juliusrocco Posted March 7, 2001 Share Posted March 7, 2001 Hi folks--New to the forum, but have been reading with much enjoyment over the past week. My experience with bourbon has been a gradual appreciation over the last 11 years. An avid homebrewer of beer, my bourbon experiences were usually relegated to visits with the in-laws as my wife's father is a bourbon drinker. While his tastes are notably far from the top shelf (Ezra Brooks being among his everyday bourbons), over the years I have managed to bring a bottle of a wide variety of bourbons that he would never have forked over the asking price for at the store. As such, we've both enjoyed a great deal of bourbons that neither one of us may have ever gotten, as I wasn't prone to keeping bourbon around the house as my wife prefers single malt Scotch. Uncharacteristically, while most other homebrewers tend to favor scotch with as much zeal as they do their beer, I prefer that little something extra that bourbon provides, just a little rougher around the edges but definitely with more character in my opinion.Now, introductions aside, I *think* my palate tends to side on the wheated bourbon argument as some of the bourbons I've had tend to be such (Maker's, etc.). So, is there or could somebody provide for me some sort of a list of bourbons that are wheated along with commentary and those that are not? I've been trying a different bourbon each time and I think I can tell which tastes wheated, but I'm not sure. I'd like to be able to keep a mental list when I'm at the liquor store and perhaps get a couple for comparison tastings.I'm also open to suggestion and opinion. This is a great forum for such.J. RoccoJ. RoccoCT Shoreline, USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MashBill Posted March 8, 2001 Share Posted March 8, 2001 J. Rocco,Welcome to the forum!Follows is a list of wheated bourbons that I am aware of in addition to the Maker's Mark that you mentioned:1.) All of the W.L. Weller and Old Fitzgerald bottlings2.) Rebel Yell3.) David Nicholson 18434.) Most of the bourbons bottled by Julian Van Winkle (he can provide the details)5.) Virginia GentlemanThere may be others, but these are the ones that I am aware of. I too enjoy wheated bourbons, but please don't limit yourself to just these brands. There are too many other good bourbons out there.Again, welcome to the forum!Billhttp://home.kc.rr.com/mashbill/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creggor Posted March 8, 2001 Share Posted March 8, 2001 Hello. Julius. Even thou they have already been mentioned . If you tend to like wheated Bourbons please do try the 15yr Vanwinkle 107 Proof the new 20yr Payy Reserve also by Julian and do try the Weller Centenial 10yr Old. All are excellent. I have not personally tried the 12yr Old Vso Fitz I have heard it's excellent. Enjoy. creggor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vasshopper Posted March 8, 2001 Share Posted March 8, 2001 Welcome Julius! You've came to the right place because these people are encyclopedias of bourbon knowledge.try them all!---Life is good.-Den Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted March 8, 2001 Share Posted March 8, 2001 Bill,I believe you are wrong about Virginia Gentleman. Otherwise your list is solid. Since there are now three companies producing wheated bourbon (Maker's, Heaven Hill and Buffalo Trace), up from two, we may see even more wheaters in the future.--Chuck Cowdery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MashBill Posted March 8, 2001 Share Posted March 8, 2001 Chuck,The following line comes directly from A. Smith Bowman's website describing their Virginia Gentleman Bourbon:"Made from the finest corn, wheat, and malted barley"Of course, not everything we see on the web is the truth......Billhttp://home.kc.rr.com/mashbill/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbutler Posted March 8, 2001 Share Posted March 8, 2001 Watch it there Creggor. You start talking about Weller Centennial being an excellent bourbon, and Linn will come down on you like the wrath of God.So for the record, I think Weller Centennial is most excellent. Y'all hear that? Say it over and over whilst imbibing same .... most excellent.Cheers,Jim ButlerStraightbourbon.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MashBill Posted March 8, 2001 Share Posted March 8, 2001 Chuck, I forgot to mention.... I hope you're right about seeing more wheaters in the future. Of course we'll have to wait a few years to see how they turn out Bill http://home.kc.rr.com/mashbill/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MashBill Posted March 8, 2001 Share Posted March 8, 2001 Creggor,Jim is right, it's best not to mention the Weller "C" word in Linn's company. I'm going to hide now, before he sees it.Billhttp://home.kc.rr.com/mashbill/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creggor Posted March 8, 2001 Share Posted March 8, 2001 Hello, Guys. I am sure Linn would rather have Weller Centenial than Makers Mark. Weller Centenial is one of my big time favorites along with Vanwinkle 15yr. The Weller 19yr Of the Antique Collection is real good. It does not quite stack up to Weller Centenial and Julians 15yr. Buffalo Trace will be having more Antique Collections bottled later this year. This gives you the chance to try some really good aged Whiskeys all from the same Distiller. If your really into good Whiskey have your mate get you a bottle each of this years. !8yr Sazerac Rye, 19yr Weller and 17yr Eagle Rare. I know the distributor here in Florida. I was told they have an order for 200 cases of each of this years bottling. They have 3 bottle shipper cases. I suggested to Ken Weber they package some of these shipper cases with a bottle of each. What a nice Christmas present for my kids to give me. Now all we all have to rag on Linn and get him to be a convert. Linn go get some 15yr Vanwinkle and 10yr Weller Centenial. Heck if we ever have the chance to get together I will supply these for ya. Creggor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest **DONOTDELETE** Posted March 8, 2001 Share Posted March 8, 2001 Virginia Gentleman is a rye recipe bought in bulk from Heaven Hill. VG was always a ryed bourbon.Linn SpencerHave Shotglass. Will Travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest **DONOTDELETE** Posted March 8, 2001 Share Posted March 8, 2001 Gadzooks Jim! Weller *REEKS*! I can see the subliminal implants have taken a strong hold. You're in massive denial. Weller is such good whiskey that it went out of business some years ago, and still there is plenty of the