Month: February 2019

Drinking for Science – 2019 Projects

In past ‘In the Name of Science’ experiments I’ve tested how long an OWA/W12 needs to marry and if a bourbon really changes in the bottle once opened.  In 2019, I plan on testing some other theories:

-First on the testing block will be secondary cask finished ‘bourbons’.  Angel’s Envy was the first widespread release of a bourbon finished in a port wine barrel but now the shelves are full of such products.  These whiskies are no longer bourbon but are class type 641 – whiskey specialties. The catch is the TTB allows producers to state Bourbon on the front label if they also state what was done to it.  So ‘KY Straight Bourbon with added yellow food coloring’ could appear on a label.

My theory is I can replicate, or even surpass, these whiskies by just adding small amounts of the secondary product directly to a bottle and allow it to marry for at least 30 days. In many cask finished bourbons the secondary cask finishing times are often very short.  Also, producers have been known to recharge their secondary barrels – after emptying they add some additional port/sherry/etc back to barrel before refilling with bourbon.

For the test, I will make 3 whiskies employing my method starting with standard everyday available bourbons.  I will purchase 3 well known secondary cask finished bourbons. I plan to also limit my 3 to half the retail cost of their commercial counterparts.  I will have a group of 10 testers to blind taste and score each whiskey.

-Second test, does leaving a glass of whiskey out for 30 minutes change the taste?  I often hear friends say they like to leave a pour sitting out before drinking. For this test we will compare a pour that sits out vs a fresh pour from a bottle.  Like my prior tests this will be a 3-sample triangle blind taste test. Glasses used will be Glencairns. I have not picked the bourbon for the test but it will probably be something with a little higher proof, possibly between 110 and 120.  My guess is tasters will be able to tell a difference as I believe enough alcohol will evaporate to a point that it is perceptible.

-Third test – Does the water used to cut a bourbon to proof noticeably change the taste?  Most producers use as pure as water as possible post distillation to cut to proof prior to barreling as well as before bottling.  However, a few are starting to tout their water source used to cut proof for bottling as a key part of their process. For the test I will choose a high proof bourbon and cut it to proof with some different waters.  Distilled water will be the control water that should have no effect on flavor. There are a couple of waters being used I’d like to obtain samples for testing.

What other drinking for science projects would you like to see tested?

Labels that tater too far

Having a name for a private barrel or store pick goes back a long time.  Doug Phillips, who picked among the very first WFE barrels in 2006, had the label information filled in with green ink.  A second pick was done in black. Over time, these bottles became known simply by Doug’s Green or Black Ink. In 2014 the Facebook group T5C upped the ante by naming a Smooth Ambler Old Scout pick FS/FT, an acronym meaning For Sale/For Trade.  More creative barrel pick names followed. For the most part, the producers allowed a certain amount of characters and this was applied to the bottle label on the producer’s bottling line. Certain bottles have empty areas and groups/stores learned they could take advantage of this by placing a graphical sticker there and no longer be bound to the producers character limitations.  These would typically be applied after the store received the bottles.

This trend quickly caught on as many saw taters clamor for bottles with these new additions. The sticker game was on full force.  Secondary sales on bottles can be easily manipulated, some groups used stickers to engage in pump and dump schemes. They hyped up the latest pick, adorned with a creative sticker, as the best.  Because many taters have an irrational FOMO (fear of missing out) they are easily conned into believing the hype and paying 10 to 20 times original cost of these picks.

In 2018, a new trend emerged – labels that covered up the original producers label.  Unfortunately, most stores aren’t aware of federal labeling codes that stipulate certain information is mandatory on liquor labels.  Federal codes even specify where on the bottle certain information must be located. Here is one example:

This is the front label of a Knob Creek 120 proof bourbon pick.  The TTB BAM Ch. 1 on mandatory label information states that front label has the brand name and the class/type.  In this case that would be Knob Creek and Straight Bourbon Whiskey. This label covers up both.

Here is an example of a store applied label that covers up the mandatory government alcohol warning along with the required producer’s statement.  

Naming a barrel pick with a good or funny name or applying a sticker in a blank area is fine.  Covering up required labeling information is going too far.

This post inspired by these 2 you might be a whiskey tater reasons:

59.  Hype up any barrel pick you bought bottles of only later to flip a bottle on secondary

76.  You have an irrational fear on missing out by thinking this ‘limited’ special release or that single barrel pick is the ONE.