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The post above which links to this post reminded me why I tend not to buy Gosling's. Spirit companies simply shouldn't be allowed to trademark cocktails, even if they "invented" them. Which saves me a bit of money as I had been toying with the idea of getting a bottle of the Goslings' Family Reserve Old rum. Maybe it is good but I probably won't make the effort to find out. Gosling still holds a place with Pusser's in my mental penalty box and the clock is still ticking. Besdies, there are plenty of other rums in the sea!

Yes, I did have a few splits around but didn't replace them when I used them up. Will have to keep an eye out for something decent in the junior size bottle.

Interesting. Might it warrant a trial with lime juice instead of lemon? I would likely also explore the use of a reposado to see if it adds a touch of depth. Between the maraschino and chartreuse it might already have plenty of bite to it. In any case there seems to be room to play!

Well to be fair I did say "trying"! The new Rye 101 seems to lacking compared to the pre shortage bottles (no personal experience to go on) and if you are finding it at under $30 for the new liter you seem to be getting a good price. I am hereing reports of close to $40 in some places (the original Rye 101 was reportedly at or below $20 for a 750ml). The Rye 81 that had replaced it has been routinely described as poor in the whiskey circles I frequent along with the equally bad and overpriced Forgiven which would seem to be better off if named Forgotten. I am not a big WT drinker in general so I don't have a plethora of experience although I did not care for either the Rye 81 (especially compared to the original Rye 101) or the Forgiven. The Forgiven in particular has been the butt of many jokes about the alleged story of how it came to be as well as how bad it is. And can anyone tell me exactly what the heck Russell's Reserve Small Batch Single Barrel is??? Is it small batch? Is it single barrel? Is it some sort of bizarre hybrid? And if so how the heck do you do that? General consensus among hardcore WT drinkers that i hear from is that qualtiy in general has declined since Camapari took over in about 2009 to a greater degree than other major distilleries. Most feel the flagship line has gotten increasingly younger and less enjoyable. The 10 yo Russell's Reserve line that was intended to be an "upscale line" started at 101 proof I believe but was soon cut to 90 proof (although this was before Campari took over I think). Campari then put out a single barrel RR line at the more traditional 101 but decided to make it a no age statement whiskey which seemed to disappoint mant loyal WT fans. Seems like the primary people Campari has chosen to live up to their classy slogan to "give 'em the bird" is their loyal fans from everything they seem to say about it lately. Although that said there seems to be a bit of an improvement in the minds of WT enthusiasts in the past few months. Not really sure what is driving that.

I say damn the Elderflowers, full speed ahead! You liked it before so try it at home as written. Then if you don't like it the way they reportedly make it in the link then you can always start dialing back various ingredients. If i could find enough people to help me drink a bottle of champagne, either in this, some other concoction or on its own, I would consider giving it a try. I just hate to open a bottle and not be able to finish it.

Although to be fair, while W&N own Appleton and have owned it for a long time, Appleton is still largely made on the original estate where it started to my knowledge and seems to not be overly meddled with. Will just have to see what Campari does.

Yes, they have a near monopoly on Jamaican rum. And they in turn were recently bought by Gruppo Campari which is one of the big boys in the liquor world. They have a done a pretty good job of trying to run Wild Turkey into the ground so it will be interesting to see what they do with rum.

Sounds intriguing but a bit of a curious mixture for a "Jamaican" rum mix given Banks 7 is only partly Jamaican rum and there is none in Blackstrap. I don't really think of Jaimacain style as so much being heavy on molases as being heavy on the pot still funk that sets S&C apart and is also found in Banks to a lesser degree from the combination of pot still and batavia arrack. But the Blackstrap runs the risk of hiding the very hogo one is presumably looking for. I suppose it gives it the color of Myers dark rum with a good bit more depth and character than present day Myers has!

I was most familiar with the terms "industrial" vs "artisian" cachaça (such is the distinction found on wiki anyway). I don't seem to find a lot of information about them here in general and it seems like they have struggled to make a significant foothold in the US market beyond the novelty of the capirinha, much like rhum agricole has struggled. Finding an aged cachaça beyond about two years has generally been impossible for me and that is where my primary interest lies. Maybe the recent agreement to recognize it as cachaça, as it should be, rather than as "Brazilian rum", will help improve sales. But for now, with the exception of Leblon, the aguardente's (51, Pitú, Ypioca) or the brands created specifically for the US market like Mãe de Ouro and Novo Fogo seem to be the main ones available and none of them have particularly filled me with enthusiasm. Neither has Leblon for that matter. For now if I am looking for that general taste profile I am perfectly fine turning to a nice white rhum agricole.

