kevinbrink Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 14 hours ago, Paddy said: I've never had to pour anything out. Bottles are learning experiences; never mistakes. If you've become educated enough to determine that you don't like one... well, that's what friends (and parties) are for! Yeah this for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kpiz Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 15 hours ago, Harry in WashDC said: What Joe and Fergie said. Some older threads offered up barbecue recipes, drink recipes, vatting techniques, etc. For instance, one super-oaky bottle I had was NOT improved with (a) water, (b) vanilla extract, (c) ginger ale, (d) other bourbons added to it, (e) apple sauce (don't laugh - more than one bad bourbon can be ingested by hiding it in food). Bottom line, though is: dump it and use the shelf space for something you like. +1 on Harry's recommendation to mix a little unwanted bourbon into apple sauce. Goes great on bourbon-glazed pork chops! Just be careful if you're making the sauce while drinking bourbon...the bourbon in your glass tends to drown out the bourbon flavor in the sauce and you may end up with something that tastes like you're chewing on applewood chips (at least to other people who aren't drinking bourbon while they eat it). Lots of other great advice above as well. I have also poured out or repurposed a number of bottles over the past several years. It sounds like you've given some of these stinkers the ol' college try and are ready to be rid of them, and if that's the case, then go for it. I will say, however, that I have a few open bottles that only sound appealing and taste good to me very occasionally but I keep them around for those occasions. The Lost Spirits whiskeys come to mind. Every six months or so I'll get an itch for one of them and have a pour, then I'm done with it again for a while. In your explorations you may find some that fit into this category, and it can be nice to have them around even if they are taking up precious shelf space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whiskeythink.com Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 Don't ever make an impulse purchase unless it's a well-regarded brand or label. These are talked about a lot here on the forum. Don't buy a craft unless you have tried it, preferably more than a thimble amount. Stock your shelf with inexpensive products from the larger distilleries & get to know the range of flavors. There's plenty of great stuff there. I'm too cheap to dump stuff. Offer it for mixers, cook with it, use as shelf-filler. I've had stinkers that improved a lot after adding some Mellow Corn to the glass - it upped the corny sweetness, which can relieved the offending nature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTaylor Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 What is this "Dumping out" of which you all speak?? WTF??? Still haven't found anything that couldn't be mixed with Coke satisfactorily... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 ^^^^Great advice Eric! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richnimrod Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 34 minutes ago, Paddy said: ^^^^Great advice Eric! What Paddy said! Eric's (Garbanzobean) list is very well considered, and quite well written. Pay heed and learn! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garbanzobean Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 The part about us being a bunch of boozed up hypocrites is true enough, anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CardsandBourbon Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 50 minutes ago, garbanzobean said: The part about us being a bunch of boozed up hypocrites is true enough, anyway. Hey, I may be boozed up but I'm no hypocrite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottledInBond Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 My biggest rookie mistake to avoid is being seduced by older age statements. I do like some older bourbons but an older age statement is far from a guarantee of quality, and rarely represents a good $ value. As my favorite example, the Orphan Barrel series..... I will also agree with avoiding most craft, and NDPs that aren't fairly transparent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry in WashDC Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 (edited) On 3/15/2017 at 9:53 PM, Paddy said: I've never had to pour anything out. Bottles are learning experiences; never mistakes. If you've become educated enough to determine that you don't like one... well, that's what friends (and parties) are for! Well, to be honest -- in 50+ years of drinking distilled spirits legally, I betcha I can count the number of bourbon bottles I poured out on three fingers (and I won't tell you what three brands they were because some of you guys have spoken favorably of at least two of them). As a couple others have pointed out, the clunkers to me might be gems to friends or newbies or might work in cocktail experiments or sauces or cooking. I only had ONE I decided I just could not foist off, dilute, drink after I'd killed my tongue with food, drink after