More on the outstanding Jefferson’s Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout, documented one post back.
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Stout Video
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Tag Archives: Potables
Memorable Potables, #1098234
A co-worker dropped a couple of bottles of Jefferson’s Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout by my cube a couple of weeks ago. This is a stout, aged for 60 days in Jefferson Reserve Bourbon barrels. I’d waxed semi-poetic about Jefferson Reserve small batch bourbon previously. Based on my fondness for the bourbon, my co-worker suggested I try out the stout.
Firstly, I am not a beer snob by any means. The industrial, US big name beers, cold and within reach, have brought much joy to watching sporting events, grilling food, and listening to country music.
Secondly, I rarely drink stouts. When I’m in the proper frame of mind, I’ve been known to enjoy some of the finer products of the brewer’s art.
So, last night being steak night and all, I opened the first bottle, and carefully poured the dark nectar into a pint glass1 to enjoy a pre-dinner libation. And what a treat. The bitterness and heaviness I’d previously associated with stouts was nowhere in evidence. While more robust than the common lagers I’ve been knocking back for decades, this stuff was creamy and aromatic. The hint of the bourbon was unmistakeable, and there was a subtle hint of chocolate in the finish. MLB had a little sip and pronounced it to be primo.
I wouldn’t kill a twelver of this watching NASCAR races, but man, for pure enjoyment, it was excellent. One reason one doesn’t swill this is that it has ABV 8%. Stout, indeed. It needs to be savored at the proper time, and in the proper manner.
It’s hard to find around here, apparently. But, in case my coworker makes any more excursions in search of it, I’ll have a few bucks to pay him for whatever he’s willing to mule back for me.
Oh, and I slept like a baby last night. ABV 8% has its advantages.
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American Beer
It appears to me that American beer is now to be found in Texas. Not on the side of a race car, not known for equine cartage displays, but just an excellent product:
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Booze Test
While waiting on my little bride to give me the order to light up the smoke pit, I came across this; minus the link to some DC dating “service”:
I’m sure there will be some live testing in the coming days; live tests are always preferable to multiple choice, IMO.
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[stags]Quiz,Potables[/stags]
Punish the person, not the whiskey
As Tennesee authorities ponder the fate of hundreds of vintage bottles of Jack Daniel’s, some nearing 100 years in age, and many with unbroken seals, the headline of this post comes from an empassioned British Columbia blogger named Kyle MacDonald, who is a Jack fan. It appears TN officials want to dump the bottles, because
it was being sold by someone without a license.
Specifically, the bottles were designated for overseas sale.1
I think Kyle has it right. Instead of dumping the bottles, couldn’t they be auctioned to collectors? The value of the collection is estimated at $1 million, with the 1914 bottle, valued by collectors at $10,000 on it own, is destined to be dumped.
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[stags]Potables[/stags]
[tags]JackDaniels,KyleMacDonald[/tags]
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Shinin’
A work buddy of mine recently toured the Virginia Moonshine Company of Culpeper VA. He returned with samples of their wares, and was gracious enough to share with a brother. Last evening, towards the end of the NASCAR race, my little bride and I cracked open the jug of Kopper Kettle, described thusly on the website:
Belmont Farms is proud to introduce Virginia’s first original recipe which is registered and trademarked “Virginia Whiskey,” KOPPER KETTLE. Kopper Kettle is a triple grain whiskey, double wood, and twice distilled. The Virginia Whiskey is first produced with grain grown on our farm (the only distillery in the U.S. that grows its own grain). It is a secret formula of corn, wheat, and barley and is mashed and fermented in our all copper fermentation tanks. Then, at just the right time, it is double distilled in our unique potstill.
Our Virginia Whiskey, “Kopper Kettle,” never sees any modern methods, i.e. column still. Only a potstill can preserve the taste and aroma required for this unique product. Kopper Kettle is then charcoal filtered and presoaked with oak and apple wood chips before it is aged in barrels for two years. Before bottling, the barrels are hand selected in three barrel batches to preserve its uniqueness. Kopper Kettle is definitely a next generation Whiskey.
Although “Copper Fox” was good, the new Kopper Kettle is even better. Our Virginia Whiskey has undergone some new exciting changes. It is now a registered Virginia Whiskey, barrel select, and double distilled and aged for at least 2 years.
Enjoy!
