An Afternoon at St. Augustine Distillery

It took me far too long to get there, but I finally paid a visit to the St. Augustine Distillery in, surprise, St. Augustine, Florida. Purported to be the first bourbon distilled, aged, and bottled in Florida, it seems almost too fortuitous that they waited for me to move to Florida to put some in…

Around the Barrel #6

So we have risen like the proverbial phoenix and are back with a podcast just for you, our loyal Crusaders. A little something to brighten your Friday commute. On this cast we do a tasting of some fantastic Knobs…(Knob Creek Single Barrels) and talk about some of the happenings since we last recorded. We hope you…

Review: The Hilhaven Lodge Blended Whiskey!

Well, bourbon and whiskey in general are the bee’s knees today. Everyone wants to try their hand at it. Rush Hour, Rush Hour 2, and Rush Hour 3 director Brett Ratner is no exception. After buying the Hilhaven Lodge, an exclusive home in Beverly Hills which has been owned by many a star of the…

The Great American Whiskey Fair 2016

Hello, fellow Bourbon Crusaders! We’re back! After what has been a harrowing year in our private lives worthy of a soap opera, we are finally back in the saddle of bourbon writing  and pod casting for your pleasure and edification. Once again, I was able to attend the Great American Whiskey Fair here in Columbia,…

The Grand Podcast

Hello, Crusaders! We had ourselves one helluva time this past week on the Rogue Buss and at the Bourbon Classic in Louisville, KY. We had the opportunity to record a cast with some of our favorite people, and we’re happy to share it with you! In it, we talk about some of our experiences during…

The Science of Hangover Cures

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT MEDICAL ADVICE. What is a hangover? The truth is we don’t really know. We all know the symptoms: headache, lack of appetite, fatigue, nausea, jitters, just feeling like crap, etc.. Some estimates put the cost in terms of poor work performance in the billions of dollars range. Yet, despite years of…

Bourbon phone notification sounds

Just for fun I decided to record a couple bourbon sounds to use for text message sounds on my phone. I thought I would share them with you guys. One is a cork popping, and the other is a cork popping with a pouring sound. Enjoy! Cork Cork with pour

Old Hickory Great American Whiskey and Bourbon

So it has been essentially two years since we started Bottom of the Barrel Bourbon Podcast and Blog, and let us tell you, it has been quite the experience. We had no idea how much fun it would be, how much we would learn, how many amazing folks we would meet, and how many great…

If I Had a Benjamin ($100), Darren Edition

A friend and fellow bourbon media colleague, Bill of Modern Thirst, started a group project of sorts with us and several other bourbon media folk. The premise is easy to envision: What would you buy if you had a Benjamin, a $100 bill, to spend on bourbon at the store? Rules: Disregard sales tax, only bourbon,…

If I had a Benjamin ($100)…By Chris

Recently the guys at Modern Thirst proposed a nearly impossible question to a slew of bourbon writers, “If you had $100 to spend on American whiskey, what would you buy right now at your local store?” This sounds like an easy question, but the more I thought about it, the harder it became. Am I…

Better Aging Through Chemistry?

The internet has been all a-twitter lately about various forms of expedited aging in whiskey and bourbon. A majority of the discussion has been about whether or not these accelerated products can still meet the legal definitions of Kentucky Bourbon, Straight Bourbon, or even just plain Bourbon (for more on that aspect, check out Fred…

Our Day at Jim Beam with Fred Noe

If there is one family that could be called the royal family of bourbon, it’s the Beams. For seven generations, starting with Jacob Beam after moving to central Kentucky in 1788, the Beam family, in one way or another, has had a hand in just about every major brand of bourbon out there. Yes, including…

Bonded Mash Madness Results!

Fellow Crusaders, the NCAA Basketball Championship is upon us tonight. I have no idea who the two teams playing in it are though. So since the championship game is a letdown, I figured it would be a good night to announce the champion of our Bonded Mash Madness! Darren and I both did the entire…

I.W. Harper Returns to the U.S.

