In this video, I take some time to dive into the $25.99 bottle of Old Forester 100 proof. In the tasting, I explain why I like this bourbon and why it has a spot on my shelf (hint – it’s the price point and for my old fashioned).
If you don’t have time to watch the whole video, here are my tasting notes:
I smell a lot of caramel corn and butterscotch on the nose of this. I also got hints of cinnamon, toffee, and oak.
This isn’t the best bourbon in the world, but it is decent. I taste a lot of booze upfront, then I get some cherry, cinnamon, and weak oak. This would make a great old fashioned.
The finish isn’t something memorable.
For $25.99, this is a solid buy, but it’s not going to knock your socks off like something in the $40-$50 range. And it just doesn’t carry the deep flavor like some barrel strength bourbons. I will keep one on hand for mixed drinks and the occasional (I don’t know what to drink) pour.
After having a tasting of Garrison Brothers Straight Bourbon Whiskey, our friend Tom pulled out a bottle of Three Boys Distilling (aka Whiskey Thief) and decided we should all take a taste. I’ve been down to Three Boys before, but I haven’t tasted it in years.
The favorite of the night for me, this one was packed full of flavor. It was interesting to see the responses from the rest of the Bourbon Council as we all had a little different opinion on this one.
In terms of tasting notes, it had the following:
Heavy cinnamon and oak on the nose.
A boozy start to the taste followed by some serious cinnamon throughout. Lots of hints of oak and caramel.
A finish of almost straight cherry. Really really tasting.
I really enjoyed this tasting and I thought this was a killer bottle.
I’ve had a bottle from the Garrison Brothers a few years ago and loved it. So I was excited to get a chance to try this when I heard there was one nearby.
This bottle was sent as a gift from my father-in-law’s college roommate (Kurt – Thanks for the bottle!) and he was gracious enough to share it. So we decided to do a tasting of the bourbon after our weekly dinner.
I sat down and did this tasting with my Bourbon Council. If you haven’t met the Bourbon Council, you are in for a treat. Dave, Mike, Chris, and Tom are a few of the members and they have sat down this evening to taste a bottle of Garrison Brothers Small Batch Texas Whiskey.
Each of the Bourbon Council members brings a different perspective on their tasting and bourbon overall. None of us are right on everything and we always talk about the bourbon and other random topics. If you would like to be a member of the council and want to join, you can find out more information here: https://www.patreon.com/indianabarrelpickclub
As for the Garrison Brothers Small Batch Texas Whiskey, the video can give you the opinions of all of the people who tasted it. My personal opinion, the bottle was a little young and had a real strong corn taste. This used to be one of my favorite tastes as it had a lot of sweetness, but I’m starting to shy away from the strong corn flavor. I got a little bit of oak, but I was looking for more. I think I could sit there and drink this with the best of them, but I’m not sure I would spend the money (around $90) to get a bottle. I would default to other bottles in a heartbeat. I appreciate the taste, but I’ll be a little trigger shy with Garrison Brothers in the future. I’ll side with their older products.
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I spent this post talking about why I started the Indiana Barrel Pick Club. I’ve always thought that writing was one form of expression, but a video is worth like 1,000 words. I sat down today and gave a run down on why I started the Indiana Barrel Pick Club and why you should consider joining.
In this review, I look at my time spent at the Moon Drops Distillery in Fortville, Indiana. Last week, my father-in-law and I took a trip to the distillery and I give my full review of the experience. Overall it was really good and I look forward to going back sometime in the future. In terms of a Moon Drops Bourbon Review, I thought the bourbon was ok and it could be improved, but it’s good enough to drink right now. I think their bourbon will be out of this world once they start bottling and serving their own.
I suggest you take a trip to the Moon Drops Distillery whenever you get a chance and you are int he Fortville area.
If you are into bourbon, there is a chance you have heard of Bardstown, Kentucky. If you haven’t heard of this small bourbon town, you are in for a treat. It’s actually known as the Bourbon Capitol of the World. I took my wife down for a visit in 2018 and I want to spend some time reviewing my trip and provide some travel tips for anyone who is heading to that area. I know things might have changed over the years, so please take some time do some additional research before you pack your bags and head down into the heart of bourbon country.
What Is There To Do In Bardstown, Kentucky?
Well – first and foremost, there are quite a few distilleries in the Bardstown area. And since you are reading this on Bourbon Master, I assume you are mostly interested that. I go into detail on the distilleries in the Bardstown, Kentucky area below, but know you can spend your entire trip visiting, touring, and enjoying bourbon (which is my recommendation).
