BOTM 1/11: J.T.S. Brown BIB

[Lucas Jackson]

Order came in!

I did not see an AS on the JTS BiB Bottle

I enjoy it very much, it has a nice balance.

I get the banana in VOB (90 for me) as well. very prominent in the nose. Ill have to try the VOB and JTS side by side as everyone seems to be comparing them =]

Poor JTS has to share the BOTM with VOB.

[sailor22]

Poor JTS has to share the BOTM with VOB.

Yeah, but Mr. Brown is a movie star and VOB isn't.

[MaltNut]

For me, young HH whiskey is defined by that sweet cream tea note on the nose. EWSB and EC are, I guess, old enough that that scent isn't present (or for that matter PH 27y and EW 23y.) 1783 is basically the same way, but I get just a hint of the sweet cream tea after a solid swallow.

JTS Brown BIB is for me a decent young HH whiskey with a great added nutty note that I don't get in ANY other HH whiskeys. I get that sweet cream tea note mostly, with a bit of corn, and an intermittent nuttiness after it sits for a while. That same nuttiness that I get in WTRB, but immediately on that beauty.

EW BIB has more corn on the nose and less sweet tea.

Old HH BIB is very similar, but a shade darker and a bit smoother.(How old is Old HH? My bottle doesn't say.)

HH BIB 6y - subdued sweet cream tea note, no corn, smoother, significantly darker.

HH 90 6y - same as the 6y BIB except that the dilution brings out corn, not on the nose, but on the palate.

Hirsch Small Batch Reserve - no corn, blast of that sweet cream tea.

Corner Creek Reserve - precisely the same as above, but at half the price (there is no question in my mind that this is HH whiskey)

The "36 month" HH 90 proof stuff we get here in Georgia is remarkably similar, with the occasional nuttiness removed, but that it just proof of the what HH can do with 3 years of aging. Same thing goes for EWB, though JTS BIB is just a bit sweeter, and HH 90 and EWB are just a bit smoother; almost certainly due to the proof.

Honestly I prefer this to say Four Roses Yellow Label, but that could just be the proof, and that FR Small Batch and Single Barrel don't fit my tastes either (they taste muddled to me, either because they are just more complex than I can address or because they are a bit muddled, I can't say --yet I love Bulleit, go figure)

I cannot argue that I find VOB 90 and 100 to be significantly better bourbon, and the 90 is much cheaper too, here in GA (I picked up my bottle of JTS BIB in KY), but every so often I get that young HH itch and it sure is nice to be able to scratch it.

Oh, and second post here, so nice to meet you.

[ggilbertva]

I don't have a BIB open at the moment but do have an 86pf open from 1986 (is that cheating?). Not sure who distilled back in the 80's but this particular bottle is very inviting; subtle bourbon flavors and a finish that's moderate to long. I find myself reaching for this more often than others as it's a very easy drinker, lots of nice bourbon flavors and satisfying each and every pour. This one surprised me as I picked it up on a whim during a dusty hunt. I would add more to the bunker if found.

[Barrel_Proof]

This is the first time the phrase "sweet cream tea" has been used on the board and I confess to having not a clue to what it means. Is it akin to the $1 sweet tea I see advertised at the junk food places? Do people add cream to that? Sounds as abominable as it must taste, if so.

For me, young HH whiskey is defined by that sweet cream tea note on the nose. EWSB and EC are, I guess, old enough that that scent isn't present (or for that matter PH 27y and EW 23y.) 1783 is basically the same way, but I get just a hint of the sweet cream tea after a solid swallow.

JTS Brown BIB is for me a decent young HH whiskey with a great added nutty note that I don't get in ANY other HH whiskeys. I get that sweet cream tea note mostly, with a bit of corn, and an intermittent nuttiness after it sits for a while. That same nuttiness that I get in WTRB, but immediately on that beauty.

EW BIB has more corn on the nose and less sweet tea.

Old HH BIB is very similar, but a shade darker and a bit smoother.(How old is Old HH? My bottle doesn't say.)

HH BIB 6y - subdued sweet cream tea note, no corn, smoother, significantly darker.

HH 90 6y - same as the 6y BIB except that the dilution brings out corn, not on the nose, but on the palate.

Hirsch Small Batch Reserve - no corn, blast of that sweet cream tea.

Corner Creek Reserve - precisely the same as above, but at half the price (there is no question in my mind that this is HH whiskey)

The "36 month" HH 90 proof stuff we get here in Georgia is remarkably similar, with the occasional nuttiness removed, but that it just proof of the what HH can do with 3 years of aging. Same thing goes for EWB, though JTS BIB is just a bit sweeter, and HH 90 and EWB are just a bit smoother; almost certainly due to the proof.

