A New Hope

Those of you who have not come here from Reddit's r/bourbon, should really check out what is becoming a great new bourbon community. As a case in point, we recently had an AMA with Harlan Wheatley of Buffalo Trace. It was really fun to hear about BT right from the distiller himself, but I was particularly eager to hear the answers to my questions:

Q1: Sazerac 18 and VWFRR are currently produced from old stocks, but I know you are producing fantastic young rye in the form of baby Saz and THH. Can you give us a ballpark as to when the rye fanatics among us can expect a Buffalo Trace-made 12+ year rye from you guys? Even if its 2015, as I expect, I really just need something to look forward to once the tanked stuff runs out.

Q2: Could you comment on the relative importance of barrel selection, warehouse location, mashbill and entry proof to the final products you produce? We all tend to get wrapped up in mashbill, but I'd love to hear your thoughts about the other variables at work.

Q3: Any chance of ever having a #2 mashbill in the BTAC?

Thanks so much for doing this!

Buffalo Trace:

A1: Not long now, just a few more years to wait

A2: These are the key markers in production. Barrel selection being probably the most influential on the final taste. You can take the same day’s production and age in a barrel side by side in the warehouse and get different results. This is why we put so much emphasis on the evaluation and tasting of our whiskies. From our experimentation we know that the mashbill is one of the more important influences on the flavor. However as above they are all very important. I have broken it down before basically like this: Mashbill – 12 %, Fermentation/Yeast – 12 %, Distillation – 20 % Aging Technique – 50%, Bottling/Processing – 5%. All being their relative % responsible for flavor.

A3:You never know, but any plans like that are proprietary.
-----

So! Maybe it won't be long until we get a fresh crop of well-aged ryes; this is very good news.

Wheaters Part 6: Pappy 15, Jefferson's 18, and Vintage 17 Bourbon Review

Wheaters Finale: The Best 3 Wheaters Under $100?

Including, in my opinion, the best wheater at any price I've had.

Welcome to the last installment of this series on wheated bourbons. I have found, in drinking the spiritual heirs to Stizel-Weller that there are some very good whiskies in this segment, and that price does not always equal quality. I have also found the market to be a bit crowded with a number of expressions that I don't have a lot of time for. This is because, in my now reasonably extensive experience, wheaters really only become impressive after fairly protracted aging, around 12 years. I find wheated bourbons younger than this to be good, easy-drinking spirits, but I can't say that they offer much to my palate beyond standard low-rye bourbons. I think it is a shame to drink in their youth such bourbons as these will become in their age. I'm sure I will enrage OWA and Maker's die hards, but de gustibus non est disputandum.

I have also decided to finish the series here, with these three, and leave critical reviews of the Old Rip and OWA for another time. I'm getting a bit of wheater fatigue, and you too may be hoping I will move on. So, tasted neat (as I just really can't enjoy water in my bourbon unless it starts at over 50%):

Vintage Bourbon 17*
47% ABV Bottled by Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, $64.99
This prosaically named and hideously packaged bourbon was likely distilled at the Bernheim while it was owned by United Distillers. At this time, UD had just closed the S-W plant and were producing Old Fitzgerald and Weller products there (the plant would later be sold to Heaven Hill and the Weller brand to Sazerac). Some of the bourbons in the Van Winkle line have a proportion of this distillate as well. As such, this stuff has a pretty good pedigree (unfortunately, it seems to have been discontinued and, like many non-distiller labels, it is impossible to confirm any of this).

Nose: When poured into the fancy snifter I decided on today it fills the room with buttered apples. It smells like pie is about to happen.The nose also has some well-tamed alcohol, brown sugar, and no hint of acetone or other organic compounds.

Palate: The mouthfeel is weighty and smooth. The initial attack brings caramel, more buttered apple, pastry dough and a higher than average level of sweetness.

Finish: moderate length, very warming and pleasant. Apples and pears continue for some time, and no bitterness or real burn is detected. This one really asks you to have another sip.

Overall this is a very well-done effort. If it has a failing, it is somewhat simple and sweeter than average. However, with it's intense and pleasant flavor profile and very nicely integrated oak, the apple pie and sweetness thing makes this an exceptional desert bourbon and cognac alternative. I just wish I had more.

Jefferson's Presidential Select, 18 Years Old KSBW
Batch #27, 47% ABV, Bottled by McLain and Kyne, $89.99

Like the JPS17 that I had and loved last year, this bourbon was distilled in 1991 at the Stitzel-Weller distillery before it closed. Unusual for an independent bottler to tell us where the bourbon comes from, but in a world where kidneys are sold to get a bottle of Pappy, the S-W name sells. M&K do have a 21 year JPS coming out, but it looks unlikely to be from S-W or even wheater. But on to this one:

Nose:Wood. Woody, woody wood. Sort of nice wood, though, like walking into an antique shop in New England. Some incense, some cherries in there somewhere, vanilla and maybe a hint of milk chocolate. Orange zest too? All of the latter are initially overpowered by the wood, but as the wood blows off, they come to the forefront.

