West of Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey No.1 Cherrywood Smoked from Sonoma County Distilling Co. is another great little bottle I have taken home with me to Denmark.

I really wanted to visit Sonoma Distilling Co. but the time was to little this time, and a whole lot of fires have been going on in the area. I hope I one day have the opportunity to see this craft destillery from 2010.

I have 3 different Bourbon Whiskies from Sonoma Distilling Co and I will tell more about the two in another post. These are supposedly Distillers Editions that are only released ones a year.

The first one is “No.1 Cherrywood Smoked”
It is has a solid base of American yellow corn and rye with Cherrywood Smoked barley.
67% corn from California, 20% rye from Canada and 13% Cherrywood smoked barley from Wyoming.

Aged in new, charred American Oak caskes for more than one year. That is not much and it tastes older. It is a smooth bourbon with a twist.

The lable has The Golden Gate in red like the real bridge on it to give a nod to the dash of California Cherrywood Smoked barley.
Sonoma County Distilling has made a unique bourbon whiskey with it’s own great taste.
It has a soft different spice that I have not had before and I like it. It does not burn in any way and you can sense the vanilla sweetness and very mild cherry smoke.

The only bad thing I can say is that my bottle is only 200ml and that is way to little for this nice California Bourbon Whiskey

𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮: (4/6)

🅼🆈 🆁🆃🅸🅽🅶 🆂🆈🆂🆃🅴🅼

– 𝙀𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮 – 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙖 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙧
– 𝘼 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮 – 𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙛
– 𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙 – 𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙢
– 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙙 – 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮
– 𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙣 𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣
– 𝙇𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩

Another distillery in New York I need to visit one day is Van Brunt Stillhouse.

Van Brunt Stillhouse have been going since 2012 in Red Hook, Brooklyn and founded by Daric Schlesselman and Sarah Ludington. As husban and wife they are driven by their shared love for creating and crafts.
They are producing craft Farmhouse style whiskeys by using local grains from New York State. They use Organically grown Corn, Wheat and Rye and my guess is that the Barley also is from New York State as they for example smoke the grains them selfs
Daric and Sarah have been digging some in the history books and want to be true to the Dutch settlers. So the distillery has it’s name from one of the pioneers Cornelius Van Brunt (1760-1827). One of the founders of the Dutch colony of Breukelen. Breukelen later became Brooklyn.

The first spirit Van Brunt Stillhouse released was Due North Rum. The Rum and the saying Due North about a rum has a long history in New York and because of the large interest in history the Rum was chosen.

This Campfire whiskey tastes pretty good but I must say I don’t get that Campfire smokey feel. It is more a experience of a mix between a well made Bourbon and a triple distilled Irish Whiskey with a twist of a very soft smoke.

On the bottle it says: ” “Campfire” says it all. Peat, oak and cherry are front and center in this bold spirit. 3 whiskies distilled from house-smoked grains came together to form the complex flavors in this unique batch – never to be repeated, so grab a bottle while you can. Carefully crafted, one batch at a time, in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Age 3 years. We never chill filter our whiskey.”

I am glad I grabbed a bottle when I saw it and I enjoy every sip. I can’t find the cherry and the smoke is not dominating. I can’t get this stuff in Denmark, but it could have been fun to put it up against the Smoked Corn Whiskey they produce at Van Brunt Stillhouse.

𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮: (4/6)

🅼🆈 🆁🆃🅸🅽🅶 🆂🆈🆂🆃🅴🅼

– 𝙀𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮 – 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙖 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙧
– 𝘼 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮 – 𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙛
– 𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙 – 𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙢
– 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙙 – 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮
– 𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙣 𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣
– 𝙇𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩

Peated Bourbon is that even real – Oh yes and for a peat head like me this is incredible stuff.

