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BOTM 4/13: Old Grand Dad 114


fishnbowljoe
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Picked a bottle of the OGD BIB and 114 the other day. Prices were 19.99 and 24.99 respectively

The 114 was rich with a lot of burnt sugar notes. A little floral and spicy. Not a bad bourbon at all and the best of the OGDs IMO

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Picked a bottle of the OGD BIB and 114 the other day. Prices were 19.99 and 24.99 respectively

The 114 was rich with a lot of burnt sugar notes. A little floral and spicy. Not a bad bourbon at all and the best of the OGDs IMO

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I get big Beam yeast flavor in my current bottle, as in my current BiB. My ones from 1993 to 2006 are much, much more to my taste, better than the ND stuff and what they've put out in the past couple years.

I use OGD114 to spike old fashioned cocktails made with weaker stuff like FRYL or ND OGD 86. I don't see much of a difference between it and the current BiB, so I don't feel it merits any special consideration, nothing more than a mixer.

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I get big Beam yeast flavor in my current bottle, as in my current BiB. My ones from 1993 to 2006 are much, much more to my taste, better than the ND stuff and what they've put out in the past couple years.
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As someone who has never had any ND stuff (or older OGD for that matter) I have to say I really enjoy this bourbon. Its also seems extra exotic to me since you cannot get it in Oregon.

Is there a sticky or guide here on how to date your bottle? I tried searching with little luck.

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Haven't participated in one of these in a while, but I jumped in on this one. Grabbed a bottle the other day and I have been impressed. It is hot for sure, but is very smooth. Nice rye spice notes and a little creamy sweetness balance this one out.

Was $24.99 on the shelf in CO.

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I picked one up in CO while on business last week. Haven't opened it yet, but glad to see it getting a little praise here. I hadn't heard anything about it, didn't even see this thread, until after I had bought it. I was intrigued by the proof and the fact it's pretty hard to find in the Nashville area, as is everything. I have much more success in CO buying bourbon than I do here in a neighboring state of KY.

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Just cracked it open. Never had it before. Started off neat. A little hot but also some sweetness. Added an ice cube and I think I prefer it neat. I'm looking forward to coming back to this.

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It's great stuff but it's dangerous.

Pretty easy to get on the wrong side of it if you are not careful.

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It's great stuff but it's dangerous.

Pretty easy to get on the wrong side of it if you are not careful.

That is an affirmative. It will sneak up on you if you aren't careful! I find Knob Creek Single Barrel that way as well. It is deliciously smoky, sweet and nutty yet 120 proof..

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I picked up a bottle last night (under $22 plus tax at Spec's). It makes a fantastic Old Fashioned! Not sure whether it's the high rye, high proof or big flavors, but it made for a better cocktail than VOB 86, Buffalo Trace, Four Roses SmB and other bottom-/mid-shelfs. I think it was on par with an Old Fashioned I made with Baker's once.

My second experience of the evening was with a splash of water. BIG flavors, but smoother than I expected. I had the feeling of a thousand tiny pinpricks on my tongue long after each sip. Whereas I typically have to slow myself down when sipping other bourbons neat, the OGD 114's finish demanded that I slow my roll. Very interesting effect.

And the funny thing is that, after finishing my pour, I intended to write up these impressions here. But I found myself heading upstairs, brushing my teeth, crawling into bed and falling asleep at 9:30 (about 2 hours earlier than normal). Powerful stuff...

I definitely intend to do more comparisons and critical sipping, but my initial impression is that OGD 114 is a winner. Likely not an everyday sipper though!

PS. I got lots of peanut flavor on the finish.

Edited by michang5
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I picked up a bottle last night (under $22 plus tax at Spec's). It makes a fantastic Old Fashioned! Not sure whether it's the high rye, high proof or big flavors, but it made for a better cocktail than VOB 86, Buffalo Trace, Four Roses SmB and other bottom-/mid-shelfs. I think it was on par with an Old Fashioned I made with Baker's once.

My second experience of the evening was with a splash of water. BIG flavors, but smoother than I expected. I had the feeling of a thousand tiny pinpricks on my tongue long after each sip. Whereas I typically have to slow myself down when sipping other bourbons neat, the OGD 114's finish demanded that I slow my roll. Very interesting effect.

And the funny thing is that, after finishing my pour, I intended to write up these impressions here. But I found myself heading upstairs, brushing my teeth, crawling into bed and falling asleep at 9:30 (about 2 hours earlier than normal). Powerful stuff...

I definitely intend to do more comparisons and critical sipping, but my initial impression is that OGD 114 is a winner. Likely not an everyday sipper though!

PS. I got lots of peanut flavor on the finish.

That's a brilliant review, accounting for personal taste, performance in cocktails, and physiological reactions :) Seriously, very nice going!

