bourbon

Old Forester Birthday Bourbon

Filed under: Spirits

Old Forester, the only bourbon produced before, during and after Prohibition, has just issued its annual Birthday Bourbon (above) in honor of founder George Garvin Brown. This year's edition is crafted from a 62 barrel batch that was distilled and barreled in the late summer of 1995. Chris Morris, master distiller of Old Forester, notes that the barrels were then stored on an upper floor of the warehouse in Kentucky, which builds heat in the summer months "ensuring a robust, complex barrel character will develop."

The result, Morris says, is a taste profile that is "much more chewy in terms of rich fruit and caramel character than the 2007 and 2006 releases." Unlike the standard Old Forester, which is a blend of whisky from several different years, Birthday Bourbon is a vintage-dated bourbon, hand-selected by Morris from one specific day. The result is a "one-of-a-kind character and flavor that will never be replicated again," the distillery declares. Its unique decanter style glass bottle is a throwback to the late 1800's.

Tags: Bourbon, George Garvin Brown, GeorgeGarvinBrown, Kentucky, Old Forester, Old Forester Birthday Bourbon, OldForester, OldForesterBirthdayBourbon, whisky

Woodford Reserve 1838 Sweet Mash

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Louisville, Kentucky's Woodford Reserve has struck off in a new, and yet old direction with the third whiskey in their Master's Collection series. The 1838 Sweet Mash revives a historic technique using fresh grains yeast and water, the sweet mash, instead of a sour mash process in which ingredients from a prior distillation are introduced into a new mash mixture. The sweet mash is fermented for several days and then distilled resulting in a higher pH level and a milder, and as the name might reveal, sweeter flavor with notes of fruit and maple syrup. The 1838 Sweet Mash is believed to be the first sweet mash bourbon to be made since Prohibition. It will be sold in 25 U.S. markets and in Canada and each bottle is numbered (1.045 cases available). It sells for $90 a bottle.

[via Kentucky.com]

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Tags: bourbon, sweet mash, SweetMash, woodford reserve, WoodfordReserve

The Classicist: Maker's Mark & Bourbon Heritage Month

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits, The Classicist

Maker's Mark, the top shelf Kentucky bourbon that traces its roots all the way back to 1780, just celebrated September's demarcation as National Bourbon Heritage Month during the 17th Annual Kentucky Bourbon Festival down South. The storied whisky maker isn't resting on its laurels however; they also just kicked off an admirable new campaign to encourage people to vote in the upcoming elections with a 16-city cross country bus tour and two new special limited edition bottlings featuring red, white and blue wax seals.

The story of Maker's, which is handmade in small quantities using water from a spring-fed lake and a mash consisting of corn, barley and winter wheat, goes back to 1870 when third generation Scottish-Irish immigrant Robert Samuels arrived in Kentucky. A farmer by trade, Samuels began making whisky for himself and a few friends. His grandson T.W. erected the family's first "commercial" distillery at Samuels Depot, the family farm, in 1840.

Fast-forward 100 years and the story takes an unexpected turn. T.W.'s great-great-grandson Bill Samuels Sr. was not overly fond of the "secret" family recipe - so he literally burnt it and sold off the distillery, which had become overly commercial. He then spent several years experimenting with different grains until he developed a entirely new bourbon recipe based on locally grown maize (corn), malted barley and soft, red, gentle winter wheat - as opposed to the traditional and harsher grain, rye.

Gallery: Maker's Mark Bourbon

Tags: Bill Samuels, BillSamuels, Bourbon, Kentucky, Makers Mark, MakersMark, Whisky

Continue reading “The Classicist: Maker's Mark & Bourbon Heritage Month”

The $1,500 Bottle of Bourbon

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

When you think of bourbon you naturally think of Kentucky, but in fact they were making sour mash whiskey in Pennsylvania long before Kentucky was even settled. Michter's in Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania, originally known as Bomberger's, was the oldest licensed distillery in America when it closed down for good in 1988. A prescient fellow named Adolph Hirsch bought up Michter's' cask aged reserves of its precious 16-year-old pot-stilled sour mash bourbon years ago and stored them in steel vats for preservation. Distilled in 1974 and labeled as A.H. Hirsch Reserve, what's left of the stock is now owned by importer Henry Preiss, who plans to sell it off in a final edition of 1,000 bottles. Each one will come numbered in a special mahogany humidor with a booklet on Michter's' history, two hand-blown glasses and a custom heavy metal tasting cork from France, and is expected to sell for $1,000 - $1,500 when it becomes available in the fall.

