The Next BTEC more wine

[ACDetroit]

I spoke to a rep from BT today who informed me the next experimental collection will be (2) age statements and the whiskey will be finished in a Cabernet Franc cask. He was unsure on the release date, but I thought I'd share the info.

If anyone has more info please fill us in? Does anyone know why the last few experiments have all involved wine?

AC

[Vange]

I think because wine is one of the hottest alcoholic beverages today.

[HighTower]

I think Diageo have jumped on the experimental bandwagon with a bourbon they released in Australia called "Slate".

I'm pretty sure this stuff is first aged for three years, then does a 6 month stint in the oil sump of a 1962 Cadillac.

Then again, I could be wrong, maybe that's just what it tastes like :puke:

Scott

[craigthom]

I'll take your word for it.

A month or two back I was trying very hard to find any current bourbons not distilled in Kentucky.

The only two I found are both sold in Australia. The first, Cougar, is (or at least was) distilled in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, for Foster's. I have no idea if it is still made there, since ownership has changed.

The other was Slate, made in Chicago. Their big claim is that they are a _blended_ bourbon, and I saw that "unique" claim made on some Australian message boards. Their description of "blended" matches the mingling or marriage or whatever of every bourbon that isn't a single barrel, except that bourbon makers are generally allergic to the word "blend".

[ACDetroit]

Love the Caddy ref. Scott from Detroit go figure I'm a car guy:grin: . Sounds like we'll leave the "Slate" for you since it was not wiped clean:puke: !!!

Thanks for the warning though!

AC

[HighTower]

I'll take your word for it.

A month or two back I was trying very hard to find any current bourbons not distilled in Kentucky.

The only two I found are both sold in Australia. The first, Cougar, is (or at least was) distilled in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, for Foster's. I have no idea if it is still made there, since ownership has changed.

The other was Slate, made in Chicago. Their big claim is that they are a _blended_ bourbon, and I saw that "unique" claim made on some Australian message boards. Their description of "blended" matches the mingling or marriage or whatever of every bourbon that isn't a single barrel, except that bourbon makers are generally allergic to the word "blend".

Normally, when we have a bourbon in Australia that is marked blended, it is 51% bourbon and 49%GNS.

Slate is supposedly a blend of different bourbons, which I would imagine would lead to major inconsistency across the brand. Although, in saying that, most people here think that Jim Beam white label is the cream of the crop, so go figure.

Cougar is very popular here, and there are 2 expressions. Normal Cougar is 37%, and I haven't had it in a long time, but they also have Cougar XS (eXtra Strength) at 43%. I quite enjoy it as a mixer, not a bad bourbon.

McKenna (not Henry McKenna) is another bourbon that has taken the Australian market by storm in the last 12 months. It is pretty good, it is very smoky and actually reminds me more of JD. I heard that it was bulk Heaven Hill Bourbon taken over to NZ and bottled there, as one would think with the McKenna name attached to it. One thing that Jane Conner from Maker's Mark pointed out when she was here in oz, it has "Lawrenceburg Kentucky imprinted on the glass, so that really throws a curve ball out there.

We also just got a new HH bourbon called Iron Horse.

It is charcoal filtered, 37% and fairly cheap. It is a decent bourbon, I was pleasantly surprised.

Scott

[craigthom]

I thought I'd read it here, but maybe I ran across it while searching for non-Kentucky bourbons.

The McKenna in Australia is from Kirin. Who ones the name (Heaven Hill or Kirin) and who licenses it, or what, is unknown.

Anyway, since that McKenna is from Kirin, and the bottle says "Lawrenceburg", it's got to be Four Roses.

[chasking]

The other was Slate, made in Chicago.

It may be sold by somebody headquartered in Chicago, but unless something very noteworthy occurred that I didn't hear about, nobody is making whiskey in Chicago.

[craigthom]

Well, Diageo claims it is produced in Chicago, whatever that means:

"Produced by the SLATE Distilling Co. in Chicago, SLATE Blended Bourbon is made by a method known as precision distillation in which the master distiller has the advantage of computer-controlled technology to constantly monitor the process and distil the spirit exactly the way he wants. Copper columns and doublers are used to produce a high quality distillate, and computers enable the equilibrium at each plate to be checked and controlled every second."

The "computer-controlled" thing makes it sound like Bernheim, but the stills there aren't copper, are they? Diageo owns the copper stills at S-W, but there's the computer thing, and I think we would have heard (or smelled) something if they started distilling there again.

[BourbonJoe]

It may be sold by somebody headquartered in Chicago, but unless something very noteworthy occurred that I didn't hear about, nobody is making whiskey in Chicago.

Maybe Chuck, in his kitchen.

Joe :usflag:

[fog]

I spoke to a rep from BT today who informed me the next experimental collection will be (2) age statements and the whiskey will be finished in a Cabernet Franc cask. He was unsure on the release date, but I thought I'd share the info.

If anyone has more info please fill us in? Does anyone know why the last few experiments have all involved wine?

AC

Perhaps because previous experimentation with wine has been successful?

What is a typical price range for BTEC bottles?

[Vange]

All the BTECs have been successful. $50-$65 per 375 ml bottle.