Mcafee's Benchmark

[Enoch]

How is the McAfee's Benchmark in the round squatty bottle with a different label different and is it better/worse?

[squire]

Enoch my impressions are for the round bottle. If the square one is available locally I haven't noticed but then I haven't looked.

[kc outdoorsman]

I get Benchmark for $9.99 at Price Chopper in KC. I like it, although if I had my wish I would buy Buffalo Trace but that is twice the price

[ODaniel]

I had a little bit my friend had in a cup, on ice. It was from a glass bottle. Not terrible (like KY Tavern) but not even decent. For the price I guess you can't complain too much, but I'd probably get VOB 86 6yr instead. Pretty much the same price. Maybe $1 difference.

[tmckenzie]

Ky tavern bad? That is as close to very old barton you can get around here. I enjoy it. Mcafee is good too. I like the high priced stuff, but like I always say, you do not have to spend a lot to get a good bourbon.

[ebo]

I always have a bottle of Benchmark around. It's a very easy sipper when I just want something on the sweeter side. It's a good "sitting on the deck with my dogs" whiskey. :grin:

[Enoch]

I do not know what modern Benchmark taste like but I have several bottles from around 1980, 86 proof, Louisville and find it quite nice straight or over ice. It has a very sweet, caramel-like taste. It does not have McAfee on it. I may break down and get a new bottle to try.

[kc outdoorsman]

I would love to try OVB but we can't get it here. I am told its only available in Kentucky.

[StraightBoston]

I do not know what modern Benchmark taste like but I have several bottles from around 1980, 86 proof, Louisville and find it quite nice straight or over ice. It has a very sweet, caramel-like taste. It does not have McAfee on it. I may break down and get a new bottle to try.

Beware! Modern McAfee's Benchmark has no relationship whatsoever with the deliciousness of the "original" Benchmark -- different distillery, different mashbill, different positioning, etc.

I picked up a handle this weekend for $12 (!! -- after rebate). I got my money's worth -- the high-corn recipe and youth make it very sweet; the low proof makes it smooth. Much better than the 3-year-old Ancient Age (too harsh) and current Rebel Yell (too bland) but in general not something to seek out, and doesn't replace Four Roses Yellow as my summer sipper.

I'm going to do a couple blind tests later against Old Charter (same mashbill) and Ten High (same ilk) to decide where it lands on the QPR map.

[Dr. François]

When I go to Trader Joe's to buy wine (not 2BC), I look to see what reds have a lot of shelf space (more than three bottles wide) and are picked back at least three rows. Those wines tend to move, and, generally, people buying lots of one particular wine tend to have better taste than those people who buy wine based on the cute animal on the label. The wines don't always appeal to my tastes, but I can always see why people like them. Generally, though, they are very good.

Same thing goes for coffee sales, fish markets, and produce: turning over inventory is a good sign of a quality (or at least desirable) product.

When I was in Kentucky in the mega-stores, Benchmark was stacked deep and sold cheap. It reminded me of the canned bean section at ASDA, a British Wal-Mart subsidiary, where beans were stacked to the ceiling every day, only to disappear by closing time.

I won't say that Benchmark is a diamond-in-the-rough bourbon. Nor will I say that it necessarily appeals to my tastes. But Kentuckians seem to like it, and it's tough to argue with the French about wine, the Russians about caviar, the Swedes about meatballs, and Kentucky folk about bourbon. In the land where every imaginable bourbon is available, it seems to serve as the "table" bourbon for many.

[T Comp]

When I was in Kentucky in the mega-stores, Benchmark was stacked deep and sold cheap. It reminded me of the canned bean section at ASDA, a British Wal-Mart subsidiary, where beans were stacked to the ceiling every day, only to disappear by closing time.

I won't say that Benchmark is a diamond-in-the-rough bourbon. Nor will I say that it necessarily appeals to my tastes. But Kentuckians seem to like it, and it's tough to argue with the French about wine, the Russians about caviar, the Swedes about meatballs, and Kentucky folk about bourbon. In the land where every imaginable bourbon is available, it seems to serve as the "table" bourbon for many.

Well said Dr. Francois.