A tour of Westland Distillery and its whiskey

I knew more about Westland's reputation than its whiskey when I traveled to Seattle this past November.  In fact I'd never even tried the stuff.  It was one of those situations wherein the more I'd hear people raving about the whiskey, the less I'd want to try it.  I'd say about 90% of the American "craft" (or new small business) whiskies I've tried are whiskies that I never want to drink again.  Each whiskey had plenty of hype ink in books, magazines, and online.  Each whiskey was terribly disappointing.  And when I heard that Westland was only making single malts, I was even less enthused.  The only American single malt I found to be recommendable up to that point was McCarthy's Oregon single malt.  But when my Seattle friend, James, said he'd scheduled a tour of the distillery for us, I was genuinely interested to see how Americans were making single malt.

The night of our Seattle arrival, James brought out two single malts: Longrow 11yo 'Red' Shiraz Cask and Westland single cask 16.

The Longrow was so-so, though I always expect Longrow to be better than so-so, especially at this whisky's price.  The Westland was......very good.  It wasn't just another six-month-old tiny barrel quickie whiskey.  It had 4+ years in an ex-port Hungarian oak cask.  It was rich, thick, spicy, and very drinkable at its high ABV.  Now I was really looking forward to the tour.

The next night we Ubered over to the distillery.  If you go to Westland, I highly recommend taking the Experience tour, like we did, rather than just doing a tasting at the bar.  The tour is very casual and as informative as you'd like it to be.  In our case, I asked a zillion questions.

Westland Distillery was started by two 20-something year old guys, Emerson Lamb and Matt Hoffman, in 2010.  Financially, it is backed by the Lamb family's extensive old wealth (specifically Enterprises International) from the lumber industry.  With this solid backing, Lamb and Hoffman wanted to spearhead the creation of an American single malt industry.  They bought a former crane factory south of downtown Seattle and turned it into the current distillery.  They built two large dunnage warehouses in Hoquiam, WA, for their barrels.  In October 2013, their products first started hitting Seattle shelves.  Today they have three whiskies -- American Single Malt, Peated Malt, and Sherry Wood -- in their regular range that are distributed across the country, as well as a rotation of single casks that usually stay local.

The thing I appreciated the most about Westland is how completely open they are about every step of their processes.  This is more common in the American craft brewing industry than the scotch whisky industry, which keeps mum about any detail they can't turn into a marketing ploy, as if they fear some random dude is going to recreate Lagavulin from scratch in his garage.

Westland has three malt bills.  First is their most common, the 5-malt bill.  Made up of 70% pale malt from East Washington, 10% Munich Malt from Washington, 12% Extra Special Malt from Wisconsin, and a little bit of Brown Malt and Pale Chocolate malt from the UK, this mix is what goes into the American Single Malt as well as many of the single casks.  Then there's the Washington Malt bill, which is made entirely of the pale malt from East Washington.  Finally, there's the peated malt which they get from Baird's in Speyside, peated at 55ppm.

After experimenting with 27 different yeast strains, Matt (the Master Distiller) went with Belgian saison brewers yeast.  I can confirm it has fruity results.  They have a 5,000 liter mash tun (using 66ºC water) and 10,000 liter fermenters.  Their fermentation time is 5 days, which is much longer than most Scotch distilleries.  The resulting beer is 8%abv.

Their pair of pot stills, fashioned by Vendome and allegedly the largest west of the Mississippi, have the capacity for the installation of rectifier plates.  They have no set cut points, instead it's all done by nose and palate.  They redistill the heads and tails, so it's sort of a 2+ distillation process.

They use a number of casks.  They have ex-oloroso hogsheads and butts, ex-PX hogsheads and butts, ex-bourbon barrels, new American oak with different levels of char, Oregon oak, and the aforementioned Hungarian oak.  And with different sorts of casks, Matt uses different fill strengths.  Their warehouses are not climate controlled, so the oceanside weather affects the maturation.  Their target age range is two to four years.

Though there's only 200 casks in the warehouses right now, there's storage space for more than 3200.  Their daily capacity at the distillery is 5-6 casks.  The batch size for their regular range was 20-30 casks at first, but due to the expansion of their distribution the batches are now 50 casks.

So after all that, how is the whisky?

At the end of the tour, they pour the regular range, but while we were in the blending room we had a chance to sample a few single casks.  Cask 281 spent most of its life in a #3 char new oak barrel but was finished in a first fill Oloroso barrel.  The sherry was quite potent and whisky tasted much older than its 31 months (maybe even 8 extra years).  Cask 283 was massively peaty.  At 61%abv and 24 months in a first-fill ex-bourbon barrel it could easily compete with Kilchoman quality-wise.  Cask 313 was a whisky that had spent almost 3 years in a PX hogshead.  It was a dense desserty thing and though I'm usually not a PX fan, I liked this one the best of the three.

When it comes to their regular range, I think the American Single Malt is fine, not much more than that.  The Peated Malt is good, at least the equivalent of McCarthy's.  There are no too-young sharp edges, the peat is moderate and pleasant, and the oak stays back.  But it's the Sherry Wood that impressed me the most of the three.  It's quite a creation, utilizing six different cask types, the 5-malt bill, and a little bit of the peated malt.  The result is something that feels much more deeply matured than its 26 months.  I hope they can continue to match that quality in future batches.

I do have to say, though, the four single casks I tried all topped the regular range.  The very first Westland I had, Cask 16, the night before the tour, remains the best.  Its quality gives me a little bit of hope that something good will come from the American small distillery rush.  Eventually the market will thin out those who can't (most folks), leaving those who can (probably very few) to establish a successful American independent whiskey industry.

Single Malt Report: FEW Spirits Single Malt Whisky

Evanston, Illinois was a dry city until 1972, almost forty years after national prohibition was repealed, partially thanks to the efforts of suffragette Frances Elizabeth Willard a century before.  When naming Evanston's first post-prohibition distillery, distiller Paul Hletko honored (or insulted) Willard's efforts by using her initials, F.E.W.  From distiller Hletko's interview with Martha Stewart Magazine:

A true grain-to-glass distillery, Few [sic] ferments, distills and bottles all of its products from scratch on-site. All the grain used in our products—corn, wheat, rye and barley—is grown less than 100 miles from the distillery, and other ingredients are sourced from even closer: I planted hops in my own backyard for my American Gin.

I went with Martha Stewart's site since FEW's official site provides nothing but vague gibberish about the company's origins.  Anyway, FEW makes a bourbon, rye, white gin, and barrel aged gin, with similar easily recognizable labels depicting the 1892 Chicago World's Fair.  They also made this single malt whiskey once upon a time, though I'm not sure if they still do.  It no longer appears on their site and it's starting to get scarce on the West Coast.