swillage laying in the rackhouses to this day. Deamon farts smell sweeter.Linn SpencerHave Shotglass. Will Travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliusrocco Posted March 8, 2001 Author Share Posted March 8, 2001 Thanks so much for all of the responses and info. I know that to wheat or not to wheat is an oft debated subject after sifting through the archives of postings, and I should say that while I think my tastes tend to sway in favor of the addition of wheat, I'm by no means sold on the idea. Of those mentioned, I've tried and enjoyed a few, those being the aforementioned Maker's, Rebel Yell (which I found to have a rather good price-to-taste ratio, but which my local liquor store tends to raise and lower the price at least weekly for some unknown reason), and some of the Weller's. I am intrigued with Buffalo Trace and the Rip/Pap Van Winkle lines, which have gotten high marks by most in the forum, but seem to be absent from the shelves of my immediate (southeastern CT coast) area. With time I'm sure I'll be able to track them down or order online.Any one on the forum up in the New England area that can recommend a good retail spot for a variety of bourbons? My local has a surprisingly good selection (missing the Van Winkles and others of its ilk), comprising most of the Bookers to Blantons to Old Crow varietals, and quite a few Rye whisk(e)ys to boot. I've managed to find quite a number of those praised and appropriately dismissed on this forum. That said, I've recently picked up a bottle of BIB OGD to try as it seems to have illicited some intriguing commentary. I'll let you know what I think. J. RoccoCT Shoreline, USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbutler Posted March 8, 2001 Share Posted March 8, 2001 See? I told you guys he's a freakin maniac. Thanks for backin me up on that one Linn, I hate making unfounded assertions in public.BTW, it's bad practice to allow daemons exposure to the open air. Tcpwrappers should be employed such that if they do fart, inetd will contain the fetid by-product and the offense will be recorded for posterity by syslogd.Cheers,Jim ButlerStraightbourbon.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bourbonmed Posted March 8, 2001 Share Posted March 8, 2001 Jim, LinnOne issue then remains unclear:Which is most offensive -- Wheated or Non-wheated farts? Creggor, wanna head the experiment? Better yet, why not make it a forum wide weekend project. We all report Monday. Ladies, you too.Omar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest **DONOTDELETE** Posted March 8, 2001 Share Posted March 8, 2001 Omar this is so easy there is no need to wait 'til Monday. Non-wheated flatulence is the most foul. Try this: cook up a batch of venison chili and wash it down with the beer of your choice. You'll soon find out that wild meats produce intensely odoriferous emissons. Once while on a hunting trip we made this very mistake. That night while sleeping in a tighly ziped bag, I let one rip blowing a hole in the bag; lifting the tent off the ground, and sending a nearby skunk running for it's very life!Linn SpencerHave Shotglass. Will Travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brendaj Posted March 8, 2001 Share Posted March 8, 2001 Omar, Omar, Omar...whatever were you thinking? You said: "make it a forum wide weekend project. We all report Monday. Ladies, you too." Now surely you know that ladies don't fart. Nope, we just don't. We don't belch either. It is because of this we are forced to bitch now and then or...we'd just blow clean up Scully Blowin' smoke in Bardstown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest **DONOTDELETE** Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 Wonderfully stated Scully! Welcome Julius! Wow we go away for 5 days and have 50 messages to go through! I enjoy both Rye and Wheated. My favorites of the wheated are definatly the Van Winkle products. The 15 year old and the new Pappy 20 are outstanding!!~Linda~http://w3.one.net/~jeffelle/whiskey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest **DONOTDELETE** Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 No more maniacal or freakish than thou my brother!Linn SpencerHave Shotglass. Will Travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brendaj Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 Julius, Please overlook my manners. Welcome to this group. Although I've been a Bourbon drinker for years, my understanding ended with how to get the cap off...) I have learned much here, one of the things being I too enjoy wheated Bourbons if drinking them neat. Perhaps we can work our way through Pappy's offerings together. Bj Blowin' smoke in Bardstown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bourbonmed Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 Rocco, Here's a New England area contact for fine bourbon, including Van Winkle:Elliot Fishbein, 888-811-6258East Providence, RII've ordered from his shop and he's got a better supply than most retailers in Florida.Omar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 Good catch, Bill. I missed that. I have made an inquiry of the Bowman folks and will let you know what I find out.--Chuck Cowdery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 That has always been my understanding as well. For one thing, Bowman has been buying from Heaven Hill longer than Heaven Hill has been making wheated bourbon. I bet the website was a mistake. I have made an inquiry to the Bowman people and will report anything I hear.--Chuck Cowdery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest **DONOTDELETE** Posted March 10, 2001 Share Posted March 10, 2001 I would be very interestd to know what they tell you. I have drank a lot of Virginia Gentelman before they quit making their own whiskey. Even though I didn't know wheat from rye at that time I would think that if it had been wheated then that would be a flavor that I would be quite fond of, and therefore would be a hardcore pro-wheater. It may be that what is now going into the 80 proof red label is wheated. I haven't tasted it in many years. I only remember it as being dreadful. I vowed never to buy another bottle.Linn SpencerHave Shotglass. Will Travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boone Posted March 10, 2001 Share Posted March 10, 2001 Jim,I told u dat ever time ya make a post i half ta git mi dictinery ta figur what ya sain. BOONEP. S. sent you a package Thursday (priority mail) you should get it in 3 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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