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@jimbeamofficial Great Grandson's Guide to #Tasting #Bourbon | Fox News

The internet is a content pig and, like the animal itself, not particular about what it eats. Its taste for news runs more to the now-defunct News of the World than CNN. To be blunt, most of what passes for news on the internet is garbage.This past weekend, especially if you favor talk about whiskey, you heard about Chicken Cock Whiskey, probably for the first time. This is not Fighting Cock Bourbon, a fine Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey made by Heaven Hill. Chicken Cock is a brand new flavored whiskey product from serial distilled spirits entrepreneur Matti Antilla (Cabana Cachaca), whose business (Abb Partners, LLC) appears to be based in Florida although Chicken Cock has a Charleston, South Carolina address, perhaps because the University of South Carolina's sports mascot is the gamecock.Chicken Cock comes in an aluminum bottle, in three flavors: Cinnamon, Southern Spiced, and Root Beer.For readers who prefer whiskey-flavored whiskey, you might want to know that 'flavored whiskey' was a moribund classification until recently. Because whiskey is hot right now every trendy, new youth-oriented spirits product wants to be called 'whiskey.' According to the regs, 'flavored whiskey' is whiskey to which natural flavors have been added. Invariably, the whiskey part just barely meets the minimum requirements for use of that term. Flavored whiskey can be bottled as low as 30% ABV (60° proof) but Chicken Cock is 43% ABV (86° proof).On Friday, it was reported that on June 10, a truck carrying 10,000 bottles of Chicken Cock on their way to a Texas distributor was stolen from a truck stop in Florence. No reports of this robbery appeared in the media until after Antilla dropped his press release, publicizing the theft and offering a $10,000 reward for the return of his whiskey.Most outlets just re-printed the press release or paraphrased it, questioning nothing. No one, for instance, seems to have looked at a map. Charleston to Florence is a funny way to get to Texas.Some of our friends did good work. Davin de Kergommeaux explored the brand's legitimate history, which Antilla has been clever enough to appropriate. He researched the term 'chicken cock,' a regional synonym for 'rooster,' and also found a Canadian connection. Fred Minnick talked to Antilla and determined that, although Antilla's press release says the truck was coming from his Charleston "distillery," Chicken Cock is a non-distiller producer. Minnick also called the Florence County sheriff, but they haven't returned his calls.Stories like this often disappear. What catches the content-hungry eye is the vaguely salacious name, the sensational crime, and the plea to the public for help. The resolution, when it comes, probably will only be reported if Antilla publicizes it. That is what the news business has become.

When brands are created using bulk whiskey from a major distiller but the producer tries to convince you he's a craft distiller, that hurts real craft distillers. It also hurts consumers, who pay for something they aren't getting. Last month, we proposed certification as one possible solution.No such certification program exists now, of course, so that's somewhere in the future. Here are some easy steps craft distillers can take right now to protect consumers and themselves, and separate the makers from the fakers.First, create a very simple statement, one that a Potemkin distillery can't make. If craft distillers can informally agree on a standard wording, all the better. Then put it on everything, certainly on your product labels, web site, Facebook page, etc.Here's what Balcones uses: "100% of Balcones whisky is mashed, fermented and distilled at our distillery. We never resell whisky from other distilleries or source aged whisky barrels for blending under the Balcones label. This is authentic craft whisky. It has not been chill-filtered, colored or otherwise unnecessarily tampered with to ensure that its full aroma and flavor are preserved. As a result, you may notice a slight haze or sediment in the bottle - signs of the rich oils and esters that we have not removed so that your whisky can be enjoyed at its best."The last two sentences are probably superfluous, but the rest is right on target.Second, start putting 'distilled by' on your label. Stick your DSP number in there too. Although it's usually not required, it's something the feds regulate so if someone falsifies a 'distilled by' statement, they could lose their license.Third, whatever you do, keep it simple and keep it standardized. Do it exactly the same way every time. Then publicize it. Send every whiskey blogger the press release. Encourage your distiller friends to do it too. Everyone can tell consumers that all you have to do when you see a new 'craft' product is look for that statement. If you can't find it you should be very, very suspicious.Who knows, that might be all it takes.

