BOTM, 1/07: Old Grand Dad BIB

[upstate]

Does anyone know the age of OGD BIB? Maybe a guess?

[cowdery]

All one can say for sure is that all of the OGD bottlings are at least four years old, because they don't carry an age statement. However, OGD has historically been considered a "premium" brand, so I would venture a guess that it is 5 to 6 years old.

[Jazzhead]

I don't have a bottle of the BIB at the moment but my mental recollection of it's taste is exactly what TNBourbon described - orange peel.

[snakster]

Thanks to the handy dandy search function and the acronym list posted in October, I have learned what BIB stands for. Is this indicated on the bottle label? I'm not sure if this is available in PA but I'm willing to look if I knew what to look for. Thanks.

[BourbonJoe]

It is available in PA. Just look for Old Grandad 100 Proof.
Joe

[cowdery]

In most, but not all, cases a 100 proof whiskey is BIB, but in all cases a BIB whiskey is 100 proof. Definitely in the case of Old Grand-Dad the 100 proof expression is BIB and says so on the label. Actually, it says "Bonded" but that's the same thing.

[TBoner]

Does anyone know the age of OGD BIB? Maybe a guess?

I've recently picked up assorted older bottlings of OGD BIB. A bottle from 1976 was six years old when bottled, a bottle from 1988 was eight years old (due, I guess, to the "glut" of whiskey at that time). I may have to line these two bottles up with a current issue to see if I can detect more or less woodiness in any of them.

Based just on tasting the current bottlings, I'd guess it's at least six years old.

All I know is, when I see OGD BIB, I buy it (thanks, Chuck!).

[snakster]

Picked up a bottle for poker night on saturday. I thought it was pretty good (here comes the amateur opinion....). I picked it up for 17.99 here in PA. My impression is that it is something that I would not necessarilly rush to drink neat, but it was a nice drink to sip on with ice while playing some cards. There was some good full flavor to it, but I don't see myself picking it up again over Buffalo Trace for 19.99 (39.99 for 1.75L).

All in all I would give it a 7 on my personal scale which is really indicative of nothing tangible except for my personal tastes. I didn't get a lot of feedback from the other drinker at my table, but I didn't hear any complaints.

As an aside, I think I will enjoy this bottle of the month section. It should really open me up to trying new bottles instead of sticking to the 'usual' all the time. Thanks.

[OscarV]

My impression is that it is something that I would not necessarilly rush to drink neat,

A little farther down the road try it neat,... i.e. after you are more familier with it.
You will be suprised.

[TBoner]

Enjoying a pour of this in a snifter to bid it farewell as BOTM.

The nose tonight seems to be orange zest and cinnamon, maybe some just-burnt pie crust. Oddly, the first taste is sweet, but then my tongue begins to prickle and the spices - cinnamon and clove, but also pepper and possibly anise - rush across the palate. Caramel is there, hiding, but coating the tongue. Earlier in the thread, we discussed apple pie. I am reminded right now of the deeply caramelized edges of a pie crust where juice from the apple filling has bubbled out and browned: the spices are swallowed up in sugar and heat.
The middle is long and lively, the finish abrupt: the aforementioned sweetness and the faintest touch of char are quickly snuffed out by a vague numbing of the tongue such as cloves will accomplish. Another sip is required immediately.

For whatever reason, a good deal of OGD 86 and BIB from the ND era is available in this area, and I have been buying it up (and rightly so, from what I've tasted), but tonight I poured from a Beam bottling (2003), and this is still a terrific whiskey. Every time I've poured it, it has been different, yet the constants - spice from the rye, deep caramel richness in the middle, and a total lack of pretense - remain.

To finish off this pour, I may have to pull out a chocolate bar: bittersweet dark chocolate with orange and spices.

Head of the Bourbon Family, indeed.