If you are a history buff, there is the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History. Again – It’s bourbon/whiskey themed, but it’s more history focused. I haven’t been, but it looks like it has some cool artifacts if you are into that kind of thing.
If you want to see inside the barrel, there is a neat little tour nearby in Lebanon, Kentucky where you can see a Cooperage in action. What’s a cooperage you might ask? It’s the place that makes the oak barrels that your favorite bourbons age in. You can see the process of the barrels being made and charred. The cooperage is about 40 minutes outside of Bardstown, but you can make a loop and hit Maker’s Mark if you plan it right (hint, hint). You can find out more information here.
If shopping is your thing, there are a quite a few little shops in the area. Here’s a list in case you are interested. I’m not usually the shopping type of guy, I did really like the Blind Pig Bourbon Market. Quick tip – Make sure the stores are open if you plan on spending time shopping. When I was there, a lot of the stores had different hours and we didn’t find a ton open. A little research and planning can fix this.
Outside of that, there are a lot of other little things you can find to do (inside and outside). I would highlight that there are a few wineries in the area (for those non-bourbon loving folks) and there is a dinner train that looks interesting. You can find this and more at the Bardstown visitors bureau website.
What Distilleries Are In Bardstown, Kentucky?
When you look at Bardstown, you will see that you have several distilleries in the city and a few on the outskirts (30 minutes or so away). To say you’ll have your choice of distilleries is an understatement. Here is the list of the distilleries you can visit while in Bardstown:
Bardstown Bourbon Company – I haven’t been here yet, but I like their stuff. This is on my list for next time.
Barton 1792 Distillery – Been here and remember having a bourbon chocolate during the tasting. And remember a pretty cool little tour.
Heaven Hill Distillery – My wife and I have been here, but weren’t able to do the tasting or the tour (both sold out). I think it would be worth another stop.
Jim Beam Distillery Company – I’ve been here quite a few times. This is a very commercial tour, but still good. If you haven’t been, you need to stop at least once in your life.
Four Roses Distillery – Possibly got drunk with two older ladies at 9AM on my way to a golf trip. Might be one of my favorite tastings of all time. The ladies took me and the 3 other guys to the bar for a private tasting and history lesson.
Maker’s Mark – Haven’t been, but really want to go. Maker’s Mark was my first bourbon love and I have still not made it down to visit.
Willett – One of my all time favorite stops. I haven’t been since the restaurant/bar has been opened, but I’ve heard good things from my friends who have stopped.
And this isn’t including any of the distilleries you might pass on your way down (or up) to Bardstown. There are some great stops in Louisville and Lexington as well if you are coming down from the north or east. I have linked to each of the distilleries so you can take a look at their products, tours, tastings, and hours.
This is where my wife and I stayed back in 2018 and we really enjoyed it! It would be on the top of my recommendation list for everyone heading down to the Bardstown area. It’s located just off the main road and is actually pretty centrally located to all of the main attractions in Bardstown. The bed and breakfast has really large rooms and a great breakfast. It had that old Kentucky feeling, but had all of the amenities you would need for a stay. My only disappointment was that the Bunghole Bar wasn’t open during our stay (it was their private bourbon bar located on site – Not sure if it’s still there or not). And my wife packs too much luggage and we happen to pick a room on the top floor, so it was quite the haul.
I know I received an email some time ago that the property had been sold and new owners had taken over. I would assume the building and the lodging is just as good, if not better.
One of other places I looked into for our trip was the Talbott Tavern and Inn. We actually drank and ate at the tavern and I’ll have more on that below. The reason I didn’t end up booking here was threefold:
The rooms didn’t look as nice as the Bourbon Manner. The looked like it was out of the 1900’s and the Bourbon Manner looked more up to date.
The rooms are above an active tavern. I didn’t want some drunk to wake me up at 1AM.
The website says it’s haunted. I’m not into having the ghost of bourbon past watch me as I sleep.
If you are into those kind of things, it might be the place for you. One perk is you could literally stumble up the stairs after a long night of drinking. Or you might fall on the stairs and end up being one of the ghosts. I’m not sure that’s a bad thing either (haunting the old bourbon bar in the USA for eternity)
I’m not sure this place was an option when I went down to Bardstown. I remember stopping at the Blind Pig Bourbon Market, but I don’t remember seeing the bed and breakfast during my searches. From the initial look, I think this might be a really nice place. It has a man cave, breakfast, and up-to-date amenities. This is on my list for my next trip.
If I’m going to immerse myself in bourbon culture, I don’t really want to stay in a chain hotel. That being said, if I was trying to go on a budget, this might be an option. I usually have a good amount of Hilton points laying around, so I looked at this as an option. Since I was with my wife, I chose the bed and breakfast. If I was going with a group of guys, we most likely would have stayed in a place like this. Nothing wrong with it, but it wasn’t what I was going for while I was there.