Palate: Again woody. There initial sweetness with vanilla and caramel, as well as faint cherry and maple, but it then feels like it dries up and  falls into a hole: the midpalate is full of dried grass, dried wheat and pencil shavings. There is also some bitterness toward the end.

Finish: The finish is long, but that nagging, grassy note dominates. Also pencil wood, citrus and some faint spices.

Overall, I'm finding this a lot less pleasant than the 17, as well as the last glass I had in a bar.  I suppose batch variation is a partial culprit, but I really think they left this guy in the barrel way too long. As I mentioned in a previous post, this stuff really comes alive with a few drops of Stagg, and I found the same with the addition of a few drops of Pappy 15. In both cases it was totally salvaged and really enjoyable. But I think $90 is too much to ask for a bourbon that needs "correcting." It is probably still worth trying, just to get some S-W into you, if you've never been exposed, and also worth seeking out if you can find a better batch than this one.

Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve, 15 Years Old KSBW
53.5% ABV, Bottled by Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery, $99.99

Pappy. Just saying the name makes liquor store owners shudder. As the most sought-after bourbon in the world, it's popularity at this point is based mostly on the fact that you cannot buy it anywhere. It used to come out twice a year, with the 15 year around $50-60; it's now down to every fall for $100 in many places, and we see it on Craigslist and (illegally) on Ebay for hundreds more than that. It's become the holy grail of bourbon hipsterdom and a great illustration of the fact that nothing makes people want something more than to be told they can't have it.

The 15 year was initially introduced as a line extension to the  original, 20 year-old Pappy (a 23 was also introduced), which I find more refined but less pleasurable at its lower proof. My one tasting of the 23 is lost in the mists of time. The bottle I have in front of me is likely a mixture of bourbons from Bernheim (like the V17), S-W (like the JPS18) and Buffalo Trace. Eventually it will (like the current Old Rip) be a 100% BT product.

Nose: When poured, the room again fills with the buttered apple aroma as with the Vintage 17. The oak is also there, more like the JPS and with the same antique-store and incense note. Cherries are also present as are caramel and vanilla. It is easy to smell what each of the Bernheim and S-W bourbons bring to this; harder to say with the BT, but their products are relatively neutral and 'clean' overall so this may not be surprising. This is a much better balanced nose than the JPS and more complex and interesting than the V17.

Palate: The attack is more aggressive here, likely due to the higher proof. There is butter, a touch of acetone, vanilla, brown sugar, dulce de leche,apples and a hint of coffee. The sweetness is medium and the body is huge.

Finish: the finish echoes the palate and, by virtue of the 53.5%, goes on for days. It is very warming and satisfying, leaving apples as a final note. There are no off notes and when the finish finally fades, the mouth feels clean.

I'd like to be contrarian and say that the PVW is more hype than substance, but I could honestly drink this stuff for days. It is really the platonic wheated bourbon and I can think of no way to improve upon it. It was the best value in the whiskey world when it was $60, and it remains well worth the $100. Why is it so good? I have a few ideas:

• Vatting: in a market where single barrel automatically equals good, I think we can forget too easily the benefits of vatting.** Just as I found adding Stagg or Pappy to the JPS, using bourbons with slightly different profiles can often provide complexity and bolster weaknesses in a way that might not otherwise be possible. I think this is an approach that not used enough. As a caveat, though: I wish they would tell us when they did it and with what; there needs to be more transparency.
• Proof: a given barrel of bourbon has all the flavor it's ever going to have. Adding water doesn't just cut down the alcohol. PVW15 has an extra 6.5% on the other guys, which is more than enough to make a difference.
• Age and aging conditions: Given long enough in a barrel, I feel like all spirits tend toward "extra aged" in nose and taste. When done well, it's lovely, as in XO cognac, aged scotch, extra añejo tequila or Pappy 20, for that matter.  However, in the hot climate of Kentucky, it is easy to let a spirit age to far, resulting in the unpleasant woodiness we found in the JPS18. I think the Pappy 15 was dumped just as the barrels gave all they could, while preserving the qualities of the spirit that make it bourbon.

