Another Booze Thread - Bourbon

Jim Rosenow

Jim Rosenow

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Jim Rosenow
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I've been drinking Scotch (and/or beer) for years, and decided to try something different. Bought a bottle of bourbon yesterday. Too late for recommendations on price/quality of course, but looking for general background.

The sales ladies at the store were helpful, noting that in general, the higher corn-derived content, the sweeter the bourbon. Good thing/bad thing?

Are there bourbon connoisseurs? How do you folks take your bourbon? Neat, bourbon and water, something else? Educate me!

Jim
 
Must be neat... occasionally an ice cube if temp is warm.

Water to whiskey is like air to wine. Start neat, add a drop of water, taste, repeat until the taste is to your liking. That's your ratio.
 
I like it with a GIANT ice cube. Doesn't melt, but chills it.

Lots of good Bourbons out there now.

And, nothing better than Old Fashioned with friends.

Also, grab a bottle of Rye next time, and compare and contrast with your Bourbon.

It will be interesting to see what you prefer.

(And as always, you get what you pay for, for the most part).

Lots of good bottles in the $20-30 range, but a few I don't care for. Lots of much better bottles at $40-50, and very few that aren't good. And, in the $70+ category the outstanding ones are very frequent.




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Got a 115 bottle of Elijah Craig 18 year old,didn't think it was all that God. Bourbon is really an individualized taste. You have to decide if you like a little bight ,or a sweeter bourbon, I prefer woodfords reserve,for my every day bourbon. When out at the bar usually have makers mark. Just so many good bourbons out there,I am making it a point to try them all.
 
I've never been a fan of bourbon. Never cared for the taste or the harshness. The only bourbon I ever tried that I could stand was Blanton's.
 
Sac Arrow said:
I've never been a fan of bourbon. Never cared for the taste or the harshness. The only bourbon I ever tried that I could stand was Blanton's.
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That's an excellent choice.
 
Having converted from Scotch to Bourbon myself, I prefer ryes, I think the flavor profile tends to be closer.

Makers and Woodford are both great bourbons. Personally I find them both a bit on the sweet side, so they tend not to be my go to drink. Although I will if that is all the place I am in has.

The Elijah Craig 18 mentioned above, in my opinion, is an excellent Bourbon (I have never seen it for less than $125 near me). The Elijah Craig 12 ($35-40) is an very good bourbon for the price.

Blantons is excellent, as is almost anything made by Buffalo Trace - Col Taylor is pricey, but consistently good.

Basil Hayden is another good $40 bourbon.

Bulleit is one of my favorites, both the bourbon and their rye. Four Roses are popular, but I am not a huge fan, except for their pricier single barrels.

My hands down favorite is Redepmption Rye 7 year barrel proof. It is pricy at around $80. Their 10 year is better but getting close to $200 and hard to find.

We make an anual bourbon tour trip so I have been to many of the distilleries and have sampled quite a few.

There are a lot of options out there right now, so you should be able to find a few you like.
 
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Fly on down a short ways a pick up some of this:

bourbon.png


You won't be sorry.
 
Every day bourbon is Blanton's, Woodford Reserve or Maker's Mark. Special occasions with Pappy Van Winkle.

Neat and/or with just a few drops of branch water.
 
I'm generally a Maker's guy, but someone just turned me on to Bulleit, and I've been enjoying that as well. Neat unless it's warm, in which case I'll drop a cube or two in.

Not sure that I have a refined enough palate (yet!) to justify the more expensive stuff.
 
I'm a homebrewer, so my drink of choice is beer. There are times, like after a big meal, when the carbs and calories in a pint of real beer aren't wanted or needed, that something else is appropriate.

I find most bourbons too sweet for my taste. I've come to keeping Bulleit on the shelf because that brand contains quite a bit of rye (about 30%) in the grain bill. The rye gives a slightly spicy flavor and is much less sweet, to me, than corn whiskies.

I've noticed that the price of most popular bourbons has gone up quite a bit more in the last couple of years than has the price of the Irish and Canadian whiskies I tend to prefer. Bourbon seems to have attracted the attention of the hipsters. :rolleyes:

FWIW, the American whisky market is dominated by a handful of large companies, each of which owns several popular labels. The whisky sold by these companies starts out as raw, white liquor produced by industrial distillerys in the Midwest. The whisky companies buy this stuff in mass quantities and then turn it into their own through the aging and blending processes. There's nothing inherently wrong with this; distilling is an industrial process and it doesn't make a lot of sense to reinvent the wheel by building a dedicated facility for each brand. The big name manufacturers aren't very transparent about this part of the business, however. Just Google "where is xxxx bourbon really made" to find hundreds of pages describing where high end bourbons really start out.

Mark
 
Usually a Whiskey drinker but like Bulleit cause it is not as sweet as a lot of Bourbons I have tried.
 
