Making a four grain really really rich bourbon

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Making a four grain really really rich bourbon

Unread postby Mike » Fri Aug 12, 2016 5:42 pm

The Sun now being well past the Yard Arm, and me with time on my hands, I decided to mess about with building an intense whiskey that satisfied my immediate desire for rich and thick barrel flavors. At the same time I did not want to deal with the extreme proof such whiskies often carry.

I also wanted this whiskey to have some of the softness of a wheat bourbon, the bite of a rye bourbon, and the cinnamon of a rye whiskey. To do this I chose three barrel proof whiskies: Parker's Heritage Collection Wheated bourbon; Stagg Jr; and Thomas H Handy Straight Rye Whiskey. These whiskies are all about 128 proof, so I gave each of them the same say of 1/3 each and then cut them with filtered water to about 105 proof.

My goal was achieved. The rich barrel flavors predominated, but the barrel sweetness was offset by the softness of the wheat, AND by the spice in both the rye bourbon and the rye whiskey. The rye whiskey also gave the concoction some of the palate cleansing of the cinnamon and citrus............ at 105 proof the alcohol did not enter the fray.

This is a high order sipping whiskey for those who would bring the palate to full alertness without assaulting it. It is, however, not for the novice nor for the timid drinker. And, some of its ingredients include something that might well be labeled, 'unobtanium'.

Since I happen to have been wise enough (this is a joke) to have purchased them when the price for them was merely ridiculous, as opposed to absurd, I consider this a good use of what is left of them. Still, for an old fool like me, it is a treat that I can experience only rarely, since these whiskies will never be replaced, unless, and until, Hell uses them for antifreeze.

Not through though now, am I!

Being on a bit of a roll here, I decided to aim, at near the same proof, for a bit more subtlety, rather than barrel richness. Subtlety is very much relative in the face of the intensity of the flavors experienced above. So the subtlety I claim for my next iteration is, by most standards, not really a 'soft' whiskey. But, it is, I claim, subtle in the sense that the flavors play the same tune in a minor key. What that means is that my palate (it might be called discriminating without claiming sophistication) is very aware of the difference, just as yours would be.

At the same ratios as those above, I took some 7 Year Old Bernheim (which I heartily recommend for both its qualities as a whiskey, and as a component that can tame the wayward qualities of some other whiskies), some Four Roses Barrel Strength 120th Anniversary, and some Rittenhouse Bottle in Bond Rye whiskey. This whiskey should have many similarities to the whiskey concoction above in its components, and the proof is at about 100....... pretty close.

Yet, it is a very different whiskey.

Now, to see how far off I am in terms of subteley, I compare this last concoction with a sample of Bernheim wheat whiskey and note that there is not so much difference in the subtlety as there is in the finish. The Bernheim, good as it is, cannot compete with the complexity of the Bernheim, Four Roses, Rittenhouse concoction for the quality of the taste EXPERIENCE.

As another form of control to this experiment, I took out my bottle of Pappy Van Winkle 15 YO bourbon. I have long considered it to be the sine qua non of bourbons. I have just made two whiskies (they are not strictly speaking bourbons) that are better, TO MY PALATE.

Some of the whiskies I have used in this post are not now available, at least not at prices that make a replication of my experience available to anyone at anywhere near the price for which I paid the privilege of using them. For people who love whiskey, and bourbon, that is a shame.

This post is nothing more that my take on a few whiskies. I happen to think, perhaps incorrectly, that my experience with whiskies has some interest, and even some value, to other whiskey 'enthusiasts'. If I am wrong in my assumptions about this, I beg your pardon.

Now, me lads and lassies (are there any?,) I would like to point out that NOTHING is the only thing that is free. I recently posted about a concoction I made composed of Berheim and Woodford Reserve Double Oaked. It is an excellent whiskey, but it is not as good (my opinion) as either of the two concoctions described above. The reason is that the Double Oaked bourbon is still too tannic as compared to the two concoctions described early in this post.

If you think that I do not know whereof I speak in regard to bourbon, then you know that I do not know whereof I speak in regard to anything. That, I assert is far from exceptional these days. If you would prefer to not take it, leave it.
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
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Re: Making a four grain really really rich bourbon

Unread postby fishnbowljoe » Fri Aug 12, 2016 7:05 pm

Great post Mike!

Doing some vattings to come up with something different, unique and tasty is pretty cool. :D I've done so myself a few times. :wink: My strength, if I may say so, is with wheated bourbons. I've done a few vattings over the years that I thought were pretty good. My most recent was a vatting of seven different wheaters. I used four different private selection Old Weller Antiques, a private selection Weller SR, Weller 12, and some 2012 William Larue Weller. I didn't use exact measurements, but I figure it was somewhere in the neighborhood of 104-105 proof. I thought it was pretty darned good, as did a few others. The vattings you've come up with sound interesting and tasty too. I have to say that I don't have the where with all to combine wheaters, ryes, and bourbons like you have. I'm still doing algebra while you're doing trigonometry. :lol: Nice job. Keep up the good work.

To quote Aristotle, "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts." 8-)

Joe
"The only bad bourbon, is the one you didn't have."

Please drink responsibly
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