J's Whisky Diary

The Hillrock Estate Distillery, located in the Hudson Valley, NY, take their name quite seriously. Established on a stunning--well, estate --complete with a mansion built in 1806, Hillrock describe themselves as a "field to glass" distillery; in addition to growing their own heritage barley, they floor malt, smoke, and kiln it in house. The distillery is staffed by a team of industry veterans including Master Distiller Dave Pickerell, of Maker's Mark and Whistle Pig fame. In addition to the painstaking attention paid to their barley, Hillrock also use a solera aging technique for their Bourbon. You can read more about that process here , but it is a complex and difficult technique which allows the average age of the spirit produced to grow continuously over time via fractional blending; the longer a solera is in place, the older and more complex the bottled spirit becomes. Presumably, this process is somehow made compatible with the legal requirement that Bourbon be aged ...

Old Grand Dad is a brand of straight bourbon whiskeys distilled by Beam-Suntory in Kentucky, notable for the higher percentage of rye compared to the standard Beam mash bill. The brand is named for Basil Hayden Sr., the famed distiller. Old Grand Dad is bottled at three different proofs; 80, 100 (bonded), and 114. While the 80 proof offering is entirely forgettable, I have long prized "Bonded OGD" as an accessible, classic, and extremely affordable bourbon, providing an introduction for the neophyte, a standby for those "ballin'-on-a-budget," and a terrific base for bourbon cocktails; make a pitcher of juleps for your friends with a bottle of Bonded and you'll be a hero to anyone who can remember what they tasted like. In comparison to the simplicity and accessibility of the bonded offering, 114 proof requires a bit more of its audience. This is by no means a "fine" spirit, no age statement is given, aside from the "straight bourbon" de...