What to try next?

[P&J]

First off, let me say that my girlfriend and I have been watching your board the last few weeks and have really found it helpful. We are making the seasonal switch from lighter drinks (i.e. vodka) to our cool weather whiskey friends. The past few fall/winters we have been pretty exclusive Irish whiskey drinkers, but this year Bourbon has caught our fancy. And again, many thanks to this board for getting us rolling!

So, first off, tastes are very personal. What we may like others might eschew. That's cool. So, what do we like? First, we drink it all neat. A bottle of whatever in the freezer, sipped from a stoneware mug. We have gotten in the habbit with some of our bourbon tasting to drop a lone ice-cube in something we are struggling with just to see how it changes. One thing that is very important is "mouth feel". Our favorite vodka has become Monopolowa, a cheap little potato vodka with a delightful oilyness.

So, here's what we've tried... we are looking for recommendations of what you think should be on our wish list.

*Evan Williams Single Barrel - on our second bottle. First was a 96. We really liked this. It had the mouth feel we like. Second bottle was a 95; not quite the same, but still pretty good.
*Maker's Mark - not impressed. A little rough. Flavor was just "eh".
*Buffalo Trace - had to try it. Also a little rough, but liked the flavor.
*Knob Creek - whow! Nothing personal, but we'll save this for starting fires while camping.
*Eagle Rare SB - We went out to dinner last night and tried this. Yum! Great flavor. Our new favorite!... until......
*Elijah Craig 12yo - Our new, new favorite! We loved the complex flavors. Almost reminded both of us a cognac. We've read mixed reviews on here and were a little hesitant. Again, this was a bar pour and we didn't think to check the bottle. Loved the complexity (I said that already). Great sipping whiskey.
*Blanton's - We had to try it; this was supposed to be our treat. Funny thing though, it left us cool after ERSB and the EC12. It was "nice", but we liked the previous two better.

So, on out list is the EC18 and we are searching high and low for an Elmer T. Lee. Oh, and someone told my girlfriend we need to try Old Forester too. What other recommendations that might fit our unique tastes?

Ah, one recommendation from us for anyone interested in an Irish... Tyrconnell Single Malt!

[barturtle]

Welcome to the board. You have already had a great sampling of styles, which is really helpful in helping to figure out what you might like.

Of the Old Forester bottlings, you'll wanna try either the Birthday Bourbon or the 100proof/Signature.

ETL wil be good to find, as would a bottle of Rock Hill Farms.

You have yet to try Wild Turkey, I would suggest either the Russels Reserve or Rare Breed.

Also of interest is Old Grand Dad 114, I think it might have the oily thing you're looking for

Also try to get your hands on some straight rye whiskey, Wild Turkey and Rittenhouse BIB are two good ones, there are also some great well aged bottlings (Van Winkle, Sazerac, Mitchers)

If you like Irish, try the Redbreast.

[jburlowski]

I'd add any of the Van Winkle expressions, or a Weller --- 12 yo old or, if you can it, Centennial.

Keep searching for the ETL, it's worth it.

[OscarV]

.
*Knob Creek - whow! Nothing personal, but we'll save this for starting fires while camping.
*Eagle Rare SB - We went out to dinner last night and tried this. Yum! Great flavor. Our new favorite!... until......
*Elijah Craig 12yo - Our new, new favorite! We loved the complex flavors. Almost reminded both of us a cognac. We've read mixed reviews on here and were a little hesitant. Again, this was a bar pour and we didn't think to check the bottle. Loved the complexity (I said that already). Great sipping whiskey.


Ah, one recommendation from us for anyone interested in an Irish... Tyrconnell Single Malt!

I always reccomend Old Charter 12 year old to anyone who likes the sweetness of Eagle Rare, I am sure you will like that one, also in 10 yo. You will see why bourbon is sometimes called corn brandy.

I am suprised about your comment on Knob Creek. Try it again, neat immediatly after dinner.

Yes the Elijah Craig 12 yo is also to me like a cognac, one of the best values out there. But alot of people don't like it. (?!?)

I bought a bottle of Tyrconnell last winter, and my first reaction was, Oh my god, I wasted my money, I tried it again now I love it.

[TNbourbon]

Also missing from your 'tasted' list is anything from Four Roses, which can be a tough 'get' outside of Kentucky. Still, don't miss a chance to obtain the single-barrel or new small-batch, if available at some point.

[CrispyCritter]

Also, try some ryes, subject to availability, of course. (That's worth a rant in itself!)

Any one of these counts among my favorites.

Wild Turkey Rye (101 proof): spice cranked up to 11!
Rittenhouse BIB (100 proof): a bit sweeter, but still has a lot of rye tang.
Sazerac "Junior" (6yo, faceted bottle, 90 proof): falls between the Rittenhouse BIB and the WT.
Sazerac 18yo (90 proof, good luck finding it!): lots of depth to this, and it seems to change from sip to sip.
Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye (95.6 proof, also, good luck finding it!): definitely a peer of the Saz 18.

[P&J]

The girlfriend and I went out for another fine night of tasting! Yum!

First off, she wanted to try an Old Forester. They were out of the Birthday so, we got the "regular." We also were eager to try a rye, and of the three they had we went for the top and ordered a Pappy Van Winkle Family Resererve. The OF was ok. It didn't wow either of us, but considering the price I would have been happy with it. Ah, but then we tasted that rye... "Momma!" That was yummy! Paula pushed it to the back of the table and wouldn't let me touch it; she wanted to save it for the end. lol

Next was a Wild Turkey Russell's Reserve. We both really liked this a lot too. Not quite the complexity of flavors that we have enjoyed in the EC12, but it just felt so "alive" in the mouth. This one goes near the top of the list for me. A future purchase, for sure.

Last, we had a mix up in the order... we ordered a Wild Turkey Rare Breed SB, but they brought us an Eagle Rare SB instead. After the RR it tasted sweeter and more mapley - "smoother" - but it did reaffirm that it was definitely one that we both enjoyed.

Ah, and so then we got back to the PVW rye! What a beautiful dessert. This was so full of flavor. I need a bottle of rye at the house now. I literally had six different dreams last night where I tasted this and revelled. Wow! They had two other Rye's there: Michter's SB and Old Overholt. We'll have to try one of those sometime too.

I will try to get Paula on here to give her comments too.

Thank you to those of you that left your recommendations. More nights of tasting in the future. Some of the suggestions we haven't found yet, but we are working some angles still.

Jeff

[FlashPuppy]

Jeff-

What bar are you going to? That place has a great selection, and I need to put it on my list for the next cross country road trip.

[P&J]

Jeremy,

It is called Hickok's Steak and Brewery in downtown Springfield, MO. Their food is very good! They have 8 beers brewed onsite on their menu, but also:

25 Bourbons from JB to PVWFR23
3 Tennessee Whiskeys
3 Ryes
2 "Americans"
5 Canadians
9 Irishs
30 Scotches
... and that is just on the menu.
When we asked, they also checked to see if they could get Elmer T. Lee and Stranahan's for us (neither available in the area).

We really like going down there! It's worth a stop-in.

Jeff

[Nebraska]

Wow great place!