Bardstown Archives - Page 2 of 2 - First Pour Cocktails

1792 Small Batch Bourbon

Posted on December 17, 2021December 1, 2021 by Nick

A few years back, Jim Murray named 1792 Full Proof the whiskey of the year. Like many products that receive notoriety, 1792 went the way of Weller and Pappy Van Winkle and got incredibly hard to find in all guises, including Sweet Wheat, Port Finish, and 12 Year. In the state of Ohio, this included their entry level offering of 1792 Small Batch Bourbon. Unlike many of their other limited releases, Small Batch is findable with a little luck and no need to tater, but how is it?

1792 Small Batch Bourbon

A.B.V.: 46.85% (93.7 Proof)
Age: No Age Statement (NAS)

Sight: Slightly past deep copper, heading toward burnished.

Smell: Opens with candied cherries, bananas, brown sugar, and baking spices. Candied nuts and rock candy hang out in the background with some toasty oak. The cherries move toward preserved as it opens up and a touch of cocoa powder slips in.

Sip: The palate opens up with a combination of rye, spices, and oak. It’s dry, giving off various nuts, hints of stone fruit, and cherries. A vanilla and brown sugar mix begins to emerge, and creates a standoff between the sweet and spice. The mouthfeel throughout has a nice weight, and it does occasionally give off a little heat.

Savor: A barrage of spices come out ranging from vanilla extract to cinnamon to clove to nutmeg, along with touches of cigar box and toasted oak. A slight tannic note lingers with some red fruits.

1792 Small Batch Bourbon is a fairly spice forward bourbon that allows it’s rye notes to bring the spice. The spicy nature is part of the charm here, giving it a bit of character and zip. It’s not a bad sipper, and it has enough complexity to keep your attention. That said, it wouldn’t be what anyone would deems smooth.

In Cocktails

In a Manhattan 1792 Small Batch Bourbon explodes with caramel, baked brown sugar and cinnamon, and vanilla. Cherries and stone fruit join in with plenty of rye and spices, and just the smallest touch of banana and orange marmalade. The mouthfeel is silky and easy going, almost creamy because of vanilla the notes. The ending is inviting with a slight ending of sweetness.

In Review – 1792 Small Batch Bourbon

1792 Small Batch Bourbon a slam dunk in a cocktail, opening up an amazing flavor profile that works well with other elements. The price point of around $30 makes it more than competitive with Elijah Craig, and a good alternative to Wild Turkey 101. The only real issue with 1792 is in some locations it’s allocated. However, if you have it available, we thoroughly recommend it as a bottle to use as your go to bourbon.

Heaven Hill Quality House Old Style Bourbon

Posted on November 26, 2021November 11, 2021 by Nick

Not every bourbon involves needing to line up at 11pm the day prior to wait for the opening of the shop to get. In fact, the vast majority of bourbons sit on the shelf and are completely serviceable. Perhaps the best example of this Wild Turkey 101, which offers amazing value for money. Among other bourbons we recommend is Elijah Craig Small Batch, which is made by Heaven Hill. Elijah Craig isn’t their intro brand, an honor that instead belongs to Heaven Hill Quality House Old Style Bourbon. At around $10, can this bourbon save your time and wallet?

Heaven Hill Quality House Old Style Bourbon

A.B.V. – 40% (80 proof)
Age – 3 Years

Sight: A deep gold.

Smell: Slight spices and a good dose of ethanol float up to start. Touches of fresh cherries and oak come in. The nose distinctly smells like oak, fruit, and hints of oak.

Sip: The body is light to moderate, but ultimately smooth. There’s a good amount of oak and light spicing here, with some fruitiness. There’s a bit of nuttiness that lingers throughout.

Savor: The ending is slightly oaky with just a touch of nuts and fruit.

Heaven Hill Quality House Old Style Bourbon is surprisingly smooth and not overly complex. For lack of a better way to put it, it smells like you’d expect bourbon to smell. Slightly oaky, with a little bit of fruitiness, and some spices and other flavors. Does it do anything particularly amazing? Not really. Would you be able to sip on it for a while? Sure. It’s easy going and not particularly offensive or hard to drink. If anything, the biggest criticism might be that’s just kind of simple.

In Cocktails

Quality House Old Style Bourbon in a Manhattan leads to more of the same. The drink is clearly based in bourbon, but the flavors are more of oak and spice. The vermouth gets a strong leg up here as there aren’t a lot of other flavors to stand in the way. The body is solid, if not noticeable. The net result is an uninspired but serviceable Manhattan. It somehow manages to pull the exact same trick in an Old Fashioned – which is amazing given it’s most of the drink.

