Sunday, August 30, 2009  “You can’t handle the proof!”  At least
I think that was the line from A Few Good Men. Ok, it wasn't but
let's talk about proof, and specifically, barrel proof. A barrel
proof bourbon or rye whiskey is going to be whiskey that is
bottled at proof from the barrel (e.g. not cut with water). That
proof varies depending on age and warehouse location. There's
been speculation that Booker's Bourbon from Jim Beam was the
first barrel proof bourbon to be released to market but that's
debatable as Stitzel Weller put out their Original Barrel Proof
Weller Special Reserve 10 year old bourbon which was 110 proof.
Of course, 110 is low compared to what is found today with the
limited release stuff like Parkers Heritage, Willet, George T.
Stagg which can exceed 140 proof. There's also some evidence
that there were barrel proof offerings in the early 20th
century. Whoever was first really isn't important in the grand
scheme of things, but what is important is that there are a
number of barrel proof