dusties

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Review - 1959 Old Forester Bottled in Bond

January 4, 2016

Review - 1959 Old Forester Bottled in Bond

Ari:  "Well since you liked the Cream of Kentucky so much, you really should try my 1959 Old Forester."

My response was something along the lines of, "Uuuuhh, hmmmm, duuuuh....  Ok!!"



1959 Old Forester 6-Year Bottled in Bond

When we got the chance to taste our first 1970's Old Forester BIB it was definitely one for the highlight reel.  So needless to say when our boy Ari (think Mr. T with a yarmulke) offered us a pour of this 1950's bottle, we were really pumped.



BIB

Bottled in Bond is an awesome standard since they always came with tax strips indicating the year distilled followed by the year bottled, so you know exactly what you're getting. Obviously when you see 1959 on that tax strip, you're getting something extremely special.

Tasting Notes

Nose:  Very woody on the nose despite being in the barrel for only six years. Woody but not bitter. Hefty doses of saddle leather, tobacco, rye, and cinnamon. A little bit of vanilla rounds things out in this clean dry and satisfying nose.

Palate:  Very straight ahead solid whiskey through the nose and palate. Wonderful balance of heat, sweet honey, oak, and spice.

Finish:  A lot of spirit is present here but it's not a burn, more of a warmth building from the chest up the neck and into the back of the throat. It's a pretty long finish for a bourbon and really really satisfying with a mix of citrus fruits, dry spices, and wood.


Review

Typical of an "old young" whiskey (a six year old from 1959!), this isn't a whiskey that has a ton of layers and complexity opening up as you make your way through the glass.  Rather it's a "right on" punchy and kind of perfect straight ahead bourbon. Honestly this is what (in our dreams) a standard off the shelf bourbon should taste like. It's strong and bold yet smooth and right 'in the pocket' for an American whiskey.  We'd drink this all day and night.  What a treat.

Thanks again to Ari for opening up the collection!

Cheers/SB




There's Nothing Like Some 1970's COK!

December 8, 2015

There's Nothing Like Some 1970's COK!

Oh jeez, get your filthy minds out of the gutter.  In this case of course we're talking about Cream of Kentucky bourbon.  We figured we'd continue our drool-worthy holiday run of reviews with a vintage dusty American classic.

Our boy Ari hooked up this bottle.  How to describe Ari???  Basically Ari is Jew you don't want to fuck with. He's got a basement full of dusty American whiskey, a custom made tomahawk with a Jewish star etched into the blade, and a certain set of skills. This dude will kill you, and then give you CPR and bring you back to life just so he can kill you again. He'll do all this with a crystal cut glass of COK in his hand. Yeah, that just about sums it up.

1970’s Cream of Kentucky (40%)


Cream of Kentucky was a label created by Colonel Albert Bacon Blanton, one of the pioneers of what's now the Buffalo Trace Distillery, and the namesake of Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon. The tag-line "Double Rich" was the inspiration for a long run of awesome campy print ads.







Tasting Notes

Nose: Not a powerful nose, but what comes through is a dry spiciness with some kind of musty tones, palm oils, a little Pledge-like floor cleaner thing going on, and some cloves.

Palate: This is a nice straight ahead high-rye bourbon. Not a ton of complexity here, but a very nice drinker. While we still love our big monster ryes like willett/Rittenhouse/Handy, this is a treat. It’s smooth yet flavorful. Definitely surprising that this was the quality of the standard issue mid-shelf ryes they were putting out at the time.




Review

Well by today's standards this wouldn't really qualify as "Double Rich". At 40% it's definitely light. On the other hand, they really don't make 'em like this anymore. It's got a wonderful musty dry spice that lingers on the tongue. There's no mistaking this for a modern-day bottle. The rye notes are out front with a nice light spiciness going on, with a nice backdrop of sweet and (ok a little rich!) bourbon. We could see, before nut jobs like us were on the scene drinking 130 proof monsters straight out of the barrel, how this would have been exactly how most people liked their whiskey. Flavorful, light, extremely drinkable, and with a sort of antique-y elegance that makes it a real treat.

