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Just took delivery of the Willett "Family Estate Bottled Single Barrel Rye", 22 years old, un-chillfiltered, 68.35% abv, from a barrel I helped select last spring. What a magnificent whiskey. Sandlewood, mace, nutmeg, almost a violet thing. Lots of old-old cognac character. Spectacular, and nowhere close to showing its 68.35% abv. Bravo!

Those of who paid for bottle(s), please get in touch with me to arrange a transfer.

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(naaah, my first attempt at an analogy wasn't working, so I'm scrapping it. see, the Willett will also quietly kick your ass while you're not looking)

I wish I'd taken a chance on a few more bottles of this stuff. Seriously. Jake said he thought it would be good, but I don't think that any of us expected it to turn out this good. Simply incredible. Thanks, Jake.

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Mark Slater's current signature appropriately describes one of the final tasting gimmicks on the Buffalo Trace distillery tour, namely a pairing of good root beer with bourbon balls. And surprisingly, it works pretty well...probably even better if the bourbon balls lean toward the strong side.

I say "surprisingly" because in high school, I used to down A&W with Chunky bars during chess club. The corn syrup water trying to pass for root beer made that craptastic "chocolate" taste like chewing on a block of wax.

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Okay. It's getting to the point where I can't even roll over in my sleep without it being picked up in the tabloids.

And the Four-Cheese Mac & Cheese at Ray's The Classics is outstanding. And five dollars!

One Potrero, two Potrero, three Potrero, four,

(Neat, max one cube, definitely not on the) Rocks.

Pffft.

Potrero is supposed to be served cut with water or on ice because of the distilation process. In bottling Potrero isn't diluted with water like many whiskeys, thus it is designed to be served with something to dilute it a touch. :lol:
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There are three Old Potrero bottlings on the market right now. All are from a 100% rye-malt mash. One of them is uncut.

"18th Century Style" Whiskey--2 years in uncharred oak, bottled barrel proof (usually around 62%).

"Straight Rye" Whiskey--2 years in charred oak, bottled at 45% abv.

"Hotalings" Whiskey--10 years in uncharred oak, bottled at 50% abv.

Most no-longer-bottled Potrero bottlings are 2 or three years uncharred oak and barrel proof.

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I was just able to get a bottle of Four Roses blended whiskey blended by Frankfort Distillieries in Baltimore. I am guessing the bottle is from the 50's or early 60's and it still has the tax stamp intact. The back label states:

"The straight whiskes in this product are 4 years or more old. 40% straight whiskey. 60% neutral spirits. 6% straight whiskies 6 years old. 10% straight whiskies 5 years old. 24% straight whiskies 4 years old."

It looks like about 1/4 of the bottle has evaporated. As I paid next to nothing for it, is it worth trying to taste or should I let it just sit as a collectable? Thoughts?

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I was just able to get a bottle of Four Roses blended whiskey blended by Frankfort Distillieries in Baltimore. I am guessing the bottle is from the 50's or early 60's and it still has the tax stamp intact. The back label states:

"The straight whiskes in this product are 4 years or more old. 40% straight whiskey. 60% neutral spirits. 6% straight whiskies 6 years old. 10% straight whiskies 5 years old. 24% straight whiskies 4 years old."

It looks like about 1/4 of the bottle has evaporated. As I paid next to nothing for it, is it worth trying to taste or should I let it just sit as a collectable? Thoughts?

I'm not a fan of the thin flavor of blended whiskeys, so my bottle of Baltimore-made blended Four Roses sits unopened on the shelf both as a memento of Maryland's distilling industry, and as a sort of reminder of how far we've fallen. After all, Maryland and southern Pennsylvania were where rye distilling found its high water mark. Ironic that the last Maryland whiskey should turn out to be effectively a bottle of grain alcohol with some straight whiskey added for flavor, diluted to proof.

There's still a fair amount of the former Seagrams-era blended version of Four Roses still out there...it only went out of production shortly after Maryland stopped issuing tax stamps in the mid-1980s. And it's worth reiterating that the old blended product is absolutely nothing like the current Four Roses whiskeys (now under Kirin ownership), which are superlative straight bourbons.