In Review – Heaven Hill Quality House Old Style Bourbon

Heaven Hill Quality House Old Style Bourbon offers a nice value for a very unobtrusive bourbon. At about $12 a liter, this is impressive value, but not necessarily something to go out of the way for trying to make amazing drinks. If you want to offer a bourbon for the end of the evening or for a large group of guests, this is a nice option. For these reasons it’s a situational bourbon, but nothing that you’d have to be ashamed to serve.

Elijah Craig Straight Rye

Posted on November 5, 2021October 1, 2021 by Nick

We’ve been a big fan of Elijah Craig’s Small Batch bourbon for a number of years. While it keeps tettering back and forth on our recommended bourbons list, we keep it there because the produce is incredibly well made for the price (even if the price creep is what keeps threatening to throw it off the list). Earlier this year, Heaven Hill committed to bringing a rye to the market under the Elijah Craig brand. Similar to Rittenhouse, Elijah Craig Straight Rye is a barely legal rye. This is surprising given Heaven Hill owns both brands, and only a small amount of supporting corn and malt separates the two. We previously also noted that Rittenhouse offers a great value, so should you give Elijah Craig the additional dollars?

Elijah Craig Straight Rye

Mashbill: 51% Rye – 35% Corn – 14% Barley
A.B.V.(%): 47% (94 Proof)
Age: No Age Statement (N.A.S.)

Sight: Tawny bordering on auburn.

Smell: There’s a heavy amount of herbal and minty elements that run parallel to a nice vanilla and spice mix. There’s a nice dried apricot and fresh plum note going on as well.

Sip: The herbal notes are definitely there giving it a black pepper and mint heavy character. Spice and black tea come out with an almost smoked character, similar to peat. Despite all the heavy elements going on, it’s not a very heavy mouthfeel.

Savor: The finish is leaned into campfire smoke and charred wood. Herbal notes run though the background over time with a bit a traditional bourbon sweetness.

Elijah Craig Straight Rye on its own is a smokey, herbal, and kind of bourbon like rye. Its nature is probably not for everyone, and not that inviting as a sipper. The result is also somewhat bitter, and oddly like licorice candies at the end of a meal. Both palate cleansing and somewhat off putting.

In Cocktails

In a Manhattan the spice of the rye is clearly forward. Notes of black pepper, banana, green apple, unripe black cherries, and cardamom all are present. An oversteeped black tea element and the tannic nature that goes with are around at the end. This flavor profile isn’t inherently smooth, but rather aggressive and bombastic.

In Review – Elijah Craig Straight Rye

Elijah Craig Straight Rye is uneven, aggressive, and a more savory set of flavors. Some of these flavors aren’t that weird in rye, such as herbal notes, but they get away from Elijah Craig here. In tasting side by side with Rittenhouse, the Rittenhouse displays more fruit, more caramelized sugars, and fewer burnt notes. The body is also more even. When you consider the Rittenhouse is $7 less per bottle, and comes in at a higher proof, then you end up with a hard sell on Elijah Craig Rye. For all these reasons, we don’t recommend you select Elijah Craig Rye over the cheaper, better Rittenhouse.

Ezra Brooks 99 Bourbon

Posted on September 20, 2021September 21, 2021 by Nick

As I previously mentioned, my first exposure to Ezra Brooks was the OHLQ store pick Distiller’s Collection bottle. The bottle so wowed me that I felt the need to explore at least one other Ezra Brooks product. While getting to 107 in there line up is no longer possible (without a store pick), they still offer both a 99 proof and barrel proof offering. To make an appropriate evaluation, I chose to take the smaller price different, and compare with the Ezra Brooks 99 Bourbon (retailing for $24 at time of purchase – compared to $35 for the Distiller’s pick).

Ezra Brooks 99 Bourbon

Sight: Deep copper bordering on sherry.

Smell: Notes of vanilla, caramel, and hints of ethanol lead off. The nose is sweet with touches of caramelized pome fruit and a hint of something bright (like pineapple?). Hay and grain notes add some backbone.

Sip: The sip starts off rather middling, neither smooth nor harsh. Notes of charred oak slowly creep in before ceding some space to vanilla and light caramel. Touches of peanuts and sweet pops of light brown sugar come out as well.

Savor: The ending leaves a bit of that sweetness and a lightly tannic charred oak finish.

Ezra Brooks 99 Bourbon is obviously younger just from a sight perspective, and the nose shortly after confirms this with a straightforward enjoyable bourbon characteristic. The sip doesn’t really change this, offering a nice amount of bourbon flavor without getting too complex or interesting. The finish is a bit more of the same, but with a bit more of an oak influence. Overall, it’s an acceptable sip that’s slightly sweet and wouldn’t be unpleasant on ice.

