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was out to dinner last night with my wife and had a 2oz pour of EHT SmB. Wanted to try the restaurants BT pick, but they sold out the day prior.

JDSBBP Rye is absolutely phenomenal. I just finished one and it is becoming my favorite rye period, and as a rye fanatic, I've had/have a ton of em. I enjoyed it best with a decent sized cube as they can come in hot but find that sweet spot and its rye nirvana, glad I have multiples and I plan to add more.

I hit a couple of VA ABC stores on the way down to visit family in Va Beach. Yeah, I suck at the whole "not buying" thing but,(in my defense),the rye, the OESK, and the WTRB are restocks, and I haven't seen the VOB100 in forever ..

Man! 21-years is a VERY Long time to rest in an oak barrel. I assume, given the single story warehouses, and care traditionally given by 4-R to anything expected to age beyond 10-or-12-years that it won't be toooooo oaky; but, man, that is OOOOOLD!

At barrel strength as well.

Thanks for the tip. I am going to give a run at the rye. Never had any of those before I don't think.

James Pepper, MM CS, Nashville Barrel. Yum....

The Single Barrel Barrel Proof offerings can be outstanding, both the bourbon and, especially, the rye. And, the 12yr 107 proof is great, as well.

LOVE those "F" yeast recipes!!

Seeing this SBotM early this month reminded me of a couple things: 1) What a lovely iteration of JD's best distillate this brand can be (and almost always IS!); and, 2) That I have a couple open bottles of it that have wanted my attention for a while. Yesterday, when we were "locked out" of our volunteer stewardship efforts (a downed tree across the access road), I began remedying that situation with the lowest-fill one of the two open ones. It's still nearly half-full; but, I'm working on it. ...A labor of love for sure!

Finished off a great bottle last night with a few friends.

I also like the Chattanooga offerings, MGP is always solid, and JD is as good as it gets

Personally I have never really been into Jack, but I did enjoy one of the Single Barrels a handful of years back. What would you say is among the highest quality stuff they produce?

OESF sunset pour.

Another decent Lone Elm. A honey finished wheat whiskey. Enjoying this one…

Blanton's barrel pick in the glass....

To me, it’s clearly Jack Daniel’s for me. There is no Kentucky distiller that is “better” than them.

The A. Smith Bowman is my white whale . The John J is a staple in our house. So much so that we have a decanter specifically for it. I managed to get my hands on a rare barrel pick of it last year. It's outstanding.

Took a couple smoke breaks between sweat sessions in the garden. The barn isn't much cooler, but I can get a pretty good cross-breeze with the right doors open and the fan going...

I really like this stuff.

Not to start an argument but George Dickel and Jack Daniel's come to mind. Then, of course, there's MGP. Three great producers from outside Kentucky.

Been developing a relationship at a new (to me) store this year. Owner got a Russell's SiB pick around new years. I bought one, then another, then bought a case. Told her back in ~April that I was 100% a Turkey fan now thanks to her and that barrel. Today I get a message out of the blue that she's got something for me. Walked in during lunch and she hands me this for $169, which I think is below MSRP. Turns out good relationships with store owners isn't dead after all!

Yeah...we've been to a ton of distilleries and done a few "elevated" experiences so on our next visit, we'll pick and choose carefully to avoid that kind of stuff. We're taking a short trip to Nashville this December and we're checking JD distillery off the bucket list...

Thankfully I too visited the majors many years prior to the recent craze that results in lines and overflowing parking lots. Quality distillery experiences are available but you need to look a layer or 2 deeper. many of the upstarts have now been around long enough to learn their craft and become good at it. Chattanooga, Old Dominick and Liepers Fork in TN, all cool experiences with quality whiskey to match. In KY, I've never had an issue at Wilderness Trace and I've been going there since their stuff turned just 4 yrs old, no hoards of people, just a good old fashioned distillery experience like it used to be. New Riff, again a very nice experience with loads of distillery exclusives and no lines. Many of these spots are more affordable than what the big legacy places charge as well. Copper & Kings in Louisville if you want to explore brandy ( and they did a killer bourbon sourced from HH&Barton as well). Starlight, 20 min from Louisville was another pleasant stop, its been a couple of years but I've no reason to expect much has changed. There are good experiences to be had and Its been fun to seek them out.