The Vatting Thread Revisited

[Shizzy]

Old thread got closed out.  I was thinking on it last night when for the first time I poured 50/50 WT101 and RB.  I'm told this has been dubbed "Poor Man's Saffell".  While the nose was spot on for the nectar of the gods, the mid-palate and finish left a bit more to be desired in terms of mimicking Saffell.  Doesn't completely miss the mark, but lacks the sweetness I find so appealing in Saffell.  The acidity from barrel influence I presume coming from older stocks in the RB  detract from the finish I experience in Saffell.  Anyone else tried?  Perhaps there are laser codes that produce better results?

[Kepler]

1 hour ago, Shizzy said:

Old thread got closed out.  I was thinking on it last night when for the first time I poured 50/50 WT101 and RB.  I'm told this has been dubbed "Poor Man's Saffell".  While the nose was spot on for the nectar of the gods, the mid-palate and finish left a bit more to be desired in terms of mimicking Saffell.  Doesn't completely miss the mark, but lacks the sweetness I find so appealing in Saffell.  The acidity from barrel influence I presume coming from older stocks in the RB  detract from the finish I experience in Saffell.  Anyone else tried?  Perhaps there are laser codes that produce better results?

 

Thanks for reviving this thread concept.

 

The WT blogger "Rarebird101" writes that he uses RR10 (instead of WT101) with his 50:50 blend with Rare Breed to make the poor man's saffell blend.  No I have not tried it.   But it sounds fun.  The blogger swears that RR10 makes a great blending agent for other Turkey products because it adds the needed aged whiskey, and it makes sense.

 

I have done some home blends of various WT for grins.  I find the WT Diamond Anniversary (13 year at 91 proof) lacking in boldness so I blended it with the previous iteration for WTRB (the 112.8 proof version, which I found tasted young and harsh on its own) and blended result was better than either one of those on their own.  The blend gave the individual whiskies the elements they were missing without drastically changing the profile. 

 

Here are some of the Rarebird101 articles on his home blending if you're interested...

 

https://rarebird101.com/2019/01/22/wild-turkey-blends/

 

https://rarebird101.com/2021/02/10/dirty-bird-whiskey-blends/

 

[flahute]

Oh yes.........Imma gonna try these.

[B.B. Babington]

9 hours ago, Kepler said:

...  I find the WT Diamond Anniversary (13 year at 91 proof) lacking in boldness so I blended it with the previous iteration for WTRB (the 112.8 proof version, which I found tasted young and harsh on its own) and blended result was better than either one of those on their own. ...

 

I'm big fan of any aged turkey.  diamond received lots of pre-market hype but proved to be big disappointment.  Edsel for sure.

[Shizzy]

16 hours ago, Kepler said:

Here are some of the Rarebird101 articles on his home blending if you're interested...

Love reading what DJ has to say about anything Turkey.  I need to get myself some Russell's 10.  I've never bought any as it wasn't on my radar on the way up the proof ladder in my journey.  Now that I've recently descended that ladder I'll certainly pick some up.  I pretty much love anything from the distillery including the Diamond Anniversary release.  Thanks for the links, Kep.

[Jazzhead]

I was going to blend a 1972 Full Proof with some Thomas Moore Port Cask,  but the cork broke on the TM and I'm too lazy to deal with it.  Instead I was inspired to do a 50/50 blend of Full Proof and Basil Hayden.

 

I gotta say this is a successful experiment.  The proof is perfect,  and the rye spice notes from the BH add zest to the blend.  And the nose is to die for.

[hughewil]

Tried this blend last night and it was excellent, I bottled some tonight to let it sit and matriculate for a week or so.

2 part 1792 sb/1 part 1920.

calling it Old Forester 1792

 

[Shizzy]

Update:  My 50/50 blend of RR10 and RB have proven successful.  I wouldn't say it's quite WB Saffell, but certainly 90% of the way there.  The nose is fantastic on this blend.  The way it hits the palate isn't quite as pleasant as Saffell is, but at a quarter of the price, I'm not going to complain too much.  It's still really good.  Looking forward to more blending gems from this community.