In Cocktails

Making a Manhattan with Ezra Brooks 99 makes a drink forward loaded on sweetness. The result is a Manhattan that naturally emphasizes caramel, brown sugar, brandied cherries, fruity red notes, and vanilla. Even with the use of Angostura bitters, there’s a bit of a turned down spice component here. While the vermouth is usually working over time to help bring out the bourbon’s characteristics, they almost seem to share the space as equals here. With that said, both elements seem to be adding caramel notes, making a very caramelized Manhattan.

Ezra Brooks 99 Bourbon In Review

Ezra Brooks 99 Bourbon is a pleasant bourbon that’s not particularly dominant. It’s sweet and friendly, but almost comes across as gentle. There’s something interesting to be said for making a gentler or sweeter drink with it, but it’s not going to appease drinkers of high rye, bold and brash bourbons. Most regrettable is the gulf between the Ezra Brooks 99 Bourbon and Ezra Brooks Distiller’s Collection Bourbon. At only $10, there’s a massive gulf of flavor. As a result, this is a recommendation to try or sample before committing to a full bottle.

Ezra Brooks Distiller’s Collection Bourbon – OHLQ Selection #1

Posted on September 17, 2021September 21, 2021 by Nick

Allocated bourbon and store picks are exciting. They offer an opportunity to receive a single barrel selection at an equal or better price than the equivalent bottle. Theses picks are typically highly sought after and generally hard to find. They also have a significant amount of bottle to bottle and batch to batch variability. In some cases, it can even be dependent on the selector for the store or liquor authority. For these reasons, I generally don’t purchase these selections since they’re two variable to recommend as liquors for bases for cocktails. I generally follow this rule, but made an exception for Ezra Brooks Distiller’s Collection Bourbon – OHLQ Selection #1.

Ezra Brooks Distiller’s Collection Bourbon – OHLQ Selection #1

Ezra Brooks Distiller’s Collection Bourbon – OHLQ Selection #1 has a 53.5% A.B.V. (107 Proof). It’s barrel number was 7015900, and the barrel was filled 2/23/15. I purchased the bottle in early January of 2021, shortly after it’s release. OHLQ provided the following information on the barrel:

Warehouse: 1
Floor: 5
Rick: 39
Tier: 3
Position: 17
Description: Warm caramel and vanilla, sweet.

Sight: Bordering on tawny.

Smell: The nose undoubtedly starts sweet, and instantly leans into vanilla and caramel. Touches of hay and wheat join in, with black cherries and black tea. A rough splash of clove joins in with touches of clove and tobacco.

Sip: The sip starts smooth and sweet, before opening up into vanilla, caramel, brandied cherries, and oversteeped spice tea. Pops of clove overwhelm the other spices, before allowing oak to come to the forefront. A hint of ethanol comes out too.

Savor: The finish gets tannic, pulling in notes of charred wood, strong clove, and a slight sour cherry.

Ezra Brooks Distiller’s Collection Bourbon – OHLQ Selection #1 is sweet and spicy sip that doesn’t disappoint. The proof isn’t so high as to be difficult to drink, but it comes loaded with flavor. The texture is smooth with just a hint of burn. The complexity is in line with a $35 bottle, and opens up with more sweetness, especially after a sip of water.

In Cocktails

This particular bottle of Ezra Brooks is unbelievably great as a Manhattan. The caramel and vanilla notes come through with touches of black pepper and black tea. The weight feels perfect, just like liquid silk should. The play off the vermouth shows them sharing the space as equals, giving space for the fruity flavors of the vermouth and the sweetness and herbal notes in the bourbon.

Ezra Brooks Distiller’s Collection Bourbon – OHLQ Selection #1 in Review

Ezra Brooks Distiller’s Collection Bourbon is honestly one of the standout bottles I’ve had in 2021. Upon sharing it with my father, he confirmed my bias to enjoy it. At $35, I picked this up as an impulse buy and found it punched well above it’s weight. Which led me to wonder whether or not the rest of Ezra Brook’s selection is anywhere near as good.

In short, I recommend Ezra Brooks Distiller’s Collection, but as a store pick or limited time offering, we won’t be adding it to any of our formal lists.

Christian Brothers Brandy VS

Posted on September 1, 2020 by Nick

Brandy at times conjures up images of St. Bernard’s running through the woods with a barrel around it’s neck. Christian Brothers Brandy VS is priced in a way that you could let a dog run up a mountain with it and not worry about spilling it. But will the receiver enjoy it once the dog gets there?

Christian Brothers Brandy VS

Christian Brothers Brandy VS is made from grapes using a copper pot still. It’s aged for two years in ex-bourbon barrels to create the flavor profile. Then the important bit, they blend it to create a particularly stable flavor profile. At under $10, is it worth it?