Thanks Ari.  Everyone out there should go get yourselves some COK!

Cheers/SB



Happy Hollow Oldest Reserve - Bourbon Past vs Present Part Two

August 25, 2015

Happy Hollow Oldest Reserve - Bourbon Past vs Present Part Two

For bourbon fanatics, you can't get better than a bottle that's been hiding on the back shelf of a liquor store gathering dust for thirty years. Why are these dusties so treasured? Are they really that good? This past Spring, we teamed up with Jim Parisi of Xavier Wine Company in Manhattan's Meat Packing District to find out. Bourbon Past vs. Present was born. Two new and two dusty bourbons fought it out including Old Taylor 86 from the late 1970's against the new EH Taylor Barrel Proof, and a 1973 Old Forester Bottled in Bond against the new Old Forester Birthday Bourbon.  The winner, by a landslide, was the 1973 Old Forester BIB.  For Bourbon Past vs. Present Part Two, we wanted to up the ante and find an even earlier bottle.



A Mystery

As Jim was putting the word out that we might be planning a sequel, a friend of his sent us a picture of a very rare old bottle of bourbon that he'd purchased at an auction some years ago. He volunteered to let this bottle go for our tasting and we accepted, not sure exactly what we'd gotten our hands on, but excited nonetheless. This is it:




Oldest Reserve

What we do know about this bottle (because it's written on the label) is that it was distilled in 1953 and bottled at 15 years old (presumably in 1968), that it's bottled at an interesting 101 proof, that it was distilled in Kentucky and bottled by the "Happy Hollow Distilling Company" in Lawrenceburg.




While this seems like some good information, it's not very much to go on. This bottle is not really a "dusty" since it was a special limited release and not most likely not generally available to gather dust in liquor stores. So none of our dusty hunter friends could help us identify the source.

Old Happy Hollow

There doesn't seem to be anything we could find called "Old Happy Hollow Distilling Company".  This isn't unusual since just like today, many brands pop up and bottle whiskey from various distilleries and give themselves interesting names (see Black Maple Hill). The signature dripping red wax hints at Maker's Mark. So we explored connections between Maker's and Happy Hollow.  And we found some...




Bill Samuels started Maker's Mark in 1953 (1953!) when he purchased the Burks Spring Distillery, which was originally named Happy Hollow Distillery because of its location in Happy Hollow, Kentucky. Here's an awesome picture of the reopening of the Burks Spring Distillery that also refers to the site as Happy Hollow.  We found the excellent Maker's Mark collector site No Broken Drips (by the way we love seeing this kind of dedication to a brand!  go guys!!). While they didn't have Oldest Reserve listed as a Maker's Mark bottling, they did note that Burks Spring Distillery used to produce a bourbon called Old Happy Hollow.

There's a lot of marketing hype about the origins of Maker's Mark. Supposedly Bill Samuels destroyed the old family bourbon recipe and (in lieu of doing a run of test distillations) took eight different mashbills and baked a loaf of bread with each one. (Hard to see how there's a grain of truth in that, but whatever). One of the recipes he'd borrowed from Julian "Pappy" Van Winkle, which substituted wheat for rye as the second ingredient. Supposedly this mix made the best loaf of bread and the rest is history. Meanwhile Bill's wife Margie was busy melting wax in the family's deep fryer and coming up with the signature bottle design.

Whatever truth or exaggeration exists in the history of the brand, we know that Bill did own the distillery previously known as Happy Hollow in 1953 and he was starting to establish a new company. However, if the above picture is accurate, they made their first barrel of whiskey in 1954, it's doubtful that Oldest Reserve was actually distilled by the Samuels Maker's Mark crew. In most cases when a distillery changes hands, part of the deal is to acquire existing stocks of whiskey. Is it possible that Samuels purchased old stocks of Happy Hollow / Burks Spring bourbon and then later bottled them?  This theory does seem consistent with the statement on the bottle "from the few remaining barrels of a very rare stock distilled in Kentucky... by the Happy Hollow Distilling Company."

