Reserve 12 year old, Lot B bourbon is still worthy of the No. 7 spot on my list, and something I can still refer to as "perfect bourbon."
As the Pappy's 20 I first tasted in 2001 is not the same as the Pappy's 20 released in 2004 and now available everywhere, this 12 year old is not the same as the 12 year old I first drank three or four years ago. The Van Winkle/Weller labels are undergoing major changes, as whiskeys distilled ages ago disappear and the distillery now handling the production under the auspices of the Van Winkles' begins to release new product.
I think that some of my fears about good to great American whiskey drying up because of mergers, old masters dying out, and old stocks drying up have been quelled to a certain extent as Van Winkle transitions into the new distillations representing old labels. Just as cigars have to be reblended from time to time, so certain generations that cranked out old familiar whiskey product die out and certain stocks wind up being totally consumed. At that point, in order to retain a certain signature flavor in a designated label, hard work and a lot of thought needs to go into new production.
I believe that the Van Winkle labels, such as the new Pappy's 15, and the new releases of the Pappy's 20 and Van Winkle Special Reserve 12 year old are hitting the mark when it comes to quality, albeit with some changes in flavor profile.
The change I've noticed in this new Van Winkle Special Reserve 12 year old, Lot B is the same one I've noticed in the new Pappy's 20. That is the added sweetness. The others, namely those released from the old distillery that used to make them prior to the changes in 2004 were more neutral in flavor, and bolder. These new releases have a fine balance, extra smoothness and delicious flavors that make up for a loss of fullness.
It's heartening to see that the changes in the new 12 year old were not as harsh as I thought when I bought a bottle last year and found it weird. Although I had heard of the upcoming changes, I was taken aback, and perhaps I also got a bottle a little short on flavor. This one is definitely better, although along the same lines of being lighter in body with extra sweetness. Gone is the strong spicy oak, replaced instead by syrupy sweetness, with a hint of the spicy oak, but enough to balance it out, and with an extra long finish, where the oak becomes a little more prominent with the sweetness receding a bit.
I'd appreciate more of the old spicy oak, and a bit less sweetness, but the wonderful balance, overall complexity and extra long finish still leave me very satisfied. This, as I've said in the past, is perfect bourbon, and still worthy of the vaunted No. 7 position. At a "walk out price" (including tax) of exactly $39 it's also a bargain.
As the Pappy's 20 I first tasted in 2001 is not the same as the Pappy's 20 released in 2004 and now available everywhere, this 12 year old is not the same as the 12 year old I first drank three or four years ago. The Van Winkle/Weller labels are undergoing major changes, as whiskeys distilled ages ago disappear and the distillery now handling the production under the auspices of the Van Winkles' begins to release new product.
I think that some of my fears about good to great American whiskey drying up because of mergers, old masters dying out, and old stocks drying up have been quelled to a certain extent as Van Winkle transitions into the new distillations representing old labels. Just as cigars have to be reblended from time to time, so certain generations that cranked out old familiar whiskey product die out and certain stocks wind up being totally consumed. At that point, in order to retain a certain signature flavor in a designated label, hard work and a lot of thought needs to go into new production.
I believe that the Van Winkle labels, such as the new Pappy's 15, and the new releases of the Pappy's 20 and Van Winkle Special Reserve 12 year old are hitting the mark when it comes to quality, albeit with some changes in flavor profile.
The change I've noticed in this new Van Winkle Special Reserve 12 year old, Lot B is the same one I've noticed in the new Pappy's 20. That is the added sweetness. The others, namely those released from the old distillery that used to make them prior to the changes in 2004 were more neutral in flavor, and bolder. These new releases have a fine balance, extra smoothness and delicious flavors that make up for a loss of fullness.
It's heartening to see that the changes in the new 12 year old were not as harsh as I thought when I bought a bottle last year and found it weird. Although I had heard of the upcoming changes, I was taken aback, and perhaps I also got a bottle a little short on flavor. This one is definitely better, although along the same lines of being lighter in body with extra sweetness. Gone is the strong spicy oak, replaced instead by syrupy sweetness, with a hint of the spicy oak, but enough to balance it out, and with an extra long finish, where the oak becomes a little more prominent with the sweetness receding a bit.
I'd appreciate more of the old spicy oak, and a bit less sweetness, but the wonderful balance, overall complexity and extra long finish still leave me very satisfied. This, as I've said in the past, is perfect bourbon, and still worthy of the vaunted No. 7 position. At a "walk out price" (including tax) of exactly $39 it's also a bargain.