My Suggested Trip To Bardstown
If I was planning another trip to Bardstown, here is what I would do. First off, I would make it a two day trip (at least). Most of the distillery tours take an hour and you need to be there early to get your ticket and register. If you add that into the drive between locations and stop for food (or cocktails), you won’t get to as many distilleries as you would like.
I would also recommend staying at the Bourbon Manner or the Blind Pig Bed & Breakfast if you are taking your significant other. If not, pick your own poison on the lodging locations nearby (looks like there is the Hampton Inn, Fairfield Inn and Suites, and a Holiday Inn nearby.)
Day 1
As you take off for Bardstown, go ahead and set a course to the Jim Beam Distillery. You should start with this tour/tasting because it has the most “production” to it. It’s honestly well done and as a marketing guy, I like what they do with it. I also think that once you see this, you will value the smaller distillery tours a lot more (just my opinion). Plus it’s a little out of the way compared to the rest of the distilleries. Once you are done there, I would head into Bardstown and hit either Bardstown Bourbon Company or Lux Row Distillers (in either order). Bardstown Bourbon Company has some food, so it’s going to be my pick for lunch over in that area, so you might want to do that one first. Once you are done with those two tours/tastings, I would head to Barton 1792 for your last tour/tasting of the day. I would then take your stuff and go visit a local liquor store (for a night cap bottle) and then drop your stuff off at your lodging location. After that, I would head to the Talbott Tavern to check out the world’s oldest bourbon bar for a drink or two. You might want to get dinner there or I would recommend Scout and Scholar (always trust breweries for good food) or Mammy’s Kitchen and Bar. Then enjoy a great night of sleep and get ready for another busy day.
Day 2
As much as I would like for you to stay in Bardstown, I think there are a few things you need to see that are a 30-40 minute drive away. So I would start my morning by heading off to the Cooperage down in Lebanon and then follow it up with a tour at Maker’s Mark (or vice versa). Once you get that done, I would get back to town and schedule a few other tours (plus lunch). I would start by going to Willett and doing lunch first with the Bar at Willett (reservations required). Then I would go on a tour or tasting at Willett. Once that is done, I would head over to the Heaven Hill Distillery (not that far away) and do a tasting/tour there as well. They have quite the facility. Once you are done with that, I would finish with the Preservation Distillery tour/tasting (if time allows – 4 tours might be a lot in a day). Then I would head back to the downtown Bardstown area to finish you day with dinner at a location of your choice (or if you are like me, get a pizza delivered or something else delivered).
Day 3
I know you are heading home, but I would try to squeeze in one more tour (or at least a stop along the way home). Look at the distilleries in the area or possibly on your way home. There are some great stops if you are heading through the Lexington or Louisville area. You also might want to stop by some liquor stores along the way and check out their barrel picks and selection. You never know what you might find!
Conclusion
There you have it! My ultimate guide to staying and visiting Bardstown, Kentucky. Having been there myself, I know that you will enjoy your trip no matter what your stops end up being. For being a small town in the middle of Kentucky, Bardstown sure has a lot of character and a lot of activities for the a bourbon lover.
No wonder they call it the Bourbon Capital of the World.
I was walking around my local liquor store and I noticed something strange. A worker was carrying around 3 bottles of George Dickel that I had tasted at a recent tasting. I remember the Dickel being a rather rare bottle and it caught my eye when it walked by. As I was looking at the craft beer, I watched as the lady opened the door and there it was.
It was like the holy grail of bourbon.
I saw bottles that were hard to find and I just had to ask how in the world I could get my hands on them. She explained the process and I was there first thing the next morning. Since I was the first to see the bottles, I got first dibs on picking my bottle to purchase (which was awesome by the way).
I’m a man who always looks for a value, so I chose to get the large bottle of Eagle Rare (1.75L). It was like I was getting 2+ bottles instead of just 1. Biggest bang for my buck.
So now I have this large bottle of Eagle Rare 10 Year and I decided to do a tasting this evening for my YouTube channel.
I’ll let the video do the majority of the tasting, but I’ll leave you with this:
This is a great bourbon if you can get it at MSRP. It’s flavorful and right up my alley. I get a lot of caramel, vanilla, oak, and a sweetness. I also get some citrus on the nose and the finish. I wouldn’t pay a premium for this bourbon, but I would enjoy drinking it. It’s not the most complex bourbon I have ever had, but it’s very drinkable. I think a novice bourbon drinker would love something like this.
I want to introduce the Indiana Barrel Pick Club – An extension of the Bourbon Master community.