Conclusions
After all of these wheated bourbons, I will continue to buy Pappy 15, provided it doesn't reach much higher prices. I will also not turn down a Vintage 17 if I find it. I think I may well hoard a small amount of Weller 12, for when I'm in the mood for a wheater and it's not a special occaision, and I will also buy more of the Old Rip, which is supposed to be in better supply this fall. It'll be twice as expensive as OWA, but I think it's twice as good. I will probably not be buying any more Van Winkle 12 (lot B), any more OWA or WSR and will probably make my WLW decisions on a case-by-case basis. I am fortunate enough to have a hoard of Pappy and WLW that would see me through a medium-sized zombie apocalypse, so I think I will likely overall shift my money away from wheaters.

This leads me to a final thought. I love Pappy, and I really like most of the wheaters I've tasted. However, to my palate, only the PVW has held a candle to George Stagg, Van Winkle Rye, Sazerac 18, Hirsch 22, or special editions of Four Roses. I know I don't like wheaters as much as straight ryes, and I'm beginning to wonder about my feelings about them compared to high-rye bourbons... I guess that might be the next series to discuss.

If forced to rank-order and give scores to the wheaters I've had this year since  (with price as a consideration), I would rate them:

99/100 Pappy 15
94/100 Vintage 17, William Larue Weller
92/100 Weller 12
89/100 Van Winkle 12,
88/100 Jefferson's Presidential 18
79/100 Rebel Yell



*Note that older expressions of Vintage 17 were actually rye recipe bourbons
** I use Vatting, versus blending, as the latter connotes the blending of bourbon with inferior grain spirits as is "blended whiskey," aka bourbon flavored vodka.

Wheaters part 4: The Great Wheater Night

Wheater Night

It was ambitious

We might have gone a bit overboard with this one. My friend Greg and I finally got to have a whiskey night after a long interval. Reviews of the Pappy Van Winkle 15, Jefferson's Presidential Reserve 18, Vintage 17, William Larue Weller, Old Weller Antique and Old Rip Van Winkle will follow.

The point of this evening was to take a broad survey of high-end wheaterdom and  compare in a few cases  to more standard offerings to get a feel for the actual value added by the more expensive and harder to get bottles. We also tried or hand at a couple vattings (not so insane when you remember that PVW and lot B have often been vattings of different bourbons). It's really great to be able to try everything together to allow comparisons and really bring perspective. Here are our most notable thoughts:

Buffalo Trace

• Pappy 15 is an awesome, just incredible, perfect wheated bourbon. It roundly beat everything else here and we both agree we like it better than the Pappy 20 (which we did not open last night). I don't have a clear enough memory of the Pappy 23 from my one tasting, but I think I would always pick 3 15's over a 23. At $100 this is not inexpensive but may be the best bourbon currently made and certainly ranks among the best $100 whiskeys of any kind. The only thing I can say to temper this is that I'm not sure that the best wheater really beats the best straight ryes, but that is personal preference.

• Buffalo Trace makes too many wheaters. We think they should consider discontinuing Lot B. The best bottles of Weller 12 are as good, and less stellar examples are still well worth the $25. Lot B is too expensive and too hard to find. If we got rid of it, Weller 12 could be more available. 

• Along similar lines, we think that Old Weller Antique should go. Screaming OWA fans hear me out: OWA is a very nice value bourbon, but if we had more access to either Weller 12, or ORVW 10/107 (which these OWA barrels grow up to be) I think we could live without the OWA. We need to stop tapping these barrels in the flower of their youth and wait until they are the far superior 10-12 year-old versions. I guess we could keep the WSR as an incredible value alternative to Maker's.

• WLW can also go: obviously a well-selected barrel-proof Weller 12, we could stop fooling around with this and make more W12 available. While we are at it, why not put the Weller 12 in a nicer bottle at 100 proof, charge a touch more and split the difference.

• Because of all of the above, our dream lineup BT wheaters would be a pared-down roster of WSR, ORVW 10/107, Weller 12/100 and PVW15. This would maximize all that is good and right about BT wheaters while perhaps helping availability. The PVW 20 and 23 should obviously live on as limited editions.

Other Wheaters

• The Vintage 17 wheater was really, really nice. A KBD-bottled wheater made at Bernheim with KBD's usual flair for creative names. Too bad this stuff is no longer made.

• The JPS18 was not as good as the JPS17. The extra year seems to have done it no favors.

Vatting

• The 50:50 blend of OWA and W12 made popular on Straight Bourbon remains a great thing, though the nose is better than the palate. 

• A step-up version of the above with ORVW and W12 was incredible, and was the inspiration for our plea for W12/100.

DIY Hirsch 16- The best nose of any American Whiskey we have ever encountered!

