Jewish Whisky Company - 15yr HH Bourbon

[ChainWhip]

Saw this today:

More info on the link here:

http://whiskyjewbilee.com/jewish-whisky-companys-whisky-jewbilee-latest-news/2013/8/8/whisky-jewbilee-festival-bottling-announced

We're immensely proud to announce the first Whisky Jewbilee bottling exclusively available to attendees of both the Mt Kisco and NYC events. Limited to fewer than 100 bottles (split between the two events) this single barrel has been bottled at 122.6 Proof (61.3% ABV) just shy of its 16th birthday. All told, the spirit matured in the barrel for 5774 days.

We're honored to have partnered with Heaven Hill Distilleries, the largest independent, family owned and operated distiller of spirits in the United States on this special bottling. We had the distinct pleasure of tasting our way through a selection of samples from this highly regarded distiller and settled on a single barrel that instantly had us sit up and take notice. We have no doubt that attendees of this year's Whisky Jewbilee will feel the same way about this remarkable high-rye single barrel bourbon as we do.

The bottle will be available for sampling at the Jewish Whisky Company's table and interested attendees can add their name to the list in order to purchase a bottle (state law does not allow on site sales).

Come back on Monday when we'll post our tasting notes for this delicious bourbon.

Tasting Notes:

http://whiskyjewbilee.com/jewish-whisky-companys-whisky-jewbilee-latest-news/2013/8/12/exclusive-whisky-jewbilee-bottling-tasting-notes

As we announced on Friday we've bottled a single barrel from Heaven Hill in celebration of this year's Whisky Jewbilee events. While numbers are extremely limited we're hoping that bourbon lovers will have an opportunity to taste this excellent barrel. Get to the Jewish Whisky Company table early to taste it and get your name on the list for one of the bottles. There are fewer than 45 bottles available at each Jewbilee.

Here are our tasting notes which we hope you'll compare with yours on the night:

Color: Burnt ochre

On the nose: Marzipan, maraschino cherries, vanilla, and a hint of dill pickle brine

Flavors on the mouth: Cinnamon and nutmeg, charred sticks, brown sugar and barbecued fennel

Finish: Long and warming with sweetness to the front but a nice savory note to the back

Since we selected and bottled this Heaven Hill single barrel it shouldn't be a surprise that we love it! However, we highly recommend that you come out to the Whisky Jewbilee events and sample it for yourself. We firmly believe that if you're a bourbon lover you'll soon be a lover of this bourbon.

[squire]

Burnt ochre color huh, wish I'd thought of that one.

[Gillman]

Nice label.

Gary

[Jono]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/05/dining/whiskey-producers-court-their-jewish-market.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Whiskey Makers Court Jewish Market

"....Part of the spirit’s appeal to many Orthodox Jews is that most whiskey is naturally kosher. In contrast, wine, owing to its long connection to Jewish tradition, must satisfy many regulations to earn a hechsher, the symbol of kosher certification...."

[squire]

I thought that due to the purification effect of distillation virtually all Bourbon/Rye/Scotch had been ruled Kosher by the appropriate counsel.

[DeanSheen]

I have seen bourbon at a kiddish, a meal in a synagogue after services, in an Orthodox temple.

I thought it odd, but this ties it together.

[AnotherCigarGuy]

Just not during Passover!

[Phil T]

Saw this on the COLA site. Should be great whiskey. Anyone going to the event? I need some of this... .:cool:

[Kalessin]

It looks like the Jewbilee event is less about the kosher status of the whiskies and more about not holding the event on the Sabbath, between sundown on Friday and sundown on Saturday (which is when Whiskeyfest NYC is being held). As a bonus, the food they're serving is strictly kosher ("glatt kosher"), which means that nearly everyone attending will be able to eat (there are some who are stricter than strict, but that's another long discussion). While I'm much less observant than the orthodox crowd, if I were in NYC in mid-october, I'd probably sign up for the event and see some of the people I know in the community there.

The big kosher complications with whiskey come from additives. With straight American whiskies or scotch, wine-cask finishing is the biggest issue; for blends, grape-based or animal ingredients added as part of the process can be a problem. There's debate among Jewish religious authorities about sherried, port-finished (and other-wine-finished) whiskies and other spirits; the finishing occurs after distillation, but because of sacramental implications, wine has very restrictive rules to be considered kosher by observant Jews, and wine drawn out of the cask walls into the whiskey can be considered a problem.

All non-grape spirits are just fine, as long as they don't contain non-kosher animal products (so mezcal with the worm in it is Right Out; glycerin used to sweeten a blended whiskey would be a complication). Grain spirits are not allowed during Passover week, which is when I shift gears to slivovitz instead of whiskey. There's a long discussion of the rules at http://www.star-k.org/kashrus/kk-thirst-highspirits.htm

[For brevity, I have left out plenty of confusing bits. For example: grain-based spirits made by Jewish-owned companies, or held and distributed by Jewish-owned distributors or store owners, who retain ownership of grain components or product over Passover, without temporarily selling all of it to a non-Jew for the week, may be considered non-kosher by the observant. Mind-boggling enough to make you want to sit down, have a drink and think of simpler things like vector calculus or probate law.

