The Vatting Thread 2018 and beyond

[clearmoon247]

11 hours ago, fosmith said:

Booker's 30th was a blend of 1/3 16 yr and 2/3 9 yr barrels.  I was never able to acquire a bottle so to get close I made a blend of 1/3 14yr Knob Creek store pick and 2/3 Booker's Kitchen Table batch (6 yr, 8 mo.).  As Larry David would say, pretty, pretty, pretty good...

Do you have a bottle of Booker's 30th that you can compare this to?

[fosmith]

12 hours ago, clearmoon247 said:

Do you have a bottle of Booker's 30th that you can compare this to?

Sadly, no.  I never saw it on the shelf anywhere here in No. Calif.  But the blend works because the oak from the KC adds depth and complexity to the youngish Booker's and the lively, youthful flavors of the Booker's perk up the extra mature KC.  So, even if it's not that similar to B 30th, it's still a case of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. 

[clearmoon247]

8 hours ago, fosmith said:

Sadly, no.  I never saw it on the shelf anywhere here in No. Calif.  But the blend works because the oak from the KC adds depth and complexity to the youngish Booker's and the lively, youthful flavors of the Booker's perk up the extra mature KC.  So, even if it's not that similar to B 30th, it's still a case of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. 

I actually did a blend last night of Beaten Biscuits (2019-04 - 63.05% & 6.5 Years old) and a 15 year, 2 Month pick. In a week or two, I'm going to reach out to the local whiskey group to see if anyone has Booker's 30th to do a side-by-side. It is already a tasty blend though.

[fosmith]

19 hours ago, clearmoon247 said:

I actually did a blend last night of Beaten Biscuits (2019-04 - 63.05% & 6.5 Years old) and a 15 year, 2 Month pick. In a week or two, I'm going to reach out to the local whiskey group to see if anyone has Booker's 30th to do a side-by-side. It is already a tasty blend though.

Please report back if you do.  I'm interested to know if this blend is truly a "Poor Man's Booker's 30th". 

[Jfevre]

I’ve been playing with a 107 blend for the past few months. I really love lingering finish in W.B. Saffell and WT profile. I thought it’s flavors were well balanced but lacked a upfront punch of flavor. Enter OWA. I started the blend at 50/50 but have moved to 60/40 with OWA being the dominant bourbon. I’ve been enjoying it a lot and call it W.B. Weller. 

Edited April 30, 2020 by Jfevre

[clearmoon247]

The W.B. Weller seems like an interesting blend, especially for both parts being 107 proof

[Richnimrod]

12 hours ago, Jfevre said:

I’ve been playing with a 107 blend for the past few months. I really love lingering finish in W.B. Saffell and WT profile. I thought it’s flavors were well balanced but lacked a upfront punch of flavor. Enter OWA. I started the blend at 50/50 but have moved to 60/40 with OWA being the dominant bourbon. I’ve been enjoying it a lot and call it W.B. Weller. 

 

Sound logic, as well as the good decision to blend two tasty and well-enjoyed Bourbons.    Interesting to blend a wheater and rye based Bourbon together, in my experience (admittedly limited) this worx 'well' only about 33% of the time, with about 33% being no better (only different) and about a third being disappointing.   Glad it's turning out positively for you, Jfevre!

[Jfevre]

18 hours ago, clearmoon247 said:

The W.B. Weller seems like an interesting blend, especially for both parts being 107 proof

It was a nice perk not having to calculate the finished products proof : ). 

[Jfevre]

6 hours ago, Richnimrod said:

Sound logic, as well as the good decision to blend two tasty and well-enjoyed Bourbons.    Interesting to blend a wheater and rye based Bourbon together, in my experience (admittedly limited) this worx 'well' only about 33% of the time, with about 33% being no better (only different) and about a third being disappointing.   Glad it's turning out positively for you, Jfevre!

I agree and would say your percentages ring true for most of the vattings i’ve attempted.  I usually try to mix things from different distilleries when I attempt a vatting. The risk is a more, but I think the reward is as well. Cheers!

[clearmoon247]

I've done a bit of tweeking with my latest vatting. At this point, here is my final recipe for a Poor Man's Yippee Ki-Yay:

 

• HW Rendezvous Rye - 705ml
• Vya Sweet Vermouth - 24ml
• Qupe Syrah (2017) - 21ml

The recipe can also be done with HW Double Rye, but will lose a bit of depth of the age in the bottle. However, if you can find a pre-2016 bottle of either Double Rye or Rendezvous Rye, it will yield a much higher quality product.

[steven s]

been enjoying WSR and OF rye 50/50

[clearmoon247]

What would a good ratio of bourbon to rye be for a proper bourye blend?

