2015 Distillery of the year?

[Paddy]

We've got some really great and well thought out responses so far, and I think this is what it's all about... discussing the various distillery's strengths and weaknesses, whether real or perceived. 

What's really refreshing to see is the variety of producers who have already had votes cast in their favor this year.  Additionally, many have gone on to discuss what is admired about other distiller(s) whom they are not voting in favor of. 

I think that really speaks volumes to how lucky we have it at this moment in time, because the reality is that there are multiple reasons why many of us could cast a vote in the direction of any one of the majors and justify it!

So, I'm kind of on the fence here...  what about you? 

[OutlawSW]

Makers gets my vote.  They have made the most forward progress in relation to where they had been, for like the last 60 years. MIP if nothing else. 

[b1gcountry]

As someone new to tasting bourbon (add opposed to getting a bottle that sounded good and just drinking it, then replacing it a couple months later with probably the same thing), all the products are new to me. That skews the perspective more towards what is on the shelfs, no matter when it came out.  For that reason I really lean towards either 4 Roses or Heaven Hill. The Buffalo Trace stuff has been hard to find, and I don't care what it tastes like if nobody here can sell me a bottle or even a pour. What good are Blantons, er10,stag jr, the BTACs, BTECs, W12, WA and ETL if I've never seen a bottle anywhere?

 

OTOH, I can pick up 4r at the grocery store every time. I can get private selects at a couple local stores. HH had ewbib, ec12,and some other products i'm probably forgetting (larceny?)

 

with BT I'm stuck with bt90 only with the occasional er10 that just now started showing up on local shelfs around Thanksgiving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jeffrey r]

Distillery of the Year is a tough question for me.  I am going to vote Buffalo Trace, which I will go on to explain with a caveat.  The caveat being the supply issue, which is a real issue.  BT and EHT Small Batch seem to be the only two BT bourbons that are readily available in my area these days.  RHF is rarely in stock, ER10 seems in short supply, OWA used to be plentiful but now the shelves are mostly bear, W12 was never available in NJ and is obviously rare anywhere, EHT Rye and BP come around in short supply and then they're gone, Blanton's is around but not plentiful, and ETL is in short supply.  BTAC and PVW I just don't even think about, as I never see it.  So why is BT my Distillery of the Year?  Because I fortunately have good stocks of most of these (save the BTAC and PVW), and year after year, the above bourbons are really many of my favorites.

BT and ER10 are two solid staples.  RHF and Blanton's are just terrific bourbons and are up there with FRSB as my favorite rye bourbons.  OWA and W12 are my favorite wheaters, short of the SB HHSS (on this topic, I am fortunate to have an ample supply of W12, that I was fortunate to have picked up in NYC of all places for $21/bottle, but I've seen nary a bottle of W12 in years).  EHT rye is great, and Baby Saz is a solid staple rye at $30 in my area (and actually available).  I've picked up the two most recent batches of EHTBP and they are both terrific.  The recent batches of Stagg Jr. are outstanding (and actually available).  My store select ETL bottles are delicious.  Buffalo Trace's line of bourbons and ryes just hits my sweet spot, and so in my house, maybe not in the market, they are my Distillery of the Year.

Runners up for me, are the usual suspects who are all doing great things IMO as well.  HH (EC12, ECBP, EWBIB...), MM (MM, MMCS, MM46...), FR (probably my runner-up--FRSB, and the various private selections are amazing year after year), Beam (Booker's on a roll, OGD, KC and KCSB always steady...) and WT (101, 101 rye, RB, RR10, RRSB, all firing nicely IMO...).

Edited December 6, 2015 by jeffrey r

[The Black Tot]

On 12/3/2015, 11:01:21, Auracom said:

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....)

I loved this summary by Aurocom, which really nailed my thoughts on these two distilleries. I think both of them are guilty of doing too little too late to ramp up production, and now their products are in BT's case just getting harder and harder to find and in 4Rs case just lowering in age and increasing in price. Not good criteria for distillery of the year. 4R in particular have a dark period ahead while their remaining stocks continue to get hammered hard while they struggle to fill new rackhouses that won't start helping their single barrel offering supplies until 2024. BT seems to be always going on about refurbishing old warehouses and building new ones, but they rarely seem to announce that any of them are actually getting finished and successfully loaded (which I wish would be included in the states of the union addresses). It may not be too little, but it's definitely too late.

I would certainly give Maker's Mark the "most improved" distillery of the year. Joe's post gives a clear picture that MM was exactly the opposite, and AHEAD of the curve with preparations for the boom. However, at the end of the day, I just can't get excited about the bottle of MMCS that I bought, as much as I want to love it. I'm looking forward to some longer aged cask offerings such as the 12yr cask strength I remember there being discussion of a while back.  I think Flahute is right on the money with older MMCS offerings being serious contenders for future excitement.

