I forgot that TOAST (The Oregon Artisan Spirit Tasting) is this weekend. KGW spent a little time with Lee Medoff from Bull Run Distillery. Lee’s a nice guy that’s willing to talk about distilling just about any time, and I believe The Danish Ambassador will attest to that.

I’m sure there will be plenty of things to taste at TOAST, but Extra Special KDB and I like Bull Run’s Temperance Trader Whiskey and Medoyeff Vodka.

Whiskey of the World Dinner at Branch

February 23rd is my first Thursday night free since before Christmas, and I’m already thinking of booking this dinner (just before flying to LA for BITFest the next day). Here’s the menu and whiskey pairings:

Whiskey of the World Dinner at Branch
Presented by Chef Scott Shampine
With Master of Whiskey Breck Taylor
$65 per person

Black Bush
Bourbon Soaked Prunes with Foie Gras Mousse orange, cinnamon, clove

Crown Royal Black
Roasted Heirloom Apple Salad crispy farro, 5 spice pork belly, crown black gastrique

Bulleit
Sturgeon Pastrami poached farm egg, potato hash, bourbon mustard

Clynelish
“Mash” Braised Veal Cheeks smoked bone marrow, creamy hominy, grilled leeks, smokey jus lie

J.W. Gold
J.W. Gold Chocolate Mousse salted caramel, chocolate crisp

A Brief Look at C. W. Irwin Straight Bourbon

The folks at Oregon Spirit Distillers were giving tasting samples of some of their spirits the day before Thanksgiving. When an Oregon or otherwise Pacific Northwest distiller holds up a whiskey offering, I always try to give it a taste. Liquor store tastings aren’t the optimal place to give things a swirl and taste, but I was intrigued enough by the sample to pick up a bottle.

Neat
I was immediately reminded of Atomic Fireballs when I first tried the Irwin neat. A super cinnamon taste that left little on the mid-palate. The tip of my tongue took the brunt of the spice, and It seemed like a shallow, novelty spirit at this point. This did not happen in the liquor store, so I’m not sure what was going on with my palate.1 I decided to give it a little branch water.

Neat with Branch Water
This is where things changed for the better. That front end cinnamon spice mellowed out, and the bourbon really opened up, creating a tamed sipping whiskey with some hints of vanilla. Extra Special KDB and I continued to enjoy Irwin this way through the Thanksgiving holiday.

Their web site says that Irwin is the perfect blend of old west and new frontier, bold flavor with a smooth finish. It’s certainly worth a look, though I think the price point is a tad high (only by a buck or two) at $28. If that’s the price of supporting an Oregon distiller, I can’t complain. Again, it’s worth a look.

  1. This spicy encounter wasn’t repeated last evening when I revisited the bourbon neat. Those mellow vanilla notes were there without the Atomic Fireball effect. ↩

Hitting shelves this week are two things that I can’t wait to taste.

First, House Spirits Distillery releases Batch #24 White Dog Whiskey - 100% Malted Barley double pot distilled un-aged whiskey, 50% alc by vol, total 750ml bottles: 600 Released: 1/29/2011. Douglas Adams fans will be interested to know that I grabbed bottle #42.

Second, Ransom Spirits has The Vodka ready for shelves. I don’t know much about it, but apparently it has some of the White Dog Whiskey blended into it in some fashion.

As always, tasting notes to follow.

I would insure this…and carry it everywhere. tylerriewer: If I may blow your mind for a second… this is the birthday gift that I received from our friends Curtis and Karen last night. It’s a suitcase - perfectly fitted for a bottle of bourbon and a set of brass knuckles. The outside says, “Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. Sack up.” The inside offers, “The two roads to courage.” They built/screenprinted the whole thing. It’s incredible. And my friends are amazing.Anyway, it will forever be on display in our house if you’d like to stop by and see it. I can’t promise you that the bourbon bottle will be full, but I can promise you it’s worth seeing in person. High-res

I would insure this…and carry it everywhere.

tylerriewer:

If I may blow your mind for a second… this is the birthday gift that I received from our friends Curtis and Karen last night. It’s a suitcase - perfectly fitted for a bottle of bourbon and a set of brass knuckles. The outside says, “Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. Sack up.” The inside offers, “The two roads to courage.” They built/screenprinted the whole thing. It’s incredible. And my friends are amazing.

Anyway, it will forever be on display in our house if you’d like to stop by and see it. I can’t promise you that the bourbon bottle will be full, but I can promise you it’s worth seeing in person.