RandyG wrote:I would certainly be in heaven
With a position as noble
as that of a master blender
You can be and are you own master blender, Randy. I certainly trust your judgement.
I should point out that I used the word bourbon in regard to Bernheim. It is not bourbon since it does not contain 51% corn in the mash bill. It is right at 51% wheat. It is, of course, still a whiskey.
Four days have passed since I made my claims about the whiskey I made with Bernheim and Woodford Reserve Double Oaked.
I am sipping it again only I have experimented a bit with the proportions. I think it is slightly better with 40% Bernheim and 60% Woodford. At 50% Bernheim, the wheat, although not intrusive, has too much presence. Now, as American whiskies go, this is (to my palate) near perfection. It has a degree of softness necessary to any great sipping whiskey. It has the sweet richness of the barrel with its vanilla thickness and its maple like qualities. It has some of the rye bite that makes it American whiskey, and the (to me necessary) tannins that hold the lot together and tote it into a great finish.
Everyone is free, and should, disagree with me, especially with regard to the tannins. I have long held that tannins are the glue that CAN hold a whiskey together across the whole palate. It is just possible of course, that I am full of shit about all this. But all I have to go on here is my own experience, which is admittedly pretty extensive, but is probably best described as a blunt instrument.