Hello, fellow Crusaders! Yesterday I was fortunate enough to be at the formal coming out party for the upcoming new I.W. Harper releases. “But wait, I know that brand,” some of you might be saying–particularly if you or your drinking buddies spent anytime overseas or in the military. The I.W. Harper brand has been dormant in…

Bonded Mash Madness!

Fellow Crusaders, it is approaching that particular time of year where we all go a little crazy over college basketball. In that spirit, we’ve created a little challenge to pit bottled-in-bond bourbons against one another in a tournament of champions. So as to not ruin the surprise, and allow you to try it for yourself…

Interview with author Albert W. A. Schmid!

Fellow Bourbon Crusaders, we were lucky enough to get to sit down and talk with Albert Schmid, author of The Old Fashioned: An Essential Guide to the Original Whiskey Cocktail and the Gourmand Award winning The Kentucky Bourbon Cookbook. We first met Albert at a book signing in Lexington, KY about two years ago, and we…

Around the Barrel #3: The Bourbon Classic

Fellow Bourbon Crusaders, you’ve been hearing about it for months, and now we finally get to tell you about it: The Bourbon Classic! It was a whirlwind of a week, but we couldn’t imagine having much more fun. In this ATB, we talk about the highlights of our experience at a slew of distilleries as…

The Pon Farr Shot in honor of the life of Leonard Nimoy

We at Bottom of the Barrel salute the life of Leonard Nimoy. At the urging of a friend and fellow Trek fan, we bring you the Pon Farr shot, from the “Amok Time” episode of the Original Series. 1 dash orange bitters and a splash of Cointreau (or Gran Gala or triple sec of choice),…

First Stop, Barton 1792 Distillery

Our first stop on the Bourbon Classic Media Camp tour was the Barton 1792 Distillery. It, like many present day distilleries, has an interesting history complete with several ownership changes, expansions, and setbacks. Nestled in the heart of Bourbon Country, Bardstown, KY, they currently produce several brands of bourbon including Very Old Barton and Kentucky…

Around the Barrel #2

Hello fellow Bourbon Crusaders! We’re back with another edition of Around the Barrel! If you want to know why we said Crusaders instead of Evangelists, you’ll just have to listen and find out. In this episode we talk about the Four Magic Words in bourbon (Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey), how we choose a bottle we…

1792 Ridgemont Reseve and Knob Creek Single Barrel Store Select vs. Retail

Having recently been very impressed by a couple store-selected single barrel bourbons (in particular a Kroger 1792 and a Liquor Barn Russel’s Reserve), I thought it would be interesting to see what difference there is in a name. Specifically, the name of someone’s store on a bottle. I’ve often placated myself that master distillers would always…

We Bring You, The News!

In an effort to continue our focus on giving you the primary sources whenever possible, we’ve started a new page on the site: News! We wanted to be able to bring you the latest (confirmed) bourbon news, yet keep the main page clutter-free and limited to podcasts, content pieces, and the occasional review. Our solution is…

New TTB Whiskey Labeling Guidelines

If you’ve been paying any attention in the last year, you’ve heard of all the hubbub about correctly labeling whiskey, and more specifically bourbon. A lot of this has had to do with where something is distilled versus where it is produced/bottled. We’re looking at you Templeton Rye. Something that has been somewhat more nebulous…

Around the Barrel #1

Hello, fellow Bourbon Evangelists! We’re back with a little something new for you. Sort of like our version of the Fireside Chat, we bring you the first Around the Barrel cast! In an effort to record more often and get information to you in a more timely manner, we’ve decided to start doing some casts in-between…

The Bourbon Classic

We can officially announce that we’ll be covering the Bourbon Classic February 20-21st in Louisville! This is basically bourbon nirvana, so we highly recommend you check it out. If you’re planning to come, let us know and we’ll meet up for some of the good stuff! More info to come later. Here’s the link! The…

