Profiles of Barrel Programs

[Rughi]

The concept of the specially chosen barrel program that distillers use with notable retailers seems to be a fabulous idea - if your taste buds enjoy the same things as the persons who selected the barrel.

Would anybody be so kind as to characterize the flavor profiles of notable buyers (such as Sams and Binnys) compared to the standard issue?

I've looked into both Binnys and Sams but thought I'd inquire here first to guide my way.

Lately, perhaps due to the damned allergies, I've been craving the sweetest and spiciest bourbon on which I can get my hands.

-Roger

[Rughi]

And speaking of Barrel Programs, does anyone know of retailers doing this in the Bay Area?

-Roger

[jbutler]

Bevmo is doing it Roger (ETL and ER), and Bottle Barn here in Santa Rosa is as well.

[doubleblank]

Civic Center Liquors in SF has done an Elmer T Lee SB and a Pappy 15 SB for their small store. The Pappy 15 is excellent.....I haven't tried the ETL yet, but alas, it is all sold as I recall. Give them a call and see what they have left.

Randy

[Rughi]

I saw in the Albany (CA) store that Bevmo is doing Weller 12 and Van Winkle 12 Lot "B" ("B" for Bevmo?). It looks like both sell for about what Bevmo would charge for standard issue of these whiskies.

I bought a BevWeller 12, and found it very much to my liking. Compared to the bottle I've had open for about a year and never got around to drinking up, it has a similar aroma (keeping in mind that my nose is only partially functional) is sweeter, spicier, warmer and slightly more viscuous than standard. All good things by me! The trade-off seems to be that BevWeller is a little less creamy and smooth, which is a trade I'll make.

I think Elmer T and Pappy 15 sound like even more fun. If one were to push the envelope on how sweet it is possible for a bourbon to be, a honey barrel of Elmer T may be where it is found.

And huzzahs to seeing independent and small chain stores doing barrel programs. This will definitely get me in their stores to check them out.

Hey Bay Area peoples- let's do a special bottling vs. standard issue tasting.

-Roger

[dougdog]

Roger,

Dreaggers Market in Palo Alto, Mill Valley Market in Mill Valley, Jacksons' Liquors in lafayette and the two sister stores in Moraga and Concord all have barrel programs.

dog

[Ken Weber]

The good folks at Civic Center came to the distillery and selected a barrel of Elmer T. Lee. Elmer personally selected the candidates and had picked some older barrels (older than the standard 10 year old barrels). After Civic sold out, they requested another barrel. Rather than return to the distillery, we sent them 5 barrel samples; they said that while they were all good, they just did not match the flavor of the first barrel selected. They then made a special trip to the distillery and sampled several additional barrels. From these they picked 2. I really like both of the selections (deep vanilla/caramel flavor).

Ken

[CrispyCritter]

I've also seen custom single-cask bourbon and Scotch bottlings at Binny's and Sam's in the Chicago area. The label on my ORVW 15/107 bottle (no. B297) is stamped as a single-barrel bottling for Sam's. The whiskey in the bottle is superb, too!

[Edward_call_me_Ed]

Interesting topic. My post is somewhat off topic.

I wonder how closely the Official Bottling Single Barrels match themselves. I mean, how closely does barrel number 57 match barrel number 58 of, say, Elmer T Lee? When I tried the aforementioned bourbon I loved it, so I went back and cleared the shelves of it, assuming that they had likely come from the same barrel, though the ETL SB isn't marked as to which barrel the bottle comes from. The different bottles of Blanton's that I have tried have all been recognizably Blanton's and yet I could distinguish between them.

Ed

[BourbonJoe]

I think each barrel is an entity unto itself. I remember the first bottle of ETL was extremely good, Subsequent bottles were much harsher and varied in taste slightly. But....I think that's the way things go with single barrels.

Joe

[Ken Weber]

Let me add another wrinkle, we allow certain key retailers to purchase single barrels of Buffalo Trace, Van Winkle, and Weller. Since these are all small batch (Weller is larger than the rest), a single barrel can have a vastly different taste than the parent brand. We are very reluctant to do these because people have come to expect a certain taste and they may very well be surprised (either for the good or bad). The problem is, as a first time buyer, when I purchase the parent brand the next time, chances are it will not taste the same as the single barrel. Bottom line, I did not get what I expected.

Ken

[Ken Weber]

One additional thought. When I was in London for Whisky Live, I spoke with the editor of Whisky Magazine about this large display of Woodford Reserve on display at their table. While I did not mention it, I was disappointed to see them so blantantly displaying a competitive brand. However, Domenic explained that he was giving away a bottle to each person who signed up for a year's subscription to the magazine. He then offered me a taste. Now I think WR is a nice bourbon, however, what I tasted was not WR. When I had this perplexed look on my face he laughed and said that he encouraged the folks at Woodford to let him pick a barrel of 100% pot still whiskey, produced at the distillery. Since the taste was so different from the mainstream brand, he was strongly asked not to make the product available for sell to consumers. Again, the bottom line is that if that was my first taste of the bourbon, I would be disappointed when I purchased my next regular bottle.

Ken