America | Page 10 | NYC Whiskey Review

Willet Straight Rye Whiskey

February 11, 2021 America

Name: Willet Straight Rye Whiskey

Color: Copper

Nose: Rye spice, wood, oak

Taste: Spice, oranges, vanilla

Review:

Willet Straight Rye Whiskey is a cask strength, hand bottled, small batch 109.8 proof rye whiskey from The Willet Distillery in Kentucky. The Willet brand is a smaller group but is well respected in world of bourbon. The distillery was founded in 1936 by Thomas Willet and has grown and expanded its operations and method of productions over the years.

Willet has their own expressions, but they also have a small batch boutique Bourbon Collection that consists of the following;

· Rowan’s Creek

· Noah’s Mill

· Kentucky Vintage

· Pure Kentucky

The rye is not too spicy and for a cask strength whiskey is has a nice profile and balance. I found it you cut it with a little water you can enjoy it even more. At the price point I would not want to put it in a cocktail, but I am not a fan of drinking rye’s straight or on the rocks. You will have to decide for yourself.

Priced around $75 and very good for a rye whiskey. Willet delivers every time!

If you like it, drink it! – Christopher

If you like it, drink it!

Knob Creek Straight Rye

January 28, 2021 America

Name: Knob Creek Straight Rye

Color: Copper

Nose: Corn, vanilla, white pepper/spice, citrus

Taste: Pepper spice, vanilla, oak, strong alcohol

Review:

Knob Creek Straight Rye is 100 proof Kentucky Bourbon that comes from Clermont, Kentucky. It is non aged stated but used to be labeled as 9 years of aging as a standard. The removal of the age on the bottle is due to high volume demand and production. I find all Knob Creeks worth the money per bottle with respect to alcohol content. You get the most “bang for the buck” with Knob Creek. As for taste, that is another matter and one of personal opinion.

The term “straight” is used in many whiskeys produced in American. The term “Straight” is defined as, “distilled from a fermented cereal grain mash to concentrations not exceeding 80% abv and aged in new charred oak barrels for two years at a concentration not exceeding 62.5% at the start of the aging process.”

Knob Creek is produced by the Jim Beam Distillery and is part of their higher end expressions. Other expressions in the line are Booker’s, Bakers, and Basil Hayden which are all good. One thing I like for shelf appeal is the square bottle design with the green label and wax top. It gives the whiskey a bit of old school classy feeling and stands out on a bar.

Knob Creek Rye tastes good in cocktail due to the high proof and does not get watered down when drinking. Drinking it straight is a bit rough.

Price around $45 and worth the money for a cocktail mixer or a gift.

If you like it, drink it! – Christopher

If you like it, drink it!

Kozuba Starkus Rye (Vodka)

January 21, 2021 America

Name: Kozuba & Son’s Starkus

Color: Lemon citrus, flowers, almond

Nose: Rye, spice, light lemon

Taste: Rye, spice, light lemon

Review:

Kozuba is a not a whisky, it is a vodka made from 100% rye, aged in oak barrels for six months, and is bottled at 40% abv. It is made by a scientist from St. Petersburg, Florida and was established in 2005. The name “Starkus” means “stork” in Lithuanian.

You might be wondering why I am reviewing vodka. There is simple answer: I made a mistake. I thought I was drinking a rye whiskey. I am not a fan of vodka or clear spirits. I agree with Ron below.

I grabbed it off a friend’s shelf who suggest I try it. Before I realized what I was drinking I had a glass in hand and vodka in mouth. I figured it would write up a review just on how different this stuff is and how much it confused me for a few minutes.

The taste is strange and almost not even present.
There is no real taste or complexity.
It tastes like moonshine with a little flavoring.
In short, this stuff is weird.

Price around $60 and worth trying it to experience the flavor but not a great drink. I have not seen it on the shelf in the NYC area.

If you like it, drink it! – Christopher

If you like it, drink it!

