Noah’s Mill bourbon Review

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***Revised from the original posting.

Noah’s Mill bourbon comes to us from Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD).  They don’t distill this.  Rather, they buy barrels of bourbon and blend them.  It used to be a blend where the youngest bourbon was 15 years.  Nowadays, this doesn’t have an age statement.  I bought this on recommendation of an employee at Martin’s Wine Cellar, a New Orleans area wine & spirits store.  Honestly, the green bottle with the handwritten-like label got lost on the shelf for me.  My eyes were never drawn to it.

Aroma-wise, you get a little mustiness and a little caramel.  Taste-wise – wow, this sucker is hot!  At 114.3 proof, Noah’s Mill bourbon packs a punch.  As soon as you sip it, your taste buds get knocked around with heat… sort of like eating a pepper (think cayenne).  It’s viscous and coats your mouth.  There’s an oaky smell to it, and you can taste it.  The finish on it is spicy, dry, and lasts a little while.

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At a price tag of north of $40, Noah’s Mill isn’t exactly cheap, but it really isn’t overpriced.  If you’re looking for a sweet bourbon, look elsewhere.  Noah’s Mill is strong, spicy & woody.  I’m glad I bought this bourbon, but I wouldn’t rush to replace this bottle when it’s empty.  It’s not a “daily sipper” for me, but I do enjoy when I drink it.

7.5/10

Edit 3/05/15:  After a few months I’ve returned to Noah’s Mill, and a little air time in the bottle helped mellow this out a bit.  Trying it again, I get more sweetness than when I first opened the bottle.  I like this a lot more than before.

8/10

Finding liquid gold in Nashville

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My fiancee Carly and I took a weekend road trip to Nashville for a friend’s wedding.  I thought I’d take advantage of some of the liquor stores in the area.  My goal: to find bourbons that aren’t sold in the New Orleans market.

Our first stop was Frugal MacDougal.  This place was huge, but their bourbon selection wasn’t as expansive as I’d hoped.  As I slowly made my way down their bourbon aisle, nobody bothered to ask if I needed help.  I nabbed a bottle of Jim Beam 7 year old for about $15 .  I knew Beam made it, but it was the first time I saw it.  Can’t wait to compare this to the standard 4 year old Jim Beam.

Then it was off to Midtown Wine & Spirits.  The store was a bit more upscale than Frugal MacDougal’s.   After chatting it up with an employee (who coincidentally taught at my old university), I picked up a bottle of Four Roses Single Barrel Barrel Strength at her suggestion, which was an exclusive store bottling.  I don’t remember seeing a barrel strength Four Roses here in New Orleans.  The frustrating thing about Midtown was most of what I asked for I was told they had in stock in the back, but the owner didn’t let employees sell that stuff.   No, I didn’t ask for Pappy Van Winkle.  Strangely enough, where WL Weller 12 year is practically falling off the shelves here in New Orleans, Nashville is experiencing a shortage of sorts.  Apparently very hard to come by up there.

The last stop on my mini-adventure was Grand Cru Wine and Spirits.  It was a much smaller wine and spirits store than the previous two, but the most helpful.  The two gentlemen there were quite helpful.  In fact, one used to live here in New Orleans.   Small world, right?  I grabbed the last two bottles of Old Forester Single Barrel, one for my buddy Hank and one for myself.  I was offered a taste of their selection of Blanton’s.  Boy, it was delicious!  I’ve had a couple of different sips of Blanton’s before, but I liked this one enough to pick it up.  I also walked away with a bottle of Old Grand Dad 114 after being offered a taste.

Grand Cru was by far the place I’d recommend people going to, if you’re not sure what you’re looking for.  The folks at Midtown were also pretty knowledgable.  All in all it was a pretty successful trip in terms of buying bourbon.  Next time, I’d like to hit some of the distilleries.  All the bourbons mentioned will be reviewed here on AdventuresInWhiskey.com at some point in the future.  I can’t wait.

Barterhouse 20 Year Old Bourbon Review

Last week I posted about the first of Orphan Barrel’s new releases – Old Blowhard.   Now we’re looking at their 20 year old Barterhouse Bourbon.  Where Old Blowhard is a one time release, Barterhouse might be with us for a little while longer.

(Disclaimer:  I was sent a small review sample of Barterhouse from Diageo.)

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What a difference six years in the barrel makes!  Where I found the 26 year old Old Blowhard dry, Barterhouse packs a slightly bigger kick, even at a slightly lower proof (90.2 versus 90.7).  There’s much more of that signature bourbon caramel smell, but at 20 years you can make out a lot of oak.  Barterhouse isn’t an overly sweet bourbon.  It’s an earthier, spicier whiskey than Old Blowhard.  The finish is long, and you get a little oak and some brown sugar.  I like this finish more than that of Old Blowhard.

At $75 a bottle, Barterhouse is half the price of Old Blowhard.  It’s not as complex a whiskey as it’s 26 year old counterpart either.  Don’t get me wrong – Barterhouse is not a bad whiskey.  Quite the opposite.  I just think it’s a bit overpriced.  $50-$60 a bottle would have been much easier to swallow.  Then again, I’m not in the business of selling or pricing whiskies.  Have you tried Barterhouse?  Comment below and share your thoughts.

Try before you buy.  7.5/10