What Bourbon Are You Drinking? Spring 2013

[Kalessin]

Taxes completed, time to relax a bit. Loch & K(e)y selected FR1B OESO, Julio's Liquors selected RHF, and closing with a sip of EWSB 1999.

Regrettably, the refund will be going into the house repair/repaint/new kitchen fund, rather than into fine whiskies.

[black mamba]

H McKenna BIB for my nightcap.

[bigtoys]

cocktail concoction w John Bowman for chat

[JLH3]

OGD 114. But don't tell anyone.

[stiffchainey]

Had some Basil Hayden yesterday.

Today some high proof, I guess: Baker's. (Will make a sour with this bourbon)

[deathevocation]

Nice and easy tonight. EW Black.

[Halifax]

Lot B, Weller Centennial, WSR Lville and Weller 12 last night with a friend. The Wellers were good to great. The Lot B... Not so mch. Not sure what happened with the 2012 profile of Lot B... I'm not a fan.

[DaveOfAtl]

I had 2 glasses of the new JPS 21 at a bar last night. I have to say, it is way better than I expected. I like it significantly better than the bottle of JPS 18 I had, which I found to be way too woody and generally underwhelming. The bar was charging $14 a pour, which seemed reasonable. Anyone know how much the bottle goes for?

[jpb]

I've seen prices from $120 to $130.

[DaveOfAtl]

I've seen prices from $120 to $130.

Damn, that makes me feel better about the $14 per glass price I was getting.

[tanstaafl2]

Damn, that makes me feel better about the $14 per glass price I was getting.

So is it a bottle you would buy for $130? I didn't but didn't have a chance to try before hand either.

[wmpevans]

Damn, that makes me feel better about the $14 per glass price I was getting.

David, I saw it for the first time yesterday: $129.99. At that price I could not pull the trigger.

Where are they pouring it for $14. Damn good price. I'll have to go check it out.

[tigerlam92]

Lot B, Weller Centennial, WSR Lville and Weller 12 last night with a friend. The Wellers were good to great. The Lot B... Not so mch. Not sure what happened with the 2012 profile of Lot B... I'm not a fan.

Concern about your comment on LotB 2012. Is this one off?

Thanks

Hugh

[DaveOfAtl]

So is it a bottle you would buy for $130? I didn't but didn't have a chance to try before hand either.

Although it was very good, I can't say I'd pull the trigger for $130. There are very, very few bottles I'd spend that much for, though.

David, I saw it for the first time yesterday: $129.99. At that price I could not pull the trigger.

Where are they pouring it for $14. Damn good price. I'll have to go check it out.

Bill, I had it at Ormsby's in West Midtown (Howell Mil & 10GH). I left plenty there for ya!

[OscarV]

William Larue Weller of the 2012 BTAC, neat.

[OscarV]

William Larue Weller of the 2012 BTAC, neat.

This bottle must have had a short fill, as you can see in the pic below I allready emptied it.

.

[GaryT]

Setup an elaborate blind tasting only to discover that the pollen is messing with my olfactory something fierce. Squared off some Bookers, GTS, EC12BP, and WTRRSB off (wanted to represent HH, WT, BT, and JB - no disrespect to 4R or others!) I diluted the first 3 to 110 (same as the WTRRSB) just to see how they would all compare at that proof. Stepped away from it in the hope that my senses will wake up a bit. Interesting in the color difference - you can tell that while the proof is all 110 there is a big swing in terms of age. Based on color alone, #1 and #2 both look fairly young, while #3 gets a bit darker and #4 is noticeably darker (and the only one that is a tad cloudy - so my guess is that is the EC12BP). I put stickers on the lids and stickers on the bases, so once I poured and diluted - I moved the glasses around and put the lids on random (just dumb luck that the color seems to increase with the number).

Once I finish, I'll turn the glasses over and associate my notes on each number with what was actually in the glass - although with the impaired senses, may just have to do this all over again (oh . . . darn ).

[savagehenry]

VOB BIB to start my two day vacation.