Blind Wheated Bourbon Tasting by Chris

Greetings fellow Bourbon Evangelists! We’ve been mostly dark over the holidays. We’ve both been hanging out with family and I’ve been dealing with an obscene amount of paperwork. While we finish up Part 2 of the Prohibition extravaganza, I thought I’d post an interesting little activity I did over the break. I was perusing my…

Old Taylor 6 Year: Then and Now

The Old Taylor brand of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey has been around for quite a long time. It’s namesake, the revered Col. E. H. Taylor, Jr., was one of the most influential characters in the history of our much loved spirit. We briefly spoke on him and his role in the American antebellum bourbon boom…

Kentucky Bourbon Tales

In case you missed it, KET ran an excellent documentary on the people of the bourbon industry tonight called Kentucky Bourbon Tales. It is based on a multitude of interviews taken as an oral history project spearheaded by the Nunn Center at the University of Kentucky. Here is a link to future airings if you…

Better Ice: A New Hope, or Nope?

Update note: Use a glass with angles, i.e. not perfectly round, for best results. Bourbon Evangelists, a new dawn has come for bourbon on the rocks, er, rock, er, slant! In our unending quest for better ice, we made a post some time back about how to make clear ice, and this follows right along…

Our New Bourbon Rating And Rarity Scale

Sorry this took so long to get out, I’ve been procrastinating. Hopefully my Bourbon On The Shelf didn’t notice. Enjoy our new rating scales! Part 1 – Beautiful Bourbon Barrel Scale We are not, primarily, a bourbon review site. There are plenty of people already doing this, and doing it pretty well. We try to…

BOTB’s Favorite Things

Just like Oprah, we have things that we like. Seeing as the holiday season is coming up quickly, we thought it would be a good idea to post some things we’ve enjoyed this year that would please any Bourbon Evangelist or newcomer alike. We tried to keep the list to readily available items and give…

Prohibition Part 1 Podcast!

Hello fellow Bourbon Evangelists! We’re back, finally, and hopefully better than ever! In this cast we take on the first part of Prohibition from Post-Revolutionary America to the ratification of the 18th Amendment. Darren will talk about all his excellent information from the Great American Whiskey Fair in Columbia, SC. Then we also have a…

Thank you! 5K Visitors!

Today we reached 5,000 visitors to the site! Thank you so much fellow Bourbon Evangelists! We know we aren’t the best at updating, but we really do try to put out quality content that gives listeners something a little different. We appreciate you all giving us a reason to drink more bourbon and research it…

How to Make A B-LIT, Our First YouTube Recipe

So we talked about this a long time ago, but finally got around to it. Some of our loyal Bourbon Evangelists suggested we do YouTube videos showing how we make drinks. So here’s our first try with our signature drink, let us know what you think! If you like it, we’ll do more!

We’re On Our Way Back

Fellow Bourbon Evangelists, Our big announcement is that we’re biting the bullet and are going to give you an in-depth study of that horrible, dry, wasteland in our national history: Prohibition. The 18th Amendment to our great Constitution. This topic is big. We aren’t messing around. You will get three (3) sections, over three (3)…

Prohibition Research

Don’t worry fellow Bourbon Evangelists,  we haven’t abandoned you. Darren and I are both hard at work preparing for our big 3 part Prohibition extravaganza. In the mean time, raise a glass to National Bourbon Month. Cheers!

2014 BTAC Release Letters

The particulars of this year’s BTAC (Buffalo Trace Antique Collection) have been floating around on the interwebs today. Here are the official release letters if you’d like more detail. My favorite pictured above.  George T. Stagg William Larue Weller  Eagle Rare 17YO Sazerac 18YO Thomas H. Handy Time to get excited!

Old Weller Antique vs. Maker’s Mark Cask Strength, A Brief Musing

So in the amazing response we’ve had to our Maker’s Mark Cask Strength Review (wow, 3500 visitors came fast), we had an interesting question arise. What would happen if Maker’s Cask Strength was pitted against Old Weller Antique 107. Here are my brief thoughts: The noses are remarkably similar. I do pick up the slightly…

Maker’s Mark Cask Strength Review

OK, so you guys know we don’t do traditional written reviews on this site (mostly because so many people are already doing that), but this is an exception. I haven’t really seen anything about the new Maker’s Mark Cask Strength out on the interwebs, and I’ve been excited about it for quite some time having…

Four Roses 2014 Small Batch Limited Edition Announced

Thanks to the good people over at BourbonBlog, we now know the recipe for this year’s Four Roses barrel proof small batch release. They’re combining 13-year-old OBSV, 12-year-old OESV, 11-year-old OBSF and 9-year-old OBSK. They’re also going to be releasing a lot more bottles this time around, with 11,000 reported instead of last year’s 8,000. Knowing…

Update and Maker’s Mark Cask Strength Countdown

Hello fellow Bourbon Evangelists! Darren and I wanted to give you a little update about why it’s been so long since we uploaded a full cast and some upcoming highlights. Darren is currently, and has been for the last 90 days or so, in the horrible purgatory that is studying for a forensic board exam. As…

International Wine and Spirits Competition

  The results from this year’s International Wine and Spirits Competition show a sweep of the golds for Buffalo Trace in the bourbon category.  You all know how much we here at BOTB love Buffalo Trace, but this damn impressive. I combed their website to see how spirits are scored, and they do a series…

Interview with Chris Evans of Bluegrass Tavern

Boy did we have a great time sitting down with one of the legends of Lexington bartending and bourbon curating, Chris Evans of Bluegrass Tavern. We highly recommend checking them out if you are from Lexington of just passing through. Their bourbon collection is nearly impossible to beat and the drinks are strong and well…

The first known recipe book of cocktails

This is really neat to flip through. Published in 1862, it is considered the first book of American cocktail recipes. Enjoy! How to Mix Drinks: Or The Bon-Vivants Companion

Cheers to 2K!

We did it! OK, so actually we’re at more like 2200 thanks to you awesome listeners, but I’ve been too swamped to post. This cast is so much fun for us and we’re glad to have people to share it with! To celebrate, this weekend I will post our interview with Chris Evans of Bluegrass…

2000!

We’re about to hit 2000 visitors to the blog and that makes us as happy as this here pig! (who incidentally belongs to me, her name is Schnitzel): To celebrate, we have a great interview recorded with Chris Evans of Bluegrass Tavern here in Lexington that I’ll try and upload it once we hit the…

1792 New Products

According to the TTB, 1792 has a bunch of new additions that may come out sometime soon. I use hesitant language on purpose because getting a label approved doesn’t mean that things will actually come out. They have labels approved for Small Batch, Single Barrel, Full Proof, Sweet Wheat (a wheated bourbon), and High Rye…

Bourbon Limbo

Listen Here: Bourbon Limbo Minicast Here it is, Bourbon Limbo! We took 5 of the scariest Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskies we could find on the shelf and put them to the test. OK, so we cheated a little and went with the higher proof expressions if they were available. We did this tasting blind, so if…

Past Podcasts Page

So my widgets that were trying to keep a running list of links to our past podcasts on the right-hand side of the page has been non-functional for far to long. In the interest of making it easier for you guys to get to our past stuff, I have created a page on the site…

Bowman Brothers Tasting Minicast

Hello loyal listeners! As promised we did a tasting of some Bowman Brothers offerings. Herein we talk about the Small Batch, Single Barrel, and Double Barrel versions. All great stuff, but give it a listen for our full opinions. We’re joined this time by guest taster Anne Davis! Bowman Brothers tasting here!

A Bourbon Primer

As most things are, this is a work in progress, but here is a little primer on what legally makes bourbon bourbon and an intro to some of the terms used around it. Great for your friends that you’re trying to introduce to our Native Spirit and those of you just wanting a refresher! Enjoy…

Very Important Research

As usual, hard at work for you. Some bourbon from outside Kentucky for a change. Expect a tasting minicast this week with guest taster Anne Davis!

