Review: Kentucky Peerless Small Batch Straight Bourbon

Sample bottle provided by Kentucky Peerless Distilling Co.

AT A GLANCE

• Owned, Distilled and Bottled by: Kentucky Peerless Distilling Co. Louisville, KY

• Mash Bill: Aproximatly 65-81% Corn, 10-20% Rye, 9-15% Malted Barley

• Still Type: Column Still with pot doubler

• Age: NAS (minimum 4 years old)

• Spirit Type:

• Strength: 53.55% ABV (Barrel Proof)

• Price: $79

Sometime in the early 1880s Kentucky Peerless Distilling Company was born out of the old Worsham Distilling Company in Henderson, KY. From 1889 to 1920 Peerless was overseen by Henry Kraver a pharmacist turned distiller. Fast Forward to 2014, Kraver's great-grandson Corky Taylor and his son, Carson Taylor revived the Peerless name, built a new distillery in Louisville, and reclaimed Peerless' old plant number DSP-KY-50. The distillery has six larger fermenters and a 26 foot (8m) column still that produces their new make. Peerless used two bourbon mash bills and a rye whiskey mash for all of their whiskeys. They each start off as a sweet mash (no backset added) which they say allows them to distill their whiskeys to a lower proof. The spirit then aged exclusivly in full size 53 gallon charred new oak barrels for a minimum of four years before being bottling at cask strength. Part of the Peerless promise is that their whiskeys are never chill-filtered and they never add water.

TASTING NOTES

Nose: The nose is an intense and inviting mixture of warm oak, baking spices, apple sauce.

Palate: At over 107 proof the whiskey is hot which is not too surprising. After the heat subsides, there are big flavors of cinnamon, clove, apple sauce, oak, and just a touch of vanilla sweetness.

Finish: On the finsh the oak flavor is stronger followed by notes of dry tobacco, vanilla and apple juice.

Conclusion: Peerless true to form is a big whiskey with lots of flavor. The bourbon has a nice apple fruit flavor and is neithertoo sweet or over oaked. If you enjoy powerful whiskeys, be sure to look for this. Or if you like the idea of an apple and oak forward bourbon without the heat, add a bit of water to your glass and you will have more to enjoy.

How to Use Texas Whiskey and Bourbon in Cocktails

Texas Whiskey is known for its bold character due to its intense aging environment. Some might struggle with how to use these spirits in cocktails so here is a little history that can help guide us.

For those who only know Texas through the movies, it is easy to imagine the state pre-prohibition to be a huge expanse of brushy grazing land dotted with cattle, and a few cowboys who fiercely value their independence. While there have been and are areas where this is true, Texas also had large cosmopolitan cities well respected for their contribution to cocktail culture. In the 19th Century, several travelers recoded their experiences and observations while traveling through Texas and remarked on the array of grog shops, taverns, saloons, and ornate hotel lounges available for drinking. With that in mind, here are two drinks, one simple and one more sophisticated, that could work with Texas whiskey both then and now.

Texas Grog

One of the advantages of the intense Texas climate is that you can get a more mature tasting whiskey with less aging time than a similar whiskey from Kentucky, Tennessee, or Indiana. For most young whiskey it is best mixed with colas or sodas to mask its youth but young Texas whiskeys can work both as sippers or in cocktails. Inspired by the 19th Century Texas grog shops, I came up with a light and refreshing drink that pairs great with Texas bourbon.

• 2oz bourbon (Treaty Oak’s Ghost Hill Texas Bourbon, or Blackland Bourbon work well)

• 2oz water

• ½oz fresh orange juice (fresh not bottled OJ is key)

• ½oz simple syrup

• 2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Shake all the ingredients with ice and strain into a double Old-Fashioned glass with fresh ice.

The Improved (Texas) Whiskey Cocktail

In the 1830s Huston, was no backwater town, so while Texans are known for being hard working and free spirited, they are certainly not barbarians. One could have walked into a fancy hotel bar and found an array of spirits such as cognac, gin, rums from Jamaica and Cuba, and whiskeys from Tennessee, Kentucky, Maryland, Ireland, and Scotland. In addition, wines such as claret, port, madeira, hock, burgundy, sherry, and champagne were available from several merchants in the city. Given this wide variety of regional and imported beverages an Improved Whiskey Cocktail would have been great option for a m1ore sophisticated drink.

• 1 sugar cube (1tsp white sugar or ¼oz simple syrup)

• 1 bar spoon (¼oz) maraschino liqueur

• 1 dash Angostura Bitters

• 1 dash Peychaud’s Bitters

• 1 dash absinthe

• 2oz bourbon (Balcones’s Texas Pot Still Bourbon or Garison Brothers Texas Small Batch Bourbon will work well)

• 2in lemon peel for garnish

In an Old-Fashioned glass, add the sugar, maraschino, bitters, absinthe, and muddle them for about 30 seconds (if using simple syrup skip the muddling). Add the bourbon and a large ice cube and stir again until chilled. Twist or pinch the lemon peel over the glass to express the oils, then drop it into the drink.

