Single Oak Project

[pangkarra]

So I've heard about BT Single Oak Project here and it's also mentioned here but these posts have nothing substantive on them. The website for the project here just has a cute animation. Anyone know what this is about or care to speculate? Is this something that might be really interesting?

[cowdery]

As I understand it, the plan is to make barrels from a single tree, age bourbon in them, and (presumably) bottle them as single barrel, so it's a single barrel bottling with the barrel coming from a single tree. The idea, from an experimental standpoint, is to get as far into the terroir of the oak as it's possible to get.

[jburlowski]

I mentioned it in my post here.

[cowdery]

Now that it's out, it appears these early leaks were inadvertent.

No harm done, though, as they reveal only a fraction of the project's scope.

[sku]

Now that it's out, it appears these early leaks were inadvertent.

No harm done, though, as they reveal only a fraction of the project's scope.

Chuck, weren't you at the press conference? Any further details you can share with us?

This seemed odd to me as it doesn't seem to line up with the statements they made previously about releasing a bourbon calculated to get 100 scores from the experts. Instead, it seems like 192 different bottlings. Were the earlier statements red herrings?

[cowdery]

There is actually an active thread about Single Oak here, but it doesn't have Single Oak in the title because it was started before we knew that was what it was about. I'm blaming Jason Wilson for that too, by the way.

That 'Perfect 10' or Perfect 100' thing is part of Mark Brown's rap about the quest for the Holy Grail of bourbon, of which Single Oak is a part, but which is the mission of the entire ongoing experimental program which amounts to a lot more than Single Oak.

Maybe Brown makes too much of that, or maybe the people out here do. One of the ways he defines "perfect" is a bourbon that leading writers would score a perfect 10. Most writers who give scores (I don't) have either said or implied that they'll never give a 10/100 because perfection can be approached but never attained, so it's really a metaphor, like hell freezing over.

[silverfish]

DrinkHacker offers up some reviews.

[Gillman]

If I read this right, the wheaters in the oldest trees did the best.

Do the rings denote the age, e.g. 17 rings means 17 years old? If so, historical bourbons surely were aged in wood from much older trees and I believe current regular production bourbon is too, but not as old as the trees would have been a generation and more ago.

I still feel (but could be wrong) that the oldest tree stock generally will provide the best barrels.

Gary

[cowdery]

The trees were all about the same age, about 150 years. The rings are stated as # per inch and indicate not age but grain coarseness, which in this case varied by location on the hill. If I remember correctly, the trees further down the hill grew more slowly and had finer grain while the trees further up the hill grew more rapidly and had a more coarse grain. They also marked a middle ground 'average' grain. Tree age is not a variable in this study.

DrinkHacker was not at the event in Frankfort last month. I don't know where he got the thing about # staves per barrel, which was not discussed at Frankfort and not considered a variable in the experiment. I didn't notice it on the DNA pages, which typical of BT listed everything you could possibly want to know about the whiskeys including, I guess, the number of staves per barrel.

[Gillman]

Okay, 150 years old on average then. Certainly old enough.

Was there a control for this study, i.e., the same whiskeys dumped into standard BT barrels so you could compare at the end of the pipe?

I'd still like to know: what was the average age of the oak used to make barrels used for whiskey in the mid-1800's?

Mike V, any data on that from historical records you have access to?

Gary

[MarkEdwards]

The rings are stated as # per inch and indicate not age but grain coarseness, which in this case varied by location on the hill. If I remember correctly, the trees further down the hill grew more slowly and had finer grain while the trees further up the hill grew more rapidly and had a more coarse grain.

[DeanSheen]

I'd be interested in seeing how grain coarseness affects flavors. Have any tasting notes been made available?

Well there was that BTEC release that was coarse grain, fine grain.

http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12873

[cowdery]

I had it backwards in my previous post. Lower on the hill, coarser grain, finer as you go up?

[MarkEdwards]

Well there was that BTEC release that was coarse grain, fine grain.

http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12873

Thanks Dean, that was very informative, and answered all the questions I had.

[Ian S.]

Has anyone seen these hit the shelves yet?

[DeanSheen]

Thanks Dean, that was very informative, and answered all the questions I had.

[gburger]

I got a call from my favorite store today. She said she is getting in a case Thursday or Friday

[mobourbon]

They arrived in Frankfort today! I have 3 bottles. I'll get 2 more after work. I have barrel #99,100 and 131.

[Ian S.]

I got a call from my favorite store today. She said she is getting in a case Thursday or Friday

What store? :grin:

[gburger]

I got some extra money from a contest at my work.

I ordered a case of the project, all 12 different bottles. The store that I buy from always gives me a deal and does jack up the price.

Am I dumb to buy all of these?

[gburger]

What store? :grin:

Ian,

She is only getting in one case special order for me.

She does not carry too much high end stuff, I always have to order it.

I did talk to David at Twin's this week. He said they are getting some in as well.

Call Al at the Hancock location.

[Ian S.]

Ian,

She is only getting in one case special order for me.

She does not carry too much high end stuff, I always have to order it.

I did talk to David at Twin's this week. He said they are getting some in as well.

Call Al at the Hancock location.

Cool. Yeah, I've been all over Twin's corporate and they have no clue as to what RNDC is going to give them. It'll probably be like the BTEC, BTAC, and VW. They get what RNDC gives them without any prior notice.

I guess I'm just going to stay on my toes.

[MacinJosh]

There is actually an active thread about Single Oak here, but it doesn't have Single Oak in the title because it was started before we knew that was what it was about. I'm blaming Jason Wilson for that too, by the way.

That 'Perfect 10' or Perfect 100' thing is part of Mark Brown's rap about the quest for the Holy Grail of bourbon, of which Single Oak is a part, but which is the mission of the entire ongoing experimental program which amounts to a lot more than Single Oak.

Maybe Brown makes too much of that, or maybe the people out here do. One of the ways he defines "perfect" is a bourbon that leading writers would score a perfect 10. Most writers who give scores (I don't) have either said or implied that they'll never give a 10/100 because perfection can be approached but never attained, so it's really a metaphor, like hell freezing over.

[callmeox]

Chuck, I saw another thread directed towards the moderators on where to post tasting notes, opinions, etc. on this release. What's the proper etiquette on this matter? I know a lot of people on here (myself included) want to taste these blind without other influences but at the same time want to read any news related updates. Should those posting in this thread and the other one I started refrain from posting tasting notes?

Josh

Please, no tasting notes or any other information about specific barrels in this thread.

[BourbonCzar]

Picked up a bottle of barrel 131 yesterday. I had my pick of the case and the process of choosing a bottle made me question why I was paying the equivalent of $100 for a bourbon that had no reputation of being excellent. There wasn't much color variation among the bottles and no mention of the recipe, just the barrel number. Only 191 more bottles to try.