Bourbon & Tennessee Whiskey

Seen it mentioned here, had to try it…. yowza 112 proof

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big_g wrote:

Seen it mentioned here, had to try it…. yowza 112 proof

How’d you like it? I want to try that one but I’m nervous because it’s not cheap and it could be ….weird.

I did just open my bottle of Oban 14 and WOW, what a great drink! It has a bit of everything, touch of smoke, touch of tartness, and some sweetness too.

Just had a chance to try some elijah craig 18 year along with old rip van winkle 10 and a bottle of George T Stagg. All out standing bourbons. Any chance anybody is looking to trade some allocated bourbons?? Might be a fun time

Youbetcha wrote:

Just had a chance to try some elijah craig 18 year along with old rip van winkle 10 and a bottle of George T Stagg. All out standing bourbons. Any chance anybody is looking to trade some allocated bourbons?? Might be a fun time

I’d gladly trade some of my non-allocated bourbons at MSRP for someone else’s allocated bourbon at MSRP.

Got my Dad some Laguvulin 16 year Double Matured (whatever that means) for Christmas, looking forward to him sharing it with me soon! I got some High West Bourbon as a gift and that was very smooth.

philtickelson wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>big_g wrote:</div>
Seen it mentioned here, had to try it…. yowza 112 proof

How’d you like it? I want to try that one but I’m nervous because it’s not cheap and it could be ….weird.

I did just open my bottle of Oban 14 and WOW, what a great drink! It has a bit of everything, touch of smoke, touch of tartness, and some sweetness too.

Yep, that’s a great one. Also try the Oban Little Bay! May even be better.

Honestly for me, it was too much of a burn… for an old fashioned.

BigWerm wrote:

Got my Dad some Laguvulin 16 year Double Matured (whatever that means) for Christmas, looking forward to him sharing it with me soon! I got some High West Bourbon as a gift and that was very smooth.

Lagavulin 16 is great, I believe the double matured refers to it being aged in ex-bourbon barrels first and then finished in shrry barrels. I am not a huge fan of islay whisky, but those that are finished in sherry barrels seem to add some sweetness and round out the smoky/briney edges.

Anyone a fan of Angel’s Envy? Picked some of that up the other day, definitely an easy drinker.

I keep my jug of 4 roses, small batch in the garage shop. Its unheated in there. I was working in there a little bit ago and had to pass by the jug so I took a jolt…..man that’s good when its about 12 degrees. Talk about a cold rush.

Tom Sawvell wrote:

…..man that’s good when its about 12 degrees.

Yeah this is whiskey weather for sure.

philtickelson wrote:

Anyone a fan of Angel’s Envy? Picked some of that up the other day, definitely an easy drinker.
Reply

Basil Heyden 1st
Angels Envy 2nd
Both with a bourbon cube.

Brian Klawitter wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>philtickelson wrote:</div>
Anyone a fan of Angel’s Envy? Picked some of that up the other day, definitely an easy drinker.
Reply

Basil Heyden 1st
Angels Envy 2nd
Both with a bourbon cube.

Basil Hayden just released a 10 year expression, I’ve wanted to try it. I have started leaning towards the higher proof stuff lately though so I haven’t picked up a BH in awhile.

For you Basil Hayden’s fans (put me in that group) if you get near Prescott Ptacek’s IGA has had it on sale there for quite a while at $29.99. That’s about $10 or more less than what I’ve seen it for at TW and other places.

…Or better yet if you want me to stop and pick up a bottle of BH for you on the way to your shared fishing hole I’d be happy to do that

After not finding bottles of Blanton’s in the cities I took a shot in the dark and asked a buddy out in Montana to keep his eyes out it. We scored big. His local liquor store had a barrel select event and didn’t sell hardly any of it……got it for a steal!

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Seriously!
I just saw this at Kincaids last Thursday and said I need a bottle of that. The local Libation Station didn’t have it so I grabbed a bottle of Belle Meade. A low ball of Belle Meade and a couple chunks of ice worked out well.

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A couple recent pickups for me.

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7:40 am and I am now thirsty It’s going to be a long day.

I tried some Jim Beam Black this weekend, and thought that was pretty solid. And a good reminder, in the words of David Allen Coe, that it’s important to renew your friendship with Jim Beam every once in a while!

