voigtman Posted January 1, 2004 Share Posted January 1, 2004 Happy New Year! I decided to open a bottle of Hirsch 16 to celebrate and, after removing the foil (a new one: no wax) I started removing the cork. It started to split and it was a race to get the cork out before it split into pieces. Luckily, I got the cork out and poured a generous drink of Hirsch 16, then found a perfect replecement cork in my box of corks from old bottles.Well, the Hirsch 16 is wonderful! I had great expectations for it and it met them all. It is rather mild, in some ways, but this is rather like Sazerac 18: it has the essential essence of what it is down pat, with no wasted motion. This is just fabulous!Happy New Years and Best of Success in the coming years~ Cheers, Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texascarl Posted January 1, 2004 Share Posted January 1, 2004 To celebrate Hogmanay tonite a generous pour of Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit.Let's take a cup of kindness for auld lang syne. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNbourbon Posted January 1, 2004 Share Posted January 1, 2004 I'm drinking Weller 12yo tonight, and it's as good as ever. Re Hirsch 16yo:After not having seen it on a shelf for months, I found and snatched up five bottles (all older wax-topped) between Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve in three different stores. The story is that the area distributor ran across a case buried in the warehouse, and the distribution manager phoned a handful of larger stores to see if they wanted a couple of bottles. If I'm not mistaken, Hirsch is shipped in 6-bottle cases. If so, I only missed one of them. Happy New Year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpippen Posted January 2, 2004 Share Posted January 2, 2004 Having spent a number of years drinking Maker's Mark, I decided it was time to truly enjoy myself and I have been wandering through a list of tastings. I now only cook with Maker's. My new standard is WT Rare Breed and tonight I am enjoying Kentucky Spirit to celebrate a new job for the new year. With age and a refined palate, the years keep getting better and better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratcheer Posted January 2, 2004 Share Posted January 2, 2004 RB & KS - excellent choices!Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff Posted January 3, 2004 Share Posted January 3, 2004 It's a sad evening for here at the Yeast household. I am taking the final sips of my first bottle of single barrel bourbon: EWSB 1991. Still my favorite of the vintages I have sampled, 89-93. Maybe I'll run across a stray bottle somewhere, but for now I'll have the memories (Cue the Barbara Streisand music) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff Posted January 6, 2004 Share Posted January 6, 2004 ORVW 10yo 107 proof. I don't think I can get enough of this bourbon. Smooth and creamy with just enough kick to remind you you're drinking a high-proof bourbon. Here's to many more years of ORVW bourbon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightcap Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 Mmmmm Tonight i am savoring the smokey flavor of Wild Turkey,I tried it again for the first time in years, a few night ago and just had to revisit. I am blown away by the compexity of what i "had" considered a simple bourbon.This is going to be a go-to bourbon of mine from now on,I believe. WT 101 is the whiskey that converted me to bourbon. I picked up a bottle again yesterday, and am reminded of how truly satisfying this product is. I think of it as a premium bourbon, regardless of whether or not it is specifically marketed as such. It makes huge promises to the nose, and delivers them all to the palate. This is a label that I will return to again and again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommy Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 A first for me--Old Fitzgerald BIB. Tommy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffgeorge Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 Baker's 107 proof tonight. It was a Xmas gift from my wife. She's a keeper! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNbourbon Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 Am revisiting my ORVW 10/90 tonight -- the one I didn't care for much the first time I tried it again last month. I'm about halfway into the bottle now, sipping it once or twice a week, and I think my first impression was just an anomoly -- while not quite as sturdy as the 10/107 or 15yo, it's still right tasty. And I love the liquid-honey look in the glass. Getting a really strong (and pleasant) toffee/caramel in the nose, and leather and orange peel on the palate. Probably some other things, too, I can't recognize. Anyway, am much more positive about it each time I've tried it since that first time. Good stuff, and the least expensive of the Van Winkles. Will replace this bottle when it's gone, after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepcycle Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 Last night it was Stagg'03 by the fire. I was tempted to put on a smoking jacket and ascot, as I felt very "Hef-like" enjoying Stagg from a snifter with the fire burning, lounging in overstuffed leather chair. (Ain't life grand) At full strength, this is a big whiskey, intimidating if approached to quickly. Very satisfying on a cold winter's night. (Now, if I can only convince The Patty to act more "Bunny-like") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelerFan Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 Started with a touch of Stagg 03, Then some Ezra B 15yo and finished with a sip of ORVW 10/107. I'm approaching sensory overload Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratcheer Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 Tonight, it was a large straight shot of Elijah Craig 12-year old while I was cooking supper. Supper was braised pork chops, gravy, and rice. