Musty Blantons

[kickert]

I just had my first taste of Blanton's. Knowing the reputation of this bourbon, I had high hopes when I purchased 50ml bottle to try.

Unfortunately, when I took my first sip the only flavor that hit me was a musty flavor that lasted throughout the finish. I only drank half of the small bottle and when I tried it again a few weeks later I was struck with the same thing.

The cork appears to have a crack in it so I am willing to blame it on that, but where it stands now I am not at all impressed with this bourbon.

Thoughts? Did I get a bad bottle? Should I give it another shot or is flavor profile typical?

[bluesbassdad]

I am not a fan of Blanton's. I like its Buffalo Trace stablemate, Rock Hill Farms, better, and it costs a few dollars less. I believe Rock Hill Farms is what Blanton's wants to be when it grows up. :grin:

However, I have never tasted anything remotely musty in Blanton's. To my taste it is almost bland; others find it intriguingly complex.

I predict you will like find no musty flavor in the next bottle you buy.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[barturtle]

Luckily it was only a 50ml. Bad bottles to happen, not very often, but more often than any of us would like them to.

If you happen to be buying out of one of those "buckets o' minis" where everything is just dumped in and bottles end up upside down or other positions where the whiskey is touching the cork...run, run far away, as alcohol destroys cork and on the process gets tainted.

I wouldn't hesitate to purchase another 50ml in an attempt to get one that is in better shape...but then again, not everyone likes Blanton's flavor profile.

Try another mini...if you don't care for that one either, then revisit in a few years as your tasting experience grows and you try more and more bottlings...

[ratcheer]

I agree with Timothy. That had to be a bad bottle. Blanton's is usually one of the cleanest, most refined tasting bourbons I know of. I love both Blanton's and Rock Hill Farms, but I have a slight preference for RHF because it has more pronounced flavors.

Tim

[kickert]

I will have to give it another shot then.

I have noticed something... everytime RHF is mentioned, it seems Blanton's is as well. Why is this?

[kickert]

Tried another 50ml of Blanton's this weekend. This one did not have the musty flavor, but I still was not impressed. I found it to be very thin with not much of a flavor profile at all.

[bluesbassdad]

Tried another 50ml of Blanton's this weekend. This one did not have the musty flavor, but I still was not impressed. I found it to be very thin with not much of a flavor profile at all.

You and I are of the same mind (papillae?) in that regard.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[bluesbassdad]

I will have to give it another shot then.

I have noticed something... everytime RHF is mentioned, it seems Blanton's is as well. Why is this?

Probably because they are both produced by Buffalo Trace -- from the same mashbill according to other SB.com members.

Actually in my case you have it backwards. Any mention of Blanton's is likely to cause me to mention Rock Hill Farms, but not vice versa. I get a kick out of saying "Rock Hill Farms is what Blanton's wants to be when it grows up." :grin:

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[ILLfarmboy]

... I get a kick out of saying "Rock Hill Farms is what Blanton's wants to be when it grows up." :grin:

I've noticed that.:grin:

My first Blantons was in a fancy bar. I liked it well enough I bought a bottle. That bottle wasn't as good as what I had at the bar. It sat for many months in the back of the cabinet. When I pulled it out again. It tasted different. If I told you what I though it tasted like you'd think I was crazy. Later, in a restaurant I had another pour. It was ok. It wasn't as good as the first pour I had had but it was better than the bottle that got dumped. That's been several years ago.

[ratcheer]

I will have to give it another shot then.

I have noticed something... everytime RHF is mentioned, it seems Blanton's is as well. Why is this?

Because they are the same whiskey, just chosen for a different taste profile and aged a little differently, then bottled at different proofs.

Tim

[kickert]

I've noticed that.:grin:

It wasn't as good as the first pour I had had but it was better than the bottle that got dumped.

Are you saying you dumped out a $50 bottle of bourbon? Now I want to know what it tasted like.

[bluesbassdad]

I've noticed that.:grin:

[snip]

Brad,

Glad to hear it! :grin:

If I'm still around when you turn 65, I'd be honored to confer upon you the privileges of Old Fart status. They include repeating favorite sayings even when everyone present has heard them so often they know when they're coming, describing physical ailments and surgeries in graphic detail, laughing at ones own, poorly told jokes (even while the audience is grimacing in anticipation), and announcing loudly "I'm [XX] years old, you know ..." before ordering from the Seniors-Only menu at Denny's.

There are probably some I'm leaving out. Befitting my status I'll probably repeat all of the above at some point as though doing so for the first time.

The feeling of freedom that comes with being too old and useless to be answerable to anyone is positively exhilarating, although an impartial observer would be hard pressed to notice.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[ratcheer]

The feeling of freedom that comes with being too old and useless to be answerable to anyone is positively exhilarating, although an impartial observer would be hard pressed to notice.

