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"Bourbon" in used barrels


Andre28
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I am pretty ignorant on this subject. Basically, I am looking for a spirit that is Bourbon in profile, only it has been matured in used Bourbon barrels, preferably for 10 years or more. What is such a spirit called, American Whiskey?

Edited by Andre28
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Edit: Title should say "In", not "Is"

I fixed that for you Andre28.

Cheers! Joe

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Basically, I am looking for a spirit that is Bourbon in profile, only it has been matured in used Bourbon barrels, preferably for 10 years or more. What is such a spirit called, American Whiskey?

What prompted the question? Has someone recommended such a whiskey to you or are you trying to settle an argument? Why not just drink bourbon if you want a whiskey that is bourbon in profile and is 10 years old?:skep:

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What prompted the question? Has someone recommended such a whiskey to you or are you trying to settle an argument? Why not just drink bourbon if you want a whiskey that is bourbon in profile and is 10 years old?:skep:

Well to me, aging in new barrels is an "aggressive" way of doing it. That is why I think, with some special exceptions, Bourbon doesn't really flourish at great age. (It is all relative of course, but lets compare to scotch for arguments sake). You get the results quicker with new barrels. Spirits done in used barrels on the other hand, need longer, but the results can be some extra smoothness and more complex character.

This is my line of thinking anyway, it could be completely flawed, but I do think something can be said for using used barrels. A 15 year old Bourbon that has been sitting in an ex-makers mark barrel would be something I want to try.

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The Parker's Heritage Collection 2011 release was a ~10yr. bourbon finished in used cognac barrels. You probably won't find them on shelves though. I also think there may be some Canadian whiskies that fit your criteria, but I don't know anything about them really. There are a few guys around here that know a lot about those that may chime in.

Edited by smknjoe
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Mellow Corn and to a lesser extent Early Times somewhat fit your parameters but both are less than ten years old. Come to think of it both together are less than ten years old.

However, if age is a primary consideration there are a number of Canadian brands aged in reuse barrels for more than 10 years.

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If mellow corn is 100% corn I am not sure if that is for me. I do like the Bourbon profile with mostly corn and rye or wheat, but If I have the chance I will track those down.

I can get the PHC here but I think it is the 2012. Is that worth a look?

Edit again: I lied, can't get it!

Edited by Andre28
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Andre when answering your post above I didn't notice you were posting under the Southern Cross. The export version of Early Times is a Straight Bourbon and not the Kentucky Style Whisky that is partially aged in reuse barrels.

Looks like Canadians will be your lot.

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High west 21 is rye in used barrels, plenty old and may fit the bill, if expensively.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk

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There's a Hirsch 20yo American Whiskey bottling that fits what you're looking for. It was distilled at the Hiram Walker distillery in Peoria, IL, presumedly from a bourbon mash, and aged in used barrels. There may be more than one batch out there. I tasted some years ago and really liked it. It has shown up on shelves more recently and has not gotten very good reviews. Can't say if that's batch variation or just preference differences.

The distillery has been closed for quite awhile now anyway, so they're certainly not making any more of it.

High West bottled a 21yo whiskey 'distilled from rye mash.' It was 53% rye I believe, distilled at Barton and aged in used barrels. It's long gone from shelves and was not cheap while it was around. Delicious stuff though.

I imagine that in 5-10 years there will be some barrels bottled by craft distilleries that will match what you're looking for, but probably not many. It's the bourbon craze after all, not the whiskey distilled from bourbon mash craze.

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Call it Scotch. At least some Scotch's are so aged.

Not even close............................................

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Thanks Joe.

Richnimrod, which scotch would you recommend that is made with 51% corn ?

No Scotch's I'm aware of are corn based; but many are aged in used Bourbon Barrels.

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Not so much now but years ago a good bit of blended Scotch used a corn distillate as the base blending whisky, and, yes, it was aged in reuse barrels.

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No Scotch's I'm aware of are corn based; but many are aged in used Bourbon Barrels.

lol yeah I was just joking, Scotch was definitely not what I had in mind.

I am actually quite surprised this isn't more common given the huge amount of barrels that only get a few years use.

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Maybe because if it's not aged in new oak it's not straight bourbon or rye. And if it's not straight then it's not the good stuff. There are dozens of excellent straight bourbons on the market. Several of them are aged over ten years. Why would anyone want anything less?

I'm pretty sure Canadian whiskey fits your specs nicely.

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oddly I haven't really liked the Canadian Whiskeys I have tried. Pretty much was just after a classic bourbon mash bill, aged in used casks for a length of time comparable to some of the nicer scotches. In my book that is 15-21 years, but it seems such a beast is quite rare.

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That's because whisky ages faster in the warm climate of Kentucky than the cold climate of Scotland. Combine that with new charred barrels and 8-10 years become close to optimum before the barrel influence becomes strong enough to throw the Bourbon out of balance. Older Bourbons can have the wood effect softened by selective filtering but the presence is still prominent.

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oddly I haven't really liked the Canadian Whiskeys I have tried. Pretty much was just after a classic bourbon mash bill, aged in used casks for a length of time comparable to some of the nicer scotches. In my book that is 15-21 years, but it seems such a beast is quite rare.
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Cheers, you are right, that fits the ticket. Getting one in Australia will now be the challenging part! Thanks for all the responses.

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That's because whisky ages faster in the warm climate of Kentucky than the cold climate of Scotland. Combine that with new charred barrels and 8-10 years become close to optimum before the barrel influence becomes strong enough to throw the Bourbon out of balance. Older Bourbons can have the wood effect softened by selective filtering but the presence is still prominent.
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Howdy!

I'm not entirely certain about the mash bills, but you might want to seek out Canadian Club 20 year old, Canadian Club 12 year old, Danfield's 21 year old, Wiser's 18 year old, Century Reserve 21 year old, and Gibson's Finest 12 Years Old (Gibson also has some older whisky, but I have not tried any of it).

While the percentage, and types of grains used in Canadian whisky similar to American whiskey. One of the main differences of Canadian whisky is that each grain is distilled separately. Then depending on the company/label/expression they are "married" before or after aging. There is also likely to be some grain neutral spirit and possibly caramel coloring. The rules are extremely lax when it comes to making Canadian whisky - basically, aged three years, and made on this side of the border.

That all being said, there are quite a few great to superlative Canadian whiskies that compare favorably to some of the finer bourbons and scotches available.

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Greenore Irish whiskey is mostly corn (90-95% masbill I think with the rest malted barley) that is aged in used bourbon barrels. More like a corn whiskey I suppose. The previously mentioned Hirsch 20 probably is the best fit though.

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