Most Memorable Pour

[tylermke]

I know many of us have had some standout or higher end bottles in our bourbon careers, but I'm always curious to find out what others consider their most memorable pour(s). It doesn't have to be the best or priciest, just whatever stands out to you.

For me, I'd say I have two pours that are more distinctly more memorable than any other:

1. My first 'enthusiast' pour from a bottle of ER10. It was a number of years ago and really turned me from a Jack & Coke drinker to where I am now. It was what really made the lightbulb go off in my head. I still have the bottle saved.

2. My initial encounter with George T Stagg at a whisk(e)y bar in Milwaukee. At that time, I hadn't really had many higher proof bourbons, especially not something like GTS. Decided to put my big boy pants on and give it a whirl. Has consistently been my favorite ever since.

[smknjoe]

Jefferson's Reserve (15yr.) sometime in the late 90's. It was the first time I had a bourbon that I didn't think needed a chaser or mixer. More recently, Randy Blank's "Van Blankle". Damn good stuff!

[Vietish]

I cant remember the exact date, but it would be nearly two years ago. In a bar with the girlfriend, about to go out to dinner. The bar was predominately a Scotch bar and as I hate Scotch I asked what Bourbon they had. I cant remember all the choices he offered, but PVW15 was one of them. Even back then I had heard of the name and figured I would give it a shot. That is when my eyes opened and I saw the potential of the spirit I didn't know much about past Jim Beam or Wild Turkey with Coke. It also helped that when I went back to the bar, intending for a refill, the guy told me to try GTS as I might like it as well.

My tastebuds and wallet has never been the same and I still go to that bar on special occasions and order the exact same two drinks.

[Richnimrod]

I'll violate a bit here and name two; for two different reasons....

1) For the way it opened my eyes to Bourbon with age and character and wood: Henry McKenna BIB, SB, 10-years old

2) For the way it changed my opinion of NDP Bourbons: Ezra B Single Barrel, 12-years old, 99-proof.

I still don't like many NDP's much, in fact most are less than stellar, and often seem to be trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the public.... but, it doesn't mean that a few aren't worth a try.

Both are a kind of definition of the type of Bourbon I've come to really appreciate after being a Jack drinker for much of my life.

[dcbt]

Couple different memorable pours that stand out:

I tracked down a few bottles of PVW 20s one year and gave one to my dad for his birthday. He didn't even open it for several months, when we both had a pour at Christmas. Nice father / son moment.

Another albeit different memorable pour was after I got a rave review at work - not an annual, formal review, but an ad-hoc, random email from a client to my bosses raving about me, which was forwarded to me one evening as I was at home. I read it to my wife who said that deserved a pour. She doesn't drink bourbon, mostly just wine, and she went to the bourbon decanter and poured a glass like she would a glass of wine. When she handed it to me, I had about 6oz of Buffalo Trace to attack and said "That's a healthy glass of bourbon!" It still makes me laugh picturing this glass almost filled to the brim with bourbon.

[JVande]

When my little boy was born, cracked open my first Pappy 20 ('11 bottling). Other than that, I already forgot what I poured yesterday? Thanks goodness for the "What bourbon are you drinking now" thread!

[bingstein]

I was house sitting for a law school professor and he had an open bottle of George T. Stagg from 2008. I hadn't ever heard of it but a buddy had. I had about a 1 oz pour of it and that started this obsession.

I also had an early 80s pour of OC10 that turned me onto dusties in a big way.

[Quantum]

I'm going to cheat and go with a list. These are not the best, but the ones that are seared into my memory, with every vivid detail intact. Normally only specific details make it to my long term memory, so anything where the entire experience sticks around kind of stands out.

Russell's Reserve, the one that opened my eyes to the potential of bourbon as more than a mixer.

Booker's, my first barrel proofer.

William Larue Weller, which went on to become possibly my favorite bourbon. (excluding things I have only had a sample of, and will never realistically have a chance to taste again)

OFBB 13, on nose alone. First taste wasn't too shabby either.

[No_Reception]

ORVW 10 90proof changed the way I thought about bourbon. Under $40 at the time too and available year round.

Basil Hayden's for how absolutely terrible it is. All burn and no flavor, surprising for it's low proof.(I drink stagg jr neat so high proofs don't scare me away). I've tried again and still feel the same.

POH, grabbed this as a consolation for driving way too far to find 1000% mark up on PVW. Stopped at a different liquor store on the way back. Saw it in a case. Figured what the hell. It's probably my favorite bourbon. I've grabbed a few more bottles.

[black mamba]

The two most memorable for me were first, BMH 16 yo at a friend's house about 6-7 years ago. At the time I was primarily a scotch drinker, and had tasted very few top tier, extra-aged bourbons. As a scotch drinker, most bourbons tasted too sweet to me, but the shellac nose and drying finish of the 16 yo BMH was a revelation to me, and continues to be my favorite flavor profile to this day.

The second was my first bottle of PVW 20 yo, a 2009. The same type nose and finish as the BMH16, but even more richness. To this day, the best bottle of bourbon I've ever had.

