Rhetoric 24 Year Bourbon

This year for the holidays I’m going to try a brand new whiskey every day in December. #lifegoals Dec. 24 I come into this drink with one question: is there enough of a difference between the 23 year and the 24 year to justify collecting all 6 years of Rhetorics? For the collector, the point is moot, but for the drinker, are the 6 different bottles more like 6 different Booker’s, or are they more like 6 different single barrels from a consistent product line (minor variations, but virtually indistinguishable)? The nose immediately takes me back to the 23 year. There’s a bitterness of brine and dust, but a sweetness of caramel too. There’s a tanginess that I get every now and then: tangerine, orange, cherry. That part is when the bitterness presents itself more as a sourness. It’s undeniably an older bourbon. The body is a delivery of the promises made by the nose. The caramel hits most clearly, with a brininess to follow. It takes some work, but I can get those fruity flavors from the nose. Finish is moderate heat, and though there’s not a huge flavor shift, this is where the sourness really kicks in. I really like this bourbon! My memory says this is identical to 23 year, but my current notes seem a bit different. This will require me to also open up a 23. Blind taste test time! For science. So they honestly are different, and it kind of pisses me off to say that. I was convinced that in a blind taste test, I wouldn’t be able to distinguish, but I could every time. Here’s the deal: noses are the same. If there’s a difference in the bodies, I can’t detect it. Finish is the way to know. Across multiple bottles now, the 23 year has a leathery, dusty finish. This 24 year is sour on the end. There’s no mistaking those trail offs. For the average drinker, I think it’d be safe to use these interchangeably. They are far more similar than they are different. But I’ll be damned if those finishes don’t give away who’s who. The 23 and the 24 are not like two different Booker’s, but they’re also a bit more different than 2 different single barrels of a consistent product line. My honest preference would be the 24 year, but they are both superb whiskeys. As a drinker, I do now yearn to at least collect a 20 and a 25. Perhaps those endpoints could help me map out what’s going on with each additional year. ‘Tis the season. I don’t know if I actually have 7 more new whiskeys lined up, so if you’re reading this and there’s something readily available out there you’d like me to enjoy/suffer through this holiday season, leave it in the comments.

45.4% abv Mashbill: 86% corn; 8% barley; 6% rye. Nose: OAK; toffee; vanilla; hint of dark chocolate, dark cherry & blackberry; slight clove and anise spice; did I mention oak? Palate: OAK, very woody with some bitterness; sweetness from vanilla backed by light brown sugar; salted caramel; fairly thin viscosity and delicate mouthfeel. Finish; medium-long and drying; cafe mocha and dark chocolate; cinnamon; vanilla; hint of dark fruit, orange and slight sourness. Oh, and oak. Value: at $140-200 in the U.S. = hard pass. Final thoughts: beneath the intense oakiness of this pour lies some nuance and complexity, but even the addition of water doesn’t shatter the woody bitterness quite enough, rather just enhancing the sweetness. This is a classic example of how very aged bourbon, unlike scotch, actually diminishes the quality of the experience. It’s not bad, but for the price this is a hard one to justify. While oxidization will certainly help, for the price you expect an amazing pour right away. Bottom line: there are simply too many great bourbons at half the price. Score: 2.5/5 Hard to recommend/definitely try before you buy

Neat. Nose is very interesting. Deep oak, in some ways similar to a Woodford Double Oaked or 1910. It gives a charred marshmallow characteristic. Going deeper I get vanilla and caramelized banana. Super rich. Hint of mint and cinnamon. I could spend all day sniffing this on a cold day by a fire. Smooth, oily mouth feel. Really coats the tongue and mouth. Chocolate and maple on the tongue. On the swallow intense chocolate and oak. The oak really kicks you and I like it. Very tannic and drying immediately. Marshmallow and char come back and those vanilla really open up and linger on the legs. It’s so oily that the legs last quite awhile and you can feel it slowly running down your throat. The more it opens up and I adjust to it, the more the sugars and sweetness emerge over the oak elements. Let this open for 30 minutes and it gets better. I am impressed by this. The Wild Turkey 17 was the oldest bourbon I have tried before this. WT17 was a deeper experience but I really dig the sweetness coming from this as it opens up.

Black Sheep Social Club, Cedar Rapids, IA; $20/1.5 oz Nose: 4 | in a rocks glass, so hard to pull too much (giving it the benefit of the doubt) Palate: 4.25 | rich and sweet (caramel, butterscotch, vanilla) with definite barrel influence (dense wood and oak); mouthfeel is a bit thinner than I'd expected Finish: 3.75 | medium-length oaky finish that lingers, but not forever Price: 4 | come on, it's a 24 year old bourbon Verdict: Bar This was a tough call because while it is a really interesting bourbon, I don't think the taste and profile command a $130+ price tag. However, if you factor in that this is a 24 year old bourbon distilled by Ed Foote in '93 at the Bernheim Distillery and aged in Stitzel-Weller warehouses, you may be more inclined to snag a bottle, if you can find one.

A sample as part of the "Whiskey transfer program from dthom". I'm excited to try this but, as always, wary of the hype and ridiculous prices this stuff goes for. Nose: Holy toasted coconut Batman! Toasted coconut, dark sugars, candied pecans, vanilla, Flavor: More toasted caramelized nuts, creamy buttery mouthfeel with dark sugars, vanilla, more coconut, some cinnamon and anise. Almost like root beer candy. Finish: Cedar and dark wood sugars with some spice, long finish that gets more interesting as I wait. A little bit of peppermint and drying anise on the finish here. Wow this one is complex and interesting and delicious. A great whiskey if you can get it at MSRP but don't hold your breath. I've seen this for $500 which is not good value.

The nose opens with cedar, dry oak, vanilla, bread dough, leather and a touch of spearmint and clove. The palate is gentle and it as dry as expected as it is somewhat chewy, but full of vanilla and rich custard, cinnamon, pepper, dry oak and is somewhat leathery. The finish is medium long with a lingering spiciness that holds on while dry oak, vanilla and spearmint fade, while remaining rich. Not as overwhelming as you might think for it’s age, with the oak qualities kept well under control. The high corn content shines through with how sweet this bourbon is, but is nicely balanced and makes for an easy sipper.