The Pappy-Gate Bourbon: Don't Get Hooked that Bourbon is Going Home!!!!

            On September 20, 2017 Gilbert “Toby” Curtsinger, the central figure in what has been dubbed “PappyGate”, entered a guilty plea signaling that the end is near for the case.  While the theft of the Pappy Van Winkle helped this case gain its notoriety, Curtsinger and his co-defendants were also accused stealing bourbon from Wild Turkey. Eight co-defendants have pleaded guilty and only Mark Sean a truck driver for Wild Turkey, who is accused of helping Curtsinger divert shipments, case is still pending. However, all of the co-defendants including Curtsinger has agree as part of their plea agreements to testify against Sean.

So as the case winds down many news outlets and bourbon commentators have speculated that the Bourbon seized in thecase may have to be destroyed. However, this is clearly not the case and a clear path to preserving the bourbon is set forth in Kentucky Revised Statute § 500.090 (4) & (7).  According to the revised statute, “The trial court shall remit the forfeiture of property when the lawful claimant: (a) Asserts his or her claim before disposition of the property pursuant to this section; (b) Establishes his or her legal interest in the property; and (c) Establishes that the unlawful use of the property was without his or her knowledge and consent.”

Certainly, in this case both Buffalo Trace/Sazerac and Wild Turkey/Campari, from which the bourbon was stolen will assert their claim and there can be no doubt as to their legal interest in the property. Furthermore, I am sure the Sazerac and Campari were in fact true victims of a theft.

Lastly, KRS § 500.090 (7) requires, “. . . the trial court to determine if a lawful owner or claimant to the property has been identified or is identifiable.” So while the news of bottles rare Pappy Van Winkle and continuously aging Wild Turkey possibly being destroyed is a headline grabber, the actually reality of that happening is remote.

So after all sensational headlines, moaning and gnashing of teeth, I cannot image that both Sazerac and Wild Turkey would not jump at the chance to reclaim their stolen property and seizing up on the opportunity to use this event to promote a special release. Especially, Wild Turkey/Campari which has barrel of aging whiskey sitting in the evidence room. The possible promotions are endless. . . . . .

So that's how I see it. . . . be on the look out for Wild Turkey's Stolen and then Forgiven a beautiful 12yr old bourbon that was aged in the sheriff evidence locker. .  . . . .  

****Below is the full text of the pertinent Kentucky Revised Statutes

KRS § 500.090 Forfeiture

* * *

(4) The trial court shall remit the forfeiture of property when the lawful claimant:

(a) Asserts his or her claim before disposition of the property pursuant to this section;

(b) Establishes his or her legal interest in the property; and

(c) Establishes that the unlawful use of the property was without his or her knowledge and consent. This subsection shall not apply to a lienholder of record when the trial court elects to dispose of the property pursuant to subsection (1)(b) of this section.

* * *

(7) Before forfeiture of any property under this section, it shall be the duty of the trial court to determine if a lawful owner or claimant to the property has been identified or is identifiable. If a lawful owner or claimant has been identified or is identifiable, the court shall notify the owner or claimant that the property is being held and specify a reasonable period of time during which the claim may be made or may, in lieu thereof, order the return of the property to the lawful owner or claimant. If the lawful owner or claimant does not assert his or her claim to the property after notification or if he or she renounces his or her claim to the property, the property shall be disposed of as provided in this section. It shall be the duty of all peace officers and other public officers or officials having knowledge of the lawful owner or claimant of property subject to forfeiture to report the same to the trial court before the act of forfeiture occurs.

Back in the Saddle Again

It's been sometime since I posted anything on my good old blog but I won't be shy in saying that I got into blogging about bourbon and whiskey when everyone was blogging about bourbon and whiskey. So I looked at the landscape and felt that in that time I had nothing really to add to the whiskey readers scene. Bloggers like Bourbon and Banter, Bourbonr, TheBourbonTruth, Sippin' Corn and writers like Fred Minnick pretty much had a handle on things. No one needed another review sight or a how to book and frankly I wasn't about to share all my great places to get bourbon with the great unwashed. So I took a self imposed hiatus.

