HirschTM Selection 13 year old rye.
It's the same name as the mysteriously famous A.H. Hirsch Reserve 16 and 20 year old bourbons. It is not however, the original label. This is obviously a "distributor's rights" type of label, but where did the rye really come from? Was it really made by the Hirsch family at the now defunct ORIGINAL Michter's Distillery in Pennsylvania?
Well, one of the things my mother taught me and made sure I was going to learn in school were good reading comprehension, spelling and writing skills, as well as good basic mathematics skills, and thanfully I have all of those in abundance right up to trigonometry on the math side of things. Something the past couple of generations don't like to do is read through things carefully, which is why you have so many things blowing up, starting fires or just not working right these days.
So, the back of the label says that it was indeed bottled by Hirsch Distillers in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. And just like my No. 2 rye, it is 95.6 proof and 13 years old.
Hmmmmmmmmmmm.
DOUBLE hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Hey, what do I know? :dunno:
And at first sip, it seems like it just might be the same thing. Except this rye is slightly darker than the Van Winkle Family Reserve 13 year old rye. And unlike my vaunted No. 2 rye, this rye is missing something.
It has hints of flavor, such as spicy oak, perhaps blackberries and something else. But that's it, I can never figure out what that something else is because it's never clear. As a matter of fact, not that much is really clear about this rye, whether we're talking about who really made it or the flavor profile. And I'm about halfway through this bottle. And with this bottle coming to me at a "walk-out price" of around $53, I ain't goin' back anytime soon. And if it makes the Top 10 of Rye it will be by default.
I'm sorry, it's got the foundation, but not the rest of the structure. Not to me right now anyway, and I've tried to get over my suspicions, and dislike of the muddled flavors but I just can't.
It's the same name as the mysteriously famous A.H. Hirsch Reserve 16 and 20 year old bourbons. It is not however, the original label. This is obviously a "distributor's rights" type of label, but where did the rye really come from? Was it really made by the Hirsch family at the now defunct ORIGINAL Michter's Distillery in Pennsylvania?
Well, one of the things my mother taught me and made sure I was going to learn in school were good reading comprehension, spelling and writing skills, as well as good basic mathematics skills, and thanfully I have all of those in abundance right up to trigonometry on the math side of things. Something the past couple of generations don't like to do is read through things carefully, which is why you have so many things blowing up, starting fires or just not working right these days.
So, the back of the label says that it was indeed bottled by Hirsch Distillers in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. And just like my No. 2 rye, it is 95.6 proof and 13 years old.
Hmmmmmmmmmmm.
DOUBLE hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Hey, what do I know? :dunno:
And at first sip, it seems like it just might be the same thing. Except this rye is slightly darker than the Van Winkle Family Reserve 13 year old rye. And unlike my vaunted No. 2 rye, this rye is missing something.
It has hints of flavor, such as spicy oak, perhaps blackberries and something else. But that's it, I can never figure out what that something else is because it's never clear. As a matter of fact, not that much is really clear about this rye, whether we're talking about who really made it or the flavor profile. And I'm about halfway through this bottle. And with this bottle coming to me at a "walk-out price" of around $53, I ain't goin' back anytime soon. And if it makes the Top 10 of Rye it will be by default.
I'm sorry, it's got the foundation, but not the rest of the structure. Not to me right now anyway, and I've tried to get over my suspicions, and dislike of the muddled flavors but I just can't.