I had never heard of it before. I had a few bourbons I liked to drink, but I hadn’t really started the obsession yet. I eased myself into it.
Then a realtor friend showed me that he had received a bottle of Calumet 12 from someone attending his open house, and he took too stinkin’ long to tell me if he liked it. To this day I don’t know if he’s opened it or not. His kids are still young, so maybe he’s worried about his influence or something. Either way, I went on a quest and found it at The Party Source in Bellevue, KY.
The photo I took, I have to admit, was also early in the journey. I’m a video production professional and hobbyist photographer, so I knew I wanted to do something above average, but I evidently didn’t want to go too far because I simply tilted a bread basket on its side and snapped a quick shot with my iPhone 8. A little play time in Photoshop and “voila!!”
My review at the time was about as immature as my passion for mirroring my photography with good bourbons, and reads as follows:
This one’s a little more pricey and it earns it. Very, very smooth on the front of the tongue, but it
slams the door on its way out, providing a nice, mild bite on the back of the tongue.
It’s not meek though, like the very nice Four Roses or even last night’s 1742. It has more body and presence than those two for sure.
The back end has that bump but the dichotomy isn’t as widely pronounced as say, Basil Hayden’s.
It seems to have a touch of that oaky smoke, but not as much as a Woodford or a Larceny.
I’m going to savor the sips tonight. Take my time and let Calumet take me away.
~ KC ALLEN, SEPTEMBER 2, 2019
I emptied quite a few bottles over the late summer and early fall, but this was one that I came back to very slowly. I knew I had something special sitting on my shelf. What I didn’t know was that it might be a challenge to replace it. I have the regular and the 10-year, but I may have to go back to Kentucky to find the 12-year once again. I may even buy two.
Learn more about this fantastic family of bourbons.
https://www.calumetbourbon.com/
🥃
Cheers