adulterating, etc., and poured out when it was a little less than half full (edit - the others I got to around 1/4 before I gave up on them). Plus, my wife wanted me to free up some floor space in the dining room, so in an act of good faith I made a sacrifice . . . Edited March 17, 2017 by Harry in WashDC I knew you wanted to know about the other two - so I told you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bourbon4all Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 19 minutes ago, Harry in WashDC said: Well, to be honest -- in 50+ years of drinking distilled spirits legally, I betcha I can count the number of bourbon bottles I poured out on three fingers (and I won't tell you what three brands they were because some of you guys have spoken favorably of at least two of them). As a couple others have pointed out, the clunkers to me might be gems to friends or newbies or might work in cocktail experiments or sauces or cooking. I only had ONE I decided I just could not foist off, dilute, drink after I'd killed my tongue with food, drink after adulterating, etc., and poured out when it was a little less than half full (edit - the others I got to around 1/4 before I gave up on them). Plus, my wife wanted me to free up some floor space in the dining room, so in an act of good faith I made a sacrifice . . . Your edits Crack me up. Especially since your right I do want to hear. I want to hear about all three. What were they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry in WashDC Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 1 minute ago, bourbon4all said: Your edits Crack me up. Especially since your right I do want to hear. I want to hear about all three. What were they? Well, I won't mention the other two, but Old Bardstown 101 was the one I tried EVERYTHING with - vanilla extract, vatting, apple sauce (which worked with Frost 880 for goodness' sake), cocktails of all sorts, BBQ sauces (three different recipes including a poblano pepper atrocity), Canadian "rye" combos. OTOH, I did learn from all this which of those techniques were likely to AND DID!! work on other bottles I was less than thrilled with so buying it was not a total loss. Indeed, the poblano recipe was dumped from the BBQ sauce repertoire, but the other two worked fairly well with other bourbons. In other words, I didn't feel bad when I used this in an experiment like I would have if I'd used something I liked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsrudd Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 My rookie mistakes mostly came in dusty hunting. I went through a phase where I would buy anything that was old or discontinued. Turns out, four-year-old 80 proof bourbon isn't great, even if it was bottled in 1992. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flahute Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 46 minutes ago, Harry in WashDC said: Well, I won't mention the other two, but Old Bardstown 101 was the one I tried EVERYTHING with - vanilla extract, vatting, apple sauce (which worked with Frost 880 for goodness' sake), cocktails of all sorts, BBQ sauces (three different recipes including a poblano pepper atrocity), Canadian "rye" combos. OTOH, I did learn from all this which of those techniques were likely to AND DID!! work on other bottles I was less than thrilled with so buying it was not a total loss. Indeed, the poblano recipe was dumped from the BBQ sauce repertoire, but the other two worked fairly well with other bourbons. In other words, I didn't feel bad when I used this in an experiment like I would have if I'd used something I liked. Two of my pour outs were KBD bottles. They have too many cheap brands they're trying to support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeTerp Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 18 hours ago, musekatcher said: Considering how popular WR is, and the recognition and awards it has received, you may want to revisit a bottle: http://www.proof66.com/whiskey/woodford-reserve-bourbon.html Finding it overpriced is fair and plausible. Finding it rejectable is inverted from wide spread conventional opinion, and begs to question the circumstances, not the bourbon? Was it an unopened fresh bottle? Were you on medication (not a joke, some meds alter your palette), on a new diet? Just ate a heavily seasoned, oily meal, head cold, etc? I consider WR to be above average a reliably good bourbon for anything - not my favorite considering price, but still above average. I would also say AE fits the same bill. But, taste is taste, and in the end, if all other factors are not masking or spoiling the experience, some bourbon is not going to please everyone - in fact, any BOURBON is not going to please everyone. I dislike any chocolate, it doesn't agree with my palette, and many if not most folks cannot understand it Well I think recognition and awards are a pretty silly reason. I tried a bottle (brand new purchased from an Indianapolis Costco, well maybe Carmel to be exact) and really didn't care for it at all. It doesn't really matter what anyone else or a judging panel thought of it. I'll be just fine if they buy it instead of me. Like I said this was a brand new