First the Good—Dave and I learned of exciting news regarding the 2009 Buffalo Trace Antque Collection (That it has hit select shelves in New England and should be readily available this week) .  In fact, Dave picked up the Sazerac 18YO Rye from one his favorite haunts in Newburyport, MA today.  I’m sure he will expound on that….

The Bad— I haven’t been able to do much tasting these past few weeks (BAD). And I chose not to have Dave pick up the 2009 George T Stagg from the BTAC while he was out today, opting to wait until my local store acquired their allotted stock. (Bad and Stupid) …

… Some redemption as I learned from a representative at Colonial Wine and Spirits in Acton, MA that he still had a Bottle of the 2008 Stagg and 3 bottles of the William Larue Weller on his shelf… My plan was to swing by and pick up the Stagg and enjoy a glass or two this evening… My very active children had other plans as it turns out and long story short, that adventure must wait at least one more day…

Now for the VERY BAD… I chose to open a Corner Creek Reserve 8Yo, which was given to me some time ago, by a person who will remain nameless at this point to protect their safety… here are the Notes:

I couldn’t get through one glass.  What an abomination.  It’s a strange looking bottle to begin with, reminiscent of a chardonnay bottle.  It is not harsh in the nose, actually kind of sweet… but be afraid, it’s lowering your defenses for an all out assault on your palette.

At 88 Proof, it was very gentle on the tongue… that is, until the taste buds awoke.  Damp wood and earthy then a rush of stale flowers in the nose.  Very acidic and the anguish of the finish was excruciating as I waited for the volley of old cracker jacks to pass.

This was terrible.  The residents of Bardstown Kentucky should burn the Corner Creek Distillery Down.  For SHAME!!

My last post was info on this bottle, for context read it first.

I am in its thrall now.  This is a complex whiskey.  It has strong roots in Van Winkle tradition.  It tells me stories about its birth into a world that abandoned it,  years alone in Kentucky with no one to love it.

I am on my 4th glass and I just feel I am getting acquainted.  This has to be nosed indoors:  it smells sweet and hot, I can smell red grapes ripening on the vine and being baked in the sun.  I can smell toffee cooling on a rack.

I taste heat.  More heat than its 94 proof merits.  I taste candied ginger that lingers on my tongue and moves to the back of my mouth.   There is more oak influence here than I detected at first, the finish bites me a bit.  There is the fig we tasted the other day.

Mark called it intriguing.  It grows more so with each glass.

It will be telling me tales until the bottle is gone.

This is the bottle I got from Joe at Federal Wine and Spirits on State St in Boston this past Tuesday, and will be the subject of our tasting this coming Tuesday.  This bottle is from batch number 2 and I know there to be at least 6 batches.  Jefferson is an independently bottled whiskey by the McLain and Kyne company.  They buy whiskey from others and bottle it under their labels.  In this case the whiskey at originated with the now defunct Stitzel-Weller distillery.  Stitzel-Weller was in the minority of bourbons in that the spice component of their mash bill was wheat as opposed to rye, which gives the whiskey a smoother, creamier taste.

That’s all for now folks, stay tuned for all the juicy details.

Dave and I took our Tuesday Tasting on the road this week and headed to Boston.  The main objective was for Dave to pickup a bottle of Jefferson’s Presidential Select 17Yo from Federal Street Spirits; which we did.

Federal Street Spirits, as it turned out, is an almost magical place.  Joe, the proprietor, was extremely knowledgable, very friendly (although maybe a little surly) and very generous with tastings.   We sampled a Gerorge T Stagg (2008) and were blown away.

Whiskey was to be had all day from: The Black Rose, The Elephant and Castle and Kinsale.

More on the samplings later but of immediate note was Kinsale which stocked the Eagle Rare and Blanton’s behind the bar.  A wonderful surprise.

Another great selection by Dave.  Sinfully drinkable!!!  Comfortable and Sweet in the nose with an exciting, bright rusty color; almost antique

At a very mild 90 proof, I had to practice a little restraint during the tasting as it went down so smoothly.

Broad flavors on the tongue: lot’s of fruit and maybe some pecan nuttiness.  I didn’t find the same leather that Dave did during our tasting but I did find some subtle tobacco… like a dark, Dominican Maduro wrapper.

A real winner and worth hunting for.

Yesterday we finished my bottle of Fall 2008 Eagle Rare 17 year old Kentucky Straight Bourbon.

This was the first time Mark had tried this bottling.   I thoroughly enjoyed this bottle and will miss it now that it is gone.  The rye and corn are the dominant flavors in the nose and the palate, while the oak lingers on the finish.  It is amazing how these elements emulate the flavors of caramel, vanilla and pepper.  Seventeen years in the barrel takes the sharp edges off the rye and imbues enough oak to make the finish long and tantalizing.