TX Blended Whiskey

January 14, 2021 America

Name: TX Blended Whiskey

Color: Brown

Nose: Sweet corn, vanilla, orange citrus

Taste: Vanilla, honey, citrus

Review:

TX Blended Whiskey comes from Firestone & Robertson Distilling Co. in Fort Worth, Texas. It is a straight bourbon made from yellow corn, red winter wheat, 6 row distilleries malt, and a yeast strain from a pecan. I am not sure what all that means, but it sounds impressive.

The website description is much longer and romantic (as they do for new products), but to summarize, it says, “All our shit is from Texas. Don’t mess with Texas”. I find the “mess” warning valid as people from Texas consider themselves Texans before anything else. Meaning, if you ask them “Are you from America?” they will respond, “I’m from Texas.” For any NYC or overseas readers, this is real thing.

TX Blended whiskey has a good balance and profile but is a bit too sweet for my taste. It has a light body but is syrupy in the glass and mouth. If you like it on the sweet side and want to drink it in the hot sun by an ocean, lake or pool this would be a whiskey for you.

I received this bottle as a gift from “Disco Stu” of Dallas, Texas for my wedding. I am very much appreciative of the gift. I needed a few drinks of this whiskey while we were planning the big day.

Priced around $45 and good for a sweeter American styled bourbon whiskey.

If you like it, drink it! – Christopher

If you like it, drink it!

Jim Beam Vanilla

November 25, 2020 America

Name: Jim Beam Vanilla

Color: Light Brown

Nose: Vanilla chemicals

Taste: Sweet vanilla, cream, chemicals

Review:

Jim Beam Vanilla is another one of these chemical flavor whiskeys/liqueurs that cannot be drank straight. It is similar to Red Stag as it is all chemicals and would only go with a coke mixer and not much more.

Just another chemical produced mixer and tastes like shit. I regret trying this stuff.

Priced around $25 and I would not drink it.

If you like it, drink it! – Christopher

If you like it, drink it!

Bulleit Rye American Whiskey

November 24, 2020 America

Name: Bulleit Rye

Color: Light Brown

Nose: Pepper, spice, caramel

Taste: Rye spice, pepper, cloves, cinnamon, rougher taste profile

Review:

This is my preferred Rye Whiskey for an Old Fashion cocktail when out on the town or at home. Sometimes I make a “modern” Old Fashioned with all the trimmings and sometimes I prefer the “Etheridge Old Fashioned”. Named after my late friend Mark Etheridge who passed away a year ago this month, kept his cocktail simple. No cherries, no mashing of fruit in sugar with too much bitters. He just filled a glass with ice, two dashes of bitters, pinch of sugar, rye whiskey, and a peal of orange to make a tasty drink.

Bulleit Rye has nice crisp, yet rough pepper taste from the rye grain and as a mixer, it is great if you like this type of flavor profile. If you prefer drinking your whiskey neat or on the rocks, this would not be the rye whiskey for you. Bulleit has other brands like their 10 Year Old or Blade & Bow and are both very nice when served neat.

I have been on the Bulleit distillery tour in Kentucky. It is not as charming as Woodford’s setup up, but more realistic to what goes into creating whiskey. It was a good tour and they offer more some samples at the end than Woodford.

The price range is $28-35 for a 750ml bottle and well worth it to buy as drink in the bar or a bottle for your home.

If you like it, drink it! – Christopher

If you like it, drink it!

Maker’s Mark Private Select Bourbon

November 18, 2020 America

Name: Maker’s Mark Private Select Bourbon

Color: Brown

Nose: Caramel sweet, corn, light wood

Taste: Wheat, wood, caramel, strong alcohol

Review:

Maker’s Mark Private Select Bourbon is another in a growing line of expressions from Maker’s Distillery in Kentucky, USA. The mash bill is 70% corn, 16% Red Winter Wheat, and 15% Malted Barley. The bourbon is aged 5-3/4 to 7 years in a limestone cellar which is not really impressive since most of Kentucky is limestone. Private Select is bottled non-aged stated and ranges from 54% to 57% abv (108-114 proof). In this expression ten custom wood staves are added to each barrel to create a unique flavor profile. The combination of the 10 different staves and can be customized with 5 different flavor profiles with a retail partner to produce a desired taste. After the barrel is finished, and some creative math is calculated, it gives 1,001 flavor combinations with this expression. I guess they did carry the “1”.

