Poll: Top 5 Whiskeys

[Henry]

I remember when this board started up folks listed their favorite bourbons, but we haven't done it in a while so here goes. Please list, in order of preference, you're top five American whiskeys (bourbon and rye). I'm curious about whether any of the newer products (Sazerac, Weller 19, WT Russell's Reserve etc.) have become favorites.

[bourbonmed]

The top 5...so far

Jim Beam's Distillers Masterpiece - 18 Yrs.

Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve - 20 Yrs.

Buffalo Trace's Eagle Rare - 17 Yrs.

Wild Turkey's Kentucky Spirit

Jefferson's Reserve and Johnny Drum - 15 Yrs. (tie)

Let the angels take their share, baby! Older IS better!

Omar

Eat well. Laugh often. Sip bourbon.

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

Good to see you're still with us Henry!

1) - Kentucky Spirit

2) - Blanton's or Elmer T. Lee - It depends on the barrel.

3) - Woodford Reserve or Russell's Reserve - take your pick.

4) - Knob Creek

5) - Elijah Craig 12 YO or Single Barrel Vintage 1990 10 YO - take your pick.

6) - For a wheater - Very Special Old Fitzgerald 12 YO

Linn Spencer

Have Shotglass. Will Travel.

[RyanStotz]

1) Sazerac 18 YO rye

2) A.H. Hirsch Reserve 16 YO

3) Old Charter 12 YO Classic 90

4) Wild Turkey Rare Breed or Russell's Reserve (tie)

5) Very Special Old Fitzgerald 12 YO

Really want to include Elmer T. Lee Single Barrel in here, too.

Stotz

[Theron Volkman]

1.) Kentucky Spirit

2.) Russell's Reserve

3.) Old Charter Proprietors Reserve

4.) Rare Breed

5.) VSO Fitzgerald

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

Good pick Theron with Old Charter Proprietor's Reserve! It's been such a long time since I've had a bottle and I'd forgotten it even existed.

Linn Spencer

Have Shotglass. Will Travel.

[cowdery]

My five favorites, though not in any particular order.

1. Knob Creek

2. Woodford Reserve

3. Old Fitz BIB

4. Evan Williams Single Barrel

5. Blanton's

Honorable mention: Old Commonwealth

--Chuck Cowdery

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

Good bourbon does not need to cost a fortune. Try these.

1) Weller Special Reserve

2) Wild Turkey 101

3) Very Old Barton Bottled in Bond

4) Old Forester 100 Proof

5) George Dickel No.12 (Yes I know it is a Tennessee Whisky, but deserves a place on my list.)

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

Wow! Top five, huh? That's really difficult. Just last year it was so easy. Hmmm.

I can see from some of the other posts that I'm not the only one having a problem selecting a top five...

4. Old Commonwealth and Woodford Reserve and Elijah Craig 12

5. Russell's Reserve and Maker's Mark and Knob Creek and EW Single Barrel and Rare Breed and Johnny Drum and McCormick and Bookers and Laphroig and...

C'mon guys and dolls, now that's cheating!

What I did for me was, I set up some further restrictions and filters.

First, I said to myself, "Self," I says, "there shouldn't be any bourbons here that are not currently being made. Unfortunately, that restriction filters out some of my bigtime favorites, such as

(1) Henry Clay (maybe my all-time favorite bourbon ever)

(2) Old Rip Van Winkle Family Reserve Pappy's 20-year-old - the old style (a year ago I hated this bourbon. Now I love it dearly. Go figure)

(3) Elmer T. Lee 107 proof (first kisses should be this sweet and pure... and hot)

(4) Old Taylor - 1979 National Distillers version (Linda's all-time favorite whiskey ever)

(5) David Nicholson 1843 (basically 7-year-old Old Fitzgerald with a custom label, and a finish that lingers into next Tuesday)

It also, technically, rules out single barrels, since the particular ones currently available are no longer being made. I've modified that a little to allow single barrels that are so consistant that they don't vary significantly, but I'm afraid it does keep favorites Kentucky Spirit and the Evan Williams' vintage bottlings out. There's just too much variation between bottlings of these fine whiskeys to generalize.

(2.5) Kentucky Spirit 1998 barrel #1

(5.5) Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage 1990 barrel #251

Then I figured, how can you compare boutique, distillers' showpieces with everyday shotglass bourbon? So I'm gonna need at least two lists, sorted by price. But as I started putting a top five together, I found that my favorites all seemed to cling to the dividing line between the two lists. So I made it three lists...

<u>LIST #1: BOURBONS THAT SELL FOR UNDER $15.00 (Kentucky discount liquor store prices)</u>

(1) Old Grand Dad 100

(2) George Dickel #12 (this is too a bourbon, yes it is; and the millenium began in 2000; don't get me started, just deal with it)

(3) Wild Turkey 101

(4) Ancient Ancient Age 10-year-old (please, Ken, tell me this doesn't belong on the list above)

(5) Colonel Lee 100

Runners up: Old Ezra Brooks 7-year-old, Old Fitzgerald's 1849, Dowling 100, Kentucky Gentleman 100

<u>LIST #2: BOURBONS PRICED FROM $15.00 TO 30.00</u>

(1) Ezra Brooks: Ezra B 15-year-old

(2) Wild Turkey Russell's Reserve

(3) Old Rip Van Winkle 15-year-old

(4) Buffalo Trace

(5) Peter Jake's 10-year-old

Runners up: Old Weller Antique 107, Wild Turkey Rare Breed, Knob Creek, Wathen's, Old Forester 100

<u>LIST #3: BOURBONS PRICED ABOVE $30.00</u>

(1) Old Rip Van Winkle Family Reserve Pappy's 20-year-old - new style

(2) Jack Daniel Single Barrel (see above ranting about George Dickel)

(3) Booker's

(4) Pure Kentucky XO

(5) Rowan's Creek

Runners up: Noah's Mill, Baker's, Black Maple Hill 14-year-old, all of the Buffalo Trace Historic Collection (Weller, Eagle Rare, Sazerac), Blanton's, George Dickel Special 10-year-old

=John=

http://w3.one.net/~jeffelle/whiskey

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

Talk about cheating! John you're triple cheating and then some. Must be the bourbon.

Linn Spencer

Have Shotglass. Will Travel.

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

Linn,

Th' problem ish, ya gotta try 'emall sho asta beeyable ta make a shedish... a dishish... shisshhh... choice.

=John=

http://w3.one.net/~jeffelle/whiskey

[Ken Weber]

Ancient Age 10 year old will be around for some time. Actually, and this may be a point against us, Jim Murray has listed this as one of his all-time favorite bourbons.

Ken

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

Ken said, "Ancient Age 10 year old will be around for some time. "

Hooray!! I'm with Jim on that one, as you can see from my list. On the other hand, Jim's all-time LEAST favorite bourbon (he considers it the singular worst whiskey ever made) is Colonel Lee 100 BIB. That brand, which even Barton doesn't seem to mention unless asked, rates #5 on my cheap list, and is only that low because the list includes bourbons up to fifteen dollars. It would be #1 on a list of under $10.00 brands. He also doesn't like Old Fitzgerald or Wathen's much but thinks Old Crow and Jim Beam Yellow-label rye are terrific. I really enjoy reading Jim's work and I've learned a lot from him. Mostly what I've learned is to appreciate that the incredible range of choices available is bourbon's best feature of all, and that to limit yourself to what you (or worse, someone else) already enjoys is to really miss out on the best part of the bourbon experience.

=John=

http://w3.one.net/~jeffelle/whiskey

[MashBill]

Okay. This was a tough one. Don't get me wrong, I've tasted better American whiskies than what's in my list below, but these are what I drink the most of. I think availability and price has a lot to do with it. If Buffalo Trace was available here in Kansas, then it would be my number one "grab". After I buy a few cases in Kentucky this September, the Old Charter will get bumped off the list.

1. Eagle Rare 10-year old

2. Berghoff 10-year old 107

3. David Nicholson 1843 7-year old

4. George Dickel Special Barrel Reserve 10-year old

5. Old Charter 12-year old

Bill

http://home.kc.rr.com/mashbill/

[Henry]

Thanks to all for participating in the poll. One thing that interests me is that only John listed (along with everything else under the sun) Van Winkle 15.

When I first got into bourbon and started following this forum to see what I should try, there seemed to be a consensus that VW 15 was one of the two or three finest. Indeed it became and remains my favorite. I was surprised to see it not mentioned more. Anyway, here is my top five:

1) Old Rip Van Winkle 15

2) Wild Turkey 12

3) Knob Creek

4) Rare Breed or Elijah Craig 12 (tie)

5) Woodford Reserve

A year ago Weller Centennial would have been second but my taste has evolved away from wheaters and towards rye bourbons(VW 15 is in its own category as far as I'm concerned). Still, haven't tried Bookers, Blanton's, Old Charter and many others. So many bourbons...

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

Henry what are the 15 year old Van Winkle's quatities that make it so special as to be your number one pick? I've never had any and it's not available here in Virginia.

Linn Spencer

Have Shotglass. Will Travel.

[cowdery]

I think some of the lists are, in part, a function of budgets. Old Rip 15 might very well be one of my favorites if I could afford to have it more often.

--Chuck Cowdery

[Henry]

For me the VW 15 smells and tastes of lucious dark fruit (dates, figs, berries), tobacco, spice (I especially detect cinnamon) and caramel. These and other flavors are very distinct and keep coming in wave after wave. I also love its full-bodied, mouth-coating texture and very long finish. It is similar to VS Old Fitz but more so. You must get hold of a bottle, Linn.

[jbutler]

Concise, succinct, and sans any sort of verbose over-qualification, here are my five favorites (unsorted):

Blanton's

Hirsch 16

Elijah Craig 12

WT KY Spirit

Wathen's

Cheers,

Jim Butler

Straightbourbon.com

[rwilps]

Henry:

I've been following this thread - that description was a killer! I live in Western PA, and I can't get the VW 15, and I'm dyin' out here, thanks to wordsmiths like you guys! Same goes for Russell's Reserve and a lot of the other stuff...I guess I'm going to have to practice my bootlegger turns and run some booze across state lines...

Ralph Wilps

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

Ralph, try some of the special State Stores listed here. Most Pennsylvanians don't realize it (since it's illegal for them to tell you unless you ask!), but there are quite a few stores where better brands and higher quality may be found. Another thing they don't tell you is that you can order any wine or spirit in the world through your local state store. Ask about the SLO (Special Liquor Order) program. You can also get a new ammendment to the U.S. Constitution passed via your local State Store, in approximately the same amount of time and with slightly less effort.

Seriously, do give one of the specialty stores a try. I've seen many good bourbons, including Pappy 20 and Hirsch, at the one in Maple Glen. In fact, it's the only place I've been able to find Virginia Gentleman 90 proof (the fox bottle).

=John=

http://w3.one.net/~jeffelle/whiskey

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

I shall do so sir! Julian always manages to scounge out the best barrels of Old Fitz to put in his bottles. I'll be sure to set aside some funds for a couple. I'll have to wait until September to get 'em. Are you going to make the Bourbon Festival this year Henry? Be sure to bring extra pants!

Linn Spencer

Have Shotglass. Will Travel.

[rwilps]

John,

Thanks for the list - I knew about all of the Allegheny County specialty stores except the one in Verona - I'll check it out. By the way, did you notice that there are more of the these stores in the Pittsburgh/Allegheny County area than anywhere else? Must be a subtle influence exuding from the rocks here - I don't think the Whiskey Rebellion ever really got finished up along the river valleys.

Ralph Wilps

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

It may also be the quality of the average consumer there. Now watch all my Philly ex-neighbors and family get all bent out of shape at me for saying that :-))

The truth is, though, that they have to do that for the same reason you pointed out originally... there's nowhere else to go. In Philadelphia, people with discerning tastes can go to Delaware, New Jersey, or even the Big Apple. These people's Pittsburgh counterparts don't have that luxury (where are they gonna go, Ohio?), so they put pressure on State officials to accommodate them more. Your gain!

=John=

http://w3.one.net/~jeffelle/whiskey

[Creggor]

Hello, I find it almost impossible to limit my selection to just 5 whiskeys. I like John Lipmans idea of several list according to price. I have waited this long to post my suggestions as I have been trying various whiskeys the past month or so. I believe I have sampled enough to start to get an opinion of what makes my list of favorites. I am going to cheat a little and break it down to 2 list one over $35 and the other under $35 .

My list is in no particular order.

Over $35

Van Winkle 15yr 107 Proof

Wild Turkey kentucky Spirit

Eagle Rare 17yr

16yr Hirsch.

Sazerac 18yr Rye or Jack Daniels Single barrel Take your pick.

(note I have not tried my 20yr pappy & 20yr Hirsch & 19yr Weller)

Under $35

Van Winkle 13yr Family Reserve Rye

1990 Evan Williams Single Barrel

Wild Turkey Rare Breed

Weller Centenial 10yr

Knob Creek & Russells Reserve & Buffalo Trace 3 Way Tie. I like them all.

Go Figure a month ago I hated Buffalo Trace now I really like it. Creggor.