Economical Bourbon Consumption

[bobbyc]

How many drinks do we have a week? And we drink what? ( as good as we can stand no doubt) I personally had a touch of Wathens today. Can it get any better?

I would like to propose that we try something here , I realize we try to set the bar high , but let's go low one time. I am going to break a seal on a bottle of Ten High and that is going to be my everyday pour for a while. I'm going to drink Ten High, I'll fantasize that it's Blanton's , I'll pretend it's Wathen's, I'll delude myself into believing that I am drinking the finest bourbon that has poured forth from the copper and oak! How long will it last? Who Knows? Any takers? Better than Birthday Bourbon!

I'll let you know when I start, and how long it lasts. I'm thinking of my OFBB ,Wathens ,Eagle Rare SB Weller 19, OF86, Knob Creek and ORVW107 10year It's already starting to look like a bad idea!

[jeff]

Here here! A toast to Bobby's frugalness! It might make it a little easier if you pour your Ten High into an empty Blanton's or Wathen's bottle.

[submarine]

Not knowing anything about Ten High I did a search and came up with this quote:

"For what it's worth, I like the regular Ten High but find it rather thin. Unusually so, in fact. I think every other bourbon I've ever tried had a "fuller" or "richer" flavor than Ten High.

doug"

Are you sure you picked the right control bourbon for your test?

John F

[hollywood]

All, I'm afraid my imagination is not THAT good. However, I'll just drink some OF, OC, or WT as an everyday pour, and still KNOW that I'm drinking a quality bourbon Even though we've discussed it extensively, there are still many quality bourbons out there that are affordable without the Single Barrel price! Don't get me wrong, I love the Single Barrel stuff enough to buy it regularly, and still have a decent collection with these exclusive, but again to be honest the pours I mentioned earlier are nothing to "stick my nose up at"! Cheers! See ya, H'wood

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

[bobbyc]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />

Are you sure you picked the right control bourbon for your test?

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

Come in Dr. Whilps! It seems our friend Bobby here is just a tad bit delusional. Can you help him? Please say yes! Now calm down Bobby. This is only going to hurt a little bit. < Psst... Is the seringe ready???> Thorizne Shuffle one three > > Hut..Hut..Hike! Mmmmmmmmmm....my name Jose Hemanes.

[rwilps]

I have arrived. What have we here...poor skin tone, mood agitated, labile affect.

Delusions and clouded reality-testing...Wait a minute, let me get a bit closer to him...Ladies and gentlemen, please note the fishy, seaweed odor of the patient's breath, the way his pronunciation of "r" is blurred, and his compulsion to take off his trousers and pull on a skirt...Someone has slipped sc***h into this poor soul's Ten High bottle! Grand Rounds are now concluded.

Dr. Wilps

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

DAMITALLTOHELL! Thanks Raplh! I just knew that the evil sc**th was to blame! Bobby put down that seemingly innocent bottle of Ten High - now pick up that bottle of Kentucky Spirit and repeat after me - "There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home." That's right Bobby just lay back and go to sleep now. Auntie Em - quick take the bottle of Ten High away from him and HIT him with it! Maybe then he'll remember that Kentucky Spirit is the best quality-to-price ratio on the planet! DUH!

[brendaj]

There is in fact, no place like home. Dorothy and Toto are on the front plate of my car. Howeva, when bobbyc saaid:

<snip>

In reply to:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Are you sure you picked the right control bourbon for your test?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, Beam White came to mind , also Old Crow and Cabin Still. Out of all that I think Ten High is an Honest 6 dollar Bourbon. For some reason Beam White isn't a very economical choice , depending on where one buys it , it can be as high as 14 dollars . That's in the good old " Bourbon? We love it!" State of Kentucky!

I believe my first drink will be Wathens/Ten High

I do have an empty Woodford bottle.

Bobby Cox

</snip>

His test referred to an 'everyday pour.' In Kentucky, we all pretty much drink Bourbon. And Bourbon drinking friends tend to hang together. This calls for copious amounts of Bourbon. Therefore, our definition of Everyday Pour may be a tad different from your's. What we mean by 'everyday pour' is the bottle we (set)sit on the table, available to damnear anyone that walks thru our door. Now, considering that everyone has a few friends, more money, more friends, blah, blah. Expontentially speaking...that's ALOT of Bourbon.

Most of my friends that really drink Bourbon arrive with their own bottle. However, there are ususally several other people in tow. At least 50% of them will mix. There we have our variable.

I completely understand bobbyec's research. Someone mentioned Ten High's thin taste, perhaps rightly so. That's been said of Evan Williams as well. EW is however, what I keep on the cabinet as an 'everyday pour' . I dun go 'breathless' when people mix it.

We're exploring the 'by the bottle' reasonably priced stuff here.

Later,

Beej

[bobbyc]

Damn with the good doctor ,and Linn attending , I'm afraid the cure is worse than the Illness!

Thanks Beej for clearing some of it up!