[clearmoon247]

Update: Blended in an accidental 2:1 Bourbon to Rye ratio of Blanton's SFTB to Kentucky Owl Rye Batch 1 by finishing off both bottles. Going to let marry for a month before sampling. I'll keep you all updated as it goes.

[Richnimrod]

Here's an 'accidental' (well sorta) vatting I did several days ago.   I needed an unusual sized screw-cap for a 'dusty' bottle I acquired that had a rather small opening, thus none of my corks (and I have dozens!) were tiny enough.   I checked several dozen bottles around the house and eventually came upon an odd-sized (4-or-5-ounce) sample I had tucked away some years ago that contained WTRB, 116.8-proof (not sure why I had that 'saved', but I did), whose cap was a near-perfect replica of the broken one.    Not having room in either of my usual 'solera' bottles for 4+ ounces I settled on a half-full bottle of OGD 114, and thought; "The proofs are very compatible, the two might be pretty decent together, and neither would be expected to detract from the other", so in it went!    It turns out it's quite tasty!   Yay!   

I just love it when careful planning, meticulous measurement, and judicious selection result in a wonder of the blender's art... . . . . ah, I'm not fooling anybody.... Dumb Luck works out once in a while.

[clearmoon247]

53 minutes ago, Richnimrod said:

Dumb Luck works out once in a while.

I couldn't agree more. Sometimes the best successes are accidents.

[clearmoon247]

Bottled a couple of vattings this week

[clearmoon247]

On 4/25/2020 at 1:34 PM, fosmith said:

Please report back if you do.  I'm interested to know if this blend is truly a "Poor Man's Booker's 30th". 

It's been a bit, but here is the blend tasted live by Bourbon Junkies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv9MGcLzf7c&feature=youtu.be&t=9184

[fishnbowljoe]

Okay, so I was looking at all the BIB‘s I have open on my “open” shelf. And you know me and my vattings/blends.  A mix of EW, JTS Brown, and JW Dant is in my glass now. Hmmmmm. I just may have to dig a little deeper with this. 

 

Biba! Joe

[clearmoon247]

On 9/21/2020 at 4:59 PM, fishnbowljoe said:

Okay, so I was looking at all the BIB‘s I have open on my “open” shelf. And you know me and my vattings/blends.  A mix of EW, JTS Brown, and JW Dant is in my glass now. Hmmmmm. I just may have to dig a little deeper with this. 

 

Biba! Joe

Apparently they are all pulled similarly at Heaven Hill, just batched on different days. I personally find a difference between the releases.

 

Did you do equal portions of each in your blend?

 

I may do the ultimate blend: EW, JTS Brown, JW Dant, TW Samuels, and HH BIB 6 & 7 years! Muahaha

[fishnbowljoe]

11 hours ago, clearmoon247 said:

Apparently they are all pulled similarly at Heaven Hill, just batched on different days. I personally find a difference between the releases.

 

Did you do equal portions of each in your blend?

 

I may do the ultimate blend: EW, JTS Brown, JW Dant, TW Samuels, and HH BIB 6 & 7 years! Muahaha

No measurements Moon. I just splashed some of each in a glass.   FWIW, I didn’t open my HH 6. It’s the last one I have. No TW Samuels either.  I don’t think it’s available around here.

 

Biba! Joe

[clearmoon247]

While I can't give specifics of what percentages went into each blend, I can say that the bourbon is a blend of 6-23 year old bourbons and the rye batch is a blend of 4-10 year old rye.

 

Each container has a single stave of seared French Oak to add some complexity while the blends marry.

 

It's going to be super fun doing a variety of finishes with these bases.

 

I guess it's time to start blending up batch #3 bourbon and batch #2 rye.

[M777]

How long are you guys letting the weller/ogd114 four grain blend sit for after blending? I just made small amount a few days ago and haven’t tasted it yet. 

Edited October 1, 2020 by M777

[clearmoon247]

30 minutes ago, M777 said:

How long are you guys letting the weller/ogd114 four grain blend sit for after blending? I just made small amount a few days ago and haven’t tasted it yet. 

Normally 2-3 weeks, but up to a month

[M777]

3 hours ago, clearmoon247 said:

Normally 2-3 weeks, but up to a month

Thanks, will give a try at 2 weeks.

[mal00768]

On 9/27/2020 at 12:00 AM, clearmoon247 said:

While I can't give specifics of what percentages went into each blend, I can say that the bourbon is a blend of 6-23 year old bourbons and the rye batch is a blend of 4-10 year old rye.

 

Each container has a single stave of seared French Oak to add some complexity while the blends marry.

 

It's going to be super fun doing a variety of finishes with these bases.

 

I guess it's time to start blending up batch #3 bourbon and batch #2 rye.

Just out of curiosity, how are you storing these? My understanding was that, A major component of wood aging is variations in temperature so that the whisky moves in and out of the wood. I wonder how much this also matters for those small barrel experiments I see others do.