Rookie Mistakes

[GaryT]

I've dumped many bottles, and found that putting some in a small barrel and CAREFULLY aging a collection of them has created something better than most of them individually.  My advice to new folks is BUY 50 MLS!!!!  I know they don't make everything, or even most things, in that size.  But I learned way to late that IF they do - pick that up.  Most recently - Coopers Craft was a fine example.  Grabbed a mini for $1-$2, and avoided what would have been a candidate to be dumped (actually can't recall if it was THAT bad, but it was certainly not something I enjoyed enough to get through a whole bottle of).  Life's too short to drink shitty whiskey.  But - as others have said, if you have parties/friends who won't know the difference, certainly alternatives to dumping.  But I look at it as money already spent.  Drinking it because I bought makes no sense to me (because then I'm paying for it twice with the calories!)

[garbanzobean]

5 hours ago, beasled said:

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. 

I always cringe when I see that on MM&F.  I'll admit to gettin' took by that bottle once.  I will say that I upgraded my rating from "gross" to "fine but nothing special" when I visited the Distillery last year.  I thought the Willett distilled Old Bardstown BIB was better, which in and of itself was nothing amazing.

[Clueby]

I've got a 750 that is about 2 or 3 years old of the Willett Pot Still that I think is pretty decent. It definitely beats any of the Old Bardstown I've had..especially the new Willett distilled non BIB. It is VERY reminiscent of Woodford with a little more sweetness. My wife also got me a 1.75 of Pot Still because of the bottle. That thing is HUGE. It remains unopened.

[fishnbowljoe]

It's been a while, but I've purchased a bottle of both the Willet Pot Still and Old Bardstown 101. Someone already said what I think about the Pot Still. Not bad, but nothing to write home about either. Just kinda mehhhh.  On the other hand, the Old Bardstown 101 that I had must have come from a good barrel. I actually liked it. Since my purchases, I've always passed on the Pot Still. I would have considered buying another bottle of the 101, (if I could find it) but judging by the recent comments here, I think I'll take a pass on it too.

 

Cheers! Joe

[mbroo5880i]

There are no rookie mistakes.  Just bumps in the road.  Some $$ are better spent than others $$.  That applies to more than just bourbon.

[Richnimrod]

13 hours ago, fishnbowljoe said:

It's been a while, but I've purchased a bottle of both the Willet Pot Still and Old Bardstown 101. Someone already said what I think about the Pot Still. Not bad, but nothing to write home about either. Just kinda mehhhh.  On the other hand, the Old Bardstown 101 that I had must have come from a good barrel. I actually liked it. Since my purchases, I've always passed on the Pot Still. I would have considered buying another bottle of the 101, (if I could find it) but judging by the recent comments here, I think I'll take a pass on it too.

 

Cheers! Joe

My exact experience with both!     I should always pay attention to the masters, I guess.  

I still have much of the Old Bardstown, and I enjoy it very well; but after reading sooooo many comments expressing abhorrence, I doubt I'll replace it any time soon.

[kevinbrink]

15 hours ago, GaryT said:

I've dumped many bottles, and found that putting some in a small barrel and CAREFULLY aging a collection of them has created something better than most of them individually.  My advice to new folks is BUY 50 MLS!!!!  I know they don't make everything, or even most things, in that size.  But I learned way to late that IF they do - pick that up.  Most recently - Coopers Craft was a fine example.  Grabbed a mini for $1-$2, and avoided what would have been a candidate to be dumped (actually can't recall if it was THAT bad, but it was certainly not something I enjoyed enough to get through a whole bottle of).  Life's too short to drink shitty whiskey.  But - as others have said, if you have parties/friends who won't know the difference, certainly alternatives to dumping.  But I look at it as money already spent.  Drinking it because I bought makes no sense to me (because then I'm paying for it twice with the calories!)

Yeah, my recollection was it was pretty terrible also purchased fortunately in a 50ml, this is good advice, no reason not to go with 100ml, 200ml and 375ml bottles as well.

[musekatcher]

On 3/17/2017 at 0:39 AM, JoeTerp said:

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.

 

 

On 3/17/2017 at 11:39 AM, JTaylor said:

I found that most reviews you find out on the interwebs are completely unreliable.

 

 

FWIW, I've found the reviews and ratings listed on Proof 66 are fairly reliable for me.  I don't agree with their highest ratings, but in general, I prefer the higher rated over the lower rated, so it tracks with my findings.   Unfortunately, I've only sampled about 10% of the list...I've got work to do  

Edited March 18, 2017 by musekatcher

[Clueby]

1 hour ago, musekatcher said:

 

 

 

FWIW, I've found the reviews and ratings listed on Proof 66 are fairly reliable for me.  I don't agree with their highest ratings, but in general, I prefer the higher rated over the lower rated, so it tracks with my findings.   Unfortunately, I've only sampled about 10% of the list...I've got work to do  

I wasn't familiar with Proof 66 and just looked at their ratings and trying to make sense of it.  Stagg (not Jr.) gets a 370?? There are some other eyebrow raising items. I will need to read more to see how these ratings are compiled. 

[b1gcountry]

I read a lot on connosr for a while. Right now, I like reading the stuff on breaking bourbon and red white and bourbon. They have decent articles besides the reviews, and each review they do has cool pictures, and a nice bit of research on the bottle. This is pretty helpful with any sourced bottles.

