I was looking for something to sip this afternoon. I was thinking of Knob Creek Single Barrel because it is so rich and thick - but it is 120 proof, a mite more than I want to take on. On the other hand, I was holding a bottle of Evan Williams vintage 2010 Single Barrel in my hand and it is 86.6 proof. The EWSB is a softer whiseky, but delightfully silky and delicately sweet. By mixing 30 ml of EWSB with 20 ml of KCSB, I got a bourbon that is 100 proof and just superb. At $24 a bottle for the EWSB and $44 for the KCSB, the cost of a 750 ml bottle of this EW/KC vatting would be $32.
I know of no $32 bourbon that is better. It is as rich, as softly sweet, and as tight as anything out there. In fact, so good did Ole Mike think this bourbon be, he jest made heself a full bottle of it. And soon, soon, I will lay me hands on some EWSB and eome KCSB and make some more of it too, it will become my 'go to' bourbon and will give up nothing to any other bourbon in my collection. Both EWSB (2010 release) and KCSB are about 9 years old, give or take a few months.
I was foolish enough to compare this vatting to Wild Turkey Tribute......... a mistake to be sure, but not one for which I should be held accountable. WT Tribute has greater balance and (remarkable for a WT bourbon) greater subtlety. Now, boys and girls, I committed a grand heresy.
I added less than a splash of a very good Irish Whiskey to me vatting of EWSB and KCSB with the aim of replicating the WT Tribute subtlety. The addition of some of the moderating influence of the malt does remarkable things. In to the vatting of EWSB and KCSB goes a potion of an excellent malt whiskey...........
Now, if you do not know the virtues of Malt Whiskey, you should........ Scotch Whisky is one Malt Whisky, Irish Whiskey is another....... I prefer Irish meself (not that I frown on Scotch, mind you). Malt sweetness is of a different character than corn sweetness......... it is, shall we say, a fuller, of a more rounded character than that of corn sweetness. Pay attention, lads and lassies, at the risk of sounding pretentious, I know something about whiskey.
At your own risk, you may dismiss the skills of the best Canadian Whiskey makers, because they 'blend' most of their whiskies......... but they make some excellent whiskies (Forty Creek Centenial Oak is an example). And, they know the value of a malt component.
My whiskey vatting now contains (approximaely) 60% EWSB, 35% KCSB and 5% excellent Irish Whiskey. It now approaches, but is not as quite as good as Wild Turkey Tribute. Which is, in part, to say that if and when you might come across a bottle of Wild Turkey Tribute Bourbon, get it, irrespective of the cost. But, you can come close with the vatting I have suggested........ and Tribute is a rare find these days.
Lucky you, me opinons are free and pretty much match that value.