Blame Jack.

A correspondent in Finland wrote to ask about Beam's Choice Green Label. I thought the answer was interesting enough to post here.

Beam’s Choice has always been an oddball. It is Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, not a blend (that's Beam's Eight Star). They now call it Jim Beam's Choice (pictured above), but that's a recent change.

In 1987, Beam bought National Distillers and got a large portfolio of spirits brands. Before that, Beam was essentially a one brand company. Jim Beam white label was their primary and only significant product. It and Jim Beam Rye were the only products that used the “Jim Beam” name, but “Beam” or “Beam’s” was used on many others. They even bottled a tequila called Beamero.

What is now Jim Beam Black Label was then called Beam’s Black Label, and looked similar to Beam’s Choice. Beam’s Black was 8-years-old, Beam’s Choice was 5-years-old. When Beam got heavily into decanters in the 1960s and 70s, those were sold under the Beam's Choice brand too.

But forgetting the decanters and just looking at the Beam's Black and Beam's Choice bottles, notice the words “charcoal filtered” on both labels and you can figure out why those two expressions were created. They were intended to appeal to Jack Daniel’s drinkers. In those days before Gentleman Jack and Single Barrel, JD’s two expressions were the black and green labels.

Beam wasn't alone in going directly after Jack Daniel's drinkers. Evan Williams, Ezra Brooks, and several other brands were created for the same purpose, to serve as Jack Daniel’s knock-offs during a period when Jack Daniel’s was in short supply.

Continuing with their imitation of Jack, Beam put the words “Old No. 8 Family Formula” on the label which, like JD’s Old No. 7, many people confused as an age statement. If Jack was going to be 7, Jim was going to be 8, one better, just like the amplifier volumes in "Spinal Tap." The actual age statement of 5 years was in small type on the side of the label. (Now it's on the front.)

It’s hard to explain why Beam’s Choice has hung on for all these years, especially since it’s a very small brand. It apparently sells just enough to justify its existence. I assume some people like to feel they’ve discovered something exclusive and special. It’s not particularly special, though at five years it is slightly older than white label.

There is nothing wrong with it, but if you want Beam whiskey with more age on it, Booker’s, Baker’s, Black Label, and Knob Creek are all better choices than 'Choice.'

Buy Your WhiskeyFest Chicago Tickets by Sunday and Save $10.

WhiskeyFest Chicago, sponsored by Malt Advocate Magazine, is Chicago's only major whiskey event. It is held each year at the Hyatt Regency downtown. This year it is on Friday, April 23, from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm.

For the second consecutive year there is no increase in ticket prices. Regular tickets are $110 each and early admission VIP tickets are $150 each. But order now (through Sunday, January 31) and pay just $100 for the standard admission ticket. Go here to order your tickets or here if you want more information.

They've also arranged for special room rates at the Hyatt. Unless you're like me and can get home on the #145 bus, staying there is a good plan.

If you've never been to one of these events, it goes something like this.

When you arrive and register, you receive a commemorative Glencairn Scottish crystal nosing glass. Then you enter the ballroom, which looks like you're at a trade show, with rows of booths. Each booth is hosted by a different whiskey producer and they are pouring one or several of their whiskeys. Sometimes the person doing the pouring is the master distiller or master blender.

There's also a substantial buffet, one at each end of the hall. It's a typical hotel buffet, but you can make a dinner of it.

In the adjacent meeting rooms, distillery representatives give presentations, most of which include guided tastings.

Most of the whiskeys you can buy in the United States are represented. Bourbon, rye, scotch, Irish, Canadian, Japanese, it's all there. Naturally, new expressions are often featured.

It can get pretty crowded. So it doesn't get too crowded, they limit how many tickets they sell. They always sell all of them in advance, so don't think you're going get tickets at the door.

I'll be there, though not in any official capacity. Once, a few years ago, I asked myself if I was there to work or there to drink and I opted for drinking.

Second Annual “Old Friends” Event Is February 20.

One of the main things I love about Kentucky is how it is so unlike anyplace else. Case in point: its two 'signature' industries are whiskey-making and horse breeding.

That's my kind of state!

The two converge at a now-annual event at Louisville’s historic Seelbach Hilton Hotel, called “Old Friends Along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail,” a bourbon tasting and progressive dining experience to benefit the thoroughbred retirement facility in Georgetown, Kentucky, that is home to more than 80 retired racehorses.

The event on Saturday, February 20, begins at 6 pm with distillery representatives hosting a bourbon tasting (with appetizers) in the hotel’s famous Rathskeller, followed at 8 pm by a bourbon-inspired dinner in the beautiful Oakroom, Kentucky's only Five Diamond restaurant. Presiding over dinner will be the Seelbach’s Executive Chef Jim Gerhardt and Chef de Cuisine Bobby Benjamin.

Following dinner, guests will return to the Rathskeller for sumptuous desserts and coffee.

A highlight of the evening will be a silent and live auction to benefit Old Friends that will feature equine art, racing memorabilia, jewelry, accessories, and much more.

Tickets are $100 (tax and gratuity included) and the hotel is offering a “take the elevator home” reduced room rate of $79 for the night.

If you have never been, the Seelbach is a wonderful hotel in the Grand Hotel tradition of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Rathskeller is a one-of-a-kind space, every inch of it covered with terra cotta made by Cincinnati's Rookwood Pottery. The Oakroom is a genuine fine dining restaurant and $79 for a room at the Seelbach is an absolute steal.

Although this is billed as a fundraiser, it is also a terrific deal.

The Seelbach Hilton Hotel is located at 500 South Fourth Street in downtown Louisville. For reservations please Call Jennifer Biesel at 502-585-9292 or email jennifer.biesel@ihrco.com

Old Friends is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that operates Dream Chase Farms, home to more than 80 retired racehorses. It is located in Georgetown, Kentucky, and is open daily for tours by appointment. For more information call 502-863-1775, or see their website at http://www.oldfriendsequine.org/.

Class Next Week By Me.

Just a reminder that I'm teaching a Bourbon class on Monday, February 1, at Rocks Bar (1301 West Schubert Ave.). The class will include tasting.

I'm doing this through I Wish Lessons. To attend, or get more information, go to their web site and click on "Drinks Around the World."

Sazerac Brings Back Original 1934 Herbsaint Recipe.

Herbsaint has long been a critical ingredient in the world famous Sazerac Cocktail. Both have enjoyed a revival of late as part of the passion for classic cocktails.

So it is with perfect timing that the Sazerac Company of New Orleans has dug deep into its archives to launch a new product called Herbsaint Original. The new product is made according to the same recipe first used by J. Marion Legendre for Herbsaint in 1934.

Shortly after Prohibition ended in late 1933, Legendre - a New Orleans apothecary-turned-entrepreneur - introduced a product he called Legendre Absinthe. Legendre had learned about pastis and absinthe while stationed in France during WWI. Upon his return to New Orleans after the war and with the onset of Prohibition, he secretly made absinthe in his uptown home. His launch of Legendre Absinthe was a dream come true.

Sadly for Legendre, just months after launching his product and in spite of the fact that it did not contain wormwood, the U.S. Government forced him to remove the word 'absinthe' from his brand name amid concerns that absinthe consumption was harmful. Legendre quickly re-named his product Herbsaint and launched an aggressive marketing campaign that called on people to “Drink Herbsaint Wherever Absinthe Is Called For.”

In 1949, after spending 15 years promoting Herbsaint around the United States, Legendre sold it to the Sazerac Company. Legendre died in New Orleans in 1986 at the age of 90.

The recipe for Herbsaint changed a bit over the years and while Herbsaint has been a staple on sophisticated bars for decades, Sazerac hopes the release of the original recipe will rekindle consumer interest in the product as it tasted 75 years ago.

“It has been a lot of fun to work on bringing back the original Herbsaint formula. We’re grateful to have discovered the recipe in our archives and to have had such a wonderful reaction from consumers and bartenders about bringing it back to life. It really is The Spirit of New Orleans,” said Kevin Richards, Sazerac’s Herbsaint brand manager in New Orleans.

Herbsaint Original is 100° proof and is available in 750ml bottles. Sazerac will continue to sell Herbsaint 90° proof, also in 750ml bottles.

Classes Next Week By Me.

Just a reminder that I'm teaching a Cognac class on Monday, January 25, at Stretch Run (544 N. LaSalle St.); and a Single Malt Scotch class on Wednesday, January 27, at the Bar on Buena (910 W. Buena Ave.). Both classes will include tasting.

The classes are through I Wish Lessons. To attend, or get more information, go to their web site and click on "Drinks Around the World."

Learn Distilling In Washington.

Many of the earliest American micro-distilleries were started by wineries so they could make brandy. The State of Washington has more than 600 wineries, so it isn't surprising that the micro-distillery movement has a strong foothold there.

Nor is it surprising that an enterprising community college, Big Bend in Moses Lake, would offer a craft distilling workshop. It is scheduled for March 22-26, 2010. The instructors are Berle 'Rusty' Figgins, Jr., a viticulturist, winemaker and distiller; and Judith Smasne, a compliance consultant and insurance agent who specializes in wineries, breweries and distilleries.

For more information go to the web site, email CBISinfo@bigbend.edu, or call 509-793-2374 .