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I finished off an '07 recently (bottled on the 204th day :cool:) that was also sublime and could compete with any of the top shelf bottlings like BTACs. I'm waiting to coax similar flavors out of a '12 but so far it ain't happening with more spice, hot and dry than I care for.

Heh heh, I'll leave it to the lawyers to hammer out the details on the years :) I haven't had any 2007s, but it's good to know that the "deadline" wasn't until later. I still don't know why they changed, if they indeed did. I can't prove it, of course...

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That's a brilliant review, accounting for personal taste, performance in cocktails, and physiological reactions :) Seriously, very nice going!
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I know I'm late, but I'll have to pick up a bottle of this soon. I still have two more days! :)

I have the BIB, and enjoy it very much, but have not had the 114 proof. At $20 and $25 for the two, the BIB is a better value, but I'm curious how the higher proof one tastes and what differences there might be between the two other than just the alcohol content.

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Picked up a bottle of this over the weekend at The Party Source for $22. Very smooth and quite flavorful. Glad I tried this, and will re-visit OGD 114 in the future.

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For me, one of the great things about SB is that it leads me to new whiskey discoveries, and this one was a revelation. Coincidentally, in my pre-SB days when I'd just order a shot of rail bourbon with a beer wash, I would occasionally upgrade to a shot of OGD BIB, which I considered the "good stuff." I had never heard of the 114. I'm late to this BOTM thread because it took me a while to get my hands on a 114, but there it was, in the giant liquor store, tucked in with the other OGDs on the bottom shelf. I've been sampling it for 10 days or so now, and I love it. I'll second Squire's tasting notes from early in this thread, but I'm not sure if the 114 should remain unchanged: I'd like a more complex nose and a finish that lingered a little longer, but that's nitpicking. I also agree with Squire that if this label launched today, it would be marketed as a top-shelf bourbon at twice the price. This is a great bourbon at a great price that will become a regular purchase of mine. Thanks for picking this as BOTM, Joe.

Edited by Chuckles
Fixing black type on black background; my bad.
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Dark text on a dark background doesn't work here.

It is best to leave the defaults when posting since some of us don't use the default skin and it makes the posts unreadable.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I finally got around to buying a bottle of this, and now that I'm about half way through it I can say that I really like this stuff. It will be in my regular rotation. It's a great whiskey for taking hiking too due to the higher proof...a little goes a long way for those nighttime nips.

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Is the Lot No. on these at all significant? The bottle I just picked up specifies Lot No. 1, unless it has been sitting on a shelf for a long time, it doesn't seem that A) plausible or B) significant.

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Is the Lot No. on these at all significant? The bottle I just picked up specifies Lot No. 1, unless it has been sitting on a shelf for a long time, it doesn't seem that A) plausible or B) significant.

Your instincts are right, that is the universal Lot no. 1 on OGD114 bottles. True dusties, like ND Old Grandad 114 just can't be found in CT, unless you hit really sketchy spots and know what your looking for, but even then slim pickings for old dusties. New Englanders drink too hard to leave anything behind. :)

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  • 1 month later...

I'm close to finishing my first bottle of OGD114. My overall impression is that it is a good bourbon and will buy it again. The longer I had it open, the better it got to me for some reason. Pour'd neat, it was a little rough, opened up well with a few cubes of ice and mixed well with my Coke Zero. The minuses for me, if called that, is that it almost always had a slight funky aftertaste that to this day I can't quite find an adjective to describe, I can't say it was disgusting but I can't say I liked it either; maybe as I develop my palate and senses the words will come to me. I will say that it was notable that I didn't experience this aftertaste Weller 12, WT101, and Elijah Craig 12 yr, or even the Kirkland Bourbon. I didn't mind the higher proof of the OGD114, but think I prefer the balance in flavor with a slightly lower proof (@100). My first neat sip of OGD114 took me back to @ 10 years old when my grandpa let me sip his bourbon during a Christmas Party, in front of the family. Big laughs... I think I managed to make the same face again. :) For me, the Weller 12 and Elijah Craig 12 really stand out and are my top two favorites-so far, but as mentioned earlier, for the price point and higher proof, OGD will be purchased again. Thanks!

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If you think you might like it at a lower proof, try OGD BIB. As to that "funky aftertaste," it is known around here as That Beam Funk. Some of us actually like it. As you say, the longer it is open, the better it gets.

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I thought OGD was made with ND yeast?

Re: BOTM 4/13: Old Grand Dad 114

http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/showpost.php?p=333820

Edit: should mention that the Beam funk is often associated with Beam yeast - perhaps the "funk" you're getting in the OGD is the result of something else in the Beam "process"?

Edited by ChainWhip
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