What bourbon are you enjoying (Winter 2016/17)?

[M1marksman]

Oh so good on a cold, wet Northwest Indiana afternoon. A hell of a lot better than my mother-in-law's turkey, and there won't be any leftovers! Proost!

[JTaylor]

Quickly becoming one of my faves. Picked up one more bottle for the bunker this week.

[Hop]

I originally thought I'd go with wheaters tonight but my first pour was from a bottle of Four Roses Black Label Japan only release (I need a source for this whiskey!) 

 

From there it's been wheaters starting with VSOF12, then moving to W12, and now on to a pour from AB Wheat released in 2016.  Where to next?  Who knows

[Ravensfire]

Getting over a cold and evidently that's screwing with the taste buds. Sitting outside by a nice fire with the Blues game on and the pour of Buffalo Trace just didn't taste rught. A snifter full of a Schlafly bourbon barrel aged imperial stout is just about perfect though. (Seriously, if Schlafly is in your area, get the IBEX BA Imperial Stout. Great beer at a great price)

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[bourbs bro]

blanton's is good 

 

tee hee

[BB12]

6 hours ago, JTaylor said:

Quickly becoming one of my faves. Picked up one more bottle for the bunker this week.

This is a absolute must have.  

[Masset1982]

1 hour ago, BB12 said:

This is a absolute must have.  

Still searching for this one, don't hit Europe yet.

[garbanzobean]

Last night I did an SBS between the last of my Michter's 10 (minus the multiple samples I poured off for my archive) and my bottle of OBP Barterhouse, bottle 24210.  This is the only Orphan Barrel bottle I ever purchased, though I've tried a few more.  Depending on how this bottle shakes out, I may actually have to eat my words and put away a couple bottles of that lineup.  Beaver bourbon has been nosing and tasting pretty well lately for some reason.  Good thing Diageo has pooped out a bunch of this stuff.

 

While further investigation is warranted, these are fairly similar in style.  The Michter's 10 is actually slightly darker in color.  They both have oak forward noses which start out being quite similar--though they end differently.  The Michter's 10 ends a little watery but with some nice butterscotch notes hiding in the background.  The Barterhouse ends with some some baking spice, red berries, and a little chili pepper.

 

On the palate, these are both oaky.  The Michter's 10 has oak up front with nice classic butterscotch and caramel notes tonight, though it almost feels like they are diluted with water.  Like I'm swimming against the current to taste them.  The Barterhouse again leads with oak and finishes similarly to the nose.  It actually borders on spicy sitting next to the Michter's. Finish on the Michter's is washed out again, with Barterhouse being a bit spicy.

 

I'm not going to get into whether or not I think these were distilled by the same people or in the same distillery.  I have no idea.  What I wanted to do was taste the Michter's SBS with a verified 20+ year old bourbon (preferably one I can still obtain), and it revealed exactly what I suspected:  this barrel of Michter's noses and tastes similar to a bourbon with a much older age statement.  They are both oaky.  The Michter's is a little better behaved with a more pleasing smell/flavor range, but it is also a bit washed out compared to Barterhouse.  The Barterhouse is "hotter" (can't believe I'm using that to describe this bourbon), but still very well behaved.  The spice at the end is interesting, but not that well integrated.

 

Look at me, drinking tired old oak water and enjoying it.  Mostly for the oaky nose, but it's still a nice easy drinker with unique flavors compared to my normal bourbon preferences.  Not saying I'd drink this all the time, but it's an interesting diversion.

 

 Next I'm going to try blending small bits of this in with much younger stuff to see how it affects nose and palate.  

[MTNBourbon]

16 hours ago, M1marksman said:

Oh so good on a cold, wet Northwest Indiana afternoon. A hell of a lot better than my mother-in-law's turkey, and there won't be any leftovers! Proost!

A favorite!

[MTNBourbon]

8 hours ago, BB12 said:

This is a absolute must have.  

I say all the ECBPs are.

[Louisiana]

 

It's gonna be a good night! Cooking burgers & deer sausage on the grill! And a little whiskey in the glass!

 

[Charlutz]

I went to a business dinner last night and when I got to the restaurant the guys I was meeting were drinking old fashioneds made with Sagamore Rye. They must have been sold on the "local" aspect of this 83 proof MGP Rye. The label is owned by Kevin Plank, the Under Armour founder and a local hero. They are distilling their own but it won't be ready for a few years. Figuring that I spend enough on UA athletic gear so I decided Kevin didn't need my whiskey dollars and instead had my cocktail with baby saz and enjoyed it thoroughly. 

