Widow Jane Kentucky Bourbon

[silverfish]

Found a store selling Widow Jane ($38. 45.5% ABV, from Cacao Prieto)

It is described as "Cacao Prieto hand selected a barrel of five year old

Kentucky Bourbon, which was transported to their Brooklyn distillery

and cut to proof with pure limestone mineral rich water from the Widow

Jane Mine in Rosendale, New York. Bold, complex aromas of spiced fruit,

vanilla, cinnamon, caramel and toffee carry through to the palate where

they merge with notes of citrus fruit, spicy oak and earthy mineral on the

long finish. Only 823 bottles were produced of this limited edition bourbon,

each hand numbered and labeled with the bottling date."

The Cacao Prieto website isn't coming up for me so no additional

information from them. Anyone familiar with this stuff?

[WsmataU]

My brother stumbled across this and was asking me what I knew about it (nothing). Has anyone tried it?

[Enoch]

Looks like a Buffalo Trace Bottle.

http://www.drinkupny.com/Cacao_Prieto_Widow_Jane_p/s1262.htm

[cowdery]

It's a standard bottle. Smooth Ambler uses it. Just want to prevent people from jumping to the conclusion that it's Buffalo Trace whiskey. It might be, but the bottle proves nothing.

[mosugoji64]

It's a standard bottle. Smooth Ambler uses it. Just want to prevent people from jumping to the conclusion that it's Buffalo Trace whiskey. It might be, but the bottle proves nothing.

That's for sure. I recently ran across a bottle of Rebel Yell cinnamon liqueur that came in a Weller Centennial/Elmer T. Lee-style bottle. Talk about confusing!

[WsmataU]

So....has anyone actually tasted the whiskey in a bottle labelled "Widow Jane?":cool:

[mopgcw]

had the 7-year last nite at Maysville in NYC. Very very special drink. now to hunt for a bottle.

[cowdery]

Here we have, ad nauseum, the typical load of crap, including the ringing endorsement from someone making their first SB post. Spent just enough time on the website to see that they are claiming their "Kentucky" bourbon was distilled in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn. So tired of people who can't tell the truth about their products. Nah!

[mopgcw]

...the typical load of crap, including the ringing endorsement from someone making their first SB post...

blowhard.

i drank it, i liked it. the fellow i had dinner with enjoyed it as well. have you even tried it?

[Flyfish]

had the 7-year last nite at Maysville in NYC. Very very special drink. now to hunt for a bottle.

Was that the five-year or seven-year you had? I heard the five year was crap but by seven years it had evolved into something special. Probably because it was brought to proof with mineral rich water instead of the usual distilled water.

[CaptainQ]

Wow, 823 bottles from one barrel.

[mopgcw]

Why do you think the 823 is from one barrel?

[mopgcw]

Was that the five-year or seven-year you had? I heard the five year was crap but by seven years it had evolved into something special. Probably because it was brought to proof with mineral rich water instead of the usual distilled water.

Have not had the 5-year, so i can't speak to it, but the 7-year, we thought, was indeed very special. it would have been great to compare the two sideXside, but they did not have the 5 year.

[wmpevans]

This thread is getting interesting. I hope the whiskey is as good.:slappin:

[mopgcw]

This thread is getting interesting. I hope the whiskey is as good.:slappin:

that did make me chuckle. thanks

[bad_scientist]

Why do you think the 823 is from one barrel?

Your marketing person wrote it up in the blurb that it was "a" barrel.

[mopgcw]

Your marketing person wrote it up in the blurb that it was "a" barrel.

"My" marketing person?? your assumption/insinuation is ignorant and false; i am no shill for anyone. OP asked about, i tasted it and loved it. simple as that.

[bad_scientist]

"My" marketing person?? your assumption/insinuation is ignorant and false; i am no shill for anyone. OP asked about, i tasted it and loved it. simple as that.

So you have absolutely no connection at all, personal or business, to anyone involved in the company that bottles or sells this product?

[mopgcw]

So you have absolutely no connection at all, personal or business, to anyone involved in the company that bottles or sells this product?

absolutely none. like i said, buddy and i were at mayville in nyc having dinner and trying different bourbons & ryes. picked this one on a random hunt and we both enjoyed it, a lot. i too am curious where they get the bourbon as well, and it may simply be good bourbon and the mine water makes no difference, or both. but it was a fine drink nonetheless.

best,

George

[CaptainQ]

Why do you think the 823 is from one barrel?

"hand selected a barrel of five year old

Kentucky Bourbon, which was transported to their Brooklyn distillery

and cut to proof with pure limestone mineral rich water from the Widow

Jane Mine in Rosendale, New York. Bold, complex aromas of spiced fruit,

vanilla, cinnamon, caramel and toffee carry through to the palate where

they merge with notes of citrus fruit, spicy oak and earthy mineral on the

long finish. Only 823 bottles were produced of this limited edition bourbon"

That's why.:skep:

[Kalessin]

I wonder why, then, on the "5 year" link on the Widow Jane/Cacao Prieta website, they also say this:

"Cacao Prieto Distillery is proud to announce the very limited release of an extraordinary 5 year Bourbon Whiskey. Only 1,500 bottles have been produced of the Widow Jane unfiltered 5 year old Kentucky Bourbon, and each bottle is hand labeled and hand numbered, creating a unique package."