This label, from 1935, was discovered by a poster on StraightBourbon.com. It's a real gem.The Jim Beam-made Knob Creek we all know was part of the Jim Beam Small Batch Bourbons Collection, which debuted in 1992. No one then or since has ever mentioned that the brand was part of the company's DNA from long before that.The label tells us that Knob Creek was a straight bourbon whiskey, bottled at 93° proof (46.5% ABV). It was distilled by the Penn-Maryland Corporation of Cincinnati, Ohio, a division of National Distillers.Beam merged with National in 1987 and started to work on the Small Batch Collection (SBC) shortly thereafter. It is common for marketers, looking for new product ideas, to mine their corporate archives. This discovery suggests that someone at Beam took a stroll down National's Memory Lane and found Knob Creek languishing there.It's very clear where the other three SBC names originated. Booker's was named after Jim Beam's grandson, the legendary master distiller Booker Noe. Baker's was named after the grandson of Jim Beam's brother, Park, the legendary master distiller Baker Beam. Basil Hayden's was named after one of the founders of the Kentucky whiskey industry, whose grandson created the Old Grand-Dad brand in his honor. Booker and Baker are, quite literally, from the Beam family. We knew Basil/Grand-Dad was from National and now we know Knob was too.It was a very different world in 1987. Beam bought National primarily to obtain DeKuyper and, specifically, DeKuyper Peachtree Schnapps. Beam didn't really want the National bourbons, but neither did anyone else. Of the group, Old Grand-Dad was the most desirable because it still commanded a premium price, so at least it was profitable.The explanation for the Knob Creek name has always been that there is a real Knob Creek, in the vicinity of Beam's Kentucky distilleries, that is tied to Kentucky's Abraham Lincoln heritage. The second and last Lincoln family farm in Kentucky was what Abe later called "the Knob Creek place." According to local tradition, Lincoln's father was a seasonal hand at a nearby distillery in what is now Athertonville, also along Knob Creek.There's also a famous shooting range on and named after Knob Creek. It's the site of CMT's "Guntucky." (With Fort Knox nearby, shooting ranges around there are a little different.)National Distillers was formed in 1924 from what was left of the Whiskey Trust. Throughout Prohibition National bought closed distilleries, along with their brands and whiskey stocks, for pennies on the dollar. National had a medicinal whiskey business and made industrial alcohol, but they were also betting that Prohibition would be repealed. When it was, National held about half of the aged whiskey in the U.S., and owned about 140 different brands.The Penn-Maryland Corporation was a joint venture between National and another remnant of the Trust, the U.S. Industrial Alcohol Company, based in Peoria, Illinois. The original plan had been for Penn-Maryland to produce blended whiskey while National specialized in straights, though obviously there was some cross-over. By 1936, National had taken over U.S. Industrial Alcohol and dissolved Penn-Maryland.The 1987 merger of Jim Beam and National was really an acquisition by Beam. 'Merger' sounded better because National was the larger company. With tobacco money behind it, Beam was in much better financial shape.Although Beam got the Knob Creek name from National, the recipe was all Beam. At the time of its introduction it was simply 9-year-old Jim Beam. It still begins as Jim Beam but now the distillate intended for Knob is taken off the still at a lower proof and they manage the Knob barrels differently, knowing they're going to age for at least nine years.This discovery may explain the persistent rumor over the years that while Booker's and Baker's are Beam juice, Knob and Basil Hayden are Old Grand-Dad juice. Old Grand-Dad is made from a different recipe entirely, with a different ye

CLICK ABOVE TO PLAY PODCAST Tim Smith, will soon release Climax Moonshine Listen to our podcast above as BourbonBlog.com‘s Tom Fischer is the first journalist to speak with moonshiner Tim Smith about his new Climax Moonshine  brand and the “Moonshine Revolution.” The Climax Moonshine collection will initially include Tim’s original recipe distilled from corn mash, a “Peach Lightning,” and “Grape Lightning” “I believe in real, clear moonshine distilled from fruit, so we’re not looking at infusing fruit into the alcohol. I believe in giving you quality moonshine right from the still,” Tim tells us. Thus, Tim’s fruit-based or “flavored” moonshines are distilled from real fruit instead of adding it later in the process. The moonshine is named after where Tim is from in Climax, Virginia. And while there is no official confirmation, it appears from Tim’s Climax Moonshine website that he is  making this batch of moonshine at Limestone Branch Distillery in Lebanon, Kentucky. Text stating “Visit Tim at his distillery on the Bourbon Trail,” is next to a photo of the Limestone Branch Distillery on ClimaxMoonshine.com. As a growing number of moonshines continue to be released on the market, Tim makes it clear that his will be like no other you’ve tasted. Original Recipe Climax Moonshine Tim says he doesn’t want to take anything away from other distillers releasing products labeled “moonshines,” but his brand is all about the attention paid to the craft, the process and being distilled by the hands of a very few individuals in small batches. Tim’s Climax Moonshine is same recipe he has always used (even when he wasn’t doing it legally). “We’re bringing out the recipe that I’ve made and my family has made to the table,” explains Tim. He stresses that what makes Climax Moonshine unique is the process and how you make it come out to create the “Drink of Defiance” – the brand’s slogan. After season 2 of Moonshiners, Tim’s dream of going “legal” is now close to reality. We’ll bring you release dates and where to find his moonshine soon on BourbonBlog.com. Like this article? Here are some other articles of interest: Tim Smith’s Climax Moonshine Firefly Moonshine by Firefly Distillery Moonshiners Season 2? Tim Smith interview in New York