So in summary, it is Maker’s Mark high proof bourbon with special pieces of wood for flavor that is bottled with less water in it. I know this because the price difference is scaled with proof and label.

Scale in % abv versus price:

Maker’s Mark: 45% abv = $35
Maker’s 46: 47% abv = $45
Maker’s Cask Strength: 55+% abv = $65
Maker’s Private Select: 54-57% abv = $75

Maker’s Cask Strength Bourbon with special wood to create something different is different, but is still kind of the same stuff. The secret about Maker’s Mark (besides the wheat) is the is amount of water and marketing. Less water means higher proof and a little Mad Men Marketing and there ya go! You can drink Maker’s Cask Strength for less and the high proof will make it difficult to determine the flavor profile without water to cut it for the average drinker. This is the kind of bourbon I like to make my high-quality cocktails with.

Priced around $75 and worth the money if you got it the money or want to give “more specialer” gift to someone.

If you like it, drink it! – Christopher

If you like it, drink it!

Jack Daniels Fire

October 14, 2020 America

Name: Jack Daniels Fire

Color: Light Brown

Nose: Cinnamon, chemicals, red hot candy

Taste: Same as nose

Review:

Jack Daniels Fire is a red-hot candy cinnamon shit. This shit is worse than Fire Ball Whiskey and Jack Daniels should be embarrassed they created this stuff. You can not even taste the classic Jack Daniels whiskey flavor.

I would not drink this stuff.

Priced around “fuck me and holy shit balls, I would rather drink turpentine” aka $30.

If you like it, drink it! – Christopher

If you like it, drink it!

Pikesville Straight Rye Whiskey

October 12, 2020 America

Nose: Rye spice, orange, vanilla, light oak

Taste: Spices, orange, vanilla, cloves, honey cream

Review:

Pikesville Straight Rye Whiskey is made by Heaven Hill, aged for 6 years and bottled at 110 proof. The mash bill is 51% rye, 39% corn, and 10% malted barley. It has that spicy thick flavor on the tongue due to the mash bill and alcohol level so you get a lot of “bang for your buck”.

This high proof on Pikesville Rye allows it to hold its own corner of the Rye Whiskey market. Rye might be one of the original grains to create whiskey, but it is not that popular as compared to corn and barley. I do not see a lot of Rye on the shelves, nor do I see many at 110 proof. Pikesville appears to have found a good area of the market.

Pikesville was first produced in Maryland in the 1890’s but its production came to an end in the early 1970’s. Today it is produced by Heaven Hill (Elijah Craig, Larceny, Evan Williams, etc.) and distilled by the Bernheim Distillery. In 2015 and 2016 it won some awards, but the more I learn about whiskey awards the less I trust them. I’ve come to believe it is all bought and paid for ahead of time.

Pikesville Rye is nice stuff and I was surprised by it in a good way. The burn on the tongue is not too bad at 110 proof. Naturally, the high proof requires a little water to soften the whiskey and let the flavors out. You could drink Pikesville neat or with a splash of water, but it would be far better in a cocktail.

Price around $50 and worth it if you like a rye whiskey cocktail.

If you like it, drink it! – Christopher

If you like it, drink it!

Jim Bean Apple

September 16, 2020 America

Name: Jim Bean Apple

Color: Yellow brown

Nose: Tart chemical apple, candy sweet

Taste: Chemical sweet apple, candy sweet

Review:

Holy fucking shit this crap is awful. (And yes, I know it is not really whiskey)

Priced around $25 and tastes like shit. Good for a shitty cocktail at Chili’s or TGI Fridays bar.

The end.

If you like it, drink it! – Christopher

P.s. Do not drink this shit.

If you like it, drink it!

Willet Straight Rye Whiskey

Knob Creek Straight Rye

Kozuba Starkus Rye (Vodka)

TX Blended Whiskey

Jim Beam Vanilla

Bulleit Rye American Whiskey

Maker’s Mark Private Select Bourbon

Jack Daniels Fire

Pikesville Straight Rye Whiskey

Jim Bean Apple

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