[fishnbowljoe]

1 hour ago, Shizzy said:

Update:  My 50/50 blend of RR10 and RB have proven successful.  I wouldn't say it's quite WB Saffell, but certainly 90% of the way there.  The nose is fantastic on this blend.  The way it hits the palate isn't quite as pleasant as Saffell is, but at a quarter of the price, I'm not going to complain too much.  It's still really good.  Looking forward to more blending gems from this community.

Ya’ just gotta love it when a blend works @Shizzy. Makes up for the times when an experiment is less than stellar.

 

Biba! Joe

[JCwhammie]

3 hours ago, Shizzy said:

Update:  My 50/50 blend of RR10 and RB have proven successful.  I wouldn't say it's quite WB Saffell, but certainly 90% of the way there.  The nose is fantastic on this blend.  The way it hits the palate isn't quite as pleasant as Saffell is, but at a quarter of the price, I'm not going to complain too much.  It's still really good.  Looking forward to more blending gems from this community.

 

My go to turkey blend is 2 parts WTRB and 3 parts RR10. The proof is 100.72. It's a great alternative to WTKS. 

[flahute]

12 hours ago, Shizzy said:

Update:  My 50/50 blend of RR10 and RB have proven successful.  I wouldn't say it's quite WB Saffell, but certainly 90% of the way there.  The nose is fantastic on this blend.  The way it hits the palate isn't quite as pleasant as Saffell is, but at a quarter of the price, I'm not going to complain too much.  It's still really good.  Looking forward to more blending gems from this community.

 

9 hours ago, JCwhammie said:

 

My go to turkey blend is 2 parts WTRB and 3 parts RR10. The proof is 100.72. It's a great alternative to WTKS. 

Y'all are my heroes. Absolutely love it.

[steven s]

My current WT blend (6 months old, have had a few ounces recently from the originally mostly-full 750.)

 

Equal thirds, all very good on their own:

 

KS 101 ace spirits single barrel store pick

RRSiB total wine store pick

RB Rye

Edited September 21, 2022 by steven s

[flahute]

Just now, steven s said:

My current WT blend (6 months old, have had a few ounces recently from the originally mostly-full 750.)

 

Equal thirds, all very good on their own:

 

KS 101 ace spirits single barrel store pick

RRSiB total wine store pick

RB Rye

I shall henceforth add you to my heroes list.

[Erk Russel Reserve]

I remember the old thread. Glad you brought it back!

[Jazzhead]

On 9/20/2022 at 2:37 PM, JCwhammie said:

 

My go to turkey blend is 2 parts WTRB and 3 parts RR10. The proof is 100.72. It's a great alternative to WTKS. 

I do something similar with RR6 Rye and Rare Breed Rye.   I get the proof I want without diluting with water,  and retain all the small-batchy goodness.

[Jazzhead]

On 9/21/2022 at 12:28 AM, steven s said:

My current WT blend (6 months old, have had a few ounces recently from the originally mostly-full 750.)

 

Equal thirds, all very good on their own:

 

KS 101 ace spirits single barrel store pick

RRSiB total wine store pick

RB Rye

That's one bourye I need to try.   

[raymoall]

Not sure how this will turn out, but decided to give it a try anyway. Even with a 7-year age statement, I found the Bernheim to be a little underwhelming. 
thought that amping the proof a bit with MM Cask Strength might put it in a different league. 
Needs a couple more weeks. This batch (in a WTRB bottle I had lying around) is 1:1.

[fishnbowljoe]

Old habits are hard to break. Handles of Weller SR and Weller 12, and an older liter of OWA, were blended and decanted. First picture: Before. Second picture: The yield afterward. Once a Weller Whore….. (smiley face)
 

[Jazzhead]

I like blending RR10 and Rare Breed to get a better-aged version of WT101 at a more-or-less correct Jimmy's proof.    I do the same thing with RR6 Rye and Rare Breed Rye.   