Ok well enough theory, we still honestly have no idea what this stuff is, who cares let's drink it.




Tasting Notes

Nose: This doesn't have the mustiness that we associate with old bourbon. Perhaps due to the pristine condition the bottle was in?  Maybe is was cellared for many years and not exposed to a lot of heat or sunlight?  In any case it gives the nose of a nice high-rye bourbon.  Definitely not a wheater.  Well we knew that since they didn't start making wheated bourbon until 1954. Maybe it was some of the old stock of Burks Spring / Happy Hollow.  Ok back to what we know: the nose has a very nice combination of spice (high-rye bourbon) and sweetness. There's buttered corn, there's anise (black Twizzlers?), there's Worcestershire Sauce, rose water, fresh wet grass, char, cayenne pepper, a hint of brine - pickled okra, cologne.  A lot of layers coming out of this nose which at first seemed straightforward.  With 15 minutes to open up, (how did we not notice it before), there's that musty old bourbon quality. Skunky, funky, roll-it-up-and-smoke-it nose that we get from certain beloved bottles...

Palate: Very lovely. It stays perfectly balanced coming in on the tongue with rye spice, meeting the sides of the mouth with sweet green apples, and giving a hint of dry wood and the top of the throat.

Finish: Dry finish, punchy and delicious. You can still taste the spirit for sure, but there's a great drinkability here and a deep integration of heat, spice, sweet, and wood that all come together. Again it tastes nothing like a wheater, but like some of the great traditional bourbons that we've tasted from this era. There's a touch of oaky bitterness on the end of the finish that's maybe technically a flaw but still enjoyable.  Very unique bourbon that would be tough to confuse with modern day sauce.  What a treat!


Thanks to Jim for hosting another great tasting! Do you have any ideas / requests for Past vs Present Part Three? Let us know and we'll try to make it happen.  Cheers/SB


Bourbon: Past Versus Present Part Two!!!

July 18, 2015

Bourbon: Past Versus Present Part Two!!!

Bourbon Past vs Present

March 27, 2015

Bourbon Past vs Present

Our friend Jim Parisi has recently opened Xavier Wine Company in the meat-packing district.  It's a small store with a friendly vibe that has a great hand-picked selection of wine and spirits.  We've been working with Jim on building a whiskey selection and audience.  (Right now there is some construction out front, but don't let it deter you from finding the front door, they're open!!!).



Jim reached out to us about doing a whiskey tasting and we wanted to break the ice with something really special.  We called our homie Josh Feldman from CooperedTot to brainstorm ideas.  We wanted to feature some gems from our personal collections as well as some favorite new whiskies that would soon be available at Xavier.  The concept of a "Past vs. Present" tasting was born.


We ended up with two expressions of Old Forester: A beauty of a 1973/1979 Bottled-in-Bond handle versus a 2014 Old Forester Birthday Bourbon (OFBB being one of our favorite limited releases, of which admittedly 2014 was not the best year); and an Old Taylor 1978 vs the new EH Taylor Barrel Proof (another favorite).


We debated long and hard about the order to present them in.  We knew that the EH Taylor, coming in at a whopping 129 proof, should be last.  We wanted the old and new bourbons to be next to each other.  But we figured that the '73 Forester BIB would be the star of the show.

The narrative of the tasting led us to the above lineup.  Josh came in with some amazing history lessons.  Bourbon used to be sold directly to saloons in barrels.  The problem with that was that the proprietors could dilute and tamper with the contents.  The "Bottled-in-Bond" concept was to seal each bottle with a stamp guaranteeing its authenticity.  This raised the overall quality of the bourbon industry and also allowed Brown-Forman to produce a "medical grade" bourbon product so that they could stay in business during Prohibition.

The story led to Colonel EH Taylor, a historical figure (nephew of President Zachary Taylor) who established "The Castle" distillery near Frankfort, KY. Taylor was a pioneer of the modern whiskey industry and his story takes us all the way to Buffalo Trace, the current producer of EH Taylor which today is one of the most prolific distillers of bourbon (see Pappy Van Winkle, George T Stagg, Weller, Taylor, etc.).  Showcasing the EH Taylor Barrel proof was a nod to the recent trend of over-proofed bourbons that are wow'ing our taste buds in the 21st Century.

