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I did mention this, the tun is wood and therefore further aging occurs via e.g. the pores in the wood, evaporation, etc. I believe nothing comparable takes place in a sealed bottle although I know some people feel changes occur, and perhaps they do, it's hard really to know.
Gary
Given the ages of those barrels it doesn't seem to make much sense to age them for the few months before bottling.
Unless aging the vatted contents together contributes to a better "marriage" of the barrels?
I've been skimming this thread just to see if anybody has tried this yet. The chewy sweetness of OWA mixed with BT's leathery rye spice must be pretty interesting! Gotta give this a shot sometime.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gillman
Another bourbon and rye vatting, and one that I'm quite pleased with: Rittenhouse BiB with just a splash or so of Knob Creek Single Barrel. The older, higher proof KC lends a great deal of depth to the rye, which, while I like it fine as is, does come across a bit young at times. The various KCSBs I've tried seem to consistently have more barrel influence than the standard KC and this one is no different; it's this aspect that seems to play so well with the Rittenhouse.
Also, counterintuitively, the addition of bourbon to the Ritt rye doesn't make it more bourbon-like (many have noted that Ritt is rather bourbon-like already) but actually brings the rye characteristics to the fore.
I'm looking forward to trying this in slightly different ratios, but all in all, it's a combo that I'll be repeating.
Good points and the one that adding bourbon to rye doesn't necessarily make it taste less rye-like, reminds me of something Chuck once said, that adding more rye in the mash to rye whiskey doesn't necessarily increase the rye taste because it is so prominent already. So same thing here, e.g. 1/3rd bourbon and 2/3 rds a rye-forward drink like Ritt Bond will still have a good rye taste. Of course if you did 9:1 bourbon to rye, that's different since the rye will be counteracted by the overall higher corn content post-mingling, but you will still taste extra rye I think, because again a little goes a long way. It's essentially like boosting the rye small grains in the bourbon, at least if both are roughly the same age (is how I look at it).
Gary
Just skimmed the thread but I didn't see anyone mentioning WTRB and FRSB. I once mixed this in a 2 to 1 ratio. I thought it was quite good.
I was just fooling around a bit the other night when I vatted some KC and TW Samuels BIB. Approximately a 1:1 ratio. I really wasn't expecting much, so the results actually surprised me. Gone was the preverbal Beam "off/yeasty" taste, and the slightly bitter/woody flavor in the Samuels seemed to disappear as well. Not too bad at all.
This is my experience, that the funky yeast taste of Beam, which is noticeable in KC despite the age and proof, disappears and somehow transforms egregious flavors in less expensive bourbons such as too much bitter or dusty wood (FC?), or too much corn oil. And vice versa I guess.
It's quite remarkable how it works, but it does, IMO.
Adding a third bourbon, e.g. any FR such as Brad mentioned, or a straight rye, can make the vatting even better. Same thing with Jack Daniels SB.
But then it isn't a double-barreled gun anymore. :)
Gary
Not successful at all, Woodford and Weller 12 1 to 1. Flat awful! I thought the sweet oaky flavor would spruce up the WR little but just came out as oaky alcohol.
Mike
I would try much less WR, maybe 1:3 or 1:4. The Woodford would lend rye and pot still notes to the relatively bland but aged wheater, and the latter would give some further age to the WR, which could stand it IMO.
Gary