• The best, and perhaps most heretical vatting was one I conceived during my only experience with Hirsch 16. I enjoyed it after some JPS 18 and at the time thought that they were similar but that the H16 brought much more enjoyable rye complexity to the midpalate as well as more of the acetone notes I enjoy in PVW and George T. Stagg. So we did the obvious: added GTS drop by drop to JPS18 until the grassiness faded from the midpalate and was replaced by all of the intense rye-bourbon notes we love about the Stagg. The nose on this stuff was staggering. I'm not going to compare it to the Hirsch, but I would encourage any of you whiskey nerd with both of these open to try it. As Greg put it, "Stagg might be the white truffle of the bourbon world - an expensive, exotic, wonderful flavoring ingredient that is best not consumed by itself."

Wheaters Part 3: Lot B, Weller 12 and VSOF Blinded Review

Battle of the 12 year-old Wheaters

The next in our series of wheated bourbon reviews will be a blinded tasting with three arms:

• Van Winkle Family Reserve Bourbon 12 years old (Lot B) 90.4 proof ($60)
• Old Fitzgerald 12 year ($33)
• W.L. Weller 12 year old bourbon 90 proof ($24)

I think 12 years old is an awkward time. All the girls had braces or suspiciously older boyfriends, and all us guys had unreliable voices, inexplicable hairs and periodic inabilities to rise from our seats when class ended. The main task of adolescence, if we are to believe the influential psychiatrist Erik Erikson is to solve the problem of fidelity: the conflict between identity and role confusion. I think this is actually rather apt with American whiskies: is this a $20 bottle for enjoying without thinking too hard about, or a $100 special-occasion bottle that merits a bit of respect and contemplation? Like humans, there are charming and lovely 6-8 year-old bourbons, and some grow up to be fascinating and engaging adults, but the tweens are sometimes awkward. Oak where there was no oak before, funny feelings in the tannins etc. Anyway...

These bourbons, as discussed in a previous post , are 12 year-old, 90 proof,  wheated mashbill bourbons. The Weller 12 is produced at Buffalo Trace, as is the Van Winkle, though the Lot B may still have some proportion of Bernheim juice; it's hard to be sure. The VSOF is currently all Bernhiem, made by Heaven Hill. One major difference between these is availability. Welller 12 and VSOF are not extensively distributed, but usually a few minutes googling and maybe some negotiation with friends or relatives in shipping states can usually get you one. Lot B used to hang around longer than it does, but now evaporates just after the Pappy, usually as an expensive consolation prize. Which brings up the second point: when you can find it at list price, the Lot B is $60; the W12 is about $25. Is the Lot B better? Is it more than twice as good? Is it worth it for the je ne sais quoi that has the David Changs and Tony Bourdains constantly going apeshit? And what of the VSOF? a 12 year-old wheater for half the price of Van Winkle that no one ever seems to talk about?

The VSOF pictured is a sample bought from Master of Malt, whose "drinks by the dram" sample program is just incredible and in sore need of replication this side of the pond. Such samples are likely to crop up from time to time on this blog as it is all self-funded, and I can't/should not finish bottles fast enough to keep delivering content, and I don't hate money.

Tasted blind, using the same method as previously I found the following:

Bourbon 1:
Nose has butter (diacetyl), popcorn, cereal grains, vanilla (most like cake frosting), acetone and dry wood that reminds me of an attic. The palate is medium weight, dry, and hotter than I would like. I notice vanilla, caramel, grain, oranges (and their rinds) and there is a definite bitterness that detracts from an otherwise simple but pleasant palate. The finish starts well with grains and sweetness but trails into faint bitterness. I guessed (correctly) Lot B.

Bourbon 2:
This nose is very different. Menthol/eucalyptus is here in a small but unmistakably amount that I have found in a number of HH products. The nose also has notes of butterscotch, vanilla and (oddly) what I identify from a childhood memory as gummy worms. The palate is heavier and very smooth; the alcohol is very nicely tamed. Also on the palate, I get banana nut muffins, faint citrus and a touch of pine. The finish is simple and warming, leaving finally with mint. This was obviously not a BT wheater, so I guessed (correctly) VSOF.

Bourbon 3:
This nose was obviously similar to #1, but with more dried wheat and less acetone and butter. The nose also brought Crème brûlée. The palate, compared to #1 was sweeter and not as hot. It was lighter than #2. Overall it had a nice balance of caramel, vanilla and toffee notes and tasted "bright" overall. The finish was quick, but clean. I guessed Weller 12, mainly in the hope that I liked Mr. $25 better than Van Winkle.

The first thing I learned is that I am not insane and can discriminate between drinks. Second, despite the "gummy worm" issue and thrashing OF products get from many reviewers, I actually quite like the VSOF and will get more. As for the BT stablemates: I think I may be finished with Lot B. I will continue to buy it for gifts as many seem to love it (but would they love it without the magical Van Winkle name on the bottle?), but for myself I will either go with the 10/107 ($40 and awesome) or PVW15 ($100 and classic). The most stunning thing, which I suspected but am glad I confirmed blindly, was how much I enjoyed the Weller 12, a $25 bourbon, which I continue to think is one of the best values in the bourbon world.

