The Maturing Begins

01-29-09, The barrel is sealed, the water is out, and the bourbon is in. First tasting will take place Friday, 02-06-09. Here is a picture of the water that came out of the barrel. The barrel water is on the left and fresh water on the right. I am sure you could have figured that one out on your own. The barrel water had the aroma of smokey oak. A smooth delightful smell.

Now for the bourbon. On the left is the Old Charter 8 Year Old and on the right is the Old Charter 12 Year Old.

I have never been a fan of the Old Charter 8 year old. It has a; for lack of a better word; horrible taste. As stated elsewhere in this blog, I love the taste of the 12 year old and the 10 year old. The 10 and 12 are mellow and sweet. The 8 is rough and has a strong alcohol taste. This is odd being that the 8 year old is 80 proof and the 12 year old is 90 proof. Since the 12 year old is no longer made, I am hoping to come close to matching it by maturing the 8 year old in the barrel.

I drink my Old Charter mixed with Diet Coke. It is not a sipping bourbon and I have only had one bourbon that I could sip. That was an Evan Williams Single Barrel. I am looking at others since I found the Straight Bourbon.com site.