Does the ‘perfect’ bourbon exist? Buffalo Trace's quest for "The Holy Grail".

Great points everyone. And I agree on the marketing ploy. MA isn't the end all be all in ratings.....although I'll freely admit to being a big fan of Hansell, Broom, Roskrow, Smith, and Bryson.

I think we all can agree "perfection" is subjective.....


Josh

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by MacinJosh

Hey guys,

Stumbled across this article today. It was posted back in mid-March. Some of you might have already seen it (and yes Thad, I combed through the open threads and I didn't see one on this topic yet :p ).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifest...9tY_story.html

What do you guys think? Does Harlen Wheatley have something up his sleeve and in the works to be released later this month? Something that goes beyond just the Experimental Collection?

As a huge Buffalo Trace fan (they set the bar and are the industry standard in my humble opinion) I certainly hope so. While I can't imagine better bourbons or ryes than The Antique Collection.....I for one would be thrilled to be proven wrong!

Let's hope it happens....

Josh

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Originally Posted by cowdery

That's all I know but I will be there for the announcement.

They let this out to the Washington Post.

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Well Josh you got me on the topic but Chuck did link to the article in this thread on "Harlan Wheatley talks BT and Pappy" back on 3/16/11.
http://www.straightbourbon.com/forum...ost#post237921 ;)


And sorry for being snarky about that previous KC thread but I'm blaming it on that Sunday Morning Coming Down Thing...at least I think it was Sunday morning. Peace. Thad.

There's another thread about the Washington Post article and I think I posted there that I will be your eyes and ears at the unveiling of this product or products on Friday, April 29. Look for my post around noon. I love the smell of whiskey in the morning.

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Originally Posted by cowdery

There's another thread about the Washington Post article and I think I posted there that I will be your eyes and ears at the unveiling of this product or products on Friday, April 29. Look for my post around noon. I love the smell of whiskey in the morning.

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Glad to hear it Chuck. I know you'll give us the real deal.

This certainly does seem like an ambitious undertaking, but I don't think they will be successful in their plan. Like has been said already, everyone has their own tastes. I've had quite a few different Buffalo Trace products and I've ended up dumping most of them down the drain. To me, they all tasted moldy, acidic, and very industrial. Too harsh and obnoxious. So would I like this "perfect" bourbon they're going to unveil? Will I like it more than my all-time favorite Old Grand Dad BIB? I highly doubt it. And I'm sure I won't be the only person that feels the same way. I'm sure the bourbon will get high praise from many in the industry and be a fine bourbon, but to call it "perfect" is going a bit far to me. There are quite a few people saying Weller 107 is near perfect, but I dumped my bottle down the drain. Even the smell turned me off. So I guess the gist of what I'm getting at by saying all this is that it's pretty high-and-mighty to even attach the word "perfect" to a bourbon that hasn't even been bottled yet! Sounds like Buffalo Trace's fame is going to their heads. I wish them well in their endeavor and I hope the bourbon is an excellent bourbon, but I just wish they wouldn't be so seemingly full of themselves about it.

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Originally Posted by ethangsmith

There are quite a few people saying Weller 107 is near perfect, but I dumped my bottle down the drain.

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Don't they sell ginger ale where you live? Sweet vermouth? :skep:

I can see not liking it much, but down the drain? Are you trying to drive Fishbowl to an early grave by telling us this? :lol:

I think it is a worthy effort, and I respect BT for undertaking an ambitious project to create the perfect bourbon. I know from what Mark Brown has told me, he's been working on this for many years.

If I were him, I'm not sure I would have chosen the same whiskey writers' reviews to formulate the "perfect" bourbon. (I think there are better whisky reviewers than me that BT didn't choose.) Still, it will be interesting to see what the end result tastes like.

I am not going to the press event--Chuck is covering it for Malt Advocate. That's probably for the best, given that I might feel a little uncomfortable watching him explain how he dissected whiskey reviews (including mine) to formulate a perfect whiskey.

Mark always said he wanted to create a whisky where Paul, Gary and I would each give it a 100 rating. He has his work cut out for him--the highest rating I ever gave a whiskey (orwhisky) is 97.

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Originally Posted by JohnHansell

Mark always said he wanted to create a whisky where Paul, Gary and I would each give it a 100 rating. He has his work cut out for him--the highest rating I ever gave a whiskey (orwhisky) is 97.

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John, do you feel like this puts you in a difficult position as a professional reviewer? Is it awkward to have someone saying outright that they forumulated a bourbon to get a 100 from you? It seems like they are trying to break down a reviewer/product wall in some ways. I guess now you know what it's like to be Robert Parker.

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Originally Posted by Parkersback

Don't they sell ginger ale where you live? Sweet vermouth? :skep:

I can see not liking it much, but down the drain? Are you trying to drive Fishbowl to an early grave by telling us this? :lol:

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There are plenty of brands of sodas and things to mix it in around here and I did do that a few times. But it just ended up sitting around and I eventually dumped it so I had more space for my bottles of Bookers and OGD 114. At the time, if I would have known there were people that actually like the stuff, I would have been more than happy to see it go to someone who appreciates it! It's been a long time since I had another Buffalo Trace product on my shelves and my tastes have changed a lot (whiskey-wise) but there was something in all of the bourbons I tried that just made me nauseated. I'm very leery about trying any other because of those experiences. While Buffalo Trace may very well end up making the perfect bourbon for most people, I'm not so sure it's going to be MY perfect bourbon.

Send it to me next time, I love bt's products.