Finish the sentence: I like bourbon because...

[shi_da_Wei]

Hello everyone, I am new to the board. Although I haven't had a chance to taste most of the bourbons you folks talk about, I still think I am qualified to call myself a fan of the spirit.

So anyway, for my first discussion, I wonder if anyone would like to fill in the blank below:

I like bourbon, because _____________.

I'll go first:

1) ... because unlike alot of spirits, a lot of the taste from the mash carries over to the spirit. I'm not a big scotch fan, because I enjoy tasting fermented grain more than peat smoke, congeners (sp?) and tannins. Granted bourbon has some of the funky stuff in it, but it doesn't dominate the taste like it does in Scotch (O.K., I've only tried a few kinds of scotch, so this could be off). This obviously is a matter of personal taste.

2) ...bourbon has a high ratio of quality to cost. You can buy really really good bourbon for less than $30/750mL. Other aged spirits, such as cognac, (pure agave) tequila, scotch etc., while also good, are fairly pricey compared to bourbon.

3) ... bourbon is a uniquely American spirit, and one of the few domestic food/potables that I can be proud to call American. Its almost a patriotic duty to drink it!

I'd love to see what others out there would put in that blank...

[ratcheer]

I like bourbon because it is a traditional American and southern product that is part of my heritage.

I also like it for several other reasons, but that is my main reason.

It makes me feel good.

It is good for the circulatory system.

It comes in a wide variety that makes it interesting to sample different expressions.

Some of those expressions taste wonderful.

It comforts me on cold evenings.

It is great with a good book.

Tim

[texascarl]

1) It's delicious

2) Compared to beer...it's a diet drink. Low cal/no carbs. What's not to like?

3) Made here in the USA, and I'm trying to work on the balance of trade. I may even achieve favored nation status.

4) Farm states (like mine) & pork-barrel ethanol projects: whistle-blowers insist these currently require 2 gallons of fossil fuel to produce 1 gallon of ethanol to burn in your car. With that kind of national energy sacrifice involved, I intend to consume all this corn-based ethanol my own damn self.

[Buckky]

welcome to our site...good friends come from many places... I like bourbon for its taste, grain, wood and history....nothing tastes quite like bourbon... I love the history of the spirit for its frontier quality, its "down-river" to New Orleans aspect (and now NO has come north to purchase Buffalo Trace)...soaked in white oak barrels(my backyard is shadowed by a white oak),made of mid-western corn,rye and barley, watered by the limestone of kentucky and nurtured by genius' who take pride in the final product, bourbon is the finest distilled product on the planet. bourbon is a "risk"...it doesnt use "used" barrels from bourbon as the scotch industry does (many from Brown-Forman...thus Jack Daniels, which owns a major share in Glenmorangie et all),it must take the chance to allow good spirit to age within raw charred white oak till a master decides whether it should stay or go... it uses domestic grains unlike the scotch industry which gets most of its barley from the Ukraine, its wheat from Canada or Australia and its premium brand(Macallen) dependent upon Sherry barrels from Spain. Bourbon is the quintensential American spirit...and if you want to understand Americans, if you want to understand America then you must appreciate "whiskey"...thus bourbon.

[MurphyDawg]

I must agree with the americana aspect of it ( waxed poetic about it in a wild turkey tasting I dide a long while back), so to add to all the great comments above, I compliments a great stogie (as I am beginning to learn) like nothing else.

Also because it doesnt back down, you have to step up to the tasting experience!

WELCOME TO BOURBONIA!!

TomC

[SSBourbon1]

I like bourbon becuase every time I drink it I can identify something a little different about each one...it is an experience that can be shared with friends and acquaintences....you know that there is a history a story and a great accomplishment with each sip you take

[TNbourbon]

I like bourbon because I can enjoy even just a little bit of it. In a way, I guess that's a combination of all the other things others here have said about it. But I can nurse a 2-ounce pour for a half-hour, enjoying the nose and taste of a great variety of drinks all made from the same basic, essential ingredients (more or less) and procedures. Additionally, as a history buff, the inter-connectedness of bourbon and U.S. history/economics is as fascinating as the drink itself.