WT has a great range of product, but the stuff I was most interested in was priced so high this year that I left it on the shelf. It sold, so good for them. But I don't think I can give them distillery of the year just on pricing strategy alone. Limiteds used to reward the faithful at accessible pricing. BT seems to be the last holdout on that stance, regardless of what happens to BTAC/Pappy bottles once they get in the hands of the retailers.

Barton's Sweet Wheat was an unexpected pleasure for me. I don't own a bottle but got to try a pour and think it's excellent, and just what we need in the face of the decade's ever-charging "wheater madness" - another great tasting, affordable choice. Still, although everything from Barton is enjoyable in one way or another, Sweet Wheat is the only bottle from Barton that I get excited about, so one bottle does not DOTY make for me.

HH continues to crank 'em out. I'm not punishing them for PHC9 - I think it was a good idea, and even though I haven't tasted it yet (I still hope to love it!), I think it was a bold move and I respect the creative effort that went into it. The new EC18 is at unfortunate pricing and I won't be buying any. ECBP is great value, but even worse at supply than BT, which I still don't understand - there should be shedloads of EC in the rackhouses - what's so hard about increasing the release of ECBP? I do hold the regional scarcity of ECBP against HH since on the surface it seems to be a very preventable problem. Pikesville Rye was a great new entry that seems to be holding its own. The PV/Ritt line is doing big favors to rye drinkers and love 'em or hate 'em, they're both unique and good value in the rye category which has been particularly under fire from demand above supply, even relative to bourbon. The Fitz 20yr and the WHHCS were again priced out of interest, and again, they sold, so good for them.

Woodford is still finding itself IMO. The recent bourbons are tasting pretty good, but there still seems to be some fluctuation in the profile. Maybe someday.

BF's limited series seems to have fallen flat. OFBB was received well, but the vintage products seemed to fail to impress. BF/Woodford seems to continue to be cursed when it comes to limiteds.

Beam doesn't seem to have changed much this year. Still pumping out the standards at the speed of Beam. Booker's is great bourbon and value (respect), the OGDs remain strong (but as Flahute observed, opportunity in terms of something special with this recipe continue to be wasted). The Signature was well-loved but also unattractively priced.

Respect for MGP has come up a great deal thanks to SAOS BP offerings of both rye and bourbon. I hope they do increase output, because a well-aged MGP distillate at barrel proof is indeed a thing of great beauty and undeniable value.

Willett was pretty quiet this year, as their own distillate continues to develop. Releases of 7-8yr WFE ryes seemed to make the rounds - not their distillate of course. One or two that I tried were no better and sometimes worse than SAOS equivalents, with the SAOS costing about $20 less per bottle on average. Willett is still sitting on some serious taste-treasure which they acquired before the boom, but the mania surrounding the distillery makes the price and availability points continue to be unattractive. Some people have noted a return to form this year in the Noah's Mill offerings after several years of hit-and-miss, which is certainly worthy of merit.

All in all, I have to give DOTY to BT, regardless of my supply gripes above. W12 seems to have come back into prime form after a few years of the cardboardy/sooty accusations, OWA is still the best wheated value around at it's proof point. The BTAC remains the BTAC, whether I want to fight for bottles of it or not (I don't). The Age International brands are consistently good. BT also seems to be successfully cranking out the next wave of ultra-desirable ryes with the CEHT and the new Sazerac distillate - can't wait to taste the first Saz18 with BT make next year, and the possible rumored blend of CEHT and Saz distillate to make the replacement VWFRR. Van Winkles - whatever - I'm sure they're great, wake me when the madness evaporates. The single-estate BT concept is cool, looking forward to that down the line.  BT quality control remains something that can be counted on for the most part.

SA was probably my runner-up - many of my best-value awesome bourbons and ryes from the last year came out of their rackhouses. Although it wasn't distilled by them, they seem to be every bit as good as Willet at taking a good distillate and getting the best out of it in a rack house, and that is indeed quite a skill when you compare the output of SA and Willett vs. other companies' attempts to age MGP distillate, for example. SA seems to also be getting hit by the need to expand with the halt in their barrel picking program and suspension of their BP select ryes, which is a true tragedy. Here's hoping they're expanding hard to get their juices flowing again.

That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.

Edited December 7, 2015 by The Black Tot

[Paddy]

Giving this thread a 'bump', after reading over it again. 

