Category Archives: whiskey

Jack Daniel’s Unaged Rye

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Jack Daniel's Unaged Rye

Arriving in an inconspicuous box, I got to have my first taste of Jack Daniel’s Unaged Rye Whiskey, slated for a limited release in early 2013 for $50 a bottle.

This crystalline liquid is significant because Jack Daniel’s has not modified the ingredients in their whiskies for the past 100 years. Jack and its sub-brands like Gentleman Jack all contain exactly the same recipe of corn, barley, and rye, with the only difference in the varieties being their aging or filtering processes. But that changes now as the distillery has come up with an 80% rye recipe, some of which they’re bottling unaged as a “distillers run.”

Rye is a popular whiskey nowadays, and with unaged “moonshines” also on the rise, you can’t fault Jack for jumping on the bandwagon. Unaged ryes are not very common, however, especially those with the distribution level that Jack already enjoys. Drinkhacker talks about this being a stopgap and buzz-building release as the “real” Jack Rye (or whatever it’ll be called) sleeps in barrels until 2015.

As for the flavor, there’s a sweet, fruity aroma to Jack’s Unaged Rye. As wood aging imparts spice to booze, and rye itself is spicy, it’s a surprise to experience sweetness in there. There is also a pungency and grittiness to the flavor, which also tend to fade with barrel aging. Think about the difference between a silver and an aged tequila, and you get an idea what I’m talking about.

This is a rye to try as it has a huge historical significance, plus it’s a limited release.

Breckenridge Bourbon and Spiced Rum

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Breckenridge Bourbon and Spiced Rum

I always like to seek out products that are distilled near me, and Breckenridge, Colorado is only about 350 miles north. I was anxious to taste the line of spirits that Breckenridge Distillery has coming off the line, and I got to try their award-winning bourbon and their spiced rum.

Their bourbon one of the spiciest I’ve tasted. Bourbon can run anywhere for sweet (like Don Quixote or Maker’s Mark) to really spicy (like Bulleit or Buffalo Trace), but Breckenridge is a bourbon that’s so spicy that you could initially mistake it for a rye whiskey. Is it a good bourbon? For a guy who likes both bourbons and ryes, you bet it is.

Breckenridge also makes a spiced rum, with a pirate-map label and a jolly roger wax seal. I can’t understate the quality and flavor of this rum. I don’t drink a lot of rum because I often find it too sugary, but Breckenridge rum is rich, warming, and spicy, and it finishes with just a trace of subtle sweetness. Whiskey drinkers should definitely get a bottle for their liquor cabinet, because it’s a pleasure to drink straight. Breckenridge spiced rum is great after dinner, and it’s a great complement to a cigar, too.

If you see Breckenridge bourbon or spiced rum in the stores, buy them. Breckenridge’s 750ml bottle of bourbon retails for $40, the 375ml bottle of rum for $25, and you can find them both with the distillery’s “Hooch Locating Tool” here.

Southern Comfort Bold Black Cherry

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Southern Comfort Bold Black Cherry Coke

If you’ve never tried it, Southern Comfort is a low priced ($15) whiskey-flavored liqueur that’s easy to mix with simple ingredients like sodas or juices. In may ways, Southern Comfort is a ready-to-drink cocktail, so it totally qualifies for this site. Outside of the original SoCo, there is also SoCo Lime and Firey Pepper, and for 2012, they’ve introduced the Bold Black Cherry flavor.

I wasn’t expecting to be wowed by Bold Black Cherry, but I found it to be surprisingly tasty and not overly sweet. I really enjoy it on the rocks after dinner, or mixed with soda in this simple cocktail:

Southern Comfort Cherry Coke

  • 1 1/2 oz Southern Comfort Bold Black Cherry
  • 4-5 oz Coke of choice. I prefer Mexican Coke (with sugar instead of HFCS) or Coke Zero.

Old Fashioned

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This is simple in it’s ingredients, a little fancy in it’s preparation. Oh and it’s the best cocktail ever.

