trail takes you past horse farms, rolling hills, and through a beautiful pass over the Kentucky River.  Our first stop:  Four Roses Distillery.

Obviously we're huge fans of Four Roses.  We've reviewed all the limited releases we could get our hands on in our War of the Roses Marathon.  We got a taste of this year's Limited Edition Single Barrel a couple of weeks ago at Whisky Live.  It's all been pretty stellar.  So we were brimming with excitement to see where all the magic happens.

Since Four Roses uses three primary ingredients: corn, rye, and barley, it starts with three huge and appropriately labelled bins.

The recipe is then soaked in warm water to produce mash.

And we're talking a lot of mash:

Then things get start to get hot as the temperature goes up and the yeast is added.

It's hot in there...

Real hot!

It gets so hot that they only actually run production in the spring and fall and shut down in the summer.  (Another reason to go in April!).

Once the yeast does its job converting sugars into alcohol, you've got beer.  The beer goes into the beer still.  Here's what it used to look like. 

Here's the modern version (holds a lot more beer!):

What comes out of the beer still goes into the big still, aka the doubler.

They make their cuts.  The tails come out here:

The heads come out here:

And then go in here:

The hearts go into the barrels and end up here:

Pretty neat stuff.  But our miraculous day in Kentucky was just getting started.  Tune in next week as it starts to get really special with part 2!

/SB

'CAUSE I'M PAPPY...

April 16, 2014

'CAUSE I'M PAPPY...

Review: Willett 25-Year Rye Barrel 1776 - The Best Rye We've Ever Tasted

April 15, 2014

Review: Willett 25-Year Rye Barrel 1776 - The Best Rye We've Ever Tasted

A Short List

It's a short list: Black Maple Hill 23-Year, Rittenhouse 21-Year, Van Winkle Family Reserve, Sazerac 18-Year.  The best ryes we've ever tasted.

The Pilgrimage

Next week, your faithful wife and hubby will be departing for the first SmokyBeast pilgrimage.  A spring break trip to Kentucky!  The little rock star is convinced that she is going to ride a horse in the Kentucky Derby.  (No, we're not going to the derby, but who can argue with the most adorable 2-year old in the world??).  We'll be stopping at some of our favorite distilleries, hopefully meeting some whiskey legends, and faithfully documenting our first hike down the bourbon trail.

A Pretty Stellar Preview

Knowing of our impending trip, our new best friend Dr. Alan delivered a little preview of some of the treats that lay ahead: a bottle of Willett 25-Year Rye. Spoiler alert: it was better than the best.

We covered Willett's 4-Year rye last year and it won our "Rye Beastie of the Year".  Our guess on the four-year bottling was that it was an excellent barrel choice of LDI rye served up at cask strength.  For the money it blew away many more expensive bottles and was a very pleasant surprise.  So we were incredibly pumped to try the 25-year...

Tasting Notes

Appearance:  Look how dark it is!  Somewhere between coffee and prune juice.  A beautiful site...

Nose:  Big, bad, sweet, spicy.  Just everything you dream about in a whiskey.  Huge brown butter, vanilla, dark chocolate, and cherries layered in with birch bark, old oak and leather, rich char and fresh mint.  Something else behind it, like a mysterious musty Chinese potion, bending rubbery anise, herbal medicinal floral madness.

Palate:  Man this whiskey has got legs!  (you can swirl it and see intricate spider webs down the sides of the glass.)  It's like drinking thick melted brown butter.  Very heavy on the back of the tongue, deep in the wood tannins, almost furry consistency.  Utterly smooth, there's much more wood than alcohol here.  Sweets are still there, but mighty spice brings us deep into the smoked animal hide barbecue dimension.

Finish:  That mysterious herbal medicinal madness is on full display in the finish.  We could see how this stuff isn't for everyone.  If you've ever had a bitter digestif like Fernet Branca or some of the more esoteric Italian Amaros, you probably know whether or not you have a taste for this stuff.  The finish is deeply herbal, coming back up the walls of your throat with wet moss, campfire stones, roots, black licorice, orange rind, essence of cherry, sage, lemongrass, paprika, cumin... really just too many different tastes to list.  The finish is long, one of the longest for any American whiskey we've tried, and the oak is massive.  Over-oaked?  You could make the argument but we'd disagree. We immediately fell in love with it. As a matter of fact, out of a huge tasting involving many impossible whiskies, we woke up the next day dreaming about this one and only bottle.  A true stunner.

