Which Grand-dad do you prefer?

[AaronWF]

And the winner is....

[LikeItWasSodaPop]

Hectic was kind enough to share these three Granddaddies (or at least their ilk) a couple weeks ago with AaronWF and me. I've been lucky enough to find a decent amount of the mid 80's OGD 86, and it was great as expected. The age stated BIB was fantastic. But the 114 was f'ing awesome -- by far my favorite. I'm sure the "wow" factor of trying it for the first time influenced me to some degree (I've never seen ND OGD 114 or even knew it existed).

The key to such gatherings is to have a VERY good friend who will drive you to the location, then carry you to the car after you've sufficiently imbibed, then put up with your half-asleep mumblings and drool production on the car ride home.

SB friends: you can't beat 'em.

Meanwhile ... I'm sampling some ND OGD 86 with the black wide screw cap. I got two from a shady shop on the south side and the first one started out NASTY. I found a weird white bug inside the screw cap. I'm sure that said bug couldn't have actually entered the whiskey given that the screw cap was, well, screwed and, as such, should have created a barrier of some sort. It seems this poor creature just liked hanging out inside this OGD screw cap. Perhaps he went there to die. But seeing this guy as I open the screw cap (he's kinda stuck in one of the crevices, deep in there) grosses me out. I should respect this bug, he spent his last days presumably inhaling ND OGD vapors. But the fact remains that the bugless one tastes great and the bug funeral home one tastes off. I'm going to flush him out with some water and hope some air time "fixes" this one.

Happy OGD drinking, all.

[jcg9779]

My son's everyday pour is Beam white label. One of mine is OGD 86. The other night, we did a direct comparison. I did not find them at all similar. We both preferred the OGD, hands down. Maybe I have convinced him to switch.

And this is just regular current OGD, straight from the store.

Tim

[VT Mike]

The BIB is my favorite of the three, but just slightly ahead of the 114.

I wrote a blog post comparing all three back in March

http://thewhiskeyroom.blogspot.com/2012/03/old-grand-dad.html

[T Comp]

Meanwhile ... I'm sampling some ND OGD 86 with the black wide screw cap. I got two from a shady shop on the south side and the first one started out NASTY. I found a weird white bug inside the screw cap. I'm sure that said bug couldn't have actually entered the whiskey given that the screw cap was, well, screwed and, as such, should have created a barrier of some sort. It seems this poor creature just liked hanging out inside this OGD screw cap. Perhaps he went there to die. But seeing this guy as I open the screw cap (he's kinda stuck in one of the crevices, deep in there) grosses me out. I should respect this bug, he spent his last days presumably inhaling ND OGD vapors. But the fact remains that the bugless one tastes great and the bug funeral home one tastes off. I'm going to flush him out with some water and hope some air time "fixes" this one.

That tops the roach that popped out of the Old Fitz cardboard box on me while in a similar type store and location several years ago. Scared the shit out of me and almost dropped the damn bottle. I have found some dead small bugs or spiders in other boxes too but never anything in the cap. Screw the air you probably need some lye to fix that one :grin:.

[Restaurant man]

The ND OGD 86 handles I've found were better than any Beam releases, IMHO.

That being said, I'm a 114 man. Love the stuff and it's $21.99 in my parts. Can't beat that.:cool: (My last couple bottles of BIB tasted a bit "new-makey" to me.)

FWIW, 114 is the only Beam product I'll spend my money on, unless I'm stuck in one of the many bars/restaurants that only stock Beam. :rolleyes:

As I said in a poorly stocked bar last Friday, "Gimme a Maker's neat, just so I can hate on it."

Like many I am a 114 man. Wish I was sitting next to you at the bar when u said that.. Would have laughed my a$$ off!

[JPBoston]

Well, in the year-plus since I started the thread, I've worked my way through several bottles of both.

I prefer the 114 to the BiB. The 114 has more depth of flavor and finishes a bit drier (in a good way). When I say more depth of flavor, I mean more burnt brownie, more cinnamon, and more oats and grain type flavors. I used to get a little orange oil but my newest bottle doesn't seem to have it.

The BiB is less complex but the rye comes through more strongly. Recent bottles seem more Beamey to me, too. In fact it reminds me more than a little of Beam rye (not a good thing, though I don't mind Beam rye as a rule). The finish is less elegant and less satisfying. I also get some weird perfumey notes if I add water or let it open up for a while. I think this may be related to what others are calling "white dog."

I should point out that even adjusted for proof the 114 still has the edge. I'd say that it drinks better at 90 proof than the BiB does uncut. That said, I prefer it neat. Finally, the 114 seems to open up my sinuses quickly when I have a cold. None of my other high proof bourbons work as well. So the 114 is my go-to cold medicine.

With all that said, I have to go out of my way to buy the 114, so sometimes I get the BiB out of convenience. The BiB makes for a very good mixer/house bourbon.

Thanks for the in-depth reply! Sorry you had to be the one to give the best answer to your own question a year later, though.

I got a bottle of OGD BiB for father's day (a bit early, wife gave it to me last night)... and my first pour was very good. I did get a hint of that Beam funk that you and others have mentioned, but for my dollar, OGD is miles ahead of JBB . Also in agreement that the rye spice dominates, but for me, that's a good thing. Buffalo Trace is one of my favorites, and OGD BiB is the first bourbon to really remind of BT. I must be a rye fan... I should get around to trying an actual Rye Whiskey one of these days, lol.

I'll keep the 114 on my short list as well... looking forward to comparing the two.