Bourbon Barrel Foods Owner and Founder Matt Jamie shows how he makes Bluegrass Soy Sauce, the only small-batch soy sauce made in America, in these first two video episodes below

Popularity: 7% [?]

Four Roses Distillery will release the second in a series of limited edition, small batch bourbons this September at the 2009 Kentucky Bourbon Festival.

Hall of Fame Master Distiller Jim Rutledge has hand selected and artfully married two bourbon recipes, never before combined, for the exclusive Mariage Collection 2009 Release. It includes a 19-year-old and 10-year-old bourbon from one recipe (coded OBSK), and a 10-year-old bourbon from a different recipe (coded OESO). For more information on Four Roses’ 10 distinct bourbon recipes, visit this link.

Four Roses is the only distillery that combines five proprietary yeast strains with two separate mashbills to produce 10 distinct bourbon recipes, each with its own unique character.

With nearly 43 years in the bourbon industry, Rutledge said he is excited about this year’s selection. “Four Roses has the ability to select two, or more, of our ten unique recipes for this special annual bourbon,” said Rutledge. “It’s not often a bourbon is aged to perfection at 19 years, but this year’s edition is an exception. This is a special occasion and we look forward to sharing it.”

Robust, fruity aromas of ripened cherries and rich pipe tobacco combined with hints of lemon citrus and dried oak help to define this edition in the Mariage Collection. On the palate, suggestions of ripe fruit and allspice emerge with evidence of a smooth caramel and toffee finish.

Bottled at barrel strength and not chill filtered, the distillery will distribute approximately 3,500 bottles of this limited-edition bourbon to markets where Four Roses is currently available.

Last September marked the initial release of the Mariage Collection – which plays off the word “marriage,” and honors the day Four Roses founder Paul Jones Jr. proposed to a beautiful Southern belle.

The Southern belle replied that if her answer were “yes,” she would wear a corsage of four roses to the upcoming ball. When she arrived at the ball, she wore a corsage of four red roses, and Jones later named his bourbon “Four Roses” as a symbol of his passion for her and to honor the special occasion.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Can the third time possibly be more charming than the first two?  That is the question for American Whiskey enthusiasts as Heaven Hill Distilleries tells BourbonBlog.com that the release of the third and final bottling of Rittenhouse Very Rare Single Barrel Rye will be released this coming winter for the holiday season.  Following the release of the 21-year-old bottling in 2006 and the 23-year-old  in late 2007, the new 25-year-old expression is drawn from the final barrels of the same lot as the first two Rittenhouse Very Rare Single Barrel releases.

“This whiskey, at 25 years old, pushes the limits of barrel aging like the two releases before it,” observed legendary 6th generation distiller Parker Beam. “But like those earlier releases, these barrels have aged on the very first floor of Rickhouse OO.  The more moderate aging conditions on that low level kept the whiskey from getting too woody and tannic.  And by releasing this as a non-chill filtered product—also like the first two—all the flavorful esters and taste components really come through.”

The 21-year-old bottling captured a Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and was named “Rye Whiskey of the Year” by noted expert Jim Murray in his Whisky Bible 2007.  In November of 2007 the second-edition 23-year-old was released, and it captured the “Best Rye Whiskey” award, and a double gold medal, from the San Francisco Spirits Competition.

With straight rye whiskey enjoying a huge renaissance among both whiskey aficionados and mixologists, the few suppliers that still make and age rye are hard pressed to maintain stocks for their current labels.  Heaven Hill’s Rittenhouse Bottled-in Bond rye is on strict allocation and stocks are extremely limited for the second year in a row.   The first two editions of Rittenhouse Very Rare Single Barrel Rye were quickly depleted from Heaven Hill’s warehouse, and with the continuing resurgence of rye there is every reason to believe the third and final edition will sell out just as quickly.”

Rittenhouse Very Rare 25-year-old Single Barrel Rye, which will be available in major metro markets throughout the country for the holiday season at an average retail price of $190 for a 750ml bottle, is a very limited release—only one thousand 3-bottle cases, or a total of 3,000 bottles, will be shipped within the US, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

The 100 proof  whiskey is very rare for a number of reasons—its single barrel designation, its remarkable age, its pedigree as a Heaven Hill straight rye, its lack of chill filtering.  When all combined into one outstanding, impressively dressed package, it will represent a new “holy grail” for American Whiskey and Rye Whiskey lovers.

Heaven Hill Distilleries, the country’s second largest producer of Bourbon, tells BourbonBlog.com that they take great pride in the fact that they are the only one of the nation’s major distillers who make all the recognized styles of American straight whiskey—Bourbon, rye whiskey, corn whiskey, even their Bernheim Original Wheat Whiskey.  Rye, which was the first straight whiskey produced in the thirteen colonies and was until the late 20th century the preeminent style of American Straight Whiskey, is prized among whiskey lovers for its sharp, fruity taste and spicy finish.  Heaven Hill was one of three distilleries that kept the rye category alive during the 1970’s and 1980’s, despite stagnant or declining sales.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Recently we met a mixologist with a deep thirst for knowledge, love of writing and in the past several years her intense desire to learn about the craft of cocktailing has grown to new heights.  We introduce to BourbonBlog.com The Intoxicologist! In one creation she mixes St Remy Brandy XO and Jim Beam to create a twist on the Old Fashioned and in another she throws in Luxardo Passione Nera for passionate mix with bourbon.  Intoxicologist Is In blog celebrated one year of readership in April 2009 going from  574 readers to 61,000 readers internationally in less than a year.  She also writes for the Examiner.com as the Omaha Drinks Examiner and has just shared a batch of bourbon cocktails with us in Drink Recipes portion of BourbonBlog.com under cocktails listed as created by The Intoxicologist.  Here are a few below:

Beam of Passione

Hayden’s ‘Cheri’ Smash

In Fig-titious Fashion

Popularity: 6% [?]

Next month, Heaven Hill Distilleries will release Evan Williams Honey Reserve Kentucky Liqueur, a new product that marries extra-aged Evan Williams Bourbon with real, natural honey. Bottled at an approachable 70 proof and available in both a 750ml and 50ml size, Evan Williams Honey Reserve will be shipping to select markets across the country in September at an average retail price of $14.99 for the 750ml bottle. Heaven Hill tells BourbonBlog.com that it lives up to its tagline of “All Flavor.  No Sting.”

Several established trends in the distilled spirits industry make this right product at the right time for Evan Williams. There is an ongoing success of flavored spirits, whose growth is more than double that of unflavored spirit is the continued popularity of Bourbon, especially Evan Williams which showed a double digit sales percentage increase in 2008.   In addition, there is a growth of mid-tier products, with ultra-premium brands down 2.5% and brands perceived as a better value up 5.4% year-to-date, according to AC Neilsen.

To create a “buzz”, Heaven Hill tells BourbonBlog.com they will use an array of retail display materials while utilizing striking graphics and the “All Flavor.  No Sting”  in yellow and black graphics.  We’ve also heard about drinks called “Honey Splash” and the “Stinger” made with Evan Williams Honey Reserve…BourbonBlog.com will stay on top of this and let you know more!

Popularity: 26% [?]