Two.years.old. I’ve written lovingly about 12 year old single malt scotch, and 18 year old small batch bourbons here on these old pixels, and wondered about the smoothness of something two years old. MLB1 and I, acting on advice of some other Kopper Kettle aficionados at work, chilled the bottle in the refrigerator for several hours before cracking the seal, poured ourself one finger apiece, and sipped it neat, water back.2 Surprisingly smoky, fruity, and smooth it was. MLB even liked it, and she turns up her nose at most non-scotch potables. Another finger and a half apiece, and we slept like babies.
Virginia Moonshine also makes something called Virginia Lightning, which is traditional ‘shine. We also have a bottle of that. With the assurance on the back of the label that the product is “less than 30 days old”, we opted to try and review that at a later date.
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Picture is posted with “click to embiggen”.
[stags]Potables,VirginiaMoonshine,moonshine,KopperKettle[/stags]
[tags]kopperkettle, virginialightning, virginiamoonshine[/tags]
No Santa’s Butt for Maine
As I reported here last year, the state of Connecticut had banned a Holiday beer called Seriously Bad Elf, because it depicted Santa Claus on the label.
Not to be outdone, Maine has banned another offering from the same company. This one is called Santa’s Butt. The bottle, pictured here, depicts a Santa quaffing a beer while making his list and checking it twice.
The reason given by both states in banning the potables was that “the labels might be attractive to children.” OK, that’s good enough for me. I guess the inflatable NASCAR Budweiser cars, and stand-up cardboard cutouts of Dale Jr, that grace displays are not similarly attractive. News flash to Maine and Connecticut: children are attracted to lots of things, both good and bad. It’s the parent’s place to parent and provide guidance, not yours.
The brews are all imported by The Shelton Brothers, of Belchertown MA. They also have a blog, which unfortunately doesn’t support any kind of syndicated feed that I could find. The blog entry about the Maine case is here. The Maine Civil Liberties Union is representing the Sheltons, and the contention is that the labels have expressive value over and beyond identifying the contents of the bottle. It seems obvious to me that that’s the case; if they sold posters of either or both of the labels, I’d buy one. And if I see the beer for sale around here, I’ll buy a six-pack, at least.
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Technorati Tags: mainecivillibertiesunion, MCLU, sheltonbrothers
The Rev. Mr. Craig
Elijah Craig, that is. I also came home with a bottle of 12-year old Elijah Craig single barrel Kentucky bourbon from the ABC store. I must admit I bought the stuff primarily because it’s made in Nelson County KY. After researching what I bought, I found the following, from this review of the 18-year old variant
Elijah Craig 18-year-old Single Barrel Bourbon, the oldest Single Barrel Bourbon available in the world, is bottled soley from one barrel hand-selected by Master Distiller Parker Beam. Only a handful of the millions of barrels of Bourbon aging in Kentucky have been allowed to mature this long. The brand is named for Rev. Elijah Craig, the man who discovered the method of making true Kentucky Bourbon when he stored his wares in barrels that had been charred by fire.
A Reverend? Who would have guessed? And they say drinking isn’t educational.
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Technorati Tags: elijahcraig
Rummy
Bananas Foster is the planned finale for SWMBO’s and my Easter meal tomorrow. So today, I had to acquire something sufficiently alcoholic, so that the fruit may be properly inflamed before serving. I settled on rum. I didn’t know there was such a selection of rums. I recalled only Bacardi Light, Bacardi Dark, and Bacardi 151. How times have changed. There now exist various flavors of rum; coconut, mango, pineapple, and other such tropical fruity varieties. And there are other brands besides Bacardi.
You can probably tell from this post that I neither buy nor consume much rum; I was amazed at the selection. I would up with Myers’s Original Dark, primarily because the Virginia ABC1 store had it in small bottles. Looking forward to the bananas.
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1 – Virginia ABC – the liquor stores here are state-run. Not much chance of getting stabbed or shot outside of one of these stores. There is, however, an antiseptic sameness between the outlets in the state-run operation.
Twistin’ the Knob
I’m generally a scotch drinker, when it comes to something stronger than beers.
But darned if Knob Creek isn’t getting to be a favorite. I’m comfortably not rich, but I promised myself somewhere along the way that there would be no more cheap likker in my life.
The per bottle cost is more, but the shelf-life is such that now that I’m not a complete swilling idiot, brings the annual outlay for such nonessential indulgences to a new record low.
And I take it water back.
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