I'm pretty sure that until today I had never heard of the stuff, let alone drank any.
I bought Chuck Cowdery's book concerning this bourbon whiskey, The best bourbon you'll never taste.
Ever drink any A. H. Hirsch?
I'm pretty sure that until today I had never heard of the stuff, let alone drank any.
I bought Chuck Cowdery's book concerning this bourbon whiskey, The best bourbon you'll never taste.
Returns June 3rd.
New one on me.
Face your fear, accept your war.
The book isn't very long, so I put a bookmark in the Patton book, I'm in chapter 4. Anyway, this stuff was all made in 1974 in a little, constantly on the verge of ruin distillery in Pennsylvania. Adolph Hirsch ordered 400 barrels of bourbon as a sort of loan to the distillery. The whiskey just sat there in the barrels for years until the distiller finally went under and Hirsch was ordered to remove his property, the 400 barrels. He didn't want it, so he sold it to some outfit in San Diego who had it bottled in Kentucky by Buffalo Trace. The youngest vintage was a 16 year old and some IIRC was as old as 23 years.Originally Posted by TEN-32
Funny thing is, its supposedly some of the best whiskey ever made by man. Except for what a few collectors have stashed, its basically all gone now. When it hit store shelves in the 90's it sold poorly at first, but then word got out and.....
They started with 400 53 gallon barrels, by the time they bottled it each barrel probably only held around 20 gallons. Plus some would have been lost in the bottling process. Most of us never had a shot at it and I kinda wish I'd never heard of it. Like the Pappy's this stuff was distilled from unobtainium.
Last edited by El Jefe; 04-01-2014 at 09:40 AM. Reason: ajusted numbers
Returns June 3rd.
Really expensive if you can find it, isn't it Rick?
This "lost" spirit is what inspired the "Angel's Envy" and "Devil's Cut" nomenclature. Man, what I wouldn't give to try some of that juice.
Face your fear, accept your war.
Oh yeah, at this point its just crazy expensive. I'd love to have a bottle, but every time I start thinking like that a little voice in the back of my head asks me; would you really rather have this lone bottle or 3 boxes of Cubans?
Returns June 3rd.
Yep. Its crazy how much a barrel can lose in ten years. Its no wonder whiskey distillers live from boom to boom hoping to weather the down years. Its during the lean times when the big guys swoop in and buy up the smaller guys, who are at that point struggling. As in all businesses its capitalization and cash flow that make or break them. Many distillers, being under funded, have to borrow money to afford the warehouse stocks. Hell of a deal to make a product knowing in many cases, you'll be sitting on it for 6 to 12 years. Plus all the while you're paying taxes on it. In Kentucky theres taxes due on stored whiskey every year.
Next time you run across a Democrat, kick him in the nuts!
To hear Cowdery describe it; this whiskey was incredibly balanced and had profound depth and complexity. It had a nice amount of rye in the mash bill, so I'm betting it was heaven in a glass.
Returns June 3rd.
When I first started commenting on the information in Cowdery's book, I was just a little over half way through it. He originally wrote this as two newsletter articles in 2006. But just because he had published didn't mean he didn't keep researching. In this revised publication, released in 2012, he has amended some of the info, so I'll edit my post accordingly. The first and second halves don't jive on some of the stats, so I'll go by the most recent numbers.
Returns June 3rd.
Another thing thats kind of interesting. The distillery where this whiskey was produced and aged was, as I said earlier, in Pennsylvania. It was always fairly small compared to the big boys in Kentucky. During its last 30 or so years of existence it was called Michter's. They also produced a sour mash by that name.
This was not the same outfit or hooch going by that name today. The bunch going by Michter's today are flim flam artists. They started up just a few years ago in Philly and since the trade mark for Michter's had long since been abandoned, they seized upon it and even have the nerve to claim the history behind it. This current bunch produces 4 year old whiskey and sells it for $30+ per bottle. Caveat Emptor.
Also, at the site of the Michter's distillery, there had been continuous whiskey production since the mid 1700's. When it closed in 1990, it was the oldest continuously operating distillery in the United States.
Plus, during its last roughly 40 years of production, Michter's used the mash bills and methodology created there by Everett Beam of the famous Beam clan. Sadly, today, if you were to drive past the old location of the Michter's distillery, you wouldn't be able to find it as absolutely nothing is left of it. Its as if it never existed.
Returns June 3rd.
Interesting whisky trivia J, thanks for sharing. I've been going to Kentucky for many years as I have in-laws about an hour south of Lexington. A number of years ago I decided to make time to visit and hopefully tour some of the bourbon distilleries. I arrived at Labrot and Graham (Woodford Reserve) only to find it closed. We were traveling back to Chicago and it was a Sunday. One of these trips I'm going to dedicate 2 or 3 days to the trail and really delve into it. Its difficult to pry my wife away from her family though. That time is precious and her folks won't be around much longer.
I decided I could do better than the Hyatt's honor bar...
Face your fear, accept your war.
Cool.
I haven't had any Woodford in a good while.
Returns June 3rd.
I have considered the same thing. Lets be neighbors.Cool.
I haven't had any Woodford in a good while.
Face your fear, accept your war.
That would be something.I have considered the same thing. Lets be neighbors.So what parts of Kentucky do you like best?
Returns June 3rd.
Ten, you should visit the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.Interesting whisky trivia J, thanks for sharing. I've been going to Kentucky for many years as I have in-laws about an hour south of Lexington. A number of years ago I decided to make time to visit and hopefully tour some of the bourbon distilleries. I arrived at Labrot and Graham (Woodford Reserve) only to find it closed. We were traveling back to Chicago and it was a Sunday. One of these trips I'm going to dedicate 2 or 3 days to the trail and really delve into it. Its difficult to pry my wife away from her family though. That time is precious and her folks won't be around much longer.
I decided I could do better than the Hyatt's honor bar...
http://kybourbontrail.com/
Me three! I was Tennessee as it has no State Income tax, but screw it. Let's go to Kentucky.I have considered the same thing. Lets be neighbors.
Oh. I'll probably be coming alone. Wifey said it's too cold to move there.
Most winters aren't bad. Hell Kentucky and Tennessee are basically just an extension of southern Missouri.
Returns June 3rd.
Stan, I have to laugh when my in-laws tell us they got a snow flurry and cancelled school. Although nothing like where you are, winters are quite mild. I like TN too but I have much less personal experience with the state.
Rick, I have spent the most time around Sommerset/Lake Cumberland. Beautiful area. I've spent a bit of time in and around Lexington also.
Viking-its definitely on the bucket list. Near the top!
Face your fear, accept your war.
Most winters aren't bad. Hell Kentucky and Tennessee are basically just an extension of southern Missouri.
Hello! This is Florida calling......
One of these days soon I'm going to drag the TT to Land Between the Lakes NP. Its really not far from us.
I think Lexington was be cool for obvious reasons. I like the idea of hitting the Bourbon Trail too. You know that would be fun!
Returns June 3rd.
Meaning? Aren't you guys tired of almost constant heat and humidity?
Returns June 3rd.
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