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Basically victims of their own success and the boom finally hitting MGP. For better or worse, they did a really good job of procuring good MGP barrels "back in the day" and successfully sold almost ALL of them prematurely. Meaning that their plan had originally intended for that whiskey to last until they got their own distillate aged and salable. So as a cult following for the good MGP stuff quickly developed and really took off (around 2016-2017 IIRC), they sold through it very quickly as hunters scooped them up for basically bargain prices. The last remaining barrels of 12y+ bourbon and rye were sold periodically through releases at the gift shop with people waiting in line to buy them at much higher prices than they previously retailed for (market correction if you will). In 2016 Pernod Richard bought the SA distillery. No idea if this had any effect on their actions or products. After that well ran dry and the price on MGP aged bourbon was at an all time high/unavailble, they began to do some creative blending with their own wheated distillate, as well as younger sourced bourbon from a few different places. This is basically how the Contradiction bourbon started. Store picks were sold as american whiskey I believe and were blends of various whiskey. More recently (2020), we saw a wave of young bourbon start to become mass available again from MGP. Most of this stuff was 4-5 years old and thus started the current wave of seemingly thousands of different younger MGP brands on the shelf right now. Smooth amber brought back the Old scout labels and announced they would be continuing to use that label to sell "procured whiskies" Old scout store pick single barrels returned at 5-6 years old, along with the 99p blended standard shelf bottle of Old Scout bourbon most commonly seen today. On their website it appears as though they have brought the old 7 year label back as well, but I have not seen any bottles yet. Their own distillate (wheated bourbon) has been getting released since 2014 I think (memory). First in small releases of 2-3 year aged in 375 half bottles, marketed under the name "yearling" The first 750ml release was WV only and sold with a green label named "wheated bourbon". It was 5 years old. The following year it was released nationally under the "Big Level" label and is 6 years plus. It doesn't appear that the wheated bourbon is currently being released on its own anymore....just blended into contradiction bourbon. A couple years ago new recipes of house distillate started being released under the Founders Cask Strength label. There is currently a rye recipe straight bourbon and a straight rye whiskey. Both seem to be labeled around 5-6 years. The rye is quite good IMO. Info about all their current products can be found on their website. They are pretty straightforward with information, mash bills, etc. In short, they didn't really create the old "majik". MGP did. There were so many labels selling that same really good older MGP bourbon from all over the US during that timeframe (SAOS, High West, Belle Meade, Blaum Bros, Boone County 1833, OKI, Widow Jane 12y, James E Pepper, Barrel Bourbon, etc. -just to name a few). It was really a matter of just educating yourself and knowing what to buy, but the bourbon was all pretty much the same/similar delicious profile, regardless of who's bottle it came in. People eventually tracked it all down... The simple fact of the matter is that it's gone now (or in collectors basements). The new wave of MGP out there just doesn't seem the same. Not just in age, but you can tell it has a different profile and will likely age out differently. Maybe I'll be wrong and it will be incredible again in another 4-5 years. I guess we'll see.

Always a great one! Anytime I see a bottle I pounce on it. Finished off the last one. Thankfully if I really want it when I don't have any it's always on the bar at two bars within walking distance...and The Dog House (Mount Horeb WI) has $5 doubles on Wednesdays after 6.... Couple BT doubles and one of their amazing burgers...life is good.

MM101, jazz, and chill...

We've been doing good not buying bottles this year, but my PEO buys a barrel of Jack to mark significant milestones, so I had to get one. It still feels strange having a bottle of whiskey on my desk in the office.

These ECBP PS barrels sure do have a wide variance. I've had 1 that was super complex and rivaled the best batches I've had, I've had some that were good to really good, then there's this one. No complexity, nothing memorable in a positive way. Unfortunately this will only be served on a cube or in a cocktail.

I just finished mowing the lawn after being away for a few days. WT101 sounds like an excellent idea! Cheers!

WT101 while watching the Bucks-Pacers game.

I passed on this one today at Meijer.

Maybe they are a victim of their stellar MGP barrel selects. Some of those barrels rivaled some of the WFE MGP barrels. They weren't able to replicate similar whiskies. When you go to their website, the majority of the whiskies seem to be from MGP. In the Indy area, there are literally dozens of MGP NDP brands.

