kyrocklover Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 I've had to give this a little thought over the last couple of days, in particular what my criteria was for the selection. The first was the JDSBBP, but its not a bourbon, but its the best JD i've had. The next was MM46 Cask Strength, which is by far the best MM i've had in the last 15 years with its over the top vanilla and caramel. However, the winner was one that just made me say "damn, that's good" and much to my surprise was Henry McKenna BIB. The balance of the dark fruit, rye, tobacco, butterscotch and orange along with the oak was just outstanding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Gallery Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 (edited) All Tennessee whiskies are bourbons, but not all bourbons are Tennessee whiskies. U.S. Federal regulations that define the Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits, NAFTA & Canada define Tennessee whiskey as "....a straight bourbon whiskey authorized to be produced only in the State of Tennessee." If Jack Daniels wanted their whiskey to be called bourbon, they could change their label and do so without any fuss or muss, because ladies and gentlemen, it really is bourbon. I'm going with this years Four Roses Limited for top honors - it was the best bourbon that I had the pleasure of sampling in 2015. Edited January 21, 2016 by Night Gallery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hop Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 1 hour ago, Night Gallery said: All Tennessee whiskies are bourbons, but not all bourbons are Tennessee whiskies. U.S. Federal regulations that define the Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits, NAFTA & Canada define Tennessee whiskey as "....a straight bourbon whiskey authorized to be produced only in the State of Tennessee." If Jack Daniels wanted their whiskey to be called bourbon, they could change their label and do so without any fuss or muss, because ladies and gentlemen, it really is bourbon. I'm going with this years Four Roses Limited for top honors - it was the best bourbon that I had the pleasure of sampling in 2015. A difference with JD is that it is "filtered" through a maple charcoal which is why it is not allowed to be called a Bourbon which can have nothing added Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxn slim Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 13 minutes ago, Hop said: A difference with JD is that it is "filtered" through a maple charcoal which is why it is not allowed to be called a Bourbon which can have nothing added This is a common misconception. Most bourbons are filtered, are they not? By your argument, Angel's Envy and other finished bourbons would not be bourbons, either, but the labels clearly state that they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanstaafl2 Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 21 minutes ago, Hop said: A difference with JD is that it is "filtered" through a maple charcoal which is why it is not allowed to be called a Bourbon which can have nothing added 6 minutes ago, jaxn slim said: This is a common misconception. Most bourbons are filtered, are they not? By your argument, Angel's Envy and other finished bourbons would not be bourbons, either, but the labels clearly state that they are. Cue the ominous music! It is déjà vu all over again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxn slim Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Just now, tanstaafl2 said: Cue the ominous music! It is déjà vu all over again... Ha ha. I haven't seen this debate here, yet. But I am sure it's been beaten to death. After some reading, it looks like even the big KY master distillers can't agree on this topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanstaafl2 Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Just now, jaxn slim said: Ha ha. I haven't seen this debate here, yet. But I am sure it's been beaten to death. After some reading, it looks like even the big KY master distillers can't agree on this topic. Indeed it has, many times. I currently reside in the JD is bourbon camp but reserve the right to change my mind at any time for no particular reason! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flahute Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 For all intents and purposes in this forum, most treat JD as bourbon. The maple charcoal filtration is minutiae that intelligent and informed people on both sides can't agree upon. See Chuck Cowdery's post on it in his blog. (Spoiler: he puts it in the bourbon camp also). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Currently, 'they' are the only thing stopping themselves. Anyway you slice it, the only reason it's not called bourbon is because... they choose not to call it a bourbon (so they can hang their hat on the whole Tennessee whiskey thing). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry in WashDC Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 3 hours ago, jaxn slim said: Ha ha. I haven't seen this debate here, yet. But I am sure it's been beaten to death. After some reading, it looks like even the big KY master distillers can't agree on this topic. I been on SB maybe 3 years now, maybe two (time flies when you're having a good time), and think this is about the third round of IS-IS NOT-Lincoln County Process-maple filtered-limetone-etc., I've seen. Think I'll sit back and sip during this round. First time I saw this argument was when I started drinking JD instead of bourbon, i.e., "Tennessee Sour Mash instead of bourbon" circa 1968. I must say, I do enjoy hearing it again every few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LCWoody Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 On January 18, 2016 at 10:10:16 AM, tanstaafl2 said: In the category of price and availability is no object I think I would have to nominate the Russell's Reserve 1998. I know that few people likely got a chance to try it and I was almost one of them. But at the last second I did manage to get one. The reviews were nearly uniformly excellent and it is good to see WT score a hit with a premium whiskey, in spite of the rather excessive price, especially given the poor to mixed reviews for the recent Diamond and Master's Keep (which was one I also liked although again a bit overpriced in my opinion). With a number of whiskey's out there in the $125-150 range and the market for older whiskey being what it is I think this would have been a at least a decent value at $150. At $250 and up it seems excessive even if it is really good but there were few chances to find out for your self unless you managed to find a bottle and were able to stomach the cost. In the honorable mention category was Angel's Envy Cask Strength, which I have liked from the beginning even though it too is in the overpriced category in my opinion and the 2015 Four Roses Small Batch LE. In the slightly less obscure category I think it might be the Dekalb Bottle House Russell's Reserve barrel pick. I thought the GBS pick this year was hard to beat but in a blind taste test the DBH pick was the surprising winner for me. In the honorable mention category the Smooth Ambler store pick we did this year (Barrel 1690) was also excellent (OK, so I probably have a slight bias for barrels I got to help pick...). I know some people are leess enthusiastic about MGP bourbon but you can still get some excellent bourbon from them when doing barrel picks. Not quite up to the previous SA barrel pick (Highway to Hell barrel 666) we did in 2014 but still lovely. As for industry impacting bottles off the shelf this year like JB Bonded or JDSB I don't really have one. My choice in that category would be a non bourbon, Pikesville Rye. In a period of younger lower proof whiskey options it was delightful to get an older higher proof and excellent tasting whiskey to add to the bar. So, what is the American Whiskey Flop of the Year? I think I know my choice. Or at least half of it... I've changed my mind...... RR 1998 gets bourbon of the year. And SAOS SB 2nd. I was putting it in perspective of an every day bourbon and not the best one that I have had all year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokinjoe Posted January 23, 2016 Author Share Posted January 23, 2016 On 1/21/2016 3:50:08, tanstaafl2 said: Indeed it has, many times. I currently reside in the JD is bourbon camp but reserve the right to change my mind at any time for no particular reason! Ha! Like the ferryman in "The Outlaw Josey Wales" who can whistle both "Dixie" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", I find myself constantly flip-flopping on the JD/Bourbon subject, and can, and will, argue both points with equal enthusiasm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryT Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 This was a tough one - I had a half-dozen candidates that all immediately came to mind. I tossed out those that I had acquired in 2015 but were bottled years earlier. They almost all had one thing in common - single barrel. I ultimately settled on the GBS Turkey pick of RR. I haven't had some of the other local private selections of the same label, and I'll admit that the whole picking experience comes into play. But I think what wound up in the bottle is just an awesome whiskey - and not sure if there were any others I picked up in 2015 that I'd rescue from a house fire before getting those out! I think a close second for me was a local 1792 pick that completely changed my mind on 1792. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts