1792 Extravaganza; Ep. 69

Dan, Mike, and Ben: Good evening and welcome back to Bourbon Brass and Beyond. it's been eight days since I've recorded a podcast, so we're a little behind. I do apologize, but tonight is a good night. I have my neighbor Ben with me to my left, your right, and Ben is a quasi-retired orchestra director. From Wheeling, West Virginia. From Wheeling, West Virginia. My buddy Mike. Mike and I run around all the time. All the time. Searching for bourbon together. Yep. Love it. And so tonight, Mike brought a few seventeen ninety twos. He brought the straight rye and the twelve year and then I had a few of the others. And we're gonna do a little bit of a taste comparison. And so you'll see I think we're gonna start low proof tonight. The lowest proof is the sweet wheat. And let's go. Well, let's see. There is no age statement on this, right? I don't think so, no. Subtle and smooth taste. Ninety-one point two proof. This is a twenty twenty six release, right? Mm-hmm. Of course, it's gonna be a fresh crack. All of them. that does smell good. Go light pours to See if we can make it to the end. Bob may or may not be joining us, but I I I figure we might be here for a little bit. We get on the Very light. Very light. Very, very light. Caramely. A little bit. Nothing jumps out 'cause it's so it's it's very light for sure. It's not even ethanol, yet I don't for fresh crack. This is young. Yeah. It tastes young to me. No, this is a first drink of the day too, so Well, first day for two two days for me. I'm pretty clear. Yeah. Not much of a finish on it either. No, I when we talked earlier before we come on, I I I wanted it so bad when I was chasing the bottle the sweetweed in. It's just okay. It's pleasant, but it it's like a and you could this is like an all day sipper. for sure. But Yeah, it just smells young to me. A lot of corn. No, I'm getting a lot of corn on the other. Yeah. Yeah, after you said that for sure. Yeah, that's what I get. You get Ben. Try the next. And compare. So Ben had to sell his soul to be here tonight. yeah. Yeah. He's in indentured servitude for tomorrow. Yeah. With the YSU Arts Festival and Saint Marin's Festival. So this is your last bit of freedom? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. it's okay. Well, hopefully after this you don't have to start at six AM tomorrow. No. No. Yeah. I have a short walk home, so it's good. I d I do like that too. I mean like everybody around we just Yeah, we're just just walk over. This is a nice neighborhood. I like this. I hope we buy this. So bourbon number two is the 1792 small batch. This is ninety-three point seven proof. When did you get this one? He had this one right now. Yeah, I think I've had yeah, I think I've had this one for a while and I just haven't opened it. Yeah. The I haven't had the only ones I've had are the Foolproof and the Sweet Wheat actually. Of all of Those are the only ones I've tried and I I told you I've been through four bottles of that Foolproof. Could I have enough to get it on the pallet? I do like the bottles. These are very good pouring bottles. Absolutely. I normally make a hell of a mess. Different smell. I got big time cinnamon on that right off the get go, actually. My first hit. yeah. Like baking spice. Yep. Nutmeg. Hmm. Yeah, that that jumped out of me. What do you got on the nose? Sometimes it's hard to, you know, pick it i you've been doing it so much longer. And I hear you say things and then I agree. I was like, I maybe that is it, I'm finally, you know, getting to that point. But that that first that spice, that cinnamon really right off the get go. So Fred Minnick says that all the taste that you have you're gonna get by the time you're I think he said like five or six years old. So anytime you're trying something after that, that's how you relate to to different flavors and smells. Just so different. Yeah, it's this one different. So this is very similar to what well I told you my buddy Alex had all those 1792s. The all these single barrels. This is what reminds me of that. the the the taste. Yeah. that was a small batch too, right? No, those were all single barrels, but straight from yeah, single barrels, right. But this is the the flavor that I remember getting. from those. A little more a little more of the rye, a little more of the the the the rye spice, the cinnamon, the baking notes. I'm not getting any fruit on it though. Normally with a rye I'll also get pick up a fruit, but I'm not. So I think this is probably still still young. Just incredible. One bottle to the next health. Mm-hmm. And each one's gonna change as we go through. A little bit more of a finish. Yeah. On the small batch than the sweet wheat. No, I would say that's medium. That's a deep medium like the you get a little bit of little bitterness at the end. Good. So this one I think I'm most exc I'll let you do the honors. That's your bottle. Is that the twelve year? That's the twelve unless you want a picture of it. Yeah, go ahead. I'll let you you got it. Yeah. What's what's special about this one? This one has an age statement. It's twelve years old. And those others were un unstated. So if it's a Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey, then it has to be at least two years old. if it's a bottled in bond, it has to be at least four years old. Say that then? I guess I didn't. Seems to have a different different color too. Yeah. A little deeper. Yeah, you're gonna get more of the wood colors and flavors. Barrel color colors and flavors. see that. I love that nose. It's not as the other ones are This is more subtle. Mm-hmm. I would s and a little deeper. You almost get a start of that fruit flavor too in the nose. Just a very whiff of it. Took a minute. Yeah. Took a minute to get there. The first couple was