January 2019 In Review

Welcome to the January recap. If you are looking for more ways to interact with us and share your love of bourbon, please tell everyone you know and follow us on Instagram!

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Month in Review

January 01 - Old Ezra 7 Year Barrel Strength Bourbon Review

January 03 - Bonus Post - Mini-Review - Old Bardstown Estate Bottled Bourbon

January 07 - Northwest Wine & Spirits Review

January 08 - Having Solved all Other Crimes... Ohio Liquor Agency Cracking Down on Secondary Market Sales

January 09 - Ohio Announces 2018 Bourbon Bottle Lottery Winners

January 10 - Kentucky Peerless Names New Master Distiller

January 14 - Sierra Norte Single Barrel Native Oaxacan Black Corn Whiskey Review

January 15 - Old Forester to Release a New Straight Rye Whisky

January 16 - Woodford Reserve Bourbon Review

January 17 - Clyde May's Bourbon Dinner at Kinsale

January 18 - Ohio Liquor Control Announces Limestone Branch Rye Single Barrel Availability

January 22 - A Closer Look at the 46’6″ tall x 24″ Rabbit Hole Continuous Column Still

January 22 - Michter's Fort Nelson Distillery to Open on January 31st, 2019

January 23 - Buffalo Trace Distillery Announces Record Attendance

January 25 - Kentucky Running Races for Bourbon Lovers

January 28 - Suntory Toki Japanese Whisky Review

January 28 - Heaven Hill Announces New Master Distiller - Conor O’Driscoll

January 30 - Jim Beam Announces Dates for 2019 Behind the Beam


Thanks for supporting ColumbusBourbon.com and happy drinking ~ Mark & Team

Jim Beam Announces Dates for 2019 Behind the Beam

Jim Beam has announced the dates for this year's Behind the Beam tour and tasting. Behind the Beam is an event where participants enjoy a private distillery tour, barrel thieving in a bourbon rackhouse, a bourbon inspired barbeque lunch, and premium tasting with Fred & Freddie Noe. Participants will also receive a commemorative bottle to remember the experience!

Heaven Hill Announces New Master Distiller - Conor O’Driscoll

Heaven Hill Distillery has announced that Conor O’Driscoll will join Heaven Hill as their fifth Master Distiller in their celebrated 84-year history.

Suntory Toki Japanese Whisky Review

Welcome to our review of Suntory Toki Japanese Whisky. We came across this bottle on a trip to Florida and thought it would be interesting to give Japanese Whisky a try. We've never had Japanese Whisky and know next to nothing about it, so this should be exciting.

Toki means "time" in Japanese so let's have some Whisky Toki! Let's get into the specs!

Kentucky Running Races for Bourbon Lovers

One of our favorite hobbies (outside of bourbon and whiskey) is running. Usually with our one of our weimaraners. Because these are two of our favorite things, we thought it would be cool to scope out four races that you could plan around that in some way incorporate bourbon.

• Urban Bourbon Half  Marathon - October 19, 2019 - A 21+ half marathon sponsored by Jim Beam... this fits our criteria perfectly. This race is in conjunction with the Urban Bourbon Bash at Fourth Street Live. Starting in Downtown Louisville, the course travels around the city. 

Buffalo Trace Distillery Announces Record Attendance

Buffalo Trace has announced a record 231,523 people visited their distillery in 2018. This represented a 15% increase over 2017 and a whopping 345% increase since 2010.  This increase comes as the distillery is in the middle of a $1.2 billion investment to expand its distilling and aging capabilities, as well as expand its visitor center.

Michter's Fort Nelson Distillery to Open on January 31st, 2019

Michter's has announced that their Fort Nelson Distillery will open on Thursday, January 31 with public tours to begin on Saturday, February 2. This building was purchased by Michter's in 2012 and has undergone an extensive restoration.

"The Fort Nelson building is an impressive example of cast iron and stone construction with Romanesque windows and a striking corner turret rising above its neighbors. First built in 1890, the building was in such disrepair when purchased.... that it featured a collapsed staircase and no floors."

A Closer Look at the 46’6″ tall x 24″ Rabbit Hole Continuous Column Still

One of our favorite parts of any distillery is the still. As you may know, the still is where the alcohol will boil away and leave the water and other substances behind. The vapor rises out of the boiling pot and into either a coil or a second pot, where it is cooled and condensed into a more concentrated alcohol liquid. Copper is traditionally used because of the metal's even heating properties.

Ohio Liquor Control Announces Limestone Branch Rye Single Barrel Availability

The Ohio Department of Liquor Control has announced the availability of Limestone Branch Rye, which is produced by the only distillery in Kentucky owned by members of the Beam Family. The State will be selling 120 bottles at 375 ml each for a price of $29.99 + tax starting at 9am on January 25th at the following locations:

Clyde May's Bourbon Dinner at Kinsale

We had the privilege to attend a Clyde May's Alabama Style Whiskey dinner on January 12th at the Kinsale Country Club in beautiful, Powell, Ohio thanks to friend of the blog Corwin.

