Age vs. Proof?

[gblick]

My favorites reside in the range of 6-15 years of aging & 100-107 proof.

[Martian]

Andy, the Sam Houston I bought last week is 90 proof. Very nice sipping bourbon. Give it a try.

[funknik]

Andy, the Sam Houston I bought last week is 90 proof. Very nice sipping bourbon. Give it a try.

Does it have an age statement of 10 years? If so, I believe this is an older bottling....the current one is 85.6 proof with no age statement, but says "Very Small Batch" instead. I like it quite a bit, but I've heard the 90 proofer is better...good score on the dusty.

[Martian]

Yeah, it says Very Small Batch, Aged 10 yrs. I may have to buy some more before it's gone. There were probably 6 more bottles.

[jburlowski]

For me, the sweet spot in age seems to be around 10 - 12 years (with notable exceptions on either end). As has been noted here before, wheaters seem to handle the longer agings without over-oaking better than other bourbons.

I'm less hung up on proof than some others: 45 - 50 ABV (for actual consumption) seems about right for me.

[ILLfarmboy]

After having given it some thought, I'd say that most of my favorites are between 7 and 10 years old. Proof? I'll take what I can get. Buffalo Trace (90 proof) is a favorite of mine. On the other end of the spectrum
I find Stagg and Handy quite drinkable without any dilution if taken in small sips with an occasional sip of water in between to sooth the throat and clear excess alcohol. But if I had my druthers, I'd have, or like to try most of my favorites that are currently bottled at 100 or less, at between 105 and 110. I think 107 is a very nice proof point.

[Josh]

As for myself (and I am unanimous in this) I really don't care for overly woody flavors. For me, its a brand-by-brand thing. Barton tastes great at 6 y/o and aging it more would ruin it. On the other hand, I dislike any Beam or HH under 7 y/o. At the other end, I love EC 12 but I don't really like OCPR (13 y/o). So I would say the sweet spot seems to be 6-12 years for age. Maybe wheaters do better w/more age, I just haven't had enough 12+ y/o wheaters to have an opinion about it.

As far as proof goes, the only 80 proof I like is 4R. The rest just taste bland and watered down. 86's are usually ok, but anything over 100 proof just burns to much for me to enjoy the flavor neat, plus all that high proof alcohol can jack up your (or at least it jacks up my) esophagus and gives me pretty intense heartburn. So I would probably say 90 is my preferred proof, although I can always just water the over-proof stuff down.

In sum, a median age of 9 yrs. and 90 proof. OK, Distillers of America, you know what I like. Now go out and make it!

[smokinjoe]

As for myself (and I am unanimous in this) I really don't care for overly woody flavors. For me, its a brand-by-brand thing. Barton tastes great at 6 y/o and aging it more would ruin it. On the other hand, I dislike any Beam or HH under 7 y/o. At the other end, I love EC 12 but I don't really like OCPR (13 y/o). So I would say the sweet spot seems to be 6-12 years for age. Maybe wheaters do better w/more age, I just haven't had enough 12+ y/o wheaters to have an opinion about it.

As far as proof goes, the only 80 proof I like is 4R. The rest just taste bland and watered down. 86's are usually ok, but anything over 100 proof just burns to much for me to enjoy the flavor neat, plus all that high proof alcohol can jack up your (or at least it jacks up my) esophagus and gives me pretty intense heartburn. So I would probably say 90 is my preferred proof, although I can always just water the over-proof stuff down.

In sum, a median age of 9 yrs. and 90 proof. OK, Distillers of America, you know what I like. Now go out and make it!

Hey, I think you just used some math, Josh! Time to go revisit that cost vs. value thread!

[PhilsFan]

Although I enjoy some of the higher proofs like Stagg, I have them only occasionally. My everyday pours are 100-107 proof and in the 10-15 year range...and 10 years seems to be the optimum age for me.

-Joe

[Vange]

12-20 and I prefer cask strength, I LOVE AND CRAVE the purity and intensity of the spirit right from the barrel.