Chalonda & Nkosi 1/29/22 Chalonda & Nkosi 1/29/22

I.W. Harper 15 - Anywhere, Anytime, Always A Pleasure

***15yrs Old, 86 Proof, Kentucky Straight Bourbon***

Easily the best looking bottle on either bar at the pad is this one. I.W. Harper has a 4yr offering and a 12 yr Japan release but nothing looks quite like that 15yr. The brand had been away for 20yrs as Diageo discontinued it stateside back in the 90s. During that time it became quite the household name internationally. By 1966 I.W. Harper was sold in 119 countries.

Took this for a ride over the summer at The Loyalist in West Loop as a nightcap. At 86 proof it ranks as one of the most intense, big flavor small proof offerings maybe ever. Fruit perseveres followed by bitter oak are most present on the palette. Big fan of the way vanilla seems to weave its way throughout every sip.

The story goes that Issac Wolfe Bernheim actually chose the surname Harper because he thought it was more marketable. You might recognize the Bernheim Whiskey name today as its a part of the Heaven Hill family of releases (yes, it’s named after the same guy).

With undeniable notes of pear, toffee, honey, apple and bright citrus this bottle is sure to find a home on most any bar. To be fair Buffalo Trace compares quite nicely in a head to head with this release and that bottle is $26 compared to this one which is closer $80.

—The Neat Pour

Other Notes:

Diageo is also the parent company of Captain Morgan’s Rum and Guinness in the US.

***Easily The Best Looking Bottle On The Bar***

***Pear. Toffee. Honey. Apple and Bright Citrus Notes***

Chalonda & Nkosi 9/14/21 Chalonda & Nkosi 9/14/21

The Ballad of Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Special Release Tennessee Rye

For most collectors, the idea of Jack Daniel’s making a whiskey that gets the nerds excited is not even comprehensible. But here we are with an absolute hitter of a cask strength rye from the top selling whiskey producer on the planet. For those keeping score at home Jack Daniel’s is the most sold whiskey worldwide by volume.

The top selling bourbon worldwide is Jim Beam white label. The top selling bourbon in the U.S. alone is Evan Willams white label. So Brown Forman’s Jack Daniel’s Old Number 7 (black label) is top of the food chain overall for whiskey sales.

Now that we’ve got that out the way, this is very much a well crafted rye. The charcoal mellowing, Lincoln County Process that Jack is famous for actually strips corn aromas and barrel astringency from the finished product.

It’s very much akin the ‘beechwood aging’ Budweiser is known for..these steps are design to remove flavor from the finished offering. Jack Daniels reps refer to it as ‘removing the peanuts from the Snickers to create a Milky Way’.

JDSBSRBPR is the Lynchburg, TN crew’s fifth rye release. Unaged Rye (2012, Rested Rye (2014) Single Barrel Rye (2016) and Tennesee Rye (2017) This 2020 release is in single barrel form with proofs ranging from 125-140. Barrels were aged at the highest floors in the rickhouse.

For what it’s worth, the Four Gate Whiskey Company’s River Kelvin Rye Cask Strength Straight Rye Whiskey by comparison is a much more well integrated product. Theres no sharp edges of oak or decadent fruit cake notes like the JD Rye.

The 95% Rye, 5% Malted Barley of the Four Gate is more about mint, lemon zest, and slight hints of dill in a very balanced and seamless offering.

The company is releasing this whiskey with no barrel finish for a reason. They plan to offer at least two different finishing styles over the next year. The plan is to let customers taste the base rye as well as finished releases in the future.

***Four Gate River Kelvin Rye. Cask Strength. Aged 7 Yrs.***

Other Notes

Only 1484 bottles of the River Kelvin Rye were produced at 113.2 proof.
We compared Jack Daniel’s Special Reserve Barrel Proof Rye to the Four Gate Cask Strength River Kelvin Rye on Episode 46 of The Neat Pour Podcast.

***Afro Beer Chick. One Half of The Neat Pour Podcast***

***Podcast Ep. 47 It’s All About the Rye***

Chalonda & Nkosi 5/15/21 Chalonda & Nkosi 5/15/21

The Illustrious FEW Spirits, Evanston, IL

We were at The Ritz Carlton Hotel on the Mag Mile in Downtown Chicago the first time we understood how serious this FEW Spirits thing was. The distillery made a barrel for them aged on Benedictine. The hotel rinses your glass with absinthe before serving…this was back in 2013!

We all know Koval to be the first Chicago distillery since prohibition but we find ourselves drinking more FEW over the calendar year than any other local spirit. The distillery and their speakeasy tasting room are a mile north of The Neat Pour Studios. This week on The Neat Pour Podcast we spotlight the Imortal Rye Whiskey from FEW. This rye whiskey is proofed down to 93 with cold extracted 8 Immortals Oolong Tea.

