Vatting Success Stories

[ErichPryde]

Last night, I poured myself some Lot B and then added a splash of WLW 2008. The oak is pushed even more to the rear and maybe some cinnamon maple notes appear. This glass is playing the drums to PVW 15's brass. delicious.

[emr454]

Im enjoying a 2:1 mix of OGD BIB and Weller Special Reserve. Not too shabby! OGD's rye bite is tempered slightly by the wheat of the SR.

Eric

[funknik]

A few months ago, I poured together the remnants of two bottles I found undrinkable: an EC12 that was overly tannic (like all of the bottles I've bought lately) and an '04 Old Fitz 1849 (which I thought was the blandest, youngest wheater I've ever tasted).

I was using this mixed bottle for cooking for a few months when I decided to give it a sip . . . Wow! What an improvement . . . the sharp, soggy wood taste for the EC12 really added some depth to the Old Fitz and likewise, the Old Fitz's sweetness rounded out the edges of the EC12. I gobbled the rest of that bottle down last night.

This is the first time I've sucessfully vatted two bourbons I didn't like together to get a product that was palateable.

[kickert]

Tried something interesting the other day. I was looking in my cabinet and got the idea to do a vatting with every 100 proofer I had on hand. That ended up being Weller Cent, RHF, and VOB BIB. I went 1:1:1. As is, it was a bit muddled, but I liked what was going on. I tried it again at 2:2:1 and it was excellent. With a splash of water it really opened up. It tasted younger than I expected, but the flavors really popped. I would be interested in trying other similar vattings.

[Gillman]

Maker's and Evan Black 50/50 with a dash of Forester 100 proof. Excellent.

Gary

[WsmataU]

I saw a really neat display with Wasmund's the other day that came with a 1 L barrel to experiment with. Has anyone tried vatting in this setup?

[ErichPryde]

Another weird, but successful one last night. I had a splash of GTS08 left in my glass (about a teaspoon), and I poured a couple of ounces of Wild Turkey 8 year old export in. The result was very interesting. It was popping with green apples (like might be found in the ETL90), which was totally unexpected. There was a hint of citrus, and that delicious brown sugar grit from the stagg was still around. the finish wasn't as long as it would have been if it was just GTS, but damn was it stretched out much longer than if it had just been the WT8E. Very interesting stuff.

[Dramiel McHinson]

After a crisis with supply of my wife's goto drink, Crown Royal, I was experimenting with the idea of cutting some bourbon with BT Rain Vodka to see if I could replicate Crown Royal for the little woman. She doesn't like the more "flavorful" bourbons that I like, preferring to opt for just a touch of rye or barley in her whiskey. I took some Baker's, added a bit of WLW Antique 107 and Booker's to get the sweet wood and spice then added 3X of the Rain Vodka.

Upon first sip it appeared to be as good a clone as I was going to get with the tools at hand. The intensity of the bourbons flattened out without sacrificing the key flavors. The freshness of the vodka made it smooth, sweet with honey, oats, allspice and touch of clove. Water would do the same trick but it wouldn't hold the %ABV. This way the little woman gets a bourbon light that simulates her favorite drink without compromising the one shot take down.

Wifey :smiley_acbt:

Poor Me :searching:

And now........:icon_pidu:

[CorvallisCracker]

Good going Dan!

Wish there was some inexpensive way I could duplicate Red Breast 12, my wife's favorite tipple.

[Gillman]

Well done Dan, you have duplicated the logic (commercial logic anyway) of 1800's pioneers such as Jos Seagram and Hiram Walker.

I still add a dash of vodka to some bourbon or rye cocktails, it can bring things into the right proportion.

Gary

[Dramiel McHinson]

I still add a dash of vodka to some bourbon or rye cocktails, it can bring things into the right proportion.

Gary

I must admit, I got the idea from reading earlier posts here where GNS was compared to adding vodka as the base to blended whiskey. That stuck in my mind when the crisis struck. So, thanx to all of you for saving my bacon, again :grin:

[Gillman]

Well, blending is at the base of the concept. Of course, in Canada, then and now, the component distilled out at high proof was aged in wood, so there is that difference, but I don't think it is that significant in that the "flavoring whiskies" you used added plenty of aged character. What you did is closer to what modern American blended whiskey is, but both approaches to blending are essentially similar IMO. I've found that if a vatting does not work well, a dash of good vodka often fixes things up. If it works well though you don't need that or anything else.

Gary

[Parkersback]

Inspired by this thread, I tried a vatting of equal parts:

OWA (post SW, but still age statement)

Weller 12 (current)

WT101 (96)

Wow, I really like this thus far. The harshness of the OWA got toned down, but there's still a kick, though a pleasant one. Obviously the Weller profile is solidly there, but then the WT won't be bullied either.

