by bourbonv » Sun Nov 06, 2005 12:46 pm
Well the tasting was a huge success and over $3,000.00 was raised for the Blackacre foundation after expense (glass rental, etc.). It was pretty much a sold out crowd with 35 people there including myself. It was scheduled to start at 6:00 but of course many people were late, so we started at about 6:30. It was a warm November night with the temperature in the 70's. The 1840 farmhouse and its outbuildings are surrounded by trees several decades old and the whole complex is set back from the nearest road by a 1/4 of a mile or so with a gravel driveway winding through fields of grasses about twice that distance.
We started the night with a 15yo Pappy Van Winkle. It was a very good bourbon with strong caramel and chocolate flavors and a dry woody finish. After the night was over 8 people there voted this their favorite of the night.
The second bourbon we drank was Elmer T Lee. It was less flavorful than the Pappy and if I had to do it over again, I would have switched the order of the tasting and done Elmer T Lee first. It was a very fruity sweet flavor with apricots and vanilla with some very nice sweet spices such as nutmeg and alspice. At the end of the night there were 9 people who voted it their favorite and 7 of them were at one table!
The third product we tried was the Spring 2005 George T Stagg. It was a product that several people did not like at all. The high alcohol content turned them off and even adding a little distilled water did not help their opinion much. It was a very sweet molasses and pepper spice flavor with lots of wood tone in the taste and finish. At the end of the night 4 people voted it their favorite of the night. I thought it curious that those that complaind most about the Stagg voted the Pappy, at 107 proof, their favorite. I think it was nore than just alcohol that turned them off to the Stagg.
The fourth product we drank was the 2005 Old Forester Birthday Bourbon. It was a very good product in everybody's opinion with lots of fruits and spice flavors but no alcohol burn at all. It received 4 votes as favorite at the end of the night but just about everybody placed it in the top three.
The fifth bottle we tasted was a personalized bottle of Maker's Mark from about 1970. It is a gold wax sealed, 86 proof product for Marie and Bud. It was a very nice product that was well balanced in flavor. It started with a caramel apple sweetness with a hint of chopped nuts on that candied apple! The finish was slightly flavored by oak but with lots of sweet vanilla and caramel flavors lingering. At the end of the day 10 people voted it their favorite of the night and that included myself.
The last product we was the Woodford Reserve Master's Collection Four Grain Bourbon. It was the most unusual product we tasted last night with an un-impressive nose and heavy cereal grain flavor tinged with copper. The finish was short and slightly dry with wood. This was a bourbon that several people disliked quite a bit, but then several people also wanted to know where they could get a bottle. Nobody voted it their favorite but there were a few that thought it placed second. It is an usual taste that is also an expensive taste. According to Chris Morris they will release the rest of the product in 6 to 8 months and then there will be no more of the four grain - an experiment that has ended. He did say that there are other experiments in the warehouse yet to be brought out, but none of them are four grain.
During this tasting I did some trivia questions and gave away some door prizes. There was a $40.00 gift certificate for lunch at the Bourbon's Bistro for two, an Autographed bottle of Birthday Bourbon and an Autographed Kentucky Derby bottle of Woodford Reserve.
After the tasting was dinner with roaste duck crepes and salad and bourbon baked beans and rolls. There was wide variety of deserts and I had bourbon banana cake, bread pudding with bourbon caramel sauce, and molten chocolate with a raspberry sauce. There was also cheese cake, custard pie and a couple of other items that escape my memory right now. Everybody enjoyed dinner and wine for a couple of hours and the party broke up about 9:30. As the weathermen predicted, the rain held off until after midnight and i had a pleasent drive home enjoying a cigar compliments of Bunghole.
Mike Veach
Mike Veach
"Our people live almost exclusively on whiskey" - E H Taylor, Jr. 25 April 1873