Surprise, surprise, it is another ringer from Buffalo Trace, with all the right parts in all the right places. This was distilled March 19, 2002, aged in the 1880s vintage Warehouse C on the fifth floor. The nose is nicely open and inviting, with an even balance of corn, oak, some confection and fruit and a clear vein of rye; a drop of water lends detail to the rye, good juicy stuff. The palate, too, is well put together, jicy and balanced, medium-bodied and toothsome, savory with oak-corn-rye spice-confection, with a dry edge and a nice rye spiced finish. Love the finish, bring it on, that zesty rye conclusion, yum. If a space alien came to Earth and asked "What is this. Bourbon Whiskey of. Which you speak?" I might hand it a dram of this Buffalo Trace, a perfect representative of the Bourbon species.

Price: $20.99

It's great fun working with Buffalo Trace to develop these Private Barrel "handles." With Charter 101, I want to bring our customers a high-proof, high-value whiskey, and it doesn't get much better than a half a gallon of 101 proof single barrel rye mash goodness. Off the still, Charter 101 is the same juice as Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, and George T. Stagg. It is younger than any of these, and stronger than the first two. This barrel offers a mellow nose corn, earth and rye and a similar palate with rather more intensity, with particular rye in the finish. This makes a great house Bourbon or foundation for your daily Manhattan. Tasted straight up it has some serious thump, and a little water helps release additional flavor.

Price: $35.99

Welcome to our first Private Barrel with Heaven Hill Distillery. Heaven Hill has been on a tear of late with some eye-opening (eye-watering!) bottlings, but Elijah Craig 18 has been a mainstay of the Bourbon scene for many years. It was great fun to get inside Heaven Hill's rye mash recipe and taste some barrels. This one impressed with it's fine balance of rye and corn, but the rye comes out slightly on top. I'm finding that these older Heaven Hills—distilled at their original Bardstown location, which burned down in 1996—can be quite spicy whiskeys. Bring 'em on!

Price: $41.99

Our first barrel of Evan Williams Vintage Single Barrel was a ringer, much loved by our staff and customers and anyone who would stand still and try it. This second barrel is all about balance—balance between dry and sweet, oak and grain, firm body and soft corn. The mouth slowly develops into midpalate of firm texture with a sprinkling of rye spice until...the finish, which finally blooms with a wonderfully tuned rye expression that is long-lasting and spicy but never overbearing. Juicy, yet appropriately rich; drying, but with just the right amount of confection—in short, it is a wickedly drinkable Bourbon.

Price: $22.99

As you likely know, Four Roses produces ten different Bourbons off their stills. To accomplish this, they use two grain bills—OE, at 20% rye, and OB at 35% rye—and five yeasts—K, F, O, Q, and V. After maturation in their unique single-story warehouses, these ten recipes yield a wide range of flavor, which Four Roses usually vats together to produce their various Bourbons. Now, for the first time, you can taste these Bourbons in single barrel format, straight from the barrel, exploring the flavor of one yeast strain at a time using both grain bills. Eventually, we will offer all ten whiskeys. Check back for future releases.

Price: $49.99

As you likely know, Four Roses produces ten different Bourbons off their stills. To accomplish this, they use two grain bills—OE, at 20% rye, and OB at 35% rye—and five yeasts—K, F, O, Q, and V. After maturation in their unique single-story warehouses, these ten recipes yield a wide range of flavor, which Four Roses usually vats together to produce their various Bourbons. Now, for the first time, you can taste these Bourbons in single barrel format, straight from the barrel, exploring the flavor of one yeast strain at a time using both grain bills. Eventually, we will offer all ten whiskeys. Check back for future releases.

Price: $49.99

As you likely know, Four Roses produces ten different Bourbons off their stills. To accomplish this, they use two grain bills—OE, at 20% rye, and OB at 35% rye—and five yeasts—K, F, O, Q, and V. After maturation in their unique single-story warehouses, these ten recipes yield a wide range of flavor, which Four Roses usually vats together to produce their various Bourbons. Now, for the first time, you can taste these Bourbons in single barrel format, straight from the barrel, exploring the flavor of one yeast strain at a time using both grain bills. Eventually, we will offer all ten whiskeys. Check back for future releases.

Price: $49.99

I have been waiting for this whiskey a long time, ever since meeting up with Four Roses' ten recipes at a landmark tasting in the quality control lab in January, 2007. Along with K yeast, Four Roses V yeast functions as their take on more or less classic Bourbon flavor. The other yeasts such as Q and F and, to a lesser extent, O yeast, generate striking, even unusual flavors that add color and accent to a blend. But V and K are the core of the program, and required reading for any Four Roses fan. Furthermore, V yeast is the original yeast at Four Roses; the other four were added in the early 1970s. So the two V whiskeys are a glimpse into history, with Four Roses flavor circa 1943, when Seagrams bought the distillery.

Price: $49.99

As you likely know, Four Roses produces ten different Bourbons off their stills. To accomplish this, they use two grain bills—OE, at 20% rye, and OB at 35% rye—and five yeasts—K, F, O, Q, and V. After maturation in their unique single-story warehouses, these ten recipes yield a wide range of flavor, which Four Roses usually vats together to produce their various Bourbons. Now, for the first time, you can taste these Bourbons in single barrel format, straight from the barrel, exploring the flavor of one yeast strain at a time using both grain bills. Eventually, we will offer all ten whiskeys. Check back for future releases.

