Elmer T. Lee Proprietors's Reserve Single Barrel Bourbon:
Now in Store!

Late this past winter Jon and Graeme from Cork & Bottle along with local photographer (and bourbon fan) Marc Pagani visited the historic Buffalo Trace and Eagle Rare Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky and selected a single barrel of Bourbon made under the watchful eye of Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee. Although this is the 4th barrel we've bought from the Buffalo Trace Distillery, this is the first time we've selected a barrel of Elmer T. Lee. We decided to do a barrel of Elmer T. Lee for a number of reasons, not the least of which being the chance to bottle a spirit bearing our name that was touched by the hand of the man who effectively invented bottling Bourbon in single barrel lots.

Apparently over the years you all have thought our barrel selections have been spot on as noted by the fact our single barrel Bourbons have sold faster than any other Bourbon in the history of Cork & Bottle. Well, putting all hyperbole aside, this most recent barrel might just be the very best one we've ever picked out - and that's saying a lot!

Our Cork & Bottle Cask #4 is over 9 years old, as evidenced by the age stamp on the barrel, even though Elmer T. Lee doesn't have an age stamp on the bottle. In the words of Mr. Lee "I like to get that barrel to about 8 years old or so and then bottle the thing when it starts tasting good, however long that might be." Who are we to argue with the master? Mr. Lee is now Master Distiller Emeritus and as such he doesn't have too many restrictions put on the way he makes Bourbon. One trademark of Mr. Lee's Bourbon palate is that he does have a little bit of a sweet tooth, but that's just fine with us. We love the high toned flavors of his Bourbon with the addition of an ice cube and the flavor profile makes it exceptional in a cocktail. (it makes the best Old Fashioned you're going to get!)

The cask we chose shows all those trademark characteristics of black tea, orange peel and sweet maple on the nose you're supposed to get out of a good wheated Bourbon. While this cask we chose (out of the 5 we sampled) wasn't necessarily the most aromatic of the five, what set it apart was the mouthfeel and taste of it. Very rich, round and smooth in the mouth and just great caramel, vanilla and cinnamon flavors. The finish lasts 45+ seconds and you get all that sweet orange peel, black tea and dried fruit all over again. Just an absolutely knockout beauty of a Bourbon.

It is always s an honor and a real treat getting to go back and find some hand selected gorgeous Bourbon from one of the finest distilleries in Kentucky, however like all good older Bourbon, once that barrel starts to hit close to 10 years the angel's start taking their share and the barrel doesn't yield as much. In fact this run produced only around 15 cases (that's 180 bottles) and with Clever going through Bourbon like a sieve (and the fact we've built up this little temple to bourbon over here in the store) we don't expect this bottling to last very long, so act soon and get yourself some before it runs out! It makes a great gift (Mother's Day is coming up - Moms love Bourbon - right?) a great party favor or just a great glass of whiskey at the end of the day.

Also, having Marc Pagani travel with us we were certainly able to come back with some first class photography and we'll be hosting a showing of Marc's work in Bourbon Country on Thursday, May 21st at 6:00 pm..

Cork & Bottle Selection:

Elmer T. Lee Single Barrel Bourbon, Cork & Bottle Selection (01/2000) $28.99/750ml