 

Tangent for a PSA:

Some of the Maryland forum members are assembling for a meet and greet this coming Tuesday at 730 at Kloby's in Maple Lawn. I'll post a thread in The Bourbon Social sub forum and you can also pm me if interested. 

[Hop]

Poured the remainder of a bottle of OC10 to start the evening

[Louisiana]

 

Getting it fired up!!!

 

[BottledInBond]

10 hours ago, garbanzobean said:

Last night I did an SBS between the last of my Michter's 10 (minus the multiple samples I poured off for my archive) and my bottle of OBP Barterhouse, bottle 24210.  This is the only Orphan Barrel bottle I ever purchased, though I've tried a few more.  Depending on how this bottle shakes out, I may actually have to eat my words and put away a couple bottles of that lineup.  Beaver bourbon has been nosing and tasting pretty well lately for some reason.  Good thing Diageo has pooped out a bunch of this stuff.

 

While further investigation is warranted, these are fairly similar in style.  The Michter's 10 is actually slightly darker in color.  They both have oak forward noses which start out being quite similar--though they end differently.  The Michter's 10 ends a little watery but with some nice butterscotch notes hiding in the background.  The Barterhouse ends with some some baking spice, red berries, and a little chili pepper.

 

On the palate, these are both oaky.  The Michter's 10 has oak up front with nice classic butterscotch and caramel notes tonight, though it almost feels like they are diluted with water.  Like I'm swimming against the current to taste them.  The Barterhouse again leads with oak and finishes similarly to the nose.  It actually borders on spicy sitting next to the Michter's. Finish on the Michter's is washed out again, with Barterhouse being a bit spicy.

 

I'm not going to get into whether or not I think these were distilled by the same people or in the same distillery.  I have no idea.  What I wanted to do was taste the Michter's SBS with a verified 20+ year old bourbon (preferably one I can still obtain), and it revealed exactly what I suspected:  this barrel of Michter's noses and tastes similar to a bourbon with a much older age statement.  They are both oaky.  The Michter's is a little better behaved with a more pleasing smell/flavor range, but it is also a bit washed out compared to Barterhouse.  The Barterhouse is "hotter" (can't believe I'm using that to describe this bourbon), but still very well behaved.  The spice at the end is interesting, but not that well integrated.

 

Look at me, drinking tired old oak water and enjoying it.  Mostly for the oaky nose, but it's still a nice easy drinker with unique flavors compared to my normal bourbon preferences.  Not saying I'd drink this all the time, but it's an interesting diversion.

 

 Next I'm going to try blending small bits of this in with much younger stuff to see how it affects nose and palate.  

Just out of curiosity, what year is the Michter's 10 you are referencing?

[garbanzobean]

9 minutes ago, BottledInBond said:

Just out of curiosity, what year is the Michter's 10 you are referencing?

It's a 2013, which, for better or worse, is rumored to be significantly older than 10 years.  

[mbroo5880i]

On 1/17/2017 at 6:05 PM, M1marksman said:

Oh so good on a cold, wet Northwest Indiana afternoon. A hell of a lot better than my mother-in-law's turkey, and there won't be any leftovers! Proost!

 

I heard rumor that newest batch of WTRB was going to come out at 116.8 proof but I have never seen this bottle before.  How does it compare to the 108.2 or 112.8 proof batches?

[M1marksman]

 
I heard rumor that newest batch of WTRB was going to come out at 116.8 proof but I have never seen this bottle before.  How does it compare to the 108.2 or 112.8 proof batches?

I can't say as I've never sampled either.

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[bourbs bro]

having a second sitting with OF1920.  couple drops of water really help this along

[Prof_Stack]

Not enjoying, but enduring, a shot of Basil Hayden.  For some reason, the aroma is not matched by the flavor, this "artfully aged" bourbon by (F*#$) Beam.  Not bad, but not great.  

[flahute]

15 hours ago, garbanzobean said:

Last night I did an SBS between the last of my Michter's 10 (minus the multiple samples I poured off for my archive) and my bottle of OBP Barterhouse, bottle 24210.  This is the only Orphan Barrel bottle I ever purchased, though I've tried a few more.  Depending on how this bottle shakes out, I may actually have to eat my words and put away a couple bottles of that lineup.  Beaver bourbon has been nosing and tasting pretty well lately for some reason.  Good thing Diageo has pooped out a bunch of this stuff.

