THE BOURBON RESOURCE

Get your bourbon now, Woodford expansion, a 50-year old (almost) bottle

I know, it’s been a while, but the combination of a paucity of news and me being lazy means I haven’t sent out a newsletter in a while. I promise to try to get back to my monthly schedule.

NEWS

If you haven’t heard, Buffalo Trace says it won’t release a 2021 George T. Stagg because the 15-year aged bourbon doesn’t meet its quality standards. My first response was, I’ll be happy to buy that rotgut, but alas, BT is going to monitor how the bourbon develops and use it in some other release. The day BT released this unfortunate news, Stagg prices jumped from $650 secondary to more than $1,100 per bottle. Gotta love capitalism.

Hemisphere Coffee Roasters in Mechanicsburg, OH have released a bourbon barrel-aged coffee, As with everything that has bourbon in the name, it’s pricey and sells out fast (H/T Mark Fisher)

This is an example of a story I’m seeing more and more. If you’re thinking about getting bourbon as a holiday gift, get it now. Of course, we have that covered (more below)

Fresh Bourbon, supposedly the first Black-owned distillery since slavery, is now in stores. The sourced product (for now) is only aged four to six months and isn’t getting good reviews. Fresh plans to open a distillery in Lexington.

The Heaven Hill strike has turned nasty, with the company threatening to hire replacement workers. Te strike is the reason it’s hard to find Larceny, Heaven Hill Bottled-In-Bond, and even harder to find McKenna 10.

Woodford Reserve has started a $110 million expansion that will add three cooper pot stills and double production.

And, speaking of Woodford …

Woodford says our barrel should be here shortly after Thanksgiving, which would be great timing. I’m not sure how many bottles overall we’ll have but I expect great interest because while all single barrel picks are unique, this one borders on a unicorn pick.

Woodford uses up to 190 different barrels to make its blend. Our pick is a blend of just two barrels, the closest thing to a single barrel Woodford has to offer. Woodford used to have a single barrel --- I still have a half bottle of it --- but stopped producing it three or so years ago.

Who knows if the date holds. We all know of the supply chain wows and that impacts Woodford because of the shape of their bottles. That’s the real holdup. Our barrel has already been blended but Woodford can’t get enough bottles.

More to come.

A trip to Widow Jane

The Widow Jane distiller sits in the Red Hook section in Brooklyn, NY. Founded in 2012 by Daniel Preston, WJ began as a sourced bourbon, bringing it in from Kentucky and cutting it with limestone water, and proofing it in N

YC. Now, the distiller also makes its own.

I’ve never been much of a fan of WJ. I think it’s way overpriced ($75 to $89 per bottle) and I’ve never been a fan. The nose is fine but it has a hot, metallic taste that doesn’t go down well. Maybe the distilled product will be better.

I don’t know which ones are distilled and which are not, but I hope to find out during a private tour on November 17, when I’m in NYC for a Rangers and Knicks game and a Broadway play. The private tours, for $30 each, take up to 10 people, so if you’re in the area (or one of my NYC readers) and are interested in going along, email me.

WHY BOURBON IS GOING TO GET MORE EXPENSIVE

Bourbon production had a record year in 2021. In Kentucky alone, distillers produced a record 2.5 million barrels and now have 10 million barrels aging across the state.

And that means my favorite drink is about to get more expensive. Why?

Taxes, like the kind you’ve never heard of before.

Everyone likes a well-aged bourbon of 10, 15, even 20 years. But those bourbons are all subject to an ad valorem,” or “aging barrel” tax. Barrels are taxed every year they age. So the 1792 Bottled in Bond is taxed four-time and the 23-year Elijah Craig gets taxed 23 times.

So while all this product seems like good news for the consumer, it’s going to come at a cost. Distillers will pay an estimated $33 million in aging barrel taxes alone, and that’s 140 percent more than 10 years ago.  Additionally, distillers will pay roughly $300 million in state and local taxes and another $1.8 billion in federal excise taxes.

So, yeah, more is good —- and more expensive.

WHAT’S NEW ON MY SHELF

IW Harper Gold Medal, 1972, Bottled in Bond, 86 proof: $225

The first question may be --- how can a BiB by anything but 100 proof? The answer --- export only products can be BiB and produced at less than 100 proof. Europeans like bourbons that aren’t as stout, so you’ll find a lot of BiB at 86 proof.

Back in the late 1980s, I stumbled upon a bottle of IW Harper Gold Medal and it immediately became my go-to bourbon.

One of the historical bourbon industry giants, I.W. Bernheim,  came to America in 1848 and opened his distillery in 1870. Two years later, the distillery produced its inagural IW Harper, first as Bernheim Brothers and then, by 1888, as the Bernheim Distillery. Bernheim was one of just 10 companies in the country allowed to produce bourbon during prohibition (for medicinal purposes, of course, wink-wink). Starting in 1937, the company changed hands several times and was sold to Schenley Distilling Corp.

Schenley had a problem --- America’s overproduction of bourbon in the 1970s left a glut on the market (Wish we had that problem now, huh?) At the same time, the Japanese market flourished with customers interested in Harper. Schenley sold Harper to the company now known as Diageo in 1987, and by 1995, moved Harper to the export-only market.

Boy did that stink. I went to Tijuana in 2000 and found a liquor store that had a dozen bottles. I bought them all. For the next few years, I’d find a stray bottle here and there on eBay (can’t do that anymore) and grab it when I could.

Then, in 2015, Diageo announced it would bring Harper back to the states in two versions --- the lower cost Straight Bourbon (roughly $35) and the higher-priced 15-year ($89). Diageo still makes a 12-year export only and I just purchased a bottle of that.

Harper’s Straight Bourbon doesn’t carry an age statement but most industry observers believe the sourced product is aged at least four years at the Stitzel-Weller Distillery warehouses and bottled at Diageo’s Tullahoma, Tennessee facility. The 15-year is distilled at New Bernheim.

That’s the history. As for the taste, there’s not one of these current versions that beats the gold medal.

I say that as someone who prefers 100 and higher-proof bourbons. The Gold Medal, if you ever get the chance, is mellow, light, yet full of character. Toffee, vanilla, wheat on the nose, and light fruit and chocolate on the palate. No burn at all. It’s a beautiful sipper.

The Gold Medals of various ages are still available overseas and I’m looking for another I can drink. This I’m probably going to hold on to and eventually give to my son because the bottle is that good.

SHOUT OUT

Here’s a shout-out to Gary Collins, who does terrific woodwork. He made my bourbon cabinet and picked up some pens made with bourbon staves. You can reach him at gary.collins56@gmail.com if you’d like to talk about getting a unique gift made.

Bourbon Cocktail: The Boulevardier

·       1 ½ ounces (3 tablespoons) bourbon whiskey

·       1 ounce (2 tablespoons) sweet or semi-sweet red vermouth

·       1 ounce (2 tablespoons) Campari

·       Ice, for serving (try clear ice!)

·       For the garnish: Orange peel

Combine the bourbon whiskey, sweet vermouth, and Campari in a cocktail mixing glass (or any other type of glass). Fill the mixing glass with 1 handful ice and stir continuously for 30 seconds.

Add ice to a lowball glass, and strain the drink into the glass (or you can use a cocktail glass without ice).

Use a knife to remove a 1″ wide strip of the orange peel. Squeeze the orange peel into the drink to release the oils. Gently run the peel around the edge of the glass, then place it in the glass and serve.

Until next time.