I can tell you what I'm more likely "to" pass on, rather than "have" passed on. More than likely, anything costing over $100.00 per bottle (if sourced in the USA) or $250.00 (if sourced in Europe - ie. Scotch). I might be a "gentleman and a scholar," but I'm still not yet a "judge of fine whiskey." Over time, maybe I'll get up to that hefty priced stuff., although I do plan to stay out of the secondary and tertiary markets. Sorry Pappy!

HW is a good comparison Paul.

Did Ya get Barbara Eden to finally come out of that thing?

Well……..

Well, I finished a bottle of BT last night. Since we were out again today, and I heard a rumor……

BTW, I had a tiny bit of my Bulleit Rye this afternoon just to taste it again. It was pretty smooth!

One for the “huge brown bin”.

Here are some pix from the West Coast Whiskey Club Bottle Share party yesterday. I tasted 18 different bottles, including JD10, Old Kirk, Four Gate, Remus Gatsby, Lux Row 12, K. Luke, and 3 different KC SiB store picks. At the end of the party, the remaining bottles are given out, so we went home with a Peerless Small Batch, a McKenna 10-yr BIB, and a Rittenhouse Rye store pick from Cypress Craft. The events always have raffles; my wife and I won a Blue Run rain jacket, a Ble Run pen, and Buffalo Trace hat, as well as two infinity bottles that we re-donated to be given to someone else. Any members in SoCal would benefit from following them on IG and FB. Tell them I sent you. They are a great group of people and put on awesome events.

For anybody considering joining in with 'the group' for next Spring's gathering... I pretty decent selection of 'historical Bourbons' 'were on offer' on the tables at the General Nelson in Bardstown, KY. Without going into too much detail, we tasted some ND OGD BIB, Dant 10-year from a decanter, a few Stitzel/Wellers brands (one from the 30's I believe), a MM 101 from (?) 50's or 60's (?), and a wide selection of newer limited or otherwise hard-to-get Bourbons and a few ryes. My advice? Jump in! The water's fine! ...Or, at least the Bourbon was.

Looking back over the previous few days at the GN in Bardstown, I'll summarize... A LOT of Really Good Bourbon! A few of the highlights hafta include some Dant 10-year from 'back in the day'... poured from that byooooootiful cobalt blue decanter, MM101 also an oldie, Crab Orchard...a VERY Oldie, Booker's 30th, a couple other Stitzel/Weller brands, and ahh, hell! A LOT of Really Good Bourbon, like I said.

I loved the old stuff. Very nice high rye bourbon, with a ton a sweet cherry and easy to drink. The bottles from 6-7 years ago were great. I haven't actually tried their own stuff. MGP in general is turning inward to using their own barrels for their own Bourbon. The Remus bottles and the Belle Meade bottles are the closest I've come to the old SAOS SB

So, it does appear that Jim Beam is slapping a 7 year age statement and upping the proof to 90 on its Beam Black label. I am a somewhat regular Beam Black buyer, as I like it for a change of pace. I like its dryness to the typical beam peanut juiciness that Baker’s and Booker’s gives, and the dearly departed Beam Bonded had in spades. Even Beam white has these attributes, though its low proof and young age prevent them from being firm enough. Beam Black has kinda been my Poor Man’s Knob Creek profile. So after going a few rounds with the new 7 year Black, I decided to do a blind SBS of it and the previous Beam Black “Extra Aged”. Color between the two was indistinguishable. Initially on the nose, one glass jumped out at me, and almost squashing the other. While this may seem a positive, it was not. It was all char and sootiness. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it seemed indicative of “forcing” the profile of a longer aged whiskey. For me, a good nose brings forth the pleasant aromas encountered while walking through a rickhouse on a warm day. Subsequent sniffs brought forth those aromas on the squashed glass, thus providing key insight into what was to follow. At the front of the palate, both were sweet, and possessed the Beam profile, while drier. But, as the whiskies travelled over mid palate, the sootiness of the one glass punched through, while the other was markedly creamier. If the nose didn’t give its identity away, mid palate did. the finish of both were short, but the sootiness of one was noticeable, while the other was dry, but a bit more rounded. In conclusion, these whiskies are very similar, and work for what I look for in the label. If you really don’t like Beam Black Extra Aged to begin with, you probably won’t like this. If you’re just OK with it, the 7 might be more enjoyable for you. Me? I like Extra Aged, and the 7 polishes up some notes that while I didn’t dislike them, they are easier on me while still maintaining the qualities that bring me back to it regularly.

It is excellent. Definitely one of the better non finished ryes I have ever had.

And? How was it?

Back at my favorite brunch location , and enjoying another pour I have been wanting to try.