Rick just dropped by , for those at the cookout he was tending the grills for a bit. ( Still talks about Jim Butler giving him a Straight Bourbon Shirt) And before I set off on this course I've set. He and I had a few drinks. 19 Weller, 10 YO Single Barrel Eagle Rare, And everybody's favorite Old Forester Birthday Bourbon!

I'm in search of an economical alternative to those 30 dollar and plus offerings . One that I'll be proud to offer such a sophisticated group as yourselves at Next years cookout! Hell I'll buy so much of it they do a custom label just for me........Amelia? I thought you were the nurse! HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[hollywood]

I don't know!? Ten High is an awful bad hand in poker! It can't be much better of a bourbon! H'wood (The comedian)

[bobbyc]

Beej Said:

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />

Most of my friends that really drink Bourbon arrive with their own bottle. /

Why do I think the rest of this , had you written it goes like; "Or they aren't my friends for long!"

Sorry Beej , I know that you are too kind hearted to say it , so I'll say it for you!

Of course you could take the high road , Blast me for being so callous, remind every one here that Bobby said it, not you.....Yeah Yeah right , go ahead the path is clear!

[brendaj]

<snip>

Blast me for being so callous, remind every one here that Bobby said it, not you.....Yeah Yeah right , go ahead the path is clear!

</snip>

Why Bobby, I would neva, eva blast you for such a thing. You sir, are a gentleman and a scholar. Plus, you can read me like a book...

Beej

[bobbyc]

Well I guess " Cooler Heads will Prevail" I'm sort of back to reality. My fascination with Stagg while probably a never ending one , has subsided for a while . I haven't got out the Ten High yet, But an economical choice( $10 something) is what I'm partaking of this evening. I am enjoying it immensly. Yellow Label 4 Roses. Only 80 proof but a fine drink for the price. One certainly doesn't have to be concerned that you're drinking yourself into financial oblivion with this one! My inspiration for this is that the 4 Roses Single Barrel bottling line will be firing up next week. A run of a few less than 12,000 bottles , all destined for France or Japan. I was told something interesting about it. The Single Barrel only wieghs in around 86 proof so it's not that much stronger than 80. By someone who knows , If you bought the Yellow Label for 10 and the SB for 50. You would be dissappointed . The difference doesn't justify the increased price.Of course we'll never know. I might drive out a tank of gas looking for Stagg but I sure as hell ain't going to Japan or France for their Bourbon. And they don't sell it here.

[pepcycle]

Bobby,

I'm tailgating at a UK football game and we've just lost in the last two seconds. I blurt out that what I really need to console my spirit is a shot of Four Roses Single Barrel, like we sampled at the Bourbon Festival Gala. The gentleman next to me says he's got a bottle sitting at his house. My wife tells him how she loves the bottle, so he gives it to her. Its sitting on a dresser next to two Four Roses glasses and she won't let me touch it. How do I get it??? Any Suggestions!!!

[bobbyc]

This is easy, If she hasn't tasted it yet , find something of a similiar shade of amber and switch it out. Be sure that if you put the good stuff in an Old Crow bottle you secure it so it doesn't end up in the punch or something. If she has tasted some, you will have to let a little time pass , to do the change up. Could you bribe her with Stagg or Birthday Bourbon? Here comes the bad part, if she is a very sophisticated, and discriminating Bourbon drinker, ( Why do I begin to feel that this may really be the case?) It will be an uphill battle. She will know that YOU put Woodford Reserve or Knob Creek in that bottle.

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

Gentlemen you haven't a clue how to handle your wives. It's very simple. SPANK THEM! Spank them hard! Then LOVE them hard. That's all it takes. If you can't do that it is because you've been drinkin' 'UnAmerican Whiskey'. Never;ever drink that crappy assed shit. Do spank your wives and girlfriends. Make them give you what you want. Never take 'NO' for an answer. Stand on your own three feet!

[texascarl]

Thought I'd bring this one back up to the top. Since I've been laid off a while I can testify that there's something to be said for economy. Luckily I still have quite a collection of bourbon, I'm not forced to do without when a celebration is called for. But I won't be replenishing many of the 'top shelf' bottles for a while, they've got to last me. With that in mind a reasonably priced, decent everyday pour sounds like a grand idea.

I was dusting the bourbon shelves today and realized the bottom shelf held half of a 1.75L of 90 proof Evan Williams 7 yr, an almost full 1.75 of Ten High that I got on sale, tasted and put down on the bottom shelf 'for later' and I had an open bottle of Old Charter 8 yr. I also had several empty Knob Creek bottles, labels removed, cleaned and ready to put to use (I save various bottles because I like the shape, and eventually refill 'em with vinegar, liqueurs, whatever. I particularly like these Knob Creek flasks).

I mixed the EW 7, Ten High and OC 8 together, tasted, decided it was still a bit thin so I opened & added a fifth of Ezra Brooks 90 to the mix. The 'corny sweet' EB 90 brought the body up, so I decided to quit and leave well enough alone. I refilled 6 of the empty Knob Creek flasks to the top, recorked myself a little over a gallon of home-vatted bourbon.