For those unfamiliar with Clyde May's, they are mostly known for their 'Alabama Style Whiskey', which is their proprietary formula that traditionally used dried apples in the aging process. Their marketing materials describe this as "a whiskey of unparalleled smoothness and richness." Today, instead of dried apples, they use hints of natural apple essence.

Clyde May's is not currently distilled in Alabama, rather, it is sourced from facilities out of state (mostly rumored to be Kentucky). However, they are in the process of planning a new distillery in Troy, Alabama, but no dates have been announced when this would be operational.

Woodford Reserve Bourbon Review

Welcome to the review for Woodford Reserve Bourbon. This has always been one of our favorites so we're excited to properly review it!

Let's start with the details:

Manufacturer: Brown-Forman

Age: Unknown

Location Produced: Woodford Reserve Distillery, Versailles, KY

Old Forester to Release a New Straight Rye Whisky

Old Forester has announced their first new mash bill in nearly 150 years with the introduction of Old Forester Kentucky Straight Rye Whisky. From Old Forester:

"The newest expression from Old Forester was crafted by Master Distiller Chris Morris and Master Taster Jackie Zykan. Old Forester Rye is inspired by the historic recipe for Normandy Rye, a brand which Brown-Forman acquired in 1940. The mash bill consists of 65 percent Rye, 20 percent Malted Barley and 15 percent Corn."

Sierra Norte Single Barrel Native Oaxacan Black Corn Whiskey Review

Welcome to the review for Sierra Norte Single Barrel Native Oaxacan Black Corn Whiskey. We came across this bottle on a business trip in Scottsdale, Arizona. We were intrigued by the possibilities that could come from using Mexican heritage corn and the promise of notes of vanilla cake and almond. Let's see how close the product comes to the marketing.

Kentucky Peerless Names New Master Distiller

Kentucky Peerless has named Caleb Kilburn as their Master Distiller. Caleb started working at Peerless while the building was still under renovation. During this time, he shadowed distillers while working on his degree in chemistry.

Ohio Announces 2018 Bourbon Bottle Lottery Winners

The Ohio Department of Commerce has notified the winners of the 2018 Buffalo Trace and Pappy Van Winkle Bottle Lottery. Winners will receive an email from the Ohio Division of Liquor Control with further instructions on how to redeem your bottle. If you are wondering what the odds of winning were, we have you covered here!

Having Solved all Other Crimes... Ohio Liquor Agency Cracking Down on Secondary Market Sales

In a move that should piss off conservatives (depriving the ability to sell your personal property) and liberals (violations of the first amendment), The Ohio Liquor Agency is cracking down on secondary market liquor sales. The Norwalk Reflector reports:

"Agents charged Robert C. Jaskolka,73, of Brunswick; Dennis M. Rigney-Carroll, 44, of Upper Arlington; Brian L. McSwain, 42, of Mason, and Joshua D. Ulam, 35, of Walton, Ky., with illegal sale of beer or intoxicating liquor without a permit, a first-degree misdemeanor. Agents also charged Gerald R. Osborne, 52, of South Point with illegal sale of intoxicating liquor, a first-degree misdemeanor, illegal possession of intoxicating liquor, a first-degree misdemeanor, and illegal transportation of intoxicating liquor, a fourth-degree misdemeanor."

If convicted, each person could receive the maximum 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Osborne may also face another maximum 210 days in jail and $1,250 fine.

The types of liquor sold are not known, but the assumption is that they are bottles that were purchased and resold rather than being created spirits that are being resold (as that would be a much larger charge).

Northwest Wine & Spirits Review

From time-to-time on ColumbusBourbon.com, we will be reviewing local locations that are connected to our love of bourbon and whiskey. The first of these was the Giant Eagle Market District in Grandview. Today, we'll be reviewing Northwest Wine & Spirits on Bethel Road in Columbus, Ohio. This is friend of the site, and contributor, Amy's favorite liquor store so we thought we'd check it out. 

Bonus Post - Mini-Review - Old Bardstown Estate Bottled Bourbon

Welcome to another mini-review. For those new to the site, we do mini-reviews when get get samples or don't have enough of the product to do a full review. For this, we're jumping into Old Bardstown Estate Bottled Bourbon that was provided by contributor of the site, Ashwin! Old Bardstown is one we haven't tried before so let's get started!

Old Ezra 7 Year Barrel Strength Bourbon Review

We hope you had a great New Year’s. Welcome to our first review of 2019… Old Ezra 7 Year Barrel Strength Bourbon. This is also our first review from Ezra Brooks and our first barrel strength bourbon!

Let's start with the specs: