Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/5037
Blue 58 / the tasting panel / december 2009 Four Roses Mariage F our Roses is a unique distillery as it produces ten different bourbon recipes to allow for a range of product. In the U.S., they offer Single Barrel, Small Batch, Yellow, Limited Edition and Mariage. National Sales and Marketing Manager Patty Holland says, "For every two people who taste them, one will swear they like the Small Batch best and one will swear by the Single Barrel. We have something for everybody." Annual Four Roses Mariage releases combine a few of the ten recipes made at the dis- tillery for a unique bottling each year. The 2009 Mariage release mixes 19-year-old and ten-year-old bourbons from one recipe with a dif- ferent ten-year-old bourbon recipe. Holland says of the 2009 edition, "Probably because of the age, it's going to be a little hotter going down, but that's by design." –C.E. four roSeS dIStIllery The Glenlivet T he Glenlivet is following up the 16 Year Old Nàdurra, the non-chill-filtered, cask-strength single-malt, with Nádurra Tri- umph 1991. This limited-edition bottling was distilled in 1991 from Triumph barley, a variety no longer used in The Glenlivet, and aged 18 years. Winston Evans, Ambassador for The Glenlivet, had run out of this bottling by the time we found his booth at Whisky- Fest, so we let him describe it. "It's richer [than the 16- year-old Nàdurra]; it's not as light and bright, not quite as crisp and clean. Instead of assertive fruits like passion fruit it's more like peaches and cream on the nose, leading to barley cream with almost an orange sherbet finish." The limited- edition bottling should be on shelves by press time at an SRP of $85. —C.E. perNod rIcard uSa Brian Ellison markets the white whiskey called Death's Door. Death's Door Finds a Niche for White Whiskey L ately whiskey's handicap on-premise has been the brown liquor's lack of mixability, but all that woody spice and brown color is the product of ag- ing—it starts out as clear as vodka. Madison, Wisconsin distillery Death's Door has found a niche following for its un-aged, cocktail-friendly "White Whiskey," which sells for $36 a bottle. Hardly your granddad's moonshine, it's made from 80% wheat and 20% barley sustainably grown on nearby Washington Island. It tastes smooth and slightly sweet with a creamy malt note. Founder Brian Ellison first bottled 50 cases at the special request of a customer, who was back for more in three days. In the meantime, the distillery's first edition of brown whiskey is still maturing in barrel. —Tim Teichgraeber