Poll: Top 5 Whiskeys

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

Ah-Ha Creggor my man!

A month ago you hated Buffalo Trace and now you love it enough to put it on you top 10 list. Kudos for you.

Here ladies and gentlemen we see a pearl of bourbonic wisdow in action - to wit: When you open your mouth open your mind also.

Linn Spencer

Have Shotglass. Will Travel.

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

Says Linn, "...When you open your mouth open your mind also."

From what I've observed in myself and others on this forum, when you open your mouth to insert fine bourbon into it, the mind quickly follows all by itself, don'tcha think?

=John=

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

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

Indeed sir I do! In fact the more empty the bottle becomes the more wide open I get. When the bottle is empty I become very like St. Luke and have perfect knowledge of all things. Once I've slept it off, however, I find that all I really know is that I need to buy another bottle of bourbon. It's a sad fact that the sober know next to nothing while the properly bourbonized philosopher knows it all!

Linn Spencer

Have Shotglass. Will Travel.

[broray]

Very Very Old Fitzgerald

Geo Dickel Special Barrel Reserve

Old Grandad 114 Proof

Very Special Old Fitzgerald

Knob Creek

The Man from Missouri

[broray]

As your invitation to list your top five picks was on top I mmediately jumped into the water and posted my list. Then after reading the rest of lists and comments I can see I am going to have sell one of my old used cars in order to try some of the other brands listed. Thanks you all for opening up a whole new world for me!

The Man from Missouri

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

Welcome, Brother Ray, to our (and now your) little corner of the whole new world. A couple of comments...

(1) With a list like yours, it's pretty clear you already have experience with some fine bourbons. The difference in quality between, say, Knob Creek and Booker's is less than the difference between Jim Beam White Label and Knob Creek.

(2) In places where brands like those are available, they often also sell those cutesy-poo miniature bottles. Aside from their use as affordable collectibles, they can also provide a good opportunity to taste, at five or six bucks, a bourbon that might cost a dozen times that much for a full 750ml bottle. Of course, I don't recall ever seeing a mini of Hirsch, Pappy, or VVOFitz...

(3) ... which leads into this one: If you have enough Very Very Old Fitzgerald to make that your current favorite, I'd be <u>REAL</u> careful of giving out your home address to some of the folks on this forum, no matter what plausible reason we might give you :-))

=John=

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

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

So true!

=John=

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

[broray]

Thanks for comments and info. My dear brother seems to have a man in his pocket who's been sitting on this for years. It's better than ice cream. I'm not a novice in drinking whiskey or bourbon; just a novice at becoming literate to what I have consumed.{enough to float a small battleship}

Thanks again

The Man from Missouri

[MashBill]

Hmmmm. Maybe it's time for this ol' Kansas boy to impersonate Quantrill and do a Missouri raid for fine old bourbons.......

Bill

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

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

OK after much study on the subject I have finally come up with my top 5 list. (which is much simpler than John's!)

Russell's Reserve

Van Winkle 15

Buffalo Trace

Evan Williams single barrel

Woodford Reserve

my top all time favorite Bourbons that are expensive or not available any longer are

Henry Clay

Pappy 20 (the new bottling)

Old Taylor (from sometime in the 50's or 60's)

~Linda~

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

[cowdery]

An excellent list, Linda, in part because it is 40 percent the same as my own.

Are they ranked in order? That indeed would be a strong endorsement of Russell's Reserve. I regret that I have not obtained any Buffalo Trace as of yet, but am now even more looking forward to doing so.

--Chuck Cowdery

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

Chuck,

Actually I wasn't trying to put them in order although the Van Winkle 15 would be first and then the Russell's Reserve! Both excellent Bourbons.

It's funny, I also didn't like Buffalo trace the first time I tasted it. (same as others on the forum) and it is also now in my top 5 list!! I think that it tastes like the air smells in springtime. (not the floral scent but the fresh earth smell when the ground is finally warming up!)

Thats probably as close to tasting notes as I'll ever get

~Linda~

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

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

Linda I've found that women really like Buffalo Trace, especially those that mix with Sprite as you and Vickie do. Must be an Earth Mother kind of thing.

Linn Spencer

Have Shotglass. Will Travel.

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

Linn,

It may be something like that, although the only thing I mix with sprite is usually Evan Williams black label. The bourbons on my top 5 I drink straight. No water or ice. I like my earth neat!

