2012 Sazerac 18

[biskuit]

(is there another thread that I'm missing on this?)... anyway, got my bottle of Sazerac 18 last week and have been sipping on it ever since. Predictably great stuff. I posted tasting notes on thirstysouth.com (verdict=WOW, though still a notch below VWFRR in my book - http://www.thirstysouth.com/2012/10/18/review-2012-sazerac-18-rye/), but as I was researching a bit, I went back and looked at the details on the past several years of this (thank you Buffalo Trace for those detailed spec sheets each year, and thank you straightbourbon folks who scanned and posted prior years!). Most folks have heard that this juice was distilled way back in 85 and has been in tanks from when it hit 18 years to the present. Some may know (thanks to John Hansell) that BT switched from one massive tank to three smaller tanks some time ago. But I bet most have not looked at the documented total loss to evaporation recorded for each annual release!

Here it is:

In 2007, the net loss from original barreling was 51.9%. In 2008, it jumped up to 54.1% (maybe that was when they moved tanks??). Then 56.1%, then 56.5%, then 57.3%, and now 57.6% with this 2012 release.

The thing I find most curious is the big jump in 2008, and my guess is that's the year they moved from one large tank to three smaller tanks, which would have contributed to the evaporation loss (right???). The increase in net loss each year since then has been consistently small. Any other theories or facts on that 2008 jump? Any other interesting stories about how BT has handled this whiskey over time?

Will be interesting in three years or so when they finally switch over to something new to see how different it is.

[B.B. Babington]

Instead of playing silly marketing games, they should just bottle and be done with that. The loss to evaporation is loss of good stuff, volatiles that lend complexity. Sure, recent years are great, but older bottlings before the tank games are incredible.

[BFerguson]

how much evaporation really would take place in in stainless tank?

I cant imagine there would be much lose at all...

B

[Tico]

how much evaporation really would take place in in stainless tank?

I cant imagine there would be much lose at all...

B