The Mystery Continues

So what is this magical juice?  The best theory we've heard is that Willett contracted stocks of rye from the Old Bernheim Distillery which was shuttered in 1991.  Rumors point our other favorite Black Maple Hill 23-Year to the same Old Bernheim source, which would explain why they're both so far ahead of all the other ryes we've ever tried.  Perhaps we can solve some of the mysteries of Willett's sources by Sherlock'ing our way through the distillery??

Is this bottle the best of the best or are there other beasts that can defeat even this mighty beauty?  There are some legendary independent bottlings of Willett (The Iron Fist, The Velvet Glove, Rathskeller, LeNell's, Doug's Green Ink) that are completely impossible to find.  Supposedly some of those are younger bottlings of this same Old Bernheim rye, and perhaps its peak was a little younger than 25 years.  Either way this one blew us away and we'll savor this bottle slowly for special occasions until it's gone.

The Best of Kentucky?

Any Kentuckians in the house?  What are the best bourbon bars / liquor stores that we shouldn't miss??

/smoky

Whisky Live 2014 Part II - The HFSM (Holy F*cking Sh*t Moment)

April 11, 2014

Whisky Live 2014 Part II - The HFSM (Holy F*cking Sh*t Moment)

Yesterday we published our recap of WhiskyLive 2014 in New York.  It was a great show, full of some of our favorite drams, some new and exciting hits, and maybe one or two bombs.  But something else happened on Wednesday night.  We call it our HFSM (Holy F*cking Sh*t Moment)

Don't Judge a Booth by its Cover...

Joe

So we walked the floor of WhiskyLive for a couple of hours, bumping into buddies, meeting some of the legends, tasting whiskey.  One of the booths had a jazz band.  Ardbeg had wheeled in a huge green and gold "Trike" to celebrate their new launch (no they didn't actually have the whisky, just a huge ornate motorcycle).  There was also a very nonchalant guy sitting by himself in a booth with no signage whatsoever.  He was wearing a tie and hat and looking sort of lonely.  In front of him were five or six bottles that appeared to have been brought from home.  We didn't really think anything of it and walked by several times before taking notice.  Then when we started talking, we realized that we'd hit an unbelievable gold mine.

You see, the gentleman in question was Joe Hyman of Bonhams auction house.  He was there with some of the items that are going to be sold in their upcoming whiskey auction.  This is Joe.  Nice guy.  He happens to be holding in his hand a 1956 Jim Beam "Cleopatra Decanter".  We'd never seen one before.  Here are some more pictures:











So yeah that's a bottle of Jim Beam distilled in 1956 and bottled in 1962.  You know what?  It tasted nothing like Jim Beam does today.  Not that there's anything wrong with Jim Beam.  Actually for a low-shelf shooter, it's our all-time favorite.  But this was a very tasty smooth and nutty whiskey that had a very distinctive character.  So we looked through some of the other bottles on the table.



One of them was Seagram's V.O.  We used to drink Seagrams "Very Old" with beer chasers in college.  This bottle didn't look too different from the current packaging, so we didn't think much of it.  Then we noticed a tax stamp...



Yup, this particular SVO was distilled in 1942 and bottled in 1948!  That makes it one of the oldest whiskies we ever tasted.  This one was also very different than the current Seagram's.  It was spicy and round around the edges and had a wood component that's totally lacking from today's stuff.

So now we were really intrigued, and we started chatting with Joe.  As we did so, he began reaching into pockets and cardboard boxes and pulling out other types of things.  Stuff like this:





So now we're into a level of obscurity befit for a true whiskey connoisseur.  This "Little Touch Canadian Rye" was also distilled in the 40's (1943 as shown on the tax stamp).  We're not the biggest fans of Canadian Rye, but we'd never have guessed this stuff was from up north.  It had a big rich vanilla thing going on and was really excellent.

