Old Owl Tavern - A Bar Review
Atmosphere and Service: The Old Owl Tavern is one of the best examples of Kentucky or Midwest hospitality. It is the bar-restaurant attached to the Beaumont Inn, a lovely bed & breakfast in Harrodsburg and one of the must-see extra stops on the Bourbon Trail. We ate a meal here in September 2018 and then enjoyed a few barrel-proof bourbon flights in June 2019. Both times, service was spectacular, and they accommodated our requests with grace and warmth. To give one example, we had a flight of Kentucky Owl (the Inn's own bourbon), George T. Stagg, and E.H. Taylor Barrel Proof. Given the rarity of these bottles, I asked to take a picture with the bottles, which the bartender arranged for me. To give another, at the end of our tasting, I asked to apply a 10% coupon that I received as a member of Wise Owl Rewards, the bar's free-to-join loyalty program. The staff wasn't sure if it applied to drinks, but they asked the manager, and ended up manually giving me $10 off -- a bigger discount than 10% on the $70 bill!
Selection: The offerings here lean heavily toward American whiskies, and within that large genre, toward bourbons and ryes. The Old Owl has a hundred or more bourbon options, including several of their own exclusive barrel picks from distilleries like Wild Turkey (Russell's Reserve) and Four Roses. This may not be the best place to have a dram of scotch. But it's Kentucky, so I don't want to drink scotch here!
Rare Bottles: The Inn's owner, the Dedmon family, has deep ties to numerous bourbon distilleries, which ensures that the bar at the Old Owl is always stocked with many of the rarest and most exceptional expressions that Kentucky has to offer. These guys have Pappy Van Winkle, multiple Four Roses limited editions, two or three Parker's Heritage releases, you name it.
Value: The downside of the substantial upper shelf is that these drinks are not cheap! The best values on the menu probably are the bar's private picks, with Russell's Reserve going for something like $12-14 -- a stellar value for the quality of Wild Turkey's high-end bourbon. Similarly, the bar's Four Roses Private Selections are a good bet. Other pours are priced so steeply that I can't recommend them outside of the flights. For instance, Kentucky Owl Bourbon is $40 for a 2-ounce pour.
Flight Review: The best value on the menu may be some of their flight options, such as the $18 flight that gets you 1-ounce pours of Four Roses Single Barrel and three of the bar's Four Roses Private Selections. We also ordered a barrel-proof flight for $40 that included Kentucky Owl, George T. Stagg, and E.H. Taylor Barrel Proof (each one was $40-60 for a dram, so the flight worked out to a relatively more reasonable price per ounce).
Kentucky Owl Bourbon, Batch 8 (60.5% ABV) - This is the Dedmon family's personal whiskey line, which proved so successful and developed such a rabid fan base that it got bought out by Stolichnaya group. Essentially, what we have here is a sourced bourbon picked by a person with generations-long connections in the industry, but which goes for a sky-high $300 a bottle or more. Online sources suggest that it's a blend of at least four different batches, ranging in age from 5 years -- which is quite young! -- to 14 years. Its impressive start recalls a berry-picking trip to a gentleman's farm, with ephemeral early chords of strawberry, brown sugar, buttercream frosting, and shortcake that emphasize that this is going to be a sweet pour showcasing the fruit-forward nature of young, high-quality juice. After about 15 minutes, a decent amount of dry cedar and guaiac wood announce their presence. Its nose is its highlight, as the palate reverts to a classic but spicy profile: caramel, charred oak, some chili oil and cinammon, no significant tannic grip. It almost tastes better after the swallow, when dark fruit and cherry flavors reemerge to duet with the charred oak and chocolate swirling around the back of the throat. This is a great bourbon but a bad value. A-
George T. Stagg, 2018 (62.4%) - We've tried two earlier editions of Stagg and raved about both. Thankfully, Buffalo Trace has not let us down with this latest edition. Stagg is hands-down the best rye-recipe bourbon that I've tried, with the best Elijah Craig Barrel Proof editions coming a close second. It's so much older than typical bourbon releases, with an extra three years of age compared to the already well-matured ECBP, and has a characteristic and unmistakable resulting profile overflowing with stewed fruit, peanut oil, rich caramel, vanilla, green tea, salted dark chocolate, and lumberyard wood. I often associate great bourbons with a note that's reminiscent of chocolate, and Stagg offers the clearest and best example of that slightly bitter but intoxicating flavor. I doubt I'll be able to find or afford a bottle in the next five years, but this remains one of the best bourbons in the world and I can only hope that I'm lucky enough to try Fall 2019's release. A
E.H. Taylor Barrel Proof, Batch 7 (64.8%) - Despite following up the inimitable Stagg in this lineup, this E.H. Taylor expression was my surprise favorite of the night. I've had pours of earlier batches of this barrel-proof bourbon, and they never left a lasting impression on my mind. This newest release, dating from 2018, is astoundingly good and almost tastes like a sherry-finished whiskey. Raisin is readily detectable from the first sniff, along with dense blackberry preserve or compote. The fruit flavors on this one rival, or perhaps even exceed, the intensity of the Kentucky Owl. Despite being considerably younger than the Stagg, its palate had the strongest oak backbone and the most mouth-watering maple syrup note. It was incredibly viscous and full-bodied. The one slight flaw would be the overwhelming heat on the finish: turmeric, cinnamon, pie, and sweet tea giving just a glimmer of relief from that spice and alcoholic fire. A