Ever drink any A. H. Hirsch?

[El Jefe]

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.

[TEN-32]

New one on me.

[El Jefe]

New one on me.

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.

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.:frown:

[CigarGuy]

Really expensive if you can find it, isn't it Rick?

[TEN-32]

They started with 800 53 gallon barrels, by the time they bottled it each barrel probably only held around 20 gallons. Plus some would have lost in the bottling process.

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.

[El Jefe]

Really expensive if you can find it, isn't it Rick?

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? :)

[El Jefe]

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.


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.

[El Jefe]

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.

[El Jefe]

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.

[TEN-32]

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.
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c286/mrbigirish/7b4fd26f-ef37-4991-b352-f795cb3c1e10_zps15fd5336.jpg
I decided I could do better than the Hyatt's honor bar...
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c286/mrbigirish/IMG_0245_zps1bb6616e.jpg

[El Jefe]

Cool. :) I need to get to Kentucky and do some tours. When the wife retires I may try to talk her in to selling our house and moving to Kentucky. It would be awesome!

I haven't had any Woodford in a good while.

[TEN-32]

Cool. :) I need to get to Kentucky and do some tours. When the wife retires I may try to talk her in to selling our house and moving to Kentucky. It would be awesome!

I haven't had any Woodford in a good while.

I have considered the same thing. Lets be neighbors.:anim_beer-1:

[El Jefe]

I have considered the same thing. Lets be neighbors.:anim_beer-1:

That would be something. ;) So what parts of Kentucky do you like best?

[Viking350]

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.
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c286/mrbigirish/7b4fd26f-ef37-4991-b352-f795cb3c1e10_zps15fd5336.jpg
I decided I could do better than the Hyatt's honor bar...
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c286/mrbigirish/IMG_0245_zps1bb6616e.jpg

Ten, you should visit the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

http://kybourbontrail.com/

[CigarGuy]

I have considered the same thing. Lets be neighbors.:anim_beer-1:

Me three! I was Tennessee as it has no State Income tax, but screw it. Let's go to Kentucky.
Oh. I'll probably be coming alone. Wifey said it's too cold to move there.

[El Jefe]

Me three! I was Tennessee as it has no State Income tax, but screw it. Let's go to Kentucky.
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. ;)

[TEN-32]

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!

[CigarGuy]

Most winters aren't bad. Hell Kentucky and Tennessee are basically just an extension of southern Missouri. ;)


Hello! This is Florida calling......

[El Jefe]

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!

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!

[El Jefe]

Hello! This is Florida calling......


Meaning? Aren't you guys tired of almost constant heat and humidity? :)