Breckenridge

[Bluffhunter]

I have heard good things about Breckenridge bourbon with awards and other comments but looking at this site I dont see it mentioned much as far as anyones normal drink or a favorite. Is it because of the higher price and low age of it? or not a Kentucky bourbon? just interested in some comments on this bourbon?

[petrel800]

It's been discussed quite a bit. Here is a link to an old thread . . .

http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/showthread.php?20278-Break-g-amp-Entering-Breackenridge&highlight=breckenridge

[TunnelTiger]

Too young, too low proof, too much cost

[BingoBourbon]

I read the link to the earlier discussion, but don't understand how the bourbon is sourced from Kentucky. Anyone know the mash bill on this or which distillery is selling the bourbon to them?

[Enoch]

According to the distiller it has some older sourced bourbon but because it is also blended with some of their own bourbon they have to say the 2 year age statement. They hope to go 100% their own but it takes time. they were going to build a new 10000 sq ft "rickhouse" to increase production during mud season along with a continuous still. I enjoy it but it is a little pricy. You can find it in the lower $30s around Breck and Dillon/Silverthorne but also as high as $49. It is a neat place. They have bottling parties where locals (including my daughter) bottle their spirits. She sends me mine.

They also offer a single barrel that is 100% their juice for $999. Haven't tried it.

Edited December 30, 2013 by Enoch

[squire]

I read the link to the earlier discussion, but don't understand how the bourbon is sourced from Kentucky. Anyone know the mash bill on this or which distillery is selling the bourbon to them?

The mash bill matches one made by MGP. Sourced from Kentucky may simply mean the whisky was purchased from one of the whisky brokers who have an office in Kentucky.

[jwacky]

It beat Pappy 23 so it's the best bourbon ever. That's how it works, right?!

[TunnelTiger]

They should just put a big 30 neck label on and watch their sales soar.

[squire]

I guess we shouldn't question the price then, eh?

[BingoBourbon]

I have to confess that I run a wine/spirits shop and Breck flies based on that "beat Pappy" review/competition however long ago. I have to restock each week and I don't really recommend it because I find it average. As long as the customer is assured (by their bottle talker) that it is better than Pappy 23 it will blow out of here....and yet I wonder how many of these customers have had Pappy 23.....

[squire]

Apparently not enough of them Bingo, welcome aboard by the way.

[BigBoldBully]

Is a bottle talker something hung on the bottle?

[tigerlam92]

Is a bottle talker something hung on the bottle?

Really sorry.

But this is just ROFL!!

[Enoch]

I was at a store in Dillon CO and they have store-select single-barrel Breckenridge Bourbon which I find interesting since they will tell you their bourbon is a blend of sourced KY bourbon and their own. Was the single -barrel all sourced or all their on. The store had no idea what I was talking about.

[jmj_203]

I was at a store in Dillon CO and they have store-select single-barrel Breckenridge Bourbon which I find interesting since they will tell you their bourbon is a blend of sourced KY bourbon and their own. Was the single -barrel all sourced or all their on. The store had no idea what I was talking about.

Thats reassuring as to how well "selected" that juice probably is. Then again half the time if its NDP juice and surprisingly good you won't know the provenance anyways. Maybe they're combining sourced aged juice with their white dog own distilled juice, then barreling that up for 2 more years...

Edited July 20, 2014 by jmj_203

[melon16]

I was talking with the co-owner last week and he says it will most likely never be 100% their whiskey. He said their operation is too small to keep up with the demand. I did try some at barrel strength and another aged for 8 months in port wine casks. Both were quite good, and far better than the standard offering.

[Restaurant man]

I was talking with the co-owner last week and he says it will most likely never be 100% their whiskey. He said their operation is too small to keep up with the demand. I did try some at barrel strength and another aged for 8 months in port wine casks. Both were quite good, and far better than the standard offering.

Yep. 2 years ago "the owner" told me that it was 100% their distillate. So "whiskey men and the things they say" should be a revolving thread here. Not taking a shot at you melon. Just the way things are with some of the labels out there. It's refreshing when transparency exists. It also doesn't hurt sales or desirability. #smoothambler

[cowdery]

I don't believe anything Breckenridge Distillery says. I don't even believe they said it. They're up there with WhistlePig, completely untrustworthy.

[squire]

I think it's a good idea to blend their own make with finished sourced whisky. That's a flexible approach that allows for a wide variety of flavor combinations as well as a better product than they could perhaps make themselves. Not every micro is going to make a first rate product any more than opening a pastry shop means you will eventually become a master baker.

Just don't obscure what you're doing then charge an arm and a leg for your brand justifying the price because it's handmade, handcrafted, small still, unique grains, special water, etc.

[Enoch]

Thats reassuring as to how well "selected" that juice probably is. Then again half the time if its NDP juice and surprisingly good you won't know the provenance anyways. Maybe they're combining sourced aged juice with their white dog own distilled juice, then barreling that up for 2 more years...

[Enoch]

Yep. 2 years ago "the owner" told me that it was 100% their distillate. So "whiskey men and the things they say" should be a revolving thread here. Not taking a shot at you melon. Just the way things are with some of the labels out there. It's refreshing when transparency exists. It also doesn't hurt sales or desirability. #smoothambler

[squire]

Is there any legal definition to single barrel. Can you blend 2+ barrels and re-barrel it and then claim it is a single barrel. If so, is there a minimum time.

[Harry in WashDC]

No. There is no federal regulatory definition for "single barrel" or "small batch". Someplace on the TTB website there's an interpretation, I think, that mentions them and confirms this, but I always get bored trying to find it again.

I suppose some producer could run afoul of generic "false advertising" prohibitions depending on whether a consumer could get misled by what is "single" and, even tougher, what is a "small" compared to whatever is a "big" batch, but as Squire wrote on another thread recently, all bourbon spends some time in a single barrel, so . . .

[beAUar]

I visited the distillery about a year ago. And immediately following the visit, I followed up with an email to founder Bryan Nolt asking for clarification on the provenance of their bourbon. His response was the following:

Due to demand we function at max capacity but over deplete our Bourbon barrel inventory at times. When that happens we contract time at other distilleries to produce the identical mash bill, fermentation, and distillation process. And while I'd say there's a lot of KY tradition in our Bourbon, we've never made, bought, or contracted any Bourbon in or from KY.

[Enoch]

I visited the distillery about a year ago. And immediately following the visit, I followed up with an email to founder Bryan Nolt asking for clarification on the provenance of their bourbon. His response was the following:

Due to demand we function at max capacity but over deplete our Bourbon barrel inventory at times. When that happens we contract time at other distilleries to produce the identical mash bill, fermentation, and distillation process. And while I'd say there's a lot of KY tradition in our Bourbon, we've never made, bought, or contracted any Bourbon in or from KY.

And yet their rep at their tasting room downtown told me that it was sourced from Kentucky....