Distillery: FEW Spirits
Region: Evanston, IL, USA
Grain: Malted Barley, a portion of which was smoked using cherry wood
Age: damfino
Maturation: American oak
Alcohol by volume: 46.5%

I obtained this sample at a paid LA Scotch Club event, a curling event actually.  The whisky intrigued me since Serge and Whisky Jug were very enthusiastic about it.  But when two of the LASC members, who are both LAWS members as well, emphatically encouraged me to take the bottle away from them, I started to have my doubts.  And I declined taking an additional sample.  Was that a good decision?

Tasting Notes:

NEAT:
It's color is a dark bourbon brown.

Immediately the nose is homemade cinnamon applesauce, then Hostess apple pies, then real peach pies.  Buttery dough.  It's all very vivid, with lots of barley running through it.

First there's just a ton of cinnamon in the palate.  Then peach lambic and a sweet witbier.  A few minutes later it's clover honey, sawdust, halvah, and Play-Doh.

It finishes plenty sweet.  Cinnamon, honey, and Play-Doh.

WITH WATER (~40%abv):
Cinnamon schnapps and apple schnapps on the nose.  And then here comes the Play-Doh, along with a little bit of banana bread.

How about cinnamon Play-Doh on a palate?  Small notes of black pepper and apples.  Not that sweet.

It's also less sweet than before in the finish.  All black pepper and cinnamon.

More words:

I'll start with the positives.  It really is its own creature and is bottled at a good ABV.  The nose is unique, in a positive way.  Lots of lively spirit kicks around throughout...

...but then in the palate that whole uniqueness turns into an awkward curiosity.  While the beer notes are certainly palatable, the sweetness and oak are not.  And it begins to feel like a lot of American craft/artisan/handmade whiskies, somehow both undermatured and woody.  Adding water turns it into a total jumble, though it does cut down the sweetness.  Meanwhile, I don't understand its pricing at all.

Caveat: Almost everyone online seems to like this whisky more than I do.  Until the LAWS dudes post their reviews, the only other folks who have released less than positive reviews are a few of the Booze Dancing guys.  If you've tried this whisky let me know what you thought of it in the comments section below.

Availability - Many liquor specialists
Pricing - $60-$80 (yeesh)
Rating - 76

Something Weird: Leviathan II American Peated Single Malt

I shall pluck the next peated American single malt from the Kravitz Cabinet of Curiosities...

...Presenting: The Tall Man!

First of all, I would like to thank my buddy Daniel for this bottle.  No matter what I say in this post, I really do appreciate this gift.  It has been an experience.

Lost Spirits Distillery was founded by Bryan Davis in Salinas, California, in 2009.  Using American barley, American and Canadian peat, and a steam-powered wooden still (which has recently been retired) his company has created about a half dozen unique whiskies (along with several other spirits).

But many of us blog readers know of Lost Spirits from Mr. Davis's direct feud with Sku's Recent Eats blog in 2012.  Picking a fight with a well-informed corner of the anorak populace probably isn't the best way for a small craft distiller to sell more bottles, but that was Mr. Davis's decision.  As someone who has tried to peddle unusual product in a difficult marketplace, I can understand the frustration that develops when the people you're trying to connect with reject what you're selling.  One thing I always try to remember is that in any form of production, from art to consumables, once the creation is released into the world the author's intent doesn't mean a damn thing.

With all of that in mind, let me get back to Leviathan II.  The barley is American.  The peat is from Alberta, Canada.  The barley is peated to a level of 110ppm (a little over Ardbeg Supernova's ppms).  But not all peat is the same, as it is formed from local vegetation.  Thus peat on Islay is different than peat on Orkney, which is different than Alberta peat.  According to Lost Spirits, the Alberta peat is "loaded with conifer and pine roots".  The American barley was smoke dried with this peat, then distilled in their former wooden pot still, and then aged in French oak casks that had previously held late harvest Semillon wine from Napa.

Did you get all that?  Here, I'll list it the way I usually do:

Distillery: Lost Spirits 
Brand: Leviathan
Type: Single Malt Whiskey
Region: Salinas, California, USA
Barley malt: American
Peat source: Alberta, Canada
Peating level: 110ppm
Maturation: ex-late harvest Semillon casks (French oak)
Age: "under four years"
Alcohol by Volume: 53%

My first pour from the bottle smelled like someone dropped napalm on a tennis court.  Everything was burned: shoes, tennis balls, the net, concrete, paint, and gasoline.  And it tasted the same.

I am a peat freak, and can take some serious peat abuse without complaint.  Octomore and Supernova are fun, not just because their peat levels are high, but because the flavors and scents are very complex and nuanced.  Meanwhile, at the top of the bottle, Leviathan II was a single slab of sensory violence.  And honestly, I had no interest in drinking any more of it.

(Quick aside -- To use another questionable comparison, I like hot sauce.  It's fun on the palate and I loves me some heat (well, my palate does but the rest of me doesn't).  But I've noticed that a lot of hot sauce producers just try to one up each other by climbing the Scoville scale.  As a result, a lot of their products taste terrible.  They bring the heat and that's it.  Creating and maintaining flavors is a difficult art.  I think we're at that stage with whisk(e)y that we can start to see that more peat doesn't necessarily equal more goodness.  There's so much more to the process that determines if the end result smells or tastes appealing, let alone great.  A lot of work went into the Octomores.  They're not just a whisky stunt, they're whisky.)

My Leviathan bottle sat 95% full.  Something had to be done.  Being someone who believes whisk(e)y changes considerably with air, I worked a couple more ounces down my trap until there was some space in the bottle.  In that space sat oxygen.  I let the bottle sit for a few days.  Then, I poured an ounce and let it air out for thirty minutes while I took notes on McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt.  I returned to the Leviathan II glass and here's the result:

NEAT
The color is gold.  On the nose there are lots of black raisins, burnt ones too.  Burnt plastic.  Un-burnt polyester, carpet, hot concrete, new shoelaces, and really rough eau de vie.  With more air, a singed orange peel note grows, followed by McDonald's honey (yep, that specific one).  With an hour of air, it smelled of wet cigars and wet cat litter.  The palate has an immense cinnamon red hots character.  Then burnt wheat toast, liquid smoke, and unaged rye spirit.  There's an ethyl heat, a spicy heat, burnt plastic, and sea salt.  Burnt honey in the finish, along with charred tuna, dried rosemary, and Swisher Sweets.

WITH WATER
The black raisins remain in the nose, joined by honey, rubber bands, and bile.  With more water, there's a note of, well, rubber raisins.  Cinnamon red hots still kickin' it in the palate.  Also sneakers (if I ate them), raisins, and toasty moss.  With more water, mossy red hots.  The finsh is mostly honey and raisins and char.  With more water, there's a floral note amongst rubber and moss.

