What are you drinking right now?

[jeff]

Ancient Ancient Age 10yo. I am determined this week to clear out all of the "1 drink left" bottles that are cluttering my cabinet and this is my first victim. Nice medium body with hints of oak and sandalwood in the nose. Taste is nutty with some vanilla for good measure. Finish is slightly warm, but relatively smooth. Great value bourbon

Of course my housekeeping will be confounded by my desire to replace these empty bottles, so I guess the only thing to do is buy a bigger cabinet

[jeff]

OK, 1 hour later and a glass of Old Fitz 1849. This is a pretty good bourbon for the price, but I prefer the BIB and it's a couple dollars less.

Getting a little of that notorious acetone in the nose along with a little honey and camphor. Taste is slightly astringent, but with some nice cedar undertones and a floweriness I can't put my finger on. Finish is a little hot for my liking. I probably won't replace this one as a standard.

[bluesbassdad]

Jeff,

So you're saying the 1849 finishes hotter than the BIB? How curious. I've found it to be quite the opposite. I agree, though, that the BIB has a fuller, less quirky flavor on the nose and palate.

Yours truly,
Dave Morefield

[CL]

My own experiences with these two bourbons match up more closely with Dave's experience.

I normally keep a bottle of each open in my cabinet. I don't have them very often though because I can't buy them locally, so I take it easy on them to make them last. I don't stock them in the bunker, because they are good, not great bourbons. But, they are both go to bourbons when I want a relaxing, easy drink.

But, like Jeff, I think I will be letting one of them go. I need more room to fit that 1.75 liter of WL Weller 12 yo I plan to get this weekend in L'ville. ;-) I think I will drop the 1849, even though I like it's flavor a little better, because the BIB is cheaper, it comes in a 1 liter bottle, and its bottle takes up less room. (Sounds like politics in the liquor cabinet, doesn't it?)

[CL]

I am in L'ville for the weekend. I drove from my parents' house in WV. My wife and kids flew in from NC. While I was waiting for their plane to land, I checked into the Galt House. I thought I had a great rate at $99/night. But, the first room was not cleaned. The second room was next to the ice machine. So, I called the front desk again and am now in a large suite for the same $99 price. ;-)

But, anyhow, while waiting for my wife's delayed plane, I headed up to the 25th floor bar with 125 bourbons. Damn, not open until 5 pm (it was 3:30 pm). I headed down to the lobby bar. Really poor. 5 scotches, 1 Canadian whisky, 1 Irish whisky, 1 Kentucky whisky, 1 mint julep, and only four bourbons, the best of which was Woodford Reserve, which is what I started with. I am already a fan of this bourbon, but I rarely buy it because of the price/value ratio.

After I picked up the family from the airport, the wife and I went to the 25th floor bourbon bar. I had Ezra Brooks 15 yo based on the comments here recently. Very good!

Then we ate at Deke's for dinner and I had a Kentucky Spirit to go with it. Honestly, I don't understand the hype, but I will give this one another chance.

Tommorrow it's a Maker's Mark tour followed by dragging the kids to the Getz to see their great grandfather's stuff. Then tomorrow night the wedding activities for the weekend start (my cousin's wedding).

[WEG3]

What a week , I have been covering for vaction time since Sunday night , but also trying to get work done at the farm , ,,, well Wednesday morning my wife dropped the kids off at work , (we work for the same company , me nights her days ) and I was going to down to the farm ... well less than a half a mile from home I had a women with her two grandchildren in a 03' Honda Accord cut out in front of me from a stop sign , ,, I had time to see her start out and was on the breaks but we still hit , .. my front drivers side corner on her drivers side door ,, ... I have a witness that say she pulled out in front and are amazed that for the impact there was not more damage , I am still driving mine such as it is (no airbag deployment ) and no one hurt ,, thats the best part of this mess , ...
Accident report by the police has her saying she did not see me .... big blue Ram full size ?
Well after all the run around , today after work and before I went to sleep this morning it was a TALL glass of ORVW 107 , 15yr straight up ....
Once more all is fine and right with the world , Aaaaahhhhh.....

Bill g.
Just glad no one was hurt ,

[Barrel_Proof]

Glad no one was hurt, Bill. A Stagg might have made a bigger dent, so you are a fortunate Boubonian.

[CL]

The wife and kids konked out about 10:30 pm, so I hit the Galt House's 25th floor bar for some samples. They have a deal where you can get 1/2 oz of three bourbons. They give you a placard to write your tasting notes. The backside has tips on how to taste bourbon.

I chose to go for the unusual. I chose Rowan's Creek (100.1, 12 yo), Noah's Mill (114.3, 15 yo), and Corner Creek (88, 8 yo). For my second round, at the barkeep's suggestion to try more from the same distiller, I chose KY Pride (90 10 yo), KY Vintage (90, no age statement, but at least 10 based on the distilled date given), and Pure KY XO (107, 14 yo).

I was too relaxed and lazy to do any formal tasting notes. In fact, I need alot more than 1/2 oz and sometimes more than one night to judge a bourbon adequately. But, I will say of the first batch, the Noah's Mill was the most interesting, but I wonder if this was due to it's higher proof (114). Of the second batch, the KY Vintage surprised me with a stronger aroma and more robust taste than its 90 proof would indicate.

I will say, though, that none of these bourbons floored me tonight. But given my relaxed mood and the sensory overload trying to assess the 9 different bourbons I sampled today may have contributed to that.

Imagine having 9 different bourbons in one day and not getting a buzz. Sheesh, I am getting too serious about this stuff.

P.S. The Galt House is not what my older relatives think it is. This place has seen better days. It needs a complete renovation. The last straw was the pool overlooking the river was not open. So, we are checking out Sat morning instead of staying through Monday. We found a different place to stay. It's not downtown, but it's new and closer to relatives and very close to Liquor Barn on Hurstbourne, and close to Harper's on Hurstbourne (which has a very good bourbon selection).

[CL]

Sorry to hear about the troubles, but I think you took appropriate actions afterwards.

[jeff]

Since your're in town why not head to Maker's Mark on Saturday morning and run with us in the 3rd annual Distillery 5K?