MtnMarcus said:
Usually a Whiskey drinker but like Bulleit cause it is not as sweet as a lot of Bourbons I have tried.
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OH, BOY!!! This is the third time Bulleit has been mentioned in the thread! Just by coincidence what I picked up yesterday :yes:

Thanks for the information, folks....you are an amazingly diverse group!

That said, broke the seal, pulled the cork, and ready for my first taste! To your health, ladies and gentlemen!

Jim
 
Woodford Reserve Double Oaked is my fav. Maker's 46 is right there. Gentleman Jack is a great value. Basil Hayden's is good. Knob Creek and Woodford make good Ryes, too.
 
GrampaMark said:
I'm a homebrewer, so my drink of choice is beer. There are times, like after a big meal, when the carbs and calories in a pint of real beer aren't wanted or needed, that something else is appropriate.

I find most bourbons too sweet for my taste. I've come to keeping Bulleit on the shelf because that brand contains quite a bit of rye (about 30%) in the grain bill. The rye gives a slightly spicy flavor and is much less sweet, to me, than corn whiskies.

I've noticed that the price of most popular bourbons has gone up quite a bit more in the last couple of years than has the price of the Irish and Canadian whiskies I tend to prefer. Bourbon seems to have attracted the attention of the hipsters. :rolleyes:

FWIW, the American whisky market is dominated by a handful of large companies, each of which owns several popular labels. The whisky sold by these companies starts out as raw, white liquor produced by industrial distillerys in the Midwest. The whisky companies buy this stuff in mass quantities and then turn it into their own through the aging and blending processes. There's nothing inherently wrong with this; distilling is an industrial process and it doesn't make a lot of sense to reinvent the wheel by building a dedicated facility for each brand. The big name manufacturers aren't very transparent about this part of the business, however. Just Google "where is xxxx bourbon really made" to find hundreds of pages describing where high end bourbons really start out.

Mark
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Have you tried the Bulleit Rye? I think it is even better than the Bulleit Bourbon.

Not all of the distilleries buy white liquor on the market. Makers and a number of the others start out with raw grains.

MGP in Indiana is one that mass produces. Bulleit Bourbon is made at Four Roses, but Bulleit Rye is made at MGP. And to your point, I think it is an excellent drink.

Some of the smaller craft distilleries only mix and age, but a lot of the bigger ones use a similar process to Makers. The tours are pretty cool.

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-makers-mark-bourbon-is-made-2013-5?op=1
 
Basil Hayden's is my fav bourbon, Bulleit Rye is my fav Whiskey.

One large ice cube for me. But as Booker Noe says, it doesn't matter how you drink it, just drink it.

"Sweet" bourbons tend to have high wheat content in the mash bill.

"Spicy" bourbons tend to have high Rye content.

They all have >50% corn by rule. The taste difference between brands is heavily a function of the grain selection in the mash bill.

Try them all, pick whatever you like.
 
Knob Creek for me. Drink some Bulleit but mostly rye there.
 
steingar said:
Fly on down a short ways a pick up some of this:

bourbon.png


You won't be sorry.
Click to expand...

Micheal is 100% correct. Its a great bourbon. He bought me a bottle for last years flybq and It was excellent. I had a tasting at Thanksgiving and my brother in law ranked it among the best of the batch. Very good stuff.
 
Duke Small Batch is what I've been enjoying. Also love Knob Creek.
 
Current inventory is about 6 bottles. 1792 and Makers Cask Strength on the high end right now. Goes good with a cigar and jacuzzi
 
Old Fart said:
Current inventory is about 6 bottles. 1792 and Makers Cask Strength on the high end right now. Goes good with a cigar and jacuzzi
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My wife came home from her evening classes one night to find me sitting in the hot tub, drinking port, smoking a cigar, and playing internet poker. I say "What?"
 
I find if I start my day with a good straight razor shave and end with a cigar and a good glass of bourbon - it's a great day. Jacuzzi just kicks it up a notch.
 
Revelations. Made with the idea that an immigrant from Scotland wanted to make something that reminded him of home, using what was available in the mountains of Appalachia:

CVaxAj0WsAAa5JR.jpg


Hard to find, but worth it. Disclosure: I am an investor, one bottle at a time, and then some. :D
 
Smutny said:
Must be neat... occasionally an ice cube if temp is warm.

Water to whiskey is like air to wine. Start neat, add a drop of water, taste, repeat until the taste is to your liking. That's your ratio.
Click to expand...

Your strategy doesn't work, John! Poured a drink the other night, added a drop of water, drank it. Poured another one, added 2 drops of water, drank it. By the time I got to 8 drops, I couldn't find the bottle! Just kidding of course... :dunno:

Jim
 
On a similar note, my Lady Wife thinks one sniffle means no ice in your drinks ("it's a Mexican thing"). So she fishes the 2" square ice cube from my drink - and tops the bourbon back off to where it was :)
 
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