What bottle is falling short of expectations?

[JayMonster]

What have you had recently that fell short of your expectations?

I don't mean things you do not like, but something you were expecting to likelq, that came up short. That brand you have relied on for years that somehow now is lacking, or that recommendation that just didn't do it for you.

For me, it was the seemingly highly regarded (around here anyway), Evan Williams Black. It wasn't bad, per se... But I was definitely disappointed. I know I had read that HH products had a "mint" taste, but that it seems is an understatement. It was like an Altoids (curiously strong) mint at the start, and the combination of mint and a young wood taste combined to remind me of those mint toothpicks you might find at a diner.. Am going to let it sit for a while and try again, but in the meantime it has me thinking twice about trying anything from HH.

So what has left you cold lately?

[Old Lamplighter]

High West Rendezvous Rye is my latest one...well, really the only one over the course of the last year or so. From everything I had read here, I knew going in that it was going to be different from the usual rye experience. However, just too different for me. Not a necessarily a bad rye...just too different for my palate. If I could use one word to describe it, ''weak" is what first comes to mind. Of course, I am holding it up against some pretty stiff competition: VWFRR, THH, & Ritt BIB to name a few of late.

[StraightNoChaser]

The new PVW15 was pretty disappointing. We compared it to the 09 bottling and it was like night and day.

[bad_scientist]

The new PVW15 was pretty disappointing. We compared it to the 09 bottling and it was like night and day.

[Tico]

The new PVW15 was pretty disappointing. We compared it to the 09 bottling and it was like night and day.

+1

The 2011 has some noticeable heat and that red hot thing going on that I don't get out of the 2009.

[ratcheer]

As I mentioned in another thread a week or so ago, the latest Wild Turkey 101 tastes thin and harsh compared to my expectations, which were set decades ago. The actual flavor is still good. But this whiskey used to be rich and buttery smooth on the palate.

IMHO, WT 101 was premium bourbon in the 60's and 70's, and on into the 80's. These days, I think I would rank it near the bottom of the middle shelf.

Tim

[the Duff]

I tried a friends bottle of RHF and was floored. Lots of sweetness and green apple candy. Just a great pour.

Then I bought one.. not good. Just way too bitter. I don't see how there can be any type of flavor profile to this label if one bottle is great and the next is awful. I understand that single barrel bourbons can be a little different bottle to bottle but this was crazy. If I ever buy another one it will be a retailer's hand selected.

I think it was Josh talking up McScrooge's?

[Bourbon Boiler]

I'll get crucified for this, but GTS. I've not had it before, and maybe it's my inability to get past the high proof, but I expected more based on the reviews.

[clingman71]

I'll get crucified for this, but GTS. I've not had it before, and maybe it's my inability to get past the high proof, but I expected more based on the reviews.

I've thought the same about mine at times, and other times it has been fantastic. I struggle with the high proof and find that getting the ratio of water just right is crucial. I think I have to be in a certain mood to really enjoy GTS, and when I'm not it just overwhelms the palette.

[Gillman]

Good thread. I found Tim`s notes on WT 101 very interesting for example.

Gary

[White Dog]

While I'm a fan of many BT products, including the actual BT label, I always hate ER10. I mean, I hate it. Insipid. I wanna like it, given the fact that it's a 10yr for only $20.

Like BT, love GTS, hate ER.

That said, I generally prefer their higher Rye and Wheated Bourbon recipes. Oh well.

[Parkersback]

I've thought the same about mine at times, and other times it has been fantastic. I struggle with the high proof and find that getting the ratio of water just right is crucial. I think I have to be in a certain mood to really enjoy GTS, and when I'm not it just overwhelms the palette.

Yeah, me three, basically. I don't dislike GTS, but I'm really not that much of a fan, either. I bought a bottle of the 2010, but I'll probably never buy one again.

I always feel like having a drink of GTS is a task: measure out the bourbon, get the distilled water, etc. Do some stretches. Give myself a pep talk in the mirror.

Then there's the actual taste, which to my palette has too much wood. It's astringent and hot on the finish, even with the proof lowered.

[CADMixes]

ER10 is a good answer....just a shockingly uninteresting pour given its age and the fact that it's a single barrel.