When I saw the bottle of Peated Bourbon I simple had to have it. I had never heard about Peated Bourbon and I was thinking – what in the world would this would be like and I actually had a picture in my head of corn being smoked over peat. Yes, I know crazy to think like that.
Well what is Peated Bourbon and is it actually a bourbon when peated?
Peated Bourbon from Kings County in New York is the first of it’s kind, of what I can find. It is made on a mash bill of 75% Corn and 25% Malted Barley.
So far so good.
The Corn is Organic New York grown and the Malted Barley is from Scotland. Here the barley has been malted and dried with the smoke from peat fire to a level of about 15 ppm.

It is normal that bourbon mash bills are made with malted barley to set off the fermentation proces and in this case we get the peated malted barley to do the job. To legally call American whiskey Bourbon you have to have 51% or more Corn in the mash bill, mature for at least 2 years in new oak barrels. It is not allowed to add colour or flavour. In this case all the bourbon meet all the requirements. The use of malted barley that has been dried over peat smoke is a natural way of drying, so everything is in order.

I bought this bottle in New York in september 2019 – Wow time flies fast, and I really wanted to visit Kings County Distillery, but time was to short for a visit at that time. Then we wanted to go to The Big Appel again in 2020 – but you know too well what happed in 2020 so we didn’t go. I really hope that I one day get the chance to visit the distillery. It has a great history to it, based in a old Navy Yard in Brooklyn. Founded in 2010 and is the first legal distillery since the Prohibition. I will write more about the distillery later and hopefully after a visit

It has taken me some time to open the bottle – Why? – I don’t know, but now it is open and I really like what I am tasting.
This is not very old bourbon, it is at least 2 years old, but you dont get that feeling when sipping it. One of the reasons for this is the use of small casks. They are American New Oak and the sizes used are 5 Gallon, 10 Gallons and 15 Gallons. That will be something like 19 litre, 38 litre and 57 litre. That size cask made of new oak will give you a lot of colour and taste in a short time. A 50 litre cask will in normal Scottish weather mature the spirits in year equal to about 4 years in a 225 litre barrel. So this Bourbon could be tasting like a 8-10 year old bourbon!

It is not a very peated whiskey but the smoke notes are there and the combination with the corn gives it a special experience in taste which I havn’t taste in other peated whiskies.

Would I buy this again? Yes I will

𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮: (5/6)

🅼🆈 🆁🆃🅸🅽🅶 🆂🆈🆂🆃🅴🅼

– 𝙀𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮 – 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙖 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙧
– 𝘼 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮 – 𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙛
– 𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙 – 𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙢
– 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙙 – 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮
– 𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙣 𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣
– 𝙇𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩

Wild Turkey Rare Breed is a barrel Proof Straight Bourbon meaning you get all the flavours of Wild Turkey and there is no water added.

Even at a abv of 58.4% this is a really smooth bourbon in my taste. It has a quick burn on the nose but the it turns into toffee sweetness with the lovely vanillas of the wood. The casks are charred pretty heavily and this makes all the sweetness and smoothness come out.

Wild Turkey has the same mash bill for all their bourbons, being: 75% corn, 13% rye and 12% barley and they use almost the same yeast strain as used in the start of their bourbon production era. The yeast is one of the secrets Wild Turkey have and the water used comes from the Kentucky River. The water is naturally filtered though Limestone. This removes the iron from the water. To much iron in the water gives the whiskey a bad and bitter taste.
So with the same mash bill for all the different bourbons from Wild Turkey you get the different taste flavours from the length of storage and where in the barrel houses they have been stored.

I have not found anything about where in the barrel house the Rare Breed has been stored, neither have I found very much on the age, but one of Wild Turkey’s keystones of maturation is that they age more than the minimum and usually also more than five years. It is said that Rare Breed is a mix of barrels that have aged for 6-12 years.

