Dept of Purity: Four Roses

[bearmark]

I forgot to mention that Jason Pyle is a great reference for bourbon and rye whisky reviews. He's been a bit dormant of late, but I hear that he's planning to get back to some reviews soon. I highly recommend Sour Mash Manifesto (linked above).

[da'rum]

I watched a couple of J Pyles videos and I like his reviews. He does it in a apparently unbiased and professional way.

[NCyankee]

[*]Weller 12 Year ($20-24) - This is a wheated bourbon and a good example of one at a great price. IMHO, this is much better than Maker's Mark. Some prefer Old Weller Antique (107º)for a couple of dollars more due to the higher proof. Another popular thing to do is a 50/50 blend of the two (let it "marry" for a couple of weeks).

If you can still find any of the Weller 12 yr at that price, grab all you can get - it would seem to be going away, likely being rerouted to the PVW line. The last online retailer I found that had any was selling it for $60, and it is now gone.

My friend says a place in Atlanta has some left and is going to get a couple more for me when he goes down there next time.

[bearmark]

[*]Weller 12 Year ($20-24) - This is a wheated bourbon and a good example of one at a great price. IMHO, this is much better than Maker's Mark. Some prefer Old Weller Antique (107º)for a couple of dollars more due to the higher proof. Another popular thing to do is a 50/50 blend of the two (let it "marry" for a couple of weeks).

If you can still find any of the Weller 12 yr at that price, grab all you can get - it would seem to be going away, likely being rerouted to the PVW line. The last online retailer I found that had any was selling it for $60, and it is now gone.

My friend says a place in Atlanta has some left and is going to get a couple more for me when he goes down there next time.

This seems to be a somewhat local phenomenon that only affects some areas. It's readily available here in Texas (shelves are stocked everywhere), with Spec's and Total Wine selling it for $22 and $20, respectively.

[Uisge]

Picked up some Bulleit bourbon:

While it has a very interesting spice going on (overwhelming cinnamon actually), and not AS sweet as run of the mill bourbons, I still am not a huge fan of the inherent bourbon/corn sweetness.

I can see it playing very well in an old fashioned with scant syrup and a lot of bitters, though

Bulleit bourbon was the gateway for me into the world of America's spirit during my 2nd attendance at a Whisky Expo in San Francisco in the early aughts. It made that much of an impression on me.

The one thing about it that stuck in my mind, after the initial flavors, was the taste of chalk at the very end of the finish, due to the water used to cut it to proof, no doubt. If anyone ever got to clean chalkboard erasers at school and made a cloud from bashing the erasers together, you know what I mean

If you didn't grow up with chalkboards in school, well, you've missed something

Back to bourbon, I experienced something similar with the excellent Breckenridge bourbon from the town in Colorado of the same name, except instead of a chalkiness, I noted a flintiness, which is not surprising as that bourbon is made in KY but the water used to cut it down is from the Rockies.

One thing I didn't know until recently about Bulleit is from Clay Risen's book American Whiskey, Bourbon & Rye: A Guide to the Nation’s Favorite Spirit, is that Four Roses makes Bulleit, per this excerpt from ryewhiskey.com... "For Bulleit bourbon, Risen uncovers the worst kept secret in modern whiskey history: the Four Roses distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, makes Bulleit Bourbon."




I can't say I've tried any other Four Roses product that I can recall