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.

Mistake or Not?

My favorite part about this spirit is the story behind it.  The blood, sweat, tears and mistakes… wait what was that…mistakes.  There are no mistakes  in making whiskey, are there?  Well for some people they may call a mistake “trying something new” or “new concepts”, which may be true but others just call it an oops.

Why not take a chance right, or how costly is it going to be?  In some cases those chances or oops have paid off with amazing rewards and amazing sprits.

A great example is from our friends at Wild Turkey.  An employee mistakenly dumps a batch of rye into a bourbon batch.  Now that is one heck of a mistake.  Some organizations would consider this a very costly mistake and maybe even call for grounds of termination and I am sure at the thought probably crossed Wild Turkey’s mind too.  But they decided to wait it out.  The mistake had been made and there was no turning back, so they took a chance.  They allowed the barrel to sit and waited to see what kind of flavor profile it would create.  Today that profile is considered a profit.  So much that after they sold out of the first batch so fast that they recreated the mistake for batch number two!  Now they couldn’t label this whiskey as Mistake 1 or Oops we goofed, so they chose the appropriate  name (in my opinion) Forgiven.

So lessons learned.  Pay attention to what you are doing when marrying barrels.  Don’t fire the employee right away for the mistake it could make you money and maybe some new concepts are worth trying out.  Cheers!

Being from the South, I am excited to hear that some southern, older traditions of the past are peaking through the bourbon world.  When I think of older southern generations and traditions in the south, I do tend to think of the illegal producers of this great spirit, but it all had to start from somewhere.  FEW has taken it upon themselves to combine the best of the North and the South in their Bourbon with traditions and ingredients.

FEW Bourbon uses three grains that are infused together, a corn, a malted barley and they combined that with a Northern Rye to give it a spicy kick. This is a fairly young bourbon since it is ages for one year in a charred oak barrel but it does have some interesting characteristics to it.

On the nose I found a sweet floral scent that would round out into an apricot.  No spice was detected at the nosing stage.  The first thing I noticed in the taste is how smooth the bourbon felt as I took my first sip.  The second sip reminded me of a werther's hard original candy that smooth creaminess of caramel, vanilla and a nutty flavor that is a cross between a peanut and toffee.  Towards the end of the taste the spicy from the rye reminds you that it is in there and can probably be diluted with a drop of water if you are not into the spiciness of rye.  Please keep in mind that when tasting this bourbon they do produce it in small batches, so there may be some differences within each batch. 

Definitely a sipping bourbon that will warm you up on a cold day if you choose to drink it neat, like I do!  Nice job FEW, I am looking forward to trying the Rye next.

Over this Thanksgiving Day Holiday thought it would be best to try some of the Wild Turkey Rare Breed with the family.  This barrel 112 proof whiskey bourbon is definitely a Rare Breed.  One of the many characteristics that I enjoy is when you nose the whiskey to sense the flavors that your taste buds might be getting ready to enjoy only to taste a little surprise in the end.  This Rare Breed will have you smelling molasses and maple syrup with a dry oak finish.  The taste brings out the fig, dates, oak and finishes with a mild pepper flavor that will linger on for a little bit.  A friend of my father's, who was experience this tasking with me, told me that when she nosed the whiskey she could remember the smell of her grandmother's fruit cake, when they would soak it in bourbon and apples while it set.  So tis the season for Fruit Cake (dark fruit cake not light) so pair this whiskey bourbon with your families favorite recipe to see if you get the same experience.

Love the story behind Jefferson's Ocean Aged at Sea.  Two barrels are strapped to a boat and transported down river from Louisville, KY to New Orleans, LA.  Then they go up to coast from Key West to New York.  Along the way the boat stops for breaks and photo ops for tourists to see the barrels on their journey.

The bottle above is the 3rd Voyage.  The nose on this whiskey will remind you of a Sandalwood Candle which has hints of vanilla and oak.  With a hint of bacon, caramel and well yes some whiskey I definitely think we have a new candle that many would purchase.

The taste reminds me of candied bacon and sea salt caramel bites.  The black pepper and crystallized brown sugar on the bacon and the silky smooth taste and texture of melted down caramel with bits of salt is a perfect description of this whiskey.  In fact I think these items would definitely enhance the flavors.

Thanks to Rich & Rare for sending me this great bottle of whiskey to sample and this is definitely the time of year to sample it. With a nose of vanilla and cream with a slight pepper smell it gets you in the mood to bake a pumpkin pie. The taste of this whisky will not disappoint you with what you were able to smell. Definitely a vanilla, oak flavor in the beginning ending with a cinnamon, peppery finish.

I think this whisky would go great with a nice fall baked good. So pull out your recipes and sip this whisky with your pumpkin or apple flavored baked goods.