Yes, the whole package improved.  But I'm not entirely sure for whom it is designed.  Is it for those hot sauce bros who just want to see who can crush the most ghost peppers?  Then why the sweet wine casks?  Even the Scottish haven't consistently mastered the sweet wine + peat combo and their experts have been at it for some time.

If you're going to do the Leviathan II and you're going to do it neatly, please please please air it out.  I'm not going to raise much of a stink about the whisky being too young.  It's definitely youthful and I think that's part of the point.  A lot more time in a sweet wine cask isn't necessarily going to make the whisky sexier.  It would just result in further imbalance between the cask and spirit.

I'm also not going to say that Lost Spirits should stop making this stuff, because it has a place in the market.  I think the challenge for Lost Spirits is that corner of the market has players like Balcones, Corsair, and Charbay already in it.  Those companies have a head start.  They have weird whiskies, bold whiskies, and weird bold whiskies.  Many of those products are very appealing and well sculpted.  There's real competition at the craft whiskey level.  Being small and crafty and original isn't enough anymore.

Leviathan II is indeed an experience that I'm sure many would be interested to try once.  But a 750mL bottle?  On a related note, I have a bunch of oxidized samples that I'd be happy to swap out.

Availability - About 10 to 12 specialty US retailers

Pricing - $50-$60

Rating - 69 (it rated in the mid 40s when first opened)

Single Malt Report: McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt

I've tried two peated American single malts recently, two whiskies whose characteristics couldn't possibly be any further apart.  In my opinion, one is successful, the other is not.

One half of me wonders if my palate has changed and that I'd have felt the opposite about them two years ago.  Another half of me thinks I would have never liked the second whisky, ever.  Another half of me was just happy to try them both at the same sitting.

Let's start with the one I liked:

I first tried McCarthy's at Peatin' Meetin' two years ago and was underwhelmed by it.  In hindsight, I'm pretty sure my palate had been blown out by bigger cask strength peated whiskies that day.  I wanted to give it another try, in a quieter controlled setting.  Last year, I gained a sample of McCarthy's from Jordan of Chemistry of the Cocktail in a sample swap.  And I'm glad I did.

McCarthy's is distilled at Clear Creek Distillery in Portland, Oregon.  Owner Steve McCarthy buys peated barley malt from the Port Ellen maltings on Islay and has it shipped to Oregon.  After it arrives, the malt is fermented by the Widmer Brothers Brewery.  The resulting wash is distilled only once in Clear Creek's Holstein pot still.  According to their site, the spirit spends some time in old sherry casks (though these casks may have been discontinued several years ago) as well as casks made from Oregon oak.  They age it for three years.  If you've ever tried to buy a bottle of McCarthy's you'll know why they don't age it any longer:  each batch sells out quickly.  For more details on their processes, please see Jordan's review or the Clear Creek site, both of which have a lot of good info.

I'm uncertain which batch this was from.  Jordan's review mentions that it may be somewhere between 2006 and 2008.  Many batches have been at 42.5% ABV, one was "cask strength" at 49% ABV.  This one was bottled at 40% ABV.

source

Distillery: Clear Creek Distillery
Brand: McCarthy's
Type: Single Malt Whiskey
Region: Portland, Oregon, USA
Malt source: Port Ellen maltings
Maturation: ex-sherry casks (though these may have been discontinued before this bottling was aged) and Oregon oak casks
Age: three years
Alcohol by Volume: 40%

NEAT
The color is gold.  The first thing I notice in the nose is the ocean.  Is it the Atlantic or Pacific?! Then bacon, well charred bacon. Then cinnamon, brown sugar, and kirsch.  The peat is rich, clean, and bright (if that makes any sense) as opposed to dirty or ashy. There's a nice vanilla bean note, maybe from the Oregon oak? Also some plum brandy (Slivovitz) to go with the kirsch. After being aired out for over 30 minutes, the whiskey releases a scent that reminds me of the white plastic siding on the house I grew up in (the Horseheads house for you insiders).  The palate is loaded with applewood smoked bacon.  The peat gets ashy here, though it gets brightened up by sweet mint.  Sweetness grows with time, but it is kept in check by an IPA-style bitterness.  More bacon in the finish.  The beer that goes with the palate's bitterness shows up here.  Then sugary cigar ash.  And -- to continue the personal notes -- the air on Inis Mór, the rocky Irish island I got lost on eleven years ago.

WITH WATER
Some fresh fruits (apricots and apples) peek out into the nose.  Lots of bourbon-like American oak notes too, caramel specifically.  Then candied peat, apple mint, and tangerines.  The palate gets sugary, toasty, and mossy.  Maybe a little bit of green herbs and yeast.  The finish is sweet and smoky.

I can't believe this is the same whisky I tried two years ago.  This further proves how different a whisky can be in separate settings.

It's been a while since I've experienced multiple sense memory connections with a single whisky.  Putting aside these emotional connections for a moment, I have no issue with this single malt's very young age.  While there are distillate characteristics in the nose, they work very well with the big ocean, bacon, and beer notes.  The sweetness stays mellow until water is added, the oak doesn't get too big, and the peat lingers at a medium level.  While I prefer it neat, water doesn't wreck it, which is impressive considering the low ABV.

But I cannot ignore those sense memories.  I realize that you won't have the same connections, but they draw me more deeply into the drinking experience.  Maybe you'll have your own.  Or maybe you'll see this as a decent alternative to the other (imported) whiskies created from the Port Ellen maltings.  In any case, McCarthy's shouldn't be dismissed by you peat fans.  If young Taliskers and Caol Ilas ever get out of your price range, maybe you should look to Oregon next.

Availability - Here's Clear Creek's list of stores that carry their products

Pricing - $45-$60

Rating - 87 (neat score only, and for this batch only)

A Poacher Enters The Dusty Hunt

I haven't spoken about this to many people, let alone blogged about it, but I have a reliable spot for dusty bourbons.  Rather, I had a reliable spot.

Many of us dusty bottle hunters have a place that's reliable, usually off the beaten track.  And eventually, with new hunters coming aboard every day, that secret place is found by someone else and he or she relieves the store of what remains.  That's just part of the hunt.  I personally do not believe in hoarding a good find, so I usually leave a bottle or two on the shelf for that next person.  Others have done it for me, and I am grateful for it.  If I ever do "clean out" a store, I will share the spoils because I believe whisk(e)y is best as a group experience.

The store of interest here, let's call it Tasty Liquors, had five different brands of '80s bourbons.  There's one particular brand (to be reviewed soon) in which I have the most interest and have occasionally purchased a bottle, leaving more on the shelf.