Hard at work

For the next cast we’re playing around with home blends of whiskey. I say whiskey because currently I’m using some Smooth Ambler rye. We’re going to attempt to make some blends that are greater than the sum of their readily available parts. Spoiler alert, some of this is already incredible.

Podcast #5: Bourbon Chemistry and Rye Whiskey

It has been FAR too long. We apologize for our absence, but we really think this is a solid cast. We did a lot of research and have tried to do a thorough explanation of what the flavor compounds are in bourbon and where they come from; down to the molecular level! Special thanks to…

Maker’s Mark Cask Strength

We got one of our rumors right it looks like. This just cleared the TTB, looking forward to seeing it on the shelves. Though I’ll be disappointed if their cask strength hits at 100 proof. https://www.ttbonline.gov/colasonline/viewColaDetails.do?action=publicFormDisplay&ttbid=14099001000035  

The Great Bourbon and Coke Throwdown!

Hurray, we’re finally back on the air! In this mini-cast we tackle the question of whether or not it matters what quality of bourbon you put in your Coke. And we’re using the bourbons you voted for! We’ve both got new audio setups and a new way to interlace the recordings, so hopefully you’ll notice…

Who needs a refill?

Hello loyal listeners! If you’ve been waiting for our Great Bourbon and Coke Throwdown, you aren’t the only one. Darren and I have both been slammed with work and I’ve been busy using all of the kleenex this side of the Mississippi. As soon as I’m able to taste things again and not sound ridiculously nasal…

But, where did the bourbon go?

Sad news when one of the giants starts publicly addressing this: Click to access Buffalo%20Trace%20Updates%20Bourbon%20Inventory%20Shortages%205-8-14%20FINAL.pdf

1000 visitors!!

We hit 1000 unique site views today! Hurray! Thanks so much for listening! As always, we welcome any ideas or suggestions in the comments here or on our Facebook group. Cheers!

Homemade Ginger Syrup

Spring has most definitely sprung here in Kentucky based on the amount I sweat working in the yard this weekend. What better way to cool off then some of your own ginger ale, or in our case, bourbon and ginger. Here’s how I make my ginger simple syrup:   Chris’ Simple Ginger Simple Syrup: One…

Podcast #4: From water to water of life

Hurray, finally! It’s podcast #4. Only took us twice as long as last time. We had some technical difficulties with Skype so please excuse any audio glitches, we tried to fix them. I suppose I should just marvel at the fact that I can video chat with someone 100s of miles away rather than yell…

Smooth Ambler Tasting Minicast

Below freezing weather and long week got you down? Cheer up with our tasting of some Smooth Ambler products. These guys are NDP’s in Maxwelton, WV who don’t hide the fact that they purchase delicious barrels to pass them on to the consumer. Everything I’ve had from them has been pretty impressive, but the single…

Spring has sprung!

The mint finally started coming up in the garden, and that can only mean one thing: the first mint julep of the season! Minicast tasting of Smooth Ambler single barrel and 10 year releases coming soon to the cast! Cheers!

How we taste bourbon

Our first foray into a new medium! See our ugly mugs go through how we taste bourbon, as requested by a loyal listener. We know we’re behind our usual date for releasing a new podcast, but we’re working on it, we promise. In the meantime enjoy this and GO CATS! How we taste bourbon

Angel’s Envy Tasting Mini-Cast

Hey guys, sorry for the delay, but as promised here is a mini-cast of Chris and guest co-host Alicia tasting and waxing Quixotic about the Angel’s Envy line! Also, by absconded we didn’t mean stole, but rather took our tastings back to somewhere quiet we could record. For those of you with short attention spans…

Who makes what?

