Pretty epic tasting lineup: '11&'12WLW, 2 FR specials, Pappy15, EC barrel strength...

[biskuit]

I had the pleasure of tasting through a pretty ridiculous (by my standards at least) lineup of whiskies, many only available at distillery gift shops, with a friend the other night. It included:

William Larue Weller '11 and '12

St. George Single Malt Whiskey, 30th Anniversary Edition

Four Roses Single Barrel, 13 years and 10 months old, Warehouse NS, Barrel 16-4B, OBSK

Four Roses Single Barrel, 17 years old, Warehouse QS, Barrel 78-2C, OBSV

Elijah Craig, 12 years old, Barrel Strength

Pappy Van Winkle 15 Years Old, 2008 bottling

2012 Parker’s Heritage Collection

Interesting enough, the two of us ranked the various whiskies and had almost unanimous results - with the '11 Weller winning the night, the Pappy coming in around the middle of the pack, and the Four Roses 17yo being the most disappointing sip of the night.

I was most pleasantly surprised by the EC barrel strength. And the St George 30th Anniversary single malt was by far the most unique whiskey I have ever had, with very prominent impact from some aging in pear eau de vie barrels. If it weren't $400 (!!!!) I'd be snatching up as much as I could.

I posted some tasting notes and ratings at http://www.thirstysouth.com/2012/12/13/epic-rare-bourbon-whiskey/

[beAUar]

Awesome lineup. The WLW '11 is one of my favorites. Interesting enough, I picked up a bottle of Four Roses NS, 16-4C OBSK at their gift shop back in September and it is my absolute favorite FR expression that I've ever had. So, I'm not surprised how well your 16-4B bottle showed. I'm just kicking myself for not picking up a few more while I was there.

[Kyjd75]

I picked up a bottle of the barrel strength EC12 a few weeks ago at the HH Heritage Center in Bardstown. It is amazingly good, and I have never particularly cared for the regular EC12. When this one is finished, I will probably head back to Bardstown for another. Really great stuff!

[unclebunk]

Holy cow! Nice line-up, that's for sure. When you're tasting stuff of that calibre I always find it hard to pick a winner. It's all so damned good!

[dryeager]

That is an incredible line up! It would definitely be tough to pick a winner for the night. It would have been more interesting to examine the profiles of so many different higher end whiskeys.

[Tucker]

All good stuff, for sure. Sorry to hear the FR 17yo OBSV was a disappointment. I really love the bottle I picked up in April (QS, 78-3D). You must really trust whoever gave you the St. George sample. It looks like something you'd see at a doctor's office awaiting analysis.

[biskuit]

Tucker, come to think of it, that St. George did taste a bit musky ; )

Everyone else, yes, phenomenal line up, but that '11 Weller really rocked it. I've had this one open a year now, and I've got to say it has really blossomed into something special.

Kydj75, I would definitely grab extra bottles of the EC 12 barrel strength, it is really impressive.

[HighHorse]

Fun tasting event! It's sorta like ranking the top BCS teams .. they're all kick-ass good ..and while you might rank one better than the other ... there are no losers in the group. Maybe you could have thrown in a JB Green. :grin: