Dr. Kilty's Blind Tasting Challenge!!

     

     The Colonel recently made a trip to his native land, which also happens to be the motherland of all Kentucky Straight bourbons. During my stay, I visited with my old friend Dr. Joel Kilty. I knew ahead of time that Joel had something up his sleeve coinciding with my visit. A few weeks prior to my trip, he told me that he wanted to shoot an episode of Exquisite Libations on his home turf. We were kicking around some different ideas for the show when we got some interesting news.

     Jonathan’s Restaurant at Gratz Park in Lexington, KY was closing within two weeks of my visit. With one of the most prestigious bourbon menus in the state, Jonathan’s would be an excellent backdrop for the show. It was also the location where Joel and I first experienced truly boutique bourbon. Despite my best effort, it was too short notice, and therefore we could not book this nostalgic location for the episode.  

     For the record, Dr. Kilty is no stranger to high-end bourbon! His pantry is stalked to the gills with limited this, and private that. Regardless of what he chose for the episode, I knew that I’d be in for something special! With the unfortunate news of not being able to book Jonathan’s, I assumed that we would be doing a standard episode at Joel’s house. Another idea of his was to shoot an episode centered around a blind tasting.

     It’s one thing to do a blind tasting amongst friends, off the record. It’s another to be doing it live on a show! I knew that he could not disclose the bourbons he would be choosing, so I thought that I would ask him a simple question. How familiar will I be with these expressions? This was his response. “I thought I would chose three bourbons of three different brands. Each of them will be 10 years old. Each of them will be within a 20 proof range of each other. And, by the way, I don’t think you have ever tried any of these.” What the heck!!! Are you serious! How am I supposed to guess the exact expression of bourbon based on color, smell and taste alone, when I have never put any of these bourbons in my mouth!!

     After further explanation, I was put at ease…. but not entirely. Joel told me that after I had sampled, shared my thoughts, and made some educated guesses about the bourbons, he would then reveal the three bottles. The bottles would be in no particular order. It would then by my job to pin the tail on the donkey, matching up the bottles to their corresponding pours. I knew it would be risky, but I also knew it would make for an entertaining episode! The Colonel was ready to take on Dr. Kilty’s blind tasting challenge!

     The evening of the episode was a typical Kentucky summer night… hot and humid! Children of the family were running through the water hose in the back yard. My personal pilot (who flew me to KY) showcased his multitasking skills by also cooking dinner for us. Being a fan of KY bourbon, I invited him to be on the show. After the episode, several boutique bourbons made there way out of Joel’s pantry. Lets just say that the flight home was beyond bumpy, yet somehow the skies were silky smooth!

     In regards to the episode, I was least familiar with the first two expressions (1 and 2). They were more of a stab in the dark for me. On the other hand, the Four Roses, Single Barrel, Cask-Strength was much more familiar to me. Even though I had never tried this private selection offering, the tasting notes matched the classic Four Roses bourbon flavor profile. Think of it like this… you have tried regular Coke and Diet Coke. Now, you’re tasting Coke Zero for the first time blind, but you are somewhat clued into the Coke flavors. Once you look at it from this perspective, you can see why I was able to identify it amongst the others.

     My overall thoughts:

   

    (Bourbon #1) Russell’s Reserve Small Batch10 year- This is a big, bold bourbon with lots of oak and rye. The Alcohol is very present on the nose and sip.

   

   (Bourbon #2) Bullet 10 Year- A little less rye forward, with fruity notes. Warm and mellow with a longer decadent finish.

     (Bourbon #3) Four Roses 10 Year Single Barrel, Barrel Strength, Private Selection- This is a classic F.R. bourbon, showcasing a brilliant display of complexity and balance. This one had the longest finish of the group. In retrospect, I can see the kinship between this one and the Bullet expression. If I had been judging based more on flavor, and less on proof, I may not have made the switching mistake at the end of the episode. This was my favorite bourbon in the group!  

        

     I certainly had fun with this episode! It accomplished an interesting objective. I doubt that I would have been so open-minded when trying the Bullet label, because of my own bias regarding that brand. After having tasted it blind, I can really see the Four Roses influence on that expression. The bottom line is the juice is good, but the company behind the Bullet label has been shady. The shady part is likely to change, but that’s a different post for a different day.

     The best part of this entire experience for me was getting to spend time with my old friend, Dr. Kilty! I would very much look forward to doing this again in the future. If Dr. Kilty ever visits the Colonel on his home turf, I’d be happy to put him through one of these episodes!