I won't tell you this is the best whiskey I ever drank, but it's not half bad, the Ezra/Evan 7/Old Charter 8 gave lots more body to the rather thin Ten High. And it's ABPF. Already been paid for. Bingo, a decent ABPF everyday pour.

I never seemed to reach for those 1.75 jugs on the bottom shelf, just too much trouble to pour from the 1.75 jug into a shotglass. So they sat for a year or so. But these ABPF flasks will sure get put to use. And with all these bottles recycled and/or used up, there's room for more bourbon when the paychex start up again.

[Gillman]

As a fan of intelligent blending, I say, well-done. I'd advise adding at some point a measure of straight rye (e.g. Old Overholt), to give a little more depth and flavour, but it sounds like you've done very well as it is. The Ten High alone might be a little light but would marry well with the EW and EB whiskeys which are rich and corn-oriented but might lack complexity taken alone in their turn. The idea to blend straight bourbons ("a blend of straight whiskies" used to be a sign of quality on a whiskey label) makes sense, to bring out the best of each product. A good shot of any straight rye would I think be a perfect "top dressing" (old Scottish blending term) for this blend, adding possibly depth and savour.

Cy

[Gillman]

Here is a blend of straight whiskeys I made recently (cocktail-style, making 4 ounces in total). I was attempting to duplicate the taste of Michter's as seen in Hirsch 16 years old. I followed Michael Jackson's information (1987) that the mash for Michter's was 50% corn, 38% rye and 12 percent barley malt. I took some Dickel, two ounces, added an ounce and a half of Lot 40 (the all-rye Canadian straight whisky) and a half ounce of Cape Breton Single Malt Whisky. The latter is an all-barley whisky made in Nova Scotia from unpeated malt. My proportions were not exact because the Dickel has some rye and barley malt too, but I was close enough. In the nose, the blend was similar to Michter's, it had that "flat" smell that I think comes from the barley malt. It tasted somewhat like Michter's too but was not of course the same. I asked a couple of people to blind-taste the two; each picked out the Michter's as better. So, I have some work to do. Still, I found the result interesting and enjoyable. (I am thinking now if I had used JD Single Barrel I'd have gotten closer to the smoky quality of Hirsch 16). Michter's of course mixed the grains in one mash and did not blend different whiskies. That alone would make a big difference, I guess. Still, I feel my approach is legitimate too - some Canadian distillers blend different straight whiskies into their ryes, e.g. they will add some corn (bourbon-type) whisky, maybe some all-barley whisky, etc. (Some still add rum, sherry, prune juice or other flavourings following practices originated over 100 years ago by the blending and rectifying establishments of the time. Such non-whisky additions seem however only to make sense when using in the blend neutral spirits or whisky distilled at over 160 proof).

My next plan is to make an 1800's rye whiskey. I will add 1 part of the Cape Breton (or any unpeated or low-peated Scotch single malt, e.g. Balvenie) to 4 parts of the Lot 40. As they used to say then, hey presto!

Cy

[texascarl]

Excellent idea. I had some Old Overholt sitting here with nothing to do, since I really prefer Wild Turkey Rye and the Van Winkle for my rye & ginger, Sazeracs, & Manhattans. I just poured out a 2 oz shot from each bottle of my ABPF blend and replaced it with Old Overholt. Divided ~ 6 oz of Wild Turkey 101 among the ABPF bottles as well & wound up with almost one more full bottle.

The rye & Turkey really perked up the blend. Thanks for the tip.

[Gillman]

Good work, glad the Overholt's helped, I commend you on your willingness to innovate!

Cy

[texascarl]

My ABPF blend is officially a big hit, I've given two bottles away to my bourbon-drinking cronies who've both pronouced it VERY tasty. Both declared it 'smooth and spicy' which isn't a bad thing in Bourbonic circles. They both also agreed that there's no way in the world to beat it @ $7 per 750ml. I'm going to quit showing it off now, tho', my stockpile is dwindling.

Since the first experiment was so much fun, yesterday I took an empty decanter, poured in 2 oz. of Wild Turkey 101 proof, 2 oz. of Old Forrester 100 proof. 3 oz of Knob Creek and 1 oz. of Wild Turkey Rye 101 proof. Now THATS a blend, the OF/KC/WT seem to complement each other well, with one's honey & one's spice bringing up the other's vanilla and that extra shot of high-proof rye spicing the mixture up. I prefer higher proof whiskey, so when the ABPF whiskey runs low, I think I'll replace it with this Wild Turkey 101/KC/OF 100/Wild Turkey Rye mix. I'm going to buy a 1.75 jug of WT101 on sale later this week to help provide insurance for the future.

[texascarl]

Quick update: I mingled another batch exactly as before, but I added 1.75L bottles of Wild Turkey 101, Old Forester 86, and Old Charter 10 yr/86 to the mixture. I gave away a lot of bottles of my blend over the holidays. It was an even bigger hit with my friends, several have asked me to give them bottles of this for their birthday, the 4th of July, Cinco de Mayo...whatever. "Just keep it coming" seems to be the general consensus.