that wasn't the case. Almost a little bit of leather. It took me a while to learn about the leather nose. What is that? I i it's just that you get a little bit of like a leather like a glove leather. Yeah. You g just to pick up a whiff of that, like a baseball glove leather. It's like I had to learn how to pick that up. So a little more ethanol. A little more aftertaste too. Yeah. Yeah, that's what I like. Yeah, but that it's got a lot it's a nice wood oaky. Yeah, that's a good finish right there, boy. It's oaky but not a lot of char. three totally different, totally different bottles right off the get-go. You wouldn't even think it, you know, no and everybody who just drinks it p has their favorite and goes with it. But once you start comparing them side by side, the difference is incredible. And all of these first three bottles are are batched, meaning they they take a bunch of twelve your barrels, dump them together, right? Mm-hmm. The small batch is just all random barrels. And then the sweet weeds gonna be all the the weeded ones. Right now I gotta I like the twelve year. Out of those three I like that twelve year. Yeah. And there's been nothing off putting so far either. Right. You know, so they've all been good. So now this will be our first single barrel. This one is ninety-eight point six proof. I never said that. No. yeah. Ninety-three? Ninety-six point six for the twelve year. And what's this one? The single barrel is ninety-eight point six proof. Where did you get your bottles? So a lot of these I think I got one at Gino's or one at Chalet. And the rest I got of mine I got at Gino's. I got a couple off unicorn, traded for a few. There's I think I have eight eight different bottles. I guess I'd have to go back and check. Now I'm starting to open all. Beauty. Little bit lighter in color. So now this is all just from one barrel. And the thing about that is now you're gonna get every barrel has a different flavor. And some might be rich and dark, others might be light and fruity. Generally they're selected based on their flavor. I get more caramel on this. Yeah. It's it's back to light like to me. Yeah. It's not as as the the set it it's not even the nose isn't the same as the the twelve year. it's a lot more subtle. I'm starting to get the caramel. Yeah. And the one thing these guys taught me is after it's open and sits for a while and breathes for a while and and ch chasing or drinking bottles six months later if you don't care for it. It's it's absolutely true. Absolutely true it changes. Ugh. Yeah. There's bottles that I really didn't like that six months later I thought were fantastic. So I wouldn't say you get as much as the spice or the the the rye bite on this at all. Agree. But I really like I think this is sweeter than that sweet wheat. absolutely. Mm-hmm. I thought I really liked that. Easy to drink. Yeah. Like that was easy. That that's an all day that that's easy to drink. Yeah. But I like the flavor on that. Yeah, that's really good. I should have brought out bottles of water for this. That's next. Way there. TikTok too, so that's why that's why I keep doing all that. I even like the the finish with an aftertaste on this. I got a scratch in my throat. This is the one. This is the one I've been waiting for, the straight rye. The straight rye. Yeah, I can't wait to try that one. All right. Where are we on this journey? Comes to the straight ride. Now how old is this one? I don't think there's a statement on it either. No, known for its high rye bourbon heritage, seventeen ninety two Kentucky Street Rye Whiskey, it's a bold evolution of the spice forward character that defines the brand. I'm a rye guy. I love the ryes. And this is a hundred proof. But it's not bottled in bond. So there's at least with a bottled in bond, you know it's at least four years old. Mm-hmm. But this is 100 proof and not a hundred a bottled in bond. I just read a story on that or actually didn't read it. Watch the video on that whole bottled and bond and how they made it so it had couldn't be just garbage whiskey and had to be Yeah. So I mean that's pretty cool. Pretty pretty cool thing. It's incredible how much you don't know about what happened until you know until you start following it and then it's on my feed every day now. So Well it's just like anything else. You know, you had a bunch of guys that would take whiskey and then water it down or dilute it with whatever they had. Mm you didn't know what you were drinking. That's what they said there would be iodine in it and stuff it's crazy. And Taylor. He right? E. H. Taylor's the one that what spearheaded that. Yep. Look at that. This even looks lighter. So this is gonna be a str I believe it's gonna be All rye. So bourbon has to be fifty-one percent corn. Right? And you can have high rye bourbons and you can have low rye bourbons or you can have weeded bourbons like that sweetweed that we had. Now this one is gonna be at least fifty-one percent rye. that's a nice nose on that too. And I'm not normally a rye person. I I'm normally a more of a weeded bourbon type person. But as of late I found some really good ryes. Mm-hmm. You said there's no age No age. It's kinda doesn't have as much bite to me as the other ones, as the one before. What do you think? I like that. Yeah. It is good. Lot of like a candy I'm I'm getting that now as it's sitting man is that good. I like that. And I am getting more of the orange like fruit on it. Yeah, a lot of fruit. Way sweeter actually than the the whe t the sweet we have for sure. boy, is that good. I yeah, I felt like I got more rye bites on the sweet wheat than I am on this. Yeah, there's not a is the it doesn't grab you as like that did, but that's a much sweeter flavor and you can really f I really got that rye. That's that's that's a good bottle