BOTM, 4/06: Rock Hill Farms

[Virus_Of_Life]

OK I gotta say I was so anxious to open my bottle of RHF and did last night. The nose creeping out of the bottle smelled very good, similar to ETL, so I was even more anxious to taste...

Then the let down! The finish on this was very woody and corky to the point that it just wasn't a pleasant bourbon to drink. Is there a chance that I got just an overly woody barrel? The cork seems fine, but it just has a bad cork/wood taste on the finish. I'll try it again in a couple of days but am not seeing all the hype as of yet. It honestly (other than the wood) tastes a lot like ETL to me with more alcohol burn! Same mashbill?

[Ambernecter]

Christian!

RHF is my baby and I really do love the stuff. I have had some bottles noticably better than others bit I enjoyed every one. You may have struck out barrel wise but I really wouldn't be too hasty...

Maker's is a nice everyday pour for me, but today, even out of my Reidel Bourbon glass, it just isn't cutting the mustard. I'm not worried - probably the Chinese food I had last night or me being in a foul mood?

Some (many) forum members love EC12. I am not one of them but have given it several cracks of the whip... just not my stuff. This may be the case with you and Mr. Gothbat towards RHF. Horses for courses!

Hmmm horses - anyone for Blanton's?

[bluesbassdad]

Here's a situation where a tasting group such as Bourbon Joe's would be worth its weight in empty bourbon glasses and rings on the coffee table. If only someone familiar with the taste of Rock Hill Farms could taste it and give his opinion . . .

There's a chance I'll be in La La Land in June. If you haven't finished the bottle by then (fat chance, it sounds like) maybe I could swing by and we can both compare it to one of the bottles I will undoubtedly pick up while I'm there.

I suppose it could be that you're just a Blanton's guy -- not that there's anything wrong with that. :grin:

A tangential thought: Is there anyone here who doesn't have a distinct preference for either Rock Hill Farms or Blanton's?

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[Virus_Of_Life]

Here's a situation where a tasting group such as Bourbon Joe's would be worth its weight in empty bourbon glasses and rings on the coffee table. If only someone familiar with the taste of Rock Hill Farms could taste it and give his opinion . . .

There's a chance I'll be in La La Land in June. If you haven't finished the bottle by then (fat chance, it sounds like) maybe I could swing by and we can both compare it to one of the bottles I will undoubtedly pick up while I'm there.

I suppose it could be that you're just a Blanton's guy -- not that there's anything wrong with that. :grin:

A tangential thought: Is there anyone here who doesn't have a distinct preference for either Rock Hill Farms or Blanton's?

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

I know this will be like sacrilege Dave, but I've never had Blanton's, if you were referring to me that is?

I envision having a couple more pours of that RHF but do not plan to drain it anytime soon - wasn't to my liking too much.

I am always open to the possibilities of meeting others if they are traveling through...

[SBOmarc]

Having enjoyed Blanton's for quite some time before tasting Rock Hill Farms I can say that although I consider myself a "Blanton's Guy" I also enjoy the other. From reading the posts I have been fortunate that all of the bottles of RHF that have passed my way were all exceptional and consistent.

The RHF has the much longer finish but the Blanton's has more balance. I can't see where anyone can go wrong chosing either.

[SBOmarc]

I know this will be like sacrilege Dave, but I've never had Blanton's, if you were referring to me that is?

I envision having a couple more pours of that RHF but do not plan to drain it anytime soon - wasn't to my liking too much.

I am always open to the possibilities of meeting others if they are traveling through...

We could put together a BT Mashbill tasting of ETL, RHF and Blanton's. Anyone have a botlle of Hancock Reserve?

[ratcheer]

A tangential thought: Is there anyone here who doesn't have a distinct preference for either Rock Hill Farms or Blanton's?

I have only a slight preference for RHF. I love it and Blanton's, to me both are the cream of the crop. Along with their other brother, Elmer T. Lee.

