Greetings from North East LA

[Beenjammin]

Hi Everyone. I've been lurking for a while and figured I should sign up and say thanks to everyone for providing such useful information and turning me on to some great bourbon.

I've liked bourbon for quite some time (I'm 31 years old), and I'm now just starting to get into some of the small batch makers -- you know, folks whose bourbon isn't sold at the local supermarket.

So far I've tried:

PVW 15 -- Truly Remarkable.

Van Winkle 107 -- I'm amazed at how different this is to the 15. They have got to be completely different whiskeys? The 107 gives off a sweeter, vanilla-charcol nose. Perhaps this is from the wood?

Black Maple Hill -- I'm unsure of this one's origin, red label, "Limited Edition" -- This is unlike any bourbon I've tasted so far. Very interesting, but I don't know if I like it just yet. Hopefully it'll grow on me.

Evan Williams Vintage 1999 -- this seems to be the most approachable one I've tried so far. Very nice, pleasant, even burn and mouthfeel. I wish I could afford to have this a my regular pour.

That's about it. I'm still learning about bourbon and have a ways to go. I do have one question:

I'm really in love with the PVW 15. I've read such great things about the 20 and have found a place near me that has some in stock (114.00/bottle). I've been reading a lot about SW / non-SW PVW. While I get the impression that it's all very good no matter what the origin, I would like to track down a bottle of SW PVW before it's completely gone. Is there some way to tell? Or are all the PVW 20s still made of SW juice for the time being?

At any rate, thanks very much for reading my post.

Kind regards,
Benjamin

[p_elliott]

Welcome aboard! As it stands for now the PVWFR 20 is SW juice. I hope you enjoy your time here. Lots of great people and good info. As you have already seen there lots to read don't forget about chat it's scheduled for Thursdays and Sundays but there's people in there a lot more than that almost every night. Have fun on the site post a lot.

[fishnbowljoe]

Welcome to SB Benjamin. Looks like you're off to a good start with the bourbons you have so far. Don't forget to take a look at the bottom and middle shelf stuff too. You'd be surprised at some of the good bourbons out there that are relatively inexpensive. Just a few that come to mind are WT 101, Weller SR, OWA 107, and Old Forester BIB. Hope you have a good time here on the site. Cheers. Joe

[Beenjammin]

Thanks very much everyone for the welcomes. I'm indeed trying cheaper bourbon -- in fact, I'm looking of something that I can afford to drink regularly. Wish it were something like PVW 20!

I went to my liquor store Hi Time in Orange County and picked up a bottle of Buffalo Trace for 19 and a bottle of Eagle Rare. Apparently, these are special bottles from a single barrel allocated to the store. I found both exceptional and was very happy to find something so great at 20 bucks a bottle.

Next up: good stuff under 20.

[IronHead]

Welcome aboard! Don't know if it's available in your area but you might want to check out Old Weller Antique like Joe mentioned. It is 107 proof and can usually be found under 20 bucks. It is also a wheated bourbon like the PVWs and the ORVWs.

Cheers,

-Mike

[sailor22]

welcome aboard. Your certainly on the right track with your picks so far. Since you are on a Van Winkle theme, you might want to try the "Lot B" 12yr. It is probably the most approachable of the Van Winkles with the possible exception of the 10/90.

Enjoy and keep posting your impressions.