10 yr Bourbon Tasting

Discuss any bourbon related topics here that do not belong in a forum below.

Moderator: Squire

10 yr Bourbon Tasting

Unread postby scratchline » Sat Nov 11, 2006 3:04 pm

Last night the fledgling bourbon appreciation society, The Gentle Spirits, had our first tasting. It was an evaluation and comparison of four 10 yr olds. We had seven tasters. We knew in advance what four whiskies would be tasted but sampled them blind.

Not surprisingly, the most obvious finding was that our vocabularies were woefully inadequate to describe what we were tasting. The lesson learned was WRITE IT DOWN. No matter how fleeting or silly an impression or association might be, there's no wrong answer so just put it down.

By far our most successful taster was a bourbon novice (though he did have Irish whiskey experience) who filled his tasting sheet with notes. Even if you didn't agree with him, it was not only informative but hugely entertaining to read what he had to say.

Despite differences in the tasting impressions, four people listed the whiskies in the exact same order of preference. Six of seven had the same #1 choice and six of seven had the same #2 choice. This is striking because the conversation was wide ranging at the table, and there was nothing systematic about the whiskey talk and little or no discussion of ranking.

The overwhelming #1 preference was for the Eagle Rare 101, which is one of my favorite whiskies. This was a Frankfort bottle. It produced thick legs in the glass and was lighter in color than I expected it to be. It had some citrus in the nose which was followed up in the taste. As it sat, I picked up chocolatey notes which I have always thought to be one of the key features of this one. I'm not sure if this is just suggested by the chocolate colored label and the deep color imparted by the barrel bottle, but there it was. I noted that it had a lingering finish, but then added "fairly short". I translate these contradictions to mean a medium finish. I correctly guessed what this one was. This one was the best balanced, IMO.

The overwhelming #2 was Weller Centennial. Again a Frankfort bottling. Interestingly, I found this one to have the longest finish. I would expect a wheater to be shorter than the ryed bourbons, but not last night. I kept comparing it to my #3 which turned out to be WT RR 101, and it seemed to last longer. I also found a lot of sharpness to the nose which surprised me. Tony, our volublest taster, noted the nose as "toffee, nutty, lighter than A (the ER) but a brother to it". Well spotted, I think. I got saltiness on the taste, but thought it was very well balanced. Tony: "Licorice!? Back of the tongue buttery warmth". He also noted "cedar" in the "medium finish". His overall note was "Straight w/o a lot of varied overtones but pure". I also correctly identified this one as Weller.

The #3 choice was Wild Turkey Russell's Reserve 101. I thought this had the darkest color. Tony picked up darkness in the taste, "leathery with hints of molasses and orange". In the past, I've found this one very citrusy, but didn't notice that last night. I was really torn between this one and the Weller, but gave the nod to the Weller on the strength of the finish and what I thought was better balance. I incorrectly identified this as Very Rare Old Heaven Hill 10 which is a whiskey I had never tasted until last night.

And #4 was the VROHH which I think suffered as it was tasted second, right after everyone's favorite Eagle Rare. I got quite a bit of leather off the nose. And in the glass the whiskey seemed thinner than the ER. The taste was much sharper leading Tony to note "possible paint removing capabilities, sour, lemony, less full bodied". Tony found the finish, "Peaty, dirty, pleasant, charred wood". I felt it was the shortest of the four. I misidentified this as WT.

A lot was learned and a LOT of fun was had. The best notes were those that were descriptive without being wantonly judgmental. Case in point, Tony's overall impression of his last place whiskey, "Lighter, simpler, less of a complex punch but distinctive in its own way." I think I got way too caught up in seeing if I could tell which was which and as a result I was slighting tasting impressions in favor of "name that bourbon".

Next time, I think we will taste one at a time with the bottles in front of us and share impressions as we go. Maybe 12 yr olds.

Dinner followed the tasting and was Lamb Chili, Cheddar Cornbread, and Bull's Eye Cheese Cake. One guest provided bourbon balls, which were conincidentally, and fittingly, made with Rip Van Winkle 10 yr. A good time was had by all.

-Mike
"There exist mighty dogs, the dangerous kind who take hold of your heart and do not let go."

-Vicki Hearne
scratchline
Registered User
 
Posts: 47
Joined: Mon Dec 26, 2005 3:13 pm
Location: NYC

Unread postby Brewer » Sun Nov 12, 2006 7:03 am

Interesting observations from you & your group Mike. Seems as though you all had a good time, and learned a few things while having all that fun. As has been said elsewhere, blind tasting is a very interesting experience. It sure has humbled me on more than 1 occassion.

Thanks for sharing this info. I also like you pointing out the differences in how we as individuals record our impressions. Sometimes simpler, is better!
Bob
User avatar
Brewer
Moderator
Moderator
 
Posts: 1481
Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2004 11:44 am
Location: LI, NY

Unread postby Mike » Sun Nov 12, 2006 5:13 pm

A great post with lots of interesting comments on tasting and preferences.

