2003 Evan Williams Single Barrel

[SFS]

This is so very well said, Mr. Cowdery.

[squire]

Still, we gotta talk about something around here.

[HighHorse]

Reviews are just opinions. 'Experts' are just people with a forum and maybe a little more experience than the average taster. There is one thing no reviewer or taster or expert can ever tell you and that's what you like. Ultimately, I only know what I like and even that's a moving target. Will you like what I like? I have no idea. If you tend to like what I like, then my recommendations might be useful to you. If you tend not to like what I like, then maybe you can use my recommendations in reverse. Since the investment to see for yourself if you like any given year or barrel selection of EWSBV is pretty low, that's what I recommend. And if trying to discover what other people like about it feels to you like beating your head against a wall, then stop beating your head against a wall. (...)

When someone argues that my opinion about a given whiskey is 'wrong,' they are efffectively saying that I should like what they like and dislike what they dislike. Even if I could do that, why would I, and who besides that idiot would want me to?

Well, Col. "Crotchety" ..

It's refreshing to see this post. It would seem to be the obvious .. yet it obviously is not to all. This message bears repeating from time to time if for no other reason than to keep us (me) between the ditches.

For my part .. having delved head first into this bourbon fantasy for just a few years .. your experience and opinion is valued as is the opinion of many others on this board. I'm a better taster for having the opinions of those on this board and, I appreciate it.

It is a forum afterall and, as such, invites opinions that don't necessarily meld on any given spirit. The lively opinions expressed are also appreciated. I have gone back to more than one brand that I had abandoned after reading posts here on SB and I have found them to offer more than I first opined.

Over time .. I'm beginning to get a handle on what I like .. but what I like is much broader than prior to reading the opinions expressed on SB. I've been revisiting EWSB since this thread appeared .. and I'm liking it better than ever. Go figure.

[weller_tex]

Reviews are just opinions. 'Experts' are just people with a forum and maybe a little more experience than the average taster. There is one thing no reviewer or taster or expert can ever tell you and that's what you like. Ultimately, I only know what I like and even that's a moving target. Will you like what I like? I have no idea. If you tend to like what I like, then my recommendations might be useful to you. If you tend not to like what I like, then maybe you can use my recommendations in reverse. Since the investment to see for yourself if you like any given year or barrel selection of EWSBV is pretty low, that's what I recommend. And if trying to discover what other people like about it feels to you like beating your head against a wall, then stop beating your head against a wall. We all talk about something being good or great or lousy but all we ever really know is whether or not we like it. If you, for example, think barrel number 342 of the 2001 vintage is the greatest whiskey ever made, but barrel number 710 from 1999 is bilious, I don't know what to tell you. I don't think they vary that much, but hey, I respect your opinion.

I tend to like best bourbons that are nine to twelve years old. I like some older ones, but find many too woody. Sometimes when people here list their absolute favorites, they mostly list stuff I don't really care for. Nobody is right and nobody is wrong. I value balance very highly. Other people don't value balance and instead look for boldness. Nobody is right and nobody is wrong. I tend to like 100 to maybe 105 proof as the highest I'll drink straight. I like the idea of higher proofs, because I'd rather add the water myself, and sometimes I cut whiskey that's below 100-105, depending on my mood, and I don't have any trouble enjoying something that comes out of the bottle at 80 proof, though I'll rarely cut that further. Many people here are big on the higher proofs and, presumably, drink that way. Other than to say be careful, don't hurt yourself, there's no right or wrong to it. One of the best tasters on this board is a guy who never drinks his whiskey neat, it's always on the rocks. That's his preference. There's nothing wrong with it.

People will argue about many ridiculous things. I can think of few more ridiculous things to argue about than whether X whiskey is better than Y whiskey, since it's all just personal preference.

I wrote a chapter in Bourbon, Straight about why I don't like ratings. I had a discussion about it with Jim Murray and without disputing my points, he made a very good one. "We owe it to people to give them some kind of guidance," he said. Okay, fair enough.