right there. Yeah. Candy. I'm getting candy. Yeah. Like candy corn, like a like Okay. Some of better just hard to stop. Mhm. man, that's really good even now. The finish is long. Yeah, very long. Very long. I'm not getting any of the bitterness in the back corners of the mouth. It's just staying that nice candied mm hmm. That finish is all caramel. All candy caramel. Yeah. For sure. I still got that candy corn taste a lot. I'm giving that a lot. Yeah, I'd say that. It's not your favorite so far. That's that's that moved into the one slot. Again, I'm partial to rise anyway, but the 12 is really good. The 12 is really good. I do like oaky things. I do like, especially if I get like a toasted oak, I like that a lot. So that 12 year age statement. It's like I know a lot of people aren't fans of the Weller 12. I really like it. I I like the lot B. You know, th those I I just like the age. That Caleb's Crossing. No, there are that's a good one. Yeah, well that'll come out. Alright, bottle number one, two, three, four, five, six. 1792 bottled in bond. 100 proof. So these are bottled and stored in government protected warehouses so that nobody can try to water them down to get more volume. Yeah, incredible. That Taylor story was awesome learning about that. And these are small pores. I mean they're per per quarter to half ounce. I mean, just enough to get a good taste. Yeah, but when I saw that I I sometimes I've I flip through them videos, you know, I don't even pay attention to But when I when it started talking about it, I like, I gotta watch this and what a interesting he Taylor like really took charge of that and what a great, great idea, great contact. He was tired of people getting ripped off. He didn't want people drinking the iodine and all the stuff that they were putting in it and nobody knew what was going in it. So I'm getting like a blend of that straight rye and that single barrel on this. On the nose. I'm getting the caramel. I get the caramel. And I'm also just a hair of the fruit. This is my favorite so far. Really? You like keeps changing. Every second it just keeps changing. So I get a little bit of the rye spice. Get some of that cinnamon back. man, that is good. The nut call. That's really Yeah. It's got a lot of flavor. I'm getting the caramel and I'm getting a little more of the char, the toast on this one. The feel of it's very nice. Yeah. So there's a lot of discussion of what proof you like your bourbons. Like some people like the foolproof cask strength only. Some people say that like old Forester is better at a hundred proof than it is at foolproof because you get more of the flavor. You get it's just some people will add a little bit of water to their bourbon just to get that flavor. that's got a good finish. Sorry to know. Yeah, no. That's got a good finish. Yeah, I I it's got a great wow. really hanging around, really staying a long time. Yeah. Now even from this angle, looking at the bottles The full proof looks a lot darker than the bottom we want. Wow, still still got it still got it everywhere. Feeling it really nice. Boy, that's really good. And and it seems like the seventeen ninety twos don't just get the credit. Like people, you know, kinda y you know, they they they don't want to hear or they don't you know, they don't like it or they they don't they don't give it a sh give it a try, but How'd they come up with 1792? That's a great question. I was thinking the same thing. I'm sure he knows the answer to that. not not really. So 1792 is Barton's. And Barton's is owned by Sazraq. It hasn't been always, but it was purchased by Sazraq. but They're out of Barnstown. Barnstown area is known for a high-ry mash bill. Because all of the people in the Barnstown area were followers of Basilhaydon, who they basically basil Haydn led 27 families from Maryland who were all Catholic, who were being persecuted, to what was then Western Virginia, which is now Kentucky. Okay, so they and they founded Bargetown basically because of their Catholic faith. And the thing they brought with them was Basilhydin was a distiller and he made whiskey. in Virginia and Pennsylvania they were known for their their rye whiskies, right? 'Cause that was the pre predominant grain. In Kentucky, corn was the predominant grain. So that's where they went from corn, but they still used a lot of their rye to maintain that the mash bill or the the flavor that they knew. And basically anybody that farmed had extra grain at the end of the year, and it would just go bad. So they made it into whiskey. like old grandad. Mm-hmm. I I I did an episode on old grandad, and my question was to everybody, do you know who the picture is on the old granddad bottle? I have no idea. Baselheiden. Really? Yeah. The guy that made old granddad was the grandson of Basel Haydn. I didn't I did not know that. See? There's so much. There's so much intertwined that you you pick up, you know, on a daily or weekly basis. It's it's fantastic. It's great hobby. It really is a great hobby. fantastic. a great community. People are all you know, nobody cares if you don't like something. Nobody says, you know, like the table of shame. Somebody may love that stuff over Right. You and it's And if you love that stuff, you can have it. I will pack it up for you. That's funny. All right. One of my top fives. Seventeen ninety two foolproof. It's one hundred and twenty five proof. I seem to fancy the higher proofs. You like the higher proofs, you like the the rise. Looks a lot darker in that bottle. This is one that'll for me, it stays with me a long time. You you can pour a glass of it and you don't have to hit it as often, you know, if you f if you fill a fill a glass up and you take a full pour it'll last you because you don't have to i it it sits with you for so long. And