Dealmaker § A Batch Made in Heaven

Sensing the demand for higher-pedigree fare, these whiskey makers turned market makers, creating the subcategories of bourbon known as "single-barrel" and "small-batch."

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Liquidation : A Batch Made in Heaven

When it comes to these single-barrel and small-batch bourbons, less is clearly more

By: Anthony Giglio
March/April 2007 , Page 138

A few decades ago, at the height of the single-malt Scotch craze, America’s bourbon producers hit upon their own singular notion. Sensing the demand for higher-pedigree fare, these whiskey makers turned market makers, creating the subcategories of bourbon known as “single-barrel” and “small-batch.”

Your typical bourbon, you see, is an amalgam of several hundred — or thousand — barrels, all dumped together, chilled and filtered, cut with water and then bottled, resulting in a reliably uniform whiskey. But in every cellar, there exists a “heart,” the center of the warehouse where barrels age best. Blend up to a few dozen of those choice barrels together, and you’ve got yourself a small-batch bourbon; to make a single-barrel bourbon, well, let’s assume the moniker is self-explanatory.

The former is more uniform, while the latter tends to be more distinctive, but both are aged far longer than normal bourbons, imbuing them with a more robust and complex spirit. Just like the men who relish them.

Jefferson’s Reserve

Very Small Batch $50

Sector: Bardstown, Kentucky

Leverage: 90 proof

Valuation This limited-edition small-batch bourbon is made with corn, rye and barley, and distilled with Kentucky limestone water from an underground Bardstown aquifer. That mineral water gives this smooth, cedar-scented sipper its distinct freshness, despite the fact that it’s aged between 12 and 17 years in new white-oak barrels that are lightly charred to expose the bourbon to the sugars in the wood. Jefferson’s makes only 2,400 hand-numbered bottles of this stuff a year, so hoard accordingly.

Blanton’s Reserve

Single Barrel: $45

Sector: Frankfort, Kentucky

Leverage: 93 proof

Valuation The distinctive horse-and-jockey figurine on the bottle stopper is a trademark of Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon — and collectible, too. If you can find all eight stoppers, you’ll be able to spell Blanton’s, as well as behold the horse and jockey in a full cycle of stride. Of course, sip from all eight bottles of this honey-scented, deliciously smooth, long-lasting caramelized elixir in one sitting, and you may no longer be able to spell Blanton’s.

Elijah Craig 18-Year-Old

Single Barrel: $36

Sector: Bardstown, Kentucky

Leverage: 90 proof

Valuation This dark beauty, with its elegant, oval-shaped decanter-style bottle, is named for the Reverend Elijah Craig, a Kentucky Baptist preacher who, according to legend, accidentally invented bourbon when he stored his whiskey in barrels that had been charred by fire. (We prefer to think of it as divine intervention.)

Today, it’s distinguished as the oldest single-barrel bourbon on the market, aged 18 years in new charred oak barrels. The result is a heady, tropical-scented bourbon that tastes like an aged rum with a serious kick.

Old Forester

Birthday Bourbon: $35

Sector: Louisville, Kentucky

Leverage: 96 proof

Valuation The vintage decanter-style bottle is a birthday tribute to the original packaging designed by founder George Garvin Brown, reputed to be the first bourbon producer to sell his spirit in a sealed glass bottle with a hand-signed label assuring its quality.

Unlike the standard Old Forester, which is a blend of whiskey from several years, Birthday Bourbon is a vintage-dated bourbon made from a single day’s production in 1993 and aged for 12 years. It has beautiful caramel and dried-fruit aromas and a long, magnificent finish.

Hancock’s President’s Reserve

Single Barrel: $35

Sector: Frankfort, Kentucky

Leverage: 89 proof

Valuation With glass ribs for gripping either side of the oblong label and a short round neck topped with a real wood stopper, the bottle itself is a noteworthy work of art.

What’s inside is also mighty tasty. Made with corn, rye and malted barley, and aged an average of 10 years, President’s Reserve is an incredibly complex, powerful, elegant bourbon, with honey and clove notes and spiciness reminiscent of dense fruitcake — but one you’d actually want to eat.