Quick Update & New Logo

Just wanted to give you a quick update, I'm still dealing with my health situation but hopefully I will be back soon. Since I have nothing but time on my hands right now, I figured I might as well go ahead and start blogging again so I will probably start posting again next week. But until then, I thought I would share my new logo with you so here it is. 

Well I say new, I've been using it on my Instagram and Twitter accounts for a couple of months now. I hope you enjoy it! Until next time, stay meady and drink more bourbon!

Uncle Nearest Announces Uncle Nearest 1884 Premium Small Batch Whiskey

Super Premium Small Batch Offering Honors Namesake Nearest Green's Legacy Through His Descendants

 

SHELBYVILLE, Tenn., July 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, the super premium whiskey from Tennessee and the first spirit brand in history to commemorate an African-American, is excited to announce the launch of Uncle Nearest 1884 Premium Small Batch Whiskey. The brand revived the little-known story of Nathan "Nearest" Green, the first known African-American master distiller, back in 2017, and launched a namesake whiskey in his honor that has since won 40 awards and expanded into all 50 states and 10 countries (with shipping available to 148 countries). The brand can now be found in nearly 6,000 stores, bars and restaurants. A 7-year-old minimum whiskey, Uncle Nearest 1884 commemorates the final year Nearest is believed to have put his own whiskey into barrels before retiring from distilling.

Photo courtesy of Uncle Nearest

Uncle Nearest 1884 is unique in taste and curation while celebrating Nearest's legacy. The barrels used to create each batch are selected by Fawn Weaver, CEO and co-founder of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, to ensure each bottle contains a blend of the highest-quality liquid, maintaining Uncle Nearest's signature smoothness. The release of this particular offering honors Nearest's memory through his family's personal involvement in the blending process, with each batch curated by a different descendant of the legendary master distiller and the back label of each bottle signed by the descendant who created that batch. The first bottles hitting shelves are curated by Victoria Eady-Butler, great-great-granddaughter of Nearest, shareholder of Uncle Nearest and its Director of Administration.

 

"If my great-great-grandfather were alive today, I know how proud he would be to see us keeping his legacy alive through the continued growth of this brand," said Victoria Eady-Butler. "When Fawn first agreed to shine a light on our ancestor by putting his name on a bottle, we never could have imagined where Uncle Nearest would be two years later, with people around the world knowing the name Nearest Green. I speak for our entire family when I say we're thrilled to be a part of his legacy."

The small batch offering is a fresh departure from the whiskey brand's other products, while still utilizing the elements that made Nearest's whiskey so renowned. Uncle Nearest 1884 is lighter bodied, allowing it to be sipped by those who prefer a lower proof spirit. The bright off-white and gold label stands out on the shelf against its darker labeled counterparts and at $49.99 SRP, 1884 is the most accessible of Uncle Nearest's super premium product line to-date without straying from the spirit's premier quality and taste. 1884 is bottled at 93-proof, another nod to Nearest, as it is believed his whiskey was bottled at or near that proof.

"We set out to cement Nearest's legacy and to ensure his contributions to the Tennessee Whiskey industry would never again be forgotten," said Fawn Weaver. "With every bottle containing the signature of the descendant who created it, Nearest's family is picking up where he left off. More than one million glasses of Uncle Nearest have been raised around the world in salute of this great innovator. This ensures millions more will be raised over the next year."

The first batch of Uncle Nearest 1884 debuted exclusively on July 19, 2019 at Tales of the Cocktail, the world's premier cocktail festival, in New Orleans, Louisiana during a conversation on "Kentucky Bourbon vs. Tennessee Whiskey: Battle of the Premiums," led by Weaver. The new whiskey was met with high regard by all who tasted it, with respected writer G. Clay Whittaker encapsulating the sentiment best: "At 7 years of age, it's already a modern value bottle at that price, not to mention that the whiskey inside is one of the most refined crowd-pleasers we've tasted this year." The release date also marked the two-year anniversary since the launch of the Uncle Nearest brand and the release of its first expression, Uncle Nearest 1856, rounding out the company's portfolio of super premium whiskeys.

Product Details:Uncle Nearest 1884 Premium Small Batch Whiskey
SRP: $49.99
Proof: 93

For more information on Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, visit www.unclenearest.com, and follow @unclenearest on Instagram and Facebook.

About Uncle Nearest Premium WhiskeyUncle Nearest Premium Whiskey is inspired by the best whiskey-maker the world never knew, the first African-American master distiller on record in the United States, Nathan "Nearest" Green. The Uncle Nearest brand, wholly owned by Uncle Nearest, Inc., encompasses a premium aged whiskey, an 11-year-old single barrel product, and a 7-year-old small batch offering, all distilled, aged, bottled and hand-labeled in Tennessee.

