Tuesday Tasting: Larceny Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Tuesday Tasting is a regular feature of Lyke2Drink that explores some of the best beers, wines and spirits on the market. This week we sample a wheated Bourbon that is part of the Old Fitzgerald franchise.

Larceny Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is a 92 proof that pays homage to a U.S. Treasury agent who had the taste for the good stuff. An early bit of lore said that John E. Fitzgerald had founded a distillery in Frankfort , Kentucky. shortly after the Civil War. But in her 1999 book "But Always Fine Bourbon -- Pappy Van Winkle and the Story of Old Fitzgerald," Sally Van Winkle Campbell revealed John E. Campbell was not a distiller at all. He was actually a U.S. Treasury agent who had keys to distillery warehouses. He would pilfer whiskey from the best barrels and those soon became known as "the Fitzgerald barrels" around the distillery. Heaven Hill Distilleries released the whiskey to mark "a taste made famous by an infamous act."

Larceny has a tarnished copper color and a mellow nose. It is made from barrels that have aged between 6 and 12 years. The wheat is clear in this one, giving soft edges to the Bourbon. There is a good amount of hearty grain that has bits of oak, that lead nicely to a long finish.

Tuesday Tasting: Parker's Heritage Collection Master Distiller's Blend of Mashbills

Tuesday Tasting is a regular feature of Lyke2Drink that explores some of the best beers, wines and spirits on the market. This week we sample the 2012 release of a great Bourbon series.

Heaven Hill Distilleries has sent me a sample of the annual release of Parker's Heritage Collection of American Whiskey Series and this one has the makings of an instant classic. The collection pays tribute to Parker Beam, a sixth generation master distiller. The Parker's Heritage Collection Master Distiller's Blend of Mashbills features 11 year old rye-based Bourbons the distillery uses for brands like Elijah Craig and Evan Williams, mixed with Old Fitzgerald wheated mashbill whiskey. The release will be from three different dumps, each with slightly different barrel proofs. The bottle I sampled was from the first batch and has a proof of 131.6.

Parker's Heritage Collection Master Distiller's Blend of Mashbills is the sixth in the annual series. It has a warm wood color and a friendly caramelized nose. Even uncut, this barrel strength whiskey is smooth. A small splash of water allows the Bourbon to open. The rye is clear and rich, but it is softened around the edges by the wheat. Nice levels of baking spice and a finish that has plenty of nut and sweet praline character.

The 750 milliliter bottle has a suggest price of $80. About 7,500 will be distributed.

Tuesday Tasting: Redbreast 12 Cask Strength

Tuesday Tasting is a regular feature of Lyke2Drink that explores some of the best beers, wines and spirits on the market. This week we sample a cask strength Irish whiskey.

Midleton Distillery in Cork is part of the Irish Distillers Group, which makes a number of famous Irish whiskeys, including Jameson, Powers and Midleton. They make Redbreast, a brand that was re-introduced in the 1990s.

The traditional Redbreast 12 is a single pot still whiskey that has racked up a truckload of awards in recent years, including the Whiskey Adovcate Award as Irish Whiskey of the Year in 2012 and the Malt Advocate Irish Whsikey of the Year title for 2011.

Redbreast 12 Year Old Cask Strength has more flavor and vibrancy than you will experience with most Irish whiskeys. It is a rich amber gold color and the nose is sweet, with hints of apple and figs. The flavor is full with spices, apple and tropical fruit, finished with nice amounts of oak. The 115.4 proof is present, but not overpowering. If you have found most Scotch to be too assertive and most Irish whiskey to be too light, Redbreast might just hit your sweet spot.

Redbreast 12 Year Old Cask Strength has a suggested retail price of $65 per 750 milliliter bottle.

Glenfiddich Janet Sheed Roberts Reserve Sells for Record $94,000 at Benefit for SHFT Initiatives

Janet Sheed Roberts, at 110 years old, is the oldest person in Scotland. She is also the granddaughter of William Grant, who founded the Glenfiddich Distillery 125 years ago.