The Indiana Barrel Pick Club is group of bourbon lovers who want to get access to special content, reviews, tastings, and barrels of bourbon (and bottles of bourbon).
I started the Bourbon Master blog in 2022 and started getting some interested from readers about providing some special content and possibly picking a barrel or two of bourbon and getting it locally.
After some research and conversations, I decided to create this Patreon to build that community.
This club is designed to focus on those bourbon lovers in Indiana and provide them with a special community that isn’t just pictures and comments of allocated bottles of Buffalo Trace. The content created for this group is around the Indiana Bourbon community, their bottles, and other store picks that you can actually find on the shelf.
Once this community reaches enough members, we will be partnering with a liquor store in Indiana to do a barrel pick just for the Indiana Barrel Pick Club. If it goes well, we’ll start doing multiple of these a year and the members of the club will help choose the distillery, name of pick, and possibly even the barrel!
In addition, I have added several perks for subscribers that include (depending on your level):
Exclusive content (video and blog posts)
Access to our private community
Invitation to live streams and tastings
A custom Indiana Barrel Pick Sticker
An engraved Indiana Barrel Pick Glencarin
An Indiana Barrel Pick T-Shirt
A Yeti Lowball Tumbler
An invite to join a tasting video (virtually)
A hand picked bourbon flask
Full details and perks for each level can be found here.
I invite you to be a part of my journey from barrel to glass and be a part of one of the best bourbon communities in Indiana!
Have questions? Let me know below or shoot me an email at chris@thebourbonmaster.com – I’m investing in this community and I want to make sure it has what everyone wants.
A year ago today, a close family friend gave me the opportunity to taste Pappy Van Winkle for the first time. It was a Christmas surprise that I throughly enjoyed. Since the Facebook memory popped up today, I want to take a few moments and reflect on my tasting and answer the question:
Is Pappy Van Winkle 20 Year worth the hype?
Well yes and no. Let me explain my review a little more.
Was it an amazing bourbon?
Yes. It might have been one of the smoothest bourbons I have ever consumed in my life. It was rich, flavorful, and down right incredible.
What makes it special?
The taste is the first thing that makes it special. Like I mentioned, it was truly an amazing bourbon. But there is more to it than that. The lore and the rarity of the bottle and the bourbon line in general is what makes it special. How many times in my life am I going to get to try something like Pappy? My guess is I can count it on 1 hand and I might already be at my limit. It’s a very special occasion to be able to taste this and it meant a lot that my friend was willing to share a taste last Christmas Eve.
Would I pay MSRP for a bottle?
I would pay the MSRP of $199.99 any day of the week for this bottle. In a restaurant, I would pay up to $30 a pour for it (no questions asked).
Would I pay a premium for a bottle or a pour?
This is where the “no” starts coming in as I look at the question of is it worth the hype. I don’t think it’s worth the secondary market price. I get this is a rare bottle of bourbon, but you are not going to see me shelling out over $300 for a bottle of this, let alone thousands of dollars. I don’t believe a bottle of bourbon can be worth that much for the taste alone. I think it’s really more about the luxury idea of having a bottle and that just isn’t something I am into.
When I drink bourbon, I want to share and enjoy with my family and friends. I don’t want to put it on a shelf and never take a drink. If I paid $1,000+ for a bottle of bourbon like Pappy Van Winkle 20 Year, I would be scared to death to ever open it. And that’s just not how bourbon should be.
So is Pappy worth the hype? Yes, but only to a point (a certain price point that is). After that (and it will vary by person), I think you are better off spending your money on other bottles of bourbon.
Have you tried anything else in the Van Winkle lineup?
Yes I have. About two weeks before trying Pappy Van Winkle 20 Year, I found a reasonably priced pour of Old Rip Van Winkle at a bourbon bar in Indy. I was out celebrating the end of a semester of teaching and I was with my wife and a good friend. My wife convinced me to splurge and try it, so I didn’t argue with here smarts.
And I would say the same holds true to my comments above. This was a great pour of bourbon and one I won’t soon forget, but I wouldn’t pay a premium for it. I think there are other bourbons at lower price points that give me a bigger bang for my buck. Don’t get me wrong, I would never turn down a pour of a unicorn bourbon, but I’m not sure I’m willing to shell out the cash to have one drink. I would rather spend that same amount of money on a few great bottles of other whiskey (barrel selects or other allocated bottles).
That’s just one man’s opinion and as my wife tells me from time to time, that one man can be wrong. What are your thoughts on the Pappy family of bourbon? Are they worth the hype? How much would you be willing to spend to get a taste (or a bottle)?