Uncle Nearest is an award-winning spirit, garnering 40 awards since its July 2017 debut, including being one of two brands named "World's Best" at Whisky Magazine's 2019 World Whiskies Awards, and earning a Best of Class - Platinum and Double Gold Medal at the 2019 SIP Awards, a Chairman's Trophy at the 2019 Ultimate Beverage Challenge, a Double Gold Medal at the 2018 China Wine & Spirits Awards, Gold Medals at the 2018 San Francisco World Spirits Competition and 2018 New York World Wine & Spirits Competition, as well as two Gold Medals at the 2018 Los Angeles International Spirits Competition. Cigar & Spirits Magazine has also named Uncle Nearest one of the "Top 5 Whiskies in the World." For more information please visit the Uncle Nearest website, and follow on Instagram and Facebook.

DRINK HONORABLY™ © 2019 Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey | Alcohol 46.5% Volume (93 proof)

SOURCE Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey

Related Links

https://www.unclenearest.com

Quick update

Sorry I’ve been M.I.A., but I’ve been battling some serious health issues that have kept me out of commission lately. I really want to be on here more and as soon as I am healthy enough to resume normal daily activities, I will start posting here regularly again. Until then, I ask that you bear with me.  Thank you for understanding and until then, drink some bourbon and mead for me. Cheers!!  

Caught on COLA - Mead

Hey there, fellow meaders! What it bee? Get it, bee? As in honey bee? Umm, yeah that was a bad attempt at a dad joke since we just had Father's Day and all. I'm sorry. Uh, yeah, let's just get on with the COLA snooping shall we?

Up first is a mead from the Garagiste, well that's not exactly true. Up first, second, third and fourth are meads from Garagiste Meadery out of Florida. The first three seem to be riffs off the same mead. It looks like they took a traditional mead made from Meadowfoam Blossom honey and ran it dry to give us our first label. 

Our second mead is another traditional mead made from Meadowfoam Blossom honey but this one was aged on oak for additional flavoring.

The third Garagiste mead is once again a traditional Meadowfoam Blossom but this one was either stopped short or backsweetened to give us a semisweet mead. Now all three of these meads are bottled at 14% ABV in 375 ml bottles.

The final mead from Garagiste Meadery is Marshmallow Vitis. This unusually named mead is a grape mead with natural flavors and caramel color added. I am assuming with the name that there is some flavor of marshmallow in the mix (perhaps from using Meadowfoam Blossom honey?). Like the other meads, this one is bottled at 14% ABV as well. As of this time, there is no mention of any of these meads on the Garagiste website yet. However, the Semi Meadowfoam was released a few years ago at 13% ABV and won a few awards.

Up next is Wisconsin's Duck Creek Vineyard who have decided to add to their wine list and bring us Duck Creek Ancient Orange. This semi-sweet blood orange mead will be bottled at 12% ABV. As of now though, there is no mention on the vineyard's website of the mead's release.

Take lemonade, pomegranate and lavender and mix it with a citrus mead and what do you get? How about Hierophant Meadery's Lavender Lemonade Meadmosa? This refreshingly carbonated mead comes in at 8.4% ABV and is available in 500 ml bottles. Though I did see a lavender citrus mead available on their website, I didn't see this particular mead available yet.

The final label comes from Moonlight Meadery and is part of their Heather Blossom releases. The Apple Heather Blossom is double barrel aged for six years then bottled at 14% ABV. If the previous Heather Blossom releases are any indication, this release is probably going to be going around the $120-130 range for a 375 ml bottle. There is no mention yet on there website but it will probably be posted soon.

Well, that's all that's buzzing! So, until next time, drink more mead!

OZ Tyler Distillery Rickhouse Collapses

OWENSBORO, Ky. (AP) - Part of a bourbon warehouse in western Kentucky collapsed during a thunderstorm.

Picture courtesy of  Shaelie Clark (WFIE)

News outlets report the partial collapse of the O.Z. Tyler Distillery rickhouse was reported early Monday.

Master Distiller Jacob Call says around 20,000 barrels are stored at the location and it appears that about 4,000 were affected. He says it appears most barrels remain intact.

Call says engineers will be out later Monday to try to determine what caused the collapse. It's unclear if weather played a role.

Officials say no one was hurt. A nearby road is closed while the cleanup continues.

Another Kentucky bourbon barrel warehouse collapsed last year. Half of a warehouse collapsed at the Barton 1792 Distillery in Bardstown on June 22, 2018, and the other half came down two weeks later.

Caught on COLA - Bourbon

It's that time again fellow bourbon lovers and we are back with another update of Caught on COLA. Normally this would have come out on Sunday but a couple of things prevented that. One, it was Father's Day and two, I've been under the weather, so I guess better late than never. Anyhow, I'm really excited about this edition so let's not waste any time and dive right into those labels and see what's cooking in those distilleries.

