2015 Distillery of the year?

[Paddy]

What better way to end the year than a little discussion of what's near and dear to our hearts! 

The past couple of years I've kicked this thread off with my thoughts.on the subject...  This year, I'm deferring to you guys.

The nominee's are as follows:

Barton

Buffalo Trace

Brown-Forman

Four Roses

Heaven Hill

Jim Beam

Midwest Grain Producers

Wild Turkey

Woodford Reserve

Feel free add a write in (or two), but as you can see I've stuck with the major producers here for reasons I'm sure we'll get into later. 

Will the 4R cult show up in force, or will Heaven Hill defend their title? 

What say ye?

 

[gotzero]

MGP - I think Metze's Select is probably a shot heard around the bourbon world.

[taddraughn]

My pick for top distillery would be Four Roses with runner up being Buffalo Trace. Some of my favorite whiskeys this year have been from NDPs (or Distilleries whose juice is not yet of age) so I guess those probably shouldn't count as write-ins.

 

[flahute]

I will represent the cult and throw my towel in for Four Roses. BT is always in the running, but 4R beats it with consistency and quality across all of it's labels.

[Jace]

I'm with the cult. Mostly because of FRSmBLE'15

Also, their ordinary SmB is cheaper around here than all other equally enjoyable bourbons.

I just hope the quality will stay the same now has Rutledge retired.

[mosugoji64]

Don't forget MM. Some may give them the nod for their new line extensions. 

[BourbonGuy]

If we are going to talk "most buy", and "bang for the buck"...Heaven Hill.  for the $ you can't beat Evan Williams (all varieties), Rittenhouse Rye BIB (<$25), Henry McKenna BIB (<29), Larceny (<$30), Elijah Craig 12 (<25) and Elihah Craig Barrel Proof was a favorite this year.

Then again Buffalo Trace has Eagle Rare, Buffalo Trace (<$30), Blantons (never can go wrong with Blantons), Stagg Jr, (and George T if I could get it or any of the Antique collection and of course Pappy) and the Wellers which seem to pop up a bit more here and there.

Buffalo Trace has great Bourbon with limited releases, HH, available and priced right.  Pretty much a tie. 

 

[starhopper]

To me, Buffalo Trace should be the distillery of the year - considering the wide variety of fine bourbons they put out each year.

[smokinjoe]

For one of the few (If only) times that I can remember, my Distillery of the Year won my vote in a landslide.  That distillery is Maker's Mark.  It's as if the chains and yoke have been taken off and it's allowed to run free.  No more just a one trick pony sitting on the sidelines sold out to a crazy loyal (if somewhat myopic) fan base.  They have really stepped up Big Time to put themselves in the discussions among true bourbon enthusiasts.  Distillation expansion, rickhouse expansion, continued upgrade of the visitor experience to the distillery, product line extensions, private barrel introduction, etc., etc., etc...Plus, a nifty ear warmer gift in the mail! 

All of the majors do great work, but Maker's rose above them all in 2015, IMO.

[KyleCBreese]

I look at quality, consistency, and availability. Unfortunately, BT products just aren't available. I would have to say Four Roses or Heaven Hill. This year, I would give the nod to Four Roses since every Barrel Proofer I have had has been delicious and they are relatively easy to find, though they are going up in price. Heaven Hill fell short with the PHC this year, which allowed Four Roses to jump to the #1 spot in my mind.

[Golzee]

I am voting for Jim Beam.  I seems to me anyways that most of the other major distillers have run into supply issues and products have gone on allocation. JB on the other hand somehow remains unscathed for the most part (except JBB),  their small batch collection remains readily available and their has been no drop in quality.  Also, I really enjoyed JB new products this year, JB BIB, and the "green" rye were both very good imo.  Suntory has got things moving in the right direction with everything happening at JB and MM.  