On Friday night, I opened a bottle of this bourbon and found it to be enormously enjoyable.  When I'd purchased this whiskey two weeks earlier, there were at least 3 more bottles on the shelf.  On this past Friday night, as I delighted in the delicious stuff, I decided that I'd get one more bottle for myself and one for a friend.  So, first thing on Saturday morning, I drove to the store.

When I got to Tasty Liquors around 8:30am, I noticed that ALL of their dusty bourbon bottles were gone.  Not just my favorite brand, but all of the dusties.  In place of every old bottle was its new/current version.  At first I wondered if the old bottles just went to the back of the store so the newer shinier more familiar looking bottles would take front stage.

(Tasty Liquors is run by a very polite Asian couple and I think they recognize me now since I've been gradually relieving them of their old stuff.  The husband had always looked at me oddly as I'd ask for bottles he hadn't been able to sell in three decades.)

More than a little disappointed by the missing dusties, I innocently asked the wife of the couple if they had any of the older versions left, emphasizing that I'd be happy to buy them, not knowing if she would know what I was referring to.  But the moment I said the name of my specific brand, she said that "they were discontinued".

"Discontinued", an interesting word choice.  The ownership and label had changed 25 years ago, the juice had changed 20 years ago, but discontinued?  No.  After additional careful polite questioning, I discovered that the distributor rep who restocks this bourbon told her that all of those old bourbons were discontinued and needed to be pulled off the shelf and replaced with the newest versions...

...and he left with all of the dusties.  I asked her if he had purchased the bottles.  She was confused by that question and said again that he'd said they were discontinued and needed to be taken away.

When I originally wrote this post on Saturday afternoon, I was really f***ing angry.  Part of it was grumpiness about someone emptying out the whole stash.  Part of the frustration was aimed at myself for not stocking up earlier.  But most of it was irrational righteous indignation.

Distributor reps have quite a bit of access to dusty bourbons.  Which is fine.  Some of them are serious bourbon geeks.  I have a buddy who works for a big distributor and he is the smartest bourbon guy I know.  He buys the fun dusties he finds and it's not a big issue for him since the bottles are always very cheap.  Plus he often shares his spoils.  He's the only reason I've been able to try Mr. Van Winkle's bourbons.

But in this instance, if I have interpreted Saturday morning's situation correctly, a distributor rep walked into a liquor store, lied to the owners and then walked out with up to a dozen bottles of collectable (and delicious) whiskey without paying for it.  Thus it's very possible that a thief cleaned out a liquor store using his unique position to lie to unknowing ownership; a lying thief who has access to many other prime dusty spots.

Could I be wrong about this?  Yeah.  Something could have been lost in translation in my chat with the owner.  The rep could have bought up the old stuff when he replaced it with the new stuff.  And if he didn't, the owners look like complete and utter saps for falling for his BS (though, historically, men have gotten laid utilizing more dubious stories).  Or, perhaps the owners finally wisened up after 30 years and realized that there was a market for the oldies (inspired by my sudden purchases) and found another avenue to sell the bottles at a higher price, thus they fibbed to me.  Or maybe I totally misunderstood and someone else had bought the dusties before or after the new versions were restocked.

But, I don't think so.  Those bottles didn't move for almost 30 years and it's very likely more bottles were needed after my previous purchases.  Thus a call to restock.  The rep had clearly pushed the "discontinued" angle.  And suddenly the dusties were gone, with a somewhat confused owner left in the wake.

I happily welcome this fellow to the LA-area dusty hunt, if he's purchasing his finds.  But if he's not purchasing them...  I know the region this person works in, the stores he stocks, and the company he works for.  I'm not going to spill this info in case I'm completely wrong about what happened.  But if, in my hunt, I find this happening again, I will be more than happy to share this information.  All's fair in the love and war of a dusty hunt unless you're a g****mned thief.

Yes, this is the calmer version of my post.  This sort of experience takes a lot of the fun out of dusty hunting.  I've been beaten to a good stash before, a few times.  But never by something that seemed so much like a scam.  And it didn't have to be that way.  These bottles cost, on average, $15.  Am I an overreacting sore loser?  Let me know.  Have you come across poachers in your rounds?  Do you believe in "cleaning out" a dusty store or do you leave goodies behind?  Or have I just inspired you to hoard even more?

Some whisky updates and oh yeah I'm going to be live-blogging during the Super Bowl

1.  Not going to bury the lede here.  I was going to live-tweet during the Super Bowl, but realized live-tweeting is just a form of forced aggression.  My six twitter followers would have to keep seeing unfunny half-thoughts firing into their feed 60+ times in a three-hour period.  With live-blogging, a reader can choose when or if he/she wants to read my garbage.  Plus, I have the option to delete the whole post in case things go terribly wrong.

This will probably be the last Super Bowl I watch.  I missed thirteen in a row (XXXI-XLIII) when I didn't have cable, but really didn't miss a thing.  I've also been watching A LOT of football during these last three years.  Too many wasted Sundays watching people bludgeon the f*** out of each other in the hopes of witnessing a half second of derring-do.  Rules being instituted to try to curb life-crippling injuries cause issues with the gameplay itself and lead to other injuries because the sport is violent.  It's not bowling.  And it would also be nice if retired players (whom have helped make the NFL billions of dollars) received a little bit of long term healthcare assistance to deal with their broken bodies.  Both the league and the union have failed in this regard, and I feel ethical nausea watching it play out live in front of me.  But please know I'll be commenting on the gameplay as much as possible, I will check my ethics at the door.

And I love hating on advertising.  And I love hating on Sports Journalism Reporting Time-Filler Parasitic Flatulence; I hope you haven't wasted any of your life reading anything about gametime weather, Manning's legacy, Richard Sherman talking, Marshawn Lynch not talking, or the 12th Man (which won't be attending the game); do people really get paid for that "reporting"?  And I love hating on Joe Buck.

And there will be beverages, and profanity, and plenty of parasitic flatulence (for free).

I'm rooting for Denver.  But if I were a betting man, I would be taking Seattle (+2.5) and the over.

2.  I would to thank everyone for checking out my Whisky Consumer Advocacy post.  I appreciate the discussion that continues to follow.  There wasn't a single challenge from anyone in the hashtag-Whisky-Fabric community itself.  So I'm just going to assume that they were all incredibly humbled by words and will endeavor towards a higher level of ethics in the blogosphere and the whisky industry as a whole.  But if I were a betting man...

3.  Chemistry of the Cocktail posted a positive review of The Eagle Morning last Friday!  Please know that it only cost Jordan two ounces of his secret bottle of Malt Mill.

I'm thankful for all the feedback on The Eagle Morning.  There's a second full bottle of it in the cabinet.  I'd be happy to share it during swaps -- but I have to put swaps on hold for a few months because I don't have much stuff open!