To be clear: all of these were very nice drinks that I will happily enjoy in the future. Further, in a world where the buy-in for serious scotch and wine is rapidly nearing the 3 digits (and the latter only lasts for a night) I would even go so far as to say they are all bargains. However, I liked this Weller 12 better than the Lot B, and not just for the price.

Next, we will find out if spending even more money on a bottle of brown liquor gets you anything...

Wheaters Part 2: Van Winkle and Air, a Blinded Comparison

Most of what is written about whiskey and exposure to oxygen revolves around the rate at which it spoils when exposed to air. "Finish off the bottle quickly once it's below 1/4 full," we are told, because it goes downhill fast from there.

In my experience, this has certainly been true of peated scotch, which makes sense as peat phenols are "antioxidants;" the phenols more readily react with oxygen, sparing the rest of the compounds in the whiskey at their own expense. Over time exposed to air (and indeed even exposed to air in the maturing cask), peat flavors diminish. I have also found a reduction in complexity in older American whiskeys, like George T. Stagg and some older ryes. Here, I think it likely that many of the volatile compounds that contribute to pleasant aroma on first opening simply evaporate away with repeated air exposure.

However, I have not found the evolution of bourbons when exposed to oxygen to be universally negative. In particular, I have found that wheated bourbons tend to improve over time. When first opened, I have tended to find Weller 12, a previous Van Winkle Lot B and ORVW to be pleasant, but a bit simple. As the bottle journeys toward empty (usually in my case over several months) I find that I enjoy it more and more. I have even gone so far as to split new bottles of wheater into two 750ml bottles to accelerate the process. I can't help but think that this is due to oxidation reactions, but it could be many other factors (my palate, light, phases of the moon etc.)

To be empirical, I planned ahead this time. When I opened  my latest Lot B (AKA Van Winkle Special Reserve 12 year-old bourbon), I immediately stored 200ml in a sealed bottle with almost no airspace and happily drank the remainder for a little over 2 months until there was only about 200ml left. I then sadly put both bottles away in dark cupboard until today. They have been in the same environment with respect to temperature, light, humidity, etc. In order to be as circumspect as possible, I will be tasting these blind. I have poured 20g of bourbon each into identical Glencairn glasses, randomized after being placed on identical coasters, marked on the bottom. I will be tasting them sequentially, cleansing the palate with filtered water and 2 wheat crackers before each dram. No difference in color was noted, so no precautions against unblinding by color were taken.

Glass 1

Nose is medium intensity: Faint citrus and stronger wood and caramel and vanilla notes, along with dulce de leche and acetone/aldehydes, also a fainter nutty note and hint of pine. Pleasant, but not aggressive. The palate is unmistakably "wheater", with caramel, citrus, milk chocolate, integrated oak and very well-tamed alcohol. There is a slight bitterness here that distracts. The end-palate and finish start with a pleasant baked-goods flavor (almond croissants, white bread); this trails on for about a minute leaving a very faint herbal note along with a small amount, again, of bitterness.

Overall, this is pleasant, but I would not $60 for it again, nor do I even prefer it to Weller 12.

Glass 2

The nose here is more intense, with more prominent caramel and vanilla; these seem "sweeter" and more in balance with the acetone. I prefer this nose: it is a preview of the PVW 15 nose, in many respects. The palate is again sweeter with apparently bigger body and less burn. I'm here getting less complexity, but it is more pleasant. Mainly primary wheat/caramel/vanilla notes, but none of the previous bitterness. The finish is without burn and otherwise very similar.

Overall

I prefer Glass 2. It is a bit more "primary," but the complexity of Glass one was due partially to flavors I found unpleasant. Mainly, glass 1 was bitter, and glass 2 was not. The nose on Glass 2 was also notably more intense. Even after letting them both sit out for 15 minutes, the findings are the same. The differences are not night-and-day, but they are significant. I still don't think Glass 2 is worth $60, but it is closer. I prefer ORVW 10/107 and Weller 12 to both glasses.

So, which was which? Glass 2 was without air! Hm. I expected differently. Perhaps I have been mistaking complexity for pleasure, or maybe it is mood-dependent, but in any case I today prefer the fresh Lot B. I guess its time to finish these off!

Next: Wheaters Part 3: Battle of the 12 year-olds (Weller, Van Winkle, and Old Fitz)

Children of the Wheat

S-W Bourbons and Their Descendants

The proportion of bourbon articles in the last few months mentioning either Maker's "new Coke" manuver or Pappy Van Winkle's elusive awesomeness makes me think a discussion of wheaters is in order.