[Auracom]

17 minutes ago, smokinjoe said:

For one of the few (If only) times that I can remember, my Distillery of the Year won my vote in a landslide.  That distillery is Maker's Mark.  It's as if the chains and yoke have been taken off and it's allowed to run free.  No more just a one trick pony sitting on the sidelines sold out to a crazy loyal (if somewhat myopic) fan base.

Great perspective, Joe. Bringing a cask strength wheater to market with regular availability was, well, just what the market needed. My wife and I just visited Maker's this past weekend and their business absolutely stands out on the trail.

The safe choice is Four Roses, but 2015 was complicated. Single Barrel LE is eliminated to preserve the PS program, then they drop the average age of those PS barrels and tighten selection policies, then the final (and most depressing) blow of Rutledge's retirement. The regular line is still among the very best and 2015 SmbLE is my American whiskey of the year, but this was not an easy year for their operations.

Buffalo Trace needs to refocus on priorities. I'm quite tired of their annual "state of the union" excuses about why they are incapable of improving availability on bottles that were never intended for allocation and don't have the quality to justify it. Drop lesser labels if you have to (or other specific LE's that have grown so out-of-control as to negatively impact the entire market....)

You know what, I'm going to follow Joe and go with Maker's as having the best year of any major in 2015. 

[Jace]

22 minutes ago, Golzee said:

I am voting for Jim Beam.  I seems to me anyways that most of the other major distillers have run into supply issues and products have gone on allocation. JB on the other hand somehow remains unscathed for the most part (except JBB),  their small batch collection remains readily available and their has been no drop in quality.  Also, I really enjoyed JB new products this year, JB BIB, and the "green" rye were both very good imo.  Suntory has got things moving in the right direction with everything happening at JB and MM.  

I'd agree with everything you've written, if it wasn't for 2 different batches of Booker's letting me down this year. If I remember right, it was 2014-07 and 2015-02.

Maybe I was just unlucky, and those batches just didn't fit my taste. Or maybe they use up all the good stuff for their roundtables and new name-batches...

[Paddy]

Good points, and as a card carrying member of the 4R cut these questions linger...  Does the retirement of JR have any impact on our thoughts?  If that doesn't (as it shouldn't), what about the aforementioned loss of the SB LE?  If that doesn't stump your toe, how much more $$$ did you pay for that bottle of 4RSB when you went to the liquor store this year?  Lastly, did the younger age of the private barrel and gift shop selections have any adverse influence on the your enjoyment of the contents?  If not, what about the roughly $20 per bottle uptick in the price per 750 over the last couple of years?     

At the end of the day, still the most consistent SB profile in the biz IMO, as well as readily available.  Is this enough?

Edited December 4, 2015 by Paddy

[Paddy]

Upthread, Joe hit the nail on the head, the chains are off and MM is finally a running thoroughbred instead of a plow mule... with MM 46, BP and some other gift shop only offerings (for now).  They are now doing something more than scratch the surface of their potential.  I'm exited to see what else they may have up their sleeve!  But that begs the thought   (or two), who else is playing for keeps, as this matters to me? 

What does the introduction of Pikesville (as well as their ability to keep the shelves stocked, while still cranking out new releases of ECBP) say about Heaven Hill, when compared to Buffalo Trace (who continues to insult enthusiasts by releasing fewer and fewer of their LE's to their biggest fans (while ensuring that on premise accounts get the majority of the trickle that is available).  Oh, and don't forget the HH BIB lineup because it's the best in the business!   

And to close, yesssss... Jim Beam comes in with a new BIB that is what I believe to be the perfect Beam profile offering.  This, combined with the fact that their best brands are also readily available, is evidence that they are also very deserving of the recognition given upthread.   

[Harry in WashDC]

RE: MM -- Whatever happened to the shortage that led to their quickly-rescinded proof-drop?  What a difference a year makes.  And those variations, particularly the CS/BP whichever - I love them.

RE: BT -- As long as basic BT is around, I'm ok.  I never see those others, anyway.  And keep those Bowman LEs coming.

