November 4, 2004:
I arrived at Beekman's Liquors on 47th Street and Lexington Avenue in Manhattan, just north of Grand Central Terminal, at about 1800 hours. I had been informed four weeks prior that there would be a bourbon tasting featuring Fred Noe, son of the recently deceased Booker Noe, from the Jim Beam Distillery.
Indeed when I arrived, the friendly staff of Beekman's Liquors was there to greet folks, and ushered me straight to the table in the back, where a young man dressed for Wall Street was standing behind a table with the entire Small Batch Bourbon Collection, as well as the fairly new Jim Beam Black, all laid out and ready for tasting. A few other suit wearing gentleman, all I guess representing the Jim Beam Distillery were on hand in the background, occasionally chiming in to the conversation with the people present for the tasting.
Small, barely more than thimble-like plastic glasses were sitting on the table, as well as several bottles of each bourbon, except for one lonely bottle of Booker's. We found out later that Booker's is not only The Small Batch Collection's biggest seller, but all available bottles of it had already sold out. No matter, as I have had quite enough Booker's for a while, and this winter will be mostly occupied with rye tastings. More than one taster found Booker's to be their instant favorite and had to take rain checks for a bottle, although they also remarked at it's power, something Booker's is quite famous for.
The rep at the table gave us all some basic information which I already knew, but upon a query from one person about the screw top on the Jim Beam Black remarked that it does provide a better seal, even though a cork top might be more elegant. He also said to look for more screw tops on bourbon as time goes by, even top shelf stuff. At one point he got Fred Noe's attention, who was engaged in a conversation on the side, to explain how he had to get on the cork guy's case because they were trying to save a penny by putting an inferior cork on the Booker's a couple years back. He said that he told the guy something to the effect of "it's a $50 bottle of bourbon, put a decent cork in it."
Once Mr. Noe had turned his attention to the new crowd gathering at the table, he launched into a wonderful explanation of the basic bourbon making process, including the proof at which bourbon is distilled, no more than 160, and barreled, which is 125 proof. He also noted how if higher finishing proof is desired that the barrels should be stored at the top of the warehouse, and if lower proof, then at the bottom. Needless to say, he also mentioned that certain target proofs are finally achieved by the addition of . . .
WATER!!!mg: :mrgreen:
Fred Noe was an articulate, intelligent, gregarious, humorous, very down to earth guy who thoroughly showed his enjoyment of our interest in the subject, and answered many questions, as well as sharing in some of our humorous anecdotes and overall banter. I personally am QUITE familiar with the Small Batch Bourbon Collection, those being Basil Hayden's, Knob Creek, Baker's and Booker's, and heartily gave my approval to all four, noting that they were all on my Top 25. The most interesting thing was tasting something new, that being the Jim Beam Black.
Somewhere along in the general conversation with Mr. Noe and the group, I had remarked that since the release of the Jim Beam Black about two years ago, I had been somewhat reluctant to try it, in part because it was something new and also smacked of the "ordinary" because of it's name and relatively low price. I was, despite the fact that the tasting conditions were not quite according to The Bloofingtonian Institute's standards, nonetheless impressed with the flavor of the Jim Beam Black, and appreciated the tasting as an opportunity to expand my horizons.
One of the two most noteable items of conversation to me was Mr. Noe stating that trouble had been had with the bourbon glasses from Riedel that had been created in conjunction with the folks at the Jim Beam Distillery. Supposedly a lot of breaking at the stem incidents had occurred. I remarked how the other night this very thing had happened to me just after putting my glass down on the counter, how it had fallen over right at the stem. It was a well used glass, and I just got another out of the shelf in the cabinet under the bar, but I had sensed in the past that the stem was a weak link in this very delicate piece of glassware.
The other item of note and one which really surprised me was when Mr. Noe stated that Baker's is the one that they sell the least of in the Small Batch Bourbon Collection. This is such fine stuff, and priced not that much more than Basil Hayden's, and a little cheaper than Booker's, that it left me wondering a bit about people's taste buds. Oh well, to each his/her own. Mr. Noe did make mention that Baker's is more like a fine cognac and is popular with cognac drinkers, a point I could easily find agreement with. I remarked that to me Baker's always tastes like buttered oak, smooth and amazingly buttery, despite it's 107 proof.
So, after one hour of hanging out and enjoying the atmosphere and five thimbles, one each of all the bourbons present, I decided to buy myself a bottle of the Jim Beam Black, and Fred Noe autographed it to me with one of those fancy gold paint pens. I remarked how nice it was to meet someone who was like a "Willie Mays" of the bourbon industry, and he said he'd never heard that one before, and was genuinely and humbly appreciative of my remark. His writing on the bottle was clear and steady and his signature is quite legible and beautiful. This bottle, when finished, will grace a prominent shelf in my house.
And as for the bourbon in the bottle of Jim Beam Black, well, after two tastings this past weekend, it's quite possible that it will indeed make my Top 25. For the record, it's 86 proof and eight years old.
Overall, the event was a lot of fun, although one hour was not quite enough time to absorb all the alcohol. Those thimble thingys might be small, perhaps about a half shot or so, but 2.5 shots of bourbon in an hour, with three of them being 100 proof or more left me flying. I was VERY happy when I left. :mrgreen:
Looking forward to more bourbon tastings if they have them. :thumbsup:
I arrived at Beekman's Liquors on 47th Street and Lexington Avenue in Manhattan, just north of Grand Central Terminal, at about 1800 hours. I had been informed four weeks prior that there would be a bourbon tasting featuring Fred Noe, son of the recently deceased Booker Noe, from the Jim Beam Distillery.