Honestly I prefer this to say Four Roses Yellow Label, but that could just be the proof, and that FR Small Batch and Single Barrel don't fit my tastes either (they taste muddled to me, either because they are just more complex than I can address or because they are a bit muddled, I can't say --yet I love Bulleit, go figure)

I cannot argue that I find VOB 90 and 100 to be significantly better bourbon, and the 90 is much cheaper too, here in GA (I picked up my bottle of JTS BIB in KY), but every so often I get that young HH itch and it sure is nice to be able to scratch it.

Oh, and second post here, so nice to meet you.

[MaltNut]

This is the first time the phrase "sweet cream tea" has been used on the board and I confess to having not a clue to what it means. Is it akin to the $1 sweet tea I see advertised at the junk food places? Do people add cream to that? Sounds as abominable as it must taste, if so.

I group them together, because it really kind of just rolls all together for me, rather than being separate and distinct sweet notes, and cream notes, and mild tea notes. Basically you have a a cream note, with just a hint of sweetness; just a hint, amped up a smidge by a light bit of integrated vanilla. The cream sometimes has just a bit of dried field corn that pops in and out. Then added to that a mild black tea note, like what you get when you pour cream into a cup of black tea, it brings down the "volume" on the nose and rounds it out at the same time.

This combination pops out to me in all HH whiskeys until they get old enough that it disappears, much like Beam's grain notes, or Old Forester's "blonde wood" notes. It is only just there in the 2001 EWSB, just as OF's "blonde wood" note in the 2000, and only on days that my nose is behaving itself.

[Lab Walker]

Not here in PA

[Josh]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cream_tea

In England, it refers to a dish of scones w/clotted cream served with hot tea. When I hear that discriptor, I think of the creaminess of the tea and the dry sweetness of the scones and the light tannic bitterness of a fairly week black tea.

All that said, I have never gotten it out of JTS Brown. I get it the most out of Blanton's.

[White Dog]

There is only one store in Wisconsin who special orders J.T.S Brown, and only the 80proof, so I can't get the BIB. It's just okay, low-grade HH. Some corn, some mint, some allspice. For $9.99, I can't complain.

It really kicks into gear, however, late at night while watching the Hustler.(Just got the DVD after having not seen it in years.) It's the only way to drink it.

[Chuckles]

Just found a JTSB BIB. Got it to have the funny label on the bar, and it turns out the bottle I bought has a crooked label (I should study these things while still in the store). I'm not a fan of the HH product, and fancy wheaters, so didn't expect to love this. Goes down kinda harshly (not necessarily a bad thing) and has a bit of an "off" finish (doesn't last long, though). I mostly sip and don't mix much, and this won't be a sipping whiskey I'll reach for very often. Tastes like cheap bourbon but wasn't very cheap--I paid $20 for the 750-ml bottle. IMHO there are many better bourbons in this price range.

[cowdery]

I'd probably feel that way at $20 too, but at the $8 I paid last time I bought it, JTS Brown BIB tastes great.

[Chuckles]

I'd probably feel that way at $20 too, but at the $8 I paid last time I bought it, JTS Brown BIB tastes great.

[Josh]

Burned by Binny.

[Chuckles]

$19.99 on the shelf, and with the fed/state/county/city taxes, more than $22 out the door. I'd never been to the famed South Loop Binny's, and was stuck on the ramp from the Stevenson to the northbound Ryan, heading for the Edens (if you know Chicago expressways), so took the Roosevelt exit to "flyover" to 90/94, and there was Binny's. So I stopped, and since I was there, had to buy something, and since they had no Pappy or anything else on my wish list.... Label is cool, though.

[Chuckles]

$19.99 on the shelf, and with the fed/state/county/city taxes, more than $22 out the door. I'd never been to the famed South Loop Binny's, and was stuck on the ramp from the Stevenson to the northbound Ryan, heading for the Edens (if you know Chicago expressways), so took the Roosevelt exit to "flyover" to 90/94, and there was Binny's. So I stopped, and since I was there, had to buy something, and since they had no Pappy or anything else on my wish list.... Label is cool, though.

Now I see it's "only" $16.99 at the Highland Park store. What gives, Binny?

[Tom G.]

For 10 bucks a bottle, it's a steal.  My buddy and I found in doing the bourbon trail, and it's now a staple.  Nothing flashy, but a solid pour.

[BMartin42]

Always have a bottle open on my basement bar close to the pool table. Sometimes like to take a swig right from the bottle before breaking just because I’m a movie geek like that.