Fighting Cock, Bulleit, and Dan Akroyd

I have a love of the brown. A complete, unabashed, poop-your-pants in excitement love. And by “the brown” I mean whiskey. Scotch, Bourbon, Irish Whiskey, Tennessee Whiskey, even CANADIAN whiskey- It matters not. I just love it all. And while I can enjoy the complex flavors of scotch, from the peatiness of an Islay to the saltiness of a Speyside and the finely nuanced balance of a Highland; I must admit that my favorite whiskey is indeed the Kentucky Bourbon. Oh, I am not denigrating the other browns. It would be like asking a Sheik who his favorite gal in the harem is. They all have a beauty that is their own, but he has a special fondness for that redhead…

Now I would not call my love of whiskey an unrequited love. Whiskey loves me much in the way that Ike loved Tina. Fun in the beginning, but without a doubt morning finds me curled up in a fetal position pooping blood. There is something that is bracing about the first glass, calming about the second, and addictively self abusing about the third. But this blog is not about lamenting of the evils of whiskey, but about exalting its glories.

(good when mixed)

So a bit ago I was in the need of a bourbon. I decided to hit the store, unsure as to whether I would splurge on a $30 bottle (Think Woodford or Bulleit), buy the old $15 standby (Jim Beam is my go to man. A dependable man not unlike George Clooney), or buy something cheaper that is palatable when mixed (Think Evan Williams. He is the Dan Akroyd of whiskey. You can’t beat it or him as an ensemble, but you would never give either a solo leading role.) I decided to be a middling cheap bastard and grabbed the white bottle of Jim Beam. Yup, ol’ dependable. I started to leave the whiskey aisle, when a flashy bottle caught my eye.

Fighting Cock Bourbon!

It was moderately priced ($20) and packed a whollup (at 103 proof, it is even more potent than Wild Turkey). Now how in the world can I pass up a bourbon named after deplorable abuse masquerading as sport! If there was a bourbon named “Seal Clubbing” or “Cat Juggling” I suppose would be all over those too. Sometimes I think I am not a very nice person. But I gave a dollar to the Salvation army guy, so its all ok in the end.

How was it? Potent. Drinking it straight burned a bit. Mixing it with diet coke created a sickly sweet and strong drink. I suppose I am just too weak for the Fighting Cock. I would probably buy this again for a party to make my guests drunk and pliable, and the bottle for sure makes a great conversation piece. But sipping it straight on ice? Meh. I did it. I drank a good portion of the bottle that way. I wouldn’t recommend it though. This is a mixing bourbon. But at $20 a bottle, it makes for an expensive mixing bourbon. One of the ironies of life, eh?

My second whiskey I want to give a shout out to is Bulleit Bourbon. It is your typical $30 small batch bourbon. It calls itself a “frontier whiskey” because it comes in a rustic looking bottle and at 90 proof it packs a stronger whollup than your typical liquor without being stupidly overpowering. If I am to buy a sipping bourbon and want to spend $30, 3 out of 4 times this is what I grab. If you even think about mixing this bourbon, I will step on your face. Neat or with ice please.

Its flavor is slightly spicy with the barest hint of vanilla overtones. Neither is overpowering though and the flavors seem both natural and real. Its 90 proof punch can be compared to a good natured tousle with an Australian. You maybe get a few bruises, but nothing is permanently damaged and the fight was all in good fun.

Drinking Fighting Cock is more like fighting with an angry closeted redneck. He thinks that you embody all that is evil in the Big City, and you are the cause of both his recent layoff at the plant and his unexplainable feelings for men. The only way he can avenge either it to beat the first guy with hair gel and an IQ over 80.

Over the holidays I picked up a bottle of Bulleit and drank the entire thing with a good college buddy and my brother in law. We blew through it over a period of perhaps 3 hours. Sure, we weren’t moving too quickly in the morning but we were in good enough shape for a big lunch of Churrasco. All you can eat steak, served on swords by Brazilian cowboys? YES PLEASE. And the caipirinhas helped take the edge of nicely. But that’s another blog entry.

Cheers – TommyG

Car runs on Bourbon

I admit I LOL

Kentucky Man Invents Car that Runs on Makers Mark

LOUISVILLE - 62 year old Mickey Nilsson of Bardstown Kentucky, finally found a way to make his tinkering hobby pay off. Inspired by the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Nilsson transformed a collection of “junk” into a motor vehicle that does not rely on foreign oil as it’s fuel source. His car is entirely powered by Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey.

“I was always a fan of Caractacus Potts (the Dick Van Dyke character) from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” said Nilsson. “He was pretty good at re-purposing junk. Always admired that”. Nilsson had his fair share of junk too. Most of it was just rusting when last October he had a knock at his door.

“Them two knuckleheads from that TV show American Pickers (Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz) stopped by here trying to steal from me. Offering me $200 for my old still. Said I had no use for it since making moonshine was illegal. After that smart-mouthed remark, I shot at em” declared Nilsson. “Although I did sell the chubby one with the beard an old oil can for $40 before they ticked me off.”