To celebrate Roberts' longevity the distillery created a special 11 bottle set of a 1955 single malt Scotch, marking each decade of her life. The company is auctioning off the whisky at special fundraisers and breaking records along the way. They have become the most expensive bottles ever sold at auction, according to Glenfiddich.

The first sold at Bonhams in Edinburgh in December for a record-breaking $72,630, topping the previous world record of just under $47,500 for a bottle of single malt. The second was bought by an anonymous bidder at the Honourable Artillery Company in London at an event hosted by HRH Prince Harry for $69,500.

On Friday, a bottle of Glenfiddich Janet Sheed Roberts Reserve Single Malt Scotch Whisky sold for $94,000 on New York's Liberty Island at a fundraiser for SHFT Initiatives, which promotes sustainability issues through the intersection of commerce, art and design, and communication. The event was hosted by Adrian Grenier, who played Vincent Chase in the HBO series Entourage.

Tuesday Tasting: Woodford Reserve Double Oaked

Tuesday Tasting is a regular feature of Lyke2Drink that explores some of the best beers, wines and spirits on the market. This week we sample a new whiskey from Brown-Forman.

The Labrot & Graham Distillery was brought back from the dead in 1996 thanks to the renewed interest in quality Bourbon. Located in Woodford County, about an hour outside of Louisville, in the midst of major thoroughbred horse farms the site was first used for a distillery in 1812 by Elijah Pepper. The facility changed hands several times before it became the Labrot & Graham Distillery. Brown-Forman acquired that company and in 1973, during a long slide in Bourbon sales, the company ended up abandoning the distillery. Twenty years later Brown-Forman was looking for a location to house a new premium spirits brand and the company re-acquired the property.


Under the leadership of Master Distiller Chris Morris the distillery has established the Woodford Reserve label as one of the leading premium American whiskey brands. The Bourbon has a grain bill of 72 percent corn, 18 percent rye and 10 percent barley.


The Woodford label has been used for some special releases and now Woodford Reserve Double Oak is the first permanent line extension. The whiskey uses barrels from the Brown-Forman Cooperage, maturing first in new, charred oak barrels, then moved to a second barrel which has been toasted for more than twice as long as the first barrel.

Woodford Reserve Double Oaked is a deep amber color and has a honey-sweet and wood aroma with a hint of caramel. This whiskey has a long flavor profile. Classic vanilla and dark fruit notes dominate the taste, with bits of nut and spice notes. The finish is bright with a hint of pear skins.

Tuesday Tasting: Red State & Blue State Straight Bourbon Whiskeys

Tuesday Tasting is a regular feature of Lyke2Drink that explores some of the best beers, wines and spirits on the market. This week we sample Heaven Hill Distilleries new Red State and Blue State Bourbons.

Heaven Hill Distilleries have decided to insert themselves in a fun way in the run up to the 2012 election season with the release of Red State and Blue State Straight Bourbon Whiskeys. These 80 proof Bourbons are designed to give drinkers a chance to show party affiliation. The electronic maps on television news coverage of presidential elections have forever associated "red" with states backing Republican candidates and "blue" with states won by Democrat candidates.

As part of the release of the whiskeys, Heaven Hill will launch a Facebook promotion where "likes" between Jan. 3 and Nov. 6, 2012 of either Red or Blue will result in a donation to the USO and its programs offering support to members of the U.S. military.

Blue State Bourbon opens with a caramel nose. The whiskey has a new penny color. The flavor starts with a sweet note, but the rich barrel finish takes over. There is a toffee and bit of spice in the finish.

Red State Bourbon has a slightly sweet nose with more wood showing through. The whiskey is also a bright copper color. The flavor on this one starts off mellow and there is plenty of oak.

Both of these Bourbons are solid, basic drinks. They won't knock your socks off, but at around $15 a bottle they are decent values and good conversation starters.

Tuesday Tasting 18 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Tuesday Tasting is a regular feature of Lyke2Drink that explores some of the best beers, wines and spirits on the market. This week we sample Highland Park 18 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

Highland Park is recognized by many as one of the top Scotch brands in the world and rightfully so. The range from the Kirkwall distillery is delightful from bottom to top. The distillery has been turning out whisky on the Orkney Islands since 1798.

