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Finally, got the 4R Yella Label in the freezer. Finally, got a good hot and muggy day to open it up. Finally, got my yard work done, so sipping on this cold beauty while listening to Braves post game show on the radio.

Pulled this one out of the basement. Man it aged NICELY! It was bottled in December of 2016. Was cold aged in a basement fridge.

The EC can at times be very astringent and get that "sucking on a toothpick" taste. But since they are single barrels, when you find a good one they are very good. The batched KC18 is pretty consistent with that sweet oak smell and taste.

That make sense. Very cool that you have been doing so many barrel picks.

Still pouring from that bottle of OGD 114. Low-fill now, so I may as well kill it off. Maybe not today; but, next time I pour for sure. Prolly only about 3-decent pours left... or maybe two big-uns. Lovely Bourbon!

With the exception of the BiB, the 1792 always drinks a little hot to me, regardless of the type. Somehow, they seem to drink hotter than their proof. If I see another BiB, if it's reasonably priced, I'll buy it.

MGP rye Old Fashioned at home while watching some "rivalry weekend" baseball (Astros vs Rangers). This Indiana rye is from Smoke Wagon BiB rye that I bought 2 years ago during a momentary lapse of reason (its not bad but at $60 was way too expensive for what it is). No harm/no foul ... it's MGP rye so is very versatile and will be consumed one way or another, but mostly in cocktails.

I too think warehouse K produces some fantastic OFBSSB. I have only had 1 from I, but it was great as well. I never pass on a warehouse K if I come across one.

I recently had the opportunity to try both the KC 18 and the EC 18, not blind or side by side but, a pour of the EC following a pour of the KC. The KC was oaky but with delicious sweet oak. The EC was oaky but with an astringent finish that I did not like at all.

I have the Full Proof, Single Barrell Store Pick from Specs and Small Batch. They're okay. I would not run out and replace the Small Batch or Single Barrell. I would probably replace the Full Proof and Bottled in Bond

I really enjoy Dickel white label (was #12, is it called Signature, now?). But, I picked up the local Total Wine’s selection of the 80 proof 15 year, and hated it. It was atrocious. I think the selectors were simply looking for the driest and woodiest of woody notes as possible, during their selection process, and nothing else. Obviously though, some very nice bottles exist, as testified to, here.

It's my favorite iteration....

I was very pleasantly surprised when I got my hands on a bottle of the 1792 BiB.

“I know you said you understood what I said. But what you understood might not have been what I meant. Therefore, what I said might not have been understood the way I meant it.”

I was pondering this last night, and I began to wonder if I am underplaying the possible significance of this change in bottle size. So, I thunk some more, and decided to do the dangerous…apply my math skills…. Started off with the basics. Took off my shoes to make sure I had 10 toes to go along with my 10 fingers, as I expect the math to get deep for me. Here we go: A 750 ml bottle is equivalent to 25.36 oz A 700 ml bottle is equivalent to 23.7 oz If a standard pour is 1.5 oz: 750 yields just under 17 full pours 700 yields 15.8 pours (roughly, 1 less pour per bottle in comparison) To get 1 more pour out of my 700 ml bottle, I’d need to reduce my pour size down to 1.395oz, from 1.5 oz (1.395 X 17 = 23.715 oz) So, I’m seeing a reduction of ~0.1 oz per pour, which equals 2.96 ml, which is also equal to .6 tsp. So if I reduce my pours by ~1/2 tsp, I’m getting the same number of drinks from a bottle. Of course, my pour sizes are all over the place…So, I may get like, 8 pours per bottle… A visual is included below to show the actual difference. From left to right: 0.1 oz pour 1.5 oz pour 1.395 oz pour Therefore, I have concluded, that for myself only, I confirm my earlier opinion. My head hurts. I need a big pour…

If you are referring to Buffalo Trace, yes, things there are pretty much back to normal according to their website. FWIW, I contacted them yesterday to see if they were affected by the latest rounds of storms and tornadoes. The answer: “Thank you. All OK.” As far as other distilleries go, I really don’t know, but it goes to reason things are probably okay. For distillery/tour recommendations, it’s kinda like, “The only bad bourbon is the one you didn’t have.” Some are better than others, but all are good in one way or another. My two favorite distilleries are at the opposite ends of the spectrum. Maker’s Mark and Buffalo Trace. I like both for their bourbons and their distilleries. As mentioned by @Richnimrod and @smokinjoe, Maker’s Mark is great. It’s a bit out in the country, and it’s absolutely beautiful. Also and FWIW, it was my gateway bourbon. As for Buffalo Trace, while it does have some nice grounds, its a big industrial type complex. It’s also amazing in it’s own way. One word of advice. As somewhat mentioned by @Richnimrod, whatever your plans are, give yourself plenty of time. It’s very easy to get distracted at the distilleries and their gift shops. “Ooooh, bright shiny object.”

I've come to the same conclusion. Some of the bottles I saw, they wanted like $50-$60+ and not much age on it. That's the thing with NDPs buying sourced barrels - all the middle men want to get paid too. There are probably few truly bad Bourbons out there, but plenty that are arguably overpriced for what they are (particularly in the NDP/craft category).

I do have 6 Old Forester BPs open, but that's in part due to the fact that I helped pick 4 of them. I find that they have sufficient variation to keep them interesting - some lean into the banana cream flavors imparted by the Brown-Forman yeast, while others are heavier on the darker, barrel driven flavors. There are definitely Old Forester BP picks that run really hot, but we have been able to avoid any that I thought were too much. And the other picks I have were done by friends who tend to pick barrels I like. I'm hopefully picking one or two more barrels there later this year, so the number of opens will probably go up again lol. I haven't had a large enough sample size to say for sure, but it seems my preference is for barrels from the higher floors of Warehouses I and K. Unrelatedly, I noted an error in my list: the Jack Daniels rye picks are barrel proof, not the regular 94 proof.

The old forrester barrel strength rye was quite nice. I preferred it over the Whistle pig 10 year.

I have 2 bottles of old elk in my collection, the blended straight bourbon and the double wheat. I will add the island cigar cut when the price comes down under $100. That said, I enjoy some of their offerings. The Double Wheat is my favorite. If you can get these on sale, they may be worth it. That said, most varieties are approaching $100, and some (island cigar cut) are well over. At those prices, I think you can do better.

Are things starting to return to normal after the floods or is it too soon to say?

Indeed congratulations. The 14 year is the best bourbon/ whiskey I have ever tasted. I added the 10 year, batch 4 to my collection on Friday. It's adjacent to the 12 year, batch 2. The 12 year is my top bottle in my collection.

I found a bottle of 1792 Bottled in Bond yesterday at the same place I found the EH Taylor Barrel Proof. At the $50 price point, it was enjoyable. Now I am out searching for the sweet wheat and my 1792 collection will be complete.

I went for a bottle of Weller CYPB yesterday and came home with a bottle of EH Taylor Barrel Proof instead as the former was already gone. It's a very good bourbon. Glad I added it to my collection. Much more enjoyable than the small batch variety

a trusty stand by for me. At +/- $25, it is hard to beat