Bourbon. What are you drinking right now? (1 Viewer)

[lumbee1]

I've been trying some new bourbons based on a conversation with Allen at LR 2015 and I'm was really impressed with his suggestions. I picked up both Four Roses single barrel, after sampling at LR, and Smooth Ambler Old Scout from his suggestion. I enjoy both of these bourbons neat with Old Scout ever so slightly smoother and a little more flavorful. From my very limited experience, I would highly recommend both of these bourbons to anyone looking for something new. They are my go-to bourbon for now.

My introduction to bourbon was Makers 47. I've had it both neat and with water and while flavor is good and the finish is smooth, it didn't really wow me. Next was Knob Creek single barrel based on suggestions from a co-worker. I definitely prefer this bourbon with water as neat just burns too much. Flavor is intense but I don't want water with every bourbon.

What are you drinking and what are you favorites?

 

[lt1fire]

If you change the title to whiskey ill post up a whole bunch


Generally I prefer, Scottish, Welsh and Japanese single malts.



I have tried most of the big name bourbons but rarely actually buy a bottle

 

[RedHeadedStepChild]

Maker's rocks is my all the time go-to. I tried the 47 once and don't really bother with it any more.
Buffalo Trace is certainly worth a try.
There's the standards list of
Basil Hayden's...meh
Evan Williams
Woodford Reserve
Bookers

If you feel like dropping a few hundred, swing by the ABC. Have some friends come by the hacienda and set up some flights with droppers of distiller water and note pads (easy to forget your thoughts after a few flights) and make a night of it.

 

[RedHeadedStepChild]

...as far as right now goes, I've been on a slightly out of character Hendrick's gin on crushed ice kick.

 

[Fort Knox]

Glad you're enjoying the Old Scout! A friend of mine actually introduced me on Facebook to a buddy of his from high school who happens to be the Master Distiller and co-founder of Smooth Ambler, John Little. Seems like a stand-up guy. Old Scout is sourced whiskey that they select, age, and then bottle, but they are distilling their own stuff from a different mash bill, using wheat instead of rye. Looking forward to trying it when it's ready. Erica and I are thinking of taking a trip to Maxwelton to tour Smooth Ambler at some point soon.

I've got a bottle of Old Scout 7 on my bar that I've been working on, but I'm really enjoying a bottle of Colonel E.H. Taylor Single Barrel right now. It's a product of the Buffalo Trace Distillery. It's their Mash Bill #1, the low rye mash bill. Other bourbons from this same mash bill are Buffalo Trace, George T. Stagg, and Eagle Rare. I'm also getting really low on my last of 4 bottles of Elmer T. Lee, which is made from Buffalo Trace's Mash Bill #2, the high rye mash bill (which is still really not very high compared to other bourbons). Gonna be sad to see that one go. It's super tasty, and only around $35 retail, but hard as hell to find right now. Blanton's and Rock Hill Farms are made from the same mash bill.

I think you guys are thinking of Makers 46, not 47. I have a bottle of Makers 46 Cask Strength in my bar that I haven't opened yet. I got it at the Maker's Mark Distillery a couple months ago when Erica and I went to Louisville. I already drank the first bottle of the 2 that I bought and dipped in the red wax. That one is only available at the distillery for now, but hopefully will be on the market at some point, because it's pretty good. I'm really looking forward to the rumored release of a 12-year-old Makers in the near future. Wheated bourbons tend to do better with a little more time in the barrel.

 

[lt1fire]

Allen is truly the bourbon shaman of this group !!!!



I did have a small glass of 23 year old Pappy on Friday evening Allen.

A congratulations from my new boss for a great first week. Normally I don't believe the hype in stuff but Pappy is heads and tails above all the other bourbon i've had... but not being a huge bourbon guy I may just be believing the hype


He had quite a nice collection in his office liquor cabinet........... including a bottle of scotch that started with a 5 in the year column.

