Flight 107

[JayMonster]

So the voting is done, and there were (for me) a few surprise.

We did this simply, 4 points for first through 1 point for last.

Baker's garnered 15 points taking 3 first and 1 second place.

Pure Kentucky XO - snuck in second at 10 points with 1 first place and 3 third place finishes.

OWA fell just short of that and wound up with 9 points via 2 seconds, a 3rd and a 4th place ranking.

And ORVW pulled up the rear with just 6 points by garnering a single 2nd and three 4th place finishes.

The judges votes in order

1 - The Scotch Drinker

Baker's

ORVW

Pure Kentucky XO

OWA

2 - The Wild Turkey Drinker

Pure Kentucky XO

Baker's

OWA

ORVW

3 - The Red Wine Drinker

Baker's

OWA

Pure Kentucky XO

ORVW

4 - Me

Baker's

OWA

Pure Kentucky XO

ORVW

[jersey12]

Very interesting to see the ORVW coming in last considering all the trouble to get it while Bakers came out on top and can easily be found at almost any liquor store.

[JayMonster]

As I said, there were some surprises.

It is interesting what happens when you blind yourself from the labels.

The ORVW got dinged by just about everybody for being too hot.

I don't know how much stock you can put in how difficult ORVW is compared with Baker's. After all, Beam makes a LOT more, and overall wouldn't be surprised if they actually SOLD more Baker's than ORVW is bottled to begin with.

Another thing that surprised me about myself though... was that I have always considered myself more of a wheater drinker, and while I have known that has been melting down lately, I didn't realize just how much, and fully expected to pick out the OWA and ORVW over Baker's and Pure Kentucky XO.

To be honest, at least for me, it was all very close, and they were put in order for order's sake, but just because one was ranked lower than another doesn't mean any of them were bad.

[soad]

As I said, there were some surprises.

It is interesting what happens when you blind yourself from the labels.

The ORVW got dinged by just about everybody for being too hot.

I don't know how much stock you can put in how difficult ORVW is compared with Baker's. After all, Beam makes a LOT more, and overall wouldn't be surprised if they actually SOLD more Baker's than ORVW is bottled to begin with.

Another thing that surprised me about myself though... was that I have always considered myself more of a wheater drinker, and while I have known that has been melting down lately, I didn't realize just how much, and fully expected to pick out the OWA and ORVW over Baker's and Pure Kentucky XO.

To be honest, at least for me, it was all very close, and they were put in order for order's sake, but just because one was ranked lower than another doesn't mean any of them were bad.

How long have the OWA and ORVW bottles been open? I know this has been discussed before, but the wheaters get much better with some air. I didn't like (borderline hated) my first bottle of ORWV until it was open for about 3 months, then it got REAL good.

[bad_scientist]

How long have the OWA and ORVW bottles been open? I know this has been discussed before, but the wheaters get much better with some air. I didn't like (borderline hated) my first bottle of ORWV until it was open for about 3 months, then it got REAL good.

I was going to write the exact same thing. I don't think it's fair to judge a wheater just after opening because they can be kind of crappy for the first couple of weeks or months.

I'm still not sure how I feel about my ORVW, though. It did indeed open up a lot, and I got fooled in a blind tasting into thinking it was the new PVW15, but it *is* hot to me, even after 6 months of air time. The other BT wheaters (though this might be Bernheim) don't have this heat.

[JayMonster]

Baker's and OWA were newly opened bottles. Pure Kentucky XO was open about a week, and tje ORVW was opened in January.

[Kyjd75]

So the voting is done, and there were (for me) a few surprise.

We did this simply, 4 points for first through 1 point for last.

Baker's garnered 15 points taking 3 first and 1 second place.

Baker's is one of the most under-appreciated bourbons on the market. I have made an effort to try just about very bourbon I have been able to find over the past couple of years, and Baker's continues to be one of the best. Throw out the Beam "prejudices" and you will find a very fine bourbon in Baker's.

[JayMonster]

Baker's is one of the most under-appreciated bourbons on the market.

I find this to be true for much of the Beam "Small Batch Collection" (The sole exception being Basil Hayden)

[p_elliott]

Baker's is my least favorite of the SmB collection. Last bottle I bought I swore was going to be the last bottle I bought.

[JayMonster]

Baker's is my least favorite of the SmB collection. Last bottle I bought I swore was going to be the last bottle I bought.

The Wild Turkey drinker on my panel didn't particularly like it either. He only rated second because he disliked the wheaters more. In his opinion, only the Pure Kentucky could hold a candle to his beloved WT101.