whiskey review

Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection – Warehouse Floors Experiment Review

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Buffalo Trace’s latest release in their Experimental Collection looks at the aging process using their wheat bourbon mash bill.  It’s the same mash bill as W.L. Weller and the Van Winkle bourbons.  From their press release:

The Warehouse Floors Experiment was started in 2001, when Buffalo Trace filled 15 barrels with their Wheat Bourbon Mash Bill and placed five barrels on floors one, five, and nine of Warehouse K. This brick warehouse has nine wooden floors in total and was chosen for this experiment due to the variety of tastes it provides during the aging process.

Buffalo Trace Distillery sent me a sample of each.  Here’s how the three bourbons panned out:

FIRST FLOOR

nose:  soft caramel,  slight fruit (maraschino cherries),  surprisingly very little oak

palate:  toffee, caramel, butterscotch, a little fruit

finish:  short & sugary sweet

FIFTH FLOOR

nose:  slight oak,  caramel.

palate:  soft entry followed by caramel, cinnamon, slight oak

finish:  nice and balanced.  Not as sweet as the first floor…  almost bittersweet.  Slightly drier and a tad spicier.  Very nice.

NINTH FLOOR

nose:  sweet oak, caramel, vanilla, smells a bit more robust

palate:  a lot of oak,  sweet (caramel) and a little nutty

finish: dry and spicy

The first floor was not a spicy whiskey.  It was a nice combo of butterscotch, caramel, and fruit.  The fifth floor introduced oak.  It makes a cameo, but wasn’t the star of the show.  It was also slightly spicier than the first floor.  The ninth floor is an oakier and drier whiskey.  The sweetness and oak went back and forth and never really meshed for me.

Also of note is the evaporation differences between the floors, especially compared to a similar earlier experiment using their rye bourbon mash bill.  According to Master Distiller Harlen Wheatley, “we noticed a higher evaporation rate on the wheat recipe experiment vs the rye bourbon recipe experiment.  The wheat evaporated between 42-51% over the twelve years, depending on what floor the barrel was aged.  The rye experiment evaporated between 25-49% over the twelve years, with significantly less on the lower floors.  This higher evaporation rate is expected in wheated recipes, but it’s interesting to see it up close with the rye experiment.”

As always, the Experimental Collection is a limited, one-time release.  A 375ml bottle will run you about $46.  This is a great examination of the influence the aging location of a bourbon has on its final flavor. These barrels filled with the exact same distillate sat feet apart from each other and end up as completely different whiskies.  I’d suggest you pick up a bottle of each to taste the differences for yourself, which is what I think is the heart of this release.  However, if you’re in the market for one bottle, I’d stick with the fifth floor.  Highly recommended.

9/10

Abraham Bowman Limited Edition Vanilla Bean Infused Whiskey Review

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The A. Smith Bowman Distillery just released the Abraham Bowman Limited Edition Vanilla Bean Infused Whiskey.   According to their press release:

This new whiskey was aged a total of seven years and six months in the barrel.  Barrels of A. Smith Bowman bourbon were infused with chopped up Madagascar vanilla beans in October of 2012. Beans were added at various levels and tasted every ten weeks to observe how their flavor interacted with the bourbon as it aged. After a little over two years, all of the barrels were married together for bottling.

The distillery was kind enough to send me a review sample.  First, I’ve got to say vanilla is the star here, but not in an unnatural way.  It doesn’t come across as having fake vanilla flavoring added.  This vanilla bean infusion also doesn’t completely overtake other flavors, but make no mistake – if you don’t like the traditional vanilla flavor in your bourbon, you won’t like this.

On the nose, there’s a bit of vanilla up front, followed by some oak and even a little maple syrup and nutmeg.  It’s a nice, sweet smell.  I pick up some sweet vanilla, oak, caramel, sweet corn and some spice (very traditional bourbon flavors).  The mouthfeel seems a little thin.  I also notice that at 90 proof,  this whiskey is a great sipping proof.  There’s not a lot of bite. The finish is medium-long and sweet.  There’s a hint of vanilla afterwards, which makes me long for another sip.

There’s a good news and bad news situation here.  The good news:  this edition of Abraham Bowman is an interesting and successful experiment in infusing additional “traditional” flavors.  I suppose this is technically a flavored whiskey, but it doesn’t have the artificialness of others in that category.  It tastes like a traditional bourbon with slightly elevated vanilla flavors.  The bad news:  it is extremely limited, and mostly available in Virginia (where the distillery calls home).  This will run you about $70.  Recommended.

8/10

WhistlePig Rye Whiskey Review

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I’ve seen that bottle of WhistlePig Rye Whiskey on the shelves for a while now.  100% rye. Aged 10 years.  You’ve got my attention.  However for some reason or another, I never seem to walk out of the store with a bottle.  I contacted WhistlePig for a review sample, which they graciously provided.

On the nose, there’s a slight grain quality, salty caramel, oak, sweet grass and even a little citrus (orange).  The entry is slightly hot, with some butterscotch, caramel, nutmeg and spice, and lastly a little vanilla.  I found the finish to be sweet, and moderate in length.  The heat fades quickly and leaves behind a little spice.  Nice.

After tasting WhistlePig, I feel the need to keep a bottle of this on my shelf.  It’s a really a nicely balanced, nicely aged rye whiskey.  The price is just north of $65 for this 100 proof whiskey.  Shame on me for passing on this whiskey in the past.  Pick up a bottle if you’re looking for a tasty, easy-sipping rye whiskey.

8/10  Outstanding!