But hold on to your hats, because the big grand finale then came out of Joe's pocket in a mini-flask.



Details were on the back:



That's not a typo, this is hooch from the EIGHTEEN-sixties!!  We did some digging and apparently the "Hannisville Cache" was a famous find of nineteenth century rye purchased in Philadelphia in the 1870's by John Welsh, the US Ambassador to England.  A little research turned this up:

The Hannisville Rye has been in my family since 1913 if not longer. Family lore has it that the Hannisville Rye was distilled in 1863, was held in oak barrels for 50 years or until 1913 when it was put into the carboys. The rye was purchase by my great-great grandfather, John Welsh of Philadelphia who had served as Ambassador to the Court of Saint James, 1877-1879. He purchased these rare spirits along with some other friends in Philadelphia; The carboys were initially stored at the Merchants Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. of Providence, RI. The storage tags were stapled to the crates. The carboys were then moved to my great-father's summer home, Shadow Farm in Wakefield, RI where they remained until 1985, when at my grandmother's death they were moved to my parent's home in Saunderstown, RI. In 2003 the carboys came into my possession at my mother's passing. For the first time in almost 100 years the Hannisville Rye has passed from my family.

Well this rye was really unlike anything we'd ever tasted before.  It had a huge sweet molasses nose similar to some of the best well-aged bourbons.  The palate came back to the spice and grain kick of a rye whiskey.  The wood was very present but not over-oaky, which is pretty shocking considering the claim of 50 years in the barrels - which makes us doubt the accuracy of that claim (note that the above account did not come from Joe / Bonhams, but from the internet, so there's no check of authenticity to the anecdote).  The finish was clean and clear and very balanced.  Absolutely no burn, but a long cadence of spice and sweet vanilla and warmth.  Simply outstanding and unlike anything we've tried in a long time.

It was almost a shame that we ended up at Joe's table so far into the night. While these whiskies were obviously unique, we had tasted so many different bottles by this point that we were not at our best.  Still the experience of a lifetime.  Thanks Joe!  And thanks again to WhiskyLive!!  We'll never again walk past a booth of old dusties without stopping to chat!

Cheers/SB

Whisky Live 2014 - Highlights, Low Lights, and Get Ready for an HFSM!!!!

April 10, 2014

Whisky Live 2014 - Highlights, Low Lights, and Get Ready for an HFSM!!!!

Last night was WhiskyLive 2014 in New York City. Shout out to Mia Swatkowski and everyone at WhiskyLive for the amazing hospitality!! Highly highly recommended that if you missed it this year you make sure to sign up early for next year or check out one of their other shows around the world.

There were some awesome highlights, a few newsworthy new releases, a total FAIL, and then there was an HFSM. That stands for a "Holy F*cking Sh*t Moment". The kind of once-in-a-lifetime whiskey experience that we'll never forget.

First the Highlights

This guy was there...

That's Bernie Lubbers from Heaven Hill.  Badass.  And he wasn't just there to look pretty.  He poured us the "Devil's Bottling" of one of our favorite whiskies, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof.  So named of course because of it's 66.6% ABV.  

It's every bit as good as the first edition which was 134.2 proof.  Big sugary bourbon flavor-bomb of vanilla nutmeg, caramel, oak, and barbecued meats with unreal smoothness at the monster proof.  An unbelievable bourbon especially at the price (should retail $40-$50).  

Speaking of Elijah Craig, our favorite bourbon of the night was probably this gem from Brandy Library.  Look how happy Jeffrey looks just to be holding it.  Do you think he'll let us have any??

One of the last remaining stock of their Elijah Craig 18-year Single Barrel (a private barrel pick they did with Heaven Hill some years back).  Look at the color on that sucker:

It had everything we love about Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, but upped the ante with a maturity level that was off the charts.  Think: all those flavors we mentioned above, but with the wood both more dominant and much mellower (yes those two things can happen at once).  And with all the flavor components melding together more completely (sweetness, richness, spice, and wood less separate and becoming part of one complete taste).

Ardbeg had a wacky looking new release called Auriverdes (Green & Gold).  

