What are you drinking, yet AGAIN!!!

[tommy]

I'm working on a accidentally long pour of Old Charter Proprietor's Reserve. Incidentally, my bottle hails from Louisville.

Tommy

[cornsqueezins]

Yeah, Dave, I agree.....Rebel Yell is a good starter bourbon for beginners as well as a good tasting, nicely priced drink. I've only bought 2 bottles of this stuff...the first when I was just beginning to seriously drink bourbon and the second after having finished off several high-end bourbons. I wasn't too carried away with the second bottle but even though it can't compare to premium bottlings it is an extremely decent low to mid-shelf buy.

-Troy

[cornsqueezins]

Blantons!

I don't get it. To me, this bourbon does not epitomize full-flavored bourbons...not even close. It does not have any sort of bite (which I enjoy in certain degrees), does not have much of a lingering finish or possess much depth or complexity.

But I love it! A good mellow, refined single barrel has won me over.

Strange, but Elmer T. Lee struck me much the same way but I don't much care for it. Blanton's has a twist of something that I seem to find much more appealing than the sweetness of Elmer T. Lee.

-Troy

[pepcycle]

Tonight, I went for bike ride. (bicycle)Wwhen I got back,I sunk into my leather chair, drank a Diet Sprite and followed it with a pour of Pappy 20 Neat. What a day!! Now, its out to the deck to look at Mars. Wonder if anyone is looking back.

[bluesbassdad]

Earlier this afternoon, to help me deal with the anxiety of navigating the options list on the Dell website, I enjoyed a Wild Turkey shotglass of Russell's Reserve, which now tastes good to me once again.

To celebrate completing the order, and to dull the pain of spending the equivalent of several cases of bourbon on yet another household appliance, I reached blindly into my mini-cabinet and came up with... Van Winkle Family Reserve 13 y/o rye. I never cease to marvel at how, well, marvelous this stuff is. What sets it apart, to my taste, is the finish, which starts with peppermint and then fades to a bittersweet caramel, belying the kick that precedes it.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[MurphyDawg]

To me, this bourbon does not epitomize full-flavored bourbons

I would tend to agree there. If you want a full flavored bourbon, get something by Wild Turkey (Like Russells Reserve) or Brown Forman (and Old Forester Product) or maybe some Old Grand Dad. Blanton's, to me, epitomizes the smooth, "sophisticated" pour, a true sippin whiskey.

Juct my $0.02

Tom C

[OneCubeOnly]

It's Van Winkle Rye 13yo for me also. Just retasting/reconfirming how awesome it is, and to help me decide how much to 'bunker' this weekend. (It's $17.99/750ml this week if I make the trek to Maryland!)

Legally, I'm limited to 4 Liters per trip.

[tommy]

I'm starting out with some Fighting Cock that I got for my birthday. I really don't like this bourbon, mostly because of the nostril-hair-singing smell. Maybe a little ice will tame this beast--er--chicken. If not, I may have to break "Eliot Ness" on it.

Tommy

[tommy]

Some laws are meant to be broken!! I've been forced into villainy myself because of the 4 liter rule. Maybe we can get adjacent cells.

tommy

[CL]

I have to disagree with you on one point, Tom. To me, sipping is for the full flavored bourbons. Because they are so full of flavor, you only need a sip to fully enjoy it.

If a bourbon is very smooth, a sip just won't do. Now you are talking swallows (gulps?), just to get the same flavor as you would from a full flavored bourbon. We all know what that will do to you real quick.

[MurphyDawg]

I would tend to agree. I was using "sippin'" in the context I see on whiskey labels I suppose. The two whiskeys I have seen that I can remember that have the word "sippin'" on the label are Georger Dickel No 12 and Old Ezra 7 year. Both of those whiskeys strike me as rather sweet and smooth, so I guess I have always thought of "sippin whiskeys" as sweet and smooth whiskey (not necessarily as the bold bourbon I would have to actually take small sips of) Blantons, Woodford Reserve, and Van Winkle 10/107 (though more complicated that the others mentioned) qualify as sippin' whiskeys as well using the definition I think of.

TomC

[bluesbassdad]

I'm getting a vision... The mist is clearing... I see it now.

A car is approaching the state line carrying 24 liters of VWFR 13 y/o rye.

The car is stopping at the state line. A passenger is getting out, unloading 20 liters, and staying behind as the driver continues across the line.

The driver is getting out and unloading four liters. A second passenger is getting out. Now the driver is back in the car, doing a U-turn...

Sorry. The vision is disappearing.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[bluesbassdad]

That's the way it is for me, too. I recently found that I got buzzed faster on Rebel Yell than on Stagg for that very reason.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[ratcheer]

I haven't yet heard of anyone liking Fighting Cock.

Tim

[OneCubeOnly]

A car is approaching the state line carrying 24 liters of VWFR 13 y/o rye.

Dave, you crack me up!!! Too funny!!

Actually, I researched this awhile ago and found a loophole (it was either on the ABC website or in the Virginia State Code somewhere...) If you have passengers in the vehicle, each passenger can have 'their own' 4 liters, as long as the receipts and packaging reflect a seperate purchase for each person.

I might just have to recruit a few amigos to make the sojourn with me!

"You see, officer...we ALL just happen to have this insatiable craving for rye whiskey!"

[OneCubeOnly]

Some laws are meant to be broken!! I've been forced into villainy myself because of the 4 liter rule. Maybe we can get adjacent cells.

Fine by me...but you don't wanna know what I had to do to smuggle this rye into prison!!!

[CL]

Maybe the sipping concept you mention comes from the fact that the whiskeys are smooth enough to drink neat. This would be in contrast to the harsh stuff which requires some Coke to cover up the harshness. (This is despite the fact that JD thinks it is sippin' whiskey. )

[bluesbassdad]

but you don't wanna know what I had to do to smuggle this rye into prison!!!

Consider yourself lucky it wasn't Rock Hill Farms... or Old Forester Birthday Bourbon.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[Paradox]

You're not kidding Tim! I know both me and Jim have had horrible experiences with it... NEVER again!

[pepcycle]

In a related experience, I went to a liquor store in NC and bought a case of liquor for a party. I had to get a One Day Transport Permit that allowed me to tranport this tremendous shipment of spirits within the state. Valid for only 24 hours, I had to ensure my arrival and unloading from my vehicle within the allotted time. The multipart form had a transporter copy, a copy for the store and I'm assuming a copy for the state, to track hardened transporters of boxloads of alcohol. I thought the guy behind the counter was kidding when he told me the rule.

[Paradox]

Wow, that's crazy. When me, my wife, Chris and Kristin went to Canada last year we had no idea the law on bringing stuff back into the US. So we said the heck with it, we bought stuff going into Canada and more stuff while leaving Canada as well. In total we had about 12 bottles, maybe a few more. When we came back into the US they didn't ask us anything, not even for licenses or anything. They just checked under the back of his truck with those mirror things and let us go... I think we made out good because I think you're allowed alot less than that...

[pepcycle]

Maybe it was my flat black '43 sedan with dual exhaust and the name "John Barleycorn" across the trunk that raised suspicion.

[pepcycle]

This is what I saw.

[kitzg]

Blanton's, to me, epitomizes the smooth, "sophisticated" pour, a true sippin whiskey.

I'll come to your side on this. When I think of "harsh and full-bodied" I think of the kind of bourbon that might make you cough, pound your chest, and some would then proclaim "now THAT'S a whiskey" -- cowboy movies style. Maybe that is why Turkey is not my favorite -- it is what some of you are calling "full bodied" and to me is just a bit rough.

Blantons and Rock Hill Farms and some others are the type to just sip and enjoy. While I've not poured any for awhile I've never found Blanton's to be weak or thin. These two are bourbons I truly love (but don't drink often because of the price!). I'd say they give me a lot of taste without the harshness.

[Gillman]

This is a very good point, one I wish I had made myself.

There is a line in a Dickens novel where a young girl says (memory tells me to a character called "Swiveller"), "I never had a taste of beer except once, in a sip". And Swiveller responded, "you can't taste it in a sip!".

Gary