Van Winkle 'Lot A'?

[TNbourbon]

I don't really know what this means, but since it's the first solid reference I've ever seen to a Van Winkle Lot A, I thought I'd note it:

Van Winkle 18yo Lot A

'Course, the reference to Wild Turkey "Reserve" makes we wonder if this guy even knows what he's drinking, but...

Ring a bell, Julian?

[tdelling]

Surprise #2 in that thread is that Lew Bryson posts there,

as recently as July 2005. He hasn't posted here for a loooong

time... years and years.

He had a great series of three whiskey articles in Malt Advocate

that were really great reading... you could tell that (1) he actually

visited the distilleries, and (2) he's not afraid to ask technical

questions and really find out what's actually going on, and (3)

he's not afraid to write about what he sees. He doesn't just write

a watered down puff piece waxing romantic about tradition and

how beautiful the hills are and blah blah blah we've heard it all

before from the marketing department already. Lew makes you feel

like you're there, talking to the master distiller, who has an

interesting job and does interesting things. You'll never see

a "it mixes really well with Coca-Cola!" master distiller quote

in a Bryson article.

Tim Dellinger

[Vange]

check that link out

not sure if it helps

http://www.whiskymag.com/whisky/brand/family_reserve_kentucky_straight_bourbon/whisky1906.html

[Vange]

A Park Avenue liquors exclusive?

[kbuzbee]

Surprise #2 in that thread is that Lew Bryson posts there, as recently as July 2005. He hasn't posted here for a loooong time... years and years.

I personally loved the comment about why you put Bourbon in a Mint Julep.

Just classic!

Ken

[NorCalBoozer]

i believe it's pretty common for liquor stores to get their own bottling. Binny's has their own 18 y.o. Van Winkle as well.

A Park Avenue liquors exclusive?

[LewBryson]

Thanks, Tim. I ran into Ken Weber at WhiskyFest NY last night, he told me "they're talking about you on straightbourbon.com", and then wouldn't tell me anything else. Glad it was something good! If you liked those pieces, I think you'll like the one in the upcoming issue on mashing. I got some really good stuff from Jerry Dalton at Beam, and the scotch side from Jim Cryle, retired master distiller at Glenlivet.

Thanks again,

Lew Bryson

[Gillman]

Welcome, Lew, hope to see you around here some. Your expertise and knowledge have been mentioned here many times. Especially when we discuss straight rye, I always think, what would Lew say?

Gary Gillman

[tdelling]

> If you liked those pieces, I think you'll like the one in the upcoming

> issue on mashing. I got some really good stuff from Jerry Dalton at Beam,

> and the scotch side from Jim Cryle, retired master distiller at Glenlivet.

Awesome! I'm looking forward to it.

For those who haven't seen it, Lex Kraaijeveld wrote up a nice little

piece about bacteria in mashing. He even flexed his muscles as a biologist

a little and categorized a few of the strains into families. (This was

all data from Scottish distilleries.)

http://www.celticmalts.com/journal-a19.htm

(Lactic acid bacteria are what give bourbon's sour mash it's sourness.)

Tim Dellinger

[LewBryson]

Thanks for the welcome, but 'expertise' is probably too strong a word. I'm a willing student, just doing my best to learn from people who know a LOT more than I do, and taking a look at things from my own perspective.

Lew

[JeffRenner]

I think you'll like the one in the upcoming issue on mashing.

I look forward to that article. As a homebrewer, I find that I have more unanswered questions on mashing than on any other aspect of the production of whiskey. Not because I know more about the other aspects, but because I know more about mashing and therefore know more what to ask.

In particular, I am interested in the various reasons for sour mash, and have been turning over in my mind a bit of an short essay on this that I will post soon.

Jeff