it's a lot darker in the glass. Look at how dark that is. That's a beauty there. Stronger smell. yeah. So what is that? So I'm getting the caramel. Mm-hmm. Yeah, this is a very caramel forward bourbon. yeah. Almost I I'm almost getting like a a some of the I wanna say burnt caramel or like a butterstotch. It's it's the nose is the sweetest I think of of all of them. Yeah. To me. Now a lot of times they want you to have your mouth open when you do the nose. Otherwise the alcohol can overwhelm your senses. Yeah, I've gone through multiple bottles of this. This is this is this is good stuff for me. Did you know that they say that only one nostril works at a time? And that while one nostril is smelling, the other one is like re Not liquefying, but they're it's like adding the mucus to the lining to to rewet the lining. And it alternates back and forth like thirty seconds at a time. So what you pick up on a nose on one nostril might be different. Might be different than what you get on the other. You know what? That explains why it it changes from second to second. You you hit it and it and you you pick things up. man, that's so good. So they say to Like when Fred Minu Minnick we we did a dinner and Fred Minnick led us through a tasting. He said the first thing you do is you look at the color of the glass. You know, like it'll give you an indication of how strong it is or how old it is, by how long it's been in the barrel, but how much color it's extracted from the wood. And this one obviously is very dark. Mm-hmm. Look at those legs, and those legs are fantastic on so good. That is just great. I I think it's underrated. I think people don't even give it a shot. You know, you talk to a lot of people and they haven't even tried it and man, that's great now. I haven't even taken a drink yet 'cause I'm still I enjoy that bottle right there. So then you get the nose, try both nostrils, and then you go in for the drink. finished stays and you can feel it in while you can feel it swell as it as it sits. And like I said, you don't have to you can pour a glass of it and it stays with you for so long that you know you could do whatever you're doing and and and enjoy it and and wait till it dissipates, which is a a lengthy period of time and you don't have to drink it fast. That stays so sweet. Yep. Like a caramely sweet, like a a flawan sweet, which I really like. You know, I and I've said that on a on a number of different bottles that it reminds me of that caramel drizzle, that thin caramel drizzle that on flawn. You know, 'cause flawn's baked upside down in the caramel. And then when you flip it back over and you take the container off, that's where it just So what's the aftertaste on tasting? What is that? I'm getting nutmeg. After taste. Because the baking s the baking spices kind of like diffuse a little bit and the but the nutmeg and the caramel just stay. It's incredible how it just changes. The whole time you're you know, you're sitting there and and you still you feel it in your gums and you feel it, you know, high up high up and you know in in the back of your throat. it's it has it I I feel like a little longer for sure. It's a good bottle right there. That's my top five, man. It's one of my top five for sure. And it this is all from the same well, the straight rye is a different mash bill. The sweet wheat's gonna be a different mash bill. But it's all from the same distillery. All you know. I'll always have an open bottle of that. And you can get it you can get it online at the auction at the Unicorn for like twenty five dollars. That's incredible. I always, always pick one up when I see it. If I can get it that cheap, I always pick one up. So what's your favorite of all these? I like the foolproof and then rise not with it, the straight rise not with it. I'll I'll definitely have an open ball of that. This is my favorite. The the rye or the foolproof? The straight rye. Yeah, that's good. Yeah, I like the foolproof. I I can't I I I like the rye a lot. it for me it didn't overtake the the foolproof. but that's one and two for me for sure. So Tough when you're judging seven bottles. It's so sweet. It's not it's not overly, it's not you know, like a it's not overly sweet where it it it's it's too much. It by any means. It's it's perfectly blended for me. Right. I and I agree with that. The sweetness just lasts, like the caramel just stays still sitting. Yeah. That's what I noticed about the last bottle. Mm-hmm. Stays with you. So I think Hmm. It's tough, isn't it? Yeah. They're all good. Right. You know, they I I would say the the the foolproof and the bottled and bond I think are both just fantastic. the bottled and bond is good for And I think they're all good. And I really like the Oak on the the twelve year. It but For it's gonna be a toss-up between the bottle and bottom and the foolproof. Mm-hmm. I wouldn't be ashamed to have any of these bottles open and have guess over and, you know, a have at it. Yeah. Choose, you know, choose at your own will and and enjoy. And again, like we talked about, that's the beauty of it, is some people their tastes are so different, their palates are so different that and and nobody judges. It's great. If you like it, great. If you don't. Mm-hmm. fantastic. Boy, that was really that's still actually it's been a few minutes and it's still hanging in there. That's why I love that bottle. So now is normally my favorite part of the show. Cause now it's like you're playing Uno, it's drawful. You know, you you don't you get to pick your color and I picked up a number of really interesting bottles. recently. I think one of my favorites is I told you the Cam's crossing. Yeah, you you gotta try this. We'll we'll do new glasses for this one. This one 12-year, 95% rye, 5% malted barley, Micter's rye, blended