What bottle(s) did you open today? Winter 2018-19

[Wedelstaedt]

I opened up a WT101, recent bottling. As usual, The Turkey Bird doesn't disappoint. 

 

Cheers. 

[jvd99]

From the Bunker - keeping 2019 goals in mind....

 

 

[NDN98]

Just opened up this and it is delicious.

[Radioyada]

Opened the EC 18 while at a friend’s house. Fantastic bottle that I will keep an eye out for another. 

[Masset1982]

18 hours ago, jvd99 said:

From the Bunker - keeping 2019 goals in mind....

 

 

2015 GTS is a real treat, cheers! 

 

Will.

[Curtis Reed]

[WhiskeyBlender]

On 1/18/2019 at 7:05 PM, silverc said:

J. Henry and Sons Patton Road Reserve cask strength. This is 119 proof, 5 years. So far it's decent. Not great, but I didn't expect it to be mind blowing for 5yr old craft whiskey. It's a bit corn forward on the finish, but I think it may open up a bit with more air time. This was around $70-80 when I got it in 2017.

 

They have a wine finished one called Bellefontaine that may be interesting to try. Anybody have that? I think they even have a 7yr age stated bottle out now too.

 

@silverc, I'm a little hesitant to answer this, since I do the blending and pick out the casks for the Patton Road Reserve program for J. Henry, and I don't want to "sell" you on the bourbon necessarily. However, I can certainly tell you a lot more about the process, the products, and where things are at the moment. 

 

I can't see what the barrel number is (i.e. "batch" #) on your bottle, so I can't give you specific details about it, but if you bought it in 2017, then it will be from the earlier stock in the days before I had them bring the entry proof down from 124 or so down to somewhere between 122 and 118. Also, their earliest bourbon still had a fair amount of iso-amyl acetate to it, so you might notice some banana and bubble gum notes. While the Belgian ale yeast strain remains the same, the overall fermentation styles have changed to eliminate those notes. 

 

The corn forward quality is most likely coming from the heirloom varietal of red corn that Joe Henry grows on his farm. It was developed in the 1930's by the Univ. of Wisconsin at Madison, grown on the Henry family farm since about 1946, and was traditionally used as seed corn. In fact, they grow their own wheat and rye as well, but not the barley, since that doesn't necessarily grow too well in Wisconsin. 

 

I created the Bellefontaine Reserve about which you speak. While going through the barrel inventory, I found some barrel profiles that were a little fruitier, with more of a toasted oak profile, and a little more brandy-like than the rest of the bourbon stock. I use this to do the blend. I know I've talked about this process elsewhere on the forum, but I also have them using an old Cognac technique called "petite eau," (small waters), also known as "vieilles faibles" (old weak). To make this, you would traditionally take old Cognac, add it to water to come up with a solution of somewhere between 15 to 30% ABV, and then you age it. While it is aging, it is picking up a lot of water soluble wood sugars from the cask. You use it instead of regular RO water to make the reduction from cask strength to bottling strength. At any rate, I have them making petite eau from their 5+ year old bourbon. The oldest of the PE is now a little over 3 years old, which would mean that the combined time in barrel (both in the original bourbon barrel and as PE) would now be about 8 years old. Finally, we put the blend of the fruitier, different profile barrels and the petite eau into Cognac casks for a year or so.

 

There have been two 7 year old releases now. If you decide to seek one out, I would highly suggest that you look for barrel #100. It was distilled in March 2011, so it actually would have been about 7 years and 8 months or so when it was harvested. Barrel #35, the first 7 y.o. release, is fine, but it has some iso-amyl acetate esters that, IMHO, make it not nearly as good as barrel #100, which is at 59.94% ABV. 

 

Finally, I have had them set back some barrels that are going into the 8 to 12 year program. so stay tuned. 

 

Again, I'll let you make up your own mind on how the products taste, but I thought you might be interested in some background info. 

 

Cheers!

Nancy

Edited January 21, 2019 by WhiskeyBlender

[Charlutz]

Frantic barrel search in 3...2...1...  

[HoustonNit]

Wow@WhiskeyBlender with another fascinating and informative post.

[silverc]

1 hour ago, WhiskeyBlender said:

@silverc, I'm a little hesitant to answer this, since I do the blending and pick out the casks for the Patton Road Reserve program for J. Henry, and I don't want to "sell" you on the bourbon necessarily. However, I can certainly tell you a lot more about the process, the products, and where things are at the moment. 

 

I can't see what the barrel number is (i.e. "batch" #) on your bottle, so I can't give you specific details about it, but if you bought it in 2017, then it will be from the earlier stock in the days before I had them bring the entry proof down from 124 or so down to somewhere between 122 and 118. Also, their earliest bourbon still had a fair amount of iso-amyl acetate to it, so you might notice some banana and bubble gum notes. While the Belgian ale yeast strain remains the same, the overall fermentation styles have changed to eliminate those notes. 