[Brisko]

WT 12, around 1993 or 1994. Hard to say exactly how old the bottle was but it was at a friend's place. We were about 17, watching movies and eating pizza, and we decided to raid the liquor cabinet. I insisted on trying it neat before we mixed it with Coke. It's an experience I haven't forgotten although I don't really recall the flavor. I believe it was the first bourbon I'd ever tried (my folks are teetotalers). We sampled quite a few from the cabinet over the years but the Turkey was easily the best. They say you never forget your first time:rolleyes:

There was also a 100 proof version of Southern Comfort which was (to my untrained taste) really good. I managed to acquire the regular version around the same time and found it disgusting.

I had some older WTRB minis a few years ago that reminded me of that WT12.

[Tony]

I will think of a great pour. But off the top of my head it would have to be the new Jim Beam tour with the tasting at the end. They give you these cards that you have to insert into this machine and then pick your pour with your glass under the spigot. I swear it was so fast and such a mist that I thought maybe it was broken. But no, they are just tiny pours.

Best regards, Tony

[dSculptor]

ORVW 10 90proof changed the way I thought about bourbon. Under $40 at the time too and available year round.

Basil Hayden's for how absolutely terrible it is. All burn and no flavor, surprising for it's low proof.(I drink stagg jr neat so high proofs don't scare me away). I've tried again and still feel the same.

POH, grabbed this as a consolation for driving way too far to find 1000% mark up on PVW. Stopped at a different liquor store on the way back. Saw it in a case. Figured what the hell. It's probably my favorite bourbon. I've grabbed a few more bottles.

[No_Reception]

POH?

My most memorable pour happened last month with an old mini of OF BIB from 1969, Oh my....... Nothing from the past or present has ever compared to that, it is now my mission in life to find another..

[weller_tex]

My BIL had a bottle of Wild Turkey American Spirit several years ago. At the time I was heavily into Scotch. The 15 year old WT really opened my eyes. Man that stuff was good...

[luther.r]

A couple years ago a friend invited me to taste old dusty SW with Julian and Preston at a bar in Louisville. We tried many different bourbons that evening, but the favorites were a VOF bottled in the late 50s and a VVOF bottled in 1975. It was a great evening, just casually hanging out and chatting with them while tasting amazing dusties.

[Gillman]

I'd have to say A.H. Hirsch bourbon 16 years old blue wax, consumed in Las Vegas at a hotel. Generous pour helped. Charles Dickens said famously of beer, you can't taste it in a sip. As true of whiskey.

Gary

[Old Dusty]

Posted this previously in a similar thread, but it was the generosity of fellow SBers that got me involved to a monetarily dangerous extent in this hobby. Friends brought a single barrel PVW 23 to a holiday party. It was a revelation and the start of a fun slide down a slippery slope of procuring/consuming/sharing that is still going. Thanks Jon and Dawn!

[mph]

Shared my last 2 shots of PVW 20 with my son on the day he was sworn in to the Maryland Bar.

Now if he could only find a job.

[ethangsmith]

John Lipman gave me some Gukenheimer whiskey from 1898. Good stuff!

The other was when I gave Dick Stoll, who was Distiller at Michter's in Schaefferstown from 1975-1990, a glass of the new Michter's Sour Mash. He thought it was pretty good, but chuckled that Michter's from PA was still better.

[GaryT]

I think for me it was my first taste of GTS in Bardstown, at Chapeze House. My dad and I were hitting the trail, and had a "wish list" of bourbons we wanted to try - and that was right near the top of it. I'd only read about it in magazines, and this was before I found SB.com. It totally blew my mind. Although a close second was WLW which we sampled later that evening, courtesy of the Colonel. Just never new bourbon could taste like that :yum:

[jfw]

John Lipman gave me some Gukenheimer whiskey from 1898. Good stuff!

The other was when I gave Dick Stoll, who was Distiller at Michter's in Schaefferstown from 1975-1990, a glass of the new Michter's Sour Mash. He thought it was pretty good, but chuckled that Michter's from PA was still better.

Ethan, IMHO he is absolutely correct. Mine is Michter's 101 on a camping trip in PA with friends in the late 80s (sometimes it's the whiskey, sometimes it's the company, sometimes it's both). It was the first whiskey I tried that I really liked. It was also my first case purchase on the way back home. The last bottle is still in the bunker. It's destined to go down when I retire in a year or two with some of the same friends.

[tylermke]

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading everyone's responses. Thank you for taking the time to share!

[Clavius]

For sure, 2011 William Larue Weller is my most memorable pour. It was my first taste of any in the BTAC. Liquor Barn put out a tweet the day they got BTAC in and I just happened to be off work. So I immediately got in the car and drove over there. Upon getting there they told me it was one bottle per person. So I had to quickly make up my mind between Stagg and WLW. Ultimately I went with WLW because I tend to prefer wheaters. I've never regretted it. The stuff was amazing. And to this day I've never had another bourbon like it.

[SBOmarc]

Wild Turkey Tribute. I found it at a SoCal haunt of mine long after it was supposed to be impossible to find. I kept it off limits while drinking away a nice but small bunker. I opened it when I remarried on a day that was also my birthday. I know I will never taste it again. It was legendary on this board, and the juice was memorable.