with a seven-year Green River bourbon. Now, normally when they do blends, especially with like a bourbon rye blend, they use bourbon as the base. Let me see that label. This one uses the rye as the base. Now it's a 12-year rye. Boy, is that nice. Okay. Rye ages a little faster than weeded bourbons or low rye bourbons. So i normally if you see like a six-year rye, that's it's a that's an higher age rye, right? So this is a 12-year rye. I have to say. Now, the guy that look at the color on this. man, is that beautiful? The guy that made this, his name is David Jennings. He's known as RareBird101 on Instagram. He's a huge wild turkey fan. And he writes a lot about wild turkey. He wrote a book about wild turkey. He's a blogger, super great guy. And so he came up with this with his dad. So different from everything else. Yeah. It's just so different. I get a lot of turkey notes, but also at the same time, just a nice sweet little bit of the rye spice. You said this is rye blended with a so it's a twelve year ninety five percent rye mickters. I like mixters. Yeah. Blended with a seven year Green River bourbon. This is bottle three ninety-two of six fifty-eight. This is batch number two. When did you first find out about this? So he came out with this in the last year and David actually sent me this box. That is really good. Yeah, right? Get the that oak and the age from the twelve-year, which a little bit of the fruit from the seven-year bourbon. I mean, it just And I'm not trying to sell anything. I mean No, no, no. No, this is this is I know legitimately one of the best bourbons out there. Wow, is that fantastic? It's like you get a grape like a grape sort of background note on it. With the orange and the y like a dusty wild turkey funk on the top. I I I don't know how else to explain that that blend. But that's what I get on. It's a bottle of that. all right. Let's let's let's let's Google it. 'Cause you can buy it on their website. man, that's that's trying to get into my top five. Really, really So Caleb's Crossing Whiskey Company. Yes, I am twenty-one. let's see, our order online. So you blend a straight bourbon and rye whiskeys, it's $124.99. That is worth every penny. my goodness. Wow, that is really good. Thank you for that one. Yeah. Well. And then that's I have really been finding it interesting finding blends. Mm-hmm. And I've always been a traditionalist. Like I wanna know the the pedigree and the heritage of the barrel, you know, like that it was by the old way of doing things, that type of stuff, you know. But and I think this is really nice on that. Yeah, and I I think what it what's happening, even like wild turkey, like Bruce Russell Who is doing a fantastic job. Like that Russell's Reserve thirteen that they just came out. Yeah. I mean, he's mixing stuff barrels together that are coming up with a flavor that is just fantastic. I I I I think that what we're gonna see is that is the way people are going forward. Cause they're finding the good qualities of each barrel and they're able to find a blend that enhances all of those good qualities. Boy, that's really fantastic. And even on the nose, when you go back to the nose. Even I'm still feeling it, you know, even deep, you know. Everything else has been real in the muppet. I mean, man, that is really good. I gotta find me a ball. So I'm smelling what am I So I'm I'm getting a lot of citrus and cinnamon. see I got the cinnamon. I I the citrus is I get that with rye. Mm-hmm. Rye has to me, and of course everybody's in everybody reacts to different flavors differently. That's what's so incredible about it. So I pick up a lot of citrus on a lot of rye. So I picked I p I get like cinnamon on the rise a lot. Spice a a lot. Yeah. But on this one, I I'm getting the the citrus, the cinnamon, the spice. Almost a little bit of dark cherry or chocolate. Man, that's really good. Like cacao. Hmm. Like if you've ever smelled like dark chocolate. Mm-hmm. It doesn't have a chocolate smell. It has a like a a little bit of a different smell. Yeah. It's not like a sweet chocolate smell. That's what I get when I when I nose this. Maybe even a little nuttiness. It's so complex and that's what I really love about this. You get so many flavors out of this bourbon. Incredible how they do that. It's a that's a good model right there. Yeah. So I I love sharing that because people all react the same. That it it's a fantastic permit. Mm. Great stuff. And then, you know, like one of my favorite blends, and one of the first blends I had, but I still to this to this day I love, is the Americas 47 from Monks Road or Log Still Distillery. And I it's a Kentucky straight rye, so it has a little bit higher corn contact, but it's still considered a straight rye with Two it's two of their ryes with one of their bourbons. Maybe I have that opposite. but it's basically three different barrels mixed together. And that was fantastic. It's a little bit lower proof, but you would never guess that with the flavor. That bottle right there that says America's 47. Can you grab that for me? Where is the second shelf on the right? This one. Yeah. So I would say this one leans more bourbon now, but it's also a blend. As far as sippability and drinkability, this one is fantastic. It's only 94 proof. And that's a rye set? This is a blend of rye and bourbon. So when it all started, did did did Rye come out after or so Rye was first. Rye was first? The first American whiskey was Rye whiskey. I didn't know that. Yeah. So because it was primarily grown in Pennsylvania. Mm-hmm. And then as they moved so what happened was there was a tax rebellion because the government was taxing gallons of whiskey. I just found all this out. And Kentucky was not the time I watched. Yeah, Kentucky was not a a US state yet. So all of the