Derby Bourbon

We had the master distiller of Ridgemont Reserve 1792 in our Clarksville store last night for a bottle signing/tasting and I have to say, I walked away very impressed with this bourbon. It is a high rye recipe aged for 8 years and was simply delicious. Nice spicy notes, but with a clean finish with very little burn, even at 93 proof. This might become my new everyday bourbon, especially at its price point. (mid $20's)

On a bad bourbon note, one of my go to higher end bourbons just took a significant price hike. Apparently there is a shortage on Elijah Craig 12 and 18 Year old bourbons. The 12 year only went up a couple of dollars, but the 18 went up $10 per bottle. If you are a fan of the 18, I would take a look in the market before they have to buy it again (if they are able to get any more this year) as the price will be going up soon. Apparently we bought the last 2 cases available in Indiana for the rest of the year yesterday, but I'm not sure what the supply in Kentucky will be.

Very nice, Todd! I think it's important for bourbon lovers to consider the quality to cost ratio when choosing selections for the home bar.

Remember, they put that spirit in the barrel 18 years ago, right? They could have never guessed the burgeoning of whisky's popularity as it stands today.

With a little tasting and some suggestions from some friends, one could land 3 killer selections for the price of 1. Pretty cool...

Shane,

As Ed mentioned Islay is where you want to go for the peat monsters. In addition to his suggestion of Ardbeg I would add offerings from Laphroiag and Lagavulin to that list.

[Robin Garr]

Shane,

As Ed mentioned Islay is where you want to go for the peat monsters. In addition to his suggestion of Ardbeg I would add offerings from Laphroiag and Lagavulin to that list.

Talisker is actually from Skye - the only distillery there, I believe - but it definitely has the island character. Personally, I like its combination of flavors best among the island malts, but I'm quite willing to continue experimenting.

Shane,

As Ed mentioned Islay is where you want to go for the peat monsters. In addition to his suggestion of Ardbeg I would add offerings from Laphroiag and Lagavulin to that list.

Thanks gentlemen! I would like to pursue this matter with the same enthusiasm that I've applied to bourbon drinking over the last few years but I don't often find myself in bars with extensive selections of Scotch or with bar tenders who have the knowledge to recommend them. I would very much like to experience these whiskeys but not at the expense of a whole bottle.

Where can I find them sold by the glass? I was thinking that Stephen D was going to do a Scotch themed event based on an earlier post.

Now if you fellas want to get together sometime, if you bring the Scotch, I can bring an unopened bottle of Pappy12yr, EC18yr, and Noah's Mill and we can trade glasses until there is a full accounting. I know Ed was interested in trying the Green Door in Corydon. Perhaps we could combine a visit to this inspired little restaurant in the country with a bit of eau de vie?

What say you JesseB, are you listening? Would you host us?

I'm finished with the scotch list for now. I'm really pleased with it- 25 selections done very intelligently. At the end of the day, the spirit is an expression of the land and the tradition- we've gone out of our way to represent the full range. Some highlights:

I got the whisky stones!

Laphroig- We will be offering a vertical flight of this peated monster. The 10, Quarter Cask and 18. We also have a flight available for the highland scotch, Glenlivet.

The Scapa- from the Orkney Islands, closest to Iceland. So remote, it is staffed by three men.

The Springbank- from a lesser known producing region called 'Cambeltown.' In the Southwest, closest to Islay.

The Auchentoshan- to the best of my knoweledge, the only lowland scotch distributed in Kentucky.

The Oban- by popular demand, the westernmost highland malt.

That's off the top of my head. The goal was to take people who appreciate the spirit on a journey of expressions. I hope we have done this well.

I got the whisky stones!

Is that treatable?

- We will be offering a vertical flight of this peated monster. The 10, Quarter Cask and 18. We also have a flight available for the highland scotch, Glenlivet.

The Oban- by popular demand, the westernmost highland malt.

I'll have a flight of the peated monster with an Oban chaser please.

goal was to take people who appreciate the spirit on a journey of expressions.

When is a good time to come in for this journey Stephen?

When would you like to mate?

When would you like to mate?

That is a very personal question.

When would you like to mate?

That is a very personal question.

HAHA!

A screwy thing, the English language- miss one comma and you're in for it.

When would you like to mate?

That is a very personal question.

HAHA!

A screwy thing, the English language- miss one comma and you're in for it.

Yeah I agree! This sorta thing is so beneath me. Btw the way Justin, we still hooking up tonight at the Fireside? I'll bring you a Bitter American

Stephen, I would like to take the opportunity to have a flight of the peaty monsters whenever it is most auspicious. By that, I'm mean when you will be available and not too busy to coach me a bit.

That first trial run of the Whiskey Roundup was pretty much perfect. Was that a Wed night? It would be really great if there is some live music going while I'm imbibing the fire water. So, can you suggest some dates.

My schedule is pretty flexible.

Wednesday night is great- or Thursday. just PM me and let me know when you are coming and I'll have a tada planned...

On Wed Chris and I stopped into a place on market while on our way Taco Punk for lunch. It was called
Taste Fine Wines and Bourbons and was located at 634 East Market Street.

They pretty much had the usual suspects but we decided to have a taste of the Jefferson Reserve for $5. It was so fine that after a nice lunch at Taco Punch we drove over to The Keg in Clarksville and we each bought a bottle.

This bourbon is from the Stitzel-Weller distillery which is the source for current releases of Pappy.

So many bourbons........

Okay, here is where the gap in my bourbon knowledge exists. One of the guys I work with, whom I consider to be rather knowledgeable about bourbons (call out a label and he can tell me which of the eight pipes it comes off of) has always maintained that after '71 Stitzel Weller no longer existed, but that was just when it was sold, right? A quick google search comes up with info that whiskey was still being distilled at that facility until 1993/94. So while younger iterations of Van Winkle would have to come from Buffalo Trace barrel stock, the older denominations are still potentially Stitzel Weller for another few years, correct?

Okay, here is where the gap in my bourbon knowledge exists. One of the guys I work with, whom I consider to be rather knowledgeable about bourbons (call out a label and he can tell me which of the eight pipes it comes off of) has always maintained that after '71 Stitzel Weller no longer existed, but that was just when it was sold, right? A quick google search comes up with info that whiskey was still being distilled at that facility until 1993/94. So while younger iterations of Van Winkle would have to come from Buffalo Trace barrel stock, the older denominations are still potentially Stitzel Weller for another few years, correct?

Ken, according to the Bourbon Enthusiast web site most of the Pappys were/are bottled in Lawrenceburg with a couple of offerings including the 12 Year Lot "B" now bottled by Buffalo Trace in Lexington. It isn't clear if the whiskey bottled in Lexington was distilled and aged there or if it was transported from the Shively warehouse where the Stitzel-Weller distillery was located and merely bottled in Lexington.

http://www.bourbonenthusiast.com/forum/DBvd.php