

BARREL SELECTION (RICKHOUSE C)
Floor 7: 0%
Distilled: Fall 2016
BARREL SELECTION (RICKHOUSE C)
NUMBER OF BARRELS: 55
Bottled: November 14, 2022
Floor 7: 0%
Floor 6: 0%
Floor 5: 14%
Floor 4: 0%
Floor 3: 24%
Floor 2: 62%
Floor 1: 0%
Rickhouse Proof:
58.25 ALC./VOL. | 116.5 (PROOF)
Final Notes:
Last month we attended the Masters of Bourbon at Big Cedar Lodge and had the opportunity to share a blending experience that ultimately led to the barrel choices for the November bottling. It was the first time we have included anyone from the general public in our decision-making process and it was an experience I won’t forget. We made up a few different options together during the class and I also offered some of my own pre-bottled blends.
Each participant was set up with vials from different barrels to sample from. There were ten options that could be voted on and were categorized by the ricks of the rickhouse. For example, one could be floor 2, rick 7, tier 2. We went through and sampled bourbon from those vials as we normally would, then blended the top votes together and found just the right ratio.
We ended up going with a blend that was heavy on the second floor, which was actually a premade blend I brought to the table. This bottling came out to be 62% second floor, 24% third floor, and 14% fifth floor.
After everything was said and done, we had the crazy thought to bottle this at full-proof and the participants were all for it. I enjoyed the November batch at full-proof so much that I knew I didn’t want it to be a one-time offering. This whole process came together rather quickly but it just made sense. Everything fell together perfectly and I think it was meant to happen at this time.
We plan to offer a limited release of Rickhouse Proof each month that we bottle Ben Holladay Bourbon. For now, Rickhouse Proof can be found exclusively at the Holladay Distillery and is very special to us.
If you read through my notes on the November bottling, you may recall we had a crazy idea to bottle part of that batch at full-proof. We set aside a small amount of the blend that was chosen for Ben Holladay Bourbon that month to be bottled at its original proof – 116.4. Ben Holladay Bourbon is traditionally bottled at 100 proof which is one of the requirements to be classified as a bottled-in-bond product. Ben Holladay Rickhouse Proof Bourbon is Ben Holladay Bourbon in its original form, straight out of the barrel.
When I pull samples of bourbon, I am always tasting at full-proof. It’s special to be able to share this batch in its original state just as I would taste in the rickhouse. A higher-proof bourbon can sometimes steer people away from trying it because of the increased alcohol content. In this case, even with a higher proof, the flavor of the bourbon is more robust and complex than what you would taste at a lower proof. If you’re curious, I highly recommend sampling Ben Holladay Bottled-in-Bond and Rickhouse Proof side by side to experience the comparison firsthand.
We sold out of this batch onsite at the distillery within hours, but plan to offer a limited release of Rickhouse Proof each month that we bottle Ben Holladay Bourbon. For now, Rickhouse Proof can be found exclusively at the Holladay Distillery and is very special to us.
Distilled: Fall 2016
BARREL SELECTION (RICKHOUSE C)
NUMBER OF BARRELS: 55
Bottled: October 20, 2022
Floor 1: 0%
Floor 2: 27%
Floor 3: 55%
Floor 4: 0%
Floor 5: 18%
Floor 6: 0%
Floor 7: 0%
Final Notes:
This month is the first time we’ve gotten to use a full blend from the 2016 fall distillation season. Before, all of the other bottlings came from the spring of 2016. This batch is interesting because it includes barrels from a couple of floors we haven’t pulled from before. The barrels were pulled from floors two, three, and five. In previous releases, we were restricted to floors one and five with barrels of age in the same distillation season.
I was aiming for more complexity in this one. The characteristics in this batch are more diverse and became more obvious as I played with different ratios. I landed on 27% from the second floor, 55% from the third, and 18% from the fifth.
One specific component I dialed in on was the finish. At first, I thought it was a relatively short finish, but the more I tasted it and played with it, the more I realized the final blend did offer the long finish I look for.
This bottling is really special to me because I have a personal connection to the third floor. Every year around Father’s Day, I go up to the third floor (specifically rick 6 tier 3) because there is a barrel from the exact date my son was born. I have sampled this floor quite a bit and knew the bourbon was aging nicely. I’ll be saving that barrel for something special down the line.
Distilled: Spring 2016
BARREL SELECTION (RICKHOUSE C)
NUMBER OF BARRELS: 55
Bottled: September 13, 2022
Floor 1: 72%
Floor 2: 0%
Floor 3: 0%
Floor 4: 0%
Floor 5: 28%
Floor 6: 0%
Floor 7: 0%
Final Notes:
This month we had several barrels of age from the fall 2016 distillation season, but we didn’t have enough ready to create a full blend from that season. We blended this batch from barrels distilled and filled in spring 2016. These barrels are still coming from the 1st and 5th floors of C Rickhouse.
This month I came up with a bunch of options, but I decided to ultimately flip the ratios from the first batch and chose 72% of the barrels from the 1st floor and 28% from the 5th floor. We went heavy on the first to let everyone see the differences on how the taste profile shifts depending on where these barrels have aged in the rickhouse.
The 1st floor has always been the floor we were slightly concerned about, but now that we are tasting the bourbon of age that is coming out of those barrels, our concerns aren’t as high.
In the end, I had three different variations to choose from when narrowing down the final blend, and this one really stuck out to me as the clear winner. The subtle differences you can taste in this one is a progression of how it has shifted from a barrel influence to a spirit influence. The top portion of a rickhouse is hotter and will extract more from the barrel, as well as concentrate that additional flavor down via the angel’s share loss. By using more of those first floor barrels we created a flavor profile that is focused more on the spirit instead of the barrel characteristics. This is part of why we are doing blends the way we are, to keep the taste consistently authentic, but interesting.
I have included a geeky chart below to show the breakdown for anyone who is interested in seeing the number comparisons. The numbers we talk about and list on the label are based on the percent of barrels per floor. However, we weigh each barrel before we dump it to know our yields per floor as well. If you compare the two floors we have used so far, the fifth floor loses more weight over time than the first floor. That is another item we are tracking internally and are interested to see how this compares across all 7 floors of the rickhouse.
Ultimately, the taste drives the amount of barrels we pull. Moving forward, we will have a lot more barrels of age to choose from on different floors. These blends have been fun to work with so far, and I look forward to working with the barrels from the fall 2016 season very soon.
% by barrel |
% by weight |
|||
1st floor |
5th floor |
1st floor |
5th floor |
|
May-22 |
21% |
79% |
23.59% |
76.41% |
Jul-22 |
44% |
56% |
44.79% |
55.21% |
Sep-22 |
72% |
28% |
72.57% |
27.43% |