The visit did motivate Nilsson. “After I’d run them off, I kept thinking about what they kept saying to me, ‘what are you going to do with all this stuff, you might as well sell it to us’. Well that left me pondering. Folks around these parts do a lot of pondering, so it wasn’t really nothing new for me as I ponder about something almost everyday. But this time my pondering gave me an idea, watch Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.”

Inspired and motivated by the film, Nilsson spent the next 6 months, in his workshop turning his one-time still and collection of junk into a whiskey sipping motor vehicle. “The car will run on almost any bourbon, but she really purrs on Maker’s Mark” said Nilsson.

With Maker’s Mark currently at an average selling price of $24 a fifth it’s likely most owners of the new vehicle would fill her up with Old Crow or even Old Grand Dad. Either way, it’s still a pricier fuel option, but before long it may be a bargain. Gasoline prices have been skyrocketing, jumping 50% in the past year. This week the cost for regular gas eclipsed milk and the popular Arnold Palmer Iced Tea-Lemonade beverage per gallon.

The Obama administration has recognized Nilsson’s achievement as “the type of ingenuity that makes this country great. With brilliant minds such as Mr. Nilsson at work, we will soon purge our dependence on the middle east for oil”. But they cautioned our nation still has a large number of winos so securing access to the fuel tanks on these vehicles will be essential, especially in certain urban neighborhoods.

A deal to produce a consumer version of the Nilsson concept car was brokered Wednesday with automobile manufacturer Nissan. Nissan expects to release the vehicle to the public by 2014. Currently referred to as the Nissan Nilsson, several names are being considered for the new model. The Nissan Alky, the Lush or the sporty sounding Inebriator.

Nissan hopes to add a new feature to this model that will incorporate a breathalyzer that will actually generate a small fuel reserve for drunk drivers who run out of gas, ah um, bourbon.

http://www.thedailyload.com/2011/04/kentucky-man-invents-car-that-runs-on-bourbon/

Three Bourbon reviews by Randy

A week or so ago, I posted HERE about a new bourbon distilled in Iowa.  Knowing that Randy (from MySideoftheBar) often went to Iowa, I challenged him to give us a review.

Not only did he do that, but he also provided comparison/reviews with two others.

So, sit back….pour a dram and enjoy.

Cheers (and a big thanks Randy).

• Four Roses Yellow Label
  Website:
  http://www.fourroses.us/
  Price: $15.00 - $19.00
  Color: Very light caramel color
  Nose: Sweet and smooth with a very distinctive Bourbon flair. This could be due to being only 80 proof.
  Taste: Very smooth on both the tongue and finish. Sweet fruit like taste, but very light. The website says a little hints of spice, but I do not get that. However if you have a Cigar with this Bourbon it takes on an entire different complexity and then you may get some hints of spice.
  Overall: Well what can I say this is the official Bourbon of MySideOfTheBar. This is an excellent Whiskey and I enjoy it both neat and in a Manhattan as the price is very moderate.
  
• Elijah Craig 12 Year Old
  Website:
  http://www.heaven-hill.com/
  Price: $26.00
  Color: Darker caramel color than either Four Roses or Cedar Ridge.
  Nose: Much heavier and distinctive Bourbon smell which I relate to being 94 proof.
  Taste: Very surprising as the taste does not reflect what you get from the nose. Very light taste with a slightly heavier finish, but still very smooth with still a sweet flavor, however more a gourmet chocolate sweet than a fruity sweet.
  
• Cedar Ridge Iowa Bourbon
  Website:
  http://www.cedarridgedistillery.com/
  Price: $35.00
  Color: Very light caramel color similar to Four Roses.
  Nose: Very sweet on the nose almost like a candy sweet similar to a chocolate covered fruit. More apple than cherry.
  Taste: Very, very smooth and you do enjoy a very sweet taste on the tongue and very smooth sweet finish. Definitely a sipping Whiskey and also great in Manhattans, however for the price I would reserve for enjoying neat.

A Maker’s Shake-up?

For 35 years, Bill Samuels Jr. oversaw Maker's Mark bourbon as it matured from a regional novelty started by his parents to an international brand recognizable by its red wax seal.

Now he's planning to step aside for the next generation of his family to lead the rural Kentucky distillery, known for its distinctive square bottles that are sealed with red wax.

Samuels, 70, will retire as president and CEO of Maker's Mark on April 15, when he'll become chairman emeritus of the brand owned by Fortune Brands Inc., the company announced Wednesday.

His son, Rob, who was appointed chief operating officer last October, will lead the distillery in Loretto, the quiet rural community 45 miles south of Louisville that has been home to Maker's Mark since the 1950s.

Bill Samuels said in a phone interview with The Associated Press that his career was an "incredible journey" that turned his family's tiny whiskey operation into one of the most recognized brands in the world, helping it to surpass 1 million cases bottled for the first time in 2010.

Also last year, Maker's Mark introduced its first new product _ Maker's 46 _ a close cousin of the original but with a different aging method in the final weeks to give the whiskey a distinct taste.

