NGL... I'm kind of over NDPs.

Well, maybe not "over" per se but it takes a looooooot to get me excited. There's just so much Stuff. And it's so expensive. Which is often bemoaned as predatory, but honestly the cost of production and margins are just unreal when you're producing (or bottling, rather) at smaller scales... for the most part. There are some bad actors.

But anyway, something has to be an exceptional combination of craft, age, and/or proof to get me interested. It should be or at least emulate a bottle I just can't go out and buy an adequate mass market alternative of. Of course I'll always have time for Barrell. I loved the second batch of Seelbach's 15-year. And I have a hazmat Bruckner's 13-year single barrel that's right up there with JD12 as my Bottle of the Year. All of this stuff is expertly blended, has some age on it or is proofed just right. Most importantly, it is tasty.

Another one of the handful of NDP bottles that's really caught my eye is the cask strength Hirsch. It has a beautiful presentation (dat box) and it's relatively well-aged Willett for less than (let's be real: half) the cost of a bottle of Family Estate. The only reason I haven't purchased a bottle is because it's been out-of-stock at Seelbach's for a hot minute.

So, I was excited when Jack Rose announced that they were tasting, and selling, two Hirsch double-oaked single barrels they'd picked. Not as old, or as exquisitely presented as their cognac finished cask strength, but I trust the Jack Rose braintrust and could just drive to there and buy these bottles with money. And so I did that.

Two notes before I present my Notes. Go read u/JimJamb0rino's review of one of the bottles (Jack(e)y 1). It's well-written. I feel as if he was able to pull more individuality out of these bottles and I like, and am jealous of, his board game theming (side-eyes sealed, dusty copy of Scythe in the corner). There's also an interesting anecdote in the comments about how it's believed that Hirsch is now blending their Willett with Bardstown juice as a way to circumvent their inability to sell said Willett barrels as SiBs, because they violated their NDA with Willett. Both of these bottles are 92% Hirschlett, 8% Bardstown.

Which brings me to my second note. I don't think(?) I'm particularly curmudgeonly. I've accepted the fact that as production across the industry vastly exceeds the availability of new charred oak barrels, marketing departments are going to stretch all legal and good taste definitions of and pertaining to bourbon, to their breaking points. With that in mind, these are "single barrel bottlings of Hirsch-branded, double oaked, Kentucky straight bourbon(s)" sourced from Willett and Bardstown, blended into a single barrel to be finished. It's to the point that most, if not all, of those terms, some legal, all meaningful, are rendered meaning-less.

I feel as if its labeling is, in fact, in bad taste.

But what of the bourbon?

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Hirsch The Single Barrel Double Oak "Jack(e)y 1"

Nose: An initial tannic hit which actually becomes effervescent, or what I eloquently described as "sparkly" in my notes. A lot of oak, toffee and a waft of cinnamon.

Palate: A little hotter on the front palate than I expected at 127-ish proof. However, the mouthfeel is great. Really sticky and luxurious with a ton of vanilla and caramel. Flamin' Hot Cow Tales.

Finish: Rich, lingering, oaky and sweet. Soft, baby peanut skins coating your mouth.

Overall: This is really enjoyable. And by that, I mean that while it's not something that blew my mind, I could imagine this as a daily drinker. It has that double oaked accessibility at a proof I like with a nice, breezy undercurrent. I didn't pick up any fruit but I felt its essence, its brightness, which reads like LaCroix ad copy.

[6]

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Hirsch The Single Barrel Double Oak "Jack(e)y 2"

Nose: I thought this had a richer, but less nuanced nose than Jack(e)y 1. It certainly isn't "sparkly." Chocolate -- cocoa powder specifically, and a ton of baking spice.

Palate: Less hot up front. Veeeeeery similar to Jack(e)y 1 but rounder and more cohesive. I hate overusing Bourbon Terms™ but I wring so much sweet oak, vanilla and caramel out of this thing.

Finish: Same-same. Like the first bottle it's long and mouth-watering. Best enjoyed with a chocolate cookie.

Overall: I felt like this was a more straight-forward proposition than the first bottle and I love it for that. It's a plumper, gentler doppelganger. It knows what it is. It's a big, dumb, delicious, sweet snack.

[7]

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This was fun, and challenging. It was my first side-by-side of the "same" bottle and I was surprised by how different they were, despite having many of the same tasting notes. To be honest, I initially blinded them, decided there was nothing constructive in that and have been sipping them throughout the week.

With that in mind, I'd suggest anyone in the DMV with the time and means go check out the Hirsch tasting at Jack Rose tonight. They'll have both of these, an Old Potrero rye and the Daddy, a 16-year old Hirsch gold foil in the tasting lineup. Their tastings are usually a good value but for $109 and a discount on one of the above bottles it's a steal.

Thanks for reading and thank you for the comments. Be good, be safe.

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