So what have I been doing for the past 2 years??? Watching and listening to you guys. Reading up on the industry side of this hobby. Reading the real history of bourbon and American whiskey. I've been out there Seeking. The WhiskeySeeker in me did not take a hiatus!!! I've been buying, sampling, drinking, tasting, trading, buying and selling anything and everything Bourbon. Some of you may know at I'm a founding member of the Cleveland Bourbon Club. Well the CBC has opened may a door for me and opened my eyes to the world and the truth about private barrel picks. As a member of the CBC I've been on 15 Barrel picks and as a guest on other tasting panels the number is over 20 private picks in 2 years. I've met my heroes Jim Rutledge, Jimmy and Eddie Russell. I've tasted amazing whiskies and drank my share of crap.


However, over the last two years I've gained a perspective. My own understanding right or wrong of the bourbon universe. And this has lead to the conclusion that I have something to say. You don't have to agree with me and if you don't all the better. But it's been an interesting ride over the last two years and I'm gonna share what I think I learned. So this is the reboot of The WhiskeySeeker blog and if you don't like it then go drink some vodka. If you like it share it and leave me a comment. I hope to update the look and navigation of my pages here so hang in with me.  So here we go my first post will be on the hand wringing over the bourbon stolen in "Pappy Gate"! See you guys soon.

Rebel Reserve: The Bourbon that The Coopered Tot was looking for?

The Coopered Tot did a lovely post on the Stizel-Weller Rebel Yell and the modern version currently released by Luxco. His comparison bottle was a 40%ABV 4 year old wheated bourbon. However, I have available to me the Rebel Reserve and it appears to be an older higher proof version of the 80 proof Rebel. 

Rebel Reserve is Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey it is bottled at 45.3%ABV and has no age statement on it. However, the bottle that I was able acquire from my control state liquor has markings on it that may indicate that the bourbon inside is 6 years old. The label says that it was Distilled and Bottled by the Rebel Yell Distillery Louisville, Kentucky but we all know this is a fictitious non-existent distillery. It’s a wheated bourbon apparently sources from the same stocks as Rebel Yell. 

A date stamp on the bottle shows a 14 (bottling date?) and 2008 (Barreling date?) on it. This would make the Bourbon inside comparable to the old Stizel-Weller bottle that he tasted and reviewed. But even so it’s no contest.

Rebel Reserve-new label 90.6 (45.3%abv.) NAS, but markings on bottle could disclose that it is 6 years old (plus labeling requirements) Distilled and Bottled by the Rebel Yell Distillery Louisville, Kentucky.

Nose: Vanilla, sweet cooked sugar, oak, and tobacco. None of the solvent and glue chemical notes that The Coopered Tot got. However, there is a smell of wet granite.

Palate: The entry is smooth and easy the first notes are all sweet corn syrup and vanilla. Turns slightly tannic toward the middle but never goes real oaky on you. The middle is citrus pithy and some baking spices leaning towards clove. It is not a huge flavorful bourbon but it has something’s going on. Never bitter of overly tannic but sweet with a short finish. The month is left coated with corn sweetness and it never goes hot on you despite the higher ABV.

Impression: Its not a complicated bourbon but it’s a pleasant sipper and for $19.99 for 750ml its money well spent. It certainly seems like a better purchase than its younger and lower proofed sibling but it can’t hold a candle to the old Stizel-Weller Rebel Yell. So I say, if your in a pinch its an unsophisticated but pleasant sipper so share. Go get some.

The WhiskeySeeker

Tom's Foolery Straight Bourbon Whiskey: Craft Whiskey With Integrity

It’s not everyday that I get the chance to review a brand new bourbon. Tom’s Foolery Distillery in Chagrin Falls Ohio has been receiving critically acclaim for its Apple Jack for sometime now, but is on the verge of releasing its first whiskey. Tom’s Foolery Straight Sour Mash Bourbon will be on store shelves first in Ohio, around October 2014, with a Straight Rye Whiskey to be released in spring of 2015.