And, yes, the cask is currently filled with another experiment.  It's one much less sexy than the previous two, but I really hope it winds up tasting good.

4.  You've probably heard this elsewhere, but The Angel's Share is now available for streaming on Netflix.  While one could carp about the fact that it seems like two films forced into one, both "films" are very good in their own way.  As the lead, Paul Brannigan's performance helps the script realize its intense emotional stakes.  It's a bit startling to witness comedy in a Ken Loach film, but it's also very welcome because the man continues to depict working class grit like no else.  Did I mention there's lots of whisky involved?  Keep an ear open for my favorite tasting note of all time.

5.  Finally, the full page view of the The Big Whisk(e)y List now has filters.  If Google Drive wasn't such a pain in the arse, there would be more sortable stuff.

Happy Friday!

NOT Single Malt Report: Two rounds with Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey

I may lose some readers with this one, but here I go.

I do not, Do Not, DO NOT understand why anyone drinks Jack Daniel's Old No. 7.  I am unable to comprehend how it became the second most exported whisk(e)y in the world.  The best explanation I've heard so far is when Scotch and Ice Cream suggested that it's all marketing and culture.  So maybe it's like McDonalds and Bud Light: the name, the image, the familiarity influence consumers so they disregard the actual quality and experience of their purchase.  Is that it?  Because otherwise, I'm missing something.

Old No. 7 Black Label may have a "MANLY" marketing image, but how is it a "MANLY" whiskey?  It's not difficult or burly or challenging.  It just tastes bad.  In fact, since it's kind of weak and watered down in its current state, almost any American whiskey on the shelf could prove to be a more challenging ride.

And, at $15-$25, it's not nearly the cheapest thing on the shelf, so it can't be THE low-cost working man's whiskey.  As a mixer, it's barely better than vodka because it needs to be smothered with a ton of sugar in order to hide its flavor.  The same thing goes with Jack Daniel's sauces and marinades.  The reason why they taste so good is because they taste nothing like Old No. 7.  They taste like brown sugar.

Okay, so maybe, just maybe, people want to get plastered.  So they buy bottles of Jack for shots or to live up to the (sadly) romantic image of their favorite rocker drinking straight from the bottle.  Well that's a FAIL too.  Nothing tastes worse blasting back up than Old No. 7 vomit, aside from maybe Cuervo & Tabasco vomit.
(Note to self: You really have to stop it with the Vomit Taste Offs.)

I spent a bit of time with JD#7 in the late '90s -- until one day I realized it tasted awful -- so I'm coming to this with considerable sense memory.  I'm coming to this as someone who has had many motivations for buying booze.  But when it comes to Old No. 7, there are "manlier" drinks, there are cheaper drinks, there are more blue-collared drinks, there are better mixers, and there are better shots.

So, let's try some Old No. 7!

JACK DANIEL'S OLD No. 7 BLACK LABEL (bottled late 1990s)

Distillery: Jack Daniel's
Ownership: Brown-Forman Corporation
Region: Lynchburg, TN
Type: Tennessee Whiskey
Age: four years (I think)
Mashbill: 80% corn, 12% malted barley, 8% rye
Bottled: late 1990s
Alcohol by Volume: 43% (different than current ABV)


NEAT:
Color - Apple juice meets corn syrup
Nose - Leads with varnish and very sweet corn syrup. Follows with Italian salad dressing, dry cheese, and vinegar.
Palate - Goes the quick road from overly sweet to overly bitter.  Corn syrup and sweet cream does a bee line to ammonia.  Per the Lincoln County Process this was filtered through maple charcoal, but it tastes like it was passed through steel wool, Brillo pads, and burnt hair.
Finish - Granulated sugar sprinkled conservatively over a vat of acetate, varnish, deck stain, and ammonia.

WITH WATER:
Nose - Immediately there's tree bark, bleached paper, and horseradish. Then more of the varnish and corn syrup.
Palate - Creamier. Starts with brown sugar then goes bitter.
Finish - Blessedly short. Ammonia.

First thing to note:  My generous sample was taken from a bottle that was purchased in the late '90s.  And, yeah, the ABV was 43% rather than 40%.  I wish I had a proper bottle shot, but I don't know where the bottle went. (Long story, not very interesting.)

Secondly, I have to admit that this version of JD was particularly foul.  The current version is softer with more Nutrasweet corn, but it still has that steel-wool-brillo-pad-burnt-hair note.  There are folks who find a banana note in the current JD, but my nose reads it as banana-candy-meets-paint-fumes.

Thirdly, you may think I'm completely biased against all Jack Daniel's products and am thus a sh***y American.  At least the former isn't true.

Enter:

JACK DANIEL'S SINGLE BARREL SELECT

Distillery: Jack Daniel's
Ownership: Brown-Forman Corporation
Region: Lynchburg, TN
Type: Tennessee Whiskey
Age: four years (I think)
Mashbill: 80% corn, 12% malted barley, 8% rye
Alcohol by Volume: 47%

This tasting was done from the above mini, a gift from my buddy Shannon.  While no barrel number was listed on the mini, the 750mL (and 700mL) bottles do have barrel numbers on them.  But note: the Single Barrel Selects released in Europe have a 45% ABV.

Per the official website, "Single Barrel is matured in the highest reaches of our barrelhouse, where the dramatic changes in temperature cause its color and taste to deepen further."  Let's see how this maturation plays out.

NEAT:
Color - Reddish gold
Nose - At first: hazelnuts and dirty socks and nail varnish.  That steel-wool-brillo-pad-burnt-hair note shows up here.  But give it 15-20 minutes of air and... White bread toast, Cracker Jacks, burnt peppercorns, hay, vanilla extract, and fudgy rum.
Palate - Peanut brittle, sugary grains, vanilla and caramel (almost dulce de leche).  It's sweet, hot, and oaky, but in balanced moderation compared to No. 7.
Finish - Lots of corn whiskey.  There's some boiled vegetables at the start, but with time that note vanishes.  Then there's cayenne pepper, tree bark, vanilla, and caramel.

Because of the aforementioned "bias", I opened the bottle anticipating disaster.  But it's not terrible.  In fact, the Single Barrel Select is very drinkable and balanced once it's had some oxygen.  I like the nutty note as well as the straightforward vanilla and caramel.  Keep in mind, though, different barrels will have different characteristics.  That can work out well ...... or not, thus the charm of single barrel releases.

Again, once it's aired out, the Single Barrel leaves #7 far far behind, which is a shame.  It would be great if one of America's famous exports displayed more skill and craft, something with more strength and stamina, something that displays the better part of the American character.