Actually just kidding, they just had a really Game of Thrones looking empty bottle chained up and weren't actually serving it.  Next...

Our buddy (not to mention hands down the greatest American craft distiller) Chip Tate's beard has grown even more impressive:

As have his spirits.  He's been playing with combinations of our favorite Balcones whiskies.  They make a concoction called Rumble which is a sugar cane based spirit.  We still hope to review Rumble Cask soon.  But what we tasted last night was Chip's award winning single malt, then taken further aged in Rumble casks: Balcones Single Malt Rumble Cask Finished.  It was out of this world good.  The great finesse of Balcones malt with an edge of sweetness and syrup that gives it a dynamite finish.  Our favorite of Chip's creations is the Brimstone Resurrection, a Frankenstein-ian creation born from a badly burned batch of corn whiskey.  So to put a twist on things, Chip also shared the Single Malt Resurrection Cask.  This time the finish was smoldering, completely unique, a well-balanced sweet malt ending up in a campfire smoke pit.  One of the best whiskies of the night without a doubt.

New & Newsworthy

Two new and newsworthy bottles were produced:

Yes the new 2014 Four Roses Limited Edition Single Barrel!!  So fresh out of the oven it doesn't even have a proper label yet.  We loved last year's batch so much, an OBSK.  This one is an 11-Year OESF.  We hadn't tried that recipe yet.  It's a higher corn mash bill so we expected it to be even sweeter.  That wasn't the case, it's not quite as sweet and rich as the '13 SiB, but it's more delicate and has an awesome crisp wood on it combined with a very elegant perfumy spiciness.  Honestly it's a little difficult to really judge something like this after tasting so many other whiskies, but we're pretty confident that it's a winner and can't wait to go hunting for a bottle when it comes out in June!

And another (LONG ANTICIPATED) new release:

2014 Michter's 10-Year Rye!!!!   (queue trumpets).  We've been so patient, rationing the last drops of our 7k rye to half a glass a month and then quietly sobbing ourselves to sleep.  First reaction, sadly it doesn't have the dynamite vanilla nose of the old version.  It's still quite tasty, but again we'll reserve final judgement for a more careful (read: sober) tasting.  Still very excited that this one's on the way.  Also expected in stores this summer.

FAIL!

Bomb of the night:  Widow Jane "Heirloom Varietals".  

We tried both the "Wapsie Valley" and the "Bloody Butcher".  These slim and tall 375ml half bottles go for around $150, and they're only a year old!  Could they by some magic be worth that redonkulous price tag?  In a word: no.  They taste like burnt popcorn and rubber cement.  Sorry dude.  Love the hat though.

Buzz-Worthy

Everyone's talking about The General from Compass Box.  

Robin Robinson explains that it is a blend of two blends.  One of them at 33 years of age and the other at 40.  This was a very nice dram.  We're not 100% running out to buy one at $300, but it was very cool to try.  Incredibly smooth at cask strength 53%, with all kinds of good old scotch goodness like old leather, aromatic pipe smoke, and maybe a hint of sweet port wine.  We would have liked a little more smoke to really put this one over the top.  We went back to Robin to end the night with Peat Monster Tenth Anniversary, which is awesome, touching all the right notes of Islay smoke (there's got to be some Laphroaig in there!!).  

Robin's daughter Rose was also there, pouring for Glen Grant.  

We've pretty much spoiled ourselves drinking 1970's Grants last year for our birthdays, but the Five Decades is a really nice thing if you're a fan of the Grant.  It's less of a sherry bomb than the older guys and runs smooth and down the middle.

Last but not least our buddy Raj from Purple Valley was in the house.

We got to try English Whisky Company Classic Malt.  Both this one and their Chapter 11 Heavily Peated version are definitely worth trying.  English single malt is giving scotch a run for it's money!  

Thanks again to everyone at WhiskyLive.  What could be better than seeing awesome friends, drinking out of this world whisky, and talking the night away.  

Oh yeah, and now for that HFSM.  Actually, sorry, we're out of time, you'll have to wait for tomorrow.  here's a teaser...

MUHAHAHA!!    /SB