RE: HH -- start distributing your namesake brands back here; EWs are plentiful so why not HH bonded?

RE: Suntory/Beam -- the new bonded is wonderful, particularly when it's on sale for under $20; the new 90 proof rye is fine although I'd like to see this profile at 100; and keep pumping out the OGDs, KCs, and Bookers.

My vote, if I have one, goes to Suntory Beam/Beam Suntory.

4R?  Retire the banner; let someone else have a shot.

 

Edited December 4, 2015 by Harry in WashDC
typos, of course; sheesh

[fishnbowljoe]

For the most part, I'm a little hesitant to post my thoughts in threads like this. We all have our favorites, whether it's The Distillery Of the Year, the Whiskey Of The Year, your Top 5 bourbons, etc….  As I was thinking about posting here, I had pretty much resigned myself to vote for BT as The Distillery Of The Year, whether I posted so or not. Most folks here know I love my wheaters, and Weller's are pretty much my favorites. Some products from BT that have been on allocation, and have been very scarce around where I live, have started showing up with a little more frequency as of late. The last couple of releases of Stagg Jr have been fantastic IMHO. I love my wheaters/Weller's and BT, but Joe's post got me to thinking a bit. 

Most everyone, including Maker's themselves, believe they made a huge gaffe when they decided to lower the proof on MM back in February of 2013. Shortages were perceived, and MM wanted to still satisfy demand as best they could. They realized the errs of that decision, and quickly reversed course. Since then, they've introduced two new products. So, what's changed? 

I decided to do a little research, and I also went back and looked at some pics I took over the years from my past visits during Samplers and KBFs. At the Maker's site itself, they only have about a half dozen warehouses. They also had a few warehouses on the eastern (?) side of Loretto. There was a rumor a number of years ago that they were actually renting warehouse space from HH. While at the KBF back in 2009, MM was building new warehouses on their property east of Lorreto. IIRC, there were seven new warehouse under construction. Fast forward two or three years, and even more warehouses were being built on the east side of Loretto. Another six or seven maybe? My wife and I visited  Maker's exactly a year ago this weekend. (I had to go down to get a couple of bottles from my Ambassador barrel. ) Yet more MM warehouses were being built east of Loretto. These were across the road from their existing ones east of Loretto, and looked somewhat larger than normal warehouses. From what I can tell by satellite pics,  MM has six or seven warehouse at the MM site, eighteen normal sized warehouses east of Loretto, and another four or five jumbo warehouses east of Loretto. Hmmmm. Whether by a little luck, or shrewd business acumen, I believe MM has positioned itself fairly nicely for what we call the bourbon boom. I think the problem they had back in 2013 was just a minor hiccup while they were waiting for distillate stored in their newer warehouses to start coming of age. So, MM has somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty eight or thirty warehouses now, a couple of new products, and a third still that just came on line. Sounds pretty good to me. Besides, I have a soft spot when it comes to MM. It was my gateway bourbon. The price for MM around where I live has been holding steady at $24.99 for a long time, and I can get MM Cask Strength for under $50.00. What's not to love?  Got my vote. 

 

Cheers! Joe  (the other one) 

 

[flahute]

Some compelling cases being made for MM here and I admit they are persuasive. I suppose I should ask the question: what is the criteria for judging "distillery of the year"? If the answer is: who is expanding the most, being the most innovative, and positioning themselves best for the boom, then MM definitely is in the running. If the answer is: who is making the best bourbon the most consistently, then I stick with my original answer of 4R. Now Paddy made some excellent points about 4R regarding the loss of the SB LE and the allowing of younger ages for the PS barrels. The latter was a later development, so if I'm judging the calendar year of 2015, the majority of it still saw the highest quality of whiskey being bottled and most of it was in the normal age range. The retirement of Rutledge is a concern, but again, the majority of the whiskey in the pipeline for 2015 had his fingerprint on it including the highly regarded LE SmB which most are comparing to the 2013 and are ranking as among the best of all time. For me, this still warrants a DOTY vote.