I certainly agree you have to read Spirits Journal with the recognition that it is advertising products as much as it is providing information. Cruzan Blackstrap is a good example (Gosling Black seal is another) of where it can be beneficial to add additional components to the base spirit especially for use in certain cocktails. It just needs to be required to be labeled as such. Cruzan certainly won't tell you that it has lots of additional molasses extract added to it, preferring to let you think this how it came off the still with 2 years of aging.

True enough. Clement single cask rhum is a good example of a spirit that could well confuse a drinker because of its very whiskey like profile and lack of alteration. But it doesn't taste completely sugar free even though it is very dry anymore than a good bourbon does and we know neither of those can have sugar added. I do wonder about those tests done in Europe and what types of sugar they test for. Some products come up with zero sugar and yet no matter how dry it may test I find it hard to believe a product aged in barrels has no sugar in it at all. Are they also testing for xylose, lactose, galactose, mannose, etc? Is there a link for those government reports on sugar content? One of the purposes of putting anything in a barrel for aging is to pull the wood sugars out. The char used in bourbon barrels helps to pull the sugar forward and caramelize it a bit as I understand it. The high temperature of Caribbean means spirit may expand deeper into the wood and then return in cool of the evening. A high variation in temperature over time and even day by day can only help wring every bit of goodness from a barrel. Since El Dorado reconditions their barrels by stripping old char from used bourbon barrels and exposing fresh oak and fairly frequently reracks them I think they would get lots of opportunity to pull as much sugar in from the barrel as possible. I suspect this what is meant about the evaporation/"Angel's Share" comment. Water is evaporating from the barrel but most of the alcohol expands into the barrels and then returns to the distillate bringing lots of barrel influences, including sugar, back with it and then gets rather concentrated. So I think there is a lot of natural sweetness developing in any barrel aged spirit. Does it also get an assist, maybe a big one, from the distiller to have such a high sugar content? Possibly so. But I choose to turn a blind eye! From the Spirits Journal post:

I still hold out hope that the sugar content of El Dorado in general is more natural than added. I am not a distiller nor do I play one on TV. But it sounds like the unique variety of stills available at DDL can certainly allow one to make a base distillate full of esters that is very sweet and fruity in character if one so chooses, especially on the Savalle still. And all that heat and humidity seems likely to be capable of pulling every last ounce of sugar left in the barrels. They are just too unique for some sort of magic not to happen! And besides, there hasn't been a spirit made yet that was "too sweet" for me, no matter what I have been drinking before!

Willet Family Estate bottles in almost all forms is seems to be getting a bit scarce of late. Bulleit is perfectly adequate in cocktails to me. Could wish for a bit more proof but what can you do? What do you think of the Gosling's Old Rum on its own? Been awhile since I had it and was contemplating getting a bottle of my own. They tend to be a bit scarce and you have to buy when the opportunity presents itself!

I agree. I tried it neat recently and almost couldn't finish it. It was a shame; the sweetness masked a lot of the greath depth of flavor it brings to mixed drinks. ED15 is better for sipping, with the oak balancing some of the sweetness and all of the rich, tobacco-y flavor coming through. Sometimes Rafa you just have to let the bitter side slip away and sharpen up that sweet tooth! ED12 is made just for those times. Unless of course I have some Navarre Pineau des Charentes Vieux handy. Yum!

Perhaps in part because the Old Grand-Dad is one of only two lines of bourbon that Beam makes with a different mashbill. They retained the mashbill (not sure about the yeast though) when they aquired OGD from National Distillers back in the 80's. Every other Beam bourbon is made with a single but different mashbill. The OGD mashbill is nearly twice as high in rye content than the standard Beam mashbill. Interestingly the "old grand dad" in question is Basil Hayden, Sr., and the mashbill is higher in rye because that was what Basil Hayden was known for when he made his whiskey in the late 1700's. And of course the only other bourbon using the Old Grand Dad mashbill is Beam's Basil Hayden's bourbon which was created shortly after Beam acquired OGD. Old Grand-Dad used to be 86, 100 and 114 proof but the 86 was recently lowered to 80, the same proof as the current Basil Hayden's bourbon, leading to speculaton that Old Grand-Dad 80 proof will disappear. The only difference is that OGD is typically around 6 years old while Basil is 8 years old. And costs more! .

If it is the one I know of it then that is a pretty good friend! Is it an amber spirit in a kind of bell shaped jar? If so it has been aged for many years and is a "sipping" cachaça. I personally wouldn't use it to make a caipirinha without at least trying it as is first. But its your bottle!

I need to try this. I bought El Dorado 12 for mixing in tiki drinks but I find it almost too smooth and sweet for that purpose, and prefer to use the 5 instead. Favorite use of the 12 so far has been the Hotel Room Temperature from beta cocktails. My favorite use of ED12 (and 15 and 21..) is in the glass all by its lonesome! I hear you... That sounds like the perfect nightcap. For those curious to dig a little deeper into the DDL world (makers of El Dorado) you might enjoy the series of articles on K&L wines Spirits Journal by David Driscoll. He is in Guyana at this very moment and blogging from the front lines!

