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I did a blind SBS with the 8yr vs the standard 101. I thought that the 8 year was a little better than the standard, but not $20.00 better. You like what you like....now go deliver some flowers!!

I wish you a speedy recovery.

The rockets are designed and put together in Huntsville, taken South and launched from Cape Canaveral. "Rocket City" nickname goes back to maybe early 1950s.

I find that I like regular Bulliet more then the BiB.

Is this bottle badly misshapen, or is it just distortion from the lens I'm seeing??? I loox like it's "stretched" out on the right side just below the neck. ...To me, anyway.

I love the single barrel cask strength bottles. Some stores buy single barrels and have a store pick and that is the best way to go, IMO. For a non age statement single malt, the single barrels are expensive. Not saying they are not worth it, but they are pricey. If price is no object, the Vinho Barrique is amazing as is the Moscatted Sherry. I find the Fino Sherry to be a little more subtle, but still delicious. The Moscatted Sherry and the Vinho Barrique are unique and also delicious. I am not saying Kavalan does not do a mean Fino Sherry, but I like the richness of the Moscatted and the Vinho. The Moscatted is sweeter and the Vinho is rich and a great wine essence. Of course, you cannot go wrong with the bourbon cask. Rich and dense in both flavor and mouth feel. I will have to revisit my bottle, but I had a store pick at a restaurant recently, and wow, I forgot how good it is. I tend to go for more wine, sherry, port, etc. casks and my collection is 2/1 these types of casks to bourbon cask. However, when done right, a bourbon cask can be amazing and definitely has great notes of vanilla and oak, often with floral notes and the malt usually really shines through in these. My dream bottle of Kavalan is the single cask PX cask. Not spending $650+ on a bottle at this point. Again, probably incredible, but that's steep. That is especially pricey when I can get a store pick or independent bottling that is excellent for 1/5 the price or less. Given that I am running out of room for bottles, I might want to consider getting pricier bottles over several bottles, but I do not know if I can justify that to myself. We will see. I am not a fan of the concertmaster series but have not had them in years. They are 40% and light, if I recall. They also have a bourbon oak, sherry oak, and port oak, that are 43-46%. Those, from the description, seem like less potent versions of the single barrels. I see they also released a 3 Sherry at a lower ABV as well. Bottom Line: Cannot go wrong with the cask strength single barrel series. These are a both amazing single malts and great representations of what Kavalan can do. However, if price is a factor, and you cannot find a store pick to reduce costs, I would try the bourbon oak or port oak and maybe the sherry oak. For what's worth, I have never had their peated expression, but it sounds good, if you can find it. That is probably up your alley if I recall some of the bottles you like. Whatever you choose, make sure to report back and let us know what you think!

Add OGD BiB to the "prefered" list.

Thanks Clueby for your response. I totally respect that flavor is 100% objective, ... so absolutely no "judging" is tolerated here in this conversation IMO. Personally, I found the Bulleit Bonded to be, yes, a bit "muted" in flavor but otherwise quite interesting,... and having a nice "nutty" forward flavor that I found quite interesting and pleasing that kept me engaged more than most bourbons, anyway. I admit that "nuttiness" as a flavor note doesn't bother me, as I've also been a fan of many Heaven Hill and Beam premium offerings. In summary, I guess I don't expect much more from a straight bourbon priced at $45 than what this 7 year old Bulleit bourbon delivers.

Lmao. Okay, Groucho!

Bommers are from Oklahoma. Jus' sayin'.

Lol. My wife is an engineer (but not a whiskey fan, unfortunately). Nevertheless, I guess I should have approached her to interpret this. Haha

I guess any flock that WOULD have me, I wouldn't want to be part of.

Boomer here, but just barely. Engineer humor

No, sorry, .... your application to The Flock is hereby rejected

Best answer I can give is...flavor. I just didn't like it. More precisely..I didn't prefer it. Could have been the night or the other things I tried against. Maybe I'll give it a second chance but first try it was just not my thing.

The above mentioned recommendations are spot-on. There's a ton to see and do. The grounds at WR & MM are gorgeous. We've been twice, (2017 & 2019) and toured a lot of distilleries, both on our own & with a tour company (Mint Julep Tours). Randomly.....if they still offer it, the Hard Hat tour at BT is really good. We were pleasantly surprised by Beam. The elevated tastings at the HH visitors center was fun. BBC has a fantastic restaurant, try to eat lunch there. We also did a "behind the scenes" tour at Churchill Downs. My #1 piece of advice is to book any tours ASAP!

I ain't had one of these open in quite a while. The carnation asked if it could be included in the shot, to ensure "thematic cohesion." I agreed but didn't let on that I had no idea what that meant. Even the flowers around here are smarter than me (I).

Lol. Then why couldn't he just say "the state of Alabama"? Generation Z, I can only assume Lol ....

Sounds great. I've never had a Kavalan personally but I've been impressed by feedback from others that I respect. Any specific Kavalan that you would recommend as a first bottle?

Lmao. He is in Huntsville, AL.

Picked up the Kicking Chicken btl the other day( WT 101 ) and poured a glass tonight. First time in prolly a couple yrs since I have had it. I have never been a BIG fan of the 101. I have prefered OF 100, 4R SiB, KC 100,.... all for about the same price( ok, 4R SiB is 10+$ more, not a fair price comparison) . They all have satisfied my taste buddies on multiple levels where 101 has not. And tonight, same as before, not really impressed. It is NOT horrible but just not captivating in any way for me. I really was hoping it would be close to the 8yr or even the 70th btls, but it is not close for me. Those other 2 btls are head and shoulders above this 101. I can't make sense of this. I really love RRSiB, WTKS and Rare Breed. I really enjoyed the 70th and do enjoy the 8yr. I just don't see the hype of the 101. May I still be a member of the flock? Or am I stuck delivering flowers with the herd?

Stay safe!

Not a Scotch, but a wonderful single malt from one of my favorite distilleries, Kavalan, from Taiwan. I have cask strength single barrels from them that are Bourbon Cask, Fino Sherry, Moscatted Sherry, and Vinho Barrique. Now I have another, a single barrel, 9yr, cask strength (59.4% ABV), Kavalan "Port Cask," selected for a local whiskey society. I might post a picture of the bottle (green label) at some point, but what an amazing find. I tried it the other night after but after another dense and rich bottle I picked up - which I will talk about in another post. It was good, but I did not get all the nuances. I let it open up for a few days and tried it again tonight. Really nice pour and just what I like in a single malt. It is rich and dense (when I twirled it in my Glencairn, it took forever for the droplets to drip down the sides of the glass) and with rich malt and deep grape and (some) raisin fruit flavor. The smell is fruit forward but the palate is a deeper flavor profile than what the palate lets on. It is not as "dark" and fig/date like as some sherry casks, but the port flavor is rich and pronounced and really nice. As with my most Kavalan's, it drinks smooth and does not feel like almost 60% ABV. What a unique and great bottle. I initially gave it 8.75/10 but think that could move up as it opens up a little more with time.