A traditional bourbon is, at its heart, a spirit made from corn, with a touch of barley added for its enzymes to aid fermentation. Most bourbons have rye grain added to this mashbill to add flavor: tradionally around 15%, but up to 35% in the case of "high-rye" bourbons, such as Four Roses. "Wheaters" use wheat instead of rye for the flavoring grain (typically around 75:15:10). A story has been around for years that this began with Bill Samuels baking a bunch of bread of different recipes, not having had time to distill and age different mashbills, and liked the wheat recipe the best, thus the Maker's mashbill was born. This story is almost certainly pure bullshit, as the mashbill, and much other initial assistance was given to him by Julian "Pappy" Van Winkle, Sr., in the 1950s.

The real history of wheated bourbon is an interesting and slightly incestuous one. The best illustration of this is to behold a bottle of my favorite wheater, Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 15 year-old bourbon. Depending on when the bottle was released it will be composed of up to 3 different wheated bourbons: those from Buffalo Trace (current producers of all new bourbon to be bottled as Van Winkle), The New Bernheim Distillery in Louisville and the (soon to reopen?) Stitzel-Weller distillery (read more about this on John Hansell's blog). The latter is the spiritual home of wheated bourbon.

Van Winkle and Weller 

Julian Sr., before he was "Pappy"

 Julian "Pappy" Van Winkle, Sr. got his start  as a salesman for W.L. Weller & Sons, a Kentucky liquor wholesaler in 1893, at the age of 18. in 1908, he and another salesman bought the company and, in 1910, they acquired the A. Ph. Stizel Distillery, that had been supplying the Weller firm with much of its whiskey. Old Rip Van Winkle was one of their few surviving brands produced prior to prohibition. After prohibition, the famous Stizel-Weller plant (DSP-KY-16) opened near Louisville, Kentucky in 1935 and produced a number of famous, wheated bourbon lines including Cabin Still, W.L. Weller, Old Fitzgerald, and Rebel Yell. The ORVW line was not reintroduced until 1972, after the sale of the distillery. After 1972, Pappy's son (briefly) and granson, Julian III, took over operations, selling the now-familiar Van Winkle line of wheated bourbons, mainly from S-W stock, though apparently stocks from Bernheim were also used at times. These currently include:

• Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve  23 years old (95.6 proof)
• Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve  20 years old (90.4 proof)
• Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 15 years old (107 proof)
• Van Winkle Family Reserve Bourbon (Lot B) 12 years old (90.4 proof)
• Old Rip Van Winkle Handmade Bourbon 10 years old (107 proof)

In 2002, the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery Company entered a partnership with the Sazerac Company to have their products distilled and bottled at Buffalo Trace. While, as noted above, the older products in this line contain spirit from other distilleries, eventually the plan is for them all to be made at BT. BT has been making wheated bourbon in earnest since 1999.

In addition to the VW bourbons, buffalo trace also produces the Weller line, which was briefly also produced by the Bernheim distillery after the closure of S-W. This line currently includes

• W.L. Weller Special Reserve (90 proof)
• Old Weller Antique (107 proof)
• W.L. Weller 12 years old (90 proof)
• William Larue Weller (part of the BTAC, barrel proof varies by year)

Finally, though sold by an independent bottler,  McLain & Kyne, the current Jefferson's Presidential Select 18 year old contains wheated bourbon produced at Stizel-Weller.

Bernheim 

Historically, there have been 2 Bernheim Distilleries, which causes some confusion. The orginal Bernheim distillery was previously known as the Pleasure Ridge Park Distillery until I.W. Bernheim, his brother Bernard, and a partner, Nathan Uri bought it and renamed it the Bernheim Distillery Co. Their aim was to make an elite bourbon brand, I.W. Harper, which they continued to make through prohibition (as a medicinal whiskey). They sold the business to the Schenley Distilling company in 1937. This distillery, would eventually produce the Cream of Kentucky Rye featured in the Van Winkle Family Reserve and Sazerac 18 rye whiskeys. This distillery was demolished in 1992.

The "new" Bernheim distillery was built in Louisville Kentucky by United Distillers in 1992 as a replacement for the S-W plant. This was sold after UD became Diageo (after a series of mergers) to Heaven Hill in 1999. This served HH as their main distillery (DSP-KY-1) after the previous Heaven Hill Distillery (DSP-KY-31) was destroyed in a fire in 1996 and is the current site of production for Heaven Hill wheated (and other) bourbons. After the fire, but before the purchase, HH had their bourbon made Brown-Forman and Jim Beam. (Thanks to Eric, in the comments, for helping to clear some of this up).

