Whiskey Noobs Crew Updates

LOTS of fun updates from the Whiskey Noobs Crew (aka the patreon page) - first, the name change! I felt like we needed something with a little personality, so the members voted, and we decided on the Whiskey Noobs Crew!

Second, and maybe the thing that I am the most excited about - we have secured a seriously cool barrel for our first Crew barrel pick. Thanks to a hook up from one of our members, we got our hands on the FIRST batch of Old Elk 10yr barrels since the Middle West Spirits acquisition. Straight from the Middle West Spirits rep: “These Ten Year old barrels are some of the first barrels Greg Metze put up in 2015. This is a true legacy pick and the first barrels released under the Middle West Spirits Family of Brands.” If that doesn’t get you excited, I’m not sure what will. Paid members get first access to the pick in case it sells out quickly, but free members will get a chance at any remaining bottles!

Third, this month’s giveaway is HUGE! If you haven’t seen it already, we are giving away 2 Original Grain Whiskey Barrel Espresso watches, with an MSRP of $299 each. Enter to win by simply joining any paid tier! Don’t delay - a winner will be drawn Monday, Nov 17th!

If you want to learn more, or even just join the free tier in order to stay up to date, click the button below!

Know the Terms - Small Batch

Here’s a whiskey term you probably see a LOT - “Small Batch”. What does it mean? Batches of what, and why are they small? How small? Let’s talk about it.

Most whiskey is made in batches - you consistently distill new product and put it into a rickhouse to age. Then, as that whiskey ages, you taste it. Now once that whiskey gets to whatever age you’re targeting, let’s say 10 years, you start tasting through the barrels that you want to blend together. A lot of times for big distilleries, you are bringing together several hundred barrels in order to get a flavor that tastes like the last batch. So for example, if you are making a batch of Maker’s Mark, you’re adding some barrels, tasting, and then adding barrels with a little of “this” and a little of “that” until you nail the signature Maker’s Mark flavor.

In some cases, distillers choose to make these batches smaller. This is usually for one of a few reasons - either they want each batch to be unique, they want better control over the flavor, or they simply don’t have the equipment to blend together large quantities. In the case of a distillery like Michter’s, they use it to market that there is “no margin for ‘blending out’ imperfection” (See here).

Here’s the problem: the term small batch is not legally defined or controlled. In other words, you can have whatever batch size you want, and you can still put “Small Batch” on your label. So the moral of the story is this: take it with a grain of salt!

At the end of the day, what matters much more than the batch size is the flavor. And if a distiller advertises “Small Batch”, the only thing I would be interested in is whether they make each batch taste the same or not, which you can usually find on their website.

Cigar Review: FP Esmeralda

Am I moving back to a Connecticut preference? This FP Esmerelda was RIGHT in my wheelhouse. It has the classic connecticut flavors - sweet cream, light almond notes, maybe a little woodiness - but it mixes in a little (tiny) bit of pop. Not much at all, but just enough to be exciting. A light sprinkle of black pepper, maybe even a bit of leather depending on what whiskey you put it with. I was a HUGE fan. Construction was very average - no complaints, but nothing special.

This cigar came from the Perfect Pairing Club - sign up now for over $25 off MSRP!