Uncut unfiltered Delicious

[mbroo5880i]

Earlier in the thread I indicated that I typically add a little water, ice or lower proof bourbon whenever a bourbon is over 110 proof. I guess tonight is atypical since I am drinking a barrel proof WFE at 117 without diluting it. Use of the word "typically" always allows a little leeway! :grin:

[Harry in WashDC]

I add some water to anything from about 110 proof on up. Lot's of people do. It's all about getting the best flavor from the spirit and for most, it opens up and blossoms with a little water added.

Yup. OGD 114 right out of a new bottle burns me, but OGD 114 sitting in a glass neat for 5 minutes doesn't, and OGD 114 with one small cube melted in it in it is like eating a good fruit salad to me. Like potato chips, it's tough to stop at just one.

[Harry in WashDC]

I always taste my BPs undiluted as some pours drink fine at the BP (WTRB, some 4RSB...) Most times though I am cutting BPs over 110 down to 100p, that seems to be my sweet spot and something around 120 when cut to 100 reveals many more layers of flavor that were previously masked by ethanol heat. YMMV.

Yup. Like adding salt and pepper to food, I always taste the pour neat to see how it tastes to me that particular moment before I start adding stuff to it. Sometimes a side glass of warm water is enough (for side sipping). Sometimes adding a few drops of water is called for. Sometimes a cube. But I do this gradually until I hit the sweet spot for that particular whisky on that particular night. '

[Dannabis]

Here is a classic dusty post from the late great Truman Cox (etohchem), a chemist and master distiller at Bowman when he passed, and his skeptical take on the taste pleasure of high proof alcohol. He made an error in calling the trigeminal nerve the trans geminal nerve.

"Alcohol is a direct stimulator of the trans geminal nerve. So are CO2, capsaicin, ammonia(smelling salts) and others. The first sensation when drinking is pain and annoyance on this nerve. Alcohol itself is said to have no flavor or odor just a trans geminal reaction. When this nerve is stimulated repeatedly it becomes accustomed to the feeling and turns it to a pleasurable sense, requiring stronger stimulation to receive that feeling. Hence as some on this board say they want higher and higher proofs as they get deeper into spirits. You also see this effect with hot sauces and hot wings, hotter and hotter becomes the quest to stimulate this nerve. The stimulation becomes key vs flavor enjoyment.

Ever hear at a college party" I can't taste the alcohol in this punch, this is great" means that the trans geminal nerve isn't being stimulated."

Very cool quote.

I enjoy spicy food and I do not seek hotter and hotter foods.

Mostly I do feel that I enjoy the piquant and savory flavors of some spicy foods.

Bhut Jolokia peppers are disgusting to me; not for the insane heat, but because of the smoke flavor they harbor.

Habaneros are tastier, but not very desirable to me, their palate of flavors is not where my tastes are.

Hard to say if my barrel proof pleasures are 'trigemenal' (new word and concept for me)

but I also notice that some high proof whiskey is flavorful and tasty, while some are repellent.

hope I didn't wander too far off topic.

Edited June 18, 2014 by Dannabis
attempted and failed to normalize font color

[Dannabis]

Dunno how I got that darker text color...

[flahute]

Yup. OGD 114 right out of a new bottle burns me, but OGD 114 sitting in a glass neat for 5 minutes doesn't, and OGD 114 with one small cube melted in it in it is like eating a good fruit salad to me. Like potato chips, it's tough to stop at just one.

OGD 114 with a little touch of water is delightful. I also let it sit in the glass a bit like you do. It's a beautiful thing when it all comes together.

[Dwt]

Not that I'm any great connoisseur, but I've never tasted anything close to GTS or Stagg Jr. with a small ice cube. Then again, I've never had any Van Winkle other than the 15 year

[El Vino]

The CEHT Barrel Proof is some mighty fine whiskey - if a bit pricey.