---

JACK DANIEL'S OLD No. 7 BLACK LABEL (bottled late 1990s)
Availability - Somewhere out there. Current version is EVERYWHERE.
Pricing - Current version: $15-$25
Rating - 60    (late '90s sample only)

JACK DANIEL'S SINGLE BARREL SELECT
Availability - Many liquor retailers worldwide
Pricing - $40-$50
Rating - 80    (needs to breathe, though!)

Whiskey #200: The Rye Storm (Part 2)

(Click here for Part One)

Here it is, The Rye Storm:

Distillery: Corsair

Independent Bottler: D4P Whiskies
Type: Barrel-aged rye spirit

Age: January 31 to July 13, 2013

Maturation: 2 liter new American Oak barrel
Limited bottling: 1

Distillery Region: Tennesee and Kentucky, USA
Maturation Region: Long Beach, California, USA

Alcohol by Volume: North of 50%, South of 70%
Chillfiltered: No
Colored: No

What's in a name?  A number of things.  The "The" is in honor of the other "The"s: The Macallan, The Glenrothes, The Glenlivet, The Glenmorangie, etc.  The "Storm" is partially a tweak on the whisky industry for their inability to come up with original names, see: Islay Storm, Cutty Stark Storm, Talisker Storm, and Talisker Dark Storm (three of which came into the market within a year of each other).  It's a storm of whiskey, busy, loud, and potentially destructive in its alcoholic intensity.  But mostly I named it The Storm after the events in my life that took place while the whiskey was aging.  Rather than rehashing it, I'll just leave the link here.

I learned a lot from "making" The Rye Storm.  If I had another first-fill barrel, I'd try to figure out how to char it further.  I'd also measure the humidity and temperature around my home to find the coolest, driest spot.  Perhaps using a quieter spirit, one with less muscle than Wry Moon, would suit home booze such as this.  Plus the $100 initial investment in three bottles of spirit won't be a surprise.

For those planning on doing some barrel-aging at home, please make sure you follow any directions provided regarding curing and cleaning the barrel.  Also be very aware that most of the barrels being sold for home maturation are not as impeccably coopered as the ones used by the larger booze industry.  Even with a cool dry basement, you'll still need to anticipate a considerable Angel's Share.  If you have any questions or thoughts on this drop me a line here or send me an email.

Now, back to The Rye Storm.  Unlike certain craft whiskey bottlers, I will not call this California Rye.  The spirit was made by Corsair in either their Kentucky or Tennessee distillery.  Nor can I call it Straight Rye Whiskey due to its youth.

Here are my specific notes on how the nose and palate developed:

Day 0
Wry Moon is loaded with cracked white pepper and cinnamon Red Hots candies on both the nose and palate.  There's also a distant vegetal grain quality that lingers in the background.  Its highlight is the cocoa powder in the finish.

Day 36
Nose - Not much change. A little calmer. Less of the white pepper.
Palate - The spices have become more varied, sharper. Vanilla and chocolate notes have come into focus. Easier to drink.

Day 91
Nose - Softer spices up front, harsher ones in the back. Hints of vanilla and honey from the oak. Pepper and Red Hots have receded slightly. Maybe floral and anise notes?
Palate - ABV feels stronger as there's a big ethyl buzz. More sugars. Texture starting to thicken.
Finish - Hot chocolate.

Day 122
Nose - Still very spirity, but a little floral.  Honey, brown sugar, and baking spices.
Palate - Same as Day 91.
Finish - Lots of milky hot chocolate.
Not much changes when water is added. Maybe the nose is a little fruitier, perhaps the cocoa moves forward in the palate.

Day 164...

NEAT
Color - Dark gold
Nose - Right up front: Cinnamon, maple syrup, cocoa powder, and something between coriander and cardamom. Lightly floral, but a lot of those Red Hots candies.  A tiny bit of vanilla.
Palate - Still very new makey. Cocoa, white pepper, Red Hots, cinnamon schnapps, and ethyl.  Actually, a little malty too.
Finish - Milk chocolatey rum. Some malt and chlorine.  Very lengthy, due to a likely high ABV

WITH WATER
Nose - Cinnamon bread and kirsch
Palate - No change.
Finish - Dark chocolate with cayenne pepper

Following the nose's development over time was my favorite part and it sniffs better than it sips.  The palate is still very spirit heavy, think: Goldschlager Whiskey.  But once the rough palate passes, the chocolate finale is lively and enjoyable.

Availability - A single bottle

Pricing - One's liver cells?

Rating - 72

---

ONE LAST THOUGHT:

In yesterday's post, I mentioned there would be two uses for this barrel.  The Rye Storm was the first fill, after which I discovered the cask had soaked up 64mL of rye.  What sort of second fill use would follow???  Stay tuned.  Two months from now D4P Whiskies may have something else in store...

Taste Off! Buffalo Trace Bourbon vs. Buffalo Trace Bourbon

As soon as Prohibition was repealed, the people needed their bourbon.  With their distilleries dormant for more than a decade, American liquor companies like Schenley Distillers often imported Canadian whisky while their own distillation restarted and the spirit aged.  Schenley Distillers set one of their distilleries aside to produce Ancient Age Bourbon.  Of course, Ancient Age wasn't actually any older than other bourbon on the market, but -- in a reborn market full of very young booze -- a little false advertising went a long way.

In 1812, long before it was known as Ancient Age, the distillery had been named OFC (Old Fashioned Copper) Distillery.  Then in 1909 it was named George T. Stagg Distillery after one of its most famous owners.

In 1992, The Sazerac Company purchased the distillery and renamed it Buffalo Trace, "In tribute to the mighty buffalo and the rugged, independent spirit of the pioneers who followed them westward."  The production has expanded greatly, cranking out many orders of well loved brands such as Blanton's, Eagle Rare, Sazerac Rye, Benchmark, Elmer T. Lee, Ancient Age (still beloved by some), the Antique Collection (including amongst others George T. Stagg, Thomas H. Handy Rye, and William Larue Weller), and Van Winkle.  They also have their fascinating Experimental and Single Oak lines.

(source)

But Buffalo Trace distillery also makes.....Buffalo Trace Straight Bourbon Whiskey.  Originally launched in limited release in 2001, Buffalo Trace Bourbon has since grown to be one of the company's main products.  It is one of the most reasonably priced whiskies they make and also one of the best.

Hell, I'll say this right now.  This is my favorite bourbon by a long shot.

And it shouldn't be my favorite.  While I love rye whiskey and I tolerate corn whisky, Buffalo Trace Bourbon is made from BT's low rye (8%) high corn (80+%) mash bill.  My only explanation: this is well made stuff.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I need to introduce Hi Time Wine Cellars into the mix.

Started in 1957, Hi Time is a family-run wine, beer, liquor, cigar, gourmet, everything-good shop in Costa Mesa.  The Hanson family has built themselves a great establishment with a respected reputation.  It is one of the largest (if not the largest) single point liquor retailers in the country and you will experience the grandeur once you walk the aisles   They have a great helpful staff there (especially Forrest or Trayce), if you ever have any questions or if you're totally overwhelmed by the selection.

