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If you’re not from the Chicagoland area, you’re probably not familiar with Longman & Eagle. This is a restaurant that was founded in 2010 and quickly shot to fame after earning a Michelin Star. They held onto that star for the next 7 years. While they might not have it anymore, most of the locals still rave about their fantastic food.
But this is a whiskey review, not a restaurant review, so what am I doing talking about them? It’s because of their insane bar that has been known for their wide-ranging American Whiskey selection. This also included many dusties. I’m using the past tense because I’ve been told that their dusty selection isn’t what it used to be. However, if you ask real nice and are a chill guy, I hear they might reveal a separate list of what they have “in the back.” If they tell you that such a list doesn’t exist, that probably means you’re acting like a douchebag.
With such an extensive whiskey collection, Longman & Eagle were early adopters into the single barrel pick scene. This was necessary because their location in Logan Square has them directly competing with many other famous whiskey bars (for more on them, check out the book “Dusty Booze”) for wealthy enthusiasts’ money. Longman & Eagle must have had a license to sell liquor, too (I’m not sure how Illinois works exactly) because this bottle you see before you was selected by them and sold to the public. And not that anyone asked, but I didn’t directly buy this bottle, I traded for it a few years back.
Belle Meade’s famous Cask Strength Single Barrel picks
Belle Meade joins the ranks of other famous Non-Distiller Producers (NDPs) from back in the day who were sourcing world-class bourbon from MGP in Indiana. What set them apart from the rest was their robust cask-finished offerings. Their core lineup included Cognac, Madeira and Sherry finishes. They sold batched versions (bottled at 90.4 proof) and single barrels that were bottled at cask strength. Only Joseph Magnus rivaled Belle Meade in the cask-finished single barrel department.
Last year, I compiled a list of every Belle Meade single barrel I could find. This pick by L&E was one of only 14 cask strength Sherry finishes that were ever offered. If you study the list even closer, you’ll also notice that this wasn’t the only Belle Meade pick that L&E did either. They picked a 10-year-old unfinished bourbon sometime in late 2016 or 2017.
While the source of Belle Meade’s Sherry casks might be a secret, I think it’s common knowledge that they were using ones that previously held Oloroso Sherry in them. By the way, if you want to learn more about the most common types of Sherry, here’s a link for you to get a general grasp. Oloroso a very different animal from the sticky-sweet PX sherry casks that are seen about the same amount of times from other finished bourbons. Oloroso is dry and oxidized. It’s fortified to about 17% to stop “flor” from forming, then aged using a kind of solera method where oxygen builds layers of walnut, leather, tobacco, balsamic and dried fruit. Oloroso is often picked to add depth, structure and a nutty, savory undertone to whiskies.
Anyway, Belle Meade never got super specific on how long they finished the MGP bourbon for, but I’ve seen a few sources claim it was about 3 months. This is probably right in the sweet spot as other distilleries (I’m looking at you, Bardstown Bourbon Company) have finished their bourbons for as long as 18 months! That’s simply too long.
So how does cask strength MGP aged for about 10 years and finished for three months in an Oloroso cask taste? Let’s find out. I sampled this neat in a glencairn.
Tasting Notes
Nose: Spiced cherry syrup, orange oil and roasted walnuts lead, backed by fig jam, date cake and worn leather. Pipe tobacco, cocoa, toasted almond, cinnamon bark and a hint of balsamic follow with each successive sniff.
Palate: Thick and mouth-coating. Dark red fruits – think: maraschino, black plum and dried cranberry – carry a rye-driven mix of allspice, citrus, Telicherry peppercorn and clove. The Oloroso influence adds pecan nut loaf, toffee, cola syrup and a faint savory bouillon (?!) note. The 108+ proof points are almost negligible because this has so little burn.
Finish: Long and layered with a slight drying sensation. I find walnuts, dark chocolate shavings, black tea tannin and a lingering hint of raisin bread and orange-peel bitters. Yum.
Score: 8.3/10
This is the kind of bottle that keeps Belle Meade’s Select Cask era alive in people’s memories. The high-rye MGP base keeps things energetic while the Oloroso finish brings depth and dimension without tipping into sweetness. Compared to the 90.4-proof Sherry Cask batch, this L&E single barrel digs deeper, hits harder and finishes stronger. Against Belle Meade’s other finishes – namely Madeira and XO Cognac – the Oloroso finish is the more savory, spiced and versatile of the bunch.
Final Thoughts
The original retail price for a bottle of this was around $100 back in the day. Today, if you find a bottle of this on the secondary market, it’s going to run you easily double, if not triple, that price due to their rarity. If you see one at a fair price, I think they are an instant buy. I don’t feel the same way about the Joseph Magnus examples, by the way. Just do me a favor and make sure you open it – bottles like this weren’t made for display cases. Plus, rumor has it that Belle Meade is going to come back to the market now that the Andy and Charlie Nelson have wrested the brand back from the evil claws of Constellation. I hope that they can roll out with a product that’s just as good as this one was.