My Two Ounces: Public and Private Houses, part 1

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Even its critics would admit that Straightbourbon.com is the online heart of American Whiskey fandom. It was founded over ten years ago by Jim Butler, bourbon aficionado and Silicon Valley scientific systems analyst. Butler still owns and operates the site himself. It is an online expression of the community of bourbon-lovers that formed at the gatherings that took place in Bardstown, Kentucky around the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. When the group got too big to meet in their rooms at the Bardstown Best Western, they moved the festivities to the gazebo behind the hotel. The Gazebo has been the spiritual center of this community ever since. The only rules for the Gazebo are that people bring at least one bottle to share (it doesn’t have to be fancy) and bring their own glassware.

The Straightbourbon.com (SB.com hereafter) forums share in the freewheeling spirit of the Gazebo. The chat room attached to Straightbourbon.com is even called The Gazebo. Anyone is welcome and as forums go, it is a pretty polite, easy-going place. It currently has over 7,000 members and by my estimation has close to 100 members who post at least once a week. I am a member there with a few thousand posts under my belt, mostly due to over a year of unemployment. I go by the enigmatic handle Josh (not to be confused with Joshua or Macinjosh).

There are other online bourbonforums and blogs, of course. There is whiskey writer Michael Veach’s Bourbonenthusiast.com forum. There are also the blogs of whiskey writers like The Chuck
Cowdery Blog, John Hansell’s What does John know? and others. There are also the blogs of amateurs (in the true sense of the term) like bourbondork, sku’s recenteats, and this one. While they all have their place, none have the saloon feel of SB.com.

Not everyone appreciates the feel-wheeling atmosphere of SB.com, though. Complaints have been made about the shifting membership of the forum, the changed tone of the forum from the old days, and the usual complaints about moderators, newbies and trolls. Off and on there would also be heated (by SB.com standards) discussions about the at best gray-market sale and resale of whiskey by forum members.

In reaction to these and other complaints two long-time members of SB.com started a new forum called 1789b earlier this year. The founding of a new forum was nothing new, but what makes 1789b different is that it is a private forum. Membership is only open to those who have been nominated by another member and approved by the membership. If SB.com is a saloon, 1789b is intended to be a private gentlemen’s club in the classic sense of the term. The forum rules state that only mature, active members are desired and that members are expected to behave themselves. Most controversially, members are also required to refrain from any discussion about 1789b with those who are not members of 1789b. This has prompted a few sarcastic nicknames for 1789b from non-members including Super Secret Bourbon Club and Bourbon Fight Club (“The first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club is: you DO NOT talk about Fight Club!”).

A few weeks into 1789b’s existence, I was informed that I had been nominated for membership. My first reaction was surprise. I assumed it had been created specifically to exclude people like me, but out of curiosity and consideration for a few friends who were members already, I joined. It was not what I expected. More on that later.

Review: Ardbeg 10

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Maker: Ardbeg, Isle of Islay, Scotland (LVMH)

Region: Islay

Age: 10 y/o

ABV: 46%

Appearance: Light gold. On the glass it is clingy and insistent like an insecure lover.

Nose: Brown butter, peat (but no smoke), weak black tea

On the Palate: Full-bodied, more butter, big peat, white chocolate, but lots of sweet malt too.

Finish: The finish is a monster. Big, hot and aggressive, with the long hidden smoke making its appearance.  As the sweetness fade from the palate the smoke and peat and alcohol erupt from the back of the mouth, swirl around the mouth and engulf the tongue, cheeks and lips in a symphony of fire.

Parting words: This was my first bottle of Ardbeg and I have enjoyed it quite a bit. I remain a Scotch novice, but compared to the other Islay malts I’ve tasted so far, I think I would rank this whiskey in the middle of the pack. Not to say this is a mediocre whisky by any stretch, it’s excellent. But at the same price I think I would prefer something from Laphroaig if I had to choose. Luckily, I don’t have to. The buttery peat of Ardbeg is a nice change of pace from the smoldering hearth of Laphroaig.

I am eager to try some of Ardbeg’s NAS offerings. Any recommendations?

Review: Atwater Dunkel

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Maker: Atwater Block Brewery, Detroit, Michigan

Style: Dark Lager

ABV: 5.2%

Appearance: Big persistant foamy head. Dark coffee brown.

Nose: Malt, fresh roasted coffee.

On the palate: more coffee, quite dry and bitter.
Finish: coffee coffee coffee, French roast to be specific.

Parting words: My take on this beer seemed to change every time I drank it. I can’t quite pin it down. This last time, I didn’t care too much for it, frankly. It is too far on the roasty toasty side of things. Almost burnt. If I had written this review a few months ago, this may have been more positive. Right, now, I cannot recommend Atwater Dunkel. It is unbalanced.

Four Roses 2010 Limited Edition Small Batch

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More catching up…

Maker: Four Roses, Lawrenceburg, Kentucky (Kirin)

Age: 10 y/o (mix of 15 y/o, 11 y/o, and 10 y/o bourbons).

Proof: 110.2 (55.1% ABV)

Style: High-Rye Bourbon

Appearance: Light copper, with long, thick legs.

Nose: Wood, big spice and big alcohol, spicy nacho chips,
jalapeno.

On the palate: Good body, a little sweetness, then dry
woodiness and tannins, then cassia, then burn. Water balances it out quite a
bit. There are still plenty of the aggressive flavors above, but they are
balanced by brown sugar and vanilla, flavors not usually associated with Four Roses.

Finish: Hot at first, then dry and tannic, then a tingling sweetness. Water doesn’t slow down the finish much.