Indeed when I arrived, the friendly staff of Beekman's Liquors was there to greet folks, and ushered me straight to the table in the back, where a young man dressed for Wall Street was standing behind a table with the entire Small Batch Bourbon Collection, as well as the fairly new Jim Beam Black, all laid out and ready for tasting. A few other suit wearing gentleman, all I guess representing the Jim Beam Distillery were on hand in the background, occasionally chiming in to the conversation with the people present for the tasting.
Small, barely more than thimble-like plastic glasses were sitting on the table, as well as several bottles of each bourbon, except for one lonely bottle of Booker's. We found out later that Booker's is not only The Small Batch Collection's biggest seller, but all available bottles of it had already sold out. No matter, as I have had quite enough Booker's for a while, and this winter will be mostly occupied with rye tastings. More than one taster found Booker's to be their instant favorite and had to take rain checks for a bottle, although they also remarked at it's power, something Booker's is quite famous for.
The rep at the table gave us all some basic information which I already knew, but upon a query from one person about the screw top on the Jim Beam Black remarked that it does provide a better seal, even though a cork top might be more elegant. He also said to look for more screw tops on bourbon as time goes by, even top shelf stuff. At one point he got Fred Noe's attention, who was engaged in a conversation on the side, to explain how he had to get on the cork guy's case because they were trying to save a penny by putting an inferior cork on the Booker's a couple years back. He said that he told the guy something to the effect of "it's a $50 bottle of bourbon, put a decent cork in it."
Once Mr. Noe had turned his attention to the new crowd gathering at the table, he launched into a wonderful explanation of the basic bourbon making process, including the proof at which bourbon is distilled, no more than 160, and barreled, which is 125 proof. He also noted how if higher finishing proof is desired that the barrels should be stored at the top of the warehouse, and if lower proof, then at the bottom. Needless to say, he also mentioned that certain target proofs are finally achieved by the addition of . . .
WATER!!!
mg: :mrgreen: Fred Noe was an articulate, intelligent, gregarious, humorous, very down to earth guy who thoroughly showed his enjoyment of our interest in the subject, and answered many questions, as well as sharing in some of our humorous anecdotes and overall banter. I personally am QUITE familiar with the Small Batch Bourbon Collection, those being Basil Hayden's, Knob Creek, Baker's and Booker's, and heartily gave my approval to all four, noting that they were all on my Top 25. The most interesting thing was tasting something new, that being the Jim Beam Black.
Somewhere along in the general conversation with Mr. Noe and the group, I had remarked that since the release of the Jim Beam Black about two years ago, I had been somewhat reluctant to try it, in part because it was something new and also smacked of the "ordinary" because of it's name and relatively low price. I was, despite the fact that the tasting conditions were not quite according to The Bloofingtonian Institute's standards, nonetheless impressed with the flavor of the Jim Beam Black, and appreciated the tasting as an opportunity to expand my horizons.
One of the two most noteable items of conversation to me was Mr. Noe stating that trouble had been had with the bourbon glasses from Riedel that had been created in conjunction with the folks at the Jim Beam Distillery. Supposedly a lot of breaking at the stem incidents had occurred. I remarked how the other night this very thing had happened to me just after putting my glass down on the counter, how it had fallen over right at the stem. It was a well used glass, and I just got another out of the shelf in the cabinet under the bar, but I had sensed in the past that the stem was a weak link in this very delicate piece of glassware.
The other item of note and one which really surprised me was when Mr. Noe stated that Baker's is the one that they sell the least of in the Small Batch Bourbon Collection. This is such fine stuff, and priced not that much more than Basil Hayden's, and a little cheaper than Booker's, that it left me wondering a bit about people's taste buds.
Oh well, to each his/her own. Mr. Noe did make mention that Baker's is more like a fine cognac and is popular with cognac drinkers, a point I could easily find agreement with. I remarked that to me Baker's always tastes like buttered oak, smooth and amazingly buttery, despite it's 107 proof.So, after one hour of hanging out and enjoying the atmosphere and five thimbles, one each of all the bourbons present, I decided to buy myself a bottle of the Jim Beam Black, and Fred Noe autographed it to me with one of those fancy gold paint pens. I remarked how nice it was to meet someone who was like a "Willie Mays" of the bourbon industry, and he said he'd never heard that one before, and was genuinely and humbly appreciative of my remark. His writing on the bottle was clear and steady and his signature is quite legible and beautiful. This bottle, when finished, will grace a prominent shelf in my house.
And as for the bourbon in the bottle of Jim Beam Black, well, after two tastings this past weekend, it's quite possible that it will indeed make my Top 25. For the record, it's 86 proof and eight years old.
Overall, the event was a lot of fun, although one hour was not quite enough time to absorb all the alcohol. Those thimble thingys might be small, perhaps about a half shot or so, but 2.5 shots of bourbon in an hour, with three of them being 100 proof or more left me flying. I was VERY happy when I left. :mrgreen:
Looking forward to more bourbon tastings if they have them. :thumbsup: