whisky review

Few Bourbon Whiskey Review

With some anticipation, I’m ecstatic to finally sample Few bourbon whiskey.   In addition to providing access to their founder and master distiller Paul Hletko for an interview, Few Spirits provided me a sample of their bourbon and rye whiskies.

Photo courtesy of Few Spirits

Let’s start off with packaging.  While it’s bottle is similar in shape to Diageo’s rectangular Orphan Barrel  bottles, Few has a label that beckons the 1893 Chicago World’s Exposition.  My fiancee Carly is a Chicago World’s Expo maniac.  You can imagine her excitement when I told her about this post.  Great labeling that tells us the brand is based around Chicago AND stands out on a store shelf.

This bourbon comes in at 93 proof with no age statement.  Paul Hletko says he doesn’t believe in age statements because age is just one factor when it comes to making whiskey.   Not having an age statement doesn’t bother me, as long as the whiskey is good. So… how is it?

I get lots of sweet corn on the nose.  There’s also some earthiness and some wood.  Oak?  Probably, but it seems different than the oak I get in other bourbons.  Taste-wise, sweet corn is the key player here.  Some rye spice and a little caramel support it.   It’s nice, but not too complex.   The finish is quick and a little dry,  and leaves a semi-sweet aftertaste.  Makes you want to take another sip.

Overall this is an interesting whiskey.  It seems young to me, but it’s not as fiery and untamed like a young whiskey would taste.  The folks at Few Spirits have put together a nice bourbon.  A bottle of this craft whiskey will run you about $50, if you can find it – it’s only available in about a dozen states as of the writing of this post.

7/10

Rhetoric 20 Year Old Bourbon Review

Rhetoric is the third release in Diageo’s Orphan Barrel lineup of whiskies.  The first two releases, 26 year Old Blowhard and 20 year Barterhouse, were nice whiskies albeit a bit on the expensive side.  Rhetoric is also a 20 year old straight bourbon whiskey.  It was most probably distilled at the new Bernheim distillery, and aged at a Stizel-Weller warehouse.   It seems to be the same mashbill as Barterhouse, but aged in a different part of the warehouse.  What differentiates Rhetoric from its siblings is Diageo will continue to age the bourbon, releasing it once a year until it reaches a 25 year maturation point.  So, this year we have a 20 year old bourbon.  Next year we’ll have a 21 year old bourbon.  This continues until we get a 25 year old Rhetoric bourbon in 2019.

Rhetoric_Hi-Res Bottle Shot

(Disclaimer:  I received a small sample of Rhetoric from Diageo.)  I find the nose on Rhetoric similar to Barterhouse.  Some oak, which is expected given its age.  There was also some dried fruit (think light fruit cake) and a little bit of caramel.  Taste-wise, I found this a bit creamier…more viscous than Barterhouse.  The oak is there, but it’s not as in your face.  There’s a bit of caramel too.   The finish is quick, dry, and slightly bittersweet.

Overall, this is my favorite of the three bourbons in the Orphan Barrel series.  Rhetoric is 90 proof and will run you about $100.  It’s $15 more expensive than Barterhouse, yet both are 20 year old bourbons.  I liked Barterhouse enough to buy myself a bottle after I reviewed it.  Part of me wishes I would have waited to try Rhetoric first.  To me, the difference in taste is worth the extra $15… that’s considering you don’t mind paying   a C-Note for a bottle of bourbon.  It holds its flavors together better than Barterhouse.  Also, progressively aging and releasing this bourbon makes for an interesting experiment.

Well aged.

8.5/10

George Dickel No. 8 Tennessee Whisky Review

Wrapping up the short series on Tennessee whiskey is George Dickel’s entry level No. 8 Tennessee Whisky.   How does it hold up to their slightly older No. 12 or Barrel Select?  (Thanks to Taylor Strategy for the sample.)

George Dickel No. 8

There’s some light caramel and very slight oak on the nose.  Taste-wise there’s some slight burn on entry, but nothing too harsh.  I get some caramel and a hint of vanilla and some slight oak.  Not a complex whisky.  Also, this isn’t as sweet as other Dickel whiskies.  There is a pleasant lightness to this one though.  I sampled this during a Louisiana summer, so the lightness was nice.  The finish was pretty quick, and kind of on the dry side.  As with most of the Tennessee whiskies I sampled in the series, the charcoal filtration that was used mellowed this one pretty well.

I enjoyed George Dickel’s other two Tennessee whisky entries more than this, especially their Barrel Select.   That one had more happening in the glass flavor-wise.  At 80 proof though, it’s not a bad starter whisky or “everyday sip,” especially at it’s $16 price tag.  There’s better out there in the Under $20 category, like Four Roses Yellow Label, but George Dickel No. 8 will do in a pinch.

7/10