All of the distillers and whiskey makers fled to Kentucky because there was no tax on their whiskey. But if you're making whiskey just for yourself, why do you want to pay a tax on it, right? So they started using corn, because that was the the the prominent grain in Kentucky. I I just now I got to tour the distillery, Wally Dant, who is JW Wally Dant of the his family started JW Dant whiskey. has the log still distillery, not to be associated with the current JW Dant label. But so this is his bourbon. they actually distilled and bottled this for the inauguration for the forty seventh president. They were gonna do that no matter who was inaugurated. Right? but their distilled spirits producer number is forty seven. So this was, you know, to be a play on that. But they did distill this and a and produce this for the inauguration. Mm-hmm. To me, this is a great blend. Next time you go to get invited to one of those fancy things, let me know. See if you can tag along. See if you can bring a bring a friend. So I have to say, Wally Damp was one of the most generous and easygoing and informative guy I've ever met. We I asked him if we could come down and interview him. And and have him on the podcast. And he invited us down. We stayed at an Airbnb on his property. now Log Steel Distillery is now on the old J.W. Dant distillery property, which had been there since eighteen sixty. Boy that nice. The Airbnb we stayed in was his grandfather's house. Wow. That's where he used to visit. And it was literally fifty feet from the Rick Houses. So he would talk about the smell of all the Rick Houses and how he could smell that in the basement of that house. And that's what he remembers as a kid going to visit his grandparents. And and it was still active as the JW Dant distillery then. man, that's good. Isn't it I mean it was really is good. You get that caramel sweetness, you get the nice blend of the bourbon. It's ninety-four proof. Ninety-four proof. And you get a lot of flavor. And I compare it to the Caleb's Crossing, because the Caleb's Crossing has a lot of the nice, like the the spice and that dusty turkey funk. Whereas this has that nice caramel sweetness, the richness of the bourbon, and still you get that Kentucky rye with it. I taste like a little I don't know, it's the burning of the barrel or something. Yeah, a little bit of the char. Yeah. Yeah, and I really like that. Mm-hmm. So we went down, we did a poll podcast. I mean, Wally gave us a complete tour of the facility. We we we tested stuff from his his testing still and which was in where the they're they have their bar and their tasting area. And then we went out to the Rick Houses where we tasted from the barrel. man, that's kind of great. fantastic. I would love to try I would I I seriously I see those guys, you you know, you see the videos where they dip it in there and the barrels drinking. I was I was feeding from the barrel, putting it in the glass, and then anybody that was try everybody was trying it, and then whatever they didn't drink, they just handed to me and That was a good day. And then we went back and we did an hour-long podcast. And we tried four different bourbons. And then afterwards he sat around and drank with us for about an hour and a half. Wow. Just bullshitting, you know, talking about family stuff. Absolute class act. I could not speak any higher of Wally. Great stuff, man. Yeah. Good. Great, great. The whole community seems to be fantastic. You know what? That's what it's about. Mm-hmm. So y yeah, I America's forty seven. That's good. That's a great bourbon. Fantastic, fantastic course. What else do want to try? How you doing, Ben? Good. Good. I'm good. How many of these 1792s are there? Is this this just the seven or is it? No, no. There's there's a few bottles that are high dollar. there's probably four that are high dollar over over these for sure. I can't remember off the top of my head what they are, but Let me look. Are they higher proof or are they that you know what I could I couldn't answer that but I I know I've actually sent an email to the distiller saying, Hey, where can I get this stuff? and they were very vague. Very vague. So one, two, three, four, five The one I wanna try, Dan, it's the thirteen year there is a thirteen year? The the pap no, the papy thirteen year rye. That's one I absolutely would like to try. You got my crap. Good thing your bottle's open. Well, if it wasn't we would open it. That bottle right there. I I I I had that bottle, Ben, just so you know. And I just got rid of it to to try to trade. On some trade on a trade, yeah. So I will tell you that I heard this is the the granddaddy of Rise. Yeah, we're gonna we're gonna do new cups for this. Sucker. This one, I mean, it really is. No, I've said how many times I'm not a rye person. This is the best. So what that's what the rumor is, is that that is it. If you're gonna have a rye. Have that rye. Have this rye. Where'd you pick this bottle up? So Think I sold one of my kids for this one. Well, totally different smell from all the rest. So I think it has a lot of the Van Winkle notes in the nose, but Van Winkle is known for their weeded bourbons, right? But the nose on this, Van Winkle Reserve Rye. That is the box. Incredible how it it moves. What's the first taste I taste? Totally different than anything we've we've had. Yeah. So now I hate to use the term smooth, but if I was going to use the word smooth, this bottle fits it. So and it's not a high proof. Thank you. 95.6 proof. Wow. That is the granddaddy right there. But the amount of flavor that you get. Thank you. Yeah, you're welcome. Cool, I've been waiting. I've been waiting for this one. Yeah. Mike always talks about, you know, the rise that he picks up and the the like the the old Forester. Yeah, the the barrel