As I’ve mentioned I’m trying to figure out what I want this newsletter to be, and I’ve settled on a resource. That’s why the change in name to Bourbon Resource. There are lots of places to get bourbon reviews, a list of events, news, and the like, but I want this newsletter to be a one-stop-shop. With that in mind.
Bourbon News
New Riff will issue a limited-release, 15-year bourbon with all proceeds benefiting a restaurant release fund. The early-spring release (sorry no specific date) features 900 bottles at $200 each and will only be available at the Newport, KY distillery. Expect these to go very fast.\
If you’re in Pittsburgh, Muddy Water’s Oyster bar snagged a Pappy Van Winkle 20 year and is pouring it out at $95 an ounce. That may sound like a lot but here’s the oddity. You and several of your friends could buy all of the shots for $2,375 and that’s still cheaper than the going secondary market price of $3,500 to $4,000. You can make an argument that Water’s is undercharging.
MGP, the massive Indiana-based bourbon distiller, has announced it’s merging with Luxco, whose brands include Blood Oath, Rebel Yell, and Ezra Brooks. Will be interesting to see how this impacts brands.
Speaking of MGP, it’s going to release a cask strength, single-barrel George Remus this year. Can’t say I’m excited.
Buffalo Trace will release its Double Eagle Very Rare Bourbon this year --- just 199 bottles at $2,000 each.
The Kentucky Bourbon Festival is back in-person this year with attendance capped at just 2,000 people a day for a festival that normally attracts 50,000 people over its four days.
The pitfalls of online ordering
The bourbon market is such that it’s often difficult to find your favorite product. Some states, like Ohio, tightly control the market and what its stores can have on the shelves. Other states, because of their size or per capita bourbon spending, might not get even mid-level bourbons that go to areas that spend much more.
Those factors and others have led to an explosion of online retailers who offer pretty online pictures with your favorite hard-to-find bourbons staring at you with a “come hither” look made famous by Mae West.
Never has a single phrase --- “buyer beware” --- proved more prescient.
Here’s an example: I’ve been looking for a bottle of Eagle Rare (a nice have, not a must-have for me) and I found one online store selling a 750ML for $44.99. Great price! So I ordered six (the website had no limit) and got a confirmation email saying I would be the proud owner of this now fairly scarce juice.
Three days later, the fun started.
I got an email telling me the items would be shipped that afternoon, followed by an email that said, oops, my item was out of stock. But don’t worry, my email said because my credit card had not been charged.
I’ll give you one guess what I found when I checked my card statement and here’s a hint: If you guessed “there were no charges,” you would be wrong.
I sent an email to the company and filled out the customer service form online. No response. I made four calls to the 800 customer service number before someone finally picked up. Only then did I get my money back.
I should have used my journalism background to dig more before placing the order because if I did, I would have found bad reviews for several companies all with a common thread: they promise goods they can’t deliver. They list products on their websites that are long gone.
So when I found a second store in Michigan that claimed to have anything anyone ever wanted —- Rock Hill Farm, Blanton’s, Elmer T. Lee, EH Taylor, and more —- I called because I couldn’t believe anyone would offer those items are retail.
“Oh no the website hasn’t been updated in two years,” the helpful store associate said. “I don’t even know what’s on that.”
So here’s what I learned, and what I hope you keep in mind when considering anf before ordering online:
If you see an item you want, call the store. This simple step will help you understand several things:
Is the item really in stock?
Does the store really ship to your state? (I’ve learned not to pay attention to the FAQs on shipping. I’ve run into too many stores that say they’ll ship but when you order they say they can’t).
What service does it use to ship to your state? (Fed Ex? UPS? USPS? A third-party vendor?
What’s the customer service like?
That last one is critical. If you get someone on the phone you can’t answer basic questions; or seems disinterested; or worse, you can’t get someone to pick up the phone, go elsewhere.
There are some excellent operations that ship and I will, at some point in the near future, list several of them.
WHAT’S NEW ON MY SHELF:
Lux Row Distillers limited Double Barrel-aged 12yrs, $150; secondary $350-$500
I love chasing hard to get bourbons, and Lux Row’s offering is as hard to get as they come. The release comes with just 6,000 bottles that’s only supposed to be available in Kentucky. As they say in my home York, “Igottaguy” which we say like one word. “I got a guy” and translated into, “I know someone,” “I have a third cousin twice removed who might know someone,” or, “I got lucky.” And I got lucky.
I found someone selling a bottle for $190 and jumped on it like a cowboy mounts a horse.
On one hand, the Lux Row 12-yr is everything that’s wrong with the bourbon market. We don’t know where the juice comes from but yet, because of its limited bottling, people line up to spend insane sums on a mysterious product. On the other hand, it’s everything that’s right with the market --- these releases breed excitement.
Having said all that, is Lux Row worth the money?
Yes, a thousand times yes. If I can find another bottle at about what I paid for this one, I’ll buy it without hesitation (and I’m already looking).