~Linda~

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

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

This should be real easy as I only have 5 bottles so far. I needed another hobby so I thought I'd try collecting and drinking bourbon. The purchases I've made are from reading posts on this site. I'll rate the 5 I have so far from favorite to least. Jefferson's Reserve bottle 1332, Ezra B single barrel 15 year old barrel 17(I haven't seen anyone mention this one but I like it), Bookers, and the last two are equally bad so I'll just list them, Old Rip Van Winkle and Basil Haydens. That all I have for now but I buy a bottle every two weeks when I cash my pay check.

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

Loki1957 said, "Ezra B single barrel 15 year old...(I haven't seen anyone mention this one but I like it)"

Hi Loki,

It's top on my list of $15-$30 bourbons (see above).

"...equally bad... Old Rip Van Winkle and Basil Haydens."

Wow. You don't hear those two mentioned in the same sentence very often; and you don't see Old RVW at the bottom of most people's list, either. They're about as opposite in character as most people will ever find. I can see it's going to be a real challenge trying to guess what you'll enjoy

Welcome to the Straightbourbon forum!

=John=

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

[Speedy_John]

Hi, John! I hope you enjoy your new hobby. You're off to a good start, and you obviously learn quickly. Your distaste for Basil Hayden's shows you have great potential as a discerning whisky drinker. However, I am curious to know which Van Winkle you found so offensive? Van Winkle products are generally good to excellent.

SpeedyJohn

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

I probably lack a sofisticated enough pallete to enjoy the Van Winkle. The stuff starts out bad and finishes even worse. I'll keep trying to drink it but as of now I don't like it at all. It is Old Van Winkle 10 year old. From reading posts here I was very surprized I don't like it also. One good thing, today is payday so I can purchase something new. I'm thinking about Blantons. Thanks for the welcome.

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

I don't think your palate is unsophisticated at all John. You may be like me in that you simply don't like/care for wheated bourbons. "Wheaters" as they are called have a mashbill consisting of wheat: corn, and malted barley. Traditional bourbons use a mashbill made with rye: corn, and malted barley. By all means do treat yourself to a bottle of the fabulous Blanton's. A traditional bourbon that is exceptional in every way it will spoil you rotten.

Linn Spencer

Have Shotglass. Will Travel.

[Speedy_John]

I agree with Linn: your pallete's fine. The Van Winkle 10 simply didn't suit your taste, and that's cool. Although I would suggest you sample the Van Winkle 15y.o./107, or better still, Pappy Van Winkle 20y.o., should you ever have the opportunity. As for the Blanton's, I say go for it! Let us know how you like that one.

SpeedyJohn

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

How does one know if a bourbon is wheat or rye? I don't see that info on the label. And whats up with Basil Haydens. I think I've read that thats a rye bourbon.

[cowdery]

Re wheat v. rye, you pretty much have to know. Wheaters are the exception. The main wheaters are Maker's Mark, Old Fitzgerald, Old Weller and most, but not all, Van Winkles. Everything else is rye.

As for Basil Hayden, it is a "version" of Old Grand-Dad, which is unique among bourbons as a "high rye" bourbon. That means it contains about twice as much rye, and proportionally less corn, than most bourbons.

--Chuck Cowdery

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

John I see that Chuck's covered the wheat vs. rye thing.

There really was an "Old Grand-Dad", and his name was Basil Hayden. What Jim Beam has done to screw this whiskey up is anyone's guess. I know of only two forum members that really like it; Ryan Stotz, and Greg Kitzmiller. Mike Veach, however, is one of Basil Hayden's most strident detractors in that he calls it "brown vodka". I don't care for it and don't buy it. Where drinking Beam whiskey is concerned I've found that Knob Creek is always good and worth the price paid.

Linn Spencer

Have Shotglass. Will Travel.

[Creggor]

Hello, Everyone. I must agree with Linn. The Knob Creek is the best value for the money in the Beam line. I do like Bookers better but at $50 a bottle it had better be good. I tried Basil Hayden once and did not like it. I have not tried the Van Winkle 10yr old but dearly like the 15yr Van Winkle. Creggor

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

The Rip Van Winkle 10-year-old is the least impressive of the Van Winkle line, but it's still a pretty good bourbon; the older ones are better. HOWEVER... you just might not happen to like wheaters. Linn hates them all (except for Very Special Old Fitzgerald, which I don't care for all that much) and he's as descerning a taster as you'd ever want to be.

Linn's absolutely right about Knob Creek. I agree with him and Creggor; I think you should make that your next purchase. Especially since you like Ezra B so well. Both are chock full of character, but very different from one another. Both are reasonable in price (they cost about the same).

=John=

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