With so many bourbon barrel-aged beers now on the market (still not many up here), I just wondered whether any of you can distinguish between the different bourbons in each beer? For example, assuming the beer was the same, could you taste the difference between a beer aged in a Wild Turkey barrel to a Makers Mark barrel?
Not being a bourbon drinker, I cannot. Actually hate drinking bourbon. But in my beer - it's wonderful.
I guess this would only apply to bourbon drinkers to some extent. Is it a bourbon taste or is anyone able to pick out a distinctive taste of a particular bourbon?
As an avid bourbon drinker, not a chance. A realistic reach would be between something like Pappy and Heaven Hill, but still that's a huge stretch. IMO is all about the beer that goes into the barrel, the time spent in the barrel, and the condition of the beer/barrel during aging and bottling. We all buy (literally) into hype.
If we expand the question to different barrel-aged beers (meaning port, cognac, rum, gin, bourbon, whiskey, etc.) then yes, absolutely. I can say that I can tell the difference between different whiskey barrel types as well, given that Hoppin' Frog Jameson Barrel-Aged Boris tasted significantly different than any other bourbon/whiskey barrel-aged beer that I've had otherwise.
Best test of this question is the Fifty-Fifty Eclipse imperial BA stout releases each winter, as they use a half-dozen or more different barrels for aging and designate which end product was aged in which type/brand of barrel by wax color. Unfortunately, at 30 bucks a pop it's a pricey test to take.
Hopefully someone has the resources and can actually compare these. Funnily enough, we may get some of the Eclipse versions up here so i'll see what I can do...
They taste different, but I'd wager a good amount of money if you sit a Beer Advocate who claims to have any knowledge of whiskey down, they wouldn't be able to correctly identify 75% of the "brands" (save for the outliers such as the corn whiskey, etc). Labels have a bigger impact on the perception of our tastes than many of us would like to admit - whether it be what kind of barrel a beer is aged in, or a brewery name.
As a bourbon drinker I can taste the differences in the different barrels used but might not be able to say emphatically which bourbon in a blind taste test. For example, there's a big difference in a wheated whiskey like Bernheim and Wild Turkey. The smoother, mellower Bernheim will taste that way than the more rigid Wild Turkey. Stevegoz is right about the Eclipse Series being a great way to test this out. I'm very curious to try the Makers Mark edition released today to see how the beer and bourbon treat each other.
IMHO, bourbon is like anything else. Ever had PVW? It's good, but I wouldn't "chase trucks" for a bottle. There's hype in everything. As for the OP...no way. I'd pay real money to see someone go 10 for 10 in a blind taste test. Now where's a beer aged in Noah's Mill barrels? I'd be on the hunt for that!
I came here to post this. I think I've had about 8 different versions of the eclipses. Some back to back. They are VERY different. Especially when going from say a corn whiskey version to a wheat whiskey version. Could I pick out and identify the specific bourbon blindly? Of course not but that doesnt mean that each version is even close to identical. Just look at the variances in scores between versions. The type, brand and aging length makes them all very unique, imo. Dope
About a year ago my buddies and I were able to get each eclipse for roughly $20 a bottle so we decided to drink them back to back one night. You can most definitely taste the difference between each one, but it would be nearly impossible to blindly tell which barrel each came from.