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNbourbon Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 Well, I finally did it -- I finished a drink of Stagg '03 uncut! I discovered if I immediately rolled a tiny taste to the middle/back of my tongue, I eliminated most of the alcohol burn. Then I just let the drink coat my tongue from back-to-front slowly (many of you guys probably already had this figured out, but I'm learning without mentoring, so don't chuckle!) and I got flavor instead of all-alcohol. I'd previously enjoyed Stagg at about 60/40 ratio with water, but this gives a much fuller flavor -- a 'nuttiness' that stands out. I like it even better (in small doses) this way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveZZZ Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 Your comment on the nuttiness is interesting. When I was home over Christmas, I drank a bit of Stagg '03 with my brother. He's very inexperienced with higher end liquors, so I was surprised he liked it at all. His first comment was that the aftertaste reminded him a little of Amaretto.STeve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratcheer Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Last night, while reading Master and Commander by O'Brian, I had a healthy pour of Blanton's. Some people have been coming down on this whiskey, lately, but I don't understand it.This is the smoothest good bourbon I know of. "Smooth" isn't exactly my favorite quality, but I suppose that is because it often goes with blandness. And Blanton's isn't bland.It gives all sorts of flavors - last night, I noted corn, caramel, citrus, and a couple of other notes I couldn't exactly match a term with.All in all, an excellent drink on a cold night.Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckky Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 I agree...an excellent pour with different subtle tastes each time I try it. With its "rider", it is the perfect Derby Day bourbon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesbassdad Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Tim, As a fellow WT101 drinker, your word carries considerable weight with me. It's time for me to revisit Blanton's, which I will do later this evening. After saying I wouldn't buy a second bottle, I broke down and did so. I think I opened it 3-4 months ago, and I haven't been moved to go back to it since then. In contrast, I've probably drunk two bottles of WT101 during that period. Maybe I'll never get it, where Blanton's is concerned. However, I guess I should follow my own advice, dispensed recently in regard to EC12. It's just that my mind will stay open for only so long. BTW, Buffalo Trace is becoming a serious threat to dethrone WT101 as my mainstay bourbon. However, it's available only from out-of-state, and it costs several dollars more -- both major barriers to becoming my very own Old Dependable. Yours truly, Dave Morefield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratcheer Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Well, I would hope that being $45 per bottle and from the same distiller as BT, Blanton's would be at least somewhat better. But, I have never tasted BT, so I cannot compare them.But I will admit, Blanton's can be subtle. What is my favorite quality in bourbon is big, bold flavor (e.g., Rare Breed, Old Grand Dad 114, OF Birthday) and Blanton's certainly is not like that. But it does seem to present layer after layer of complexity. And the flavor it gives seems to me to be the right flavor.I'll stop now, for to continue would be to risk gushing in public. (No, I can't take credit for that line. A Wall Street Journal reviewer used it to end his review of the movie, The Return of the King).Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNbourbon Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 I'm trying Bulleit Frontier for the first time. My first impression is that I don't really care for it, but I've said that before! So heavy on the rye, to me, that it's almost a straight rye (in essence, anyway -- I realize it can't be both a bourbon and straight rye). But that 'almost' is the kicker: Generally, I like straight rye, but this just seems harsh as bourbons go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbyvirus Posted January 22, 2004 Author Share Posted January 22, 2004 Hear, hear! Blanton's is a wonderful bourbon! You're right, it's not so much big and bold as it is complex. The thing that's always struck me about it is the finish, which lasts longer than most other bourbons, even other Buffalo Trace bourbons. While I find that Blanton's does vary somewhat from bottle to bottle (which is to be expected, since it's a single barrel), the best bottles of Blanton's I've had are smoooth beyond compare! Damn, I just made myself thirsty... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckky Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Frankly Buffalo Trace is better than Blanton's in my opinion. BT can be had in Ky for $17 more or less while Blanton's is always in the $40 range. As I said,I like Blanton's and appreciate its subtlety, but it is a rare buy at that price. I buy it for the first Saturday in May...Derby Day. IMHO Buffalo Trace may be the best bourbon out there in its price range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhooch Posted January 23, 2004 Share Posted January 23, 2004 Hear, hear! Blanton's is a wonderful bourbon! ... While I find that Blanton's does vary somewhat from bottle to bottle (which is to be expected, since it's a single barrel)... At one time, I didn't like either Blanton or Buffalo Trace bourbons. However, I had Buffalo Trace at the BT (old Ancient Age) distillery and liked it. I will probably try it again. I still can't get use to Blanton, though. I may have the rare bottle that is not up to snuff. IMHO, it is definately not worth the price! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave_in_Canada Posted January 23, 2004 Share Posted January 23, 2004 dhooch, are you not being rather harsh with your barf icon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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