Walk into a bar and inquire about them, and the whole place will go quiet, and everyone will star at you, like one of those taverns in a Hammer horror film when someone asks about Castle Dracula.

Rebel Yell, the preferred cheap party bourbon of American college students, also has a reserve edition now. Called, Rebel Reserve, there’s no definitive explanation of what makes it so reserve-y.

Johnny Drum Private Stock found its way onto my shelf for a couple reasons. First, because I’ll try pretty much any bourbon, ever, and while Kentucky Bourbon distillers approach to marketing may get under my skin, most of the bourbons I’ve had from them have been damn good.

Ahh, Tartan Week. The best week all year in New York City. And even though we didn’t get to attend the parade this year, due to a scheduling conflict involving the baptism of a baby, we managed to squeeze in plenty of theme-appropriate activity, including haggis, whisky tasting, beef Wellington, whisky purchasing, whisky blending, and Whisky Live.

In 1867, with nothing more than $4 in his pocket (actually, I’m sure a lot of people would have enjoyed having $4 in 1867), a German by the name of Isaac Wolfe Bernheim made the big move from Schmieheim to New York with, I assume, big dreams. Things didn’t work out quite as planned, though, and he ended up working as a traveling salesman in Pennsylvania. It was a rough time to be an American. The Civil War that ravaged the country had only ended a couple years earlier, and much of the United States was still in a state of devastated exhaustion. Bernheim enjoyed some degree of success as a peddler, at least until his horse keeled over and left him with no means to realize the “traveling” aspect of being a traveling salesman.

Michter’s. Seen it on the shelves plenty of times. Had it on a list of things to try, possibly buy, if the price was right. And I never got around to it, for no particular reason other than we are spoiled for choices and my list of things to taste is long. Then a friend brought a bottle of Michter’s 10 year old bourbon to my birthday party this past summer, and between three of us, we managed to drain the bottle in relatively quick order. Quick enough that I didn’t actually remember to take note of particulars, and whatever notes I would have kept would have probably been useless anyway, as the Michter’s was not the only nor even the first thing we drank in moderately excessive quantity that night.

Spent the past week back home in Kentucky, which means lots of bourbon drinking and buying. No distillery tours this trip — had to see the grandparents and my new nephew, plus watch the Florida-FSU game — but we did manage to hit the swanky bar/restaurant/art experiment Proof on Main in downtown Louisville. There we got a great bartender who was more than willing to take us on a tour of some whiskies I’ve been wanting to try.

The Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History chronicles the history of American whiskey from Colonial days through the 1960s. Rare documents such as Abraham Lincoln’s liquor license, advertising posters, prescriptions for the medicinal use of alcohol during National Prohibition, whiskey bottles, and other artifacts, including several moonshine stills, are all on display. The museum, located in Bardstown, Kentucky, is open to the public and is part of the American Whiskey Trail.

Writing things up during/immediately after WhiskyFest always seems a study in folly. There’s too much going on, too much to drink, and too many things to carry for me to make notes of any use. And trying to make it all up again the day after? Please. But this year, I might be able to manage since I went to WhiskyFest 2009 doped up on cold medicine and, thus, less prone to drinking myself silly. So while the combination of cold medicine with dozens of whiskies means I’m not possessed of any dependable tasting notes, I can mention some of the notables. This would be stuff I’ve never had before, rather than the stuff I already know about.

So it’s been a long six months, but the whiskey from our wee 1.5 gallon barrel has finally matured to point I want it to be at. Which means that at midnight on October 31st, Halloween 2009, we bottled. For three months, the barrel contained Amontillado sherry that had a strong flavor of fruit, olive oil, and nuttiness. It was my intention to do an Amontillado finish for a couple reasons. First, it’s rare to see Amontillado casks used to finish a whiskey. Oloroso? Sure. All the time. But Amontillado? Only Glenkinchie and Springbank have done it, that I know of. And the Springbank Amontillado Cask Finish is pretty spectacular. Second, I always loved the story “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe.

The Four Roses bourbon distillery has one of the most thorough tours, and one of my favorites. They pretty much show you every nook and cranny of the distillery and every aspect of bourbon making on a medium scale (bigger than Woodford Reserve, but much much smaller than Beam). The bourbon isn’t half bad, either.

A few of you may know that I’m one of the organizers for the New York Whisky Enthusiasts group on meetup.com. We’re about to have a summer event (with more in the planning for the fall and winter), for which I’ll post tasting notes and photos when it happens. But I wanted to take the [...]