So I am abandoning my usual practice of placing this in my tasting notes and adding it here. Tom Herbruck has been laying up some really exciting bourbons and ryes here in Northeast Ohio and some of those are Straight, a minimum of two years old. See Tom's story here at his website http://www.applejackohio.com/bug-in-the-ear. 

As a founding member of the Cleveland Bourbon Club I had the foresight to invite Tom to be a member. I reveal this fact in the spirit of full disclosure, because some might take my review to be somewhat biased. That said, in the evening of September 15, 2014 Tom presented the Straight Sour Mash Bourbon (Batch 1) and his Straight 100% Rye Whiskey.

Tom’s Foolery Straight Sour Mash Bourbon (Batch 1)

Mash Bill 70% Corn 15% Rye 15% Malted Barley

Double Pot Distilled

Char No. 4 (Independent Stave Company 53 gallon)

No temperature control rickhouse with metal siding.

Small Batch Bourbon of five to six specifically selected barrels.

Bottled at 90 proof (45%ABV)

Nose: The nose of this two year old may not explode (What two year old does) but its age reveals notes of saddle leather, wet oak, and there is a surprisingly little ethanol for such young bourbon.

Taste: This bourbon has a full mouth feel but not overly viscous. Light honey, vanilla cream, and orangesicle through the mid-palate. It finishes with mint and clove and tobacco.

Overall Impression: Quite frankly I had great trepidation going into this tasting because I know the distiller so well. Plus it’s a two-year bourbon. However, it’s a great straight two-year bourbon. Granted its not yet a big bourbon with huge flavor, but it will probably get there. This two year old is subtle and well balanced showing potential for growth through maturity. Flavors are showing themselves already and in good portion. What is striking is the lack of bitterness, metallic, and that new make ethanol taste. This is a nice first release, worth drinking and owning. It is definitely a real Straight Bourbon.

PS. On September 18, 2014, I had a chance to sample Batch 2 of the Tom’s Foolery Straight Sour Mash Bourbon. This batch is less leathery and more floral with rose and hibiscus. There is more maple sweetness, vanilla cream, red-hot cinnamon, orange cream with a white pepper and clove on the finish. This batch is fuller in its flavor and even has a deeper richer color.

While I was impressed with Tom’s Foolery Bourbon, I was not prepared for what came next.

Tom’s Foolery Straight 100% Rye Whiskey.

Mash Bill 85% Raw Rye 15% Malted Rye

Double Pot Distilled

Char No. 4 (Independent Stave Company 53 gallon)

No temperature control rickhouse with metal siding.

Tasted as single barrel

Bottled at 90 proof (45%ABV)

Nose: This Rye presented itself with dusty nose, orange blossom, candied mint and vanilla cream

Taste: Cinnamon candy, anise, clove, and fennel.

Overall impression: Wow this is an amazing Straight Rye. There are couple of new two year old ryes out there that are good but in my opinion this beats them. This is an exceptional rye. Its full with a great mouth feel thick and rich. This is a completely complex rye whiskey and only two years old. Again, Wow! 

A.H. Hirsch and The Original Michter's Distillery

I first had A.H. Hirsch about 7 years ago when I was but a babe in the woods of the bourbon forest. To be honest I knew it was special but I had yet developed my whiskey palate. I was a bourbon/whiskey neophyte and frankly I am probably still a neophyte by comparisons. However, it did not diminish my appreciation of that fine bourbon and my fascination with its origin's began.

My quest for all things A.H. Hirsch began with countless internet search which lead me to the first and one of the most comprehensive articles about the Michter's Distillery its origin and its whiskey. Yvonne Bomberger Fowler also had a blog of her own and the pictures on both sites helped guide me to the old distillery site. One of the best books on this whiskey is "The Best Bourbon You'll Never Taste - The True Story of A. H. Hirsch Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey.  Distilled in the Spring 1974.  Made and Bottled in Kentucky" by Chuck Cowdery and all bourbon lovers should read it. 

I promised myself that if my travels took me anywhere near Harrisburg, Pa I would pull out the maps and try and find the site of the Old Michter's Distillery (DSP-PA-17). This post is not about the history of the distillery near Schafferstown, Pa, others have done a better job. This is about my trip that brought A.H. Hirsch and my love of bourbon full circle for me.