Highland Park 18 Year Old Single Malt pours a light golden color. First added to the line up in 1997, the nose has a bit of wood and a whiff of smoke. The flavor is full and bright. There is a honey sweetness overall, nice hints of salt and wood, with a smooth peat smoke finish.

This is a very nice sipper and at $105 a bottle a great gift for a special Scotch fan.

Day 362 Drink: Isle of Jura Superstition Single Malt

The Isle of Jura is just seven miles long and 30 miles wide, but the island has a distillery that makes single malts. Distilling has been taking place on the island since the 1600s, but it had been nearly a century without whisky when the modern distillery opened in 1963.

George Orwell came to Jura in 1946 to write. The result was the novel 1984, which has spawned more than a few college term papers.

Isle of Jura Superstition is a 90 proof single malt. The name comes from the legend that Isle of Jura distillers believe it is unlucky to cut peat during April. Isle of Jura Superstition is a mahogany colored Scotch with a a slightly sweet almost maple nose. The flavor has a good backbone of spice, oak and some nice honey notes in the finish.

Day 350 Drink: Evan Williams Single Barrel 2001 Vintage

Heaven Hill Distilleries has been making whiskey in Bardstown, Kentucky, since 1934. They recently filled their 6 millionth barrel of whiskey on the 75th anniversary of the day that they filled their first barrel.

One of my favorite Bourbons from Heaven Hill is the Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, which they have released for 16 straight years. Heaven Hill Master Distiller Parker Beam and his son, Craig, select whiskey for the vintage from among Heaven Hill’s 900,000 barrels of aging Bourbon. At around $26 a bottle, it is one of the best values you will encounter in a Bourbon.

Evan Williams Single Barrel 2001 Vintage is an 86.6 proof Bourbon that is a tarnished copper color with a rich vanilla nose. The flavor is round and inviting. It's not as sweet as the nose suggests, with plenty of wood, some spice that dances across the palate, toffee and a long finish.

Day 333 Drink: Highland Park 25 Year Old

Highland Park started making whisky in 1798. The distillery is located in Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands, the most northern distillery in Scotland. That by itself would make it of interest to Scotch enthusiasts, but the distillery is noteworthy for other things. Highland Park has received many awards for its single malts and it is also a key ingredient in the blend of The Famous Grouse.

Highland Park 25 Year Old Single Malt is a slightly amber gold color and has an oak and mocha nose. The 96 proof whisky is a wonderful combination of honey, spice, smoke and hazelnut. Complex, sweet and smooth, this spirit has a long finish with bits of peat, heather and vanilla that emerge.

Day 324 Drink: Angel's Envy Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Angel's Envy Bourbon is the work of Lincoln Henderson, a well respected master distiller, and his son Wes. They have formed a new distillery, the Louisville Distilling Co. Henderson spent several decades at Brown-Forman, helping to launch the Woodford Reserve label.

Angel's Envy Kentucky Straight Bourbon 10/10 Expression is a 86.6 proof whiskey, which blends 40 percent Port-barrel finished spirit. Angel's Share has a sweet nose with hints of toffee. The whiskey has a bright amber golden color. The flavor has quite a bit of depth. There is a lively fruity base that brings the drink forward. The wood is clearly present in Angel's Envy and the Port finishing adds an appealing note.

Day 307 Drink: Glen Garioch Founder's Reserve

Glen Garioch is a Highland maker of single malt Scotch whisky. The distillery is located in the town of Oldmeldrum, which is 18 miles outside of Aberdeen. The distillery was founded by John Manson in 1797.

Glen Garioch Founder's Reserve is a light golden color and offers an aroma that combines slightly sweet butterscotch and nutty tones. The flavor is oak forward, but as you linger over the drink there is some sharp ginger, vanilla and green apple that emerges. This Scotch finishes very dry.

