They Don't Make Them Like They Used To, Part 3: 1982 National Distillers Old Grand-Dad 114 Lot 1 and 1988 National Distillers Old Grand-Dad 114 Lot 17

This is part three of a three part series where I walk through a few different bottlings of vintage National Distillers bourbon to see what the fuss around them is all about. To recap, here is the full lineup:

• 1986 National Distillers Bourbon deLuxe, NAS, 40%
• 1989 National Distillers Old Grand-Dad Red Shield, NAS, 43%
• 1948 National Distillers Old Taylor Bottled in Bond, 6 years, 50%
• 1988 National Distillers Old Grand-Dad Bottled in Bond, 8 years, 50%
• 1982 National Distillers Old Grand-Dad 114 Lot 1, NAS, 57%
• 1988 National Distillers Old Grand-Dad 114 Lot 17, NAS, 57%

Part One covered some rather low end bottom shelf bottles and the results were no better or worse than bourbons than you can find on the bottom shelf today. Part Two stepped things up with the much more coveted age stated bottle in bond variants, one of which was a stinker but the other was really quite nice. We've covered the low end, we've covered age stated, so now let's find out how a bump in proof treats their products. 

Also worth mentioning again: With a lot of these old bourbons there is a familiarity to them - some combination of lush mouthfeel, older richer oak, and other notes that I can't really describe so I just end up calling it a dusty note. I don't literally mean it tastes like dust, I'm specifically referencing that familiar combo of attributes.

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1982 National Distillers Old Grand-Dad 114 Lot 1

No Age Statement; 57% ABV; Lot 1; Thanks to /u/pork_bastard for the sample.

The nose is crazy dense with classic high rye bourbon notes and is the richest thus far which is no surprise given the high proof. The rye spice notes are cranked up here compared to all the others as well. The taste is a honey butterscotch bomb with dusty old wood and dry baking spices. It has sweets, vintage dusty bourbon, oak, and spice notes in droves. An amazing whiskey, up there with the best dusty bourbon profiles I've ever experienced.

Rating: A-

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1988 National Distillers Old Grand-Dad 114 Lot 17

No Age Statement; 57% ABV; Lot 17.

Again like the lot 1, it's very dense with lots of high rye and vintage dusty bourbon notes. A little bit more of unpleasant acetone / burnt rubber note but you have to really reach for that. Again the taste is a super honey butterscotch bomb with a spicy rye finish. It's down a notch from the lot 1 and not quite as good as another 80s 114 I've sampled but it's a stellar whiskey in its own right. 

Rating: B+

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When it comes to National Distillers, the 114s are my clear favorites. The proof really ramps up the sweet, spicy, and dusty notes to make these the most interesting to me. Not included here but the first National Distillers 114 I ever had was a 1982 Lot 9 (front, back) and it was even better than both of these with much more honey and way more intense dusty notes. I'm just going to assume better storage conditions on that bottle but you can't go wrong with any of them and it runs laps around the 114 on the shelf today.

Note that price is not considered when assigning a rating.