[amazon_link asins=’B00H143UXW,B06Y1VGMH2′ template=’MT-product-carousel’ store=’modernthirstc-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’89cd9de4-ff80-11e7-ad0b-b3d612b3a656′] This was originally reviewed as part of our Budget Bourbon Battle Royale. The original review can be found here. VOB100, as it’s often called, is a product of the Sazerac Company. It is distilled and bottled at the Barton Distillery in Bardstown, KY rather than the massive Buffalo Trace distillery in Frankfort. This version is bottled-in-bond at 100 proof, though it can also be had at various lower ABVs. Appearance: Medium Mahogany. Nose: Caramel, Corn, and Vanilla. Taste: Caramel, maple syrup, bananas, and some ripe dark fruits. Finish: Long, sweet, and satisfying. There is enough…
Author: Bill
Bill is the Co-Founder, Editor-in Chief, and official Bourbon-o-Phile for ModernThirst.com, and Founder and Chief Blending Officer for Four Gate Whiskey Company. He is a native of Louisville, KY in the heart of Bourbon Country. He attended the University of Kentucky in the mid to late 1990s. He has also been published on Liquor.com. He has conducted various bourbon and whiskey tastings in cities across the country, and consulted for multiple national labels. He is married with two daughters, and lives in east Louisville. You can follow him on Facebook and Twitter @BillStraub and email him at [email protected].
[amazon_link asins=’B00H143UXW,B06Y1VGMH2′ template=’MT-product-carousel’ store=’modernthirstc-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’89cd9de4-ff80-11e7-ad0b-b3d612b3a656′] This was posted as part of our Budget Bourbon Battle Royale (#BBBR). You can find the original post here. This robust high-rye bourbon is produced by Jim Beam Brands. It is bottled in bond at 100 Proof, though various other proofs have been and still are available for purchase. Appearance: Medium copper. Nose: Rye, pepper, alcohol, and some woody pine hints. Taste: Strong black pepper spices, some maple syrup, and cinnamon. Finish: Long, with an almost over-the-top spicy tingle. Score: 76 out of 100. Synopsis: Old Grand Dad has been around a long…
Not all bourbons are top shelf collectibles. Hence, not all bourbon drinkers can or are willing to drop $50, $60, or $100+ on a single bottle of bourbon. That leaves a large swath of the drinking public often left in the cold when focusing almost entirely on premium top-shelf bourbons. So when Modern Thirst announced last week that we would be starting our systematic reviews of budget (aka “Bottom Shelf”) bourbons, the response was enthusiastic from our readers and followers. There is indeed a large market for budget bourbons, and a strong desire by the drinking public to read thoughts…
[amazon_link asins=’B00H143UXW,B06Y1VGMH2′ template=’MT-product-carousel’ store=’modernthirstc-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’89cd9de4-ff80-11e7-ad0b-b3d612b3a656′] Stats: Aged 8 years 40% ABV (80 Proof) Distilled/Bottled by Jim Beam American Stillhouse, Clermont, KY Price: $36 Availability: Readily Available What it is: Basil Hayden’s is a light bodied, high-rye bourbon produced by Jim Beam brands as part of their Small Batch Collection that also includes Booker’s, Baker’s, and the many iterations of Knob Creek. The bourbon takes its name from an 18th century Maryland Catholic who led a band of like-minded Catholics westward into Kentucky and began distilling whiskey in the Parish he founded there. He was known for using a high…
[amazon_link asins=’B00H143UXW,B016YPDI3A’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’modernthirstc-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’5fd76d64-8352-11e7-b4ba-4ba8c9ca927a’] What it is: Knob Creek is clearly among the most common and popular premium bourbons on the market today. Produced by Jim Beam brands in Clermont, KY, Knob Creek is the mainstay of the Jim Beam Small Batch Collection. Created by Booker Noe himself, Knob Creek is a small batch bourbon, bottled at 100 proof, and sold in more restaurants, bars, home bars, and airports than you can shake a stick at. Knob Creek seems to be one half of bourbon’s version of the Coke/Pepsi dichotomy. It seems that every bourbon drinker regards either…
[amazon_link asins=’B00H143UXW,B06Y1VGMH2′ template=’MT-product-carousel’ store=’modernthirstc-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’89cd9de4-ff80-11e7-ad0b-b3d612b3a656′] Stats: Barrel # 106 Aged 8 years 59.8% ABV (119.6 Proof) Bottled by Willett/Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (Distillery unknown) What it is: Ah, Willett. What can I say? They’ve been on a roll lately. Between the Pot Still Reserve (87/100) and the 10 year Family Estate Bourbon (93/100), not to mention the 4 year Family Estate Rye (90/100), they’ve been knocking it out of the park lately. So it was with no small amount of excitement that I found local Louisville (#BourbonCentralUSA) big box chain, Liquor Barn, participated in 3 barrel select programs through Willett’s…
At under $40, this is actually an outstanding rye whiskey. In fact, at any price, it’s an exceptional spirit, and it shows that great care must be taken by the Willett family when selecting and purchasing their barrels.
[amazon_link asins=’B00H143UXW,B06Y1VGMH2′ template=’MT-product-carousel’ store=’modernthirstc-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’89cd9de4-ff80-11e7-ad0b-b3d612b3a656′] In January, fellow Modern Thirst Editor and Writer, Matt Gates, reviewed a bottle of Bernheim Original Wheat Whiskey. Matt’s bottle is a private selection bottle chosen by big-box Northern Kentucky liquor store, The Party Source. Despite having the words “Small Batch” plastered all over the bottle, it was actually a single barrel private selection. He scored this whiskey 83 out of 100. With summer finally upon us, lighter bodied, sweeter whiskeys like Bernheim can seem awfully appealing, and the thought of sipping something light and sweet over an ice sphere on the deck in…
Don’t miss the May 12th Templeton Rye tasting event from the Bourbon Society of Greater Cincinnati!
[amazon_link asins=’B00H143UXW,B016YPDI3A’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’modernthirstc-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’5fd76d64-8352-11e7-b4ba-4ba8c9ca927a’] Stats: No Age Statement (Minimum 8 Years) 50% ABV (100 Proof) Price: $29.99 Warehouse RN Barrel 3-3I Distilled by Four Roses Recipe: OBSV What it is: It’s hard to overstate the impact Master Distiller Jim Rutledge has had upon the Four Roses brand, and bourbon in general. There was a time when Four Roses was sold almost exclusively overseas, with a domestic reputation for producing only the lowest of the low quality bourbons for sale in America. All that has changed. Today, Four Roses Limited Edition offerings are amongst the most anticipated of the…