Newbie Palate Overload

[savagehenry]

Anyone else experience this? Perhaps I need to pace myself. I'm sure I'm not the first that has wanted to try every bourbon ever made immediately.

After having several pours Friday and Saturday, including 4 new ones (Weller 12, High West Double Rye, Old Fitz 1849, and 4RSB) I decided to pick up one more new bottle on Sunday. I'd been wanting to try the Vintage 17 so I ponied up the $ and got it.

I did a side by side with the Vintage and PVW20. I thought the Vintage held up very well against it. However, I found my 2nd and 3rd pours to be a bit underwhelming. I'm assume I just overloaded my tongue with so much that I was all bourbon-ed out.

I'm taking the week off for my mouth to heal. Anyone else have this happen?

[p_elliott]

There are a few fundamentals to follow when drinking whiskies in a setting: Start with the lowest proof and work you way up or stay even. Don't switch from rye to bourbon. Go from younger to older depending on proof, proof would be more important than age but if same proof I would go from younger to older. If you have had a spicy meal wheaters will probably taste better than rye bourbons. These are just some things that I have found that work for me it's not written in stone anywhere.

[Roadsaw]

Take your time there is way to much bourbon out there. Alot of the people on here have been drinking it for years and i know they make you want to try everything. I felt the same when i first started reading the forums here, its like you are trying to play catch up. What i did was just have a few staples and occasionally bought something different. In no time at all you will start having things bunkered.

[Luna56]

Much good advice here.

Don't be afraid to stick with one bourbon for awhile. It takes more than a pour to really get to know a bourbon well. Perhaps you'll find, as I did, that your comparisons will be much more informed. But, what the hey, overthinking it can be fun sometimes too. Bourbon is a deep subject.

The main idea is to enjoy every pour however you wish to.

Cheers!

[spinningrecords]

If I could do it over again, I'd focus first on $25-50 single barrels to get my bearings. And I'd follow the above advice about working your way up in proof over an evening.

[sailor22]

All the above is good advice. Taking your time and drinking lots of water during comparative tastings is a good idea too. Tasting with a friend is more fun than tasting alone.

[savagehenry]

Thanks for all of the advice. All is well with my palate now.

[Bourbon Boiler]

I'd recomend finding one or two moderately priced bourbons you really like as a go-to. Have those a few times a week (depending on your drinking schedule). The problem with trying too many too fast is that you lose any reference points. If you have a couple of established tastes, you can immediately find what makes a new pour different, then decide if different is better, worse, or just different.