Last year Sam and I had the great pleasure of meeting Joe and Lauren Luby.  Joe and Lauren are the proud owners of two Doberman pups who inspired their new brand of bourbon, Two Bitch.  What started off as an idea from an annual whiskey party, turned into a fabulous product that was released early this summer.

Now when we first met Joe and Lauren, a year ago, it was decided that they were going to have their own bourbon created, but as we all know that perfection takes its sweet time and it is hard to be patient.  We are so glad that you changed your minds for batch #001.

Joe and Lauren decided to reach out to a number of distilleries and purchase barrels that were ready for the next step.   Once the barrels were purchased they started blending to reach that perfect ratio and proof that would have Two Bitch Bourbon stand out above the rest.  The main flavor for batch #001 comes from 4 year barrels. 

Nose for batch #001 is a strong butterscotch and pepper scent.  I found that the more I opened my mouth to smell the aroma the more pepper I received.  The butterscotch is more pronounced with almost closed lips.

Taste:  This bourbon starts strong with a tone of oak, which warms the mouth and then moves into a vanilla, and caramelized sugar flavor. As you are enjoying the sweetness of the sugars the rye comes in for a nice finish.  It definitely gives you a bold bourbon flavor that is perfect for sipping and enjoying anytime of year.  It is so delicious that if you weren’t paying attention I can see where one might keep refilling their drink and then the whole bottle would be gone.

This bourbon can be found at a number of establishments in Nevada and online at Love Scotch (http://www.lovescotch.com/p/two-bitch-bourbon-whiskey).  I highly recommend that you check out this spirit before its gone.

So what is next for Two Bitch Bourbon?  Well they are already working on Batch #002, and it looks like this batch will consist of some longer aged bourbon barrels.  Sounds like there are some other projects in the works for the future.  Can’t wait to hear about their future plans and taste Batch #002.

Congrats, Joe and Lauren on a fabulous start to this bourbon adventure!

Nose:  Light and airy with a scent of oak. 

Taste:  While visiting the Wild Turkey Distillery this summer we were able to try to Wild Turkey Rye and to my surprise it was quite smooth. (Honestly, and I think we all know this but not all “mass-produced” ryes are smooth).   It had a nice rye bite that doesn’t necessarily kill the finish, but lets you know that you are drinking a rye.  For me this rye had more of a flavor profile than our standard daily drinker, which is why we incorporated in our old fashioned.

So when it came time to choose the rye for our whiskey tasting, at the party last month, it was a no-brainer.  We chose Wild Turkey Rye.  The complexity of the oak, caramel and white pepper taste paired very well with our tart cherry truffle.  Its smooth, woody flavor with a buttery white pepper made it easy for our caterers to incorporate the rye into the chicken wing recipe and our bartender, Claire, used the rye in a Whiskey Ginger recipe.  Absolutely Delicious!

Nose: Light and airy with a scent of oak, and pears.
Taste:  So the guys at Bear Creek do make one of the BEST wheat whiskies that I have ever had.  When you take your first sip the first thing that comes to mind are the wheat fields that you can find in the Midwest that are blowing in the wind.  The barley is strong but continues to develop with a mild maple and currant finish.  It is not an over powering whiskey but has the enticing flavor that keeps you wanting to come back for more.

At our party last month this was one of the whiskies that we highlighted for the evening.  Our fabulous bartender, Claire, came up with a Whiskey Contratto Negroni  that complimented this whiskey nicely.  The caterers, Off the Menu Denver, made a bear creek wheat BBQ sauce with this whiskey, and the truffle that was paired with this whiskey was a corn flake and chili prepared for us by the Chocolate Lab in Denver.  Perfect complement to this great tasting whiskey.