 

The corn forward quality is most likely coming from the heirloom varietal of red corn that Joe Henry grows on his farm. It was developed in the 1930's by the Univ. of Wisconsin at Madison, grown on the Henry family farm since about 1946, and was traditionally used as seed corn. In fact, they grow their own wheat and rye as well, but not the barley, since that doesn't necessarily grow too well in Wisconsin. 

 

I created the Bellefontaine Reserve about which you speak. While going through the barrel inventory, I found some barrel profiles that were a little fruitier, with more of a toasted oak profile, and a little more brandy-like than the rest of the bourbon stock. I use this to do the blend. I know I've talked about this process elsewhere on the forum, but I also have them using an old Cognac technique called "petite eau," (small waters), also known as "vieilles faibles" (old weak). To make this, you would traditionally take old Cognac, add it to water to come up with a solution of somewhere between 15 to 30% ABV, and then you age it. While it is aging, it is picking up a lot of water soluble wood sugars from the cask. You use it instead of regular RO water to make the reduction from cask strength to bottling strength. At any rate, I have them making petite eau from their 5+ year old bourbon. The oldest of the PE is now a little over 3 years old, which would mean that the combined time in barrel (both in the original bourbon barrel and as PE) would now be about 8 years old. Finally, we put the blend of the fruitier, different profile barrels and the petite eau into Cognac casks for a year or so. 

 

There have been two 7 year old releases now. If you decide to seek one out, I would highly suggest that you look for barrel #100. It was distilled in March 2011, so it actually would have been about 7 years and 8 months or so when it was harvested. Barrel #35, the first 7 y.o. release, is fine, but it has some iso-amyl acetate esters that, IMHO, make it not nearly as good as barrel #100, which is at 59.94% ABV.  

 

Finally, I have had them set back some barrels that are going into the 8 to 12 year program. so stay tuned. 

 

Again, I'll let you make up your own mind on how the products taste, but I thought you might be interested in some background info. 

  

Cheers!

Nancy

 

 

 

Hi Nancy, thank you for taking the time to write such a through response. It's great to hear some of the more technical details on how these products are made and the thought and style that goes into producing and blending them. The red corn does give it a unique flavor profile.

 

I will keep an eye out for the Bellefontaine the next time I am in the Chicago area, as it seems like Binny's and some other stores there carry some of the J. Henry line. I really like the finish on the Patton Road, but it seemed like the nose and palate were a bit closed when I first tried it. Since then I've tried it again and it's changed a lot (for the better) and I think that it just needs to open up some. My bottle specifically is from Batch B115, 118.0 proof. About two weeks after I bought it, I noticed the Bellefontaine started being available in Chicago shops. I wasn't expecting to get a chance to try it, as I am rarely in Chicago and none of the J. Henry stuff is available around VA or surrounding states. Do you know if they plan to offer the Bellefontaine as a regular product, or was it a one-off?

 

 

 

 

[elmossle]

23 hours ago, NDN98 said:

Just opened up this and it is delicious.

The 2018 release does seem to be very good!! I opened mine on Christmas Day, and it is almost empty already. I have a hard time resisting the temptation for pour after pour of this one. I can't tell which is better, the taste of cherries and chocolate on the palate, or the finish that seems to last for days!

[JoeTerp]

On 1/19/2019 at 11:32 PM, NDN98 said:

Just opened up this and it is delicious.

I opened up this last night and agree that it's fantastic.  Also opened up a Stagg Jr Batch 10

[CUfan99]

Opened up an OF 1910 & 1920. I get more of the OF banana in the 20. I’m not sure which I like better yet but both are very good. 

[NDN98]

11 hours ago, elmossle said:

The 2018 release does seem to be very good!! I opened mine on Christmas Day, and it is almost empty already. I have a hard time resisting the temptation for pour after pour of this one. I can't tell which is better, the taste of cherries and chocolate on the palate, or the finish that seems to last for days!

The temptation to pour another one was too strong for me and I poured a second (larger) pour myself.  I don't think this bottle will last terribly long, but whiskeys were made to be opened and enjoyed.  The flavor awesome, but the finish is outstanding.

[BourbonBuzz]

I opened Walthen's Barrel Proof. Tried their regular strength at a tasting and was luke warm about it. Was told to wait for the BP. It's better, but I'm not sold yet. Let's see what a little time will do with it.

[BigPapa]

Just opened up this and it is delicious.

Been enjoying bourbon for over 20 years and have never been lucky enough to get a bottle or find one.

[Chuckles]

Just opened these old friends as part of our winter weekend at the cabin in the Northwoods. Enjoyed both straight, on the rocks, and in my signature old fashioneds.  Wife prefers wheaters in an old fashioned, and is not a fan of ryes.

[mross]

Just started on these 2. The Wellar is pretty good, jury is still out on the Double Rye. Not as good as the Rendezvous Rye.

[silverc]

Cracked open a Backbone Uncut single barrel pick from Cork and Bottle. This is 117.1 proof, aged 6 years, 3 months. I think this was around $55-60. I love MGP stuff, so no surprise that I like this one too. It's a wee bit rougher around the edges than some older MGP stuff, not surprisingly, but has a nice classic bourbon flavor profile with additional hints of citrus, almost like lemon zest. I've seen a few of these Backbone single barrel store selects and I think I will grab a couple of new ones if I see them. Pretty decent stuff for the price.