bottle and I got this same exact tasting note every single time I visited the bourbon (over about 6 months or so). I disliked it so much that it was eventually a goal to finish it so I could open up a bourbon that I would actually enjoy. There were no medications, no new diet, and I'm pretty sure that I wasn't having some off-putting food every time I went back to the bottle (plus after a while it exclusively became a second pour bottle after I had something that I would enjoy first). There are so many bourbons out there that I like I can't imagine going back and spending more money on this one. And I'm sure that there are many worse bourbons out there, but I've tried this one and it's not for me. As far as AE, it wasn't nearly as off-putting to me, but nothing really stood out either. It seemed kind of youngish and a tad harsh (which is a little odd considering the low proof). I'd be willing to try again if someone had a bottle, but at $45 I'll probably be directing my purchases elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b1gcountry Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 I think most people buy AE for the bottle...Harry, you have a special whiskey for after adultery?!?Another mistake I made was putting faith in any reviews anywhere. Just because a review gives WLW or HWRM21 choice starts doesn't mean I won't enjoy something else just as much/more. Figuring out what you like is a process. One you might enjoy, but still a process. Reviews can't shortcut that process.Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CardsandBourbon Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 I think we'll all run into some clunkers every now and then. Of the 25 - 30 different bottles I have there aren't any that I would NEVER buy again but there are those select few that I know will be restocked when these bottles are gone. Learning what tastes are my favorites are like a journey with no final destination. I just keep traveling along and enjoying the ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTaylor Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 1 hour ago, b1gcountry said: Another mistake I made was putting faith in any reviews anywhere. Just because a review gives WLW or HWRM21 choice starts doesn't mean I won't enjoy something else just as much/more. Figuring out what you like is a process. One you might enjoy, but still a process. Reviews can't shortcut that process. Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk I found that most reviews you find out on the interwebs are completely unreliable. The best source of information I've found so far is here and I usually only jump on something when the majority of the reviews are positive. A lot of the reviews here tend to be value driven vs. simply being tasting notes so you have to filter that yourself... Regardless, I still often feel compelled to taste stuff for myself so I have a lot of open bottles that are just ok, but like you said, it's the discovery part that is the fun. The toughest part so far has been sorting through all the sourced stuff. My main liquor store is in Indiana and they have a lot of MGP distillate on the shelf and it runs the full spectrum so while it is discouraging to find so many so-so bottles, once in a while you do find a gem amongst the turds. The treasure hunt continues... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beasled Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 On 3/16/2017 at 3:23 AM, Steve L said: My simplest rookie issue is too many bottles open. I had such a great desire to taste everything. I don't know if I would actually do it differently if I started over -- but I do find myself now putting a limit on the number of bottles I have open, and requiring myself to finish open bottles before opening new ones. I also may have spent more money than I needed to on lower shelf bottles -- out of sheer curiosity. I've yet to spend premium dollars on any stinkers -- but I probably have more ~$20 bottles than I need. This is exactly my problem. I underestimated how long it would take to get through the amount of bottles I have opened. I have about 20 bottles of bourbon and about 25 scotch open at the moment, which compared to some might seem a lot and to others not a lot. I've tried to not open any new bottles over the course of the year (failed a few times of course) and instead try to focus on one or two at a time. I'll also agree with other comments that say don't be afraid to pour it away (or use for cocktails). Lastly, I see a lot of newbies particularly in the UK whose 2nd or 3rd bottle is always Willett Pot Still on the basis of the packaging, and they usually regret it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsangster Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 if you happen upon an Evan Williams Master Distiller Select in the earthstone jug (in box with fake stamp intact) and buy it because you think its cool looking you may want to give it a shake. Disappointing to pop the cork and find nothing but dust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulO Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 I agree with Harry on the Old Bardstown. I didn't have to dump