I would be seriously remiss if I did not address something I mentioned only briefly in my last post.  That something is Kirkland Bourbon.  You may remember that I am a big fan of Kirkland Tequila, which sells at roughly $20 for a liter of anejo which also happens to be certified kosher.  Well, a few weeks ago I was talking to my father and he mentioned seeing an article in which Kirkland Bourbon got very positive reviews, and I mentioned that it could be found in New Jersey but not in New York.  He responded by asking when we were going to make a trip to New Jersey, and I mentioned that I have some friends who make sure to pick up the tequila when they are in Jersey, and that I would ask one of them to get me a bottle of the bourbon next time they were going to Jersey.  But when a friend called me from Chicago saying “I am in Costco and they have a ton of liquor here” I seized the opportunity and told him to get me 2 bottles of the bourbon, and since he is a fan of tequila, I also told him to get 2 bottles of the tequila for himself.

So, I got a chance to try Kirkland Bourbon.  Before I get into the taste, let me tell you that it’s packaged in a liter bottle and the price is approximately $22 per bottle, and that it is 7 years old and 103 proof.  Apparently, it is made by the Jim Beam Company.  When I first opened it and tasted it, there was an unpleasant acrid element to the flavor profile that made this an okay bourbon but not the major bargain it should be.  However, that acrid element faded over a couple of weeks, bringing it back up to the level it should be. 

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Kirkland Bourbon being made by Jim Beam is the following: while there were premium bourbons around before Jim Beam launched their Small Batch Bourbon collection 20 years ago, the introduction of the Small Batch Bourbon collection launched a revolution in the premium bourbon market.  The Small Batch Collection bourbons (Knob Creek, Basil Hayden, Baker’s, and Booker’s) were all distinct from the regular Jim Beam product – you couldn’t taste a Small Batch and recognize the link in taste profile.  With the Kirkland Bourbon, I think if you did a side-by-side tasting you would be able to recognize the taste link.

Friday I finally saw Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve in a store.  I’d been waiting to taste it since October, so I bought a bottle.  Regular Knob Creek is bottled at 100 proof.  Knob Creek SBR is bottled at 120 proof, which is pretty close to barrel strength.

I’ve always liked Knob Creek – for a period of time it was my favorite bourbon.  For all that Knob Creek is aged for only 9 years, it has an intensity of wood and vanilla flavors that indicate the 9 years of aging were aggressive ones (i.e. aging in portions of the warehouse that go through a broad range of temperature variation between seasons, such as the top level of an open-rick warehouse).  Without meaning to sound disparaging, Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve is simply a more intense version of Knob Creek.  Perhaps that’s an over-simplification, because I actually like it.  What will be very interesting is the difference between batches – each barrel typically yields roughly 300 bottles, and each barrel will be slightly different, and so SBR will afford the opportunity to get a feel for some of the building blocks that ultimately combine to make Knob Creek.  I recommend giving it a try.

I know of only one place in Brooklyn where you can get Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve, and that’s Schnapps on Avenue M and East 4th Street in Brooklyn.  Tell Avi you read about it on Raised Glass.

A few years ago, my dad called me on a Sunday morning, telling me that the morning before he had gone to a kiddush and seen a bourbon he had never seen before.  The way he told the story, he initally passed by the bottle because it looked like a bottle of wine, but then another bourbon drinker, Joe, came to him and said “You gotta try this.”  They both really liked it, but neither could remember the name – just that it was “Something Creek.”  Both of them charged me with finding this bourbon for them.  For several months, I scoured liquor stores in Brooklyn and Manhattan.  I found Rowan’s Creek, but not only was that not the right bourbon, at $45 it was a disappointment.  Finally, I was up in Monsey at my in-laws for Shabbos, and on Saturday night I went over to The Grapevine, a store I’ve written about before, and found Corner Creek.  Lo and behold, that was the one, and only $20!  Fortunately, over the next few months, Corner Creek showed up in Brooklyn, making it easier to re-stock.

So what prompted me to write about this today? Today I went into Warehouse to see if they still have any Talisker 25, and to see if any new deals have come in.  I’m sure you can guess one of the things I found – Corner Creek for $19.99 plus tax, and the magnum for $39.99 (a bonus of 250 ml over 2 regular bottles).  If you can’t make it to Warehouse, but find Corner Creek at a local store for up to $25, I would still suggest you try it.

So what prompted me to

I can’t remember the first time I had this bourbon.  It’s not that it’s a pre-bourbon revolution classic like Old Weller, it’s just that it cropped up on the scene sometime in the past 10 years.  Regardless, I’m fairly certain that I picked up my first bottle at Warehouse and at the time most likely paid $20 for it.  Even at $30, this is a good bourbon, with a classic flavor profile.  So what specifically brought Eagle Rare to mind this evening?  Simple – I was at a kiddush Shabbos morning, and there was a bottle of Eagle Rare at the kiddush.  Even though I didn’t have any, I felt it was time to mention this one.  You can find this at plenty of locations in the New York Metro area.

Basil Hayden is part of the Jim Beam Company’s Small Batch Bourbon Collection – a group of four bourbons developed under the eye of their Master Distiller Booker Noe, may he rest in peace.  As far as I am concerned, the Small Batch Bourbon Collection launched what I’ve previously referred to as the Bourbon Revolution – a sweeping reform of the bourbon industry that led to the introduction of a wide range of premium bourbons – a reform so deep and far reaching that even Four Roses ultimately introduced some good premium bourbons.  But Four Roses is a topic for another post – this is about Basil Hayden.

Basil Hayden is the mildest and mellowest of the four bourbons in the Small Batch Collection, the others being Knob Creek, Baker’s, and Booker’s.  To be honest, I’ve never bought much Basil Hayden, but in this case, that’s a ringing endorsement.  Let me explain the backward logic.  The first bottle of Basil Hayden I bought was for the weekend before my younger sister got married – about 14 years ago.  We had a leisurely celebratory dinner Friday night, and my father and I polished off half the bottle without even realizing how far we had gotten.  At the time we did this, I was a student in graduate school.  As much as I liked Basil Hayden, it drank a little too easily to make it a regular part of my liquor cabinet.  By the time I graduated and went to work, other premium bourbons had come to market and continued to do so, and so my attention was absorbed with trying new things.

When I first tried Basil Hayden, the going rate was about $35.  Today, I would expect/be willing to pay $40.  Fourteen years ago, it was a pricey bourbon.  Today, it’s not so pricey, although it’s not bargain rate bourbon either.  If you like bourbon, and haven’t tried this one, give it a try.

This bourbon definitely falls into the class of “oldie but goodie.”  Old Weller has been around for as long as I can remember, which puts it back a good 25 years.  I’m not saying I was drinking it that long ago, just that I remember it being around.  It’s not that common an item to find in the NY metro area anymore, which is really a shame, because Old Weller is a good bourbon that was a good bourbon before the “Bourbon Revolution.”  As far as I am concerned, it’s still the best bourbon you’ll find for $20-22 per bottle.

For the Orthodox Jewish community, however, Old Weller is currently on a “do not buy” status by many of the larger kosher certifying agencies due to issues relating to Passover.