First, let me start off by saying that in all of the writings about Michter's Distillery no one has ever given an address. I plan to remedy that here 215 Michters Road, Schafferstown, Pa. So as I started out my morning from Grantville, Pa I only had a vague sense where it was. So imagine my glee when I was greeted this street sign.

Rout 501 and Michter's Rd south of Schafferstown

 However, my new found joy in my orienteering skills soon turned to disappointment when I rounded the turn and was confronted by this vision. Was I in the right place? I must have miscalculated? Did someone just move buildings here? What's going on?

I don't know what I was expecting. I had read many stories and posts on forums discussing the deteriorating nature of the old distillery but surely I had not succumb to the wrecking ball? But after checking Google Earth, Google Maps, and comparing photos from various websites I was indeed in the right place.

I was saddened by obvious fact that the main distillery building was torn down and the distillation column house, a tall standing structure marking the presence of a distillery, was also now gone. The only thing remaining from the column is the rectifying cap that has been saved and placed out back.

If you look closely you can see the footprint of the old distillation building. I parked my car on the concrete pad of one of the old rickhouses and walked down the road for a closer look. It is sad to think that with the still now gone the possibility ever resurrect the Old Mitcher's is gone forever.

As I walked around the former grounds of Michter's Distillery you could hear cows mooing from the buildings in back. If you walked up on the ridge next to the old rickhouse locations you could see corn growing shoulder high.

Water still flows in a small stream right through the center of the complex. This is farm country with its rolling hills, flowing water and fields filled with corn and other grain. However, this is also bourbon country with everything right here to make that great farm commodity whiskey!

So A.H.Hirsch is the dodo bird, its a dinosaur doomed to extinction though consumption. Sure a few collectors will have bottles that they will pet and put on display but one day it will be gone.

As I strolled about the remains of the now deceased distillery the words of whiskey writer Chuck Cowdery started to circulate in my thoughts. We should not lament that the gold age of bourbon may have passed us by and fear not because good whiskey is being made everyday somewhere by somebody we just have to discover it.

And as a strange twist of fate or perhaps a salute to the ties that bind I got to thinking of Tom Herbruck, a friend, a distiller and a bourbon enthusiast. Tom and Lianne Herbruck bought the demonstration still once used at the Old Michter's from David Beam.

 Over two years ago David Beam and Dick Stoll (the man responsible for setting the mash bill that would become A.H. Hirsch) helped the Herbruck's install the still and set up a mash bill. As of the writing of this article those whiskies are straight so indeed someone will make the whiskey. . .

Whistle Pig - You Says its Canadian eh

After years of double speak and utter nonsense Raj Bhakta finally comes clean in an interview that was to run in the summer but was release by Whisky Advocate this evening. The story was broke by Robert Simonson, and will run in the upcoming issue of Whisky Advocate here:

Whisky Advocate: A Revealing Chat With Whistlepig's Raj Bhatka

In it Bhakta admits that the source of Whistle Pig's whiskey is Alberta Distilling, which is a Beam Inc. (Soon to be Suntory) company. The same company that Dave Pickerell worked for when he spent 13 years at Makers Mark. Finding the source was probably about as easy as picking up the phone and talking to one of his former Beam co-workers and asking what they had lying around. 

So why all the years of total BS stories and deception. Simple the owners of Whistle Pig don't think much of us as consumers. It's better to lie to us than tell us the truth. And why come clean now after years of deception. Well it seems that they were losing the marketing edge especially after Raj's idiotic interview on Bloomberg.

Whistlepig Whisky CEO: Raj Bhakta

 I perceived the brand as having no integrity and if a Whisky has no perceived integrity how can you look upon its yearly releases with anything but skepticism. 

Well finally a victory for the whiskey consumer. Now if we can only get the real story behind Larceny and Forgiven. 

Kentucky Bourbon Jim Beam is Turning Japanese

Kentucky Bourbon Jim Beam is Turning Japanese

Chuck Cowdery sets the record straight on Take Away with John Hockenberry.