Wakey Whiskey: I.W. Harper Kentucky Straight Bourbon

by Eric Ducote

Good morning everyone, and welcome to an unfortunately Saints-less Super Bowl Sunday.  I was really hoping to be drinking this morning in support of the Black and Gold, but I guess I'll just raise an early morning toast to football as a whole. I honestly don't know who I'm going to be cheering for this evening... I'm not partial to either team, I don't have some sort of irrational hatred of the Patriots, I don't have any affinity for the Eagles... so I guess I'll just be hoping for some thrilling football.  The best way to start off a day of thrilling football?  How about a hopefully thrilling glass of wakey whiskey?

This morning I raided the Bite and Booze whiskey stash and found a media sample of an I. W. Harper Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.  This sample was bottled at 82 proof, and upon a little research is one of two I. W. Harper bourbons on the US market, the other being a 15-year aged variety of the same base mash.  Personally, I had never heard of I. W. Harper, so off to the Google I go... and it turns out this brand has been around since the 1870s, created by German immigrant Isaac Wolfe Bernheim.  He ended up settling in the Louisville area and started a distillery creating the I. W. Harper (thoughts are he changed the last name for marketing reasons) brand.  Currently the name is owned by Diageo, and the whiskey is still produced at the I. W. Bernheim distillery in Louisville (a more modern version of, at least) before being aged at the Stitzel-Weller facility, then bottled at a Diageo facility in Tennessee that is associated with George Dickel, another Diageo brand.  For some time this brand focused on foreign markets, particularly Japan, but in 2015 I. W. Harper was brought back to the American market.

Okay, enough history, how about the whiskey, right?  As for the color, I'm looking at a mid-range amber, not richly deep bordering on ruby red like the recent Super Blue Blood Moon, but not as light as straw either.  The nose is innocent and inoffensive, with hints of honeysuckle, a bit of vanilla, and a fructose sweetness from the corn in the mash.  There's nothing bad here, but nothing that really gets me excited either.  On to the palate, my first impression is that the body is a little on the light side, maybe this could have been cut down a little less and bottles at 90-100 proof instead of 82?  The ethanol flavors are pretty strong in this one despite the low proof, and there is a lack of complexity on the tongue, with a bit of oak, and a stronger dash of licorice.  All in all, a fairly forgettable whiskey, unfortunately.

And on that note, let us all hope that this is not a forgettable Super Bowl.  I'm not a fan of either team, so I just want to see some good football!  Cheers!

Wakey Whiskey: Coopers' Craft Kentucky Straight Bourbon

by Eric Ducote

Well Tiger fans... this season has been pretty disappointing so far, but that's not going to stop me from enjoying a #wakeywhiskey before this afternoon's game against Florida. All hate for Alabama aside, I think Florida is my overall most loathed SEC program, especially after last year's football debacle and the College World Series. So, here's to hoping Coach O gets the boys up to play and they bounce back... if not... at least I have some whiskey.

Today's selection is the Coopers' Craft Kentucky Straight Bourbon out of Louisville, Kentucky. Coopers' Craft is made by Brown-Forman, a large beverage congolmerate that owns Jack Daniels, Early Times, as well as several scotch brands, tequila brands, vodka, and even wine. This bourbon was created to honor the company's history as a cooperage, as one of Brown-Forman's early ventures was raising fresh charred oak barrels for use throughout the American bourbon industry. One thing to note, barrels are not made or built, the proper term is that they are "raised".



This bourbon is a refined toasted wood whiskey taken through a unique beech and birch finishing process for a smooth and flavorful bourbon. It's a "straight" bourbon which means that it has been aged for a minimum of two years, and it shows, as the color is an amber on the verge of a true brown rather than a lighter straw or golden color. The char on the barrels comes though pretty strong and has done its job on this one.

The nose is char with a sweet undertone of apple or caramel, maybe even some brown sugar, and the taste follows through well with some of the more characteristic vanilla and oak notes I would expect from a straight bourbon. The 82.2 proof alcohol is present and pleasant, helping round off each sip with a little burn to balance out the sweet and rich flavors. Overall, very impressive. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect from this one, but it holds it own against several of the better bourbons I've tried recently.

On that note, here's to hoping LSU can hold their own this afternoon. Cheers, and Geaux Tigers!

Wakey Whiskey: Kings County Distillery Bourbon Whiskey

by Eric Ducote

Hello everyone, and good morning to you all from Chicago! I know we're all still a little bummed about about the way LSU played against Mississippi State, but the season goes on, as does the #wakeywhiskey. Two years ago LSU played Syracuse and I brought out a small batch bourbon whiskey from Kings County Distillery out of Brooklyn, NY. LSU ended up winning that game 34-24, so I went back to the well and brought some Kings County Distillery Bourbon Whiskey with me up to the Windy City.

This bourbon is distilled in Brooklyn from a mash of NY corn and UK malted barley, then aged for at least two years (some barrels up to four) and bottled at 90 proof. I actually visited this distillery several years ago with my friend Jeremy Spikes, and one thing I did not know was that they used a lot of smaller barrels to expedite the aging process. The smaller barrels allow the whiskey to contact the charred oak at a greater ratio and pull out the flavors faster than in a large 55-gallon barrel. They might be using larger barrels now, but it's a good way for a newer distillery (Kings County was founded in 2010) to produce a quality spirit more quickly.



Now, to the whiskey! But, before I even get into the details, I love the packaging... just a 375ml medicine-style bottle with a small wrapped label describing the basics of the spirit in a Courier typewriter font. Simple and attractive.

The first thing I pick up on the nose is an alcohol burn followed immediately by candy corn sweetness and then vanilla notes from the charred oak. It's still young, but it's picked up a lot of color and flavor in a short amount of time. The taste is a little more mellowed out than the aroma, with less of a harsh burn and more of a caramel and molasses flavor followed by the charred notes from the oak barrel. It finishes smoothly, with a hint of spiciness at the end. Sometimes I advocate for a little water or ice to open up a whiskey, but this one tastes better neat. Adding an ice sphere (I tried both, for science) mutes some of the spicier cinnamon notes. However, if you prefer a little ice or water, I'm not going to stop you!

I hope this game against Syracuse is just what the Tigers need to get back on track. Happy #Gameday everyone and #Geauxtigers!