[via Men.Style]

Gallery: A.H. Hirsch Reserve

Tags: A.H. Hirsch Reserve, A.h.HirschReserve, Bourbon, Henry Preiss, HenryPreiss, Michters, pennsylvania, Whiskey

Stogies & Sticks Mancation Package

by Lisa Palladino (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Cigars, Services, Spirits

Gentlemen, save the date: From Thursday, October 16 - Sunday, October 19, The Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa in Phoenix is offering the ultimate guy getaway: the Stogies & Sticks Foursome Mancation. Brace yourselves for a long weekend of lighting up fine cigars, sipping premium bourbon, dining on delectable American Lodge Cuisine and teeing off on two of Phoenix's best golf courses.

The three-night/four-day vacation package for four kicks off at with a Bourbon & Cigar Dinner in the resort's signature restaurant, Wright's at The Biltmore. An array of top-brand cigars will be offered and selections from the Jim Beam Small Batch Bourbon Collection will be poured. Friday and Saturday will be golf days on the Arizona Biltmore's two outstanding courses, with 18-hole Adobe one day and 18-hole Links the next.

The mancation package includes accommodations for three nights, the Bourbon & Cigar Dinner, and two rounds of golf with daily breakfast: $450 per person, double occupancy, per night. Add three days of golf and a total of 54 holes with an instructional option at the Hilton Golf Academy: $300 per person.

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Tags: arizona, biltmore, bourbon, cigars, golf, mancation, mancations, Phoenix

Woodford Reserve's Big Brown Triple Crown Tribute

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits, Sports

In celebration of Big Brown's seemingly inevitable Triple Crown victory at tomorrow's Belmont Stakes, our favorite small batch bourbon Woodford Reserve has created a special cocktail. The "Big Brown Triple Crown" recipe is as follows:

1 1/2 ounces Woodford Reserve
3 ounces Sweet and Sour Mix
3 dashes Chambord (1/4 ounce)

Shake vigorously and strain into a tall glass with ice. Garnish with 3 blackberries (one for each crown, natch).

The Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles, Kentucky, founded in 1812, is a National Historic Landmark with strong ties to horseracing. It was selected as the Official Bourbon of the Kentucky Derby, and as we can personally attest, it also makes a mean mint julep. Check out the BBTC cocktail and more in the gallery.

Gallery: Woodford Reserve Bourbon

Tags: Belmont Stakes, BelmontStakes, Big Brown, BigBrown, Bourbon, Horseracing, Kentucky, Kentucky Derby, KentuckyDerby, Mint Julep, MintJulep, Racehorses, Thoroughbreds, Triple Crown, TripleCrown, Woodford Reserve, WoodfordReserve

Jefferson's Reserve Bourbon

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Yesterday I mentioned George Washington's history as a distiller but he wasn't the only historic figure to figure in the America's boozy past. In fact the history of bourbon making is so much a part of U.S. history that the Senate has declared September National Bourbon Heritage Month. Castle Brands, takes this opportunity to remind us that they have two bourbons named after Thomas Jefferson and one for Sam Houston. The bourbons are all small batch bourbons. The Jefferson's bourbon is a very small batch bourbon with taste of vanilla and caramel. The Sam Houston has flavors of nutmeg, wood resin, corn mash, rye bread and dry cereal. The Jefferson's Reserve is a complex bourbon aged 15 years and has flavors of vanilla and caramel as well as hints of fruits such as date and orange. The Jefferson's Reserve sells for around $60.

[via Avenue Vine]

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Tags: bourbon, castle brands, CastleBrands, jefferson's reserve

Heaven Hill Distilleries Announces Parker's Heritage Line

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Heaven Hill Distilleries has created a lot of whiskeys named after their distillers. The latest is a new collection called Parker's Heritage named after the company's master distiller, Parker Beam. The collection will include bourbon, rye, corn and wheat whiskies. The company has earmarked select barrels of each of these styles to be used for future editions of Parker's Heritage Collection and has also selected 68 barrels of Bourbon for the first edition. This first edition will be a cask-strength 1996 Bourbon drawn from 68 barrels and bottled at barrel-proof. The first bottles will sell for $80 each and will be available this fall.

