Best (pour) you've ever had...Why?

[mosugoji64]

While I frequently have pours of bourbon or other whiskies that I find delicious, undoubtedly the best pours are the ones I've shared with others. Run-of-the-mill stuff even tastes great if you're sharing it with good company. I'd be hard-pressed to pick a best, but I do remember a time sharing some Old Fitz out of the plastic cups supplied by our hotel with some friends that was pretty hard to beat. Even yesterday morning, Mrs. Mosugoji and I were attending a mini-nationals roller derby event here in town and one of the skaters shared some of her JD in a paper cup with me. It's some of the best JD I've had in a long time!

[beasled]

ETL Commemorative was my wedding day pour that was in the best man and I's hip flasks, won't forget that. Got a bottle stashed away that I'll revisit with him one day. 

 

Cheers!

[dSculptor]

My most memorable pour wasn't really celebrating any special occasion, but it was a memorable pour. It was a Friday night when my friend and I get together for some jammin' (not very good at it, but we still love to do it!) I broke out a mini tax stamp SW Old fitz, Oh my ...I can still taste it, we relished that pour for a long time, I may have even licked the glass afterwards!

[tanstaafl2]

Not sure about my best pour. It may well be still to come! Which is saying something because I have had the good fortune to have had a lot of good ones (and from practically every nook and corner of the brown spirits world too I might add).

 

Not really all that good with most memorable either, any more so than I can say what is my favorite bourbon or whiskey of all times. It is always more about what I am in the mood for at a particular time. 

 

For many years I was little more than a casual whiskey drinker. But certainly one of my most memorable experiences was my first gather with my GBS brethren at Mac McGee some years ago. Can't even say exactly what we were drinking as it was a mix of bourbon and other assorted brown spirits. But having been a far more enthusiastic bourbon and spirits drinker for some time prior to that but not really having that many friends who shared my enthusiasm (and none that shared my "level" of enthusiasm! You may not be aware of this but I do rather like to get deep into the trivial weeds at times... ) I knew that night that I had found fellow brethren who knew the meandering paths down in those weeds as well or better than I did!

[Paddy]

Not one specific pour, but some great memories from my drinking initiations in the early to mid 1980's (S/W Old Fitz, Old Charter 10 year, ER101 and Austin Nichols WT101) stand out.  Those are the pours that really turned the lights on for me. 

 

I also have some fond memories of early 90's Woodford Reserve (prior to the pot still confluence) and Old Rip, as well as my first taste of the 'new' (Kirin) Four Roses products.  Those were bourbons that made you realize you'd found a standard to hold all the others up to.   

 

As many have noted here, it's really a great time to be an enthusiast!  Sure, it's a pain in the ars when you have to compete for a product with such high demand, but our options now are unlimited when comparing to those of a generation ago. 

 

 

[kjbeggs]

Parker's Heritage 27 Year...

 

A few years back, we attended a Balcones Dinner/tasting. When we arrived, there was a small cluster of whiskey fans gathered at one end of a very long table. we chose to leave a few empty seats between us (in case they had more friends on their way) and sat in the center section of the table. As the table began to fill up, we seemed to divide into three groups. The two end groups, and our "center group". At some point, the topic of AH Hirsch came up in our group's conversation, with one member saying "I've got some at home, if you want to try it". (This was before I had acquired my own bottles).  Being fairly late at that point (and being unsure if his generosity was alcohol induced), we made tentative plans to meet up a few weeks later.

 

When the day rolled around, we made the trek out to the home of our new friends (a few good bottles in tow) to taste some whiskey.

As we headed to the "man cave" area, we were amazed to see all the custom cabinetry containing hundreds of bottles of Bourbon.

Before the Hirsch came out, I offered the opportunity to rescind the gracious offer, but out it came anyway.

It was buttery and sweet, and quite amazing. For me however, it did not hold a candle to the PH27 that soon followed. That was, and is still the finest bourbon I've ever had the privilege to taste. But the best thing of all, was that we made what I hope will be life-long friends, thanks to a shared interest in Bourbon. 

Thanks M & N, let's do it again soon!

 

[Richnimrod]

I though about this for a long time and really couldn't come up with a single 'best' exactly.    I did decide on several 'bests' in several categories... such as; after a wildly successful deer hunt (or very a tough day in the deer woods, or a good one), at/or/after more funerals than I care to actually consider, evenings after squirrel hunts with one or the other (or both) of my two longest tenured buddies up north camping in mid-October under the starriest sky I'd ever seen (or have yet to see since), doing a side-by-side-by-side with my baby boy using both of our initial experiences with WLW, GTS, and PH (now those were all some fabulous pours; but the experience we shared for the first time together: beyond priceless). 

But I digress. 

I could (and did) think of a few more situations I could add; but my point is that all those, while memorable didn't necessarily change my life; just added to it in different ways for different occasions.

 

The ONE pour that actually did change my life in a real way  was the first time I poured a generous, warm, neat glass from my first bottle of Buffalo Trace (bought at the distillery a couple years before the brand was sold in The Mitten State).    Man that enjoyable mouth-coating dram, with that wonderful nose, opened my eyes and mind to the joys to be found in a glass, once good Bourbon was added, and time was taken to smell and appreciate what was there to be enjoyed. 

I have never been the same since.    ...And never wished to be.