 

While further investigation is warranted, these are fairly similar in style.  The Michter's 10 is actually slightly darker in color.  They both have oak forward noses which start out being quite similar--though they end differently.  The Michter's 10 ends a little watery but with some nice butterscotch notes hiding in the background.  The Barterhouse ends with some some baking spice, red berries, and a little chili pepper.

 

On the palate, these are both oaky.  The Michter's 10 has oak up front with nice classic butterscotch and caramel notes tonight, though it almost feels like they are diluted with water.  Like I'm swimming against the current to taste them.  The Barterhouse again leads with oak and finishes similarly to the nose.  It actually borders on spicy sitting next to the Michter's. Finish on the Michter's is washed out again, with Barterhouse being a bit spicy.

 

I'm not going to get into whether or not I think these were distilled by the same people or in the same distillery.  I have no idea.  What I wanted to do was taste the Michter's SBS with a verified 20+ year old bourbon (preferably one I can still obtain), and it revealed exactly what I suspected:  this barrel of Michter's noses and tastes similar to a bourbon with a much older age statement.  They are both oaky.  The Michter's is a little better behaved with a more pleasing smell/flavor range, but it is also a bit washed out compared to Barterhouse.  The Barterhouse is "hotter" (can't believe I'm using that to describe this bourbon), but still very well behaved.  The spice at the end is interesting, but not that well integrated.

 

Look at me, drinking tired old oak water and enjoying it.  Mostly for the oaky nose, but it's still a nice easy drinker with unique flavors compared to my normal bourbon preferences.  Not saying I'd drink this all the time, but it's an interesting diversion.

 

 Next I'm going to try blending small bits of this in with much younger stuff to see how it affects nose and palate.  

Interestingly, my experience with Barterhouse (as well as Jefferson's 21 yr) is what lead me to peg Michter's 10yr as a 20 something yr old bourbon when I tried it double blind and was asked to guess what it was. The one I tried was a '13 as well. It's a ringer for a bourbon that age that's gone through some heavy filtering to remove the more offensive tannins.

[garbanzobean]

6 hours ago, flahute said:

Interestingly, my experience with Barterhouse (as well as Jefferson's 21 yr) is what lead me to peg Michter's 10yr as a 20 something yr old bourbon when I tried it double blind and was asked to guess what it was. The one I tried was a '13 as well. It's a ringer for a bourbon that age that's gone through some heavy filtering to remove the more offensive tannins.

I have no clue how old it is, but what I had hoped to ascertain--and I believe I did--was whether or not I can find some or all of the characteristics I enjoyed about that bottle of Michter's 10 in some nice old oak juice.  Operating under the hypothesis that the stories about it being a great deal older than advertised were true, I assumed about 95+% of the flavor of the bourbon came from the barrel at that point (also why I think trying to pin down origin would likely be a waste of energy), so I figured I'd try it next to something pretty old.  Seems to be true, so I'll probably at least pony up for a bottle of Rhetoric next.  I can't say I would drink these daily, but apparently I enjoy a nice barrel stave to the tastebuds on occasion. 

 

As an aside, I would not be surprised to learn that NDPs such as Jefferson's and Michter's had been raiding Diageo's stock of ultra high aged blending bourbon for years before Diageo decided to do the whole orphan barrel thing.  They clearly had quite a bit of it.

Edited January 19, 2017 by garbanzobean

[MTNBourbon]

17 hours ago, Louisiana said:

 

It's gonna be a good night! Cooking burgers & deer sausage on the grill! And a little whiskey in the glass!

 

Very nice.

[MTNBourbon]

On 1/17/2017 at 4:05 PM, M1marksman said:

Oh so good on a cold, wet Northwest Indiana afternoon. A hell of a lot better than my mother-in-law's turkey, and there won't be any leftovers! Proost!

When did it get changed to 116 proof? I still have a bottle at 112.8 proof that I bought about a year or two ago.

[MTNBourbon]

16 hours ago, Louisiana said:

 

Getting it fired up!!!

 

Looking good. Wish my apartment complex would let me grill on my patio, instead of having to use the community gas grill, which is only about 20-25 feet away.