[via Dowd's Spirits Notebook]

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Tags: bourbon, heaven hill, spirits, whiskey

Woodford Reserve Gets Winey

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

One of the ways some bourbon makers are attracting new drinkers is by tapping into the booming wine market. Brown-Forman Corp. has released a new limited edition of Woodford Reserve bourbon that spends a few months aging in Sonoma-Cutrer wine barrels. The Sonoma-Cutrer Finish whiskey will be available in stores this summer for $89.99 per bottle, compared to about $30 for the regular Woodford Reserve. There will be 900 cases will be available.

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Tags: alcohol, booze, bourbon, liquor, spirits, whiskey, wine chardonnay, woodford reserve, WoodfordReserve

$1,000 Mint Juleps Return to the Kentucky Derby

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits, Events

Last year Woodford Reserve gave 50 traditional mint juleps a $1000 upgrade at the Kentucky Derby by using exotic ingredients and serving them in gold cups with silver straws. With the drinks providing such a unique keepsake and proceeds benefiting retired horses and jockeys through Thoroughbred Charities of America, the $1000 juleps were huge a success. So this year they'll be coming around again -- only with even more flair than before.

This year there will be a julep cup representing each of the Derby winners all the way from the first, Aristides, to the most recent, Barbaro. Those two, plus the 11 triple crown winners in between, will be auctioned off online between April 17th and May 1st -- and of course somewhat of a bidding war is expected over Barbaro's cup (it will be interesting to see who wins out on that one). Altogether this year there will be a grand total of 133 special edition mint juleps made, with only 10 being held back for sale at the actual race. In addition to those 10, and the 13 up for online auction, 109 are available to purchase online for $1000 each (first come first buy), and one will be reserved and sent to this year's Derby winner, free of charge.

As before, the juleps will leave nothing wanting in the way of exotic ingredients from around the world, featuring mint from Ireland, organic sugar from Australia, ice from the Bavarian Alps, and of course bourbon from Woodford Reserve.

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Tags: barbaro, bourbon, derby, equine, horse, horses, julep, juleps, kentucky, mint, race, racehorse, racing, woodford reserve, WoodfordReserve

Hudson Baby Bourbon

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

I just love that small town booze is the new regional item. There's something retro about it, a return to the days before the monster alcohol behemoths ruled the roost. The latest comes to me via a story in the Poughkeepsie Journal. Tuthilltown Spirits in Gardiner, New York has created the first bourbon made in New York state. Hudson Baby Bourbon is the first legal pot-distilled whiskey to be made in New York since the start of Prohibition. The company also produces a vodka made from Stone Ridge apples.

The bourbon is pot-distilled from 100% New York State corn and was double distilled and aged in a three gallon American Oak cask. The Baby Bourbon, which gets its name from its scant three month aging process, is produced at the Tutthilltown Gristmill, a National Historic Site. A 375ml bottle can be found online for $39.99. The company also plans to make corn whiskey and rye whiskey and also sells individual casks.

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Tags: alcohol, bourbon, new york, NewYork, spirits, whiskey

Buffalo Trace Bourbon Whisky

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Is this the best bourbon in America? The American Icons of Whisky awards were recently held in Louisville, KY and the winner was Buffalo Trace. Turns out, Buffalo Trace has picked up a variety of awards from prestigious magazines and contests including earning Distillery of the Year from MaltAdvocate Magazine and Distiller of the Year from Wine Enthusiast Magazine.

What makes Buffalo Trace different is that it is more complex than many whiskies. It has the traditional honey and vanilla notes that most bourbon has but with smoky and spicy notes. You can learn more about Buffalo Trace's whiskey making process at Cocktail Times. For around $25, it just may be the best thing you are not drinking.

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Tags: bourbon, spirits, whisey, whisky

The $1,000 Mint Julep

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits, Events

The Kentucky Derby just got a bit fancier. A $1,000 mint julep will be offered at this year's race at Churchill Downs on May 6. The $1,000 cocktail will be made of Woodford Reserve bourbon, mint from Morroco, ice from the Arctic Circle and sugar from the South Pacific and will be served in a gold-plated cup with a silver straw. The drink will go to the first 50 people willing to pay and the proceeds will raise money for Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation which provides homes for former race horses. If there was ever a place to sell such a drink, this would be it. The company usually sells about 90,000 mint juleps during the event.

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Tags: bourbon, chruchill downs, ChruchillDowns, cocktail, drink, horses, kentucky derby, mint julep, racing, woodford reserve

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