My Life On The Rocks

I’m excited to announce that I’ll be appearing in Las Vegas in March for the Nightclub & Bar Convention and Trade Show.  On Tuesday March 13th, I’m on a panel moderated by Bridget Albert with Ryan Magarian, Brian Duffy and Susie Garvin entitled “Seasonal and Sustainable from the Kitchen to the Bar” discussing strategies to stay seasonal and sustainable across all outlets of your menu. We are going to tackle this challenge by talking about some simple steps to develop and implement some cost effective cross utilization strategies of products for a successful bar program. Later that day, I’ll be taking the stage presenting “Emerging Spirits Trends” where I’ll be talking about a number of the newest and most exciting trends taking place in the world of spirits and how to leverage them to effectively in your bar program. I’m excited to be able to present this year and I’ll be on the floor of the show most days. Feel free to say hi while you are there and I’m always looking for recommendations of where to eat and drink while I’m out there. Hope to see you there this year.

So today I brought in one of my treasures to taste with my class at Oregon Culinary Institute. Its a small bottle of Bond & Lillard Kentucky Straight Bourbon whiskey. There is an Illinois tax stamp dated 1937 affixed, and on the back it notes that its 93 proof, 36 months old and distributed by National Distillers Products Corporation. While this isn’t my first experience with old whiskies, I thought it would be fun to review it on here and share my experience with it.

  First off, lets talk condition. Most bottles I’ve found from that era have some serious issues with condition unless they were picked up by collectors originally. While this was acquired out of a private home, I highly doubt this person was a whiskey collector based on the other bottles I obtained. That said, someone had the foresight to dip the top 1/3 of the bottle in hot wax to seal and preserve the whiskey, and it actually worked quite well.

The nose is a bit hot, there is definitely an alcoholic punch up front, but past that, there are light cinnamon notes, and huge vanilla and caramel tones. The color of this bourbon is a golden orange, and it leaves beautiful legs dripping down the sides of the glass as you drink it. I honestly didn’t expect much from this bottle, but this is definitely a good sign.

On the palate, Bond & Lillard is medium bodied and enters with a light, honeyed sweetness before moving into a strong note of cinnamon, pie spices, oak and black tea before ending with a slight nuttiness on the tongue. More cinnamon returns for a final spicy burst just as it seems as if this whiskey is set to disappear from the palate. It is a complex, satisfying and delicious bourbon, one that would be capable of competing with the current bourbons on the market on equal terms.

While I doubt this review is going to spur the recreation of Bond & Lillard in modern times, having a chance to taste old brands helps expand my knowledge and understanding of the world of bourbon. This was really a fantastic bourbon and I hope I get to run across another bottle of Bond & Lillard again in my life. I know I’ll be keeping an eye out if nothing else. Even better, I’m glad I got to share it with my class. Because at the end of the day, that is really what whiskey is about, isn’t it? Sharing & conviviality. At least it is to me. I promise this wouldn’t have tasted nearly as good if I’d have kept this all to myself. Seeing my students experience this bourbon and sharing the experience with them is worth far more to me than any unopened bottle of whiskey in the world, no matter what.

Anyway, I count myself lucky to have tasted this old bourbon. And even luckier to have had some people in my life worth sharing it with.

Lets be honest, I love mezcal. Not the shitty gringo tourist stuff with the worm sitting in the bottom of it mezcal, the real stuff. Smoky, sometimes a little hot, and full of interesting flavors, good mezcal can be reminiscent of Islay single malts. You either love them or you hate them. I love mezcal so much I’m actually taking a Master Mezcalier course in Portland on Feb 20th. I’m not going to get into the difference between tequilas and mezcals, just understand that these are all distillates of the agave plant and that mezcal hails from the Oaxaca region of Mexico. Anyway, given the sheer volume of spirits that I’ve tasted and my travels around the world studying distilled spirits, it isn’t often that I have one of those HOLY SHIT! moments, but HOLY SHIT!

  Zignum Reposado mezcal absolutely changed what my perception of mezcal could be. This moved what I considered a minor and relatively exotic spirits category into consideration as one of the great spirits in the world. At about $28 bucks a bottle,Zignum reposado is one of the most affordable and well made spirits I’ve ever had, period.

  Zignum Reposado mezcal does 6 months “resting” in oak barrels before being bottled at 40% abv. The bottle is nice enough to look at, but just looking at it gives no clue to what is inside. The nose offers notes of caramel, vanilla and coconut cake. Its similar to bourbon, but with an exotic undertone. But when Zignum reposado hits the palate, thats when it really shines. There is a definite smoke note, but instead of being the front note like so many mezcals, Zignum’s smoke harmonizes with the other flavor notes in this mezcal. Coconut, vanilla, brown sugar and roasted agave notes abound. This is a delicious and well balanced spirit, plain and simple. The finish is long and complex, and overall this spirit is reminiscent of the best cognacs and single malt whiskies in the world in that it is so harmonious and well put together. Zignum Reposado mezcal is truly one of the great spirits of the world and one of the most interesting things I’ve tasted in a long time.

I’m lucky that I get to taste a lot of whiskies. Ok, maybe even more than a lot of whiskies. I taste more whiskey than just about anyone you know or have ever met. Its a nice side effect of being a writer and spirits educator I guess. That said, its pretty rare when I get super excited about a new whiskey on the market. After all, when you’ve experienced the breadth and depth of the world of whiskies, it takes something really special to really blow my mind. Well, Woodford Reserve Double Oaked did just that.  I’ve never tasted a bourbon with such a long, interesting and downright exotic finish. Essentiall, Woodford Double Oaked goes into a regular charred bourbon barrel to start, and then spends time in a toasted American oak barrel, very similar to what wine would be aged in. The result is that the toasted barrel heightens the honeyed, vanilla and cream notes in this whiskey. Chocolate notes are readily apparent and the signature cinnamon flavor of Woodford is still there. This is a delicious bourbon, one of the few that I’ll gladly pay $50 a bottle for and this will always be in the liquor cabinet at home. Brown Forman have outdone themselves with Woodford Reserve Double Oaked, it is easily the best bourbon I’ve tasted in 2012 and perhaps in years. This is fantastic stuff, and you’d be well advised to pick up a bottle asap. If you are a bourbon fan, you simply must own this bourbon.

Damn, why did I write this post at 10:30 am and now I have to wait to this afternoon to taste the last of my Woodford Reserve Double Oaked? Its going to a long day waiting to taste it again. Distractions, distractions…

Damn! My favorite little neighborhood watering hole in Portland, Free House Bar on NE 13th & Fremont, appears to be out of business. The sign is gone, and there is paper over the windows announcing “Closed for Remodeling, Under New Management”. What a shame. I loved that place.