strength rise. Yeah. this is just Yeah. Totally different than that. old force or it doesn't hit like it at all and y it's very smooth. Absolutely. But it has a longer I mean the taste is the finish is just last yeah. you get the the full flavor. I think that Van Winkle, no matter the one you pick, the flavor you get on that initial taste lasts forever. I and I I just think you get that same flavor. And each one's a little bit different, but as it should be. And they're all fantastic. You know, I gotta win a bottle of that so I can crack it. Exactly. Which is why I did that, Raz, because I wanted to get their Panwinkle rhymed. That is superb. Actually I I I think the price actually came down on those. Yeah, a little bit. A little bit. But that's a thirteen year ride. And which is why this is important as a twelve year victory's ride. I mean, I I just think that that age I like older whiskeys. So this one is to me one of the preeminent. I think if I was gonna go my favorite all-time bourbon, it's gonna be the 15-year Pappy. Yeah we had that last time I was here. Yeah. That's really fantastic. Jeez man. That was good. Boy that's that's really good. That's a long finish. Long. Yep. And consistent. Like it stays. It doesn't change to a bitter note. It doesn't change to something that's not pleasant. It stays good all the way. I love them long long finishes. I love Yeah. Feel like you were looking for something else to try. This is good. This is a good ending. That's good. Yeah, it's a good ending. We didn't even get to talk about trumpet stuff. Ben. So Ben is a violinist. Violinist. Also played trumpet. Also played trumpet. Mm-hmm. And so when we moved into this house, Ben moved into his house about the same time. And to me, you know, I was originally a music major, trumpet player. To find out I just moved into a house next door to somebody who also was a trumpet player. Yeah. It's like gold. I I hit you finally I can somebody I can talk to and Steph doesn't have to listen to me talk about about stupid music stuff. How long have you been here? two little two two a little over two years. April we moved here April to April of twenty four. But we had bought the house before. So you you moved in at similar times. Same time. Yeah. Cool stuff. We were we got to Keys May thirty first of two thousand twenty twenty four. Mm-hmm. And got to meet Ben and then Started talking and realized we had he was a music major, decided to become a pilot. Well, they were gonna throw me out of the music department. But same thing. R regardless. Yeah. Yeah, we just started talking and Matter of fact, he has one of my piccolo trumpets. I do. I I have Ben's piccolo trumpet and I so when I switched from aviation in college, I sold my all my horns to pay for flight training. Mm-hmm. And so Ben's like, I've got a piccolo So now, yeah, I have a piccolo trumpet I can play. looking forward to that. Good stuff, man. He played it he played what did you play for me? Taps or something? No. No, the voluntary I've done the voluntary and the the Vivaldi and but we both study with Pellegrini. Yeah. let me see your teeth. Yeah, I had my teeth all done. Pelle told me exactly what to have done. I went to my dentist. Yeah. And he did it. Take one millimeter off. Let me see. Let me s let me see your teeth. Yeah, so I had to have a one millimeter trim off the teeth. He actually called my orthodontists to make sure that No, no, my my trumpet teacher. Because he was unhappy with where he was moving my teeth to play trumpet. Mm-hmm. So yeah. He did the same thing and it and it it it worked. Pally was something He was phenomenal. phenomenal. Old Italian guy. You know, he started playing carnival bands when he was fourteen years old because his dad was there, he was in the bands. And Just absolutely just a killer player. And he loved Alpha Romeos. Alpha Romeos. He had it in his backhead in this house. I'd show up for trumpet lessons. I was 16 years old. I'd drive my 66 Chevy Biscayne, which I built. And when I started I started building that when I was fifteen years old, I'd pull up to his house and he'd be on his front porch, leaned over, smoking a cigar. Dang. Alright, come in, come in, come in. He's like and he'd look at my car and he'd start talking and asking questions. And then he goes, Did I show you my Alpha Romeo? And I'm like, No, you haven't shown me your Alpha Romeo. And he'd take me to the back and he'd open the shed. And there's this beautiful red Alpha Romeo spider. I don't even like nineteen sixties, nineteen sixty six, nineteen sixty seven. Just beautiful in a back shed of his house. Like, yeah, I drive it On the weekends. Like, all right, let's go. Let's go and go ahead and do your lesson. And he was He was a great guy. It always tapped he'd always tapped me like that. And he'd tell me a story. Yeah. He had s it was always story time. Yeah. But he was a phenomenal teacher. And I enjoyed studying with him and that's all part of of of inspiring you to play. Yeah. He always Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, he'd look at your mouth. And he'd and he'd always be saying, you know, hit with the pucker of the lips and everything. Yeah. Something else. pulling up to his house with my car and Pelly appreciated. So yeah, here we are. Here we are. Now I'm teaching his stepdaughter Viola Viola. Mallory's playing viola. This is still playing trumpet. Wesley wants to play football this year. How old is he? He is he's gonna be fourteen in just a couple weeks. and he's doing so good. I good. You know, so he's a type one diabetic and to see him just transition, he's just grown up into like a man. the kids are just so big now. But To work through that and to now get to the point where he is in football, no, I'm proud of him. So that that that's really good. finding