Bourbon, Whisky and Scotch

Picked up 3 more bottles yesterday.  Rebel Yell Straight Bourbon, Old Grand Dad 114 Proof Bourbon, and Evan Williams 1783 Small Batch.  I thought I had my hands on Henry McKennan 10 year at $50, but came back that they had just sold out.  Been on the hunt for that bottle.  Especially at that price.  

 
Added a few more bottles to the home bar yesterday.

Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon 

Willett Pot Still Reserve Bourbon (very cool bottle, haven't tried it yet)

A.D. Laws Four Grain Straight Bourbon (hadn't heard of them before, but thought a four grain bourbon at $67 was a steal.  I was right, it's delicious)

Old Elk Blended Straight Bourbon

291 Colorado Bourbon

Couple local ones there, the 291 I haven't tried yet.  

 
Good stuff Calvin!  I haven't forgotten about giving you a tasting review on the Michter's 10.  I haven't been drinking too much lately outside of an occasional old fashioned or Manhattan.  I do need to pick up some more Bulleit  which is my standard go-to for mixing drinks and your 'drink at the end of the day'.  Wouldn't hate a bottle of Sazerac Rye either if I can find it for a fair price.

 
The 291 is definitely good, but I'm still blown away by the A.D. Laws.  I'll be keeping that one in stock.  Thankfully it's local for me, so shouldn't have trouble keeping it around.  Just hope it stays at that price for a while.  

 
Has anyone noticed over time their tastes change with whiskey?

I used to be strictly a bourbon guy.  I couldn't stand scotch.

Now...I really like Irish and some scotch...the other day I had a bourbon and it didn't taste great to me.

 
I went the other direction.  I enjoyed middle of the road, smoother scotches.  Still do, but found such a wide array of bourbons, and haven't looked back since.  I'll still break out a scotch once in a while though.  BRB, do you drink them all the same?  I generally do.  A single ice cube.  On some of the lower proofs, I can handle them neat.  

 
Calvin said:
I went the other direction.  I enjoyed middle of the road, smoother scotches.  Still do, but found such a wide array of bourbons, and haven't looked back since.  I'll still break out a scotch once in a while though.  BRB, do you drink them all the same?  I generally do.  A single ice cube.  On some of the lower proofs, I can handle them neat.  
Click to expand...
Yeah...I drink them all the same.....A LOT!!!

Seriously....

My bourbon days started in college with me having a love affair with Jim Beam and 7 Up.  I pretty much drank nothing but JB that way most of my life until about 4-5 years ago when I started discovering some other really good bourbons on the market.  I then started drinking them with water.  Then, I realized I could not convince a bar tender that I just wanted a SPLASH of water....not half the glass.  Then, all of a sudden about 6 months ago, Irish Whisky and Scotch really started tripping my trigger.

So, now I basically order them just on the rocks and let the ice melt a little.

I have been in places where they have the nice big cubes.  That's very nice.

 
Yeah, the big cubes don't dilute as quickly, but enough to mellow some of the stronger drinks out a bit.  Supposedly, a dram isn't supposed to be cold.  Takes away from the flavor.  But maybe I drink mine fast enough that it doesn't really get chilled too much.  

 
Something I realized a few years ago.  When I first started traveling to Germany for business, I was still ordering Beam and Seven.  (first, I was impressed they had Jim Beam.  But, what they do is give you a Jim Beam on the rocks with a small bottle of 7 up on the side.  You can then mix it however strong you want.  I LOVED that.  I really wish bars in the US would do it that way.  Way too often you get a drink and it's like there is nothing in it but the mixer.

So...just ordering it on the rocks fixes that too.

 
My tastes have changed quite a bit since my mid 20s which is when I first got introduced to Irish Whiskey, specifically lots of shots of Jameson.  I didn't really dig it at all as I preferred drinking vodka.  Gradually I learned to accept and now love the Irish creature but prefer to drink it on the rocks or with ginger ale if I want a fun cocktail.  On the bourbon side, an old bar manager of mine was really, really into scotch but I couldn't really find anything I liked (it's just been too peaty for me) so he turned me onto to some bourbons and my palate has grown from there.  I'll mix it up between neat, single big ice cube or even the occasional Manhattan served 'up'.  I've got the usual stuff in my freezer with whiskey stones and a couple of silicon molds for both the big ice spheres and bigger cubes.  I usually don't try and drink the higher proof stuff neat because it can be seriously rough although I do like drinking Bookers neat for some reason.  I try to keep a variety of ryes, small batch bourbons and more commercial stuff on hand although I've been drinking mostly Michter's brands and E.H. Taylor Rye recently.  

 
Calvin said:
Added a few more bottles to the home bar yesterday.

Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon 

Willett Pot Still Reserve Bourbon (very cool bottle, haven't tried it yet)

A.D. Laws Four Grain Straight Bourbon (hadn't heard of them before, but thought a four grain bourbon at $67 was a steal.  I was right, it's delicious)

Old Elk Blended Straight Bourbon

291 Colorado Bourbon

Couple local ones there, the 291 I haven't tried yet.  
Click to expand...


Are you drinking the cask strength A.D. Laws or the the regular 4 grain?

 
Added a few more bottles to the collection...

Henry McKennan 10 Year BiB (finally found this!)

Maker's Mark (every home bar has to have a bottle of this right?)

Russell's Reserve 10 Year (good reviews, finally found at a good price)

Fireside Colorado Bourbon (local)

High West American Prairie Bourbon (good reviews, finally found at a good price)





 


 









 


 


 









 


 


 




 
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