AAA 10-year strange taste?

[dmarkle]

ten star is ten shades better. The rye is really bold in it, the ten year has gotten tired tasting. Bourbon can be aged to long.

Hear, hear! To my palate, AAA 10 year has the finish of dirt. That being said, opening it up and exposing it to some new air really helps alleviate that problem. IMO it's got an over-aged taste which I don't personally equate with BT (but do equate with other old high-rye bourbons like Elijah Craig 18).

[T Comp]

I would the describe the "off" note as citric sweet oak very reminiscent of freshly cut or split oak,which is entirely different from the grassy notes that are so commonly found in other BT products.I am actually quite a fan of the 10yr. and found it quite a bit superior and different than the 10 Star which left me flat,just my two cents.

[Gillman]

Interesting how the taste is described in different ways. In chemical-distilling terms, I'd put it that this bourbon is, even at the age of 10 years, more congeneric than its stablemates (Eagle Rare 10 years old or even younger bourbons such as Blanton). It's not a mash bill thing but how it ages, and I'd guess the Triple A is from a lower portion of the warehouse and given a long less cyclic ride. The result is a rich "cured" bourbon taste, like a fine Southern ham which is subject to a traditional cure. It's a more forward and less refined taste than the bourbons which go for money but arguably is the more traditional taste.

Gary

Edited July 19, 2013 by Gillman

[Josh]

The result is a rich "cured" bourbon taste, like a fine Southern ham which is subject to a traditional cure. It's a more forward and less refined taste than the bourbons which go for money but arguably is the more traditional taste.

Gary

Southern ham? What does SmokinJoe have to do with this?

[squire]

That is high praise from a fellow reared on Canadian bacon.

[Gillman]

Word does get around even about our (few, admittedly) culinary specialties! Oddly, what the Americans called Canadian bacon is quite different to ours although I am not sure which is the true original. The American one is served cold and is smoked, also, it comes as a small loin piece. The Canadian one is the whole loin or a big piece of it anyway, never smoked, pink from its (light) cure, and coated in "peameal" which is or was cornmeal, i.e., I think a substitute for the corn is used now. You grill it and slice it thick and serve on a kaiser roll with mustard - very nice. Sometimes they tuck in tomatoes - never lettuce. You can also bake it and often this is done in winter and you dribble maple syrup on the peameal part. So this is quite different from the kind of traditional Kentucky ham I've had in Bardstown that they serve with red-eye gravy. Very different, but each good.

Gary

[WAINWRIGHT]

Man you must be drinking with my nose and mouth Ryan :cool: because that's a great description of its tastes to me. And that citric sweet oak has distinct hints of lemon which is the only bourbon I get that from. Without a doubt my favorite under 90 proofer.

[theglobalguy]

Word does get around even about our (few, admittedly) culinary specialties! Oddly, what the Americans called Canadian bacon is quite different to ours although I am not sure which is the true original. The American one is served cold and is smoked, also, it comes as a small loin piece. The Canadian one is the whole loin or a big piece of it anyway, never smoked, pink from its (light) cure, and coated in "peameal" which is or was cornmeal, i.e., I think a substitute for the corn is used now. You grill it and slice it thick and serve on a kaiser roll with mustard - very nice. Sometimes they tuck in tomatoes - never lettuce. You can also bake it and often this is done in winter and you dribble maple syrup on the peameal part. So this is quite different from the kind of traditional Kentucky ham I've had in Bardstown that they serve with red-eye gravy. Very different, but each good.

Gary

Ssssshhhhh! Don't tell them about the delicious bacon up north. It's horrible, ignore what he said :cool:

[bllygthrd]

The Canadian one is the whole loin or a big piece of it anyway, never smoked, pink from its (light) cure, and coated in "peameal" which is or was cornmeal, i.e., I think a substitute for the corn is used now.

Damn ... I miss visiting the Canadian side of my family ... I love the better [and real] bacon!

[Gillman]

Here's some info gents:

http://blog.lesnoiracochon.com/2009/06/07/peameal-bacon.aspx

It looks like the coating was ground yellow peas and later, corn meal only. But it's still called pea meal bacon. A recipe is given to make your own.

I doubt the part about a WW II origin, though, it must be much older than that. The very term, "back bacon", is English and I saw a somewhat similar food offered in stores there (England) some years ago. It's a British importation but we turned it around a bit.

Gary

P.S. What the blogger calls "Canadian bacon" is the American version I referred to earlier, i.e., sans yellow coating and smoked. What he calls peameal bacon is the Ontario or local Canadian version I was referring to. This is not smoked and always has the yellow coating which crisps up when you fry or bake it. The American Canadian bacon is more like a ham except made from the loin, or like the German kasseler ripchen (sp?).

Edited July 20, 2013 by Gillman

[mbroo5880i]

We used to eat "Canadian Bacon" when I was a kid. It was like a thin ham steak but with a less salty taste. Really good. My mom made sandwiches out of it. She fried it in a pan with no breading.

Drinking a little Old Charter tonight. It has that musty taste. Doesn't bother me. Not my favorite bourbon but still a solid option.

[squire]

Back Bacon is actually the term I had in mind but Canadian Bacon is better known. I don't think the use of ground pea meal is recent either (corn meal maybe) as ground peas (think pease porrage) has a fairly long history in British culinary tradition.

[Jackinbox]

Just revisited this bottle after letting it sit for many months. I can't figure out if the air has changed it or if my palate has changed. In any event, this stuff tastes fantastic to me now. Luckily the 1-liter bottle is still about 3/4 full.