Hey, it’s America’s birthday today and since no one has named a bourbon after Bernie Sanders yet, here I am with a review of Old Grand-Dad 114 (so called because it is bottled at 57% abv). You may remember that I recently reviewed the 80 proof version of Old Grand-Dad and pronounced it both an unremarkable whiskey and a remarkable value. Well, this high-octane version might be an even better value: I got my bottle for $25 and it’s the rare market where you’d be asked to pay very much more. Quick: name all the single malt Scotches you can buy at 57% abv for $25! By the way, it’s not just the strength that is higher in the 114 proof version: the gent on the label also has a more elevated expression and is presented in the form of a classical bust; on the 80 proof label he looks altogether cheerier (and more alive) and seems like he’s been knocking back a few. So, you know before you pour that this is more serious stuff.  Continue reading →

No, my nose and palate are not back in action (though I’m close): I just realized that I’d never actually published these notes on my bottle of Old Grand-Dad that were taken a long time ago (the picture is of the current state of the bottle, which is nearly empty). Here they are now with a newly-written “introduction”.

As you probably know, the Old Grand-Dad line is one of several put out by Beam. Other than their eponymous, and most famous, Jim Beam label, the distillery also puts out a number of premium “small batch” brands (Knob Creek, Basil Hayden, Baker’s and Booker’s); Old Grand-Dad is at the other end of the price spectrum (but is made from the same mash bill as Basil Hayden, which makes sense as the old grand-dad referred to in the name is the actual Basil Hayden). This 40% abv version can be purchased by the liter for less than $15, a Bottled in Bond version at 50% abv  goes for not too many dollars more and the 114 at 57% comes in shy of $30 in most markets. The cognoscenti will tell you that it’s the latter two that you should buy, and they’re not wrong, but as a man of the people here I am with a review of the lowliest in the line.  Continue reading →