Day 291 Drink: Glenfiddich Ancient Reserve 18 Year Old Single Malt

Glenfiddich means "Valley of the Deer" in Gaelic. The distillery was established in 1886 in the Scottish Highlands.

Glenfiddich Ancient Reserve 18 Year Old Single Malt is an 86-proof Speyside whisky that has been aged in ex-Oloroso sherry and Bourbon whiskey barrels. It is an inviting tarnished brass color, with an enticing herbal nose. The flavor opens with mellow wood, a touch of fruit and some toffee in the finish.

Day 278 Drink: The Black Grouse

In 1896, Perthshire grocer and wine merchant Matthew Gloag created a blended whisky. This was common practice among shopkeepers at the time around the United Kingdom. He decided to name his whisky after an iconic Scottish bird, rather than himself. The Famous Grouse Brand was born.

The Black Grouse is a new brand extension from the distillery. It was originally release a couple of years ago exclusively through duty free shops at major international airports. The Scotch is a medium golden color and has a rich peat nose. The flavor has solid smoke content, reminiscent of Islay malts, that lingers and becomes a mellow reminder of a good dram. There are some hints of berry and perhaps a bit of port in the background.

Day 256 Drink: Rowan's Creek Bourbon

Rowan's Creek Bourbon is a 100.1 proof whiskey produced by Kentucky Bourbon Distillers. The brand takes its name from the creek that runs through the distillery property, which is named for John Rowan, a judge and politician in the Bardstown area in the 1700s.

Rowan's Creek Bourbon is a bright amber color and has a slightly spicy aroma. The initial flavor is full of wood, but as the whiskey opens you get nice citrus and pear flavors. There is just a hint of toffee in the finish.

Day 255 Drink: Old Forester 2010 Birthday Bourbon

Brown-Forman created Old Forester Birthday Bourbon eight years ago to mark the birthday of George Garvin Brown, the founder of the Louisville-based distiller and the Old Forester brand.

Unlike the standard Old Forester, which is made from Bourbon distilled during several different years, Birthday Bourbon is vintage-dated and selected by by Master Distiller Chris Morris from one specific day's production. The 2010 edition of Birthday Bourbon is bottled at 95 proof and was created from a 72-barrel batch that was put into barrels on October 24, 1997.

Old Forester 2010 Birthday Bourbon is a light amber gold color and has a pronounced sweet caramel and vanilla nose. The whiskey delivers a nice wood and almond character up front. Nice spice notes emerge and the Bourbon finishes with a pleasant maple note.

Day 253 Drink: Noah's Mill Bourbon

Kentucky Bourbon Distillers in Bardstown is in the process of renovating the former Willet Distilling Co., which had been out of use since the 1980s. The company has a number of labels and will be interesting to watch in the coming years.

Noah's Mill Bourbon is a small batch Bourbon bottled at 114.3 proof. There is plenty wood in the flavor of this whiskey, which was said to be a 15 year old. Very nice vanilla in mid-palate, hints of hazelnut and a sweet praline finish.

Day 252 Drink: Woodford Reserve Master's Collection Tasting

Today is one of those days when 30 years of beverage writing for magazines and keeping a regular blog about beer, wine and spirits pays off. I joined a group of drinks journalists for a 13 hour tour of the Brown-Forman Cooperage in Louisville and the Woodford Reserve Distillery.

It was a long day, but a good day. The event was well organized by Svend Jansen of Brown-Forman, packed with plenty of information and interesting events. Woodford Reserve Master Distiller Chris Morris gave an extensive tour of both facilities and overview of the Bourbon making process. Woodford's chef in residence Ouita Michel walked us through a food and whiskey pairing and Brown-Forman's Chief Entertaining Officer Tim Laird presented a mixology session.

The Woodford Reserve site was first used for a distillery in 1812 by Elijah Pepper. The facility changed hands several times before it became the Labrot & Graham Distillery. Brown-Forman acquired that company and in 1973, during a long slide in Bourbon sales, the company ended up abandoning the distillery. It was not until the 1990s, when Bourbon sales had rebounded and Brown-Forman was looking for a location to house a new premium spirits brand, that the property was re-acquired. The first Bourbon started flowing at the site in 1996. On an annual basis more than 100,000 tourists visit the Woodford County location, which is about an hour outside of Louisville in the midst of major thoroughbred horse farms.

