tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post5451218960472975982..comments2024-03-17T14:10:05.912-05:00Comments on The Chuck Cowdery Blog: Standard Bourbon Has New Exemplar: Jim Beam Single BarrelChuck Cowderyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12191121480961526039noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-48897225130187975462014-02-22T12:01:46.434-06:002014-02-22T12:01:46.434-06:00Everything that says Jim Beam on the label, except...Everything that says Jim Beam on the label, except the rye, is the same mash bill. This is about barrel selection more than anything else.Chuck Cowderyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12191121480961526039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-62471501092065130532014-02-22T03:56:15.050-06:002014-02-22T03:56:15.050-06:00Chuck- How similar would you expect the Jim Beam w...Chuck- How similar would you expect the Jim Beam white single barrel at 47.5% to be to Jim Beam bonded sold to export markets only. I guess I'm asking if the bonded is the same mashbill etcAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-52692075673567847582014-01-08T19:07:55.014-06:002014-01-08T19:07:55.014-06:00I'll name a couple, but there are many others....I'll name a couple, but there are many others. Woodford Reserve, Very Old Barton, Buffalo Trace, Four Roses Yellow Label, Old Forester, Evan Williams Black Label, Bulleit, and others.Chuck Cowderyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12191121480961526039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-33159350637663624252014-01-08T18:50:28.405-06:002014-01-08T18:50:28.405-06:00Chuck, which standard bourbons are in your 'wo...Chuck, which standard bourbons are in your 'wonderful' list? My goal lately has been to spend less than $30 on bottles of bourbon (in Chicago anyway). Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-63518663986264204662014-01-06T13:56:46.851-06:002014-01-06T13:56:46.851-06:00"That is not to say a micro-distillery cannot..."That is not to say a micro-distillery cannot make a standard bourbon, they just haven't." As a microdistiller, I agree, but would argue that a microdistiller _shouldn't_ make a "standard" bourbon, either. The big boys can make a "standard" - micros should be making something different. The fact that a product is "non-standard" does not mean "bad quality" and micros do not and should not get a pass on quality, of course. But if a micro is making a "standard" product and can't compete on price, why bother?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-52023115672180856122014-01-04T16:21:33.720-06:002014-01-04T16:21:33.720-06:00Booker's is barrel proof but not single barrel...Booker's is barrel proof but not single barrel.Chuck Cowderyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12191121480961526039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-53499741221898168602014-01-04T16:16:19.836-06:002014-01-04T16:16:19.836-06:00Thanks for the info. I have wondered if batch, fo...Thanks for the info. I have wondered if batch, for Booker's meant several barrels dumped together, and then bottled, or if it meant that a barrel was used, bottles filled, label made, and then on to the next barrel, with all of them called the same batch. Again, thanks from the Great Commonwealth of Virginia. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-35330961125629949532014-01-04T15:43:45.903-06:002014-01-04T15:43:45.903-06:00I was involved in selecting a batch of Booker'...I was involved in selecting a batch of Booker's. We tasted three samples, discussed them, and picked which one we thought was most Booker's-like. As for proof, because Booker's is always barrel proof, and barrel proof varies, the proof of each batch varies. I think the range is 125 to 127, or thereabouts.Chuck Cowderyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12191121480961526039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-28920992131208930482014-01-04T13:43:56.857-06:002014-01-04T13:43:56.857-06:00An indirect question, but on-line articles I have ...An indirect question, but on-line articles I have found state that Mr. Chuck Cowdery was one of several individuals who were asked to assist in picking Booker's Batch No. 2013-6, with a Proof of 126.5. Here, in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia, the Booker's Batch No. 2013-6 has a Proof of 125.9, not the above Proof 126.5. How are batches done for Booker's, and why does my batch no. bottle differ from the descriptions I have read on-line. Thanks for the info.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-56593017611129293312014-01-03T16:12:47.082-06:002014-01-03T16:12:47.082-06:00Chuck's description of single barrel selection...Chuck's description of single barrel selection can explain why BMc wound up with several Knob Creek duds. Two barrels, distilled on the same day and placed next to each other in the warehouse, can age quite differently. The likely reason, as I understand it, is that different barrels are made from the wood of different trees. If Beam (or another distiller) selects, say, 60 barrels after tasting just two of them, then some of the remaining 58 barrels may not have aged gracefully. Yet they are still bottled as single barrel selections. The only way to avoid this problem is to buy single barrel bourbons for which a retailer has selected the specific barrel to be bottled. Assuming, of course, that the retailer's palate is compatible with that of the individual consumer.<br /><br />Of course, another explanation for BMc's Knob Creek duds lies in the differences in everyone's sensory systems. Different people, I imagine, have different sensitivities to the various aromatic and flavoring compounds in bourbon. So a barrel that seems just fine to the Beam tasting panel might seem objectionable to BMc. Bourbon taste sensitivities and preferences are highly personal. So we should take, say, Jim Murray with a grain of salt when he rates one bourbon 89 and another 96. Too many people, I suspect, treat these rating numbers as quantitative values, as if they were measured with a taste meter stuck into a bottle. The fact is Jim and others just make these numbers up. There is nothing else they can do.<br /><br />Tom TrolandAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-44884666063573802242014-01-03T13:02:58.524-06:002014-01-03T13:02:58.524-06:00If only Evan Williams would up the proof on their ...If only Evan Williams would up the proof on their single barrel to something kinda like this...theBitterFignoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-61112129242476021802014-01-02T20:36:50.283-06:002014-01-02T20:36:50.283-06:00That's not just Beam. It's more or less ho...That's not just Beam. It's more or less how everybody does it.Chuck Cowderyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12191121480961526039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-69813303609233278592014-01-02T20:36:24.427-06:002014-01-02T20:36:24.427-06:00When barrels are being put away in the warehouse, ...When barrels are being put away in the warehouse, they'll put 30 to 60 barrels from a given day into the same location in the warehouse, then move to another location and warehouse. When they're selecting, they'll select based on one or two barrels is that set, all of which were distilled and barreled at the same time. So they'll pull the whole 30 to 60 barrel batch based on tasting one of two of them.Chuck Cowderyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12191121480961526039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-59013911618474412112014-01-02T19:07:22.161-06:002014-01-02T19:07:22.161-06:00I guess I should have asked a more directed questi...I guess I should have asked a more directed question. Do you think they pick single barrels by identifying a small area in a warehouse with a high percentage of honey barrels, and then bottle them all? I can't imagine somebody personally vetted some single barrels I've purchased.BMchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05036354965069864586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-63912639042874013802014-01-02T16:47:14.806-06:002014-01-02T16:47:14.806-06:00Good question. Wish I could answer it. With single...Good question. Wish I could answer it. With single barrel, consistency is not the highest value.Chuck Cowderyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12191121480961526039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-35620718743067888032014-01-02T16:27:16.401-06:002014-01-02T16:27:16.401-06:00They already put out Knob Creek Single Barrel, and...They already put out Knob Creek Single Barrel, and that's also supposed to be the best of the best (for that flavor profile). In my experience, those generally are good but I've already bought two duds, one that was really bitter and another that was sickly sweet. Why should I expect this new one to be any more consistent?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com