I've got to say, not too many responses... but wow, some great insight has been brought forth by those who have.  So to you who have, thanks for your thoughts.  To those who have not, please consider sharing your thoughts here if you will.   

I guess we could have a vote for prettiest distillery, best tour, best bourbon, best rye, best tasting experience, best wheater, prettiest bottle, closest parking lot to gift shop... well, you get it and yes, we are beyond spoiled and blessed with a great variety of whiskey and rye!

At the end of the day, I'm going with what I could not do without.  I mean, what if I had to settle for only one distillery and had no options elsewhere.  Another part to that consideration is... do I have access to it, and at a fair price? 

My thoughts to formulate my response would be:

1) can I still have bourbon;

2) can I still have rye;

3)  and can I still have variety?

With that, I answered my own question.

My hat goes into the ring for Heaven Hill, cause yes... I could live on EC 12, ECBP, EWSB, HH BIB, OFitz BIB, OGD 114, OGD BIB, Pikesville, Rittenhouse, and Larceny just fine! 

P. S. But, only if I had too! 

[flahute]

Now wait just a second here......OGD IS Beam. Does that change your vote?:)

You could always sub in McKenna for the OGD on your short list. HH is still a good choice. 

[Paddy]

28 minutes ago, flahute said:

Now wait just a second here......OGD IS Beam. Does that change your vote?:)

You could always sub in McKenna for the OGD on your short list. HH is still a good choice. 

No, just got a little carried away!  Meant to put the HMcK BIB in there tho!! 

[Harry in WashDC]

As you said, Paddy, we are beyond spoiled and blessed with a great variety.  After reading the thread yet again, I won't change my vote from Suntory/Beam (if only in hopes they keep those small batches (KC and Bookers) and mainline improvements (JB BIB and JB Rye 90) coming.  And if HH sent more than just EW to Wash DC, I might have picked them.

The good news for me is: the major houses EACH AND ALL produce more than one brand I like, so when one specific brand is MIA, I just move on down the shelf.

EDIT - Oh, yeah, if Flahute hadn't mentioned the OGD thingee, I wasn"t going to, but since he did . . .

Edited December 16, 2015 by Harry in WashDC
snark

[Paddy]

^^^I 'kinda' get carried away, when preaching, like most preachers do... 

I'm with you on Beam (so much so that I obviously still had them on my mind). 

Truth is, it's easy to argue for several of the 'majors' at the present, and Beam is right there with a number of great products, well priced, and readily available. 

[flahute]

13 minutes ago, Paddy said:

^^^I 'kinda' get carried away, when preaching, like most preachers do... 

I'm with you on Beam (so much so that I obviously still had them on my mind). 

Truth is, it's easy to argue for several of the 'majors' at the present, and Beam is right there with a number of great products, well priced, and readily available. 

Haha! I was just going to say that you subliminally had Beam on the mind - or at least your love for OGD. (And why would you not? It's that good.) 

[White Dog]

On December 4, 2015 at 9:04:36 AM, VAGentleman said:

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!

I completely agree. A few years ago I gave up on WT, but I came back this year in a big way. RR10yr, Rare Breed, but most importantly, 101 is just killing it at the price. 

[KyleCBreese]

8 hours ago, White Dog said:

I completely agree. A few years ago I gave up on WT, but I came back this year in a big way. RR10yr, Rare Breed, but most importantly, 101 is just killing it at the price. 

The RR I had as early as a year ago was terrible. I recently picked up a bottle with the new label and it is incredible. It is a store pick, so maybe it is just a good barrel, but it makes me want to try more WT products.

[meadeweber]

1 hour ago, KyleCBreese said:

The RR I had as early as a year ago was terrible. I recently picked up a bottle with the new label and it is incredible. It is a store pick, so maybe it is just a good barrel, but it makes me want to try more WT products.

I think this might be a "thing".  WT may have found some honey barrels for the new label RR.  I have heard nothing but good things.  You describe yours as "incredible" and I described my recent SB store pick as "one of the best bourbons I've ever had".

[KyleCBreese]

2 minutes ago, meadeweber said:

I think this might be a "thing".  WT may have found some honey barrels for the new label RR.  I have heard nothing but good things.  You describe yours as "incredible" and I described my recent SB store pick as "one of the best bourbons I've ever had".

The RR I had last year turned me off to anything WT. It was really bad. The only reason I picked this one up is because it was a store pick from a store with a reputation for picking excellent barrels. I'm glad I gave it a shot.

