Bourbon, Whisky and Scotch

GSG said:
I have a $25 coupon at my nearby liquor store. 

Looking for a bourbon or rye to splurge on a bit
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I love bourbon but am no aficionado (aka tight a$$). I’m usually happy with Bulleit as a sipper and Evan Williams for mixed drinks. But I did pick up a Henry McKenna single barrel bottled in bond 10 year and it is very good and smoother than Bulleit.  It was not overly expensive, $55 to $60ish IIRC.

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JJ Husker said:
I love bourbon but am no aficionado (aka tight a$$). I’m usually happy with Bulleit as a sipper and Evan Williams for mixed drinks. But I did pick up a Henry McKenna single barrel bottled in bond 10 year and it is very good and smoother than Bulleit.  It was not overly expensive, $55 to $60ish IIRC.

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McKenna is good and I have two bottles at the moment. I don't see it that often in my area so I don't drink it as much.  I've found that I like bourbons in the 10yr age.  .  

 
admo said:
Makers Mark will always be good. 

Get a nice 'rocks' glass set.  

Add ice, Makers Mark, coca-cola.   The carbonation is good.  Squeeze in lime if you want to or not.

Or you can add ocean spray cranberry juice instead of cola.  Or Sprite.  Or Tab.  Whatever you like.

Once you finish the first one, you will likely add more bourbon and slightly less cola with the next pour.  I don't care what anyone says, Ice is great.  Fizzy cola with carbonation is a great addition too. 

Sipping 2 drinks on a weekend night is perfect for relaxing and chilling.  

Makers Mark.  Bourbon.  Red Cap.  For The Win
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Makers Mark is one of the few bourbons I don't like.  It makes my mouth water and my throat tighten up like right before I need to throw up.  Don't know what it is about it.  I may be allergic to something they use in the distilling process.  

 
Found an EH Taylor Small Batch at the Sazerac House last week. Score!! Side note, highly recommend visiting New Orleans during Tales of the Cocktail!

 
Tried the new Russells 15 recently. Damn good whiskey but for 250 dollars I'd pass. These special releases are getting ridiculous at this point with Wild Turkey being the worst offender. I get that they want to make the profit not the guys who buy it and flip it for 4 times the price but all it really does is hurt the people who actually want to drink these fine whiskeys.

 
Nebfanatic said:
Tried the new Russells 15 recently. Damn good whiskey but for 250 dollars I'd pass. These special releases are getting ridiculous at this point with Wild Turkey being the worst offender. I get that they want to make the profit not the guys who buy it and flip it for 4 times the price but all it really does is hurt the people who actually want to drink these fine whiskeys.
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I'm severely jealous.  The 15yr age statement is one of the best regardless of country of origin.  And the Russels distillery is in my top 3 distilleries.  But yeah I didn't even bother trying to seek the 13yr out and likely won't with the 15 either because of the flipping market.

On the other hand I found a place to aquire Wild Turkey 101 12yr for $150-$200 and it's quite literally one of the best bourbons I've ever tasted.

 
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Redux said:
I'm severely jealous.  The 15yr age statement is one of the best regardless of country of origin.  And the Russels distillery is in my top 3 distilleries.  But yeah I didn't even bother trying to seek the 13yr out and likely won't with the 15 either because of the flipping market.

On the other hand I found a place to aquire Wild Turkey 101 12yr for $150-$200 and it's quite literally one of the best bourbons I've ever aquired.
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I thought the Russells 15 was rough on price then we got the Wild Turkey Masters Keep Triumph in...at 300 dollars it definitely makes the Russells seem like a value! The 15 makes sense to me on the price, but the Triumph has nearly the exact same specs as Russells Single Barrel Rye for 240$ more. No thank you! These special releases are great but when I can get several bottles of ECBP, Larceny BP, ect. It's hard to justify imo. 

I'm jealous of your WT12 find!! I've heard they are exquisite but I've never had the pleasure of trying any. Turkey is probably my favorite distillery. I love Buffalo Trace stuff for their fruity profile but any of those bottles are impossible to find so that knocks it down a peg on my list.

PS: It makes it way easier to try all these expensive hard to find bottles when you work at a bar and you don't have to pay for them  :D

 
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Crawling the Bourbon Trail ahead of another Husker volleyball game.

We did a rickhouse (where they age whiskey) tasting, a barrel from the 1st floor, a barrel from the 3rd, and a barrel from the 7th. The higher up the rickhouse, the more the temperatures fluctuate and the more the barrel flavors the bourbon. Wow, the bottom floor was corn whiskey, 3rd floor was nice, good bourbon, 7th, oh my, a bit viscous as it was 131 proof, so good. Mix the three and dilute and you have Jim Beam single malt.

 
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Regarding bourbon, whisky and scotch..  Whats your fav way?  Do you sip, prefer it in cocktails, like it neat or on the rocks? 

I absolutely love carbonation and ice.  So I always enjoy my drinks like that.  