The bourbon’s long name has to do with the distilling process. Lux Row took two barrels of 12-year old bourbon and blended them together to make the product. In my bottle, the barrels were aged since July 11, 2006, and June 29, 2007.
To me, that’s a blend, but that’s not nearly as marketable as “Double Barrel,” a term that has no meaning. I also quibble with the term “cask strength” because that’s normally reserved for bourbons of 120 proof or more. But there is no industry standard, and the cask definition of “bourbon not substantially diluted by water” doesn’t define “substantially.’ It is what it is, which is why Lux Row can call this 118.4 proof product cask strength.
The double-barrel process is more labor-intensive and requires a more expert hand to balance the flavors. But since this is kind of a mystery you need an attractive package to make people want to buy. Lux Row outdid itself with a hefty, heavy bottle topped with the heaviest bottle stopper I've ever held. The only other bottle I can think of that better than this one —- the IW Harper 15-year decanter bottle. And like the Harper, I’ll keep this bottle when it’s empty.
This deep and rich bourbon reminds me of the amber=colored sherry I picked up at the Torres winery in Spain. The Lix Row is surprisingly light and sweet for a high-proof bourbon (I drank it neat), with orange peel up front and then some dark fruit flavors (cherry, blackberries) coming through the standard vanilla and caramel you’ll find in most good bourbons.
This is one of the more well balanced and utterly delightful bourbons I’ve recently tasted. It isn’t on the level of Stagg Jr. or its big brother, George T. Stagg. It’s not up there with William Larue Weller. But this bourbon will give Weller and Blanton’s full proof products a run for their money and I will certainly try them all side-by-side. Lux Row bests several high-proof and overpriced bourbons in the $100-plus price range (Calumet 14 year? No. Run screaming) like the Old Forester 150 and Wild Turkey Master’s Keep. I’m not saying those are bad; on the contrary, they’re really good. It’s a testament to Lux Row that their product, as far as I’m concerned, outshines them.
I’ve had my one shot and now this will go on the top shelf, near the Stagg and Weller collections, next to the Van Winkles, and in hugging distance of the EH Taylor small batch. It’s that good. Now, I just hope I can find a second bottle.
Proof: 118.4
Mash Bill: Unknown, but Lux Row uses just two mash bills. It wouldn’t be surprising if the company adjusted somewhat.
Age Statement: 12 yr.
Distiller: Undisclosed
Bottler: Lux Row
BOURBON PICKS
Affordable bourbon that would be good on your shelf
Corner Creek Reserve $39.99
This 86 proof bourbon is a bit thin but still makes an interesting pour. It’s light enough for most that you won’t need ice or water and it doesn’t carry much of a burn. It has a light orange and peach tinge that makes for a pleasant evening drink..
Mashbill: Corn, wheat, and rye with no specific percentages
Distillery: Sourced
Bottler: Corner Creek
BOURBON REVIEWS
This newsletter doesn’t do reviewers of every bourbon that comes out because there are lots of other resources out there that do so. Here are five outstanding sources and I’ll add more as we go along:
Breaking Bourbon: The best overall website offers reviews and release dates
Whiskey Consensus rates, on a 1-10 scale, just about any bourbon you can imagine
Bourbon Banter offers reviews of the bottles it tastes
Modern Thirst: Reviews and a blog
Whiskey Advocate: A great place to find out the latest about the varying Whiskey Fests.
BOURBON EVENTS
Note: There are lots of scheduled bourbon events coming up but, due to Covid, I’m only listing events happening after April and will adjust as I go along.
Whiskey Obsession will be April 8 in Tampa, Fl.
The Bourbon and Bowties fundraiser for Children’s Hospital in Prospect, KY is scheduled for June 10
The Bacon, Bourbon, and Brew Festival is scheduled for July 8-11 in Cincinnati
The Bourbon Tasting event in Grove City, OH will be on August 8
The Bourbon on the Banks festival is scheduled for August 27 and 28 in Frankfort, KY
The Bourbon Burn, a bike tour of distilleries and horse farms, will be Sept. 24 in Kentucky
The Kentucky Bourbon Festival will be on September 16-21 in Bardstown.
The Edge Bourbon Festival in Northern Kentucky is scheduled for October 1.
Whiskey Fest has new dates: Oct. 30 in Hollywood, Fl; Nov. 5 in Chicago; Nov. 11 in NY; and Dec. 2 in San Francisco
First Capital Bourbon Dinner is scheduled Nov. 5 in Chillicothe, OH
ON HOLD, TBA
Whiskey’s of the World in San Francisco has been postponed a couple of times. We’ll see how that goes.
Bourbon and Bubbles, the premier annual event of the Dayton (OH) Art Institute is on hold
Bourbon Classic in Louisville, KY, TBA
The Nth Whiskey Experience (Nth is not a typo) in Las Vegas has been moved to April 2022
That’s it for today. Send a comment if you have a question. Until next time:
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”