Old Douglas Bottled-In-Bond

ReviewsAmerican WhiskeyBourbonDustyHiram Walker

Feb 19

Thanks to Sandee at the Whiskey Ward for the picture!

2020 was a big year in my whiskey journey - my first dusty, owning my first BTAC, tons and tons of new tastings, and joining the New Jersey Bourbon and Yacht Club. I could go on. The guy who got me into the NJBYC - Dan - also introduced me to this group where a bunch of people swap samples of hard-to-find whiskies and I went full bore (to date, it’s gotten me more rare whiskey samples than any single place I’ve otherwise found multiple times over).

Late in 2020, one group member who is particularly well-endowed with whiskey offered up the temptation to end all temptations: a 24-day advent calendar where the average value of the whiskies was $500/bottle. Thank God for bonuses, right? I tried this as part of that advent calendar, and haven’t looked back since.

This is the oldest whiskey I’ve ever tried (by distillation or bottling date) and fortunately it had zero dusty funk, no old-bottle-effect, none of that. As my blind notes below attest, I initially thought it was a bourbon but the palate was clearly rye, and I ended up being pretty close.

But what about the brand itself? Old Douglas was a rye put out by Hiram Walker, a large spirits conglomerate that still exists today (though the Old Douglas brand was long-ago discontinued). Today, Hiram Walker is more well-known for its schnapps, triple sec, and liquers, having sold its whiskey brands off many years ago (it is also owned by Pernod Ricard). A further point of interest: Old Douglas was produced at Hiram Walker’s facility in Peoria, Illinois, underscoring just how much more geographically widespread whiskey production was prior to the great whiskey glut of the 1950s and the dismantling of many brands between then and the 1980s.

Old Douglas Bottled-In-Bond Specs

Classification: Straight Rye Whiskey

Origin: Hiram Walker, Peoria, IL

Mashbill: Unknown

Proof: 100 (50% ABV)

Age: ~5 Years Old (1937-1942)

Location: Illinois

Old Douglas Bottled-In-Bond Price: N/A

Old Douglas Bottled-In-Bond: Tasting Notes (Blind)

Eye: Fresh honey. Thin rims and thin legs.

Nose: Lots of grain - sweet grain, but not corn. Zero prof heat. Honeyed, sweetened corn bread with just a touch of herbs.

Palate: Sweet and slightly hot. Where I thought bourbon on the nose I get all rye here. This is tempting me more towards a rye for the blind. Mouthfeel is so silky and a little drying as the rye builds. Leads me to guess around a 105-110 proof, 8-10 years? It’s definitely a rye, though, so probably closer to 4-5 years. Creamy oak develops with air.

Finish: Medium-length, custardy, lots of vanilla and maple with cereal grain.

Overall: This is delicious - knowing what is is, there is zero dusty note/funk, just a solid rye with a great mouthfeel and palate. Might be worth pursuing on an auction site but I’ve got so many ahead of it…

Final Rating: 6.7

10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)

9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)

8 | Excellent | Exceptional (12+YO MGP Bourbon, Highland Park Single Barrels)

7 | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)

6 | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)

5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)

4 | Sub-par | Many things I’d rather have (A.D. Laws Four Grain, Compass Box “Oak Cross”)

3 | Bad | Flawed (Iron Smoke Bourbon, Balcones)

2 | Poor | Forced myself to drink it (Buckshee Bourbon and Rye)

1 | Disgusting | Drain pour (Virginia Distilling Co. Cider Cask)