I enjoyed reading this and tried to imagine myself with those bourbons............four 10 YOs, a good idea to begin with. I think I could easily agree with the choices you guys made.
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. - Dylan Thomas
Mike
Registered User
 
Posts: 2231
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 5:36 pm
Location: Savannah, GA

Unread postby Mike » Mon Nov 13, 2006 2:35 pm

Last night I was scratching around in my stash and came across a vatting I did a while back that I had most forgot.

I did a 50% ER 101 and 50% WT RR 101. I can't remember exactly why, it just occured to me that they might marry well...........and they do. I had a sip and that vatting is just excellent whiskey to me!
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. - Dylan Thomas
Mike
Registered User
 
Posts: 2231
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 5:36 pm
Location: Savannah, GA

Unread postby fitzharry » Fri Nov 24, 2006 1:20 pm

I'm new to the group, and I am really enjoying reading the posts regarding different aspects of the American straight whiskey culture. You folks have a real passion for this!

I currently have two ten year old Bourbons in my cabinet--Old Charter 10 Years Old at 86 proof and Old Rip Van Winkle 10 Years Old at 107 proof.

At first, during my tasting of the two, I felt sure that the Old Rip Van Winkle would completely overwhelm the "smaller" Old Charter, because of the higher proof and thicker (looking) body. Man, was I ever wrong.

The Old Charter held up pretty well in comparison. Its body was surprisingly big and full (something I remember from an Old Charter BIB 100 proof I had some years ago, but can't find anymore), and was also very un-rye tasting, just like the Old Rip Van Winkle. This has to be one of the greatest values in Bourbon whiskey today. What a wonderful Bourbon.

The Old Rip Van Winkle is, of course, Old Rip Van Winkle, and I currently have about five bottles as backups in my cabinet. It's a wonderful example of the differences in Bourbon, and how wheat Bourbons can taste different from the "normal" rye Bourbons and still end up being the same style of whiskey.

I also enjoy the Old Charter 12 Years Old at 90 proof, but that's for another topic!
fitzharry
Registered User
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Nov 18, 2006 11:58 am
Location: Houston, Texas

Unread postby EllenJ » Sat Nov 25, 2006 2:27 am

Hi Fitz, and welcome to the Wonderful World of American Whiskey!

Old Charter holds a unique spot in the Bourbon world. It's called "Bourbon" because (1) it's legal to call itself that, and (2) the marketing department (wisely) chose to us the term "Bourbon" on its label. Other than that (and unlike other currently available bourbons) it's really corn liquor. Aged corn liquor, but corn liquor just the same. It's closer to Georgia Moon or Mellow Corn than it is to Jim Beam or Maker's Mark.

The law requires Bourbon Whiskey to consist of at least 51% corn (in other words, more corn than everything else combined). Most bourbon whiskey is made from more than that, 60% to 75% is about the norm. Old Charter's mashbill calls for upwards of 82% corn. That qualifies it to be labelled as "Corn Whiskey" according to the Code of Federal Regulations, although, since it's aged at least two years in new charred oak barrels, it also qualifies as bourbon, and they (wisely) chose to use that designation instead. Think of it as true corn whiskey, aged the way it ought to be.

With over 80% corn, and allowing for the small amount of malted barley needed to get the starch-conversion going, it's pretty easy to see that there isn't much (or any) rye in the mash. Which is why Old Charter would have a closer relationship to a non-rye bourbon like the Stitzel-Weller (Van Winkle) brands than to other bourbons.

I'd say that, being able to make such a distinction, I would certainly consider your evaluations and tasting notes to be as dependable as any others here. Please contribute as much as you'd like.
=JOHN=
(the "Jaye" part of "L 'n' J dot com")
http://www.ellenjaye.com
User avatar
EllenJ
Registered User
 
Posts: 866
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2006 11:00 pm
Location: Ohio-occupied Northern Kentucky (Cincinnati)

Unread postby scratchline » Sat Nov 25, 2006 8:24 am

How far back does that mash bill go in Old Charter's production? I found a bottle at my dad's from the Louisville days and liked it so much that I ended up buying some quart bottles while I was out in California. And isn't the mash bill the same for Harper? I didn't realize it was THAT corn heavy.

-Mike
"There exist mighty dogs, the dangerous kind who take hold of your heart and do not let go."

-Vicki Hearne
scratchline
Registered User
 
Posts: 47
Joined: Mon Dec 26, 2005 3:13 pm
Location: NYC

Unread postby fitzharry » Sat Nov 25, 2006 12:26 pm

John:

Thanks for your kind words. I've been a fan of your website for some time now, and more than a little envious of your collection of whiskey!

I did notice a little corn oiliness in the nose of the Old Charter 10 Years Old, much like that of Platte Valley 100% Straight Corn Whiskey, although unlike Platte Valley, it's not really present in the Old Charter's taste. I guess the long aging has rounded it out of the Old Charter.

I sure wish I could find some Old Charter Bottled in Bond here in the Houston area, along with Mellow Corn. Neither whiskey, I think, is on our distributors' official "import" list, but they would sure give me another way to judge the corn contribution in the Old Charter 10 Years Old at 86 proof. Until then, I'll have to make do with Platte Valley. Thanks again.

Harrison
fitzharry
Registered User
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Nov 18, 2006 11:58 am
Location: Houston, Texas


Return to Bourbon, Straight

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 48 guests