[smokinjoe]

I was reflecting on this topic last evening as I traipsed through a number of different pours while wrapping Christmas presents, when I began to actually consider how many new iterations are on my bar that were not even produced a couple of years ago.  A stunning number of new and different labels from every distillery, that I think is testament to how the distilleries are trying to satisfy our insatiable demand.  New brands, line extensions, experimentals, special one-offs...From EVERYBODY!  Still reasonably priced relatively speaking, and decently available.  Just another sign that we really are living in a Golden Age of Bourbon.  As is being shown by the wide variety of positive votes in this thread, the entire group of legacy bourbon distilleries are doing much right.

[DonutsNBourbon]

On 12/18/2015, 9:21:18, KyleCBreese said:

The RR I had last year turned me off to anything WT. It was really bad. The only reason I picked this one up is because it was a store pick from a store with a reputation for picking excellent barrels. I'm glad I gave it a shot.

yup, I got 2 bottles of RR, one SB and one SmB, and I didn't care for both of them.  the SB was a store pick too.  based on this, I might be tempted to pick a new one up and use the old ones as mixers.

[Paddy]

I'd been holding off on saying it, but two posts up thread, I think Joe nails it.  It's obvious that we don't have a clear consensus for distillery of the year, and I think it's because we are experiencing the benefits of 'the golden age' (as Joes so well put it), where every distiller is doing so many good, if not, great things! 

With that said, let's keep the discussion open until the end of the year.  And BTW, my money is on the horse that says we won't have a clear winner here, unless you count us, the drinking brethren! 

 

[Harry in WashDC]

While cleaning the dining room today so that nobody trips over bottles along the chair rail during family meals over the next few days, I, like Joe, was struck by the assortment of colors and flavors available to us all.  While I miss a few absent friends (Old Fitz, for example), I'm happy with the new offerings (in Fitz's case, Larceny - apparently very happy considering I had two more bottles under the chairs along the walls than I thought I did).  Judging by average value per bottle per house, I'd have to change my vote from BeamSuntory to 4R - 6 different recipes in CS of course plus a standard single barrel (or two or three) downstairs.  Judging by aggregate brands per house, HH.  Judging by what I've been consuming lately - Beam ( because of OGD bonded) with a nod also to WT101/101Rye.  But most of my bottles are from BT if the BTACs and ASmith Bowman releases are counted as I have multiple bottles of many of the LEs and of basic BT; combined with the Bartons, I guess Sazerac should be named instead of just BT.  Miniatures - MM: dozens for cooking and for newbies to taste and for mild (some would say "balanced") cocktails.

Sticking with BeamSuntory although I think I have at least one of each major in my rotation and in my bunker.  And under the dining room chairs. 

 

[tanstaafl2]

Not to mention the trunk of your car!

[Paddy]

One last bump of this thread for a little perspective, as we shut the door behind '15 and clear the threshold of a new year.  '13 and '14 both revealed solid winners in Four Roses and Heaven Hill.   

This year, the one thing I've taken away from your thoughts is that we could literally change our votes on a daily basis.  The boom is full on and yet, the producers are reinvesting their profits and bringing new products to bear!  I think that speaks volumes for the state of our union.  

... and our union is strong!

 

[flahute]

48 minutes ago, Paddy said:

... and our union is strong!

 

As are our bunkers.

[mosugoji64]

My vote has to go to HH again this year based on their stable of great, readily available offerings. Their only downfall for me was the stall in Larceny's national rollout.. With OF BIB no longer available, we don't have any HH wheated bourbon here but plenty of their other bottles are on the shelf. What isn't available here I know can be obtained for very little scratch when I travel so stocking up is easy.

I'm looking forward to revisiting WT this year. Recent recommendations make it likely that I'll be picking up some of their stuff once a couple of other, older bottles are emptied here but my experience with some recent bottles prevents me from giving them the nod.

While I've enjoyed everything I've had from BT and FR this year, scattered availability has been frustrating. No grudges against either since they seem to be conspicuous casualties of the boom

Big applause to MM for expanding their portfolio this year. I'm really looking forward to trying M46 CS and the 12 year bottling, but I'm just not enough of a MM fan to count them as a favorite.

JB might actually run in second place for me last year. Their BIB was very solid and their small batch bottles remained solid and readily available. That said, I thought their Harvest Collection was absurdly priced. Still, it's good to see them experimenting when they could easily coast on their regular roster.

Whatever our rankings might be, I have to agree with what Joe (SmokinJoe) has been saying for the past couple of years, that we are living in a great time to be bourbon fans. We have so many great bottles available to us that it's hard to be too upset about what's not on the shelf. All of the majors are doing great things and I have high hopes for some of the craft distillers in the next couple of years. Can't wait to see what 2016 has in store!