Review: New Riff Kentucky Straight Bourbon Bottled in Bond

Sample bottle provided by New Riff Distilling

AT A GLANCE

• Owned, Distilled and Bottled by: New Riff Distilling

• Spirit Type: Bourbon

• Mash Bill: non-GMO- 65% Corn,30% Rye, 5% Malted Barley

• Still Type: Column Still

• Aged: 4 years in 53-gallon toasted and charred new oak barrels

• Strength: 50% ABV

• Price: $42

Ken Lewis, a Kentucky liquor retailer founded New Riff Distilling in 2014, to create a new expression of sour mashed, bottled in bond Kentucky straight bourbon and rye with out chill filtration. Because New Riff is family run it allows them the flexibility to place the pursuit of excellent whiskey over pure commercial success.

Their bourbon is distilled from a high-rye bourbon mash, which is aged for a minimum of four years and bottled in bond.

TASTING NOTES

Nose: The whiskey has as nice aroma of oak, vanilla, cinnamon, followed by light fruit notes like pomegranate and sweet cherries.

Palate: On the palate the whiskey is light on the tongue and has a wonderful flavor of caramel, red apple, oak and a touch of spice both from the rye and from the barrel.

Finish: On the finish there is a slight bitterness from the oak tannins, that fades into a soft and sweet sensation of baking spice and vanilla.

Conclusion: New Riff is an excellent whiskey with a classic bourbon profile that is sure to make any fan of the spirit happy to add it to their liquor cabinet. If you do not mind a little heat, drink neat, otherwise it will work well on the rocks or in a number of cocktails such as an old fashioned or manhattan.

Review: Russell's Reserve 10 Year Old Bourbon

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Bottle purchased by EZdrinking.

Owned By Gruppo Campari, Russell's Reserve Small Batch 10 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is distilled at the WIld Turkey Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky and bottled at 45% ABV.

Price: $28-$44

In 1942, Austin Nichols, a wine and spirits importer began buying bulk bourbon from the Old Hickory Distillery in Tyrone, Kentucky. For about 30 years Nichols bought and bottled this bourbon under the Wild Turkey brand. Then in 1971, Nichols purchased the Old Hickory Distillery from the Ripy family and renamed it the Wild Turkey Distillery. At the time Nichols bought the distillery a native Kentuckian, Jimmy Russell, served as the Master Distiller overseeing the distillation and aging of all their whiskey. Russell began working working at the distillery sweeping floors and worked his way up, learning the tradition and practice of making bourbon from Bill Hughes and Ernest W. Ripy, Jr. 

Fast forward to 2000, Jimmy Russell and his son Eddie worked together to create Russell's Reserve Small Batch 10 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Russell's Reserve stands as a testament to the dedication and skill the Russell family has demonstrated in making some of the finest American whiskey over the past 60 years. One bourbon (75/13/12 corn/rye/barley)

Lastly, Russell's Reserve 10 Year Old Bourbon  was one of nine bourbons I selected in a blind tasting of bourbons less than $50. Out of a group of 25 non-professional tasters Russell's Reserve received the highest average score making it our highest ranked bourbon of the night.

Tasting Notes

Nose: The nose has notes of butterscotch with soft warm aromas of oak logs burning, ripe pears, and light tannins.

Palate: The palate is silky smooth with very light heat and notes of sweet vanilla are balanced with oak and tobacco. The bourbon has a slightly fruity character similar to some brandies.

Finish: The bourbon has a long finish with notes of oak and bright Chardonnay.

Conclusion: Russell's Reserve is an excellent bourbon that is a delight to drink. This is the epitome of a well balanced bourbon and very impressive for a 10 year old 90 proof bourbon. Most bourbons of this age I find are over oaked but this is a great testiment to the Russell legacy. 

Review: Larceny Bourbon

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Bottle purchased by EZdrinking.

Owned and Distilled by Heaven Hill Distilleries and bottled at 46% ABV.

Price: $19-$30

Larceny Bourbon is a small batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon made by Heaven Hill. According to HH, each batch of Larceny come from less than 200 barrels that have aged between 6 and 12 years. Larceny is a wheated bourbon in the line of Old Fitzgerald Bourbon and according to Bill Straub of Modern Thirst it has a mash bill of 68% Corn, 20% Wheat and 12% Malted Barley. 

Thanks to  Sally Van Winkle Campbell and Sam Thomas we now know that John E. Fitzgerald whom the bourbon is named after was a U.S. Treasury Agent who had a knack for picking good barrels of whiskey. Pre-Prohibition whiskey man, Charles Herbst created the Old Fitzgerald brand, which was a bourbon made at the now defunct Old Judge distillery outside Frankfort, Kentucky. In 1999, Heaven Hill acquired the Old Fitzgerald brand and began bottling it from wheated bourbon made at their Bernheim distillery. Heaven Hill introduced Larceny around 2013.

Lastly, Larceny was one of nine bourbons I selected for a blind tasting of bourbons under $50.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Larceny has a strong woody aroma of oak and cedar, with notes of tobacco, leather and sweet cherries carried up on the alcohol.

Palate: The flavor has lots of spicy nutmeg and cove notes, with hints of candy orange and milk chocolate. This is a very woody bourbon with strong bitter tannins and a warmth starts in the mouth and travels down your chest.

Finish: The finish is long and dominated by wood and spice notes with a slight tinge of heat from the alcohol.

Conclusion: Larceny is not what I would call a soft or sweet bourbon. However, it does work well in a Manhattan that emphasizes the baking spice and wood notes over sweet cherry. While this is not my favorite bourbon, I think someone who likes their whiskeys more on the woody side of the spectrum this would be a solid purchase.