Parting Words: This bourbon, as noted above, is a mix (“blend” is a dirty word in the world of American Whiskey) of three of the ten bourbon recipes made by Four Roses: 15 y/o OBSV, 11 y/o OBSK and 10 y/o OESK. In 2008 and 2009 Four Roses put out something it called the Mariage Collection. The concept (and the bottle) was very similar to the Limited Edition Small Batch. It was also a special annual release, but only two of them were “married” together (it was produced in Kentucky, not Utah, after all), and the constituent bourbons were older. The 2008 Mariage was very good, and the 2009 was the best bourbon whiskey I have ever tasted, and I’ve tasted a lot of them.

So the 2010 Limited Edition Small Batch had very big shoes to fill. If measured against the 2009 Mariage, it falls short. But if it is measured up against most annual releases from most distilleries, it more than holds its own. It is not as subtle or multi-layered as its predecessor was but it is a well-crafted assertive whiskey that announces its presence boldly, but never wears out its welcome. Spice, corn, and wood all jockey for position throughout and the winner is always the drinker. Highly recommended!

Review: Maker’s 46

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Maker: Maker’s Mark, Loretto, Kentucky (Beam Global)

Style: Wheated Bourbon (infused with toasted French oak)

Age: NAS

Proof: 94 (47% ABV)

Appearance: copper with a pearl necklace of some significance, like on Antiques Roadshow.

Nose: Wood and char, quality toasted wheat bread.

On the Palate: more toast and wood flavors morphing into spice: ginger, nutmeg, allspice and that quintessential wheater flavor:
vanilla. Some sweet marshmallow flavors as well.

Finish: Moderately hot and distinctively drier than the standard Maker’s.

Parting words: I first tasted this at the 2010 Spring Sampler in Bardstown. I liked it then and I like it now. the differences from the standard Maker’s are easy to pick up on. It has a very nice woodiness, but in a different way than old wheaters like the Pappy Van Winkles or Very Special Old Fitzgerald. It is more perfumed than tannic. I find it very pleasant. No Maker’s bourbon is going to be a life-changing experience, but 46 works well as an affordable dessert sipper.

Review: Bulleit Rye

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Maker: Owned by Diageo, made at LDI, Lawrenceburg, Indiana (Angostura)

Age: NAS

Proof: 90 (45% ABV)

Appearance: New copper with faint thin legs.

Nose: Very light and mild. Alcohol, mango,and peppermint.

On the palate: Medium bodied, more tropical fruit sweetness, spearmint and Genoese Basil now instead of peppermint.

Finish: Hot and minty. Lots of tingle all over the mouth and lips. We’re back to peppermint again, but now with a bit of eucalyptus.

Parting Words: This rye has gotten some bad press online, but I found it perfectly adequate, and worthy of sipping and mixing. If you don’t like menthol flavors in your whiskey, you’re not going to like Bulleit Rye. I do, and I like it. I wouldn’t reach for it over Rittenhouse, but I would say it’s as good as Wild Turkey Rye and better than Beam’s. Diageo deserves some of the criticism it receives, but they deserve credit for putting a pretty good rye on the shelves and giving drinkers of American whiskey another option. Maybe they are starting to “get” American Whiskey again.

Review: Sky High Rye

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Maker: Arcadia Ales, Battle Creek, MI

Style: Rye Beer

ABV: 6%

Appearance: Persisant creamy head. Slightly Cloudy Blonde color.

Nose: Malty, spicey, citrus, hops.

On the Palate: medium-bodied, nice bitterness balanced with a bit of citrus sweetness, lime, lemongrass, cardamom, black pepper.

Finish: Light and sweet with a little bit of bitterness.

Parting Words: Sky High Rye is a much more balanced beer than Red’s Rye PA. The bitter, sour and sweet are superbly balanced. Add a little fish sauce and this could pass for Pad Thai. It’s not nearly as aggressive and punchy as Red’s but this is a subtle and refreshing, “thinking person’s” beer. Highly recommended.

Review: Red’s Rye PA

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Maker: Founder’s, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Style: Rye Beer (in an IPA style)

ABV: 6.6%

Appearance: Big foamy head that sticks to the top of the glass. Body is pretty, slightly cloudy auburn.

Nose: Sweet, and fruity with a bit of spice

On the palate: The promise of the nose is brought to fruition: like eating a slice of slightly overripe mango with black pepper. The sweetness gets sweeter and the spice gets spicier. This beer has a big impact, but is never obnoxious or overbearing, to me anyway. As it sits in the glass, the spice component gets bigger and bigger and it starts to become more of a conventional IPA, albeit a very tasty one.

Finish: Long, and pleasantly bitter, with spice notes lingering as long as the hoppy bitterness does.

Parting words: This is a very well-executed beer, and for once that is not intended to be a back-handed complement. The big hops fit with the big spice and fruit rye brings to the party. I’m not a hop-head, but even I enjoyed it. Red’s Rye PA is recommended if you need some spice in your life.

Review: Rittenhouse Rye Bottled-in-Bond

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Maker: Heaven Hill (distilled at Early Times Distillery, Shively, Kentucky)

Age: NAS (by law BiBs must be at least 4 y/o)

Proof: 100 (50% ABV)

Color: dark copper

Nose: Creamy caramel with a hint of dry wood and potpourri

On the palate: dry by tempered with some sweetness. A nice hit of cedar on the back end.

Finish: Dry, but lacking much in the way of woody notes. Just a pure, dry rye spice with some friendly heat lingering for a long, long time.

Parting Words: Rittenhouse BiB is my benchmark rye. It is everything a standard Kentucky-distilled rye should be. It’s firmly in the “barely legal” category, with a lot of corn character balanced with the spicey, fruity rye influence. It’s good for sipping, and cocktails and even works mixed with coke or ginger ale. But that’s what Beam Rye is for.