MM - I really like what they are doing, but I still think they bottle their whiskey too young. A couple more years of aging on some of their products could be amazing. I love the idea of the cask strength, but again, it comes off too hot and young for me. I think they could be awesome but are not there at the moment.

BT - still love a lot of their whiskies, but they just can't keep them in stock. Very disappointing and I believe some of them are coming to market a little too young. PVW is just ridiculous at this point. Can't separate the hype from actual quality because the whiskies are unattainable. BTAC still delivers but it's not enough to overcome the other shortcomings.

HH - they have some good whiskies that rank among my favorites, but Parker's Heritage at the high end disappointed this year and some of their more interesting whiskies that are distillery only purchases are grossly overpriced. HH more than anyone else seems to embrace gouging their customers who visit the distillery.  

Beam - again, they have a number of whiskies that I love and are consistent, but they fail to deliver in the limited and special arena. The sad thing is, I know they have the whiskey in their warehouses but they seem to lack an avenue or a desire for getting it out there. Booker's 25th was a great offering but they've been silent since. I think they waste good whiskey with brands such as 12yr Signature Craft at 86 proof and some of their other odd recipes sold at high prices when I know they have older Booker's and Knob Creek in the warehouses that they lack a plan for. Similarly, they could do amazing things with the OGD recipe as a LE. One of these days, Beam will do something special with these and they will have my vote when they do. 

[Paddy]

Very well put Steve.  As far as criteria, I think that's a personal question for the discerning contributor, as we're all judges here and all votes are equal.  Many won't put near as much thought into it as you have, that's for sure! 

For some, it could be as simple as whether their regular pour was available on the shelf at their local every time they went in to grab a handle!

Everyone's vote may be equal, but individual standards... not so much.  

[VAGentleman]

Since I haven't seen any yet, I'll throw some love towards Wild Turkey.  The regular line of 101, RB, and KS have improved markedly over the past year or so.  The Masters Keep was very good in my opinion (though I know there are mixed feelings about it out there) and The RR98 was exceptional in my book.  They have reintroduced the WT 101 Rye, at least in some markets, and have a new RR Single Barrel Rye.  The PS RR and KS I've tried over the past year have been very good as well.  Nice to see them doing good things again!

[meadeweber]

Steve, that was a good rundown of 4 of the big boys.  I found WT conspicuously absent and was glad VAGent mentioned them.  I also like MK and think 101 and RB are really good.  A recent RR PS was one of the best bourbons I've ever had.  I'm looking forward to trying the RR SB Rye and RR98.

[mark fleetwood]

HH with their broad array of good juices at (mostly) reasonable prices and availability makes them #1 for me.  Anxiously waiting, though, to see if and when and how MGP jumps in the game with their wide variety too.

[flahute]

5 hours ago, meadeweber said:

Steve, that was a good rundown of 4 of the big boys.  I found WT conspicuously absent and was glad VAGent mentioned them.  I also like MK and think 101 and RB are really good.  A recent RR PS was one of the best bourbons I've ever had.  I'm looking forward to trying the RR SB Rye and RR98.

Didn't mean to exclude the Turkey! I was typing fast and overlooked them, but not because I don't like them.

WT - I'm a big fan of the standard 101, RB, and RRSB. They are always good (to me) and consistently deliver. I also like their ryes, which are a different take from the ubiquitous MGP rye. I even like the RR90 and KS (though it's usually overpriced). Really, there's a lot to like with WT. What keeps them from pushing over the top as DOTY for me is their uneven performance with the LE's and special releases. Diamond was good but underproofed and overpriced, I didn't try Master's Keep because of the price and again the proof (and due to inconsistent reviews) and RR1998 at $250 is a crazy buy for an unknown product (and they went like hotcakes so you had to buy before you could try). I do applaud WT for continually finding special whiskeys to release but they tend to hit singles with them instead of home runs. (Criteria what kind of hit being price to quality ratio).

