Bourbon appreciation is a long journey and tastes change

[Paddy]

The fact that it's pretty much all readily available probably doesn't hurt much. I think I need to re-explore the Beam lineup . . .

Joe is spot on. I don't drink Beam regularly, but when I do...I feel like I've come back home.

I guess it really goes back to my college days, when I drank a few barrels of the white label on the cheap.:grin:

[squire]

I don't drink Beam regularly, but when I do...I feel like I've come back home.

Come to think of it that's how I feel.

[Harry in WashDC]

Joe is spot on. I don't drink Beam regularly, but when I do...I feel like I've come back home . . .

Like you and Squire, I feel that way, too. Wonder if it has something to do with home being the only place I drink it . . .

More to the point, I finished my first (and so far only) JB BIB a couple of days ago. Last night, I surprised myself by wanting more. Talk about tastes changing.

[fozzy71]

...

More to the point, I finished my first (and so far only) JB BIB a couple of days ago. Last night, I surprised myself by wanting more. Talk about tastes changing.

I almost grabbed another of these today but I am trying not to buy any for a while if I can help it (need to thin out the bunker a bit) and I haven't finished the one I already have open.

[Bourbon Envy]

I'm becoming more tolerant of peaty Scotch. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

This is true for quite a few folks that did not care for anything even remotely smoky. Most seem to start with mild flavor profiles and move to choices with bolder profiles. 10 years ago I hated bourbons and any American whiskey I tried, preferring strictly Single Malts or Tequila. Now I abhor mild Single Malts like Glenlivet or Glenfiddich and love Islay malts or high rye bourbons. My buddy tells me I killed my good tastebuds with smoky scotches and bourbons but I think my palette has evolved. And I think for the better.

Cheers! -BE

[garbanzobean]

This is true for quite a few folks that did not care for anything even remotely smoky. Most seem to start with mild flavor profiles and move to choices with bolder profiles. 10 years ago I hated bourbons and any American whiskey I tried, preferring strictly Single Malts or Tequila. Now I abhor mild Single Malts like Glenlivet or Glenfiddich and love Islay malts or high rye bourbons. My buddy tells me I killed my good tastebuds with smoky scotches and bourbons but I think my palette has evolved. And I think for the better.

Cheers! -BE

I seemed to move in the opposite direction to this. I started by enjoying the intense stuff, and have slowly begun to enjoy more subtle whiskies. This happened with craft beer a decade ago, too. Started out drinking lots of double IPAs, Imperial stouts, etc. Now I'm more apt to get excited by a well made whit, dubbel, pilsner, schwarzbier, etc. I think learning to smell and taste the obvious made it easier for me to appreciate the less obvious.

Not that I don't still enjoy the heck out of a great peat bomb or barrel proof high rye bourbon. I just also get excited by lowlands, speysiders, and am even coming around to younger wheated bourbon. Not sure I'm ever going to care for the older stuff though.