You didn’t think I was only going to write about parenting, did you? Then again, one cannot parent without alcohol, so technically, I’m still on theme.
Back when Goop was just a weekly newsletter GP sent from her London kitchen, she published a DC travel guide featuring Jack Rose, a three-story saloon located in Adams Morgan with over 2600 bottles of whiskey on the wall. Two nights and several tasting flights later, the course of my husband’s drinking changed from exclusively scotch to exclusively bourbon. Don’t tell me blogging can’t change lives.
Scroll through to view our top 10 bourbons currently on rotation in Hotel Bell.
EAGLE RARE
Eagle Rare Bourbon Whiskey is masterfully crafted and carefully aged for no less than ten years. Every barrel is discriminately selected to offer consistent flavor but with a seemingly individual personality. Eagle Rare is a bourbon that lives up to its name with its lofty, distinctive taste experience.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is complex, with aromas of toffee, hints of orange peel, herbs, honey, leather and oak. The taste is bold, dry and delicate with notes of candied almonds and very rich cocoa. The finish is dry and lingering. -- buffalotracedistillery.com
SHOP EAGLE RARE
FOUR ROSES SINGLE BARREL
It’s complex, full-bodied and surprisingly smooth with a delicate, long finish that’s unbelievably mellow. Drink straight up or on the rocks. 100 proof. 50% alcohol/volume. -- fourrosesbourbon.com
SHOP FOUR ROSES SINGLE BARREL
ANGEL'S ENVY BOURBON PORT FINISH
Angel’s Envy Kentucky Straight Bourbon is finished in port wine casks for an award-winning spirit. We guide each batch’s conditioning, blending our handcrafted bourbon in small batches of 8 to 12 barrels at a time.
It’s typically aged for up to 6 years. While we lose about 5% of the spirit each year to evaporation, or “the Angel’s Share,” what’s left behind after we’re done is truly worthy of envy.
Once it’s deemed ready, we finish our bourbon in ruby port wine casks, which adds subtly distinct flavor nuances that enhance the whiskey without challenging it. Our port finishing process lasts between three to six months, depending on taste.
We use 60-gallon ruby port barrels made from French oak and imported directly from Portugal. This creates a whiskey of unprecedented smoothness, sweetness and balance. -- angelsenvy.com
SHOP ANGELS ENVY
LARCENY
Larceny was hand selected by the Master Distillers to have a taste profile of a six-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Made with wheat as the secondary grain, instead of the traditional rye, Larceny is a smoother tasting Bourbon.
Color: Bright new copper
Aroma: Fresh bread and toffee, with a note of butterscotch
Taste: Buttery caramel and honeyed notes, with a rich mouthfeel
Finish: Long, gently sweet and savory -- larcenybourbon.com
SHOP LARCENY
HIGH WEST AMERICAN PRAIRIE
High West American Prairie Bourbon™ is a complex blend of straight bourbons producing an aromatic whiskey that helps preserve the West. American Prairie is a superb premium bourbon whiskey dedicated to one of the greatest land preservation projects of our time. The American Prairie Reserve in Montana is a 5000 Square mile land tract the size of Connecticut restored to what Lewis and Clark would have seen. High West will donate 10% of after tax profits from each bottle to the American Prairie Foundation. – sipwiskey.com
Age(s), Distilled by & Mashbill(s)
A blend of straight bourbon whiskeys aged from 2 to 13 years
Straight Bourbon Whiskey: 75% corn, 21% rye, 4% barley malt from MGP
Other whiskey components are undisclosed due to contractual reasons.
Barrel Type(s)
New, charred, white American Oak – highwest.com
SHOP AMERICAN PRAIRIE
OLD FORESTER 1870 ORIGINAL BATCH
In 1870 George Garvin Brown created Old Forester on Louisville, KY’s famous whiskey row. In honor of that milestone year in bourbon history, we have crafted a tribute – Old Forester 1870 Original Batch – the first craft expression in the Old Forester Whiskey Row Series.
Old Forester 1870 Original Batch echoes George Garvin Brown’s original 1870 batching process. Back then, Brown batched barrels obtained from three distilleries to create a consistent flavor profile. To emulate that process today, we also select barrels from three warehouses, each barrel originating from a different day of production, with a different entry proof and a different age profile.
The three expressions of Old Forester are then batched together to craft Old Forester 1870 Original Batch. This 90-proof bourbon will be minimally filtered, to honor the processes available to George Garvin Brown at that time. – oldforester.com
SHOP OLD FORESTER
NOAH'S MILL SMALL BATCH
One of the most lush and rich Whiskeys on the market. The nose is walnuts, prunes, and floral notes. The palate mimics the nose with walnuts, prunes, spices, intertwined with lavender and balanced with the perfect amount of acid, that leads you down a path of lingering burnt caramel. -- Bill Thomas, Jack Rose Dining Saloon/kentuckybourbonwhiskey.com
SHOP NOAH’S MILL
E.H. TAYLOR, JR. SMALL BATCH
As founding father of the bourbon industry, Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr. left an indelible legacy. His dedication to distilling began at the close of the Civil War when he purchased O.F C. Distillery. There, he developed innovative techniques that are still in use today. Made by hand, this Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey has been aged inside century old warehouses constructed by E.H. Taylor, Jr. Barrels are evaluated and selected to create a perfect blend of distinctive character that is like no other. This bourbon is a true sipping bourbon that honors the uncompromising legacy of E.H. Taylor, Jr.
Tasting Notes:
Tastes of caramel corn sweetness, mingled with butterscotch and licorice. The aftertaste is a soft mouth-feel that turns into subtle spices of pepper and tobacco. -- buffalotracedistiller.com
MB ROLAND KENTUCKY STRAIGHT BOURBON WHISKEY
Our bourbon is truly like no other. We use local, food-grade white corn, and bottle the product at distillation and barrel proof in the style of a Pre-Prohibition bourbon. The result is a unique, very full-flavored whiskey that typically comes in at between 105 - 115 Proof (52.5 – 57.5% ABV). Each batch is a blend of 5 – 10 barrels, is hand labeled, numbered and individually proofed. While we do have this product available full time at the distillery for purchase, it is available in limited amounts through our various distributors. -- mbroland.com
FEISTY SPIRITS BETTER DAYS BOURBON
Up front light spicy aroma with the big oak, brown sugar, and caramel you expect from a classic bourbon. Spicy and caramel throughout the flavor with a strong oak at the tail end. The medium dryness of the finish accentuates the oak as well as the light rye subtleties.
Unique Features:
Four grain bourbon with spelt. -- feistyspirits.com