[Tony Santana]

Buffalo Trace gets my vote for the sheer variety and quality of their offerings.  The BTAC lineup alone provides more goodness - aged, barrel proofers, ryes, a wheater, a big, bold rye based bourbon - than practically another distillery.  Yeah, it's not readily available, but I managed to snare a WLW, Saz 18 and THH this year.  No trouble getting the basics, BT and ER10, and while I know some can't find Blanton's, its never a problem for me.  BTEC is innovative and full of surprises, the CEHT line is solid.  Stage Jr. is now reliably good.  And I haven't even mentioned the VW line.  ETL, RHF and the various Wellers can occasionally be found.  Add them all together and that's a lot of great whiskey.

BT is the wide receiver who might be injury prone, but makes the highlight reel TD catches when he's in the lineup.  For sheer entertainment value, I'll take that over the 7-catch, 90-yard, picking-up-1st-downs-with-slants-over-the-middle guy.

That guy is HH.  I love their stuff too, but if you're talking availability, I consider availability where I live.  ECBP is one of the best values in bourbon, but I don't see much it.  And they don't even sell Larceny or HH BIB here.  The Parkers Heritage offering  this year was uninspiring, and also hard to find.

Four Roses cultists?  Dip me in the river and consider me baptized.  I finally got all 10 recipes in my collection this year.  Every one of them is open.  But private barrel selections are hard to find around here (only 2 of my 10 were purchased locally) and going up in price.  No SB LE this year represents a step back, and the SmB LE was wonderful but no easier to find than BTAC or VW's.  And they certainly can't be better as the result of Jim Rutledge's retirement.

I absolutely like the direction MM is heading.  But they're up to what, 4 products now, one of which is only available in the gift shop?  BT has that many wheaters with the Weller name attached to them.  

Beam is solid; I've become a Booker's fanboy.  Availability is never a problem, quality is always consistent.  But there's not much in the way of LE's, and I wasn't a particular fan of the JB BIB. The sheer number of BT products I've bought this year beat Beam by at least a 2:1 margin, probably well more than that.  If I'm voting with my wallet, that tells me something.

I have no quarrel with WT either.  Good products, consistent.  I've liked the LE's I've tried, Diamond and Master's Keep, a lot.  But neither are worth the price charged, and again they don't have the breadth of product line as BT.

Craft distilleries?  Not putting them down, but they're not really in the discussion.

To me, BT is the fairly easy vote.

Edited December 5, 2015 by Tony Santana

[mbroo5880i]

I guess my criteria would be a wide range of quality products coupled with exciting new products to the market during the year.

BT has a great range of products, but availability has been an issue.  Of course, when you produce great stuff, there will be significant demand. 

Similarly, Four Roses continued to churn out exceptional whiskeys.  Some of the best on the market, especially for the price.  For the money, I find most Four Roses Barrel Selects rival many of the allocated whiskeys, including BTAC.

Wild Turkey is consistent but the product lineup hasn't changed much.

Beam just doesn't do anything exciting.

My vote for 2015 distillery of the year is Heaven Hill.  They continue to produce a varied product line and I believe that Pikesville Rye is my favorite new whiskey of the year.  They could have easily brought this new product to the market in the $60 price range but it falls between $40 and $50 in most markets.  They had a very strong limited rollout before going nationwide.  ECBP continues to be one of the best "bargains" in bourbonmania.  While some batches can be difficult to find, it continues to price in a range that is extremely fair relative to other products, including Four Roses, demands in today's market.  Larceny is on of the best "budget" bourbons available, especially in the spotty wheated bourbon market.  Yes, I prefer OWA or WL12 but, even when they can be found, they are treated like gold by retailers.  I can pick up a close alternative in Larceny for $23 every day of the week (except Sunday in Indiana).