So with Bourbon, Rum and Vodka, I like topping it off with 

Topo Chico Lime

Polar Lime Seltzer

Cranberry Juice

Polar Raspberry Lime Seltzer

Coke

Cherry 7up

Mountain Dew Zero

Bubbly Lime

I don't drink Scotch.  

 
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First off, we're Americans, we spell whiskey with an 'e'. To answer @admo, tonight we're doing a tasting and we will drink everything neat. After the tasting, we'll either have Manhattans or Old Fashioneds.

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I'm providing the bottles. Here's what I'm taking.

  • St Julians is a Michigan vineyard that does spirits. Make sense, finish your bourbons in a used wine barrels. In this case, port. It's 80° so it's easy drinking. It's a very average bourbon.
  • Basil Hayden is a Jim Beam product. Subtle Smoke is finished in an oak barrel that has had hickory smoke infused to it. Basil Hayden is a high rye bourbon, about 25% rye to compliment the 66% corn. So a couple of interesting things going here.
  • I was in an amazing bourbon bar in Bardstown KY (bourbon capitol of the world) and found Bedtime. They are a bottler in Bardstown that buys 3, 4, or 5 barrels at a time from an undisclosed distiller (cough cough George Dickel) in TN, lay them down for a bit, and then bottle it. They have done 6 bottlings, mine is from the 5th.
  • So I got a bottle of Dickel to compare to the Bedtime.
  • I love me some Old Forester! I love their 1910 Old Fine Whisky (Old Forester dropped the 'e'), this sounds like 1910 finished in rum barrels. I haven't had this yet so I'm kinda excited to taste this one.
  • And I'm also gonna f#&% with them and bring a bottle of Laphroaig. I hope they like peat smoke and iodine. I love islay scotch. They're so bombastic compared to the delicate highland scotchs.




 
LOL about the spelling, but, well OK!  Shout out to the Scottish!  And the Japanese and the whacky beautiful Canadians (Those Hosers, Ay!??!!)

So How did the taste test go?  

Which bourbon did you prefer with Manhatten and Old Fashioned?

PS.  I've tried Laphroaig before, about 15 years ago.  It was strong from what I can remember, but surprisingly smooth and good... excellent for a premium Scotch Whisky - from Scotland !!!  (That's right, NO e - nailed it!)

chuckleshuffle   :waste

 
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To be fair, teach missspelted it in the title.

It was a about a perfect night on the patio. The Old Forester was the favorite. We compared it to a bottle of 1910 the host had, I couldn't really tell the difference. I'll eat my words, "It's very average," on St Julian's, it was our second favorite. Basil Hyden was third. Bedtime is indeed Dickle. It's higher proof helped it and it had some subtle flavors Dickle didn't have. Dickle was very average...

Then the host broke our 3 cask strength rye whiskeys.

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The Jack at 131 won this round. Even after s few drops of water, it was the favorite. Ezra had nice sweetness that edged out the Restoration. I haven't drank much scotch the last 10 years but the Laphroaig was exactly as I remember it. Iodine, band-aids, peat.

Can't wait for duck camp!

 
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Gage County said:
To be fair, teach missspelted it in the title.

It was a about a perfect night on the patio. The Old Forester was the favorite. We compared it to a bottle of 1910 the host had, I couldn't really tell the difference. I'll eat my words, "It's very average," on St Julian's, it was our second favorite. Basil Hyden was third. Bedtime is indeed Dickle. It's higher proof helped it and it had some subtle flavors Dickle didn't have. Dickle was very average...

Then the host broke our 3 cask strength rye whiskeys.



The Jack at 131 won this round. Even after s few drops of water, it was the favorite. Ezra had nice sweetness that edged out the Restoration. I haven't drank much scotch the last 10 years but the Laphroaig was exactly as I remember it. Iodine, band-aids, peat.

Can't wait for duck camp!
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Love that Jack Daniels! They make some really great stuff. I can't find it at all in MS but when we travel to other states near us it's always on a shelf at Total Wine. For 65-70 $ it's one of the best out there right now imo. 

admo said:
Regarding bourbon, whisky and scotch..  Whats your fav way?  Do you sip, prefer it in cocktails, like it neat or on the rocks? 

I absolutely love carbonation and ice.  So I always enjoy my drinks like that.  

So with Bourbon, Rum and Vodka, I like topping it off with 

Topo Chico Lime

Polar Lime Seltzer

Cranberry Juice

Polar Raspberry Lime Seltzer

Coke

Cherry 7up

Mountain Dew Zero

Bubbly Lime

I don't drink Scotch.  
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Depends where you are and what you are drinking.

Mardi Gras Parade, just throw whatever you have in a cup with some ginger ale and ice.

Your finest bottle of long aged rare Himalayan whiskey aged in the oak of a 1000 year old tree shared with your brother after he wins the Olympic gold medal in euchre should obviously be consumed neat.

When visiting the Sazerac bar at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans it's only natural to order a sazerac cocktail. 

 
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