In Mississippi when discussing whiskey, it was necessary to be specific. Bonded whiskey was the type you guys are referring to. Note the stamp or bond around the cap. The other kind was moonshine. Does anybody remember this bonded whiskey-- Old Crow? It was definitely lower tier.
people have been gifting me whiskey stones for years (how do you know you might have a problem?) and I only recently actually started using them
not gonna lie...they make bourbon more enjoyable. I've been using them daily.
Bonded actually has a very specific set of legal requirements to be labeled as "bottled-on- bond."
From Wikipedia:
"To be labeled as bottled-in-bond or bonded, the liquor must be the product of one distillation season (January–June or July–December) by one distiller at one distillery. It must have been aged in a federally bonded warehouse under U.S. government supervision for at least four years and bottled at 100 (U.S.) proof (50% alcohol by volume). The bottled product's label must identify the distillery where it was distilled and, if different, where it was bottled.[2][3] Only spirits produced in the United States may be designated as bonded."
Interestingly enough, the Old Crow chesspieces are collectible items and I've heard folks other than the one in the following article say good things about sampling the contents inside.
https://malt-review.com/2020/05/18/o...amic-chessmen/
Some remarks on recent acquisitions:
Tried two different picks of Jack Daniel's single barrel, barrel proof (bourbons). Harsher than I was expecting even for both of them (both are 134/135). I've heard the ones in the 120s were supposedly the honey bottles straight out of the neck pour, but this hasn't been an issue for me up until now -- if anything, there have been a few that just weren't quite as good in consistency after getting past the shoulder. I have a good feeling these two will be awesome once they come back around after a few weeks or so.
Penelope's blended barrel proof smells and tastes pretty bright and fruity to me, and excellent value -- I ordered it from a store out of New Jersey for $35, and it doesn't surprise me that they raised it to $60 about a week later, which in hindsight I think is fair. My only other experience with four-grain was the Lee W. Sinclair bonded, and while that one was lower proof I think the bigger difference is the lack of rye.
Woodford's Very Fine Rare probably has the best nose out of anything I've put in a glass so far, but the notes suddenly get a lot softer on the first sip and will require more sipping to get back up to that level, which is great depending on who's drinking it and what mood they're in. It is the best thing in the 90 proofs I've had and I would easily pick it over the standard shelf Double Oaked despite the price/availability gap, but there is a Trevor's store pick that is supposedly a liquid Heath bomb which will blow it out of the water, so we'll see.
Wilderness Trail is getting big -- they've a reputation for bringing some science into the craft. Yesterday I listened to a pretty good podcast with one of the two owners, Dr. Pat Heist. Skip past the fluff at about the 10-minute mark.
Last edited by Yung; 01-30-2021 at 01:19 PM.
Picked up a bottle of Smoke Wagon uncut during this week's run. I might not have it tonight since I happened to catch an Owl today but whenever I do I want to compare it to the Remus IV and Penelope barrel, since they're all MGP.
It will be interesting to see how the craft distillers that relied on MGP contracts when first starting up will do in the coming years as their own barrels start to reach bottling age, and MGP begins to taper off stock as they focus on developing their own/Luxco's labels.
Any of you Balcones fans try anything from Ironroot Republic yet?