Rye Old Fashioned

Old Fashioned

  • Add 1 sugar cube (or spoon of sugar) to an old fashioned glass
  • Douse with 3 dashes of Angostura bitters
  • Add a splash of club soda and stir well
  • Fill glass with ice, add 2 oz of rye whiskey, stir until cold
  • Take a piece of orange peel, squeeze over the glass and rub it around the rim
  • Top with another splash of club soda
  • Garnish with the orange peel and a cherry (I wrap the cherry in the peel)

Gin Old Fashioned

Gin Old Fashioned

  • Add 1 sugar cube (or spoon of sugar) to an old fashioned glass
  • Douse with 2 dashes of Angostura bitters
  • Douse with 2 dashes of orange bitters.
  • Add a splash of club soda and stir well
  • Fill glass with ice, add 2 oz of gin, stir until cold
  • Take a piece of orange peel, squeeze over the glass and rub it around the rim
  • Top with another splash of club soda
  • Garnish with the orange peel and a cherry (I wrap the cherry in the peel)

Still Waters Whisky and Vodka

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Still Waters Whisky

I’ve hated the sour, watery Canadian whiskies that I’ve tasted previously (Crown Royal, I’m looking at you). When I poured my first glass of Still Waters Blended Canadian Whisky, that changed. As you drink it, you’re met with a pretty complex mix of sweet and spice. The grain base for this whisky is corn (sweet), rye (spicy), and malted barley (earthy), and it works through your mouth in that order. On your first tasting, you could mistake it for a bourbon, and I’ve found it to be really tasty every time I pour a glass. Still Waters Blended is light and refreshing, extremely easy to drink straight, and should run you about $35 a bottle.

Still Waters Single Malt Vodka

Still Waters Single Malt Vodka is a good buy as well, similar in price to the blended whisky. It’s base is 100% malted barley (the stuff scotch is made from) which gives it a smooth, earthly, sweet finish that I initially experienced in Don Quixote Blue Corn Vodka.

Bourbon Heritage Month

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Knob Creek, Buffalo Trace, Bulleit, Maker's Mark Bourbons

National Bourbon Heritage Month is September, and this year I decided that it was about time to give a whole bunch of bourbon whiskey a try. I drank bourbon all month, and now it’s time for a report.

To be legally called bourbon, a spirit must be:

  • Distilled from a grain mash that’s at least 51% corn
  • Aged in new, charred, oak barrels for a period of time (not specified)
  • Distilled and aged in the United States.

Congress recognized bourbon in 1964 as “America’s Official Native Spirit,” and while not required to be made in Kentucky, 90% of bourbon is. I tried bourbons from Knob Creek, Buffalo Trace, Bulleit, and Maker’s Mark, and outside of the above characteristics, they vary quite a bit from each other. A good bourbon is usually sweet from the corn and quite smooth, but there are some unique characteristics that each of these has:

Knob Creek ($30): Corn, rye, and barley, aged 9 years, 100 proof, black stamped wax seal on the bottle. Pretty spicy, and not the smoothest of the bunch. Abraham Lincoln’s father distilled whiskey near Knob Creek, and Hank served Walt some of this in the mid-season finale of Breaking Bad a few weeks ago.

Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve ($40): Corn, rye, and barley, aged 9 years, black stamped wax seal on the bottle. Significantly smoother than it’s little brother and absolutely delicious. Add water, ice, or both, because this one is bottled at 120 proof.

Buffalo Trace ($20-25): Corn, rye, and barley, aged at least 8 years, 90 proof. Very spicy to the point you might mistaken it for a rye whiskey and likely the best bourbon you can drink in it’s price range.

Bulleit ($35): Known for being a bourbon with high rye content, it’s probably the spiciest bourbon you’ll try. Aged at least 6 years, 90 proof. These iconic bottles were used as props in the bars on Deadwood.

Maker’s Mark ($30): A stand-out in this bunch, Maker’s uses no rye and instead uses red winter wheat with the corn and barley mash. Aged “to taste,” so usually 5-8 years, 90 proof, with the red wax seal. The wheat makes Maker’s very smooth, probably the most accessible of the bunch. You can seal your own bottle with wax if you visit the distillery.

Maker’s 46 ($40): Similar to Maker’s in every way but one: when a barrel of Maker’s Mark is ready, it’s removed from the barrel and 10 seared French oak staves are added to the barrel. Maker’s 46 is then aged “for several more months,” then bottled at 94 proof. Maker’s 46 is a more serious, spicy drink than the standard Maker’s. The number 46 represents how many variations of a “new” Maker’s Mark they tried before the distillery settled on this product.