[by the by, the grape-based additive to blended whiskey mentioned above is O.T.S. ("other than standard") grape wine, added at 1% or less to Canadian blends to change the whiskey into a "wine product" for tax purposes; American blended whiskey currently only uses a similar amount of orange-peel-based O.T.S. wine, so no grape-wine complication. Ready for a pour yet?]

Edited August 28, 2013 by Kalessin

[AnotherCigarGuy]

Didn't think about Slivovich. Haven't had that since 1975 in the old Yugoslavia.

My palate didn't appreciate it back then; maybe better conditioned now?!

[Gillman]

Whisky at the kiddish is an old thing, I saw many bottles of Crown Royal/VO emptied at these events when I attended them in Montreal of my youth. In Europe it would have been vodka or Slivovitz (good drink).

I'm not expert at this but I understand that the whiskey must not be wine-treated to meet the religious standards, but not sure of the ins and outs. Certainly American straight whiskey qualifies and I believe the Seagram Canadian whiskies never used sherry to flavour, so that ties in too.

I don't know if any of this is still done, from what Robert said maybe you still see it.

Gary

[squire]

Come to think of it the only bottle of Slivovitz I've bought mentioned on the label it was Kosher.

[Gillman]

The import market here would encompass numerous orthodox Jews, so that would explain the designation. However, the drink is pan- East European and issues from numerous nationalities:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slivovitz

We used to get the one in the top right in Montreal. I never saw it at a kiddish though (the light meal taken at the end of Saturday morning services is what I am referring to although the term can cover other observances), it was always and only Canadian rye. The secular classes drank rye, the more religious went for European drinks they remembered from home.

I bought it after reading about it in books in the mid-70's, I can still remember the plum taste, but haven't had it in 30 years. Maybe I'll revisit.

Gary

[Lazer]

The Orthodox Jewish and Chasidic owned wine and liquor stores here in Brooklyn always have great bourbons. :cool:

[ChainWhip]

Burnt ochre color huh, wish I'd thought of that one.

I'm sure that's not the last we've seen of that one ;-)

[MacinJosh]

Mark Gillespie did an excellent interview with the two creators of this label back in June. Definitely worth a listen. Cheers!

https://m.facebook.com/WhiskyCast/posts/10151442519542116

[squire]

Is this whisky the standard 15 year Evan Williams that's exported to Japan?

[Kalessin]

Didn't think about Slivovich. Haven't had that since 1975 in the old Yugoslavia.

My palate didn't appreciate it back then; maybe better conditioned now?!

The R. Jelinek 5-year-old Kosher Slivovitz is pretty good stuff, and I have it during Passover and occasionally when I want to sip something that reminds me of my late grandfather, who drank it year-round (I also inherited his taste for bourbon...). Tasting notes-wise, I find this particular brand to be a little better than most that I've tasted, but it's still kind of like tequila with plum flavoring rather than agave.

[Kalessin]

Whisky at the kiddish is an old thing, I saw many bottles of Crown Royal/VO emptied at these events when I attended them in Montreal of my youth. In Europe it would have been vodka or Slivovitz (good drink).

I'm not expert at this but I understand that the whiskey must not be wine-treated to meet the religious standards, but not sure of the ins and outs. Certainly American straight whiskey qualifies and I believe the Seagram Canadian whiskies never used sherry to flavour, so that ties in too.

I don't know if any of this is still done, from what Robert said maybe you still see it.

It's still done at many Orthodox or "old school european" type congregations -- usually not at modern Conservative, Reform or Reconstructionist. We put out spirits at the sit-down kiddush lunch every Saturday after services at my synagogue (we're a sort of old-yiddish, half conservative, half orthodox, 100-year-old congregation). Everyone donates what they like; I usually keep the bourbon in stock with OGD or WT, while others donate vodka, wine, slivovitz, scotch, gin, cherry heering, etc.

[squire]

Yes, Jelinek, that's the brand I was trying to remember, don't recall any tequila notes though, more research may be necessary.

[MyOldKyDram]

Beats the hell out of Catholic communion wine. I'm converting.

[squire]

I'm all for communion Bourbon.

[HighInTheMtns]

I'm all for communion Bourbon.

Hmm do you have a religion and can you send your missionaries to my door?

[Kalessin]

Yes, Jelinek, that's the brand I was trying to remember, don't recall any tequila notes though, more research may be necessary.

I think that's more my lame powers of description -- I get a same sort of mouthfeel as a nice blanco tequila. The taste is definitely plum brandy, which I don't mind at all.

[squire]

Hmm do you have a religion and can you send your missionaries to my door?

Episcopalian Jim, which our Southern Baptists call Whiskypalian because we speak to each other at the liquor store.