Review: Old Grand Dad Bonded & 114 Bourbon Whiskey

I'll be honest, I'd seen Old Grand Dad Bourbon on the shelf several times and never gave it a second look. The bright orange label led me to believe this was an old, cheap, tired bourbon. I couldn't have been more wrong. What caught my eye was their offering at 114 proof which is bottled quite differently than their lower proof offerings. OGD 114 has much more of a premium look to it, so apparently judging a book by it's cover was my thing. While I can't say I'm beyond this nasty habit, my experience with OGD has definitely helped to reduce my bottling prejudice.

The whiskey is named after Basil Hayden and was created by his grandson, Raymond - hence the Old Grand Dad name. It is currently offered at 3 proofs - 80, 100 and 114. The 80 proof version was 86, but in 2013 it was reduced. (I'm sure the people at Maker's Mark wish their change had gone as quietly as this one - though I'm guessing the bourbon community would gladly take an 80 proof Maker's if versions were also offered at 100 and 114 proof.) 

Today I'm covering the Bonded & 114 versions... I left out the 80 proof version because it wasn't all that good when I tried it at 86, so cutting the ABV probably didn't do it any favors.

Old Grand Dad Bonded - Tasting Notes

Old Grand Dad Bonded & Old Grand Dad 114

Nose: Vanilla, butter, caramel with just a hint of spice in the background. Really soft and pleasant, not overly powerful. This is something a first-time bourbon drinker might like.

Palate: Buttery, citrus-y, and silky on the entry with some mouth watering brown sugar sweetness as well. After a beat some of the spice notes show up.

Finish: Light vanilla and spice come and go quickly. Following this a light oak presence shows up.

Proof: 100 (50% ABV)
Price: $20

Old Grand Dad Bonded Rating: 7.9/10

Old Grand Dad 114 - Tasting Notes

Nose: All spice is prominent at first, then sweet corn and vanilla show up.

Palate: A thick mouthfeel that starts off very sweet. Strong caramel and brown sugar flavors eventually give way to a peppery spice.

Finish: A tiny bit of sweetness but spice, oak and mint are the key players in the third act which hangs around for a solid couple of minutes.

Proof: 114 (57% ABV)
Price: $23

Old Grand Dad 114 Rating: 8.7/10

Two solid bourbons here. OGD Bonded isn't overly complex so it graded a little lower as a result, but by no means is it a bad pour. Put it in front of me neat, on the rocks, or in a cocktail and you'll be met with a "thank you" and a smile every time. The Old Grand Dad 114 just takes it to another level though. A friend of mine tried it blind and said it was like there was a party in his mouth... the higher proof and prominent flavors make it hard for me to argue. This might just be my favorite bourbon under $25 and is definitely something I'd recommend as a top value. Turns out judging a bourbon by it's bottle might not be the best tactic...

Rittenhouse Rye Review - 100 Proof Bottled in Bond

My previous experience with Rittenhouse Rye Bottled in Bond (BIB) is entirely as a mixer. If I'm in a cocktail bar and order a rye-based drink (or if I'm making one at home), Rittenhouse is what I typically run with. Oddly enough, I don't think I've ever given this a try on it's own. Well I decided it was time to give this well-respected rye a spin.

A little info on BIB if interested - the whiskey has to meet a number of criteria

• must be the product of one distiller at one distillery
• it has to be produced in one year
• needs to be bottled at 100 proof
• must be aged in a federally bonded warehouse under US Govt supervision
• aged for at least four years

Rittenhouse Rye

Rittenhouse Rye - Tasting Notes

Nose: Light bubble gum with rye spice, vanilla & marshmallow. A slight tinge of young whiskey smell, but you have to look for it.

Palate: The palate starts off with vanilla sweetness, then turns to cinnamon spice... like having a stick of Big Red liquefy in your mouth.

Finish: The spice is predominant here. Very intense cinnamon heat that stays with you for a while. As this dissipates the young whiskey characteristics stick around for a bit making the finish a bit unpleasant

Proof: 100 (50% ABV)
Price: $23

I was a little surprised I didn't like this more than I did. After all, it has gotten favorable reviews from some well respected sources (as opposed to the efforts of this amateur) A bit of water helped remove some of the unpleasant notes while keeping the sweet & spicy flavors around. Keep in mind the rating below is if drinking Rittenhouse neat. This Rye works well over ice and is still going to be my go-to rye in cocktails. I'd put it closer to 8.5+ for either of those approaches.

Rittenhouse Rye Rating: 7.6/10

Temptation & Redemption Bourboun-Rye tastings (plus Old Overholt)

Color me a fan of whiskey tastings. My favorite local cocktail bar, Sugar House, does these every once in a while and I make every one that I can. On the menu for this week's tasting was Temptation Bourbon, Redemption High-Rye Bourbon, Riverboat Rye, and Redemption Rye. Sadly the Riverboat Rye was scratched in favor of Old Overholt for some reason, but I wasn't going to let that get in the way. The Redemption/Temptation bottles all come from LDI and this tasting was meant to show the progression of high-corn to high-rye whiskeys.

Temptation Bourbon

Proof: 82 (41% ABV)
Price: $23
Mashbill: 75% corn, 20% rye, 5% malted barley

Very, very sweet. It tasted a little young, but didn't have too much of the young-spirit flavor (at least to me... my friend found that element overpowering in this bottle). This was not a very complicated whiskey... sweet almost the whole way through with the exception of a little spice mid-palate. The main flavors present were corn and citrus.

Whiskey tasting lineup (- Riverboat, + Old Overholt)

Redemption High-Rye Bourbon

Proof: 92 (46% ABV)
Price: $26
Mashbill: 60% corn, 38.2% rye, 1.2% malted barley

As you'd expect, this had a little sweetness and a little spice. They worked well together to give this a nice balance and offer some more flavor than the Temptation did, potentially due to the higher proof. I really enjoyed this one and dubbed it my pick of the night. Could make for a good casual sipper or a good base for a bourbon cocktail that you wanted to add a little more spice to.

Old Overholt Rye

Proof: 80 (40% ABV)
Price: $20
Mashbill: 53% rye, 32% corn, 15% malted barley

Described as smelling awful by my friend and two-dimensional by one of the bartenders enjoying the tasting, this guy didn't win many people over. While I didn't love it, I didn't find it as offensive as others. The nose didn't really offer much up to me and the palate was somewhat bland. If I got it for free I wouldn't complain but this is simply a basic rye that is best suited as a mixer, not a primary element.

Redemption Rye

Proof: 92 (46% ABV)
Price: $29
Mashbill: 95% rye, 5% malted barley

Redemption Rye was extremely spicy with a lot of pine. A couple of my neighbors rated it as their favorite but this one was too young and aggressive for my tastes. I'm a rye fan, but this pour made my tongue feel like it was being electrocuted. I believe this is the same juice as is used in the Bulleit Rye, which I enjoy, so apparently I like my rye mellowed a bit. Despite all this, I can definitely see why the other guys had it as their favorite. The strong spice and pine notes make for a very assertive rye that would probably be great if you are looking to make a cocktail with a lot of spice.


Overall, I'd take the Redemption Bourbon if I had to choose one of them though I'd most likely pass these bottles up the next time I'm looking for a value whiskey. For the $20-$30 range I think you can do a lot better if you are looking for sweet (Evan Williams Single Barrel), sweet-spicy (Old Grand Dad 114), or spicy (Rittenhouse & Bulleit Rye).