Sight: An orange-gold.

Smell: It would be remiss not to note the alcohol hiding around many of the aromas. That said, it does hide decently well behind a creaminess and notes of grapes and caramel. Touches of vanilla and oak come in as well. Despite the persistent burn, it’s pleasant.

Sip: The body is light, but oddly syrupy. There’s a subtle touch of sweetness that runs length, with a gradually building heat. Notes of oak, hints of nuts, touches of vanilla, and caramel all layer with touches of dried fruit. A little bit of bitterness hides toward the back palate.

Savor: The ending picks up a bit of that bitterness, but many of sugary flavors and dried fruit notes are present.

Christian Brothers Brandy VS is simple, unrefined, and easy going. There is some burn here, and the simplicity is to a fault. There’s something slightly strange about the texture, but it isn’t unpleasant. It isn’t the kind of bottle you’re going to pour yourself a nice healthy pour of over an ice cube, but it does have many other better applications.

In Cocktails

Christian Brothers Brandy VS does alright in cocktails. The problem it has it’s never quite strong enough on it’s own, and then it never quite carries through in a cocktail either. While it does work to make a serviceable sidecar, the result is a little lacking on brandy flavor. This same result is why it also works well for liqueurs or flavor extraction, but it’s not going to add a lot of personality.

On a side note, it makes a delicious pan sauce with Pork Chop when you deglaze with it.

Christian Brothers Brandy VS Overall

Christian Brothers Brandy VS is a workhouse spirit for the bar. It works well enough in cocktails, but doesn’t add a lot. It’s a good extractor, that works for creating liqueurs. At the price, it’s a no brainer if you need to keep a cheap bottle of brandy around for cooking or simple cocktail duty.

Want more info, check out Christian Brothers’ website.

Rittenhouse Rye Bottled-In-Bond

Posted on October 17, 2019 by Nick

Rittenhouse Rye Bottled-In-Bond was one of the first, and most affordable, liquors I was able to purchase after I got seriously into cocktails. This standby staple is a go to in our collection, and from a value for money perspective – it’s not particularly hard to see why. Rittenhouse sparkles with a nutty nose, laced with baked vanilla, warm brown sugar, and hints of esthery banana, baking spices, and cedar box. The palate is a lovely mix of cocoa, black tea, almond extract, pepper, and hints of wood. At 100 proof – it gets a touch hot on the palate, but delivers full flavor in spades.

What Does Bottled-In-Bond mean?

Bottled-In-Bond is connected to the 1897 Bottled-In-Bond Act which was designed to help with the widespread adulteration of liquors. The idea was that the government would be the guarantor of quality – and participants would be a tax advantage. To participate (and be labeled Bonded or Bottled-In-Bond) the following conditions must be met:

Produced in one distilling season (Jan-Jun, Jul-Dec) by one distiller at one distillery.
Aged in a federally bonded warehouse under U.S. Government Supervision for at least 4 years.
Bottled at 100 proof (50% A.B.V.)
The label must contain the distillery and where it was bottled.
Must be produced in the United States.

Do Bonded Whiskies Really Taste Better?

It’s a complicated question, and the answer is it depends. Governments have long sought to ensure quality, and the results are decidedly mixed. If you look at the wine world, you’ll see D.O.C., D.O.C.G., I.G.T., A.O.C., V.Q.A., A.V.A, and the list goes on and on. Does it mean the wine is better? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Sometimes a region with no standing produces something amazing. What it does do, is provide customers an assurance that spirits and wines produced in these regions meet certain quality requirements.

So How Does Rittenhouse Rye Bottled-In-Bond Play In Cocktails?

Going to the base choice of an Old Fashioned, we compared Rittenhouse to a competitor. The spicy notes came to the forefront and mingled well with the warm sugar and woodsy notes. The body holds up well thanks to the higher proof. When compared head to head, we agreed the Rittenhouse has more depth, and was more inviting thanks to the warm spice notes.

Final Thoughts

Rittenhouse Rye Bottled-In-Bond is a sturdy work horse of a rye that delivers a great amount of spice and warmth. At a value proposition typically around $25-30 a bottle, it’s hard to not argue that Rittenhouse deserves a spot in your home bar. This is a must buy.

Rittenhouse Rye Bottled-In-Bond Raw Tasting Notes:

A nutty nose – with baked vanilla and warm brown sugar – an esthery banana. There’s a spiciness present as well – hints of more baking spice – cedar box / wood. On the palate it gets warm, black tea – bitter almond / extract – pepper – and cedar come to the forefront. The flesh close to the pit of a peach’s nuttiness.

Distillery: Heaven Hill Distilleries – KY

Website: Heaven Hill – Rittenhouse Rye Bottled-In-Bond