10 Days of Bourbon Christmas - Day 10!!

We've arrived at the 10th and final day of the 10 Days of Bourbon Christmas!  I hope you all have enjoyed my recommendations for your bourbon drinking friends and family members.  This last post is going to be short and sweet, with a peppery blast of rye spice and subtle hints of fruit.  Yes, this is one you can drink up and enjoy.

Four Roses Single Barrel - a fantastic bourbon

Just this year, for the 3rd straight year and 4th time out of the last six years, Four Roses was named Distillery of the Year by Whisky Magazine's judging panel.  That should tell you enough right there!  The story of Four Roses rise, fall, and rebirth is one of my favorite stories in bourbon history.  Master Distiller, Jim Rutledge, is a man who has my utmost respect.  This bourbon, Four Roses Single Barrel, is one of my favorite pours. 

Four Roses uses 2 mashbill recipes along with 5 proprietary yeast strains to produce 10 different whiskeys.  Four Roses Single Barrel uses just one of those recipes, OBSV, which is aged and then bottled from a single barrel (go figure).  What does OBSV mean to you?  Well, "O" designates that this bourbon was produced at Four Roses Distillery in Lawrenceburg, KY.  "B" tells us that this bourbon uses a mashbill consisting of 60% corn, 5% malted barley, and 35% rye.  "S" means that it's straight bourbon that's been aged for a minimum of 2 years.  "V" means that the "V" strain of yeast was used, a strain that imparts a creamy flavor with hints of fruit and a blast of spice.  The bottle typically sells for $39.99 but I once found a ridiculous sale for $29.99 at a local shop and bought nearly all of their stock.  It's just that good and I loves me a great deal on bourbon!

Bottoms up, my bourbon brethren!  Bourbon Christmas is here! 

10 Days of Bourbon Christmas - Day 9

Getting this one in just under the wire!  Had a crazy day today, my first day wearing prescription glasses.  I'm seeing in HD, baby!  I can't believe I waited this long to correct my distance vision.  Played golf this morning and could actually see my ball past 150 yards!  I also shot +2 on the front 9 and +6 on the back 9, good for an 80 which made me really love my new glasses even more.  Ok, enough chit chat, let's get down to business with my recommendation for a gift for your bourbon buddy on Day 9 of Bourbon Christmas.

The Cooper Double Old Fashioned Glass from CB2.com

Today we're revisiting glassware again.  Why?  Because you can't just have an elegant glass to sip bourbon out of, you also need an everyday utility glass good for sipping neat, rocky, or cocktails.  That's where the Cooper Double Old Fashioned Glass comes into play.  This glass is awesome.  First off, it's a little wider than your average old fashioned glass and it begins to taper towards the top.  The walls of the glass are a nice thickness too so they don't feel like they'll break easy but they are thin enough that the glass feels comfortable as you sip.  My favorite feature on this glass is the base.  This glass has a great hand to it and that comes 100% from the base of the glass.  It's thick glass that has a heavier weight to it.  This is a man's glass, dammit.  It's perfect for a  spirit like bourbon whiskey. 

The official glass of The BTS

I know I've featured the picture above before but I wanted to show how perfect this glass is for a cocktail like a BTS Old Fashioned.  Look at the way the glass allows for the large format ice ball while leaving a little bit of room for easy drinking.  I currently stock 20 of these glasses at The BTS and have 12 more on order.  Last night I held a bourbon tasting that I donated as an auction prize for the Hurricane Sandy Relief Dinner that Cobaya helped put together and the guests loved them.  At $3.50 each, you'd be a fool not to at least pick up four for yourself.  Only downfall is you'll have to wait until they get back into stock mid-January. 

So, there you have it.  Another affordable gift for your favorite bourbon buddy during the Bourbon Christmas season.  Enjoy!

10 Days of Bourbon Christmas - Day 8

Well, it took 8 days but it finally happened...  I missed a day of updating this here site with my recommendation for Bourbon Christmas.  Took the day off yesterday and once I left the house at noon I never made it back.  Prepping The BTS for a bourbon tasting today.  Well, good thing we've got plenty of time to shop for last minute gifts for our bourbon buddies. 

The Bourbon Review is a great source of knowledge for all things bourbon

If you want to learn more about this American spirit, it's best to go right to the source - Kentucky.  That's where the good folks at The Bourbon Review come into play.  The Bourbon Review is published quarterly and covers all things bourbon including new releases, cocktail recipes, bourbon-laced food recipes, and distillery info.  It's a great source of information.  I'm always happy when I open up the mailbox and find an issue inside. 

Another great reason to subscribe to The Bourbon Review - these guys put together some great events.  This fall I flew out with Dad and a couple of buddies for Bourbon Under the Stars.  We met the guys from the Bourbon Review for a cocktail hour the night before then hit the event on a Saturday night on the grounds of the Fasig-Tipton Thoroughbred Auction Company.  It was an honor having the chance to meet a man I highly respect as a professional and Master Distiller and that man was Jim Rutledge of Four Roses.  What a great guy.  Both he and Bill Samuels Jr. of Maker's Mark can talk bourbon all day and never get tired of it.  It was awesome chatting up both of them while sipping cocktails, tasting bourbons, and chomping on some great grub from local restaurants.  This year the guys at The Bourbon Review are putting together the 1st ever Bourbon Classic right in Louisville.  Remember the Bourbon Christmas recommendation on Day 6 to plan a trip to Bourbon Country?  Well, this would be the time to do it.  This is gonna be an awesome event!

So, this Bourbon Christmas season, give the gift that keeps on giving quarterly and sign your bourbon buddy up for The Bourbon Review.  Heck, it's an easy $20 for 2 years so get yourself a subscription while you're at it!  I promise you won't regret it.

Until next time...Merry Bourbon Christmas!

10 Days of Bourbon Christmas - Day 7

I hope you've been enjoying all of my recommendations for gifts you can give your bourbon drinkin' buddy for Bourbon Christmas.  We're gonna go with a slight bit of a repeat today but, trust me, it's worth it.

The Spherical Ice Mold by Tovolo

Yes, we're going back to spherical ice today, this time in a much more affordable and accessible fashion than Day 4's recommendation.  Judging by the feedback I received after posting about the Cirrus Ice Ball Press (as my buddy Chadzilla pointed out, that's an awful name), you guys are interested in ice spheres.  And why shouldn't you be?  They're pretty frickin sweet!  So, on Day 7 of Bourbon Christmas I give to you...the Spherical Ice Mold from Tovolo.

In the freezer I keep at The BTS, I've currently got 9 varieties of ice ready to go - 4 types of cubes, 4 types of spheres, and some of the regular chipped ice you get at the market in a big 10-pound bag.  I've already discussed the benefits of the ice sphere so no need to rehash.  What I can tell you is this - the Tovolo Ice Sphere Mold is the biggest and best ice sphere mold on the market.  I like that they are individual molds. Others that I have in my freezer are trays, and while they work just fine, they tend to leave a "saturn ring" around the middle of the ball because of the way the tray is constructed. With the Tovolo mold, you don't get that ring. These are also the largest ice sphere molds I've found. They fill a double old fashioned glass perfectly. I haven't timed how fast they melt but I'd say it's easily an hour. It's real easy to make ice balls using these molds.

Care for an ice ball with your bourbon, Sir?

So if you don't want to shell out boku bucks for the Cirrus press, this ice sphere mold is the way to go.  You can find them at a decent price here.  I've bought a ton to give as gifts to my bourbon drinking buddies.  I strongly recommend you do the same!