Newbie in St. Louis, MO

[LicoriceTattoo]

Hello there. I'm a 34yo St. Louis native and I've been lurking around for a couple weeks and figured I'd post something. Bourbon (Ten High, Kentucky Tavern) and Coke has been my cocktail of choice for about 10 years, back into college. It wasn't until a year or two ago when I had some Maker's Mark neat, along with my brother in law telling me in awe inspiring verbiage about the holy grail of bourbons, Pappy, that I started thinking, "hey, maybe there's something to this stuff". I started comparing and contrasting Jim Beam White, Maker's Mark, and (recommended by this forum and purchased for a very reasonable price at Costco), Woodford Reserve. I was accustomed to the taste of Jim Beam, which I have to admit I don't really enjoy by itself, and Maker's Mark, which I find quite smooth by itself and pleasant to drink. But when the Woodford Reserve hit my lips I thought WOW. It was head and shoulders above. Now we're in a different arena. So since then I've been lurking around and getting more recommendations. I've picked up a couple more and presently my stash is:

Old Crow (I wanted a cheapie to use as a benchmark)
Jim Beam White
Maker's Mark
Woodford Reserve
Evan Williams Single Barrel 2000
Eagle Rare 90 proof

My first inclination was to run out and buy a bottle of Pappy 20yr but as I'm wrapping my head around the aspects of these three small batch bourbons I'm realizing I've got a lot to discover before plunking down a Benjamin on something I may not appreciate. I'm doing a splash of one of those three each night to try to get a grasp on the differences. As I type I'm sipping some of the Eagle Rare. My only complaint is it's too tall to fit in my liquor cabinet!

I think so far the Evan Williams Single Barrel is my fav of the bunch. Sweet, rich, smooth, deep. Those are my thoughts. So far I can't isolate any flavors aside from caramel and vanilla but hopefully my palate will develop. Right now I'm just enjoying the ride. And making my wife wonder what the hell is wrong with me. I'll be doing some blind tastes in the future to see how I rank them. So far I've done a blind taste test between the Old Crow and the Beam white and rated the Old Crow higher! I didn't like either.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. It's also great to see that there are some fellow St. Louisans on here! My other hobbies include playing guitar, cooking, reading.

Steve

[Josh]

Welcome Steve!

Sounds like you're off to great start. Woodford and Maker's are gateway bourbons for a lot of folks. They also both have great tours if you manage to get over to Kentucky sometime.

I'm a bit of an oddball around here, so take the following advice with a boulder-sized grain of salt. Don't bother with the Pappy 20 y/o. The Pappy to get is the 15 y/o. You also might enjoy the Van Winkle Family Reserve, aka "Lot B". If you like Woodford, you might like the Old Forester Signature too. It's one of my favorites.

Also, if you don't already know, there is a current brand of bourbon with a St. Louis connection. Luxco, formerly David Sherman Co., owns the Ezra Brooks line of bourbons. I particularly like the Old Ezra 101 and Ezra B Single Barrel. They also now own the Rebel Yell brand. For the price, Rebel Reserve isn't too bad.

Anyway, glad to have you aboard!

[Bourbon Boiler]

Welcome aboard, and a good choice with the Evan Single Barrel. It is probably as highly rated of a value pour as anything that is discussed here. I wish the finish were a little longer, but that's the only complaint I could find. I would encourage you to take advantage of the chat. There are some very wise and friendly bourbon drinkers there that can help guide you up to the higher shelves to what you will enjoy and appriciate - without requiring finding a second job.

[fishnbowljoe]

Welcome to SB Steve. Like Josh said, it looks like you're off to a good start. I got my start in bourbon after attending the Kentucky Bourbon Festival a few years ago. That first aroused my interest. Then a local store manager was kind enough to do a tasting with/for me of Jim Beam White, Maker's Mark and Weller 12. Wow! What a difference. Then I found this place, and that was all she wrote.

I do have a few recommendations for you. Try one of the Wellers. Weller Special Reserve, Old Weller Antique 107, or Weller 12. Wild Turkey 101, Evan Williams Black Label, and Buffalo Trace are also good pours that won't hurt your wallet too much. If you can find any BIB's, (Bottled in Bond, 100 proof) There are a few out there that are really inexpensive, but are still pretty tasty. JTS Brown, and Old Fitzgerald are a couple that come to mind. Hope this has helped you some. Cheers! Joe