Bourbon

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.)

Barterhouse Bottle Shot_Hi-Res

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

Old Blowhard 26 Year Old Bourbon Review

Diageo introduced a new line of whiskies – Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Company.  Its purpose is to release rare and old whiskies from its stocks.  The first two releases, Old Blowhard and Barterhouse, have recently hit shelves, with more releases planned for later this year.

(Disclaimer:  I was sent small review samples of both Old Blowhard and Barterhouse from Diageo.)  This review will cover Old Blowhard.

Old Blowhard Bottle Shot_Hi-Res

Old Blowhard bourbon was aged for 26 years.  I was in third grade when this was distilled.  Yikes!  Before I get into how it tastes, I want to talk about packaging.  Like I said in a previous post, the most important aspect of a whiskey is how it tastes and smells.  However, packaging plays a small but important factor.  If you go to a liquor store and browse the shelves, a bottle’s shape and label can draw you in or get lost on the shelf.  Old Blowhard’s old-time inspired label is among my favorites.  It’s a gorgeous nautical-themed label affixed to an elegant bottle.   So, how does this 26 year old 90.7 proof whiskey taste?

Oaky.  Then again, you have to expect that from a whiskey this old.  It’s not all oak, though.  There’s some faint caramel when you smell it, but it’s hiding behind oak.  There’s some depth in flavor here. It’s rich and a little spicy.  There’s a little sweetness.  Not caramel-sweet…  more like dried fruit sweet. It’s definitely not your average bourbon.  The finish is quick and dry.  No slow burn here.  I really wish it lasted longer.

I like this whiskey.  So much in fact that I decided to treat myself to a bottle.  I went to three different liquor stores before I found one and picked it up $20 cheaper than the suggested retail price of $150.  There are older and more expensive bourbons out there (Pappy Van Winkle 23 and Jefferson’s Presidential Reserve 30 year), so Old Blowhard is cheaper in comparison. However, $150 is still pretty pricey.  Note, all three stores I visited did not have them on the shelf.  You’ll probably have to ask for it.

Tasting Old Blowhard was an interesting and pleasant experience.  It’s the oldest whiskey I’ve tasted (remember, I’m still new to the game).   I’ll gladly go back to Old Blowhard again.  Not too often though – once this release of Old Blowhard is gone, that’s it.   Get it while you can if you’ve got some spare cash and are looking for an older, occasional sipper.  Have you tasted Old Blowhard?  Share your thoughts below.

8.5/10