[tigerlam92]

Setup an elaborate blind tasting only to discover that the pollen is messing with my olfactory something fierce. Squared off some Bookers, GTS, EC12BP, and WTRRSB off (wanted to represent HH, WT, BT, and JB - no disrespect to 4R or others!) I diluted the first 3 to 110 (same as the WTRRSB) just to see how they would all compare at that proof. Stepped away from it in the hope that my senses will wake up a bit. Interesting in the color difference - you can tell that while the proof is all 110 there is a big swing in terms of age. Based on color alone, #1 and #2 both look fairly young, while #3 gets a bit darker and #4 is noticeably darker (and the only one that is a tad cloudy - so my guess is that is the EC12BP). I put stickers on the lids and stickers on the bases, so once I poured and diluted - I moved the glasses around and put the lids on random (just dumb luck that the color seems to increase with the number).

[ATTACH=CONFIG]15144[/ATTACH]

Once I finish, I'll turn the glasses over and associate my notes on each number with what was actually in the glass - although with the impaired senses, may just have to do this all over again (oh . . . darn ).

Ok, am I missing a section of tasting notes and comparison

It's like a good story telling set up then its over? haha

Cheers

Hugh

[tigerlam92]

Started early with the PHC 2010 then PHC 2012 and now LotB an 09 edition. The PHC were a great deal better and more balance with less "alcohol" taste finish and better flavor.

Hugh

[GaryT]

Ok, am I missing a section of tasting notes and comparison

It's like a good story telling set up then its over? haha

Cheers

Hugh

[ChainWhip]

Then I got my buddy to vat the HW16 with the St. George Single Malt, batch 12. Made me almost forget about everything else I tasted. 50:50, this is a stellar vatting.

[tigerlam92]

When I made the post, I hadn't finished the tasting yet (and am happy to report that the olfactory did improve - although never got fully up to speed). Here are my notes with the giant disclaimer: Georgia pollen wreaks havoc with the sense of smell (at least mine!) - but oddly enough it doesn't impact all taste sensors the same way. For example, I still picked up some dried fruit, chocolate notes - but almost NO vanilla. My "nosing" notes were basically worthless, but what follows were my general impressions on the color/taste - with the caveat that I wasn't picking up certain flavors (which certainly would influence the overall impression). I tasted them in the order listed (which is in the order of the numbers on the lids).

#1 (Bookers) Lightest in color of the four (probably means this is the youngest of the bunch?) Taste a bit of caramel toffee with notes of oak (no vanilla); slight edge/bite to it.

#2 (WTRRSB) Only slightly darker in color than Bookers - knowing the proof is 110 if this was in a bottle I'd expect it to be around 4 years old. Bit heavier mouthfeel than Bookers - more of a chewy, fruity sweetness going on with raisins and a bit of chocolate.

#3 (GTS) Darker with more red than WTRRSB (maybe in the 6-8 year range?) More of a molasses type sweetness (again, no vanilla and virtually no caramel?) Bit hotter than the first two, but more sweet going on. Probably would pick over WTRRSB, but not by a wide margin (at this proof).

#4 (EC12BP) Darkest of the bunch by a lot - lovely color, and just slightly cloudy (based on experience, I'm 95% positive this was the EC12BP) At this proof, still amazing - and head/shoulders the best of the bunch. I get chocolate and black cherry, and while it feels warmer it doesn't have the sharpness or bite as some of the others.

When I consider that the EC12BP was the LEAST EXPENSIVE of this group, I think it really highlights the value. Even the WTRRSB was slightly less coin than Bookers, but at this proof was definitely better. While GTS has been one of my all-time favorites, this EC12BP may take that place (and at almost half the price - not mad about that!) I'm anxious to do a side by side of those at bottle proof (134.2 vs 141.4), and maybe even bringing them both down to a level that isn't too diluted (maybe 125 or 130). 110 is lower than I typically would dilute either of these to when I'm just enjoying a dram. The color of the EC12BP will give it away, so I may need to be actually blindfolded for that one! But I'm thinking the extra age on it will put it above the Stagg. Although, with some incapacitation of the senses, it may be that GTS has a lot more vanilla/caramel than EC12BP (and when up to snuff - it is a whole new ballgame). Either way, had a lot of fun!

[GaryT]

If the future batches of EC12BP are as good as this first one, as much as I love variety it will supplant several in my collection. At $40 here in Atlanta - it is by far the best whiskey I've had at that price (and I think I can safely put it in my top 5). Then again - I don't like Pappy and prefer THH over Saz 18 (so YMMV!)

[justataste]

I got the ECBP here for 29.99 and I don't really think it was worth it.

Different strokes I guess. I think it is too sweet......