Review #191: Calumet 15

Review #191: Calumet 15yr

MASH BILL: 74% corn, 18% rye, 8% malted barley

PROOF: 105

AGE: 15 years 

COST: $120 for 750mL bottle (I’m reviewing a sample)

I have considered purchasing a Calumet 15 or 16 bottle for years now, but have never pulled the trigger. They’re both fairly easy to find around me (upstate South Carolina), but they’ve always been priced higher than MSRP and higher than I’m willing to pay for something that is fairly easy to find – MSRP should really be the limit if it’s going to sit on the shelf and remain available. I figured at some point I would see a bottle for MSRP and would check it out, but the moment really never came along. Until a month or so ago… A buddy recently got a Costco membership and was able to snag a bottle of Calumet 15 for $120, which is the lowest I’ve ever seen it by $30-$40 from the next lowest. So, he picked it up so we could both try it. Let’s check it out!

This is from a batch of 19 barrels. Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.

APPEARANCE: Dark, auburn color (1.5); oily with a nice ring of beads that adorn the glass and slowly coalesce into fat, slow legs. 

NOSE: Classic bourbon notes. Brown sugar and vanilla, mellow notes of dried oak and barrel char, a mild dark fruit note. There’s a nice orange zest accompanied by a slight minty note. This is pretty well layered.

PALATE: A thick, syrupy mouthfeel. It lands cool on the palate, menthol like, with big vanilla Crème Brule and a medicinal cherry note. Caramelized brown sugar. Burnt orange peel adds a mild zestiness. There’s a peppery numbness and rye spice that contrast the sweeter notes. Oak comes across deeper, darker, and more toasted than on the nose, but is still quite mellow making a very nice background to the sweeter notes and subtle spice that is more forward.

FINISH: A short, sweet finish. The vanilla crème brule transfers from the palate quite well, even the creaminess of the dessert. Sweet oak, almost like the wood was caramelized, makes a new oak profile from the nose and palate. The spice exits pretty quickly, but there is light cinnamon stick and orange note that linger in the background giving nice fall vibes.

RATING: 7.8/10

OVERALL: It’s not necessarily unique (I mean…it’s Barton distillate after all…), but it’s really good for what it is. There’s a lot of sweeter notes with some nice barrel character sprinkled throughout. Normally, I’m a fan of that 100-110 proof range. But I think the 105 proof might be a little low for this. It was definitely on the sweeter side which I like, but it leaves me wondering if spicier or woodier notes were tamped down in the dilution process. It just seemed like for 15 year old whiskey, this should have a bit more oaky and spicy notes. With Barton having a barrel entry proof of 125 and being known to have some pretty high proof barrels, I believe the amount of water needed dilute this down to 105 has a little more of an impact at diluting the flavor as well than if it were a lower barrel proof whiskey to start with . (Granted, this is all speculation on my part, but it did seem like the okay and spice notes were a little more mellow than I would have expected for 15 year old.) Overall though, you get a nice sweet, well aged bourbon for a very reasonable price at MSRP.

 

1 | Disgusting | ...I've not subjected myself to this level

2 | Poor | Balcones Lineage

3 | Bad | High West Double Rye, Jefferson's Ocean 28

4 | Sub-par | Weller's SR, Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select, Hillrock Estate Sauternes CS

5 | Good | Buffalo Trace, Sazerac Rye, Green River Wheated

6 | Very Good | Blanton's, Holladay Bourbons, Eagle Rare

7 | Great | Baker's 7yr SiB, BBCo Origin High Wheat, 1792 BiB

8 | Excellent | Most ECBP batches, Maker's Mark Wood Finishing releases, High West MWND Act 11

9 | Incredible | Woodford Reserve Batch Proof 121.2, Disco #7 and #13, Four Roses OESQ

10 | Perfect | Found North Batch 08, RR15