Tim

[eprater]

What's the word on the special bottling of Rock Hill Farms once (still?) available from Sam's Wine in Chicago?

As I recall, it was distilled in '96, bottled in '04, and had the special attribute of being non-chill-filtered.

In general I'm not interested in retailer-specific bottlings of bourbons that are already single-cask bottlings in their standard versions, but the non-chill-filtered bit caught my eye once upon a time.

Is the Sam's bottling an improvement on the standard RHF? (Which, like Blanton's, I've found to be inconsistent, but, also like Blanton's, at its best is nearly peerless.)

-Ethan

[Nebraska]

Well after a lengthy search locally, I found a bottle today! One lone bottle just waiting for me to come along..lol. When i opened up the box in there is a nice note describing the bourbon and stating that it was selected and dumped from barrel NO 204 in spring of 1993 on March 25.

Is the bourbon bottled at that time, or is there more to the process? I guess I'm wondering if this bottle has been sitting there for the last 13 years and if so, should it still be alright?

I know a sure way to find out : )

Mark

[ratcheer]

13 years for a sealed bottle is no problem, assuming the cork was still in decent condition to maintain a good seal. People here open bottles from the 1940's or earlier and often praise the quality of the contents.

Tim

[Ken Weber]

Sean Ludford, formerly of Sam's, came to the distillery several times to select barrels of various bourbons. We let him sample 5 barrels of pre-selected Rock Hill Farms and he selected the one he liked the best. Sean went one step further, he requested that we not chill filter the whiskey. Since it is 100 proof, there is no problem with flocking. I tasted it and it is awesome.

Ken

[JeffRenner]

Sean Ludford, formerly of Sam's...selected the one he liked the best [and] ... requested that we not chill filter the whiskey. ... I tasted it and it is awesome.

In answer to

(still?) available from Sam's Wine in Chicago?

It's evidently still available. I'll have to arrange with my Toledo connection to accept shipment. (#*% Michigan laws!)

Jeff

[bluesbassdad]

Ahhh . . . If only Sam's would ship to Arizona (as Binny's does) . . .

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[Hedmans Brorsa]

Well, I´m a bit of a slowie. I have never made any bones about that but here at last, is an attempted evaluation of my recently purchased RHF. There is not date on the label to identify it with but it came without box and gold chain.

The first two times I sampled it together with the Elmer T. Lee bought at the same time. And, well, what I can say?

Final score : Elmer 2 RHF 0!!!

Three exclamation marks because this result was unexpected, to say the least. It was a while since I last tried Elmer but I have always tended to regard it as good but not outstanding in any way. The RHF, on the other hand, has been a steady top 10 contender.

The truth, though, was that the Elmer easily outshone the RHF. It came armed with a delicious red fruitiness which I have never encountered on earlier tastings. On the basis of this bottle, a world class whiskey, as simple as that.

Not easily daunted by my findings I decided to try RHF without the presence of this new comet on my Bourbon sky. Maybe paired together with the more modest AAA 10 star (old pale yellow label) it would be allowed to shine a little more?

The answer? Well, yes, but only slightly, I´m afraid. There is nothing outright wrong with it and yet, the delicious mint toffee and oak smoke is but a whisper compared to earlier bottlings.

In the end, it prevailed over the 10 star but the victory wasn´t that overwhelming. In fact, I would rate the finish of the 10 star as better than that of the RHF. Long, warm with glimpses of the dry chocolate characteristic of the 10 yo.

Having written all this, it is wise to remind oneself that it is single barrel bottlings that we´re dealing with here. This result of mine prompts me to hunt down another bottle of RHF. Corroboration is the key word here...

[BourbonSteve]

What a pour! Like my English friend says above, this one is a winner, quite possible the best bourbon I've yet tasted. The nose was elegant, warm, floral; the taste was easy no burn some oak, leather, mint, vanilla; the finish easy but long. My first bottle and certainly not my last. I sampled some EWSB '96 with it and there was NO comparison!