 

[nuclearn8]

Hookers house
Wigle &
Makers are currently open in my bar....

 

[QsLC75]

I enjoy Elijah Craig as my house bourbon. I finished a 2011 20 yr Pappy last year and bought a single barrel bourbon strength Elijah Craig to replace it for special occasions. For my first fathers day Mary took me to Pappy for your Pappy fathers day event at the distillery. It was the first and only time I was able to taste the entire line-up. All of us at our table of 4 agreed we prefer the 20 year to the 23 year.

 

[Fort Knox]

Allen is truly the bourbon shaman of this group !!!!



I did have a small glass of 23 year old Pappy on Friday evening Allen.

A congratulations from my new boss for a great first week. Normally I don't believe the hype in stuff but Pappy is heads and tails above all the other bourbon i've had... but not being a huge bourbon guy I may just be believing the hype


He had quite a nice collection in his office liquor cabinet........... including a bottle of scotch that started with a 5 in the year column.

To my wife's purported horror, since we got married 9 years ago, in addition to Cruisers, I've added guns and now bourbon to my list of hobbies. I gotta admit.....trucks, guns, & bourbon is probably not the combination of hobbies she would have chosen if she were looking for a guy, since she's somewhat of a city girl from Jersey.

Pappy 23 - That's one helluva congrats from the new boss! I've only tried it once, when Joanna was kind enough to let me try some a while back and it was pretty damn unbelievable. I haven't had anything quite like it since. The closest I've had in terms of being as good was Elijah Craig 23 year old, which was really, really good, but still not close. I'm on a couple of different waiting lists to try and get ahold of a bottle of Pappy, but nothing yet, and there's no way in hell I'll pay the secondary market prices, which are just ridiculous.

Oh, I completely forgot about another one I have on the bar right now that is pretty damn good. Elijah Craig Barrel Proof. I spent well over a year looking for a bottle. Checked stores both times we went to the Louisville / Lexington area and nada. Finally, I got lucky and found a bottle online. Spent a little more than market for it, but when you've been looking for a while, you tend to overpay. Of course, then a couple weeks later got a line on another place online that might have some and found 2 more bottles at a much better price. So now I have 3 bottles, but I'm gonna try to make them last, which shouldn't be too hard at 139.8 proof! This stuff is hot, but add just a little bit of water to cool it off and bring out the flavor and you've got a flavor bomb. It's basically their 12 year old juice, but they don't chill filter it or cut it with water. They take it out of the barrels, strain out the chunks of charred barrel and bottle it. It's about as close to drinking straight from the barrel as you can get.

Apparently, it's not so hard to find in other parts of the country. One of the guys on the straightbourbon.com bulletin board that I'm on who is out in Seattle has said it's pretty easy to find out there, so I might have to see if Al can be my Pacific Northwest connection for EC Barrel Proof.

 

[Fort Knox]

I enjoy Elijah Craig as my house bourbon. I finished a 2011 20 yr Pappy last year and bought a single barrel bourbon strength Elijah Craig to replace it for special occasions. For my first fathers day Mary took me to Pappy for your Pappy fathers day event at the distillery. It was the first and only time I was able to taste the entire line-up. All of us at our table of 4 agreed we prefer the 20 year to the 23 year.

I've heard others say the 20 year is the best of the line up. I haven't had the pleasure of trying the 20 year old Pappy yet, so I definitely look forward to it if that's the case!

Elijah Craig is one of the best bargains in bourbon. A 12 year old bourbon from a major distillery for around $28 is pretty tough to beat. Of course, now they've taken the age statement off of the front and moved it to the back and changed the name to "Small Batch", so the fear is that they're getting ready to do away with the age statement altogether, which could lead them to using younger barrels in making their batches. I wouldn't think they would risk changing the flavor profile too much, but most people couldn't tell the difference between 12 yearl old and 9 year old bourbon. They just re-released the 18 year old version, at a MUCH higher price than it used to be, so they might be diverting some of their older barrels towards the older releases. The 12 year old is their bread 'n butter, for good reason. Hopefully they don't mess it up.