A short time ago, the Hi Time staff selected a single barrel (number 56) of Buffalo Trace Bourbon.  The bottlings were sold exclusive through Hi Time at the awesome price of $19.99.  And now they're totally sold out.  Good news though, they're planning on doing another one with BT.

What I have on hand is the official Buffalo Trace Bourbon and the Hi Time Single Barrel Buffalo Trace Bourbon.  It's about time for a Taste Off.

FIRSTLY, THE HI TIME SINGLE BARREL

Did I say "have on hand"? I meant "had on hand".

Distillery: Buffalo Trace

Ownership: The Sazerac Company
Type: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Region: Frankfort, Kentucky

Age: minimum 2 years (other than that I don't know...)
Mashbill: BT low-rye: somewhere around 80% corn, 12% malted barley, 8% rye (this is estimated!)

Maturation: charred white oak barrels

Alcohol by Volume: 45%
Barrel Number: 56

The color is a dark copper, like an old penny that hasn't been scuffed.  The nose is full of sugary candy, bubblegum, and honey.  There's some cinnamon and black pepper from the rye.  A bit of notebook paper.  The smoky charred oak vanillins get bigger with time in the glass.  The palate has a strong note of old school Robotussin (think black cherry + anise + ???).  Folded in with a spoonful of honey is vanilla extract and corn syrup.  Yet, it's not cloyingly sweet.  The finish is a stinger.  Dr. Brown's black cherry soda, brown sugar and Karo corn syrup.  It gets sweeter with time in the glass but it stays hot and strong.  Like a certain blogger.

Damn fine.  Damn fine.  After several tries in bars, Buffalo Trace became my first ever 750mL bourbon purchase.  The fact that it was this single barrel was just a bonus.

NEXT, THE OFFICIAL BOTTLE

Distillery: Buffalo Trace
Ownership: The Sazerac Company
Type: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Region: Frankfort, Kentucky

Age: minimum 2 years (other than that I don't know...)
Mashbill: BT low-rye: somewhere around 80% corn, 12% malted barley, 8% rye (this is estimated!)

Maturation: charred white oak barrels

Alcohol by Volume: 45%

It has the same dark copper color as the single barrel.  There's a great nose at hand.  Black cherry syrup, confectioner's sugar, tropical fruit, corn bread, corn syrup, and bubblegum (think Big League Chew).  With some time there's clementines, molasses, and some leather.  The honeyed palate is softer and drier than the single barrel, but it's also very moreish.  Floral chewing gum, vanilla, simple syrup, and a solid hit of rye.  The black cherry from the nose comes back in the finish followed by some sticky mesquite honey.  It's a sweet conclusion, but more of buzz than a sting.

---

So, which was better?  Well, it depends on what one values most.  Their palates were mostly equal.  The official bottle had a deeper, more varied nose, while the Hi Time bottle had the bigger bolder finish.  For me, between these two, there isn't a clear cut winner.  Instead, we're all winners to have this opportunity to get excellent whiskey for $20.

Each element works so well.  Despite the low content, the rye is definitely in there, like a seasoning or bitters in a cocktail.  Meanwhile the corn whisky creates a honey-like blanket over the whole thing.  Really, I'm just plum stumped.  Never a corn fan, I may have to reconsider some of the low-rye bourbons out there.

In the meantime, THIS is my house bourbon.  I've got a bottle in case you're stopping by.

Availability - Many liquor purveyors
Pricing - $20-$25, a crazy value!
Rating - 89

Dusty Whisky Report: Windsor Canadian Whisky, bottled in...

Producer: Fortune Brands, with Beam Inc.
Brand: Windsor Canadian
Region: Alberta, Canada
Age: minimum 3 years
Blend: corn, barley, and grain whiskies
Alcohol by Volume: 40%

Don't tell, show, bro.

I previously reported on Windsor Canadian here, last year, finding that it had a pleasant little palate but a harsher nose.  Windsor still has no online presence, aside from its single Beam Inc page.  Beam also bottles Canadian Club and seems to run with that more famous whisky in their marketing choices.

You can find Windsor down towards the bottom shelf in most liquor stores' Canadian selections, in black plastic bottles (whether 750ml or 1.75L).  As I highlighted in an earlier Canadian Club post, whisky doesn't hold up so well in plastic bottles.  And as Jordan (of Chemistry of the Cocktail) commented: "Alcohol should leech plastic much faster than water, being a comparatively non-polar solvent."  Yum.

Happily the handle of Windsor found in the Perry's liquor cabinet was made of the classic dark thick brown glass.  Had the whisky sat in plastic over these ages, I would not have risked a sip.  As I did with the previous two dusty discoveries, I attempted to get a bottling date on this thing.

This broken pink tax stamp affixed to the top of the bottle had the notations "TAX PAID" and "DISTILLED SPIRITS", so it was pre-'82.

I like these dark bottles since they allow for the best bottle pics.  Here, we can see the "79" on the bottom.  I don't know if the "55" means the 55th day of the year, but I'm relatively comfortable in saying that this Windsor was bottled in 1979......and has likely been open ever since. 

(The sources of my dating info are here, here, and here.  If anyone has any corrections to my assumptions/conclusions, please let me know!) 

The Notes:

The color is the classic Canadian blend shade of amber-tinted urine.  The nose leads with vanilla and molasses.  Then there's something vegetal going on, along with a dose of balsamic vinegar.  A big charge of grain spirit trails along at the end.  Then it gets a little farty (or pharty, per my notes) after a while.  Nillas(!) are big on the palate, along with some brown sugar.  Otherwise it's pretty rough, with some coarse ethyl and a light bitterness.  The finish is spirity too and drying.  But there's a vanilla note that lasts for a long time.

When comparing to my notes on the contemporary Windsor, this oldie has a softer nose but a tougher mouth, while holding fast to the Nilla note.  I was already getting a bit queasy from the Mr. Boston piddle sampled earlier, so I don't think that the resulting stomach troubles were related to the Windsor.  On the other hand, just to be safe, the sink should drink the rest of this bottle.

To conclude:
J.T.S. Brown Bourbon (bottled in 1969) = Yummy!
Mr. Boston's American Whiskey (bottled in 1980) = Vile
Windsor Canadian Whisky (bottled in 1979) = Similar to current version, but getting strong on ethyl

The JTS Brown Bourbon (and also not getting poisoned) made it all worthwhile.  Who knows what treasures hide in old liquor closets everywhere??????

Dusty Whiskey Report: Mr. Boston's Blended American Whiskey, bottled in...