Wheated Bourbons produced at Bernheim but not sold by Heaven Hill include:

• Some versions of the Weller series in the interregnum between S-W and BT (notably the discontinued Centennial)
• Some versions of Vintage 17 bourbon (likely discontinued, bottled by KBD)*
• Some versions of Willett Single Barrel Bourbon (KBD)*

*It is also nearly impossible to determine whether a bottle of the latter 2 is a wheater until you open and taste it.

Heaven Hill

As discussed, a stock of wheated bourbon made at the new Bernheim distillery from 1992-1999 was sold to the Sazerac company in 1999 and has featured in a number of Van Winkle Products. This is the distillate also used for the Weller line until the brand was assumed by Buffalo trace. Since then, Heaven Hill has continued to make wheated bourbons, which currently include:

• Old Fitzgerald Bourbon (prime, 1849, BIB and 12 year versions)
• Parkers Heritage Collection (some editions)
• Larceny (92 proof)

Heaven Hill now also produces Cabin Still, historically a S-W wheated bourbon brand, but no longer uses a wheat mashbill for the product. Rebel Yell was sold by Heaven Hill to Luxco who now sell it as an 80 proof wheated bourbon thought to be sourced from HH.

In the coming weeks, we will excitedly shift our attention to these wheated bourbons, having spent a while on the rye side of the spectrum (lovely as rye is). There's a lot of Van Winkle and Willy Larue to taste, there's an examination of the effects of air on wheated bourbon (I suspect significant, but we will examine this in scientific fashion), and we will also include at least one wheater in our forthcoming, blinded bottom-shelf throwdown, and I'm sure you can guess which one.

Belated Vantenines Dinner

Knowing that I've been blogging about whiskey lately, my wife requested salmon with a bourbon glaze for our belated Valentine's dinner. The recipe I recommend is this one, though I like to use a shallot instead of garlic. I used Eagle Rare and it turned out wonderfully; usually I use whatever bottle I'm trying to kill. Along with the salmon were what we call "floor potatoes" as they are so good that when I once dropped them on the floor we decided they were too good not to eat anyway. They are a Heston Blumenthal recipe, and if you actually go through all of this, you will also be willing to eat them off the floor. Luckily, this was not necessary last night.

After dinner, another request by Mrs. Whiskey Obsessive, was bourbon pudding. First had at 1833, my reverse-engineered version was based on this recipe, with the exception that I substituted 1/2 cup of the milk with extra bourbon (Buffalo Trace), and another 1/2 cup of milk with cream to make up the difference in fat.

And, since it was a special occasion, I decided to get a preview on my upcoming wheater series with PVW 15, which I hear is pretty popular:)

Michter's 10 year-old Single Barrel Rye

The undiscussed rye from Ryeday (see previous post) is perhaps the most enigmatic and opaque. Michter's is the name of a closed distillery that operated (first as Bomberger’s) near Shaefferstown, Pennsylvania until it closed in 1989 after filing for bankruptcy. This distillery was well regarded in the northeast as a producer of a sour-mash Jack Daniel’s alternative and is now most famous for having produced the excellent Hirsch 16, possibly the best bourbon I have ever tried, recently made even more famous in Chuck Cowdery's book, The Best Bourbon You’ll Never Taste. (Contrary to the title, I got lucky at a restaurant in Princeton). As you will note, this last was bottled by Hirsch, not Michters, and here is where things get even stranger.

The only empties I've ever saved. The Hirsch 16 was made by Michter's, unlike the Michter's 10.

The current "Michter's" is a brand owned by Chatham imports of New York, who do not distill. Their whiskey is either sourced from other distillers or made by them under contract. More complicated still is the fact that Chatham is rumored to have sourced the Michter's 10 year rye whiskey from Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD), who themselves did not distill it, but rather souced it from someone else. This may have been the Cream of Kentucky rye that also goes into Saz 18, or it may have been more of the Medley rye that goes into the Hirsch 13,21,22 etc. 

The Michter's 10, in particular, has the warm and rounded spice notes of the other, older medley ryes, and shares some of the maple syrup nose in the empty glass, but there is perhaps less up-front oak. There are definite notes of fig jam, apple and rye bread on the nose.  There is, in the mid palate, a very similar profile to the VWFRR (I actually mixed up my glasses at one point the other night). If there is a difference in the palate, there again may be slightly less wood, a touch more bitterness and a touch of peanut that led my friend to suggest there could be Beam product present (I'm not so sure about the latter, but would be very happy indeed to learn of an as-yet unintroduced aged beam rye). Similar to the Sazerac, there is a candied quality and lighter body overall when compared to the Medley ryes.  The finish also shares more with the younger-tasting Sazerac, with a candied sweetness and minty sensation on a moderate length finish, compared to the 15 minutes of maple syrup after a sip of Hirsch 22.