The distillation is continuos and also distilled twice. This is to give more smoothness as well. When they fill the new barrels with the new make it enters at 114 proof which is 57% abv. but hey it is bottled at 58.4% ?
Something does not match…. The short story could be one of two: 1) It actually was filled at a higher abv or 2) When storing in high temperature, water tend to evaporate quicker than alcohol which raises the abv.

A quick conclusion for this Rare Breed is that you get a very good bourbon at a good price. A fantastic taste and it is lovely to nose. I would sip this one neat any time.

𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮: (5/6)
In my opinion this is good value for the money

🅼🆈 🆁🆃🅸🅽🅶 🆂🆈🆂🆃🅴🅼

– 𝙀𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮 – 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙖 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙧
– 𝘼 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮 – 𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙛
– 𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙 – 𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙢
– 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙙 – 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮
– 𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙣 𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣
– 𝙇𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩

A pleasant mild bourbon – oh, sorry – Tennessee Whiskey
Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select is made on the same mash as Old No.7/Black Label. 80% Corn, 12% Malted Barley and 8% Rye. The difference here is were the barrels have matured in the warehouse.

Sigle barrels are usually located at the top in the warehouses to give more flavor to the whiskey. I think the Single Barrel Select is coming from the middle of the warehouse as it not as full flavored as the Single Barrel Barrel Strength and has lower price.
This is a very delicious whiskey and I will recommend it. But if you are going for the real good stuff, Go for the Barrel Strength.

𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮: (3/6)

🅼🆈 🆁🆃🅸🅽🅶 🆂🆈🆂🆃🅴🅼

– 𝙀𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮 – 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙖 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙧
– 𝘼 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮 – 𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙛
– 𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙 – 𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙢
– 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙙 – 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮
– 𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙣 𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣
– 𝙇𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩

This is good Rye Whiskey.
There is so much great Rye whisky on the marked and to many people avoid it – Why – I don’t know, but they cheat themselves from some good experiences.

My first experience with Pikesville was at a whisky fair. I had just had a taste of Michter’s Straight Rye which I think is awesome. I don’t think my expectations was that I was about to have a Rye whisky that would match it – But when I nosed Pikesville I was fantastic sent meeting my nose and the taste – wauw. This is in my taste just at great taste and I will undoubtedly have Pikesville Straight Rye again.

Pikesville Rye was produced i Maryland in the 1890s but was shut down in the 1920s during Prohibition. Pikesville was reopened after Prohibition but the rye whiskey production died out in Maryland and Pikesville was the last brand standing, but also shut.
Now Heaven Hill is producing Pikesville Straight Rye Whiskey in Kentucky, I think from the Bernheim distillery, and they are holding on to the traditions from the old Maryland way of making Rye whiskey.

I have come cross two sets of Mash bills for this Pikesville and I must admit – I don’t know which one is right…

It is assumed to be this one: 51% Rye, 39% Corn and 10% Barley.
The other one I have found is: 51% Rye, 37% Corn and 12 % Malted Barley.

𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮: (5/6) (Maybe even 5.5)

🅼🆈 🆁🆃🅸🅽🅶 🆂🆈🆂🆃🅴🅼

– 𝙀𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮 – 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙖 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙧
– 𝘼 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮 – 𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙛
– 𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 – 𝙈𝙮 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙢 𝙢𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚
– 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙙 – 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮
– 𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙣 𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣
– 𝙇𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩

Michter’s Straight Rye is one of the absolute better rye whiskeys I’ve ever tasted. It is one of those I could well have on the shelf and return to again and again.
I had the pleasure of tasting it at a whisky fair and compared to some of the other rye whiskeys I tasted that day, I must say it came over the finish line in an even first place with Pikesville.

𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮: (5/6)

🅼🆈 🆁🆃🅸🅽🅶 🆂🆈🆂🆃🅴🅼

– 𝙀𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮 – 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙖 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙧
– 𝘼 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙮 – 𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙛
– 𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 – 𝙈𝙮 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙢 𝙢𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚
– 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙙 – 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮
– 𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙣 𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣
– 𝙇𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