As promised in the last podcast (alas later than I intended), here is the PDF of what I found in my research on who owns who and who makes what in the bourbon world. It is as accurate as I could make it, but if you happen to know something that is wrong or could…

A Bonus Tasting!

What is called bourbon, but isn’t legally boubon, and is an oxymoronic sin? Find out this weekend with a mini-cast tasting of 4 of this brand’s offerings with guest co-host Alicia! Leave your guesses in the comments! 

Blind BIB tasting

Doing a little practice for our next podcast. Go out and get some of these if you can and you can play along at home! No spoilers about our opinions just yet. Also, I haven’t forgotten about the list of who makes what. Thanks for listening Bourbonites! 

Recipes

Bourbon Sidecar 1.5 to 2 oz. Bourbon 1/2 to 3/4 oz. Cointreau orTriple sec 1/2 to 3/4 oz. Lemon Juice Shake to combine over ice, serve with lemon garnish and sugared rim if desired. Bourbon Negroni (Broni) 1.5 oz. Bourbon 1 oz. Aperol 1 oz. Cocchi vermouth or sweet vermouth of choice Shake to combine…

Bottom of the Barrel Podcast #3!

Bottom of the Barrel Podcast #3! Hurray, it’s podcast number 3: What about the Beams? Wherein we discuss the Beam family in distilling, non-traditional bourbon cocktails, our experiences at the Bourbon Classic and Bacon and Bourbon South Carolina as well as a tasting of some widely available bourbons. Enjoy, and as always, cheers! Links of…

Hard at work

The Bourbon Elves have been working hard tonight. Podcast #3 is imminent!

Podcast #1 in Glorious Mono

You asked, we listened. Here is the first podcast in mono instead of stereo for ease of listening at work or other tasks requiring only 1 earbud. Also, podcast #3 is on the horizon. The research is done and we’re just collecting a couple more bottles for the tasting. Hopefully from our brains to your…

How to make (mostly) clear ice

In preparation for some cocktails this weekend, I decided to to try and make some clear ice. Having heard that the double boiling and distilled water methods don’t work reliably, I decided to use some science. Slow freezing, like icicles or frozen lakes, gives time for the water bubbles to escape the ice as it…

Errata

So in my blind rage against the Trader Joe’s bourbon in the last podcast, I gave out incorrect information. After the cast, I got to thinking about how they could have ‘bourbon’ on the bottle if it wasn’t truly bourbon. Thus, I looked its official entry up in the TTB database (alcohol and tobacco tax…

What should we talk about in the next podcast?

Link to the poll in the facebook group here: http://www.facebook.com /groups/246462008847663/ Topics will also include our experiences at the Bourbon Classic and the Bourbon and Bacon festival. Cheers!

Recipes and links

Chris’ Old Fashioned: Place 1 sugar cube in an old fashioned glass (go figure), 4 drops angostura bitters, one thick slice of orange without rind, splash of bourbon, and splash of water – muddle to combine Add two maraschino cherries, fill with crushed ice, add 2 oz. of your favorite bourbon (I also like rye…

Podcast #2!

Podcast #2! With 100% more He-man, here is our next edition of the podcast. We tried something a little different and did away with some edits, as well as went a little more free form. Recipes as promised in the cast to follow in the next post. Cheers!

Good news everyone

We haven’t forgot! We’re working on our next show. Topics will include the history of the old fashioned, who owns who and where does my bourbon come from. We’re going to try and fix the stereo issue, and any other feedback is welcome! Slainte!

RSS feed link

If you enter the following in the “subscribe to podcast” menu in iTunes, it should download any new shows we put on. Slainte! https://bottomofthebarrelbourbon.wordpress.com/feed/

Bottom of the Barrel Podcast #1

Bottom of the Barrel Podcast #1 – Something about some corn and water Here is our first attempt at a bourbon podcast. Hope y’all enjoy! If you listen to it, leave a reply. Even if it’s to say that you hate it and hope we take a long walk off a short cliff. Cheers! (That is…