NightCru Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 I've seen it mentioned a few times here, Baker's for me as well. I don't mind Beam products like some here do, I quite enjoy Knob Creek and have enjoyed Booker's when I've had it but Baker's seems pricey for what it is. It's something I would try if someone I knew had a bottle but at a bar there always seems to be something better for less money. Maybe one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b1gcountry Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 For me the most glaring omission is probably the Wellers. I've never had any of them. Also M46, 4RYL, CEHT, and anything from Dickel. Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garbanzobean Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 1 hour ago, NightCru said: I've seen it mentioned a few times here, Baker's for me as well. I don't mind Beam products like some here do, I quite enjoy Knob Creek and have enjoyed Booker's when I've had it but Baker's seems pricey for what it is. It's something I would try if someone I knew had a bottle but at a bar there always seems to be something better for less money. Maybe one day. I just never seem to be in the right situation to drink Baker's or Booker's. The bourbon bar near my house, which I frequent all of about twice a year due to its super mediocre food menu, has all the things, so I am not going to order either one there. I make it down to Jack Rose in DC about twice a year as well, and I'm clearly not going to waste the 40 minute drive on either whiskey there, either. If they made (or I was able to find) a mini of either, I would buy it in a hot second. I really do want to try them, just not enough to buy a bottle. I used to love knob creek, but the beaminess started bothering me a couple years back. A shame, because it is outstanding whiskey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Postal Grunt Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 On 6/10/2016 at 10:36 AM, Swoboda said: Never tried Four Roses Small Batch . . . we always have FRYL and FRSiB on hand . . . will have to remedy this puzzling aberration as a local will occasionally have it on sale for $22.88 . . . thanks for the reminder. Check out the FR Small Batch at Gomer's. They have it on special at around $24/750ml until the end of the month. I found it at Hy-Vee for $27 on Friday night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kepler Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Reading this thread I observe what seems like might be a bit of pretentiousness in the replies. Never tried any Wild Turkey or Jim Beam product at all? Really? It seems like you'd almost have to go out of your way to do that. Not even tried Woodford ever? The Wild Turkey one is really amazing to me because when I taste most WT products, to my palate, it IS bourbon. A textbook case of what bourbon should taste like. There are others that fit this bill too, but definitely a staple brand. I was expecting to see more of "haven't gotten around to trying it yet" kind of responses, which is more my own approach here. For me, the ones that pop into my head are bottles I've purchased but haven't opened yet: Henry McKenna BiB SB and Dickel Reserve. I also have an unopened Baker's but that doesn't really count because I've sampled it at the distillery tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsrudd Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 1 hour ago, Kepler said: Reading this thread I observe what seems like might be a bit of pretentiousness in the replies. They don't seem pretentious to me. Even if they are, what does it matter to me (or you) whether someone else hasn't ever tried Jim Beam White, Wild Turkey or Woodford Reserve? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokinjoe Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 3 hours ago, jsrudd said: They don't seem pretentious to me. Even if they are, what does it matter to me (or you) whether someone else hasn't ever tried Jim Beam White, Wild Turkey or Woodford Reserve? Yeah, I don't see any sort of pretentiousness in these responses, either. Actually I might argue that labeling them as pretentious, seemed...rather...pretentious... Everybody is on their own path in this journey. I figure someone not having tried something can be struck up to the axiom; So much whiskey. So little time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratcheer Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 6 hours ago, Kepler said: The Wild Turkey one is really amazing to me because when I taste most WT products, to my palate, it IS bourbon. A textbook case of what bourbon should taste like. That is almost exactly what I have been saying for years. WT101 is certainly not the best bourbon around, but its flavor is the perfect definition of what bourbon tastes like. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffrey r Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 7 hours ago, Kepler said: Reading this thread I observe what seems like might be a bit of pretentiousness in the replies. Never tried any Wild Turkey or Jim Beam product at all? Really? It seems like you'd almost have to go out of your way to do that. While I disagree with you on the pretentiousness part, I'd be lying if I haven't been surprised at some of these responses over the past few days. Not judging anyone, but I find it interesting for anyone on a bourbon forum to have never tasted a Beam or WT bourbon for example. Whatever though--everyone does this hobby their own way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spade Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 I hope I haven't avoided JB because of pretentiousness, but I guess it is possible. I can't speak for everyone, but I avoided most Jim Beam products for a long time because of the marketing — I was skeptical of the product because it was so heavily advertised. It was OGD114 that got me to reconsider my preconceptions and I eventually got around to trying most of the stuff by the distillery. I have't gotten around to JB white because I already have a stockpile (well, most would consider it a stockpile, not sure about the folks on SB!) of inexpensive stuff from HH. I'm sure I'll grab a bottle one of these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swoboda Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 9 hours ago, Postal Grunt said: Check out the FR Small Batch at Gomer's. They have it on special at around $24/750ml until the end of the month. I found it at Hy-Vee for $27 on Friday night. Thanks . . . just checked their June specials . . . $22.98 . . . cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b1gcountry Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Everyone comes into the bourbon world in a different way. Today there are so many online avenues that you can explore a lot of different options without ever meeting up with another bourbon drinker, or going to a single bourbon bar. If you look at sb or other sites for recommendations, it would be easy to pick up a bottle of 4R and enjoy it so much you expand your selections to all the other 4R products. For most people one 750ml will stick around a few weeks at least. If they do try another distiller and enjoy their product, then they go on a HH exploration. That could take months or years. Maybe BT is next. Or MGP. It is pretty easy to see how someone who primarily buys 750s for personal consumption can take a long time to explore all the different options out there. There are hundreds of bottles that can easily be found, and it would take me a decade to drink through 100 750s. This is largely how my intro has gone. If I didn't have a buddy who loved JB, I would not have as many bottles as I do. Same with MM and WT. My BIL always had WT101 on hand. I've never had it anywhere else. Also, for the record, I think WT101 tastes like WT101. I don't think it tastes like anything else. Very unique. Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanstaafl2 Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Does it seem pretentious if you have gone out of your way to try just about every major label out there? I can't think of anything among the dozen or so major distilleries that I haven't tried at one time or another. I certainly haven't had every different label out there but I have tried to get access to as many different expressions and mashbills as was practical just to satisfy my own curiosity. Various GBS and SB gatherings and the generosity of other members over the years has gone a long way to make that possible for some of the things that are harder to find in my area or are just plain hard to find and for that I am most appreciative! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken_mays Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Willett for me. My impression is that their products fall into one of two categories, young and not very good, or good juice from someone else that I probably already have a bottle of on my bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 Speaking of Beam and Turkey... I cut my teeth on WT101, JBW, JD and Old Charter 10. It was good, and I didn't really want for anything else. Hell, it took me 10 years to realize that anything else was even out there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsrudd Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 7 hours ago, ken_mays said: Willett for me. My impression is that their products fall into one of two categories, young and not very good, or good juice from someone else that I probably already have a bottle of on my bar. I think this is right except for some of their 20+ year ryes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kepler Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 5 hours ago, Paddy said: Speaking of Beam and Turkey... I cut my teeth on WT101, JBW, JD and Old Charter 10. It was good, and I didn't really want for anything else. Hell, it took me 10 years to realize that anything else was even out there! That's where I came from too, and sometimes I forget there are a lot of people who didn't start out with the big brands first and then expand from there. All through college I never even paid attention to anything other than JD, JB, Crown or MM. Just goes to show there are many different ways to go on the journey (all valid) as many of the posts have thankfully reminded me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garbanzobean Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 9 hours ago, Paddy said: Speaking of Beam and Turkey... I cut my teeth on WT101, JBW, JD and Old Charter 10. It was good, and I didn't really want for anything else. Hell, it took me 10 years to realize that anything else was even out there! For me it was Jim Beam and Jack Daniels. Then, once my palate became "sophisticated" (aka I thought I knew what I was talking about and wanted to impress girls with my worldliness), I began consuming Knob Creek, Woodford Reserve, Basil Hayden, and Old Forester. With so much ice it was basically a slushy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bourbonmakesmepoop Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 Rock hill farms is the one I really want to try but never have gotten around to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 I've pretty much tried them all at this point, but when I think of Forest Gump bourbons, I think of KBD/Willet products. You never know what you're gonna get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richnimrod Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 4 hours ago, Josh said: I've pretty much tried them all at this point, but when I think of Forest Gump bourbons, I think of KBD/Willet products. You never know what you're gonna get. Josh! You're absolutely right about the current crop of KBD brands. Some that move more slowly may still be working off of stock that is more reliable; but some that are more limited in quantities, and sell well; are becoming (or HAVE BECOME) pretty chancy as far as consistent profile one may have come to expect a few years ago. I've only had one Noah's Mill, of the last four that I bought (over a period of about 3-years), that was close to the profile of five years back. On the other hand, I've had 3-bottles of Johnny Drum Private Stock, in about the same time frame, and ALL were very close to the expected profile. So; there you go. How are the New Boy and Liz?... and, yourself; buddy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IowaJeff Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Mine was Noah's Mill until a week or so ago. I've seen it around for years, but never picked it up because I didn't know much about it, being that it has no age statement and is from a non-distiller. Glad I picked it up. It was unique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark fleetwood Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 I'll go ahead and pile on Beam as well, specifically Bakers. Low proof and a bottle decoration that I'm inexplicably scared of, like clowns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canarse Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 I'm not sure, but I'm guessing some of the folks around here haven't been drinking bourbon for 30+ years like some of us. I'm sure they'll get around to all the producers. Frankly, all the major producers make some really good bourbon. It may not be to your taste today, but a few years down the road it may work perfectly. I was that way with Bookers until the last couple of years. Probably the high proof thing. I've gotten used to some burn. I even find it desirable now. I think I've tasted damn near everything, but I can't remember ever drinking Jack Daniels. I'm sure I have at some point, but I can't recall it. It started out as a KY vs. TN thing in my youth. I eventually developed a fondness for Dickel 12, but still have shied away from Jack. Probably all the hype. I've never watched a Star Wars movie either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kepler Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 40 minutes ago, mark fleetwood said: I'll go ahead and pile on Beam as well, specifically Bakers. Low proof and a bottle decoration that I'm inexplicably scared of, like clowns. Is 107 low proof? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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