Bottle that kick started your bourbon obsession?

[Old Dusty]

Believe I have told this story on here, but the short version is a side by side tasting of PVW 15 and 23 shared by a generous SBer ( is there any other kind) at a Christmas party in 2011. Been hooked since.

[gblick]

It was a bottle of Lot B that sealed the deal for me. Shortly after that, I tried some ORVW 10/107 and OWA, and decided that I prefer the 107 proof over the 90 proof.

[petrel800]

4RSB, typically had bourbon in the house before that, but it was usually Woodford Reserve or Makers Mark to put into Coke. I started weening myself off the coke and started drinking the Woodford and Makers on ice, I quickly began to dislike the Woodford, so I tried a 4RSB because someone told me it was good. It was so good I started drinking it neat and then it all went downhill from there.

[nivto]

Bookers made me realize bourbon was interesting. Four Roses Single Barrel made me realize bourbon was more than just interesting. That's probably the bottle that sent me over the edge.

[savagehenry]

I was hooked from the first sip of Blanton's that I took.

[stiffchainey]

Interesting that so much Blantons is mentioned here. Blantons is probably the Number-One-Bourbon-Insider-Tip right now in Germany.

[black mamba]

I used to be a complete Scotch drinker, but the quality to price ratio of ETL and EC12 changed my mind.

Now that I'm more affluent, I enjoy both Scotch and Bourbon.

[Restaurant man]

Bottle of PVW 15 around 2007. It was just sitting on the shelf. There is one pour left.

[BigRich]

Whiskey in general was Bushmills white label back in 1999. Bourbon was Wild Turkey 101 a few months later.

[Dolph Lundgren]

Glenmorangie 10 opened the door to whisk(e)y, and the bourbon that broke the camel's back was an amazing bottle of ER10.

[omgmarclol]

my dad drank white label beam, so that's what i gravitated to first.

[unclebunk]

Drank nothing but Beam and Jack back in my college days but Elijah Craig 18 is what really opened the door for my bourbon obsession and I still love the extra woody stuff.

[Phil T]

Shortly after my divorce almost 3 yrs ago, I went to Louisville for a friends graduation party. After dinner, my friend Thom, asked if I wanted to join him in having a bourbon (I have always been a craft beer or Belgian beer drinker and never much of a liquor drinker). So I said "sure". You learn to do lots of things that are outside of your comfort zone after a divorce.

Anyhow, it was Woodford Reserve, and I really enjoyed it. I mean I really enjoyed it. The quest for knowledge about bourbon brought me here to SB, google can be a wonderful tool. Looking back I don't know which was more exciting, being single after almost 30 yrs, or discovering bourbon..:woohoo:

[ramblinman]

Probably ETL when the lightbulb came on and I started getting the sweetness and some of the nuances of the flavors, and in general wanting to expand my exposure to those awesome bits.

[Alden]

Maker's Mark, followed immediately by Buffalo Trace. I was amazed at how affordable good bourbon is when compared to good scotch.

I now drink both.

[dohidied]

It happened quickly when I was 25. I bought my first (and last) bottles of Beam and Beam Rye. Then a few weeks later I got an Eagle Rare SB and it really took off. A few weeks later I bought GTS and registered here. My life has never been the same since.

[MauiSon]

I remember it well, it was a bottle Canadian Club (gate style bottle) that I bought cheap ($5.99) years ago and sent to the Philippines in 2011. I was told it was horrible (I had never tried it, but assumed it was a 'good' 6yo whiskey). Humbled by the experience, I did some research and started buying and trying bourbons [EWB, JBB, Old Crow Reserve] with the intent of sharing the good ones. They were all pretty good, so I tried some more and it just snowballed. I'm not much of a drinker, but my collecting inclination drove me to buy bottles that were disappearing and to buy more of those I had tried and liked. So, here I find myself - with a value-priced collection of which I have only tasted less than half the variety, silly me.

Rationalization - I'm supporting the economy at a critical juncture and spending dollars for goods prior to an inevitable inflationary incursion. [My heir(s) will salute me]

Edited June 3, 2013 by MauiSon

[JB64]

Mine started with a bottle of KC I picked up to take to a friend's party. I really liked the flavors I was tasting and decided to do a little research on bourbon which ended up leading me to SB.

[Enoch]

After buying and, tasting, and giving away a handle of JBW about 10 years ago I swore off Bourbon. In 2009, my wife went to Kentucky to work on a series of special elections for about 6 months. On my first visit up, her boss suggested I try Blanton's at the Dragon Pub on the river in Franfort. I was hooked. I drove back with several boxes of Bourbon thinking surely it was cheaper in KY than SC. I was wrong about it being cheaper but been buying ever since.

[tanstaafl2]

After a pretty long period of casual whiskey drinking I think what got me (re)started was a combination of the cocktail revival which got me interested in cocktails with something other than gin and the seemingly near simultaneous rebirth of Irish whiskey, which had long been my favortie whiskey, and the increasing availability of single pot still Irish whiskey in particular, starting with Redbreast. Oddly, I never dabbled much with Scotch although that has changed some of late as well.

From there it was probably the PHC Cognac finish and the CEHT series that attracted me to add bourbon as a primary interest.

The rest, as they say, is history! Very expensive history...

:cool:

[ebo]

I came to bourbon from scotch because of the price difference. The first bourbon I bought was WT 101. I've been on the bourbon train ever since..... and I'm very happy to be riding down the tracks.

[WAINWRIGHT]

My father was always a WT drinker and this wasmy gateway to the world of bourbon and it has only progressed from there.I was introduced to SB through a friend,a trip to Whisky Fest and Binny's and since then there has been no turning back.

[393foureyedfox]

I got started with bourbon as a stress coping device due to school. I hate beer (rather be punched in the face), dislike wine, and since I like in KY, bourbon seemed the place to start. I started with bottom shelf stuff.....KY tavern, HH cheapies, VOB......they helped with the stress, but cant say I overly 'enjoyed' them. But as one who lives in KY and one who has a history degree from way back, I started trying other bourbons, as there is a vast array of them out there, and theyre all so different. Id have to say it was a shot of Booker's I tried in a bar while my wife and I were taking a few days in Cincy that got my interest, and made me realize what was out there. On the same trip, I ordered a 4R1B barrel proof, and reconfirmed my find. Then, soon after, I got a bottle of KC 120. Love that stuff! I just got some 4R1B, but havent opened it yet.

Im probably 9 months or so in since trying my first bourbon, and am enjoying the history, the tasting, and just learning about all this stuff. Most of what you guys mentioned I havent had yet. I tend to like barrel proofers, and stick to 100+ proofers, but theres still plenty of that to try!

[JLH3]

I'd been a tequila and Irish Whiskey drinker until till I read an article by Wright Thompson (amazing writer btw) about Pappy Van Winkle. I then had a glass of PVW 23 at a resort. After that came a bottle of Lot B. And it's been all bourbon since then.

[SBOmarc]

My father drinking OGD and Wild Turkey. I have never wandered.