it; but it went very slowly. As to Woodford, I gave up on it because of the copper penny aftertaste, and price. I was gifted a store selection for Christmas. No funny aftertaste. Then I read what Steve said about their two barrel selection process. Maybe I got some with no pot still at all? Anyway, I can revise what I said about liquor store employee advice. If they say the store has a nice single barrel selection; that may be worth looking into. Maybe there is an open bottle to sample too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinbrink Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 1 hour ago, tsangster said: if you happen upon an Evan Williams Master Distiller Select in the earthstone jug (in box with fake stamp intact) and buy it because you think its cool looking you may want to give it a shake. Disappointing to pop the cork and find nothing but dust. When I bought it at the distillery they told me drink it within 3 months or decant it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonutsNBourbon Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 8 hours ago, b1gcountry said: I think most people buy AE for the bottle... I think AE is a nice entry bourbon. the port finishing helps round out some of the rougher edges and makes the bourbon sweeter. I actually just went back to my old bottle of AE after it sitting there for over a year, and I could see why I liked it when I first started out. but as JoeTerp said, there are better things for less than $50, so I don't drink AE anymore. the bottle is pretty sweet looking though, but not why I bought it. my rookie mistake with this was liking AE so much that I bought AECS for the $150 and regretted that ever since. AECS for that year was VERY port forward, that bottle is still practically full to this day, just can't seem to drink it. will have to keep diluting it with regular AE and see if that improves things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanstaafl2 Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 On 3/15/2017 at 11:23 PM, Steve L said: My simplest rookie issue is too many bottles open. I had such a great desire to taste everything. I don't know if I would actually do it differently if I started over -- but I do find myself now putting a limit on the number of bottles I have open, and requiring myself to finish open bottles before opening new ones. I also may have spent more money than I needed to on lower shelf bottles -- out of sheer curiosity. I've yet to spend premium dollars on any stinkers -- but I probably have more ~$20 bottles than I need. Related -- and maybe even more important (it turned out to be for me anyway) I think focusing solely on bourbon and drinking it straight is kind of closing one's world view down a bit. It's great to dig deep on a single spirit to learn about it and focus...but in retrospect, my Whiskerexia Nervosa meant that I spent more money than I should have solely on bourbon -- and now I find myself wishing I had integrated more variety into my purchases. To that end, The Rum, Eau De Vie, French Spirits, and Cocktail, sub-forums here are great places to hang out and learn and soak up the ambience. (Rye too! let's not forget about Rye!) Anyway, I'm glad to have come on board here shortly before Bruce (Tansfaal2) became Staight Bourboner of the Year, because his range of depth and knowledge about a wide variety of spirits is a great source of knowledge and entertainment(!) here -- and, I think, his breadth of experience is something to strive for. Very kind but you can rest assured that I have a shelf turd or two. Or twenty... I don't think I have ever poured one down the drain but I enjoy cocktails and while good ingredients tend to make good cocktails sometimes you just have to take one for the team. Oh, and I too see no issue with lots of open bottles! I also whole heartedly support a diversity of spirits. I think that may well be the thing I now enjoy the most. Finding that glittering jewel amongst the collection of odd looking rocks is always a pleasure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanstaafl2 Posted March 17, 2017 Share Posted March 17, 2017 47 minutes ago, DonutsNBourbon said: I think AE is a nice entry bourbon. the port finishing helps round out some of the rougher edges and makes the bourbon sweeter. I actually just went back to my old bottle of AE after it sitting there for over a year, and I could see why I liked it when I first started out. but as JoeTerp said, there are better things for less than $50, so I don't drink AE anymore. the bottle is pretty sweet looking though, but not why I bought it. my rookie mistake with this was liking AE so much that I bought AECS for the $150 and regretted that ever since. AECS for that year was VERY port forward, that bottle is still practically full to this day, just can't seem to drink it. will have to keep diluting it with regular AE and see if that improves things. OMG Nooooooooooooooo!!!!! SOMEBODY would probably have been willing to take that swill off your hands. They might even be willing to pay the cost of shipping just to help you out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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