something you like to do. Yeah. The oldest loves band playing playing trumpet, so that that's fine. I can still get to play with him. And your youngest plays saxophone. Saxophone. Well, you know what? I mean, not everybody needs to play in tune. I understand that. I mean it it is a sex function. I mean th they they decided at some point to make a trumpet instead of a sex phone because it it is what it is, but you know, I love him. Mm-hmm. All the same. Mm. But he's having fun. Well that's all that matters. That's all that matters. And then played taps today for funerals. Did you know? no, I didn't. Yeah, I played at at so my best friend growing up was named Roger. And Roger's older brother passed away this week. So the family asked that I played taps today. So I I did that. Before then we came home and went to Bob's celebration of life by his dad. So that's why Bob's not here. He's still cleaning up Cleaning up from that party, but did you know he played from my dad who passed June eighth, yep. Not too long ago. You played taps. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, when when Blaine told me so when we were at the funeral home, Blaine goes, Yeah, I'm I'm heading to the the cemetery now and you were already there and I'm like, Yeah, why the hell is Dan already there? Like this was about a half hour before it ended. And I didn't put two and two together until I pulled in and saw him with the trumpet and tough moment. Tough moment, but what a what a great He he offered to to do that and it kind of i it it worked out in the end, but it was it was kinda like it wasn't gonna happen. And you know, he he said to me, One of the nicest things ever was i if it doesn't work out now, I'll take you up there and we can go just shoe and me and I'll play for you. You know, and that was the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. So appreciate that dude. And I appreciate you what you did that day and cool moment, man. Cool moment. I just think it it's it's a sign of So taps as it evolved was a beautiful moment that a bugler w was able to do for somebody that passed. And I think that nowadays, you know, the God love the American Legion and the VFW and what they do and they just don't have buglers anymore. So they they they've done this recording right. that they play out of this fake instrument. But I just don't think it's it's the same. So I if I can authentic. Yeah. Right. So if I can play i if they call me I just I just think you should do that. Mm-hmm. And I I like it. and a couple of guys in our commun our single group I call it Blaine, you know, he was there and and gathered some things for me when it was all said and done. It was Awesome. What a what a great group. The the whole bourbon community is. we just had a one of our members, their a friend of theirs, their son had brain cancer, six years old. we raised twenty eight hundred dollars in in a day just with our six hundred member group, just donating and and giving whatever and we sent them twenty eight hundred bucks. It's a pretty good deal. The community has been Like nothing I've ever seen, to be honest with you. It's it's it's great stuff. Good friends. And I've I I've really gained some really good friends in the past year because of because of bourbon. Yeah. Crazy because of bourbon. Well, the other thing that bot that or that Dan and I have in common is we like cars. yeah. And we my dad was a good car guy too, so yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We we are able to share our stories with cars and yeah. And It's nice hobby to have as well. Yeah. Yeah. I I think that I think that no matter the hobby, and I think that bourbon and and you see a lot of the same people like in both, right? We're we're all hey, we're looking for that thing that we really enjoy. Mm-hmm. And we like sure. you you find the same type Mm-hmm. It's just fantastic. Well, so do we have a favorite tonight? it's tough. The thirteen year rye is fantastic. Yeah, it is. I'm still very part the Caleb's Crossing was fantastic. the foolproof is still in my top five. but I gotta admit that the Catholics Crossing and the thirteen year rye have decided to make a full blown effort to get to the top five. It's still staying with me. Yeah, it's fantastic. Really good stuff. Yeah. And it goes down the palette really well. yeah. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. That van the Van Winkle I think is It just goes to show you what a good Great drinking whiskey is. You know, it just in in so many ways it's just so smooth and and just perfect. I love the Caleb's crossing as well. I think you get a little more of the dusty the dusty note on it, the dusty funk or the wild turkey funk on it. It's just great stuff. Good bottled. And then I like the caramel notes and and the little bit of the sweetness and smoothness of that America's forty seven. I mean I I think of the seventeen ninety-two, the the bottled in bond or the foolproof are gonna be my favorites. But I'd probably lean towards the bottled in bond, to be honest. I just I like that. I'm a beginner in all this. But I've only had a year's experience with this, but I liked the w what was this one? The bottled in bond. Yeah, I like I think that was my favorite. Or was it this one? I can't remember. I think you said Straight rye was my favorite. Stray rye was my favorite. Straight rye was my favorite. We can try both again and Yeah. And you saw it. Yeah, that rise that straight rye was good. Just kidding. Good stuff. Good stuff. Good stuff. So Yeah. Let us know what you think. please like, subscribe, share. leave any comments, reviews. Five stars are appreciated. And please like and s subscribe. And thanks for watching. So have a great night. Thank you. Thanks, Ben, thanks Mike for being here. Fantastic. Thank you.