[SBOmarc]

What a pour! Like my English friend says above, this one is a winner, quite possible the best bourbon I've yet tasted. The nose was elegant, warm, floral; the taste was easy no burn some oak, leather, mint, vanilla; the finish easy but long. My first bottle and certainly not my last. I sampled some EWSB '96 with it and there was NO comparison!

Certainly thought that this BOTM would get so much more comment. Like it or not, RHF deserves much more debate and discussion. Being a Single Barrel, surely some variation is to be expected.

[DrinkyBanjo]

I attempted to obtain a bottle on Saturday to try this but my local was sold out. The worse part was they didn't know if they'd be getting any more! So instead a picked up EWSB '96 but I've yet to try it.

[Hedmans Brorsa]

I just finished my regular round up of European online shops and came to the conclusion that it is not as available as it used to be.

Wild speculations on my behalf but could RHF have been given a lower priority after G.G.:s retirement?

[Virus_Of_Life]

Certainly thought that this BOTM would get so much more comment. Like it or not, RHF deserves much more debate and discussion. Being a Single Barrel, surely some variation is to be expected.

Maybe it's the SB and I just got a slightly off one, but after a good 8 visits this month I just never became overly impressed with this bourbon. Sorry RHF you just didn't cut it for me...

Now what is next, is it time for suggestions yet? I am about out of Peter Jake's and think my last bottle was a little off, I DO need to buy another bottle or two of VWSR12 lot b, still haven't had a good enough reason to buy ORVW 10yr 107 YET! I'd have an excuse to order a few bottles of AAA if it was ever the BOTM, if Hirsch was it'd give me a reason to buy and taste another foil bottle, Weller Centenial would give me an excuse to go spend the money on those with the Louisville label, haven't had Kentucky Spirit in a while... Sorry just thinking on the keyboard...

[Schock]

I bought a bottle of RHF about 2 years ago and I liked it so much that after about two drinks, I put on my mantle and I save it for special occassions. That bottle is nearly empty now and pretty soon I am going to get a new one to replace it.

I tend to get in moods for different bourbons so to call it my absolute favorite is not quite accurate, but it is a great bourbon.

Jimmy

[Gillman]

Posting late on this one but would like to get my dibs in. I don't have a bottle but tasted it at Talbott's recently and still have a clear impression of the taste. It was rich, cakey, fine-flavored, showing some wood notes but well-integrated in the whole. It is certainly a luxurious taste. Some might find it a little bland (expensive, refined spirits sometimes are) but I think it needs to be consumed neat and probably after dinner. I could see it going well with those cigars that were in fine form at Gazebo recently.

Gary

[Uncle Bob]

Posting late here indeed. I finally found a bottle of RHF today, and after reading all of the positive comments here was anxious to try it. After retuning home I had a small taste. (Hey it's only 3:00 here) First impression..excellent. I will withhold final judgement until later. I am quite frustrated at the difficulty I had opening the bottle!! After using brut strength the top finally came off. It seems there was some type of glue(?) around the top rim. The cork was damaged in the process, and now I worry about a good seal. I may have to resort to a mason jar to protect the stuff.:hot: Anybody esle had this problem with RHF? I have never experienced this before with any bottle! Ok I feel a little better now!

Maybe tonight I can enjoy a pour.

[Isoflex]

I had and have a problem opening my RHF bottle. Seems the thin cork layer dries out and causes the difficulty. Just a guess on my part. But the stuff inside the bottle is well worth the effort. RHF is my favorite...but is very scarce in these parts (Southwest Arkansas).

[ratcheer]

I had and have a problem opening my RHF bottle. Seems the thin cork layer dries out and causes the difficulty. Just a guess on my part. But the stuff inside the bottle is well worth the effort. RHF is my favorite...but is very scarce in these parts (Southwest Arkansas).

Don't feel too bad. I had to travel two states away (to Kentucky) to get mine.

Tim