Is this the same 5-year-old bourbon that had the production run of "only 823 bottles"? Wonder which it is...

I'm sure they're good people, and I love rum and chocolate, but I think the website might need a little work.

I think people are reacting to the gimmick of a little-known craft distiller (of non-whiskey spirits) buying bourbon from a Kentucky distiller and filling it into a bottle with an unusual label and name, and basing their marketing on the limestone-mine-sourced water used to cut the product. Small producers with "gimmick" marketing can turn $15/btl whiskey into $55/btl in the blink of an eye... and the Kentucky producers probably aren't selling their best whiskey to the wholesale market...

Of course, one of our favorite bottlers of rye whiskey around here is High West, who "sources" all kinds of ryes and bourbons from elsewhere, and bottles these whiskies (and mixtures of whiskies) in some pretty bottles with eye-catching labels, and sells some of them at eye-popping prices. People here buy the products, sing their praises, and recommend them to others. Strange, huh?

[HighInTheMtns]

I wonder why, then, on the "5 year" link on the Widow Jane/Cacao Prieta website, they also say this:

"Cacao Prieto Distillery is proud to announce the very limited release of an extraordinary 5 year Bourbon Whiskey. Only 1,500 bottles have been produced of the Widow Jane unfiltered 5 year old Kentucky Bourbon, and each bottle is hand labeled and hand numbered, creating a unique package."

Is this the same 5-year-old bourbon that had the production run of "only 823 bottles"? Wonder which it is...

I'm sure they're good people, and I love rum and chocolate, but I think the website might need a little work.

I think people are reacting to the gimmick of a little-known craft distiller (of non-whiskey spirits) buying bourbon from a Kentucky distiller and filling it into a bottle with an unusual label and name, and basing their marketing on the limestone-mine-sourced water used to cut the product. Small producers with "gimmick" marketing can turn $15/btl whiskey into $55/btl in the blink of an eye... and the Kentucky producers probably aren't selling their best whiskey to the wholesale market...

Of course, one of our favorite bottlers of rye whiskey around here is High West, who "sources" all kinds of ryes and bourbons from elsewhere, and bottles these whiskies (and mixtures of whiskies) in some pretty bottles with eye-catching labels, and sells some of them at eye-popping prices. People here buy the products, sing their praises, and recommend them to others. Strange, huh?

High West is typically as open as possible with details of what goes into their bottles. Clearly that is not the case with this Widow Jane release.

And mopgcw, how about an "hello" post or something in the new members forum before calling one of the more esteemed members here a "blowhard?" Your first post was an atypical one, for sure, and as such, Chuck calling it into question was hardly out of line. No one has any reason to give any credence to your first post; we know nothing about you or the whiskeys you've drunk or what you think of them.

[p_elliott]

Lets pull in the claws a bit people, I know as well as anyone how easy it is to let your emotions get the better of you. But lets not let this get out of hand.

[Kalessin]

High West is typically as open as possible with details of what goes into their bottles. Clearly that is not the case with this Widow Jane release.

Aside from not naming the distiller, the Cacao Prieta people talk about the origin of the whiskey (Kentucky, rather than their own still) and the water (Widow Jane limestone mine in NY) all over their bottle labels, website, press releases, liquor store websites, etc. High West might be open about who produces their juice when someone asks, but like Cacao Prieta, they don't put that information on the label, into press releases, on their website, etc.

The discrepancy in number of Widow Jane bottles produced (1500 on one page on their site, 823 absolutely everywhere else) looks more like bad web content authoring than anything else, I just thought it was amusing.

I'm not sure how naming the producer of the bourbon would help the Widow Jane brand, especially because they seem to be basing their branding on the concept that it's "all about the water". Which may seem backwards to us, but look at all the advertising messaging from beer producers talking about their special water! :grin:

Edited November 15, 2012 by Kalessin

[tanstaafl2]

It is a bit of a curiosity. The bottle certainly says "Kentucky Bourbon". Not sure if it says somewhere in fine print that it was distilled in Kentucky although I would guess not.

This website doesn't appear to claim it is distilled in Brooklyn. Of course neither does it say it was distilled in Kentucky or by whom, not that the latter was really expected.

But the direct widowjanewhiskey.com website did say that it was distilled in Brooklyn. Red Hook to be exact! Or at least it did last night when I looked at it. Doesn't appear to be working at the moment for me. That would be poor editing at best and complete deception at worst to me.

Not that it matters much to me personally. Wouldn't turn down a free pour but not planning to go out of my way to look for this.