New Holland Brewing Beer Barrel Bourbon

As the bourbon industry continues to grow and prosper, as more and more products come out and as more and more distilleries get into the bourbon game, we are seeing companies take different angles to sell their product. Sometimes those are marketing angles, offering a product with an old-timey label or some unique back-story. Sometimes those are different angles in flavor—whatever flavored bourbon you can think of is probably out there somewhere.

New Holland Brewery took a somewhat different angle. New Holland is first and foremost a brewer, and not primarily in the distilling game. One of their more flavorful products is their Dragon's Milk Stout, a very flavorful milk stout that I've had the pleasure of enjoying in the past.

Using these barrels in which the Dragon's Milk Stout was aged, New Holland created their Beer Barrel Bourbon, a bourbon that, after aging for a few years in American Oak barrels, was finished in beer barrels. It's a marketing angle that should appeal to beer drinkers and whiskey drinkers alike, and my curiosity was piqued.

So here's the quick rundown on this one, before I get into my more detailed thoughts.  I went in this not expecting to compare it to traditional bourbons. In fact, I fully expected it to be more akin to a flavored bourbon than to other finished bourbons I've had, such as Angel's Envy. I figured the stout would permeate the whiskey more than whiskeys finished in wine barrels.

On my first drink, my expectations were confirmed and more. Not only did it taste like a milk stout flavored whiskey, but the flavor of the stout dominated. It had a creamy, toasted flavor to it, with the strong flavor of the stout throughout the whiskey. In fact, I couldn't really comment on the whiskey itself, as it was very masked. It's a very sweet, and a more bitter beer might not work as well as the stout barrels do.

As the bottle sat for a while, the up front and in-your-face flavor of the stout did take somewhat of a back seat, and it took on more of a finished whiskey nature than that of a flavored whiskey.  The sweetness also mellowed out, so that it was still sweet but not overly so.  However, the milk stout was still not to be denied.

What it comes down to is, if you like milk stouts, or in particular, New Holland's Dragon's Milk Stout, and you're not looking to simply enjoy some bourbon, then this is absolutely worth trying. As I worked my way through the bottle, though, I also had to go pick up a bottle of traditional bourbon, because this Beer Barrel Bourbon just did not satisfy my cravings for regular bourbon.
It is a good pour, as long as you know what you're getting into and you're not expecting it to take the place of any traditional bourbons.

Grade: B-

O. Z. Tyler Small Batch Reserve Honey Flavored Bourbon

 

Whenever my stocks of whiskey run low at home, my wife is always willing to pick something out for me.  In fact, she enjoys doing it, trying to find a gem among those that I haven't previously tried.

 

In this instance, though, when she came across O.Z. Tyler honey whiskey at the grocery store, she had other motivation.  Our firstborn son is named Tyler.  Our third child, our other son, is named Owen, and, accordingly, has the initials "O.Z."  So, when she saw the name "O.Z. Tyler" staring at her from the shelf, she felt she had to purchase it, even though she knew I have little interest in flavored whiskeys.

 

Nonetheless, I was willing to give it a try.  First, however, I was intrigued by the distillery, as I had never heard of it, and there was not a lot of information readily available.  After a bit of digging, though, I learned that O.Z. Tyler is a chemist who, through his company, Terresentia, has patented the TerrePURE technology--a means of chemically aging and filtering spirits.

 

Based on what I've read, the company primarily offers this service to other distillers and bottlers.  Apparently they will age your spirits for you.  This whiskey, however, Mr. Tyler apparently put his name to, and it was bottled by TerrePURE Spirits out of South Carolina.

 

So, going in, I already was biased against the whiskey for being flavored, but, after reading up on the company, I was also skeptical that a chemical process can manufacture and replicate the aging process.

 

On first sip, my lips pursed and face grimaced at just how incredibly sweet this whiskey is.  In that respect alone, this was very difficult to put away.  I felt like I needed to brush my teeth after each sip.  The honey flavor is overpowering and tastes cheap and artificial. 

 

More importantly, though, is that this did not taste anything like whiskey from a barrel.  It tasted almost metallic.  Perhaps my prejudice got in the way, and all I could picture was a whiskey made in a lab, and so I got that sterilized lab smell stuck in my head.  But, I couldn't shake it.

 

This bottle took me quite a while to make my way to the bottom.  I found the only way I could drink it and not hate it was with a whole bunch of ice.  Accordingly, I would pour a glass generally only after already having had a few drinks. 

 

The only reason I didn't give this a failing grade is that I was, at least, able to finish it, unlike some whiskeys I've tried, but this was incredibly close.  Sure, it has an awesome name (at least from my perspective), but as is always the case, it's what's in the bottle that counts.

 

Grade: D-