Brand: Mr. Boston's

Current Owner: Sazerac Company (via Barton Brands via Mr. Boston's)

Type: Blended American Whiskey

Distillery: Old Mister Boston Distillery (amongst others)

Location: Boston, MA; Owensboro, KY; Albany, GA

Age: Zygotic

ABV: 40% ABV

There's Mr. Boston, looking every bit like a young Mr. Potter from It's a Wonderful Life.  If you've seen the movie, you know I'm not complimenting the man.

But who was Mr. Boston?  Per Modern Drunkard Magazine:

The Old Mr. Boston distillery sprang to life in 1933, founded by Boston natives Irwin Benjamin and Hyman C. Berkowitz. There was no real Mr. Boston, the icon is merely an artist’s conception of what a genteel 19th century Bostonian who liked a bit of liquor might look like. He was formally introduced to the drinking community in the inaugural 1935 edition of the Old Mr. Boston Deluxe Official Bartender’s Guide...

I really encourage you to read the whole MDM article on Alcohol Icons.  Hell, I really encourage you to read Modern Drunkard Magazine.  Bless their soggy hearts, livers, and minds.

The Mr. Boston company released very cheap flavored gins, brandies, and schnappses over 50 years or so.  At first the man was Old Mr. Boston, but then in the 1970s they dropped the "Old" (as if respect was what they sought with their Pineapple Gin).  In 1995, fake Mr. Boston and his regrettably real liquors were purchased by Barton Brands, who were in turn bought by Sazerac.

Yes, the company that releases George T. Stagg, also owns the rights to make this:

But they don't make it anymore.  THANK YE GODS.

Let's get to this bottle in particular.  Like I did with the scrumptious JTS Brown, yesterday, I did some snooping around to get a date for the bottle.

This broken pink tax stamp affixed to the top of the bottle meant it was from 1985 or earlier.  It was pre-1982 due to the strip having the notations "TAX PAID" and "DISTILLED SPIRITS".  And then there was the "80" on the bottom of the bottle.

My guess is that it was bottled in 1980.

(The sources of my dating info are here, here, and here.  If anyone has any corrections to my assumptions/conclusions, please let me know!)

I also noticed that Mr. Boston was determined to tell his buyers how grand his products are:

The "Finest" liquors of "Unequalled Excellence".  Right.

Let's go back to that last picture and zoom in a bit, shall we?

I admire the honesty.  I wish contemporary blenders were forced to show how much grain spirit fills out their blends.  Yet, I think there was considerably more than 70% grain neutral spirit remaining in this particular dusty bottle bottle of American Whiskey.

And when I say "Grain Neutral Spirit", I want you to think: "Cheap Vodka".  And when I say "Cheap Vodka", I want you to think watered-down ethanol.

No quotation marks on that last word.

The Notes:

The color is copper, with considerable floating debris.  The nose holds a little milk chocolate, a hint of sugar cookies, lots of imitation vanilla extract.  But mostly cheap vodka.  Vaguely nauseating.  The palate is ethanol heavy.  Maybe some corn syrup, light vanilla, sweat cream.  Starts sweet then ends (not vaguely) nauseatingly.  The actual finish is all ethanol/grain spirits/cheap vodka/whatever.  Perhaps the ghost of sweet cream and vanilla.

I couldn't finish 0.5oz of it, though I valiantly tried and nearly became ill.  The wallop of grain spirit was anything but neutral after a while.  The whiskey part was probably once made from corn and malted barley, barely.

Was this any better in the '80s?  Because, Jesus.

Dusty Whiskey Report: J.T.S Brown 7 year old Straight Bourbon, bottled in...

Brand: J.T.S. Brown
Current Owner: Heaven Hill Distillers
Type: Straight Bourbon Whisky
Distillery: J.T.S Brown Distillery (possibly now Four Roses Distillery?)
Location: Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
Age: minimum 7 years
ABV: 43% ABV

Enjoyed by great real and fictional gentlemen like Chuck Cowdery and Fast Eddie Felson, J.T.S. Brown bourbon is one of those bottom shelf bottles you've sorta seen but generally disregarded because your better angels tell you to ignore $8 bottles of whiskey.

Fast Eddie, not Chuck Cowdery.
Or is it??????
(pic source)

Chuck writes in his great blog:

J.T.S. Brown was an early distiller and the half-brother of George Garvin Brown, who founded Brown-Forman, the parent company of Jack Daniel's. The J.T.S. Brown Distillery was established by his four sons and later continued by one of his grandsons. The last distillery to bear that name is the one in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, known today as Four Roses. J.T.S. Brown Bourbon is still made, by Heaven Hill Distilleries...

I'll be honest, I'd never tried J.T.S Brown before and only knew about it from The Hustler.  But there it was sitting in the back of my father in-law's liquor cabinet, with no more than 100mL of liquid remaining.

I knew it was on the older side, due to the broken pink tax stamp affixed to the top of the bottle.

That tax stamp meant it was from 1985 or earlier.  It was pre-1982 due to the strip having the notations "TAX PAID" and "DISTILLED SPIRITS".

Measurement-wise it only said 4/5 Quart, so they weren't using metric liquid measurements at the time of bottling, so it was bottled before the '70s.

Finally, and it's difficult to see in the picture, but there's a "69" on the bottom of the bottle:

So, I'm guessing this was bottled in 1969.

(The sources of my dating info are here, here, and here.  If anyone has any corrections to my assumptions/conclusions, please let me know!)

Though no one knows how long the bottle has been opened (probably around 40 years), my father in-law, Steve, has been using three tablespoons of the bourbon in each of his awesome Chocolate Walnut Bourbon pie over the last several years.

What remained in the bottle was a very thick and cloudy orange fluid.  Of course I had to taste it.

Officially:

The color is a thick cloudy orange molasses.  Doesn't look anything like a drink anymore.  The nose leads with tons of milk chocolate, brown sugar simple syrup, orange zest, and vanilla ice cream.  Seems mostly corn and wheat whiskey.  The palate:  YUMMY!  Bourbon candy!  Corn syrup, brown sugar, a hint of rye spices, a little peppery zing.  Corn and rye reign high here.  It finishes on one enormous note of caramel sauce on vanilla ice cream.

WOW!  This the tastiest bourbon I've yet tried.  But is it still bourbon?

It was 43% ABV at the moment of its bottling.  Any hint of alcohol in the nose and palate has been oxidized into silence.  So I wonder if it's still over 40%?

In its current state, it's more like bourbon concentrate.  A bourbon liqueur.  All the edges and angles have been sanded down leaving the all the best parts in an dense syrup.  I'm bringing the last 2 ounces home with me.  Perhaps it could be poured on ice cream, drizzled on apple pie, or maybe just sipped neat, for breakfast.

What a lovely discovery!  Thank you, Steve!