[GeeTen]

On 4/16/2023 at 10:36 PM, fishnbowljoe said:

Old habits are hard to break. Handles of Weller SR and Weller 12, and an older liter of OWA, were blended and decanted. First picture: Before. Second picture: The yield afterward. Once a Weller Whore….. (smiley face)
 

 

I have all the mixins' - what's the proportions, PLEASE!   

 

[fishnbowljoe]

46 minutes ago, GeeTen said:

 

I have all the mixins' - what's the proportions, PLEASE!   

 

My 2021 Blend is slightly more mundane than other folks blends Frank. It’s just equal parts Weller SR, Weller 12, and OWA.
 

My 2018 Blend was the one where I tried to imitate Weller Centennial. That one was 1:Weller SR, 1:Weller 12, & 3:OWA, and was 100.2 proof. That was the Blend I took a sample of to BT when I had the great pleasure to meet all the powers that be at BT after one of their management meetings. I gave them a sample and Mark Brown sent it to their lab to analyze it. Chris Comstock said he thought my blend might be  similar to their as yet unreleased Weller CYPB. He brought out a bottle of the CYPB and handed it to me. I said thank you very much. Chris said no, no, no, you can’t have it. I kinda pleaded that this was probably the closest I’d get to ever having a bottle. Everybody laughed. Fun stuff. Mark Brown actually emailed me a couple of weeks later about my sample. The lab boys said my blend was okay, maybe a little rougher around the edges and not quite as “refined” as the CYPB. Oh well. I was pretty happy with close but no cigar.  (Big Smiley Face)

[GeeTen]

21 hours ago, fishnbowljoe said:

My 2021 Blend is slightly more mundane than other folks blends Frank. It’s just equal parts Weller SR, Weller 12, and OWA.
 

My 2018 Blend was the one where I tried to imitate Weller Centennial. That one was 1:Weller SR, 1:Weller 12, & 3:OWA, and was 100.2 proof. That was the Blend I took a sample of to BT when I had the great pleasure to meet all the powers that be at BT after one of their management meetings. I gave them a sample and Mark Brown sent it to their lab to analyze it. Chris Comstock said he thought my blend might be  similar to their as yet unreleased Weller CYPB. He brought out a bottle of the CYPB and handed it to me. I said thank you very much. Chris said no, no, no, you can’t have it. I kinda pleaded that this was probably the closest I’d get to ever having a bottle. Everybody laughed. Fun stuff. Mark Brown actually emailed me a couple of weeks later about my sample. The lab boys said my blend was okay, maybe a little rougher around the edges and not quite as “refined” as the CYPB. Oh well. I was pretty happy with close but no cigar.  (Big Smiley Face)

 Thanks, Joe - I've already made those up.  I was referring to your 2023 Weller Blend.  But I found it in another thread (I think).  1.75L W12: 1L OWA (paper label):1.75L WSR, right???   

 

[GeeTen]

21 hours ago, fishnbowljoe said:

My 2021 Blend is slightly more mundane than other folks blends Frank. It’s just equal parts Weller SR, Weller 12, and OWA.
 

My 2018 Blend was the one where I tried to imitate Weller Centennial. That one was 1:Weller SR, 1:Weller 12, & 3:OWA, and was 100.2 proof. That was the Blend I took a sample of to BT when I had the great pleasure to meet all the powers that be at BT after one of their management meetings. I gave them a sample and Mark Brown sent it to their lab to analyze it. Chris Comstock said he thought my blend might be  similar to their as yet unreleased Weller CYPB. He brought out a bottle of the CYPB and handed it to me. I said thank you very much. Chris said no, no, no, you can’t have it. I kinda pleaded that this was probably the closest I’d get to ever having a bottle. Everybody laughed. Fun stuff. Mark Brown actually emailed me a couple of weeks later about my sample. The lab boys said my blend was okay, maybe a little rougher around the edges and not quite as “refined” as the CYPB. Oh well. I was pretty happy with close but no cigar.  (Big Smiley Face)

 

Let them pound sand - what the heck do they know!