by EllenJ » Sat Nov 25, 2006 1:51 am
Heads up!!!
Let me tip everyone here off to a rare tasting-comparison opportunity, and also a buying opportunity.
Last week we had the pleasure of hosting a visit from The VatMan himself, Gary Gillman. During his visit we went shopping at my favorite Kentucky liquor store, the Party Source in Bellevue. While we were there, Gary noticed that, while they had Rittenhouse 100 BIB on the shelf, it was not the normal DSP#1 (made at the Bernheim distillery) that one would expect. Nor was it the DSP#31, that has been Rittenhouse Rye since Heaven Hill bought the brand.
For those of you who have entered the world of Bourbon whiskey since then, one of the most important distilleries in Kentucky suffered a devastating loss when, on Novemeber 7th 1996, a fire broke out in a bourbon warehouse at Heaven Hill, and that fire -- prodded by nearly record-breaking winds (hurricane-like gusts of nearly 75 mph were recorded) -- became the hottest fire ever recorded in world history. The affected warehouse (probably the victim of a lightning strike), along with six other warehouses and the distillery itself, were completely destroyed. The flames reached as high as 35 stories. The flaming barrels of alcohol flowed down the hill and across the highway, actually melting the macadam pavement. Typical of the Kentucky whiskey-making community (and totally alien to nearly any other kind of business) competitors immediately began offering the use of their facilities to help Heaven Hill fulfill their production committments. Jim Beam and Early Times (Brown-Forman) were especially helpful at this time. This sort of reaction is one (a very important one, in our opinion) of many reasons why we feel the Kentucky bourbon whiskey industry is markedly different (and superior) to most other industries in America.
Although HH's other, non-Bonded, whiskeys don't need to make a statement of origin, and therefore we don't know which may have been distilled at other distilleries, Rittenhouse Rye, since it's Bottled-in-Bond, has to identify its origin. Which is does, on the back label. We have examples of Rittenhouse BIB labeled "Distilled at DSP 31, KY", and of course since 1999, the BIB bottles have been labeled, "Distilled at DSP 1, KY", meaning the Bernheim facility in Louisville. But the bottles on the Party Source shelf were distilled at DSP 354, Kentucky. And that's the Early Times Distillery (now called the Old Forrester Distillery, although it's operated by the same people).
Folks, you need to know two things...
(1) This version of what may well be the best regular-priced (or lower) rye available only existed for 2 1/2 years.
(2) This particular version is very noticeably different from the others.
If you get a chance to buy this version (look for "DSP 354" on the back label) grab up as many as you can. A tasting that compares this with either the DSP1 or the DSP31 version is a perfect example of the role of yeast in bourbon production. Heaven Hill's yeast flavor is an integral part of their flavor profile. The same is true of Old Forester. The difference can be easily illustrated by comparing these two versons of Rittenhouse Rye BIB.