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Amrut Whisky

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Amrut Whisky

According to the extremely complex rules of the English language, there are 2 spellings of “whiskey.” There’s whisky and whiskey. Generally the differentiation is how much the stuff resembles Scotch, which is the e-less whisky. American and Irish whiskies, like Jack Daniel’s or Jameson, use the extra e.

Amrut is in the tradition of Scotch, but it is distilled in India. Amrut Whisky is distilled from “Indian barley grown at the foot of the Himalayas.” As a quick reminder, usually for whisk(e)ys, barley = scotch, corn = american whiskey, and rye or other grains may be used, too.

“Regular” Amrut Single Malt was something brand new to me. I was met with a buttery and rich flavor combination that I would describe as “filling.” It finished in a very earthy, Indian fashion. It’s a much more complex flavor combination than I’m used to. It’s 46% ABV, and like anything over 40%, I found that adding water helped the flavor to settle and kept it from hitting me too intensely. Amrut Single Malt will run you about $55 a bottle.

Amrut Fusion Whisky

Amrut Single Malt Fusion is a different animal as it is even more complex in flavor. The distillery combines the Indian Himalayan barley with Scottish barley (that’s the “fusion”). It’s 50% ABV, and I ended up adding both water and ice in order to properly taste all the flavors it offered. Smoke is a prominent flavor that came forward in Fusion that I had not noticed in the standard Amrut. There is much more peat/mossy flavor in this rich whisky as well.

My concusion about barley-based single malts from this tasting, then, is they have a very complex flavor set that has to be savored slowly – it may be the most full and rich liquid I’ve ever encountered in a glass. This is an amazing whisky for sure and if you’re seeking a smokier, peatier whisky, this is certainly the one to try. Amurut Fusion retails for $75. As with any bottle of liquor of this quality, this is one to drink straight. Few, if any, simple cocktails will do these justice.

Rye Whiskey

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taos lightning, knob creek, bulleit ryes

Whiskey, like most distilled liquors, is made from grain.  Depending on the type of grain that’s used, the whiskey will take on those particular characteristics. Corn whiskies, like Tennessee whiskey or bourbon, may have a sweetness and sometimes sour flavor. Barley whiskies, like Scotch, may taste peaty or grassy. Rye whiskies are spicy, like cinnamon, and that flavor gives them their own unique place in the library of whiskies. It’s the primary ingredient in the New Orleans cocktail, the Sazerac. While rye whiskey has been hard to find over the past several decades, it’s making a comeback in the U.S. and many distillers have released brand new ryes this summer.

Though I have famously described myself as a “gin guy” and occasionally a “whiskey hater,” rye’s unique flavor has really won me over, and I’ve enjoyed all the ryes I’ve tasted so far. Some friends and I got together to taste 3 of the top American Straight Rye Whiskies this year, according to the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. We tried:

  • Knob Creek Rye, the “Best Rye Double Gold Medal” winner
  • Bulleit Rye, a “Gold Medal” winner
  • Taos Lightning Rye by KGB Spirits, a “Bronze Medal” winner (we tried both the 5- and 15-year varieties)

The spiciness and flavor of these three rye whiskies is outstanding. I would say the rye taste corrects the flavor objections I normally have when I drink whiskey. It doesn’t have that sweet finish of bourbon or the sourness of Tennessee corn whiskies, but leaves a nice tingle on the tongue. Knob Creek was the smoothest of the 3 brands, though I assume that’s because it contains less rye (Bulleit and Taos Lightning both contain 95% rye, Knob Creek is unspecified). If you normally enjoy whiskey, these three ryes will give you a unique flavor profile that you may grow to appreciate, too. If you’re not normally a whiskey fan, try a sip of rye and see if the difference is significant enough to sway you. These particular ryes are 90-100 proof, so a splash of cool spring water or a bit of ice helps the flavor to blossom before you drink it.