Moonshiner Tim Smith tells BourbonBlog.com that his long awaited moonshine will be available soon. As a true moonshiner, Tim has been keeping it on the down low where he has been distilling his new shine. It appears that Tim is currently making his moonshine at Limestone Branch Distillery in Lebanon, Kentucky, as shown in a photo on his official Climax Moonshine website. After 2 successful seasons on Discovery Channel’s Moonshiners, Tim Smith has gone legal with Climax Moonshine which he is calling the “Drink of Defiance.” We are giving you this first scoop on Tim’s moonshine brand  AND what his first flavors and expressions will be below. His original “White Lightning” moonshine, which is a corn mash base, will be bottled at 90 proof while his first two fruit expressions will be bottled at 79 proof. These fruit expressions Grape and Peach Lightning are made the hard way, distilled from real fruit instead of adding fruit later. A portrait of Tim’s dog named “Camo” will be displayed proudly on each bottle of Climax Moonshine. Tim’s photo will also be on each bottle. BourbonBlog.com will continue to keep you posted on the release dates and other details about Climax Moonshine, and you can learn  more at  ClimaxMoonshine.com. Do YOU plan on tasting Tim Smith’s Climax Moonshine? Tell us below under comments! White Lightning Distilled from corn mash. Clean and natural tasting with a subtle sweetness and bold defiance. 90 proof. Grape Lightning Tim’s original grape recipe. Distilled from fresh grapes. Delicious and defiant. 79 proof. Peach Lightning Tim’s delicious peach flavored defiance, distilled from fresh peaches. 79 proof. Tim Smith’s Dog Camo on the bottle of Climax Moonshine Like this article? Here are some other articles of interest: Firefly Moonshine by Firefly Distillery Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine Review Corsair Pumpkin Spice Moonshine Review

Max Shapira, president of Heaven Hill Distilleries in Bardstown, Kentucky, may be the only bourbon business CEO who was born into it. His father and four uncles owned Heaven Hill almost from the start and their descendants are its sole owners today.So Shapira, more than just about anyone else, has experienced the business at both its top (now) and bottom (the '70s and '80s). He's a good person to comment on how stunning the current boom is to anyone who remembers the bust.Speaking to the Lexington Herald Leader (Lexington, KY) last month, Shapira recalled that it wasn't long ago that bourbon had been virtually written off, but times have changed. "Almost an unbelievable renaissance in the bourbon category," Shapira said. "Now we're the darling distilled spirit not just of the state or the U.S., but of the world. People are enamoured of this industry."The occasion was the formal addition of downtown Louisville's 'Evan Williams Experience' to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Visitor centers in downtown Louisville are the newest way the industry is reaching out to consumers, since many visitors to Kentucky's largest city would like to have a bourbon experience but don't have time to visit one of the distilleries.Evan Williams Bourbon is Heaven Hill's flagship product and, as they like to say, the #2 bourbon in the world. They can say that, of course, because although they trail both Jim Beam and Jack Daniel's, Jack doesn't choose to call itself 'bourbon.'Still, achieving that stature is a remarkable accomplishment for a relatively small, family-owned company. Heaven Hill stuck with bourbon and rye through the hardest times. They never even had a long shut-down like most other distilleries did. That's why they so richly deserve to reap the benefits of bourbon's turnaround now.

