Bourbon

HarryN

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Pleasanton (Bay Area), CA, USA
I like to have an occassional sip of a nice Kentucky Bourbon. On the good side, the taste of a well made bourbon is hard to beat. On the downside, even a good bottle lasts a long time in my house, so if I buy a mediocre one, I seem to have it forever.

I would like to get other people's opinion on their favorite (and no so favorite) bourbons and post a few notes about my experiences. Obviously, this is going to be as subjective as "what is the perfect flashlight beam", but that is ok.

My father usually drank beer, but had some ancient age around. To me, it is a bit harsh.

I drank wild turkey for a long time, but last year moved to makers mark. The game that makers mark played with threatening to change its formula (which I am sure will just end up in a price increase) sort of ticked me off, so when my bottle went dry, I decided to look around again.

Tonight I opened a bottle of knob hill, which supposedly has been aged 9 years. I am not sure where it was stored, but it is pretty harsh for 9 years. To me, it is similar to ancient age with a different label.

What is your experience with Bourbon ?

Please just post about taste, not your entire experience. :eek:

Take care,

Harry
 

gadget_lover

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Near Silicon Valley (too near)
Until today, I was not sure what bourbon really was. I looked it up on Wiki and found a few salient points....

It turns out that it's a whiskey made primarily from corn, aged in "new charred oak" barrels. Unlike many other whiskeys a premium bourbon is aged to maturity, not beyond. A 3 year bourbon may be a better drink than a 10 year old.


I don't drink whiskey often, but when I do I like one that is smooth enough that I don't taste the alcohol. When I was a kid I snitched some from my dads liquor cabinet and hated the way it made me cough and my eyes burn. It took 20 years to get over that and find that there were decent whiskeys. :)

I inherited a bottle of Old Evan Williams bourbon from my wife's ex 25 years ago. It appears to have been a commemorative issue from their 1983 bicentenial. I opened it a few months ago and I really liked it. It's withstood the time well. It's quite smooth and has the tastes I like... honey, vanilla and some other flavors that just seemed to go good together.

This web site seems to think that some of the Evan Williams is quite good. :)
http://whiskey.findthebest.com/comp...Year-Old-Scotch-vs-Evan-Williams-Bourbon-1783

On top of all the rest, it appears that the decanter is worth about $20 all by itself.


Daniel
 

JLocke

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Mar 16, 2013
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Pittsburgh
Blanton's single barrel is the best.
Maker's 46 and Angel's Envy are both quite good as well.
 

bnemmie

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The UP
I'm fan of Wild Turkey Rare Breed. But Makers Mark is also good. A good Scotch is also a very nice way to enjoy a fine drink after a long day.
 

TIMEBNDIT

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Mar 20, 2013
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I have been told that Jack Daniels meets the critria for Bourbon although the company does not consider it as bourbon. Either way I have always liked Jack, but recently my taste have had me trying different things and I have acquired a taste for Canadian, it appears to go down smoother for me
 

trailhunter

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Thread reborn!


Heres my collection of bourbon, now have 3 bottles of Blantons.

Currently sipping in some Aberlour Abunadh
7b8fff0b825784a653daa382b7434c2a.jpg

05b2e11df1a5402ae725bf9f0ee02ea2.jpg
 
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trailhunter

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Currently got two Bourbon open, Blanton's Gold and Elijah Craig 12, the rest is Single Malt and some other stuff.

Cheers

RBR
Oh man, where did you catch a gold?

Howse the EC12?

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Joined
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Pacific N.W.
That's a damn impressive bar, Trailhunter! :thumbsup:

Being it's Summer here in The Great State of Washington, I've been experimenting with a few Tiki cocktails.

First up was a Jet Pilot.
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce fresh grapefruit juice
1/2 ounce SC Cinnamon Syrup
1/2 ounce Velvet Falernum
1 ounce black blended rum
3/4ounce blended aged rum
3/4 ounce black blended overproof rum
1 dash Herbstura


Add all ingredients to a drink mixer tin. Fill with 12 ounces of crushed ice and 4 to 6 small "agitator" cubes.
Flash blend and open pour.

It's amazingly complex and refreshing. Your tongue doesn't which flavor it likes more.
:p

mWMJwdm.jpg


Should I show myself the door or would you guys rather throw me out on my @SS? :aaa:
 

trailhunter

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What an incredibly complex cocktail! I'll try it out, just need to find sampler bottles hehe.

I've been on the coronarita wagon for a while and of course old fashion. We play a lot of board games at the house so friends come over and stay (de)hydrated

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Joined
Mar 4, 2012
Messages
642
Great timing. Been looking for an excellent bottle for my nephew, who just got engaged. I have had very few bourbons. The only really good one that I could drink straight was this one...which I tasted at a formal tasting event in Louisville. Out of my price range at the moment. :eek:

Anything anywhere near the equivalent in taste for perhaps 1/10 the cost?

Old_Forester_2016_Birthday_Bourbon.jpg
 

trailhunter

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What did this run, like 80-100 bucks?

Eagle Rare or Buffalo Trace are good starter bourbons to try which are very delicious.

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trailhunter

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big woodford fan here. Particularly the double oak.

We always have a bottle of woodford.

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Joined
Mar 4, 2012
Messages
642
What did this run, like 80-100 bucks?

Eagle Rare or Buffalo Trace are good starter bourbons to try which are very delicious.

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Thank you for the suggestions!

Above runs about $800 if you can find it (2017). When the 2019 comes out in September I'll try to snag some. Should be around $100 retail.

So, what is the best $100 bourbon?
 
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