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Excerpt of an email received from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America (SMWSA):

Since our launch of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society in North America some 15 years ago, we have always had the goal of opening a U.S. Members facility, similar to that of The Vaults in Scotland. We are finally in a position to commit to opening a members venue and after much research we have selected Washington DC as its site.

They're considering a location in Capital Hill.

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And it's worth reiterating that the old blended product is absolutely nothing like the current Four Roses whiskeys (now under Kirin ownership), which are superlative straight bourbons.

Interesting. I haven't tried Four Roses since attempting to drink it abroad around 2000 -- it seemed to be the only bourbon served in Spain and sparked my appreciation for gin.

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Just took delivery of the Willett "Family Estate Bottled Single Barrel Rye", 22 years old, un-chillfiltered, 68.35% abv, from a barrel I helped select last spring. What a magnificent whiskey. Sandlewood, mace, nutmeg, almost a violet thing. Lots of old-old cognac character. Spectacular, and nowhere close to showing its 68.35% abv. Bravo!

Hi Jake,

Is this the bottle you had at the picnic? Or was it another super-tasty Willett?

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The bottle at the picnic was the Willett "Pear Tree" 6yo Bourbon (61.2%). It's at Ace.

Woohoo! I was right!

Waitaminute...is the "Pear Tree" the standard 6 year old Willett? I've got a bottle of six year old plus a bottle of the pot still shaped bottle...

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Woohoo! I was right!

Waitaminute...is the "Pear Tree" the standard 6 year old Willett? I've got a bottle of six year old plus a bottle of the pot still shaped bottle...

I believe that the original 6 year old Willett's (122-proof) that Joe had are gone. There is currently a 6 year old that is cut down to a lower proof as well as a 6 year old Pear Tree. Also, there is a 7 year old floating around called Fuss n' Feathers (I perfer the Pear Tree).

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All of our single barrel Willetts come in the cognac bottle with the coat-of-arms label.

There have been the following Willett young whiskeys from us:

Original 6yo--no name, sold out.

6yo, 94 proof--no name, sold out.

6yo, barrel proof--"Pear Tree" [The name is in small type on the back label.]

7yo, barrel proof--"Old Fuss and Feathers"

Pear Tree and Fuss and Feathers are currently available. We are about to take delivery of another 6yo 94-proof barrel, which will mostly be for on-premise use.

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I was in NY over the weekend and went to a great bar in the village; they had tons of bourbons I had never heard of; I tried WL Weller Centennial. Does anyone know of this distiller? I had never heard of them before and google doesn't seem to do much. Very good. Smoky, heavy feel in the mouth, but very smooth going down.

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The W.L. Weller brand is bottled at the Buffalo Trace distillery in Frankfort, KY, currently from whiskey distilled at the Bernheim plant in Louisville. BT is now distilling wheat-recipe bourbon (all of the Wellers are wheaters) and the two 7-year-old expressions (W.L. Weller Special Reserve and Old Weller Antique 107-proof) will switch completely over to that juice soon (there may be some in there now along with Bernheim juice).

W.L. Weller Centennial was introduced as a brand by United Distillers as part of the "Bourbon Heritage Collection." After split-up of UDV (the Old Fitzgerald brand and the Bernheim plant went to Heaven Hill, the Weller brand to Buffalo Trace), Buffalo Trace continued to bottle the brand until last year. The Centennial bottling has now been discontinued. If you find any bottles on store shelves, grab them for yourself or send me a PM--I know someone who wants some.

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Ever the clever marketers, the folks at Maker's Mark have released bottles which are half blue and half red, with red, white and blue wax on the necks (some with the red wax on top, others with the blue wax on top) to commemorate the presidential election.

Gotta admit, they look really cool:

republicanmmux5.th.jpgthpix.gif"Republican" bottle

democratmmmk2.th.jpgthpix.gif"Democrat" bottle

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This fall, Old Forester released a special "Repeal" Bourbon, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition in the United States.

Distillery info here: Old Forester Repeal Bourbon

ofrepealhk4.th.png

This is a one-off product, and only available in 375ml size (shaped like a flask), but it comes in a package that includes the tasting glass in the photo, along with a copy of the 21st amendment (which repealed Prohibition)

Just the thing to chase away the winter chill while exclaiming, "Down with Volstead!"