The Bourbon Exchange, a page on Facebook, launched in April. You may have read about it here or here.It has 732 members as of today and the page is constantly busy. If you want to know what it's all about, click on the links in the previous sentence or just click this one to go there. You may notice that the link takes you to an internet site that instantly sends you to the Facebook page. That's in case Facebook ever decides to shut them down.Even if you don't care to engage in the sorts of transactions the Bourbon Exchange exists to facilitate (is that oblique enough for you?), the page is interesting to bourbon enthusiasts for other reasons.First, because of the legal environment in which whiskey collectors are forced to operate, the true secondary market is suppressed. There is a secondary market for alcoholic beverages and some alcoholic beverages have significant value in that secondary market, but it is impossible to give a reasonable assessment of what that value is because there is no reliable record of transactions, except from the occasional auction.Generally, people who participate in the whiskey secondary market are working blind, at least at first. As they gain experience and get to know other collectors they can establish a body of knowledge about past sales.They can also learn about their fellow collectors. Trust is essential in any marketplace, but especially an illegal one. The closed environment of Bourbon Exchange encourages social interaction to help build trust. Bourbon Exchange lacks many key features of a truly open marketplace, but it does allow participants to gain experience and accumulate valuable information quickly. Fairly soon, transactions among the most active participants will begin to reflect true market values. It's a start.Facebook is ideal for this because it's so picture friendly. The main role the Facebook page plays is as a display case. Members exhibit some of their treasures and what happens next is up to them. Values aren't discussed on line, nothing to do with buying or selling is, but other members can easily message the exhibitor through Facebook. They can do the rest of their business that way or take it to email.What these pictures can tell the rest of us is what's out there? What do people consider desirable, valuable, or otherwise worth collecting? What are people willing to part with? How does my own collection compare?Some of the participants are excellent photographers. It's fun to see some of the rare bottles you'll probably never touch, let alone taste. Some call it 'whiskey porn.'There can be a cumulative effect. Most of bottles shown are either very old or were limited editions, typically very limited. Various Jefferson's expressions seem to show up a lot, perhaps out of proportion to how many were sold. How should one interpret that? Buyer's remorse, perhaps? Not that it means the seller no longer likes the stuff to drink, just that in retrospect they may be in an overbought position. You can't necessarily pin down the exact meaning of what you're seeing, but clear patterns may eventually emerge.It's all information we didn't have before.Second, extremely rare and desirable bottles such as A. H. Hirsch Reserve (not to be confused with 'Hirsch' without the 'A. H.') need to see the light of day. With A. H. Hirsch and other very rare products that are no longer available, it's just a shame if there are people who want them, and people happy to part with them, but they can't be brought together. It's un-American.Most people who bought A. H. Hirsch and the like, including those who bought them by the case, did so because they liked the whiskey and knew the supply was finite. It seems likely that some, perhaps many of those people would like to, as they say, adjust their holdings.'Open to buy' is an expression in retailing. It's the amount you, the buyer, have available to spend on new merchandise and it's linked directly to the investment you already have in merchandise on t

Ole Smoky Moonshine Original Moonshine There are a couple reasons why BourbonBlog.com continues to cover moonshine stories. First: The moonshine we like to talk about and drink is a real clear whiskey with a grain base. After some time in a barrel, much of the good stuff would make fine whiskey. Second: Growing popularity among consumers and number of moonshines entering the market. Not only has this been evidenced by the Moonshiner’s TV show, it also has been clear with the growth of moonshine in the American craft distilling revolution. Third: We enjoy drinking it. We’re talking about legal moonshine here. The word “moonshine” often conjures up thoughts of illicit behavior and practices in many minds. That brings us to a success story of Ole Smoky Distillery, Gatlinburg Tennessee. We are are reviewing their Original Moonshine below. In June of 2010, Ole Smoky Distillery began running shine from their still. As this is the 1st legal distillery in Tennessee that focuses on moonshine, founder Joe Baker has a rich heritage of his family moonshining that goes back a few generations. Every ingredient that goes into their moonshine is sourced locally. The hickory cane corn is grown in Jefferson County. We’re told this one was the only corn grown in the area a hundred years ago which gives even more authenticity to the flavor and story of this moonshine. The distillery  expects to sell 250,000 cases of all their moonshine  - both flavored and clear – (3 million jars) in 2013! And after tasting it, we know why… Ole Smoky Original Moonshine Review Spirit: Ole Smoky Original Moonshine, from Ole Smoky Distillery, Gatlinburg Tennessee. Color:  Clear Proof: 50% ABV , 100 Proof Nose:: Buttery smoke. Warm and enticing, but not fiery. Sweetness of corn comes with tiny hints of baking spices, perhaps some nutmeg. Taste: Enters with hominy and buttered popcorn. The sweet corn is well-rounded with a natural sugar flavor that gives it both a savory and sweet flavor combined. There is a crisp freshness to it unlike many unaged corn whiskeys on the market that are too aggressive with raw and unbalanced profiles. Smokey notes towards mid-palette, with a surprising number of layers to dissect in this shine. We get something new every time we’re drinking it. The distillery folks tell us that it is meant to drink from the jar! Finish: More of the “smokey” notes have hints of subdued hot peppers. And  distillery is called “Ole Smoky,” because of the Smoky Mountains that surrond the distillery, not due to any “smokey” flavors on it. Ole Smoky Moonshines include some flavored shines like Apple Pie and Blackberry Like this article? Here are some other articles of interest: Moonshine Halloween Cocktail Recipes Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine Review Corsair Pumpkin Spice Moonshine Review

