Whiskey

My favorite room temperature rot gut, rip the lid off and tip it up hooch is Sunny Brook. The favorite on the rocks pinky finger out, sippin’ stuff is Crown. jerr

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

Yes, enough of the pale ale kiddie drinks.

Had to bring it up…. I won’t mention Northgate Brewing in Mpls has some English style ales. Haven’t tried them but am curious.

I will second the Highland Park. I always liked Bushmill’s Single Malt as well.

mplspug wrote:

Humor me and tell me the difference between Scotch, Bourbon and Whiskeeeeeeeeey

Scotch doesn’t use corn in the mash. Bourbon does.

mplspug wrote:

Humor me and tell me the difference between Scotch, Bourbon and Whiskeeeeeeeeey

Only Scotch, Bourbon, and Tennessee Whiskey have compositions and production requrements that are legally defined. Any grain or grain/corn blended spirit can be considered to be whiskey.

Scotch must:
-Be distilled at a Scottish distillery from water and malted barley to which only other whole grains may be added.
-Be processed at that distillery into a mash (mixture of cooked grains and water).
-Be converted to a fermentable substrate only by endogenous enzyme systems (malt).
-Be fermented only by the addition of yeast.
-Be distilled to an alcoholic strength of less than 94.8% by volume so that it retains the flavor of the raw materials used in production.
-Be matured in Scotland in oak casks for not less than three years.
-Not contain any added substance other than water and caramel coloring.
-Be bottled at not less than 40% ABV (alcohol by volume).

Bourbon:
Produced from a fermented mash of not less than 51% corn.
Distilled at not greater than 160 proof.
Stored at not more than 125 proof in new, charred oak containers.
Bottled at not less than 80 proof with nothing added during processing but pure water.
A product of the USA.

Tennessee Whisky must be 100% bourbon whiskey produced in Tennessee.

Grouse

That’s all well and good, but I’m talking about the difference in flavor.

mplspug wrote:

Humor me and tell me the difference between Scotch, Bourbon and Whiskeeeeeeeeey

Scotch is better tasting and more expensive…

Sometimes you hear this (Jameson, Crown, etc) is so good it almost tastes like Scotch –

..but you never hear the other way around —

Crown royal XO

All the brands mentioned are a waste of money on me. Give me a Windsor and I’m fine.

Glenfiddich – single math Scotch Whisky

Me personally, I like whiskey.

Bourbon:
Blanton’s is my absolute favorite, best bourbon I’ve had.
Evan Williams Single Barrel is great bourbon for not a lot of money.

Scotch:
Lagavulin 16 is amazing.
Balvennie
Macallan

My go to drink right now though is an old fashioned, really like Bulleit Rye for an old fashioned.

flatfish wrote:

Glenfiddich – single math Scotch Whisky

especially the eighteen year old stuff!!!!! ssmmmmoooooooootttttthhhhh

Does anyone else have an adverse side effect to drinking Jim beam, like me. Had to stop drinking that stuff turned me into an angry drunkasoris. No other booze does this too me. Does anyone else have this problem with Jim beam or other booze?

mplspug wrote:

That’s all well and good, but I’m talking about the difference in flavor.

Scotch can be comparable to wine with different regions and different character. It tends to have the most complexity because it’s aged the longest (12 years is common), proximity to ocean air, use of peat, etc.

I’ve always found Bourbon to be a bit heavier than other whisk(e)y.

Jameson Black Barrel Reserve, Jameson, Wolfhound Irish, and when i’am not so flush Clan MacGregor Scotch. That black barrel is some smooth whiskey. DK.

Glen Fiddich 18,15,21 (if someone will buy it)
Bad experience with rye 35 years ago but always some on hand for those who have not discovered scotch yet!

Jeff mattingly wrote:

Does anyone else have an adverse side effect to drinking Jim beam, like me. Had to stop drinking that stuff turned me into an angry drunkasoris. No other booze does this too me. Does anyone else have this problem with Jim beam or other booze?

Michelle claims I turn into a drunk a-hole on whisky. My sarcam turns to just plain jerkyness. There is some truth to it until I became self aware. Same thing with red wine.

For me it has been CC and 7 for the last 40 years. Main reasons tastes great and no hangovers.

For a blended Scotch, it is hard to beat Johnny Walker Blue for me… (especially if someone else is buying)

mplspug wrote:

That’s all well and good, but I’m talking about the difference in flavor.

Keeping in mind, within both Scotch and Bourbon, there are basically two families: Blended and single malt (or barrel). With blended spirits, they are trying for a uniform flavor. With single varieties, the goal is unique flavors.

As Tegg says, it’s very difficult to answer this when it comes to single malt Scotch. Scotch has VAST variations in flavor because of differences Scotland’s climate and in variations of almost every aspect of the process.

Generally, Scotch Whisky is grouped into 4 regions, Highland, Island, Lowland, and Speyside. If you taste an Island-made whisky like Talisker or Jura, there are unmistakable flavors of the sea. Salt, seaweed, sea air, and peat smoke. Some of these distilleries like Lagavulin are so close to the sea, that the spray from the surf hits the side of the building.

Contrast those with the lighter, more subtle malts from the Speyside, with notes heather, honey, spices, nuts. Completely different is an understatement. It’s almost as they are completely different spirits.