EC18 is another one. I don't know exactly what I was expecting but while it's not bad, it feels deadened by age to me. I know there is a lot of variability barrel to barrel though.

[speedbump47]

Angel's Envy was one I had high hopes for, but didn't like all that much.

Black Maple Hill wasn't to my taste either.

This being the first year I've had Pappy, if 2011 is a let down, I'm sure 2009 would have blown my mind. :bigeyes:

[White Dog]

Angel's Envy was one I had high hopes for, but didn't like all that much.

Black Maple Hill wasn't to my taste either.

This being the first year I've had Pappy, if 2011 is a let down, I'm sure 2009 would have blown my mind. :bigeyes:

Which BMH? There are many.

[speedbump47]

Which BMH? There are many.

Sorry; the Small batch (95 proof); didn't have the coin to get the 16 or 20+ year expressions. Whichever one was sub $40.

[jeanraulmitchell]

I was very disappointed in the one bottle of ORVW107 from 2011 fall allocation. It was my main go to pour. The one I didn't regret drinking all of it until I got down to the last two or three glasses left in the bottle.

I'd agree about GTS, it is a "task" when drinking although I never put water in bourbon but I just don't like feeling like I have a hangover in 20 minutes. I had a friend call it "bat shit".

[T Comp]

While I'm a fan of many BT products, including the actual BT label, I always hate ER10. I mean, I hate it. Insipid. I wanna like it, given the fact that it's a 10yr for only $20.

Like BT, love GTS, hate ER.

That said, I generally prefer their higher Rye and Wheated Bourbon recipes. Oh well.

ER10 is a good answer....just a shockingly uninteresting pour given its age and the fact that it's a single barrel.

EC18 is another one. I don't know exactly what I was expecting but while it's not bad, it feels deadened by age to me. I know there is a lot of variability barrel to barrel though.

Well you guys are affirming my choice of having not bought an ER 10 since '07.

As to the EC 18, I was recently revisiting, a Binny's 5/15/ '92 distilled, which is the first one I ever really liked. No doubt about it though, there is a real absence of any aged barrel sweetness to go along with the wood. That dryness, even without the soot taste that plagues other EC 18's, but not this one, can still be difficult.

[Chris24]

Masterson's 10 year rye. I tried it at a bar and recall liking it. I saw the bottle in the store and thought what the hell. I do like Whistle Pig, but I don't think that's a "Canadian" rye like Masterson's is.

[nivto]

Yeah, me three, basically. I don't dislike GTS, but I'm really not that much of a fan, either. I bought a bottle of the 2010, but I'll probably never buy one again.

I always feel like having a drink of GTS is a task: measure out the bourbon, get the distilled water, etc. Do some stretches. Give myself a pep talk in the mirror.

Then there's the actual taste, which to my palette has too much wood. It's astringent and hot on the finish, even with the proof lowered.

My suggestion... if you have an empty 200 or 375 ml bottle laying around, dilute your Stagg to 115 proof in that bottle. Don't pour from it right away. Just let it sit for a few weeks. After some time goes by have a pour and see what you think. Your opinion may change.

[mosugoji64]

I was very disappointed in the one bottle of ORVW107 from 2011 fall allocation. It was my main go to pour. The one I didn't regret drinking all of it until I got down to the last two or three glasses left in the bottle.

I was disappointed with my first pour from that one as well. But I went back to it yesterday after the bottle being open for a few weeks and it has improved. Still not quite up to the Spring release, but it's getting there.

[mosugoji64]

CNB selection of ETL. The flavor is good, but it's very thin. The texture is very watery and leaves me disappointed every time.

[clingman71]

CNB selection of ETL. The flavor is good, but it's very thin. The texture is very watery and leaves me disappointed every time.

Which # CnB selection?

[bad_scientist]

CNB selection of ETL. The flavor is good, but it's very thin. The texture is very watery and leaves me disappointed every time.

I could say the same thing about both ETL standard bottlings that I've enjoyed. Love the taste, but I don't know if I'll be getting another one.

For me, the biggest disappointment recently was the THH. I had heard it was a "rye-splosion!!!!" but it just tasted really, really sweet to me. Underneath all of that was some rye, but the sweetness overpowered it.

[BigRich]

2011 4R LE Single Barrel. It just didn't seem to have it this year. The Small Batch release kicked its ass.