When someone argues that my opinion about a given whiskey is 'wrong,' they are efffectively saying that I should like what they like and dislike what they dislike. Even if I could do that, why would I, and who besides that idiot would want me to?

I still stand behind my previous post. It stands to reason that Barrel #1 of EWSB would be picked with better care, especially since these are the bottles sent out to the higher profile reviewers. Normally the majority of whiskey geeks and the higher-profile reviewers are generally on the same page, yet this is almost never the case with EWSB. I still would suggest that reviewers either not review Barrel No. 1, or at least review it and compare it with a more pedestrian barrel number. I would never say that someones review is wrong, I may disagree with it, but we all have different tastes. However I do think the reviews should reflect what the average whiskey drinker can buy.

[wadewood]

blada blada blada.....

Not disagreeing with anything you said about reviews and ratings and your opinion (in fact it's great advice). The trend on this thread is that EWSB barrel #1 are super honey barrels and perhaps much better than other EWSB barrels. Several others agree with this hypothesis. You seem to think not. I don't know for sure because I've never had any EWSB from any year from Barrel#1, but I love to taste for myself to decide.

[cowdery]

Oh, now they're "super" honey barrels. You conspiracy-theory types are like a broken record. You seem to have missed the part where I said I do exactly what you suggest, sample the more 'pedestrian' barrels, and my experience doesn't support your thesis, which clearly means nothing in the Lone Star State, so have your fun, boys.

[doubleblank]

I tried this release at our recent get together at Poison Girl. I have never been a fan of the "mentholyptus" (others might call it mint to their taste) that I sometimes get in HH whiskeys. I didn't notice it in the pour I received at PG....and I'm always looking out for it. I found it to be a good pour for the price but won't be buying any. That's more a reflection of the state of my bunker vs the quality of this edition of EWSB.

[CoMobourbon]

I wrote a chapter in Bourbon, Straight about why I don't like ratings. I had a discussion about it with Jim Murray and without disputing my points, he made a very good one. "We owe it to people to give them some kind of guidance," he said. Okay, fair enough.

And so from this conference on high the bourbon gods descended, heavy with responsibility, to live once more among the people. That they might teach them. That they might learn from them. That the people might one day know their own way...

:slappin::slappin::slappin:

I'm sorry - truly no disrespect intended toward you Chuck or toward Mr. Murray. I'm sure it didn't go down like that. And, in fact, your whole post repudiates your elite on-high status. It's just..."We owe it to people to give them some kind of guidance"? I am a little too young for the Superman movies, but just sounds like...

Live as one of them, Kal-El, to discover where your strength and your power are needed. Always hold in your heart the pride of your special heritage. They can be a great people, Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you... my only son."

[squire]

I don't need guidance but if they're in a giving mood I could use a little bail money occasionally.

[cowdery]

Don't we all bear some responsibility to others for the work that we do? There's nothing pretentious about that. It's just that if we're going to write about this stuff, and expect people to read what we write, then maybe we should tell them something they'll find useful. Jim is not an overly modest guy but he said that in a very modest way, almost in a whisper. It was said more like a question, "don't we kind of have to?"

[CoMobourbon]

Truly, I did not mean that you or Mr. Murray were actually being pretentious. In fact, I completely understand and agree with both of you; you are responsible to others, and you absolutely do "kind of have to" find some way to make what you do useful to other people. It just came off that way because of they way you phrased it or because of the way I read it. (And - sorry, sorry but "almost in a whisper" is not helping your cause on that sounding-a-little-dramatic-front.:slappin:)

Edited February 26, 2013 by CoMobourbon

[cowdery]

Why can't I just tell a story the way it happened without a critique? Is it really that much fun to give me shit?

[MyOldKyDram]

It's not that it's fun so much but, don't we kind of have to?

[CoMobourbon]

Alright, I feel like we might have hijacked this thread for a little to long now. I will PM you.