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Do you prefer smooth or rich (you can have both) and, I assume from other things you appear to drink, cask strength okay. What is your price range? I would recommend a sherry cask finish and also a bourbon cask aged single malt to try. I love both, but I'd be curious to see what your preferences are. For readily available sherry casks: Macallan 12 (not cask strength), the Glendronach Cask Strength (Batch 10 and 11 are out now I think), or the Aberlour A'bunadh Sherry Cask. For Bourbon Cask: Aberlour A'bunadh Alba Bourbon Cask (which is cask strength) is a great place to start. There are also many independent bottlers that bottle amazing single malts, but hard to recommend one bottle since they are often single barrels. I do like Blackadder and Single Cask Nation as well as many other independent bottlers. I can discuss this more if you are interested.

I did know that, but I get your point. When the products we consume are all made by multinational corporations, the same company can produce both the brands I love and the brands that rub me the wrong way. While I have nothing against BT's bourbons other than the artificial shortages they inspire, I will say that the stuff coming out of Sazerac's Bardstown distillery is singularly delicious. So count my protest as ultimately silly; I'm not about to stop giving Saz my money

Isn't that always the way? How many times I went in for Sagamore Rye or Widow Jane and left with neither but picked up a harder to find offering instead. Back to your point about Old Forester Statesman, it's very easy to find here, but many are soft on it. I tried it in a bar a few weeks back. It was a lighter bourbon for sure, but at its price point, it would be worth adding to my collection.

I sipped this last night. I was hearing quite a few who were cool on McKenna. I had not sipped it in a while, so I thought why not as I was watching the hockey game. I picked up a smokey flavor which I had not recalled the first time. At +/- $55 it is worth it to me. I recall finding it well over a year ago and I think I paid double that.

I could not agree more. I found many bottles on the shelf of my local total wine last month. I was shocked, I paid just under $60 for this and thought to myself, it’s still a bargain at this price given what the secondary market has these prices at. That aside, I remember when it was $40 not too long ago. Then just this weekend, I was at a specs in another part of town. They had 37 cases on hand.

Great value in bourbon.

How is it? I have been thinking about this one for a while.

Great picture. Love what you did with the cork

One of my favorites. The 14 year is also very good

A bottle of the 13 year arrived this week. I plan to open mine this weekend. I haven’t seen the other bottle before. What is different about it?

I am still looking for this. Found the barrel proof variety which was quite good

Nice Pic!!!! Fine composition, elegant decanter, great depth of color, neutral background... not to mention fine choice of subject(s)!!! Good On Ya', Thomm!!!

JW Dant in the glass last night from a KY trip a few years back. Nice sipping HH BIB goodness.

You know that Sazerac owns BT and Barton, right?

Gramps retains his rightful and well-earned place in the best chair in the house. Why don't they put this stuff in a handle?

I would welcome any suggestions. Thank you in advance

No, many are not peated. I usually prefer unpeated scotch/single malts. Bourbon cask can be amazing, but I have a lot of sherry/port/wine cask stuff. Unpeated and cask strength single malts can be great for bourbon drinkers, especially those who do not like peat. They can be rich and flavorful and take on a lot from the casks they are aged in and/or finished in. If you want some suggestions, just ask.

Nice post. I too, am a Lou’s fan. I’ve been regularly traveling 4-6 times per year to Chicago for the past 36 years. I can count on one hand where at least one meal during a trip wasn’t at Lou’s. Mostly Elk Gove Village location, but some Schaumburg. Love it. Wish we had one here, in Atlanta. Regardless, lots of good pizza joints in Chicago, like Giordano’s. Interestingly, we have a Nancy’s here, though I haven’t been to it or those in Chicago. For Hot Dogs, I enjoy Portillo’s when I’m on my own in Chicago, and just want to zip in and zip out. When I’m with my boss, we typically hit one of the local joints. Teddy’s Red Hots in Darien is a favorite. So much great food in Chicago.

I certainly have noticed better availability of certain bourbons in my area that had been missing from shelves for extended periods. Great to see. I almost get giddy when I see BT, ER, and others almost every week somewhere in my monger circuit, which previously had been obtainable for so long.

I visited a Wegman's yesterday with the intention of picking up an Old Forester Stateman, but left instead with a Johnny Walker Swing. Nice to know that superb blend is still around. In addition to the nifty swingin' bottle, it's got that easy-sipping sweet thing going with just a hint of smoke that makes it, IMO, the poor man's Johnny Walker Blue. Next time for the Statesman.

I have the Still Austin Cask Strength store pick from Total Wine, it was so so. Could be the variety. Uncle Nearest was recommended to me, maybe I try a sample first which won't be hard to find locally. Thank you for the feedback

Can't really say I'm a fan of Garrison Brothers,. The last bottle I had was very slow going. I even had trouble blending it to my taste. The Still Austin/Uncle Nearest blend is mainly about salvaging the Uncle Nearest, which reeks of youthful Dickel and needs some of the rye heft of the SA.

Sipping on McKenna Bottled in Bond as I type this. My variety is very good

Those BT products are, as always it seems, unobtainium in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Saz Rye is about the only BT product I see in any quantity around here. And the bottom line is I do not care. BT has used up its good will in this consumer's eyes, and there are better alternatives from Wild Turkey, Old Forester and, especially these days, Barton. Barton juice has improved so doggone much.

I prefer Garrison Brothers over Still Austin. That aside, the infinity mixture is intriguing