I need to try it again to learn more what it's like, but I can't imagine not continuing to like it.

[chefnash51]

Anyone ever try vatting Eagle Rare 17, Eagle Rare 10/SB, and Stagg?

I am going to give this a try. I am thinking 3/2/1 ratio

[CorvallisCracker]

Anyone ever try vatting Eagle Rare 17, Eagle Rare 10/SB, and Stagg?

I wasn't all that pleased with the 2008 Stagg, so when it was down to 1/3, I combined it with 2/3 bottle of ER SB. Put it in a ex-Pappy bottle, with a custom label "Buffalo Trace - Low Rye - Old Bourbon Whiskey".

I thought it was pretty good.

[chefnash51]

I wasn't all that pleased with the 2008 Stagg, so when it was down to 1/3, I combined it with 2/3 bottle of ER SB. Put it in a ex-Pappy bottle, with a custom label "Buffalo Trace - Low Rye - Old Bourbon Whiskey".

I thought it was pretty good.

Yeah, my 2008 E17 is about halfway gone, and for some reason it keeps falling flat. I've gone back several times but never find those nice sweet tea notes I was seeing before. With being the same mashbill, I thought bringing up the proof and bolder notes of Stagg might be interesting.

the custom label is a nice touch!

[chefnash51]

Sipping a 2:1:1 ratio of ER17 - ER 10 - Stagg ..... And its delicious!

[cowdery]

Thread Drift Alert.

Every time I see this thread title I think of legendary Chicago radio personality Larry Lujack and his Animal Stories feature, which was let's just say uniquely twisted and later mercilessly parodied by subsequent legendary Chicago radio personalities Steve Dahl and Garry Meier.

[Gillman]

A complex vatting I did recently was crowned by a dose of bitters, appropriately, a mix of orange and Angostura bitters. There must be 20 bourbons in there (and one straight rye), Beams tend to predominate so there is a bit of that coming out but the spice of Bulleit and the smoothness of 1970's Benchmark, which was the base, show through as well. I decided to make it a whiskey-and-bitters (no sugar) and it is really good, I may bring some down to Sampler upcoming.

Gary

[Parkersback]

Gary, over in the dusty thread, you said that if you had a bunch of OGD114's, you'd pour them all out and mix/vat them. Can you say more about?

[Gillman]

Well, those bottles had suffered some evaporation, clearly. Just from a "visuals" standpoint, I think they would look better full and also might keep better (from here on) that way. Also, given the evaporation, I'd think each bottle would taste different, some perhaps not so great. True, the bottles look like they came from the same case and the rate of evaporation was pretty constant, but I'd be surprised if they all taste the same. I believe the best results (to maximize benefit from the group) would be to vat them. Of course I would taste them first to confirm this, maybe I'd want to vat only some bottles with some others, or in a certain proportion. It may sound a little odd, but I'd go about it that way. It's based on having had in the past bottles of the same brand and same era of, say, ND OT and I did the same thing. You might get one that was a shade dusty-tasting (literally) but vatted with 3 or 4 good ones the effect wouldn't be noticed and the overall result actually better than each.

Gary

[BMartin42]

Tried my first vatting this evening. I had two bottles that were both underwhelming so I figured I might as well try to mix them since they were so different and see what I got. The one-dimensional sweetness of David Nicholson BIB went pretty well with the cinammon red hots that is Redemption High-Rye bourbon. Certainly much more interesting than either by themself.

[River Runner]

I tried 1 part WT101, 2 parts EWB today. I liked it. My next one will be 50/50. This is looking like it has the potential for a very nice tasting yet economical blend.

Thinking of bargains, on the wheat side, I'm thinking maybe Makers with OWA?

[Parkersback]

I tried 1 part WT101, 2 parts EWB today. I liked it. My next one will be 50/50. This is looking like it has the potential for a very nice tasting yet economical blend.

Thinking of bargains, on the wheat side, I'm thinking maybe Makers with OWA?

That could be good. But if you can get it, why not use Weller 12 instead of MM? It's cheaper and older.

[River Runner]

That could be good. But if you can get it, why not use Weller 12 instead of MM? It's cheaper and older.

Unfortunately, not much Weller product around these parts (Western Mass) 2 bottles where I found the OWA, should have bought both but I didn't realize how much I would like it. A week later in another store I snagged their last bottle. MM is on sale now for $40- for a 1.75. At that price I've been thinking about getting one for some vatting tests. I like it ok stand alone too.