A highlight of the day was a tasting that Morris conducted of the Woodford Reserve Master's Collection, including the new Maple Wood Finish that will not be released publicly until Nov. 1. Brown-Forman decided to expand the Woodford Reserve brand franchise back in 2005 with the release of Four Grain. Since then, the distillery has released Sonoma-Cutrer Finish in 2007, Sweet Mash in 2008 and Seasoned Oak in 2009. The session was a rare opportunity to taste these five whiskeys alongside Woodford Reserve.

Woodford Reserve: This is the base whiskey for four out of the five members of the Master’s Collection and lightest in color. The whiskey has some toffee and fruit aromas. The flavor displays apple, spice from the rye and hints of caramel in the finish.

Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Four Grain: Morris came up with the idea for this whiskey after going through a defunct distillery and finding a 1903 recipe card. In addition to corn, rye and barley malt, wheat is added to the mash bill. The flavor of this whiskey is a bit grainy and nutty. It has a nice vanilla note in the finish.

Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Sonoma-Cutrer Finish: The distillery aged this whiskey in 66 former chardonnay barrels that had been seasoned with five vintages in California. The nose is mellowed on this one. The flavor starts off slightly sweet, but the oak comes forward in the middle and it finishes very full and round.

Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Sweet Mash: Morris did not add the 6 percent sour mash that is used in making Woodford Reserve at the start of the Bourbon. He said the yeast struggled a bit in the making of this whiskey and they lost a couple of fermentors as a result. There are dark chocolate notes in the base flavor of this whiskey. Hints of berries and some pepper emerge, before the drink finishes dry.

Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Seasoned Oak: Working with the Brown-Forman Cooperage, a supply of 5 year old seasoned oak was found in sufficient quantity to build 70 barrels. This is the darkest of the Master’s Collection. There is a nice hit of molasses in the nose of the Bourbon. The flavor is big, but pretty smooth with notes of cinnamon and the oak showing through.

Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Maple Wood Finish: The distillery tested several potential native woods before having the cooperage build the sugar maple barrels that were used to finish this whiskey. The liquid spent between three and 12 months in the maple casks. The whiskey is slightly more amber in color than the other members of the line and has a fruit note in the aroma. You will not get any type of maple syrup experience from this whiskey, instead you will find the maple wood has pulled out some of the acidity, making this a smooth drink with some floral notes and a hint of caramel in the finish.

Morris said the distillery has new members of the Master’s Collection in the pipeline through 2018. For next year, Woodford Reserve will release a rye whiskey as part of the series.

Day 251 Drink: Wathen's Kentucky Bourbon

I am in Louisville on a press junket and went with a couple of fellow beverage writers to Proof on Main to check out the Bourbon selection and view some of the amazing art collected by the owners of the attached hotel.

One of the Bourbons I had not tried that came highly recommended was Wathen's, made by the Charles Medley Distillery in Owensboro, Kentucky. The distillery traces its roots back eight generations.

Wathen's Kentucky Bourbon is a 94 proof single barrel bourbon that has a lovely bright color. There is plenty of oak in the nose and the initial sip is very nutty. As the Bourbon opens, hints of fruit emerge. Introducing a couple of cubes of ice changes the drink almost immediately. The nose gives off a pleasant vanilla aroma and the flavor becomes much fuller and rich. The oak is still very present and there is a hint of orange peel and dark skin fruits.

Day 237 Drink: Jefferson Reserve Bourbon

McLain & Kyne is focused on making small batch Bourbons, selecting 200-300 barrels from rackhouses, then mixing 8-12 barrels of various ages to make Bourbons to fit a specific flavor profile.

Jefferson's Reserve is a rich amber color with a sweet nose releasing vanilla and fruit elements. The flavor is firm with roasted grains, toffee and plenty of wood. Overall the Bourbon has a long finish with hints of spice and smoke.