Bottle that kick started your bourbon obsession?

[MyOldKyDram]

Honestly not sure. Think it was actually Woodford Reserve. Was given as a gift to us groomsmen and just started branching out from there. Found this place and here I am.

[Clavius]

Tough question.

I began drinking MM. But it was probably my first bottle of PVW15 several years ago that made me go, "Wow!"

But still to this day my favorite bourbon is the 2011 WLW. That stuff was simply sublime.

[amftx]

Four Roses small batch was my first "ah-ha!" Pour.

[PaulO]

The first bottle that really wowed me was some JW Dant B.I.B. back in the 1990s. I think it must have been from the whiskey glut era. This stuff was deep red colored and had all kinds of flavors going on like fresh baked bread, carmel, and fruit. It went down much easier than most of the lower proof whiskies too. Sadly the current Dant is just ok. Anyway this encouraged me to hunt the bottom and mid shelf. Then I eventually discovered OWA.

[GaryT]

Buffalo Trace was one of the first that opened my eyes (before that, it was Jack Daniels and Crown Royal), and I think the one that pushed me over the edge was a tasting at Chapeze House which included GTS and WLW. I never could imagine how anyone could spend more than $50 on a bottle of alcohol unless they had more money than sense. Then, I tasted GTS and WLW, and when I got home I relentlessly hunted both

[mbroo5880i]

Honestly not sure. Think it was actually Woodford Reserve. Was given as a gift to us groomsmen and just started branching out from there. Found this place and here I am.

Similar story. Occasionally, I drank whiskeys like JD. A friend turned me on to Woodford and the rest is history. It's funny. He is a Manhattan maniac and wine drinker. He is still stuck on Woodford. I have moved on. I still like Woodford but the more I experiment the less it is my go-to-pour.

[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.

[WhiskyRI]

It started with Beam decanters tasted illicitly from my parents liquor cabinet as a teenager, switched to Maker's in college. Continued along haphazardly for a long time with the Small Batches and kicked into high gear after deciding to buy PVW20 and PVW12 just to see what the fuss was about. Needless to say tasting them was revelatory. Now I've expanded across the entire Whisk(e)y spectrum.

[Don_Draper]

Started with Old Fashioneds then started sipping the bourbon. Buffalo Trace really got me into bourbon bc of their experimentation. I was able to see that bourbon is just as sophisticated as scotch and wanted something uniquely American.

[Old Dusty]

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.

Think it was called "On Pappy and Grease" and I read it as well. Then had the encounter I posted a page or so back. Looks like we had a similar path to bourbon appreciation.

[mosugoji64]

I was an EWB drinker for years. I also drank some EWSB, Bushmills, Jameson, JB Rye, & JBW, but mostly EWB and all on the rocks. I never gave it much thought until a couple of years ago when I was trying to come up with something fun to do on Spring break. A friend of mine was an EW drinker, too, so I thought, "Let's go see where they make this stuff!" We ended up doing the Bourbon Trail in 3 days and had a blast. I brought home several bottles including M46, FRSB, HH gold BIB, and ERSB. The doors were thrown wide open for me. A short time later, I discovered this forum and OWA. My life has never been the same. :grin:

[DaveOfAtl]

Was given a bottle of Lot B a few years back as a present at a "stock the bar party" before my wedding. I was always a bourbon drinker before that (mostly Makers), but that Lot B opened the can of worms that brought me here. Still one of my favorites.

[theglobalguy]

MM was what started me drinking bourbon, a bottle of Parker's Heritage last year which launched me off the cliff of obsession. Flavor just floored me.

Had always snickered when i saw higher priced bottlings, quickly came to realize there's a tremendous amount of choices in the $25-75 range all year long and some really knockout product when Fall releases roll around.

[JLH3]

Was given a bottle of Lot B a few years back as a present at a "stock the bar party" before my wedding. I was always a bourbon drinker before that (mostly Makers), but that Lot B opened the can of worms that brought me here. Still one of my favorites.

It's interesting to read how many of us got our start not just from PVW, but from Lot B in particular.

[smknjoe]

Jim Beam for regular stuff and Jefferson's Reserve 15yr. for a premium bottle. Right around 99 or so that was the only Jefferson's that was available and I thought it couldn't get any better than that. I usually only bought a "good" bottle a few times a year and last year I decided I wanted something different and started reading these forums. Now, I think it's perfectly normal to have multiple bottles of stuff I like (ETL, OGD, OWA, 4R...) on hand "just incase".

[Pikesville]

Always liked and drank whiskey, mostly rye and some bourbon. I would call the tipping point when I splurged and bought a $80 bottle of Handy. And liked it so darn much, the "wow that's expensive" barrier had been broken, and I was off to the races. Still enjoy mainly everyday pours, but am more willing to crack open the bank for a 4RLE SmB or Saz 18 now that I have tasted the forbidden fruit.

[RocknRoll]

I was "hooked" by my first bottle of EC12. Still a favorite.

[JKLS]

Jefferson's Very Old Very Small Batch. Got a bottle for Christmas from my GM, actually had a friday night off from the restaurant while my Aunt was having a christmas dinner. Brought it along, decided to just drink it neat and it just clicked. Down the rabbit hole ever since.

[Crowes]

Bookers for me. I bought a bottle for my boss for his birthday and we sat and had a few pours. Man, what a flavor bomb that was at the time. Probably the reason half the bottles I have open right now are barrel strength.

[weller_tex]

After break of many years of drinking whiskey, I fell in love with Single Malts around 2005-2006. One time while working in New Mexico in and in a place where I could only buy Scotch blends, JBW, JD, and WT 101 I took a try on the 101. I had liked it back in the 80's but that was mixed with Coke. I had a real epiphany that WT 101 (at least what you could buy then) was certainly equally as satisfying as Single Malts for a whole lot less money. I have liked WT 101 less and less over the last two years, but that's what got me started.

[HighInTheMtns]

I originally had the idea that I just wanted a well-stocked bar, and started buying an assortment of liquor. Before long, all I was drinking from the collection I compiled was bourbon, and I ended up wanting to try a variety of bourbons... And as we all know, THAT decision leads to a slippery, slippery slope. I can't name a particular bottle that was a prime motivator, but it was several mid-shelf pours all around the same time.

[AaronWF]

Just like Bob Parker, it was a TV show that drew me to bourbon, namely Deadwood. I went out and bought a bottle of Basil Hayden, like they drank on the show. Lots of experimenting followed, and in '06, my whiskey monger introduced me to Pappy 15. That made me a brand fan, but whiskey still wasn't a hobby. I started spending real money with the '10 BTAC and started a blog at the end of that year.

But it was the mid-70's OGD86 and the handle of OFitz BiB '68-'74 I found locked away in my grandfather's basement that drove me into research and this site that really lit my fuse. The OF especially.

[tigerlam92]

that drove me into research and this site that really lit my fuse. The OF especially.

Yes, for me it's also and always SB.com that lighted and fueling the obsession.

Like I posted before, the more I come on this site the more I drink, the more I hunt, and the more I bunker.

Cheers

Hugh

[RWBadley]

Not counting the Old Crow guzzled down in the '70's?

In the 80's and 90's I would go on homebrew beer judging trips with some friends. After a hard day of judging beer it just seemed right to divert off into Scotch, Tequila, Cognac, Mezcal, Bourbon etc... I guess I got into it bigtime in the mid 90's when you could still buy Port Ellen, Pappy, Hirsch and 20 some year old Ardbeg and Highland Park for 50-75 bucks

[tylermke]

A bottle of Eagle Rare 10yr back in 2008 set off my curiosity. After that, my pocketbook has always seemed a bit lighter.