Price: $49.99

As you likely know, Four Roses produces ten different Bourbons off their stills. To accomplish this, they use two grain bills—OE, at 20% rye, and OB at 35% rye—and five yeasts—K, F, O, Q, and V. After maturation in their unique single-story warehouses, these ten recipes yield a wide range of flavor, which Four Roses usually vats together to produce their various Bourbons. Now, for the first time, you can taste these Bourbons in single barrel format, straight from the barrel, exploring the flavor of one yeast strain at a time using both grain bills. Eventually, we will offer all ten whiskeys. Check back for future releases.

Price: $49.99

As you likely know, Four Roses produces ten different Bourbons off their stills. To accomplish this, they use two grain bills—OE, at 20% rye, and OB at 35% rye—and five yeasts—K, F, O, Q, and V. After maturation in their unique single-story warehouses, these ten recipes yield a wide range of flavor, which Four Roses usually vats together to produce their various Bourbons. Now, for the first time, you can taste these Bourbons in single barrel format, straight from the barrel, exploring the flavor of one yeast strain at a time using both grain bills. Eventually, we will offer all ten whiskeys. Check back for future releases.

Price: $49.99

As you likely know, Four Roses produces ten different Bourbons off their stills. To accomplish this, they use two grain bills—OE, at 20% rye, and OB at 35% rye—and five yeasts—K, F, O, Q, and V. After maturation in their unique single-story warehouses, these ten recipes yield a wide range of flavor, which Four Roses usually vats together to produce their various Bourbons. Now, for the first time, you can taste these Bourbons in single barrel format, straight from the barrel, exploring the flavor of one yeast strain at a time using both grain bills. Eventually, we will offer all ten whiskeys. Check back for future releases.

Price: $49.99

How is this barrel strength Bourbon only 102.6º proof? It's actually not uncommon for the barrels in Four Roses' warehouses to clock in at lower proofs like this. For starters, Four Roses fills the barrels at 120º, rather than the legal maximum and industry standard of 125º. Furthermore, unique to Four Roses in the Bourbon industry is their use of single story warehouses. At about 25 feet tall, these warehouses do not generate the kind of heat in upper stories that other Bourbon warehouses attain, heat which helps elevate the alcohol in such barrel strength 120º+ proof whiskeys as Bookers or George T. Stagg. The 2008 and 2009 releases of Four Roses Mariage have been 107.8º and 109.6º, respectively. The beauty of this low proof is that you can drink these silky Bourbons with very little or no water, as both my V yeast Bourbons are exceptionally approachable straight from the bottle...or the barrel!

Price: $49.99

Four Roses Single Barrel was released in Kentucky in 2004. Like a shot across the bow of the other distilleries, it announced that after an absence of over 50 years, one of America's greatest Bourbons was returned with a vengeance. I worked closely with Four Roses to bring out a privately selected barrel, resulting in a Party Source Private Barrel—the first such venture for Four Roses—in May, 2007.

Price: $32.99

Breaking news! To our great grief and considerable chagrin, we have been informed by Buffalo Trace that the demand of Sazerac Rye is such that it is no longer available as a Private Barrel. While me mourn the loss of our single barrel of this definitive example of rye grain distillation, we look forward to its eventual return to our Private Barrel Selections, and we furthermore happily take up the challenge of finding a replacement in the rye category. Please note that we still stock the standard Sazerac Rye at all times. We simply do not have it as a Party Source Private Barrel.

No. 3665 illustrates why unfiltered whiskeys should, with rare exceptions, be drunk with a bit of water. The straight nose shows a mellow, nutty, even slightly oxidized character; it's a pleasant aroma. But add a little water and it explodes into shimmering rye-violet floral multi-hued fruit basket, topped with a dollop of toasty vanilla oak. The shift from straight to watered is astounding, and I feel sorry for someone who can't bear the thought of taking water in their whiskey and will never inhale this. It doesn't dilute the flavor, it completes it.

Price: $71.99

This 13 year shows a deft hand in the rye department, bringing big but not imbalanced rye quickly in the palate. Texturally it is rich but not huge, with a hint of sweetness at the entry, but that rye surge quickly balances the budget. Very nice Bourbon, sophisticated, and dangerously drinkable with that tangy clove-black pepper-spearmint rye action.

Price: $71.99

No. 3701 has much in common with the other two 13s—layers of aroma, fine balance, ripe fulsome flavor—but it also has more oak. From the straight nose to the fruit-spice finish, an attractive drying oak presence persists with bold authority. If you like a bit more oak in your whiskey, go for 3701. But I must stress, this oak thing is relative to the other two Willett 13s. Compared to most oak-strong Bourbons, 3701 is a dew-dappled rosebud.

Price: $71.99

My initial 2008 selections of Willett barrels included a 17-year-old, which had such a wild expression of rye grain that I had to double check it was not actually a straight rye. I skipped the 16-17-18-year bracket for the 2009 release, since the samples I had were overtly woody. Now, for 2010, I am pleased to return an extra-old Willett to the Party Source shelves. And it is nothing at all like that rye-drenched 17-year from 2008, absolutely zero resemblance, a completely different flavor profile in every way. Like all my Willetts, this one is undiluted and unchillfiltered.

Price: $99.99