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Popped into Astor Wine & Spirits today before turning for home, and was pleasantly surprised to find two things.

First, and this is probably old news, Mackmyra is available in the US.  This is a surprisingly good Swedish malt whisky that's an interesting diversion from mainstream Scotch.  Sadly though, they were out of stock.

Second, and this is bigger news for fans of Irish whiskey, as of March 1st Green Spot is now being imported to the US.  It's custom distilled by Midleton for Mitchell & Son of Dublin, and one of the most pleasurable Irish whiskeys I've sampled.  Took me the better part of last year to secure a couple of bottles from the UK, so being able to buy it locally is a huge win in my book.  Astor's shelf price was around $50; Joe Riley says that a small quantity will be available in the DC market later this year.  And if that wasn't good enough news, its fancy sibling Yellow Spot is supposedly arriving next year as well.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2014/02/13/two-deluxe-irish-whiskies-arrive-in-us/

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"Cuisine represents a knife edge that separates attractive stimulation from death."

I'm pleasantly floored by this epigram. I'm not sure why it puts me in mind of this, from one of the brilliantly wacky footnotes in Flann O'Brien's The Third Policeman:

De Selby likens the position of a human on the earth to that of a man on a tight-wire who must continue walking along the wire or perish, being, however, free in all other respects.
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That O'Brien quote is pure gold.  Glad to be of service!

What floors me is walking through memory lane in this thread, especially the first page of items from not so long ago, compared to the current distilled spirits frenzy.  For instance, consider this post, which refers to Pappy Van Winkle 20:

At $105.96 is it really that good?

legant wasn't alone in expressing incredulity.  The Van Winkles had their work cut out for them to convince people to buy Pappy for a c-note...and that was back when it was still pure Stitzel-Weller juice.  Eight years later, people are paying $50 just for the empty packaging, and the average asking price on wine-searcher for a full bottle is well north of $1000.

Madness.  And I thought it was extravagant of Ledger's to ask $175 for that first BASG-selected bottling of super-aged Willett Rye.  Follow your tastebuds before everyone else wants in on life's awesome things.

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I got the Four Roses also and it was fantastic.

And Don's cartoon reminds me of back when Blanton's was one of the only really premium bourbons you could buy, and at that time, its cost meant I only got it rarely. I gave it to my dad to try, telling him specifically "do NOT mix this" and when I turned my back he added Diet Coke.

:( :( :(

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I got the Four Roses also and it was fantastic.

And Don's cartoon reminds me of back when Blanton's was one of the only really premium bourbons you could buy, and at that time, its cost meant I only got it rarely. I gave it to my dad to try, telling him specifically "do NOT mix this" and when I turned my back he added Diet Coke.

:( :( :(

I don't care if the whiskey is cheap or expensive, mixing it with Diet Coke, or any other cola, or ginger ale, or any other sweet, carbonated soft drink, is disgusting. Even more disgusting with Scotch. (I actually find unmixed bourbon pretty repulsive all on its own.)

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So semantically speaking....Robin was mixing American with an E and Batman assumed it was Scotch, right?  So our bourbon and rye cocktails aren't being frowned upon as the cartoon would suggest.

I was wondering if people would notice that!

The cartoon is a variation of an internet meme I've seen before - it was posted for no other reason than because I think it's funny.

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Got a few whiskies to add to my collection last night.  None of these (except the Stagg Jr) seem to have Va distributors, so they are from a little store out in California. I do have a bottle of the Va Stagg Jr, and it's 128.7 proof compared to the California one which is 134 I believe.  I opened the Collingwood Canadian 21 year Rye last night, and it is fantastic.  I haven't been a huge Rye drinker in the past, just prefer bourbon, but this was a real eye-opener for me.  I'll probably start a new thread for it and the others as I try them, just wanted to share the whiskeyporn picture. :)

post-3189-0-11186400-1398874327_thumb.jp

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Sipping on Oola Waitsburg bourbon from Seattle tonight.  Right in the sweet spot at 94 proof, so doesn't need anything to cut it.  If it was a tad cheaper, this would probably a solid cocktail bourbon, but it's got some good flavor neat.  Fruit and spice over wood flavors, if that's your kind of thing.

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