It took me some creative thinking to narrow down the bourbon selection to just a few for the tasting. Surprisingly, vodka was a much easer and straightforward decision, even though the number of vodka brands outnumbers all the whisky brands by an ungodly amount. When I looked at vodka, I had a certain set of guidelines I was trying to meet; brand name, main ingredient, pint size. With bourbon, they are all made basically the same, going by the same guidelines and regulations in order to call themselves a bourbon. What is going to set the different brands apart are the subtitle nuances of the distiller; what kind of water they use, the shape of their still and what it’s made of, how long it’s aged, the proportions of the ingredients, to sour mash or not to sour mash, all of which can have a huge impact on the finale product.
So what was I looking for when making my selections? I first looked at price range. I divided up the bourbons that were available to me in a pint into three categories: high end, mid-range, and hooch. Then I took into account brand name, and the popularity of the brand. The last thing I looked at was… I’m going to be honest here; the rest of the dissension making process was based solely on my own brand of disjointed reasoning. Now, keep in mind that I did not take into consideration specialty labels, no Maker's 46, Gentleman Jack, Wild Turkey Rare Breed, Devil’s Cut, Jack Green, Jim Black, Single Barrels, Special Reserves, Extra Aged, Honey or Cherry flavored, or anything like that. I was only looking at the signature bourbon of the distiller, their main stay, the one everyone knows and loves. I’ll leave all that other craziness for another tasting. What I ended up with was two high end, two mid-range, two hooch, and two odd balls that I just happen to already have taking up residence in my liquor cabinet. And they are:
Knob Creek is in the high end category at about $31.99 for a 750. Produced in Clermont, Kentucky, it is the most expensive one we will be trying. They distill it in small batches, use the sour mash process and boast an impressive 9 years in the barrel. Now, I’ve had Knob before, and something I did not know before trying it was that it is 100 proof. Even after having it I didn’t suspect that it’s proof was so high, it was just that smooth and flavorful. But we’ll see how that holds up next to other bourbons in a blind tasting.
Maker’s Mark, $28.99, slightly cheaper, but still in the high end category. This is the famous wax dipped bottle. I’ve heard that in the gift shop at their Loretto, Kentucky based distillery, you can get any number of souvenirs that have been dipped in that famous red wax…. Which got me thinking… I bet there is a prankster who works there that likes to take coworker’s unattended items and BAM, Wax Dipped! “Linda’s stapler, Wax Dipped! Shelly left her keys on her desk, Wax Dipped! #1 Boss coffee mug in the break room, #1 Wax Dipped coffee mug! Half eaten sandwich in the employee fridge, hope you like it Wax Dipped!” and it just degrades from there… The point being, the only real reason I’ve included it in the tasting is because I love that image so much. But, wax dipping shenanigans aside, Maker’s credits their unique taste to pure, iron-free limestone spring water. They also subscribe to the sour mash lifestyle and age their bourbon for 6 to 7 ½ years.
Moving away from wax and onto the mid-rangers. Sitting at $23.99, Jack Daniels made it onto the list. Yep, Jack Daniels, the bourbon that’s not a bourbon. Wait, what did I just say? Ok, here’s the low down on Jack; Jack Daniels is not a bourbon, it is a Tennessee Whiskey. However, it is made according to the rules and regulations governing bourbon, so they could call themselves a bourbon but choose not to. I suspect that this has everything to do with marketing. You see, if they were to call themselves a bourbon they could not put Tennessee on the label (because only the state of Kentucky can put it’s name on the label of bourbon whisky), they would have to label themselves as simply, bourbon whiskey, and that just has no ring to it. So, instead, they opt to call themselves a Tennessee Whiskey. What I don’t understand is that they use 80% corn in their mash, that it the legal max you can use and still be considered a bourbon. If Jack doesn’t want to be a bourbon why stop at 80%? Why make it the legal max? It just seems like such a deliberate stopping point, as if to say, ‘I’m going to chill with all you other bourbons for now, but Don’t tempt me, at any moment I could add a fraction of a percent of corn and I wouldn’t be associated with you at all. You need me, I make you cool! EVERYONE KNOWS THE NAME JACK F@#KING DANIEALS, I PUT BOURBON ON THE MOTHER F@#KING MAP, I’M THE NUMBER ONE SELLING BOURBON IN THE WORLD, AND I’M NOT EVEN A BOURBON! TENNESSEE WHISKEY, B!@CHES!’ Whow, sorry about the all caps rage… So yeah, sour mash and all that, aged about 4 to 5 years… I’m just going to move on now.