 

 

 

[fishnbowljoe]

Even though I have more bottles open than I normally do, I opened 3 more over the weekend.  I've had these on my mind for a while now, and have been biding my time waiting semi patiently for the proper moment to open 'em.  (Yeah right)  BTW, all three are private selections. I finally caved to the temptation. The OWA and Blanton's are excellent, and the Weller SR ain't too far behind. This makes 7 private selection bottlings that I now have open, 8 if you count my Weller Bend.   What can I say?  

 

Biba! Joe

[Bbstout]

On 1/20/2019 at 6:03 PM, WhiskeyBlender said:

@silverc, I'm a little hesitant to answer this, since I do the blending and pick out the casks for the Patton Road Reserve program for J. Henry, and I don't want to "sell" you on the bourbon necessarily. However, I can certainly tell you a lot more about the process, the products, and where things are at the moment. 

 

I can't see what the barrel number is (i.e. "batch" #) on your bottle, so I can't give you specific details about it, but if you bought it in 2017, then it will be from the earlier stock in the days before I had them bring the entry proof down from 124 or so down to somewhere between 122 and 118. Also, their earliest bourbon still had a fair amount of iso-amyl acetate to it, so you might notice some banana and bubble gum notes. While the Belgian ale yeast strain remains the same, the overall fermentation styles have changed to eliminate those notes. 

 

The corn forward quality is most likely coming from the heirloom varietal of red corn that Joe Henry grows on his farm. It was developed in the 1930's by the Univ. of Wisconsin at Madison, grown on the Henry family farm since about 1946, and was traditionally used as seed corn. In fact, they grow their own wheat and rye as well, but not the barley, since that doesn't necessarily grow too well in Wisconsin. 

 

I created the Bellefontaine Reserve about which you speak. While going through the barrel inventory, I found some barrel profiles that were a little fruitier, with more of a toasted oak profile, and a little more brandy-like than the rest of the bourbon stock. I use this to do the blend. I know I've talked about this process elsewhere on the forum, but I also have them using an old Cognac technique called "petite eau," (small waters), also known as "vieilles faibles" (old weak). To make this, you would traditionally take old Cognac, add it to water to come up with a solution of somewhere between 15 to 30% ABV, and then you age it. While it is aging, it is picking up a lot of water soluble wood sugars from the cask. You use it instead of regular RO water to make the reduction from cask strength to bottling strength. At any rate, I have them making petite eau from their 5+ year old bourbon. The oldest of the PE is now a little over 3 years old, which would mean that the combined time in barrel (both in the original bourbon barrel and as PE) would now be about 8 years old. Finally, we put the blend of the fruitier, different profile barrels and the petite eau into Cognac casks for a year or so.

 

There have been two 7 year old releases now. If you decide to seek one out, I would highly suggest that you look for barrel #100. It was distilled in March 2011, so it actually would have been about 7 years and 8 months or so when it was harvested. Barrel #35, the first 7 y.o. release, is fine, but it has some iso-amyl acetate esters that, IMHO, make it not nearly as good as barrel #100, which is at 59.94% ABV. 

 

Finally, I have had them set back some barrels that are going into the 8 to 12 year program. so stay tuned. 

 

Again, I'll let you make up your own mind on how the products taste, but I thought you might be interested in some background info. 

 

Cheers!

Nancy

Thanks for the "inside baseball" Nancy. I will be in Madison, Wisconsin this weekend and will be on the lookout for 7 year J. Henry.

[jvd99]

Guys weekend in Vail - all from my bunker #2019 goals

 

 

[fishnbowljoe]

11 minutes ago, jvd99 said:

Guys weekend in Vail - all from my bunker #2019 goals

 

 

Sweet! That's one helluva lineup Jim. Enjoy!

 

Biba! Joe

[fishnbowljoe]

I posted yesterday about opening three private selection bottles, one of which was a Blanton's. Something odd occurred when I opened this bottle. But it's a good odd for a change.  Over the years, many of us here have experienced broken corks and what not. It's a pain, but it sometimes happens. Likewise, there are some bottle's that are wax sealed that can also be a pain. I'm talking about the ones with brittle wax. With the last wax sealed bottle I opened, (can't remember what it was) I was finding little wax pieces in the carpet for a few days afterward. I finally had to give in and vacuum. 

 

The bottle of Blanton's that I opened yesterday was the exact opposite. I was prepared for the worst, but I needn't have worried. I grabbed the wire tips that were sticking out of the wax and started to pull. Believe it or not, the freaking wax just peeled back ever so neatly in one nice piece.  I know this is kinda nerdy, but what can I say? I'm more used to some things not working out quite as planned, so when something goes better than planned, it's very surprising to say the least.

 

Biba! Joe

[jvd99]

51 minutes ago, fishnbowljoe said:

Sweet! That's one helluva lineup Jim. Enjoy!

 

Biba! Joe

Not quite up to the PVW23 from last year, but it’ll do