Angel's Envy is MGPI. But its time spent in Ferrand rum casks (which previously held Ferrand cognac as well) makes it very much different from the usual MGPI rye. It becomes a dessert cocktail in a glass with a delightful sweetness that is pretty unique for a whiskey that has only been finished and not had something else added to it. I like McKenzie as well (it is also a finished whiskey, in this case aged in well seasoned casks and finished briefly in locally made sherry style wine casks) but it is a pretty delicate rye as well. You might look to the Willet 4yo higher proof rye bottlings of MGPI rye (if you can find them) for your punch if you want to to have some punch! Did you use the Gosling's Family Reserve Old Rum in this? I can see how that might bury another spirit. And the Goslings Black Seal with its heavy molasses component (like Cruzan Blackstrap) is likely to really dominate a drink. The Appleton, which is a bit whiskey like anyway, seems much more likely to play nice with a rye in a cocktail. Knob Creek and Rittenhouse (and Wild Turkey) are all "low rye" ryes. Good but perhaps a little less rye "spice". I am pretty sure Woodford doesn't make a rye other than the Master's Collection ryes from a couple of years ago. Absolutely nothing wrong with MGPI rye for cocktails in my opinion. Bulleit or Redemption (Redemption also just released a somewhat spendy barrel proof 6yo MGPI rye) are both MGPI ryes but the over proof Willet MGPI rye, if they can be found, are usually mid/upper $30's (locally anyway) and quite useful for cocktails.

I need to try this. I bought El Dorado 12 for mixing in tiki drinks but I find it almost too smooth and sweet for that purpose, and prefer to use the 5 instead. Favorite use of the 12 so far has been the Hotel Room Temperature from beta cocktails. My favorite use of ED12 (and 15 and 21..) is in the glass all by its lonesome!

Will be interested to hear your thoughts once you have tried it. I really like it but recognize every palate is different! I tried a free sample at Astor Wines. Perhaps my palate was just tired that day, but I found it tasted very young, with bright and sharp malt flavors, albeit with the same wonderfully thick mouthfeel as Ransom's Old Tom. It wasn't as complicated, or as Irish-tasting, as I had hoped, and if the oats contributed any novel notes I didn't pick up on them. I'll have to do a more proper tasting soon to see whether it was just me or the poor tasting conditions (out of a plastic cup early on a Saturday afternoon). I'll have to see if Dead Rabbit, the bar nearest my office, carries it, though I think it might be insulting to order an American imitation of Irish whiskey at a bar that prides itself on its selection of authentic Irish. I suppose it is hard to completely cover its youth, especially with that much unmalted barley in there, but I thought it was more mature overall than its actual age of 3 years. As you note it has a really nice mouthfeel. I don't know that the oats stand out but was surmising they played a role in that mouthfeel the whiskey has at such a young age. I like sharp malty barley notes when they are integrated well (at least I thought they worked well) so that was part of the appeal for me. I didn't think they were too excessive but you certainly can't miss them! I found some similarity to current single pot still whiskey but I agree it is different from any current Irish on the market now. Whether it tastes the way Irish might have 150 years ago would just be speculation on my part! Will be interested to see what you think if you get to try it again under more "favorable" tasting conditions. Personally I hate little plastic tasting cups and routinely carry my own glass around with me when I know I am at an event where I might be trying whiskey! Yeah, I know I am a snob but I have reached an age where I don't much care anymore!

It is a pretty common topic on the bourbon/rye boards that I frequent. The change occurred quietly maybe about a year ago and the general consensus is that the 3yo is dreadful and a significant change from the prior 4yo. I have no personal experience with the 3yo. The 4yo was OK but nothing all that special. Apparently it was once upon a time quite good before Beam go hold of it. The current Old Overholt is Beam rye and to get more age and a bit more proof one should probably consider Knob Creek 100 proof. Old Overholt is a legendary brand name in American rye whiskey that is apparently being allowed to slowly fade into the sunset which is kind of sad. For a bit more history Chuck Cowdery talked about it a bit in this blog post. http://chuckcowdery.blogspot.com/2011/08/old-overholt-rye-whiskeys-grand-old-man.html

Interesting, I don't as much Old Tom as I get a high malt jenever. I suppose it could be a bit of a cross between the two perhaps?

From "CrispyCritter" on StraightBourbon.com Posted in August 2007. I don't know CrispyCritter so other than the fact he lists his location as the Chicago burbs which is already mentioned I can't provide any further details. Doesn't appear he has posted on SB in about a year.

Mysterious indeed! On the very same day an interesting Australian whiskey showed up on my doorstep on the other side of the globe. Can't imagine how that happened! But it looks like fun.

What they don't know won't hurt them! Unless it 'splodes...