Bulleit, Knob Creek, and Taos Lightning 5-year are all similar in age to one another, and will run you about $30, $40, and $55 respectively. All three are certainly worth their price tags.  The first two have national distribution and you can likely get them at your local liquor store. Taos Lightning can be purchased at these retailers in northern New Mexico. From the perspective of age though, the 15-year-old Taos Lightning is particularly unique, as 15 years is a very rare age for a rye whiskey (5 years is more common). The age does make a difference in this case as the older Taos Lightning is quite smooth. The more mature Taos Lightning retails for $85.

Midnight Moon Apple Pie Moonshine

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mountaineer punch

Moonshine has it’s roots in the backwoods of the South during prohibition. Nowadays, it usually means unaged whiskey that’s usually clear (aging in barrels turns the booze brown). Junior Johnson distills a line of moonshines out of North Carolina, and while they have their flagship clear moonshine product, they also have a line of naturally flavored moonshines as well, including Apple Pie, Cherry, Strawberry, Blueberry, and Cranberry, all smartly packaged in 750 ml mason jars.

While the plain Midnight Moon is likely great for cocktails, much like Silver Coyote is, the apple pie flavor I tried is pretty great on its own, over ice.  It’s got apple juice mixed with it and a little piece of  cinnamon stick in the jar.  Midnight Moon Apple Pie is 35% ABV and has some sweetness from the apple juice, but wasn’t unbearably sweet for a guy who normally drinks pretty dry drinks.  It has a great, natural, apple and cinnamon flavor.

Midnight Moon’s flavors are a good choice at the liquor store because they’re an all-in-one drink – a jar of this and some ice, and you have some pretty decent drinks that most people will enjoy.  It’s less liquor-forward and is pretty accessible.  Here’s a recipe for a warm and toasty winter punch:

Mountaineer Punch (by Greg Mays)

  • combine:
  • 1 mason jar of Midnight Moon Apple Pie
  • 2 mason jars of apple cider
  • warm on the stovetop and serve at parties!

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Don Quixote Bourbon and Gin

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“Clear alcohol is for rich women on diets.” ~Ron Swanson

Don Quixote Distillery in Los Alamos is one of only 3 distilleries in New Mexico right now (Santa Fe and KGB are the others).  Don Quixote makes 5 spirits, some ports, several wines, and even vanilla extract.

Don Quixote Bourbon

Don Quixote Blue Corn bourbon is “the world’s only bourbon made from New Mexico blue corn” and there’s no other way to say this: it’s outstanding.  I prefer gin most of the time and generally don’t like whiskey much, but this is by far the best bourbon I’ve ever had.  The sourness I usually dislike in whiskey (is it the “malt”?) isn’t there, and when you swallow, it’s cool and fresh tasting with very little alcohol burn.  This bourbon is smooth and sweet and I’m not going to use it in cocktails because it tastes too good on its own.  This will be perfect in a frozen glass with just an orange peel in it.

Don Quixote Spirit de Santa Fe Gin

Don Quixote Distillery also makes two types of gin, and I tried the Spirit de Santa Fe Gin, with “natural botancials; including juniper, pinion, chamisa, sage, and rose hips.”

This gin surprised me.  It’s extremely aromatic, and has a unique “desert” quality to the flavor, I think maybe the sage stands out the most.  The issue I had with this gin was the fact that the alcohol overpowers the initial flavor of it, only to be followed by a big aromatic, botanical finish.  This really prevents it from being good for sipping straight, as it’s just not smooth enough, so I tried it in some cocktails.

A Gin Old Fashioned is one of my favorite drinks, so I mixed the Spirit de Santa Fe Gin with simple syrup, aromatic and orange bitters, a splash of club soda, and an orange and cherry garnish.  This is a cocktail where the aromatics of the bitters and fruit tend to be the first thing that hits you, but not with this gin – that aromatic-desert-pungency remains the primary smell and flavor, just like when you drink the gin straight.

I finally got the idea to try this gin as a substitute for tequila in a margarita, and because of that aromatic-desert-pungency, that combination worked pretty well.

Don Quixote Blue Corn Bourbon is available for $30 at the Don Quixote Store online, or you can buy it at the distillery in Los Alamos.  The gin is sold in half or full bottles for $20 and $30 and it’s certainly something to try because of its unique flavor, though it may not be for everyone.

Don Quixote Distillery and Winery