Single barrel bourbons have similar characteristics now. The corn tends to make bourbons sweeter, more oily, and with notes of caramel, sweet spices. Bourbon tends to be higher ABV. There’s nothing wrong with adding spring water to either spirit to reduce the impact of the alcohol on the flavors.

Grouse

Anything Irish for me, although I don’t like Bushmills for some reason. I even tried the 10 year and didn’t care for it. If you’re on a budget, Tullemore DEW is very good for under $25.

I do like some scotch, but can’t stand the peated stuff. Favorite so far is Macallan 12; if only I could afford it!

If you haven’t treated yourself to Windsor Black Cherry do yourself a favor and try it.

Youbetcha wrote:

Im a bourbon guy and my go to right now is Bulleit. It has a great spice to it and extremely smooth. I also like knob creek and even some Jim beam every now and then.

I can’t believe only one person mentioned Bulleit. I’m typically a Coors Light guy 95% percent of the time but recently grown fond of a Manhattan made with Bulleit 10 year. It’s a Friday/Saturday night sipper to drink next to the bonfire. I’ve tried a couple other bourbons but still go back to Bulleit. The 10 is a little hard to find but if you look around you can find it.

mplspug wrote:

That’s all well and good, but I’m talking about the difference in flavor.

To me, scotch is a salty dry flavor. Bourbon is a sweeter wet flavor.

Except Jefferson Reserve Ocean. It’s a bourbon that was aged on a ship at sea and it takes on the dry salt flavor of scotch. I’m not a fan of it either.

George Dickel!

Side note, I bought some Capt Morgan Pineapple ($12 rebate on two bottles tricked me). I cant wait to play with that.

Got to be either Crown or some Slow & Low

life is worth living, so my current liquor shelf features:
Bookers
Eagle Rare
Stagg Jr
Jack Daniels Single Barrel
Macallan 12yr
Ardbeg 10yr

I hide some Early Times under the bar in case someone wants a cocktail.
A bottle of Buffalo Trace usually comes along on fishing trips.
It’s hard to beat a Macallan 18yr if you want smooth perfection, or an Ardbeg Corryvreckan if you want peaty smokey explosiveness.

When it comes to vodka, treat yourself to a bottle of Chopin. Pour it over ice in a shaker and strain it into a martini glass, “straight up.” I guarantee you’ll go back for another…

ajaikens31 wrote:

I do like some scotch, but can’t stand the peated stuff. Favorite so far is Macallan 12; if only I could afford it!

I was at a work Holiday dinner a few years back. Since we didn’t have to pay I naturally ordered the most expensive Scotch on the drink menu which happened to be the 16-yr Lagavulin. When they brought it to the table the smoky peat was so noticeable a couple wives sitting several seats away did a Scooby Do Double Take.

tegg wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>ajaikens31 wrote:</div>
I do like some scotch, but can’t stand the peated stuff. Favorite so far is Macallan 12; if only I could afford it!

I was at a work Holiday dinner a few years back. Since we didn’t have to pay I naturally ordered the most expensive Scotch on the drink menu which happened to be the 16-yr Lagavulin. When they brought it to the table the smoky peat was so noticeable a couple wives sitting several seats away did a Scooby Do Double Take.

Yes, Lagavulin and Talisker are both HEAVY on the peat smoke. By heavy, I mean it’s similar to drinking a full-bodied Scotch, but doing so while standing downwind of a forest fire.

Laphroig is a similar sensory-overload experience. To me, it has a strange medicinal flavor to go with the flavors of sea and salt. Interesting, but not my thing.

I’ve been in Scotland a number of times, all the way from the border to the Orkney Islands. If ever any of you get the chance, go! It’s beautiful country and as far as the distilleries go, one can pick up some very interesting bottlings that are generally not available here.

At Glenfiddich–which admittedly is the Disney World of distillery tours, but interesting nonetheless–they do a aperitif blend that is whisky, honey, herbs, and spices. Really a great dram and only available there.

By the way, it’s worth a brief study of Scots pronunciation before you go. Glenfiddich is pronounced “glen-fiddick”. The “ch” sound is always a hard “k” in Scotland. Also, Dewars is not “de-wares” as I often hear it said here, but rather “due-wars”.

Grouse

I was in San Anotonio recently and had Rebecca Creek – she was smooth and would highly recommend it. One I haven’t seen show up yet is 40 Creek, that’s a good one as well

I just recently acquired this from my father-in-law who passed, not sure why he held onto it for so long but am really wrestling on whether to crack it open to celebrate his birthday some year. The seal states 1971 on the cap. I am sure it is real smooth…

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Jeff mattingly wrote:

Does anyone else have an adverse side effect to drinking Jim beam, like me. Had to stop drinking that stuff turned me into an angry drunkasoris. No other booze does this too me. Does anyone else have this problem with Jim beam or other booze?

I like a good stiff Beam and Coke. Many years of putting these back with no major problems. May be just me getting old, but seems ever since Suntory Holdings bought Jim Beam in 2014, the stuff has turned gut rott. Two Beamers will guarantee a morning headache! Still tastes great, no change there. Just can’t take the day after any more. Wonder if they are cutting it with something or just not aging as long as they used too?? Not sure, but just bought a bottle of Jack Daniels to make a comparison.

Real Japanese Saki used to turn this then 20 year old Jarhead into a angry drunkasoris. Have never touched the stuff since!

-J.