You are too funny, Dave. :slappin:

Tim

[ILLfarmboy]

Are you saying you dumped out a $50 bottle of bourbon? Now I want to know what it tasted like.

It was more in the nose and finish. It reminded me of the smell of my High School cafeteria.

Yes, I dumped it out. Not the most expensive bottle of whiskey I've dumped out either. That honor goes to a bottle of Bowmore 17.

[kickert]

It was more in the nose and finish. It reminded me of the smell of my High School cafeteria.

Yes, I dumped it out. Not the most expensive bottle of whiskey I've dumped out either. That honor goes to a bottle of Bowmore 17.

My goodness... surely there is a better use / fate for whiskey. Are you telling me there is no one you know who would take that off your hands?

Next time you have $50+ bourbon that you are about to dispose of, give me a call - I will take care of it for you.

(are you really that short on storage space??)

[cowdery]

A little bit of must, what they prefer to call earthiness, is part of the house style at Buffalo Trace, especially in the products with that mash bill. It usually doesn't manifest much in Blanton's, but someone who is very sensitive to that characteristics might not care for any of the Buffalo Trace bourbons in that family.

[kickert]

A little bit of must, what they prefer to call earthiness, is part of the house style at Buffalo Trace, especially in the products with that mash bill. It usually doesn't manifest much in Blanton's, but someone who is very sensitive to that characteristics might not care for any of the Buffalo Trace bourbons in that family.

The only bourbon I get a strong "earthy" taste with is Knob Creek right when I open it. As for the mashbill, it is my understanding that ETL is from the same one and it is perhaps my favorite. I find ETL to be much more complex and flavorful than Blantons.

[jeff]

A little bit of must, what they prefer to call earthiness, is part of the house style at Buffalo Trace, especially in the products with that mash bill. It usually doesn't manifest much in Blanton's, but someone who is very sensitive to that characteristics might not care for any of the Buffalo Trace bourbons in that family.

I think that's being too kind Chuck. Every few years BT seems to have this problem across their brands. I've poured out a bottle of Buffalo Trace that was positively undrinkable it was so musty, and a taste from another bottle purchased around the same time was similar. I've had the same experience with Blanton's, RHF and Eagle Rare from time to time. (BTW, I am a really big fan of BT and their entire portfolio.) I blame it on their proximity to the KY River, and the fact that it floods periodically. JMO

[WsmataU]

My goodness... surely there is a better use / fate for whiskey. Are you telling me there is no one you know who would take that off your hands?

Next time you have $50+ bourbon that you are about to dispose of, give me a call - I will take care of it for you.

(are you really that short on storage space??)

For bourbons that I've purchased and didn't care for (my most recent is a bottle of Pogue) I religate them to cooking duty. Ofcourse this doen't help if you don't cook much. It also drives my wife crazy that I try to put my new "bourbon sauce" on everything...lol.

BTW it is amazing on grilled peaches!:slappin:

[Virus_Of_Life]

I think that's being too kind Chuck. Every few years BT seems to have this problem across their brands. I've poured out a bottle of Buffalo Trace that was positively undrinkable it was so musty, and a taste from another bottle purchased around the same time was similar. I've had the same experience with Blanton's, RHF and Eagle Rare from time to time. (BTW, I am a really big fan of BT and their entire portfolio.) I blame it on their proximity to the KY River, and the fact that it floods periodically. JMO

This might actually explain the one and only experience I've had with RHF. When it was the BOTM I bought a bottle and swore it was corked! Considering that it only has a small ring of cork surrounding the glass stopper a few here thought that unlikely; therefore I now wonder if it wasn't just during this extreme musty period? This really concerns me as other than that time, I seriously love everything from BT; including Saz jr, Blantons (especially), Hancock's (especially), AAA etc...

... I still swear it was more of a cork flavor than just mustines though, but who knows...

[cowdery]

I know what Jeff's saying is true, because many have reported it, but I've been lucky and never personally had a bottle that I can recall where I found the must unpleasant, but that's a personal preference thing too. You can just about count on it in the Buffalo Trace brand itself and it is such a house style mark that as soon as I taste it in a bourbon or rye, if I'm tasting blind, I immediately think Buffalo Trace.

[Quantum Mechanic]

I always wondered why I was so disappointed in BT, when most things I read about it are favorable. I do like Blanton's, but it isn't my favorite. I guess I can't handle the musty taste. I'm more of an EW fan.

I would NEVER dump out the likes of Blanton's. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say it was a bad bottle.

[SBOmarc]

Single Barrel variations aside, this latest Blanton's is lacking any BT traditional flavor. Dumped 4/15/08, Barrel 62 from Rick 23, if you are keeping score at home.