 

[roadstr6]

I am not much of a bourbon snob. I am a bang-for-buck guy. Buffalo Trace is good enough for me.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Mmmmmm, bourbon. Now I have an excuse to take pics of the bourbons I buy!

My go-to is Buffalo Trace. Discovered it during my short time in KY.

 

[NCFJ]

I think I am the only guy in the club that is not a drinker. All this talk kinda makes me wonder what I am missing. I never liked beer at all and pretty much only really liked Taqueray and tonic. Bought a bottle when I first moved to the Keys, ten years later there was still about 1/4 bottle left.

 

[RedHeadedStepChild]

I think I am the only guy in the club that is not a drinker. All this talk kinda makes me wonder what I am missing. I never liked beer at all and pretty much only really liked Taqueray and tonic. Bought a bottle when I first moved to the Keys, ten years later there was still about 1/4 bottle left.

You are not the only teetotaler in the group. Eric and Sean both abstain as well, which is OK by me. Leaves more of that sweet sweet brown nectar for the rest of us.

 

[JohnVee]

Lionel Hutz was one of the best characters ever on Simpsons. Damn Phil Hartman's wife to a thousand hells.

 

[Fort Knox]

Dave - I fully own that I can be a bourbon snob at times, but the great thing about bourbon is that there are some fantastic bourbons for under 30 bucks! Buffalo Trace is definitely a solid choice. If I'm out at a bar and they have Buffalo Trace, I'd be totally fine with that. One of my bourbon-related regrets is ruining a bottle of Buffalo Trace by trying an experiment of bacon-infused bourbon and using a bottle of Buffalo Trace. It turned out horrible, so I wasted a perfectly good bottle of whiskey.

Heck, if bang for your buck is what you're out for, you should try Old Grand Dad (OGD) 114 or OGD 100 - Bottled in Bond. OGD 114 should be $25 or less, but can be a little difficult to find, though for a while Buffalo Trace was too. OGD 114 can be pretty hot at first, but after it opens up has a little bit of orange, honey, cinnamon, and of course the typical caramels and vanillas that most bourbons have. It's a high rye recipe, so it can be spicy. I just opened a bottle of the 100 proof this past weekend at a buddy's place and I get a bit more corn from it, so it's probably younger. That bottle was on sale for $18. So, while I do enjoy the "expensive" stuff (EC Barrel Proof is in the $50 - $60 range - still less than most entry-level single malt Scotches), I have no problem with looking on the lower shelves either! The key for me is variety. I like to have a wide variety to choose from when I feel like pouring something to unwind after a day at the office. At last count, I think I had 35 different whiskeys to choose from. A couple were Irish. A couple were Scotch. The vast majority though, are good ole, made in the U.S. of A, bourbon.

 

[JohnVee]

Ancient Ancient Age for low cost here. Hasn't been available in months but I keep finding it it VA all day long. Evan Williams if I need a fifth in plastic with a screw top.

I've had a few bottles of Larceny since summer. Good approx $30 bottle.


...via IH8MUD app

 

[elkaholic]

My favorite is a bottle of the last production bottling of Old Cascade prior to the enforcement of the Volstead act. For those unaware, this currently would be called Pappy van Winkle. My family was connected with the distillery and I have a bit left, though it is not in the original bottle any more.

If we shift to other whiskeys, old standby is Gentleman Jack and a cube of ice, though I do enjoy the bottle of Wyoming Whiskey I picked up last year ...

 

[weejub]

We need a bourbon tasting event - - I know nothing of bourbon except that I link Mint Juleps because I like mint. . .

 

[JohnVee]

We need a bourbon tasting event - - I know nothing of bourbon except that I link Mint Juleps because I like mint. . .

...and horse racing, and seersucker...