46, You Fail

By Blake

I finally got my hands on some of the new Maker’s Mark 46 the other night at Foundation, a nice little bar in downtown Raleigh. I attempted to obtain a sample bottle from the nice people at Maker’s Mark in advance of its official release, but they must have known that I wouldn’t be impressed because they never put one in the mail. So just like everyone else, I waited for the “bourbon” to ship on July 9th and bought a double from a local bourbon bar, neat with ice in a side glass. I put the word bourbon in quotation marks when referring to the 46 because in my opinion this one pushes the limits (can you feel the bourbon snobbery emerging?).

The best part about this “bourbon” was the bar that I ordered it from. Nestled under Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh, you will walk right by the place and never even know it is there. But like all great taverns, Foundation has no use for a big fancy sign or flashy advertisements. This place is legendary and its bourbon collection is second to none! Did I mention that they make all of their cocktails from fresh ingredients purchased at the North Carolina Farmer’s Market and they make their own sodas (cola, ginger ale, and tonic)? Uniquely incredible!

Back story aside, Maker’s Mark has been talking about this new “bourbon” for several months now which has piqued the interest of the close-nit bourbon community. I for one was expecting to loose my socks over this one, but ended up a more than a little disappointed. The stuff isn’t terrible, it just isn’t real bourbon in my book. When they are aging the 46, after a few years they dump the barrel, suspend 10 additional staves of seared wood in the empty barrel, then put the bourbon back in the barrel to age a little longer with the additional wood. I guess this technically fits within the official definition of bourbon, but it represents a significant change in the aging and maturation process that I am not totally comfortable with. When I taste a bourbon, I often think about the fact that it developed over several years in that barrel, unadulterated and minimally disturbed. To know that this bourbon was essentially re-barreled during the aging process sort of deprives it of tradition. Had my first sip unveiled a pleasurable taste that surpassed all expectations of what a bourbon can be, perhaps I would not be so critical. The truth is that this “bourbon” is nothing special and certainly not just cause for tampering with a time honored tradition to produce. My hat’s off to all of the premium bourbon distillers who have learned to make fine bourbon without altering the 220 year old process. My advice to Maker’s Mark, stick to what you know and stop trying to get fancy with one of Americas oldest traditions.

Early Times Turns 150!

By Blake

There is no doubt that Kentucky takes the cake when it comes to American whiskey heritage. Moderate weather along with the abundance of grain and limestone filtered water make Kentucky the perfect place to distill and age whiskey. Fortunately for us, the traditions surrounding the production and enjoyment of whiskey in America have been preserved throughout the trials and tribulations of time.

One of the most recognizable brands within the mix of American whiskeys is undoubtedly Early Times. Since 1860, Early Times Kentucky Whiskey has been carefully distilled, aged and enjoyed by generations of great men and women. Despite civil war, modern industrialization, and even prohibition, the makers of Early Times Kentucky Whiskey have maintained continuous production for 150 years! It hardly seems possible, but sure enough, the Brown-Forman distilling company found a loophole during prohibition that allowed them to continue producing Early Times under a “medicinal license”. This has set the brand apart from others as it has helped to preserve the heritage, tradition, and history that goes into making every bottle.

To commemorate Early Times’ uninterrupted time-line, the Brown-Forman Distilling Company decided to release a special 150th anniversary bottling of the whiskey to the public. More than just a classic label and some antique style packaging, this commemorative bottling was produced and aged just as it was as a prohibition era medicinal product. Aged a few years longer and Bottled at 100 proof (as opposed to the standard 80 proof that Early Times is bottled at today) this whiskey has taken on its true and original form, just like it was back in the good old days.

We got our hands on a bottle to taste, partly for the purpose of writing this article and partly for the shear experience of tasting real history! I will go ahead and tell you, this whiskey is not like your typical sipping bourbon, based on today’s standards. No sir, this stuff is hard brown liquor that had one purpose: to get a man drunk as hell before the doctor started operating on him! As you can guess, it goes down pretty smooth but it lets you know what it is on the way! This whiskey reminds you of what real whiskey was like in the good old days, and also helps you to appreciate the great strides that whiskey making has made over the last 150 years. I highly recommend grabbing a bottle if you can find it in the package store, if for nothing more than just experiencing what real whiskey is supposed to taste like. After you have a sip or two of this classic whiskey, then you can graduate to your more refined sipping bourbon to polish off the sitting.

Hobknobbing With The Maker’s Mark Crowd

By Blake

I should start by saying thanks to the good people with the Maker’s Mark ambassador program for hosting the local Raleigh ambassadors at Isaac Hunter’s Oak City Tavern this past Thursday evening. It was a great opportunity to socialize with other bourbonphiles while getting the word out about the Bourbon Journal! We had a unique opportunity to meet the owners of the tavern and hear about its legendary history, which I do not want to spoil for you here. I will at least tell you that the bar itself is made from historic barn wood that was salvaged just before the barn was destroyed for a road expansion project. That alone should tell you that this place is all about preserving history and tradition, which makes it a perfect place for a bourbon meet and greet!

If you have not been to Isaac Hunter’s, you are missing out on one of the most robust bourbon selections that we have seen to date in Raleigh. Most impressively, they have a bottle of the elusive Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection that I spoke so highly about in my post a few weeks ago. While you are there, be sure to take note of the beautiful custom woodwork and see if you can get the bartender to take a second to tell you the story of Mr. Hunter and why his tavern belongs right where it is.

Overall, our trip to Isaac Hunter’s this past Thursday was a great success for the Bourbon Journal. We had a chance to talk with Nikki (the ambassador coach for North Carolina) about the new Maker’s Mark bourbon that is slated to hit the shelves in mid July. Despite our efforts to get her to share a taste from her personal stash, she was not about to let anyone drag her out in the rain to bootleg bourbon out of her trunk! Never-the-less, we should be getting our hands on a review bottle in the next couple of weeks so that we can include it in out first round of bourbon ratings.

So far I have heard good things about the new Maker’s Mark experimental bourbon, code named “Maker’s Mark Profile #51″. Although the idea of mass producing an experimental bourbon is not new for most distillers, Maker’s Mark has managed to resist the temptation for 50 years. I for one hope this departure will prove to be a success for Maker’s Mark and encourage other distillers open up their experimental collections to the general public.