Anyone who is a reader of the blog knows that I have a fondness for Uncle Nearest Tennessee Whiskey and let me tell you, I was so surprised when I came across this first label. Seems the folks at Uncle Nearest aren't happy to just settle for the 1856 and 1820 expressions. Nooooo, they've done gone out and gotten approval for Uncle Nearest 1884 Small Batch Whiskey. Well, that didn't sound country as hell now did it? Anyway, what does that have to do with anything? Now, I really don't know a whole lot about this release other than it's bottled at 90 proof (45% ABV) and that I am sure it lives up to the standards that we have come to expect from an Uncle Nearest release. But I did sort of reach out on Instagram to Uncle Nearest and Fawn Weaver seeking some kind of comment or possible insider information and Ms. Weaver was kind enough to reply, "Our tasting panel, Nearest's family, Keith and me are finalizing the first batch blend tomorrow... debuting at Tales of the Cocktail in July. Announcement coming soon!" So there you have it, if you are in New Orleans July 16th-21st, make sure you swing by and see what the 1884 expression is all about and let me know what you think. Hopefully I will be lucky enough to track down a bottle somehow and will be able to do a review on here as well. Here's hoping!

Next up is Odysea, a rather odd blend from Florida's Oceanside Distillery in Cape Canaveral. This is a 90 proof (45% ABV) blend of straight bourbon whiskies sourced from distilleries in Kentucky and Tennessee. I couldn't find any information online about the company other than the business license information so there is no information about the release.

Next up is another blended bourbon. This one is from my home state of Michigan and comes from Red Cedar Spirits. Each bottle of 84 proof (42% ABV) Melting Pot Blended Bourbon Whiskey "uses a popular Red Cedar Spirits bourbon as the primary spirit along with other aged Red Cedar Spirits whiskies." According to the label, the whiskey is wheat free which is interesting since there is no mention of any wheaters on their website. I also couldn't find a mention of this release either but there is mention of their Melting Pot Whiskey.

I decided to include this next entry out of Texas out of morbid curiosity maybe. I don't know. But it sort of scares me. Not as bad as the thought of the PBR whiskey release but still... Maverick Whiskey's Alamo Whiskey makes me pause for the cause. According to the label, this whiskey is bottled at 92 proof (46% ABV) after having been aged for one day in new white oak barrels. Aged one day? According to the tasting notes on their website, Maverick claims Alamo has "a nose of light brown sugar, candied cinnamon, creamed corn, and black pepper. The palate is delightfully smooth with notes of crème brulee, corn pudding, vanilla, and spice. The finish is mellow with lingering notes of spearmint, cardamom, and allspice." All that from aging just one day? Ummm.... okay! Next!

Where there's smoke there's fire, so where there's a smoke wagon there must be fire water right? In a way, yes. Because I'm talking about Smoke Wagon Bourbon from Nevada H&C Distilling Co. This MGP-sourced bourbon is bottled at 92.5 proof (46.25% ABV) and is readily available or so it seems on their website.

Wyoming Whiskey brings us our next entry with The Stargazer. This limited edition bottling celebrates mans journey to the moon 50 years ago. This 100 proof (50% ABV) bottle will only be available at the distillery (when it's released) but as for now there is no other information on this wheater (I'm guessing it's a wheated bourbon since there others are) on their website.

Our last entry comes from Colorado's Tower 56 Distilling in the form of their Tower's 56 Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Now this 90 proof (45% ABV) bourbon may have been bottled in Greeley, Colorado but it was distilled in Statesville, North Carolina so that tells me it was probably sourced from the Southern Distilling Company (I could be wrong). Tower 56's previous bourbon release is a wheated bourbon but I am not sure of the mashbill of this straight bourbon release and there is no mention of it yet on their website.

That's all I've got for now, folks! Until the next round, cheers!

Mead Review: Crafted Artisan Meadery Hardcore T-misu

Fresh off my last mead review from Crafted Artisan Meadery, I decided to go ahead and review another of their meads. This time it is one of their limited session meads called Hardcore T-misu which, as the name implies, is a tiramisu inspired mead. It comes in a 500 ml bottle at 6% ABV. Now let's get on with the review.

Appearance: I would call the T-misu water white to extra white in color, with brilliant clarity. The legs had a medium to long finish on the glass. As you can see, it is slightly carbonated.

Nose: I initially detected a sweetness from the honey that gave way to a coffee aroma accompanied by vanilla. There were pleasant underlying floral notes at the end. 

Palate: Once again, sweetness but this time, not so much from a honey stand point but from a brown sugar feel. There was that vanilla floating around in there with some buttery notes once again. Maybe some graham crackers on the backside of the flavor profile for me but they are there.

Finish: T-misu provided a medium to long, smooth bodied mouthfeel that provided a sweet warmth with a touch of bite at the end.

Conclusion: After seeing what Crafted did with their Planet of the Grapes and Cinnaman Bun meads, I wasn't hesitant to give the Hardcore T-misu a chance. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. Yes, this is a sweet mead. It is a bottled tiramisu! It is supposed to be sweet! And Crafted has nailed it to a T (misu). Sorry, I couldn't resist. Out of the three Crafted meads that I have tried so far, I think this one is my favorite. But, there are many more available on their site so the tasting must continue. So friend, if you get the chance, grab a bottle of this raise a glass with me!

Until next time, skål!