There’s been a lot of awards going to McKenna 10 year Single Barrel lately, including Best in Show for all whiskies at the big San Francisco event this spring…seems like an inexpensive $30 bottle that I’ve been overlooking maybe? Does anyone have their own review to offer?

Experts Just Named a $30 Bourbon the Best Whiskey in the World

Michael C. Winther wrote:

There’s been a lot of awards going to McKenna 10 year Single Barrel lately, including Best in Show for all whiskies at the big San Francisco event this spring…seems like an inexpensive $30 bottle that I’ve been overlooking maybe? Does anyone have their own review to offer?

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Experts Just Named a $30 Bourbon the Best Whiskey in the World

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I have a bottle of this and I like it quite a bit. Just keep in mind that these ‘awards’ are often pretty flimsy, so I wouldn’t put a whole lot of stock in them.

Also, this is a ‘single barrel’ offering, meaning there will be variation from barrel to barrel and bottle to bottle. It’s very unlikely that you’ll ever be able to get a bottle that came from the barrel they submitted to the competition. It behooves the distillery to select the BEST possible barrel for entry, and in some cases, these barrels might have been otherwise destined for a more exclusive or limited bottling.

For example, Pappy Van Winkle is pretty popular right? Well Buffalo Trace uses one recipe/mashbill for basically all their wheated bourbons. That means
Weller Special Reserve
Old Weller Antique
Weller 12
Old Rip Van Winkle (10 year)
Van Winkle Lot B (12 year)
Van Winkle 15
Van Winkle 20
Van Winkle 23
William Larue Weller

all come from the same recipe, it’s just different amounts of aging and different profiles from barrel to barrel that determines what barrels are destined for their ‘bottom shelf’ offerings like Weller Special Reserve and their premium offerings.

So, Heaven Hill can take a primo barrel that they never would have bottled as Henry McKenna, and bottle it for ‘awards’ purposes.

All that said, HMK is definitely a solid bourbon at the $30 price point, but I’m already starting to see people sell it for $60 on the secondary market. Which means you’ll start having trouble finding in stores, and store will start upping the price closer to $40, where there is a lot more competition(4R single barrel, Russel’s Reserve single barrel, Wild Turkey Rare Breed, etc.)

Cheers to you for the 101 on mash bills and single barrels.

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Forgot to mention, I think the best value in bourbon right now is a Knob Creek Single Barrel barrel picks.

You’ll find these at quite a few major liquor store chains, they taste samples from multiple barrels at a distillery(in this case, Jim Beam), and then they will buy the entire barrel, have it bottled, and sell it with some additional info on the bottle.

These can be up to 14 years old, are bottled at 120 proof, and can usually be found for <$40. They will definitely vary from store to store, but I like that you’re getting something unique and you can’t beat it for that age and proof.

Booker’s is more or less the same product in a fancier bottle, with less age(6-8 years) and a little more proof, which is now selling for $70….

Was just starting to think….. Its almost the time of year for good bourbons to be hitting stores! Just dreaming of what I might find this year while enjoying some Blanton’s

Hoping I can find another surplus of Blantons this year. I’m down to two bottles…..

I just toured the Driftless Glenn distillery and it is great! It has great food and the spirits are great! The Rye whiskey is very smooth!

mahtofire14 wrote:

Hoping I can find another surplus of Blantons this year. I’m down to two bottles…..

For sure one of my favorites. I really want to find more old weller antique. By far the best sub $30 bottle you can buy.

Youbetcha wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>mahtofire14 wrote:</div>
Hoping I can find another surplus of Blantons this year. I’m down to two bottles…..

For sure one of my favorites. I really want to find more old weller antique. By far the best sub $30 bottle you can buy.

I was able to snag the last bottle of Wellers at MGM…also got two bottles of my new favorite, Henry McKennas at the same time. BONUS.

Maker’s Mark has a new release coming in October – Maker’s Mark® Wood Finishing Series 2019 Limited Release Stave Profile RC6, bottled at cask strength. I’m sure it will be delicious, and expensive – I saw their last limited release at the liquor store for around $75 for a 1L bottle, a little pricey to say the least.

Over the last couple months I’ve sampled two bourbon’s that I bought.

Wild Turkey American Honey
and
Jack Daniels Honey

Both rather inexpensive. I’m guessing they are lower proof but I really don’t pay attention to proof…just the taste.

After going to JJ’s BBQ in Nelson WI, where they have over 50 flavors, I’ve found the more expensive bourbon’s are, the more I don’t care for them.