[longash4me]

I like bourbon 'cause it makes my face go all squinched up when I drink it sometimes!

[bandit]

I like bourbon because a hard day of work is satisfying, but incomplete. Bourbon is a little vacation in a thick bottomed glass, available each evening to put a cap on the day. Worries drift away.

It tastes good, too.

-AJ

[Black85L98]

Get me a shot of bourbon, and a glass of bourbon, and a bourbon chaser. The Mummy

Are you desirable? Are you irresistible? Maybe if you drank bourbon with me, it would help. Maybe if you kissed me and I could taste the sting in your mouth it would help. If you drank bourbon with me naked. If you smelled of bourbon as you (I'll stop there) Leaving Las Vegas

It can laugh all it wants, the galaxy's not getting any of our bourbon. Enterprise 2001

For me Bourbon is real. No other spirit hits the way Bourbon does. No other drink makes me respect it. Good Bourbon demands respect and takes your attention from all else, if just for a moment, you are part of a dream. Hello the scent is in your nose, the flavor explodes all over your tongue, next comes the warm finish that says I’m leaving, and then it’s over, but just till the next sip.

But hey thats just me.

[pepcycle]

Martha Stewart Doesn't!!

[CL]

I like bourbon, because _____________.

...it tastes great.

...it's in my family (from KY)

...it's pure - you know what you are getting - no blending of foreign substances, etc.

...it's an art to create it

...it has heritage

...it still is made the old fashioned way

...it doesn't taste like medicine like s***** does!

...it's not just plain alcohol like vodka

...it has American grains and American white oak built in

...the yuppies haven't discovered it and driven the price sky high

...the SB.com crew!

[WEG3]

I like bourbon, because _____________.

I enjoy the flavor and feel of a good pour.

I feel it is a good reward for having done a days work at the farm.

I like the history that it holds both my personal and that of the nation ..

what else is there to drink?... other than maybe water, and even at that the jury is still out on it ... man kind has not made a better drink for a good pour .

Bill G,

[jeff]

I like bourbon, because _____________.

It gets the wife a little randy

[Paradox]

Ok, I'll bite...

I like bourbon, because _____________.

...The snobs aren't drinking it yet.

And, to me, it is the best tasting/drinking spirit made.

[Vinnie]

I like Boubon because ______________.

1. its simple. All you need is a glass and thats optional. No need for straws or fruit juices,silly names or those little umbrellas ( although just for fun sometimes i order my bourbon with one...)

2. its complex. Take a sip and you know what i mean.

3.its not an apple flavored martini or what ever the flavor of the week happens to be.Screw diamonds, Bourbon is forever.

4. its mine. You have to want to drink it.Bourbon is not for everyone. And I like that.I remember feeling like I had discovered buried treasure when started loving bourbon.I almost have conflicting feelings on spreading the Bourbon Religion.On one hand you share the joy of bourbon with the otherwise ignorant masses, on the other hand the less that know, the more for us.

[MikeD]

I like bourbon, because _____________.

It's a good alternative to Scotch... and it's American

[Nightcap]

I like bourbon because it does that THANG in ma mouth.

[gr8erdane]

I like bourbon because it likes me.

It doesn't give me a headache while drinking it like wine. It doesn't fill me up and make me feel bloated like beer. It doesn't make me smell like a Christmas tree like gin. It doesn't make me want to look down on people like scotch.

It doesn't leave that rubbing alcohol taste like vodka.

But mostly,

It doesn't make me dance naked in public bars like tequila. (at 5'6" 280# NOBODY wants that)

[brendaj]

Hi David,

I like Bourbon because I cut my teeth on it (literally... ).

Nice to have you join us. Tell us about yourself. You have an interesting login name. Are you stateside?

Bj

[bourbondoc]

I like bourbon because ______...

It is sooo much more flavorful than other spirits.

It is truly an American Thang.

It is so purty in the bottle.

Scotch is NOWHERE near as tasty.

It is actually cheaper than most other premium booze (e.g Single malt scotch)

Jeff Johnson