When Samuels went home to help run the family business after earning a law degree from Vanderbilt University, the bourbon industry was struggling and the Maker's Mark brand was a well-kept secret outside the Bluegrass state.

"Back then, there wasn't such a thing as a premium bourbon category," Samuels said.

"There wasn't such a thing as anybody outside Kentucky either knowing what Maker's Mark was or caring about what it was. Those two things have changed dramatically in the last 43 years."

He was there when his father, Bill Samuels Sr., wrote a $35,000 check to buy the distillery in central Kentucky. The elder Samuels concocted the recipe that became Maker's Mark, and it was his wife, Margie, who came up with the idea of adorning the bottles with dripping red wax.

Other than the bourbon, it has been the wax seal that has caught the consumer's eye for decades.

Last year, a federal judge issued an injunction preventing a rival liquor company from using a dripping wax seal on the tequilas it sells in the United States, ending a seven-year legal battle.

Production of Maker's Mark started in 1954, but it wasn't until 1970 that the distillery turned a net profit, their son said.

"That's the definition of tenacity," Bill Samuels Jr. said.

The Samuels family was at the forefront of the premium bourbon category that revived the industry.

"That has released a lot of creativity at all of the distilleries," he said.

Now, the Maker's Mark distillery is in the midst of a nearly $110 million expansion that will increase production by 50 percent and double bottling capacity and warehouse storage.

Maker's Mark was sold to Hiram-Walker & Sons in 1981, then in 1987 was acquired by Allied-Lyons. Deerfield, Ill.-based Fortune Brands, whose brands include Jim Beam bourbon, acquired Maker's in 2005.

The constant has been Samuels.

"Bill Samuels reinvented the way bourbon was marketed at a time when the industry needed it most," said Matthew J. Shattock, president and CEO of Beam Global Spirits & Wine Inc., a subsidiary of Fortune Brands. "He forever changed the bourbon industry while building Maker's Mark into a global brand and staying true to his family's commitment to handcraftsmanship."

Eric Gregory, president of the Kentucky Distillers' Association, called Samuels an icon in the industry.

"His marketing genius, his international vision and his genetlemanly leadership has helped propel Kentucky bourbon into the global spotlight," Gregory said.

Max L. Shapira, president of Heaven Hill Distilleries Inc., the nation's largest remaining independent, family-owned and operated bourbon distiller, said he and Samuels grew up in Bardstown, Ky., as the sons of prominent bourbon families.

Shapira credits Samuels as being "instrumental in the renaissance of the bourbon category."

Maker's has had consistent double-digit growth for years, and has seen its export sales soar.

Rob Samuels, 36, called his father a "tremendous mentor," and said he'll continue to draw on his "institutional knowledge."

As for his greatest professional accomplishment, Bill Samuels said, "Staying the course in light of a lot of temptations to go off and do wine coolers and vodka and gimmicks."

Samuels is the seventh generation in his family to continue the bourbon-making tradition. After his retirement, he'll slide into a role as a chief brand ambassador and will pitch in with special projects.

"I'm not real good at vacation," he said.

Small Batch #1 - Baker’s

It’s Christmas time, and with that comes some of the great gifts that come my way.

This first one is the “Original Small Batch Bourbon Collection”, a boxed set highlighting four fine bourbons.  This one is kinda funny, because my wife got it for me…while at the same time, I had picked up one for Mike for his stocking (after learning he would be joining us Christmas Morning).

The first one I wanted to try was Baker’s, a 170 proof 7 seven year old bourbon named after Baker Beam, grand nephew of Jim Beam.

Color- Pale Gold

• Nose- Nutty with Honey and Caramel.
• Taste- Strong, sweet honey and vanilla with a syrupy mouth feel.  Reminded me of a rye with with a bit of a backbite.  Splashed with water smoothed this out somewhat and brought out a little leather, while at the same time enhancing the vanilla.
• Finish- Long lasting and very warm.  Hints of spice and orange gave this one a well rounded finish.

Overall, Baker’s was (for some unknown reason) the first bottle I gravitated to in the set.  While not great, very well rounded and drinkable.  If the remaining three are as good (I’ve had Knob Creek before and it comes recommended by Morton Ahput), then this set will exceed expectations.

Stay tuned for more……

Bourbon Recipes

Everyone knows I love whiskey.  From Irish to Scotch, Single Malt to Blends, I loves me some booze.

I am particularly intrigued by recipes with whiskey in them, such as THIS , and today I stumbled on a great one.

The article is HERE, but to wet your appetite a little…..below are some of the recipes involved:

• Kentucky Bibb salad with sweet Kentucky bourbon vinaigrette, crumbled goat cheese and toasted pecans
• Grilled Kentucky bourbon shrimp skewers
• Baby back ribs with bourbon mustard sauce
• Bourbon baked beans
• Bourbon brownies

I can’t wait to try a few of these out…..especially Bourbon Brownies.

Mmmmmmmmmmmm.