Takeout bottles are important when visiting friends with good whiskey

Whatever the provenance, this rye is certainly of a class and character with the Van Winkle, Black Maple Hill and Hirsch ryes. Really, if presented the option I would buy whatever can be found most cheaply. The only older rye that is head and shoulders above this is the Hirsch 13. The Hirsch 22 and BMH23 are by far the smoothest and almost liqueur-like, though whether that is a good thing may be a matter of taste.

This guy is usually about the same price at this point as the VWFRR, but (in most markets) easier to find. Many may object to the opacity of non-distiller producers like "Michter's," but once in the glass I find no problem with this stuff at all. I already have more bourbon and rye in the man-room than my wife finds healthy or sane, but I think I will be adding at least one more of these. 

And to continue the OCD, the current, update on our thoughts about the Rye Venn Diagram:

Ryeday

Having finally declared the Great Dusty Hunt to be dead, we returned to my friend's house/whiskey storage facility.  We decided to try my Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye 13 against his 2012 release Sazerac 18. He also had some Hirsch 22 open. Michter's 10 year old single barrel rye was feeling left out, so we invited him, too:

These guys are all a bit confusing. None of them actually tells us straightforwardly where they were made or by whom. The Michter's is probably 18 years old, despite the 10yo label, and the VWFRR is likely about the same. After some tasting and lots of  obsessing on StraightBourbon (who I'd love to join, but am having some trouble with the ISP email only requirement...) as well as Bourbon Enthusiast (another great resource),  I have come up with the following provisional theory of provenance (please feel free to correct or discuss further!):

I've actually no idea about the Michter's

We did not take notes, of course, and I had to fly to Miami the next morning, but a few impressions predominated. First, the Hirsch 22 is incredibly dangerous. So smooth that a pint glass seems like a fine idea when faced with a bottle until one realizes it's $120. Overall, the nose presented a hint of waxed wood furniture (specifically church pew) along with (perhaps unsurprisingly) rye bread. We agreed that this was as close to overoaked a whiskey as we have had and enjoyed (I find the vintage ryes overoaked), though to be honest it really shows more barrel that anything else. This is only a bad thing if you don't like vanilla, spices and caramel.

The Saz 18, by comparison, seemed very fresh and had far less barrel influence, making it seem  younger. What it lacked in barrel-y smooth goodness it made up for in sweetness, rye spice, mint and focus. The Hirsch could almost have been any extra-old whiskey, but the Saz was unmistakably rye. At half the price of the Hirsch (if you can find it at list price...) this is an incredible whiskey. Had it again at Michael's Genuine in Miami a few days later and found that it even paired well with food. If the Hirsch is a big, slutty delicious California Cab, the Saz is a focused, brightly acidic Burgundy. Would kill a man to try the barrel proof version, but there is apparently so little Saz 18 that we will never see it.

Based on the Venn above, it should be no surprise that the VWFRR was intermediate. This thing is a freaking unicorn. I've found 3 bottles since I started buying whiskey. All the hype of Van Winkle, all the hype of rye, and tiny, tiny production. Labeled as 13 years old, it is, as mentioned, likely far older and is purported (at least for the last few years) to be a vatting of Medley and CoK. Honestly, I was hoping that the VW13 would be as close as possible to the Hirsch 13, which is the finest rye whiskey I have ever tasted. It was close, but I don't think the vatting did it justice. That said, it is probably in my top 3 rye whiskeys. We tried vatting the Saz 18 with the Hirsch 22 (just a small amount) and found the mixture delicious, but not identical to the VWFRR.

As I said, I do not have detailed notes for these, but I think they are all excellent and worth seeking out as, though expensive, they represent the end of a rye era. Whatever the age statements of these ryes, and whatever their actual barrel ages, much of this stuff is actually far older, having been "tanked" in stainless steel vats where they do not age further and from where they are periodically doled out to us. As such, they are essentially Dodos. We shall not see their like again.

Of course there has been much made lately of the rye renaissance, and we are all happy for more rye, but it will be 2015 at earliest before we see a new 13 year-old rye whiskey. I hope the years to come will bring more and equally good mature ryes, but they will not be the same. These guys are all really expensive, but they are getting scarce and not getting any cheaper. To try a bit of distilling history, I would refer Philadelphia area folks to leave the bottles in stores to me and head over to Southwark (with whom I have no relation), who have far and away the most amazing selection of rye I've seen in  any bar in the country.

Next up: Michter's 10 Single Barrel Rye