1973 Old Forester BIB vs OFBB


Well it wasn't a big surprise that this wasn't much of a contest.  The '73 had a rich, dark, sightly musty, flavor backed up with massive vanilla, oak, and molasses that totally blew away the OFBB.  By contract the Birthday Bourbon seemed thin and hot, with more spice but nowhere near the body.  A solid victory for the old bourbon...

Old Taylor vs EH Taylor Barrel Proof


It was a reversal of fortune on the Taylors, with the new EHTBP winning most of the votes.  In hindsight it wasn't really fair to pit the old 80 proofer against the monster 129 proof modern day version, but on the other hand, they didn't bottle barrel proof bourbon back then, so it's a good statement on how tastes have changed.

Fierce Debate

The best part about this was the awesome crowd, who really seemed to appreciate how unique it was to taste 40 years of bourbon side by side.  There were a lot of great questions, some animated discussion, differences of opinion, and a few new friends made along the way.

Thanks so so much to everyone who joined us and made our first tasting a big success!

Cheers/SB
There's Pappy, and then there's PAPPY! (Review 1959-1966 Old Fitzgerald BIB)

December 2, 2014

There's Pappy, and then there's PAPPY! (Review 1959-1966 Old Fitzgerald BIB)

(This post is dedicated to Josh Feldman at CooperedTot. You can find a much more informative review here.)

....

Now understand, we pride ourselves on keeping a fair amount of redonkulous booty on hand at SmokyBeast headquarters (stuff... like... this).  But once in a while one of our associates drops in, fresh from high seas adventure, and unpacks an otherworldly treasure.  This is such a tale...

High up in the loftiest tower of Riverside Castle, your faithful hubby and wifey - Duke & Dutchess Smoky von Beast - were wiling away the afternoon enjoying some Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year. From the deep fog of the Hudson emerged the slowly waving Jolly Roger of Cap'n Coops pirate ship Beelzebub's Fanny Pack.



"Land Ho!" cried Coop as he dropped anchor, gripped dagger in teeth, and leapt up onto a thick hemp rope to swing through our third floor window.  "I've got me a live one!" Affixed to his baggy pantaloons with a sailor's knot was a velvet sack about fourteen inches long and six around.

"Afternoon, Coop!" We exchanged pleasantries (as pleasant as you can be with a savage pirate) and offered him a glass of our Pappy 15.

"Look here me' Beasties, there's Pappy, and then there's PAPPY!" Coop exclaimed. "You see there's the stuff that's named after Pappy. And then there's the stuff that Pappy made with his own hands. That there you're drinking is the former." And out from his velvet sack he pulled his dusty treasure. "This here? This be the latter!"


Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond distilled 1959 - bottled 1966 

Of course Stitzel-Weller was Julian "Pappy" Van Winkle Sr.'s prized distillery, and Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond was his brand of choice.  You can just tell from the care that went into that label that this brand meant something special to Pappy.  He passed away in 1965, so this would presumably have been made during some of his last active years at the distillery and bottled one year after his death.


Tasting Notes

Nose:  Holy God, the wood and wheat just go on for miles.  Super clean, sweet, and dry nose that just begs for a sip. Extremely rich vanilla, leather, pipe tobacco, and sweet cherries.

Palate:  Wow it's got so much character, so much wood and sweet molasses and good old mature leathery richness, but at the same time it's so alive! Bright and punchy and not at all tired.

Finish: Finishing with candied oranges and cherries.  The wood floating out over the spice and rich sweet wheaty bourbon.  Just amazing.

Conclusion

You know sometimes you look at all this whiskey and you just think "is it all hype?"  "Is the crazy rare sought after stuff really that much better, or does it all taste pretty much the same?"  Then you taste something like this and you just realize, YES! It is totally 100% different from anything you can go to the store and buy today. As Josh says in his post, it's a masterpiece.  Pure and simple masterpiece.  Thanks buddy for giving us a taste!
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