by scratchline » Tue Nov 14, 2006 8:46 pm
Ignorance, may be too strong a word, but this weekend I was part of a bourbon event in NYC and while good food and spirits were served, the bourbon information offered was grossly inadequate. I think the presenter was more familiar with the world of wine or mixed drinks but still.
One dubious tidbit of info was the response he gave when asked how many bottles were in a barrel. "Depends on the size of the barrel." And then a lengthy discussion of how barrel size effects the way the wood and whiskey interact. I don't know if there is, in fact, variance in the size of barrels, certainly I've never heard anything about it, but to say NOTHING about the angel share and loss of liquid as the whiskey ages, come on. Especially when we're tasting Hirsch 16 and Pappy 20.
Another thing I found indefensible was the info sheet he provided identified Blanton's as an Ancient Age product. I don't know, maybe the "official" name of the distillery is Ancient Age, but I toured the Buffalo Trace distillery and the fact that the words "Buffalo" and "Trace" were not even mentioned all night, given their current position in the market, is very bad.
There were other lapses but those were the ones that stand out most. I couldn't tell how many folks there had significant bourbon experience. It seemed that many were novices but that almost makes it worse, since people were there to learn and I think they got a pretty lousy education.
Still the bourbon was fine and the food was good and the guy was nice. I just couldn't help imagining how terrific it would have been if a real bourbon enthusiast had been leading the session. Folks would have streamed out of there with a full shopping list, eager to share what they had learned with others.
I realize I've been spoiled in the past year by the knowledge that has been shared on this board by so many folks here. I won't even begin to name names since it's inevitable that I'll leave someone out, but at that tasting it was really brought home to me what a rare resource this is and how much I've learned here.
Thanks to all. And forgive the rant.
-Mike
"There exist mighty dogs, the dangerous kind who take hold of your heart and do not let go."
-Vicki Hearne