Wild Turkey 101, $22.99, distilled in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Not much to say here. As the name implies, it’s 101 proof. They do make an 80 proof, but the 101 is the distillery’s bread and butter. Wild Turkey was the first bourbon I ever had, and because of that I have a soft spot for it and that’s the main reason I included it. It is aged for 8 years, oddly enough, just one year less than it’s more expensive and similarly proofed competitor, Knob Creek. This should be an interesting match up. Most bourbons are named after a person or a place, Wild Turkey is a little different, it got its name when one of the distillers of the company, Thomas McCarthy, took some of his bourbon with him on a wild turkey hunt. His friends liked it so much that next year they asked him to bring more of the ‘wild turkey’ bourbon. And the name stuck. And, unlike the other whisky on the list so far, Turkey does not use sour mash.
Hooch! Can’t have a tasting without some proclaimed rotgut! Well, it may not be rotgut per say, but at $11.99 Ancient Age is the cheapest bourbon we carry. It meets all the legal requirements (just barely) in order to call itself a bourbon whiskey. It’s distilled in Frankfort Kentucky (hey, that’s where TAAKA vodka comes from! Coincidence?) by the Buffalo Trace distillery. Wait, what? But, Buffalo Trace is suppose to be a pretty good bourbon, it’s up there with Maker’s and Knob. Well, got to make money, why not sell the good stuff as well as its run off? Use all your resources, right? I jest, I’m sure it's not run off. I mean we can’t fill the world with nothing but high quality bourbons, there’s got to be an affordable version, especially for cooking. And who knows, it may surprise us (remember TAAKA, the little vodka that could!).
And uber Hooch! Kentucky Deluxe, $7.49 (yes, for a 750). Now, it’s not a bourbon, it doesn’t even try. Straight up on the label: 20% straight whiskey, 80% neutral grain spirit. More accurately, it’s whisky flavored vodka. It’s only on here because I like to throw curve balls. What’s a tasting without a wild card? Do I even need to tell you where it comes from, or how long it’s aged? The important thing here is; are our pallets developed enough to single out the cheep blend over the true bourbons, even the cheep bourbon?
Now for the weirdoes you’ve never heard of. Corner Creek, $21.99. I love this bourbon, but I have a hard time selling it because it is unfortunately packaged in a wine bottle, more specifically a girly chardonnay bottle… Let’s face it, bourbon (whisky in general) is a manly drink, not to say girls don’t drink it, but it has a very manly image, and a wine bottle dose not look good setting on a whisky bar. Their reasoning for the wine bottle is that they take the same care and attention to detail that a fine wine maker does (could have at least used a cab bottle, it’s a little more manly than the soft slopping of a chard bottle). Anyway, it’s made in Bardstown, Kentucky and aged for 8 years. Good thing this is a blind tasting, the poor bottle selection won’t be an issue.
And lastly, Fighting Cock. This was a close out at my store, I only bought it ‘cause I liked the bottle. It has an awesome rendition of a red and gold rooster looken’ like he’s ‘bout to f@#k you up. And, he just might, sitting at 103 proof. Aged 6 (long years, as the website states. Are rooster yeas longer than human years?). They also boast using rye over wheat to give it that extra kick. Like Corner Creek, this one also comes to us from Bardstown, Kentucky.
Well, that’s it. My bourbon selection. Invited to the party? Your favorite bourbon not on the list? Bring it, but I do ask that you stick to my guidelines, only the main label of a specific distiller! Don’t get all fancy on me. Allow me to repeat from an earlier paragraph: NO Specialty Labels, no Maker’s 46, Gentleman Jack, Wild Turkey Rare Breed, Devil’s Cut, Jack Green, Jim Black, Single Barrels, Special Reserves, Extra Aged, Honey or Cherry flavored, or anything like that! If you bring something like that, rest assured, we will drink it, but it will not be in the taste testing. Thank you.
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