**Pre-Prohibition Inspired, Small Batch Spirits**

At the recent San Francisco World Spirits Competition the Evanston crew took home no less than five awards including a Silver for Immortal Rye

FEW Straight Bourbon (GOLD)

FEW Straight Rye Whiskey (GOLD)

FEW American Blended Whiskey (BRONZE)

FEW Cold Cut Whiskey (proofed with cold brewed coffee) (SILVER)

FEW Immortal Rye Whiskey (SILVER)

**200ML Sizes of Core Offerings, 3 for $100**

We love that this small operation is the definition of craft, taking chances with mind bending interpretations of whiskey styles with wonderful execution. The Immortal Rye is like nothing on the home bar. An eye opening experiences that bring excitement to the category. In Chicago all their releases are readily available at retail chains. The tasting room is literally down a nondescript alley just a few blocks from Sketchbook Brewing up in E-Town.

F.E.W, is named after the founder of the Evanston Women’s Temperance Union, Frances Elizabeth Willard. Cocktails are served in the same 200ML glass bottles that the you can purchase the spirits in.

I’d advise anyone looking to escape occupied Chicago to pay them a visit. Icons of Whisky named FEW named few the most sustainable distillery of 2021.

Cocktails we enjoyed during our visit.

Boulevardier (FEW Whiskey Italian Wine Barrel Finished, Cappelletti Italian Bitter, Dollin Sweet Vermouth)

The Dude Abides (FEW Cold Cut Bourbon, St George Coffee Liqueur, Orgeat, Chocolate Bitters)

Tropic Thunder (FEW Barrel Gin Infused w Toasted Coconut, Passionfruit Syrup, Falernum, Lemon Juice)

918 Sour ( FEW Straight Bourbon, Chai and English Breakfast Tea Syrup, Lemon Juice, Angostura Bitters)

The Last Word (FEW Breakfast Gin, Green Chartreuse, Luxardo Maraschino, Lime Juice)

—The Neat Pour

Be sure to check out Episode 38 of The Neat Pour Podcast for our full thoughts on the Immortal Rye

**Few Things In Life Are Better Than English Breakfast Gin**

**Statue of the Republic, Chicago World’s Fair 1893**

Chalonda & Nkosi 2/6/21 Chalonda & Nkosi 2/6/21

Buffalo Trace’s Most Awarded Bourbon

When you hear bourbon dignitaries like Jimmy Russell or Booker Noe talk about Elmer T. Lee and their relationship with him, its always “Elmer over at Ancient Age”. That was the nickname of the Frankfort, KY facility when their Master Distiller Emeritus was in charge during the Age International era.

It was Elmer who had convinced ownership to invest into the infrastructure and consider entering foreign markets. Blanton’s was born in that time as the world’s first single barrel named after his mentor Albert Bacon Blanton..the space was known as the George T. Stagg Distillery when Albert Blanton ran the show.

Stagg Jr and George T. Stagg were the features this week on Episode 25 of The Neat Pour Podcast. Stagg Jr. is oddly a higher proof than it’s Antique Collection sibling GTS. Every week for whiskey Wednesday Master Taster, Drew Mayberry and Master Distiller, Harlan Wheatley often describe George T. Stagg as the finest example of what they are capable of producing as a distillery. As well as referring to it as the most awarded whiskey in their legendary lineup.

George T. Stagg is regarded as the man responsible for expanding E.H. Taylor’s Old Fire Copper Distillery (now known as Buffalo Trace)and making it a financially stable operation.

It’s quite literally the flagship bourbon over there. Buffalo Trace Bourbon is a 90 proof, 8yr expression of Stagg Jr. You don’t often think of those two brands as being the same mashbill but it speaks to the variables of location in warehouse, time in barrel, and proof drastically changing a flavor profile.

Buffalo Trace is and mashbill 1 mate Stagg Jr.

Where Chalonda prefers Jr at 128 proof, Nik adores the restrained excellence of Big Stagg. I’m guessing because our first dance with Jr led to her making these extra large lemonade ice cubes to tame Stagg Jr. This combo ended up being the soundtrack of the summer last year.

George T. Stagg has all the botanicals and black cherry soda vibration of its younger counterpart. Theres an underlying molasses and fig sensation that rounds out the palate in Sr. that makes it undeniable.

We talk about Sazerac products all the time on this channel. I can say without any hesitation that George T. Stagg and Thomas H. Handy, two monumental real life figures in the Sazerac/ Buffalo Trace lineage are also the only two whiskeys I don’t regret paying near secondary pricing for.

In fact they seem to either remain at that same top tier experience even as the bottle reaches below the neck, and even to the halfway point. Its still just as good as the first sip. Not all the bourbons we sample are out here making that small but much appreciated moment happen.

—The Neat Pour