CLICK ABOVE TO PLAY PODCAST Maker’s Mark Bourbon Barrels, photo by Jim Karczewski After the news of Maker’s Mark’s plan to “rinse” barrels, a.k.a. extracting every last ounce of whiskey trapped inside the wood, BourbonBlog.com investigates how this decision could affect other products you enjoy from Scotch whiskey to beer. BourbonBlog.com’s Tom Fischer interviews Compass Box Whisky U.S. Ambassador Robin Robinson about potential consequences on the spirit industry and ancillary products. While law mandates a single use for a Bourbon barrel to make Bourbon whiskey, barrels in Scotland and other whiskies may be used a number of times to keep aging whisky. Robin explains the process of different fills into used barrels and how it changes the flavor in single malts over time in the podcast above. Robins says that if a Bourbon distillery uses this new process, flavors that currently benefit alcohol products being aged in ex-Bourbon barrels could become depleted from the barrelafter the extraction. The word “rinse” may not live up to the actual method which has been described by Jim Beam Master Distiller Fred Noe as like agitating a spray paint can, which may force at least 2 extra gallons out of the barrel. As Beam Global also owns Maker’s Mark, we predict that similar proprietary technology will be used. Most Kentucky Bourbon distilleries sell their used barrels to Scotch and other distilleries. Irish whiskey, rum, tequila, beer and some wines benefit from the Bourbon trapped inside the oak to give their products a unique flavor for both aging and finishing for deepening the flavors. Maker’s Mark Bourbon sends somewhere near 16,000 of their used barrels annually to Laphroaig Distillery in Port Ellen, Scotland, which they use to fully age their one of a kind 10 year old Laphroaig. We ask Laphroaig Master Blender John Campbell, “Will this extraction of Bourbon from the Maker’s barrel make a difference on your Laphroaig?” “If anything, this new decision could make our whisky tasty more ‘Laphroaigy,’ which wouldn’t be a bad thing,” Campbell says. Campbell says he thinks little of the sweetness from the trapped Maker’s Mark may  currently come through on the final product. However, the main reason for using Maker’s barrels on Laphroaig to fully age the 10 year single malt in a “quality used barrel” and not so much for any Bourbon flavors. “Because we are an Islay, we get most of our flavor from the spirit and the peat.”Campbell says that lighter Speyside single malts could see more of an influence with the depletion of the Bourbon from a cask, but also notes that this only an educated guess staying, “I’m not an expert on Speyside.” Laphroaig Whisky, with new packaging design and bottle While Laphroaig may not be changed much by the decision, it certainly stands to reason that Bourbon barrel aged beers would be deeply affected without the Bourbon trapped inside the barrel. Years ago, we put our noses into a used Bourbon barrel as we watched how Louisville’s BBC Bourbon Barrel Stout was made and aged. Since then, we have long admired the complexity that used Bourbon barrels impart on this beer along with many other brews across our nation. Watch our video of that experience on this link: Bourbon Barrel Stout. Maker’s Mark fans know a thing or two about what happens to Bourbon barrels. Review the photo below from Maker’s Mark’s facebook as they posed the question on October 23, 2012 asking, “who knows where a lot of barrels head after aging our bourbon?” Is Maker’s missing the mark? The question received 836 replies and 2,064 likes, showing that some Bourbon consumers appreciate secondary uses of barrels. So is Maker’s missing the “Mark” by potentially setting a new precedent in the Bourbon industry that could someda