I also like to read their comparisons to other whiskey.

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[musekatcher]

3 hours ago, Clueby said:

I wasn't familiar with Proof 66 and just looked at their ratings and trying to make sense of it.  Stagg (not Jr.) gets a 370?? There are some other eyebrow raising items. I will need to read more to see how these ratings are compiled. 

 

That seems odd, although they list it as an exotic, maybe because of the barrel proof?  But you are right, seems like a low score, especially compared to the awards and Wine Enthusiast scores listed?  Ah well...another one I like is Whiskey Jug Review.  Although, I don't always agree with their higher ratings. 

[ken_mays]

The only bottle I can remember pouring out was an old half full bottle of GD black label.  It had sat there untouched for a while and when I tried it, all I could taste was corn.  

[DonutsNBourbon]

On 3/17/2017 at 4:47 PM, tanstaafl2 said:

 

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...

 

haha, I will keep that in mind if I decide I no longer want it in the house

[Flyfish]

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!   

One man's trash is another man's treasure. There is always somebody who is willing to drink anything with Coke or ginger ale. (Don't even bother putting out your good stuff when these folks are around.) I, too, have never had to dump any adult beverage. 

Edited March 22, 2017 by Flyfish

[Gh3nghis]

If you are going to dump a bottle because it's bad.  Dump it into a Coke.  Coke can fix a lot of bad buy problems.  If coke does not fix it, then it really is a piece of crap.  I'll pay shipping on your bad buy just to test the coke theory.  I'm not rich enough to waste retail price to test the theory : )

[Nm0369]

Hudson Baby Bourbon....It was one of the rare bottles that gets worse with air time.  Coke and ginger ale were no match for that abomination. 

[BMartin42]

Agreed on the Baby Bourbon. My worst was actually my wife's worst. She thought she was being super nice when she combined my love of bourbon, hunting, and fishing and bought me a bottle of Rod and Rifle. Although even it now resides in the pantry as I like bourbon in a lot of recipes (especially my chili) and can slowly get rid of it that way.


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[Redslayer]

15 hours ago, Nm0369 said:

Hudson Baby Bourbon....It was one of the rare bottles that gets worse with air time.  Coke and ginger ale were no match for that abomination. 

Agree.  Was very close to a drain pour on this one...fortunately, I only ad a 375 ml.

[Whiskeythink.com]

22 hours ago, Gh3nghis said:

If you are going to dump a bottle because it's bad.  Dump it into a Coke.  Coke can fix a lot of bad buy problems.  If coke does not fix it, then it really is a piece of crap.  I'll pay shipping on your bad buy just to test the coke theory.  I'm not rich enough to waste retail price to test the theory : )

Ditto with coffee/espresso. The worst the bourbon, the stronger you make the coffee you dump it in

[KyleCBreese]

My biggest mistake was thinking I had to buy a bottle every single time I stepped into a store. It's okay to walk out of a store empty handed and research some of the bottles you looked at before buying. 

[bourbon4all]

9 minutes ago, KyleCBreese said:

My biggest mistake was thinking I had to buy a bottle every single time I stepped into a store. It's okay to walk out of a store empty handed and research some of the bottles you looked at before buying. 

"thumbs up"

[Hrchokie]

2 hours ago, KyleCBreese said:

My biggest mistake was thinking I had to buy a bottle every single time I stepped into a store. It's okay to walk out of a store empty handed and research some of the bottles you looked at before buying. 

So true. A lot of the crap bottles I have are from this

[dSculptor]

Never had to dump a bottle ever... if it's that bad I'll use it for some vatting purposes, or save it for someone else to try, but generally my experience has been if it's that bad... mixing it with something a little better does not make it better, sometimes bad is bad....I'll just leave it on the shelf, since I have reduced my number of bottles on the shelf greatly..although I am looking at one that no matter what I do with it.. it still sucks! Luckily it was gifted to me..... Kinnickinnic....made right here in Wi.  yuck.... tastes like a cigarette was put out in it. This could be my first ever to dump, little more than half a bottle left, as I was trying everything with it.

[Limegoldconvertible68]

19 hours ago, KyleCBreese said:

My biggest mistake was thinking I had to buy a bottle every single time I stepped into a store. It's okay to walk out of a store empty handed and research some of the bottles you looked at before buying. 

It seems to me that it's much more difficult to randomly pick up a bottle and actually enjoy it than at anytime previous. Right now every store near me is getting an ever increasing amount of crap. I don't know if it's the local distributor or the bourbon industry in general but at least 50 percent of the bourbon selection is craft stuff that is way overpriced and tastes terrible. At some point soon this is going to effect the industry as a whole because a few purchases randomly selected by a newbie will be his last bourbon purchase. 

[tanstaafl2]

On ‎3‎/‎24‎/‎2017 at 5:09 PM, Limegoldconvertible68 said:

It seems to me that it's much more difficult to randomly pick up a bottle and actually enjoy it than at anytime previous. Right now every store near me is getting an ever increasing amount of crap. I don't know if it's the local distributor or the bourbon industry in general but at least 50 percent of the bourbon selection is craft stuff that is way overpriced and tastes terrible. At some point soon this is going to effect the industry as a whole because a few purchases randomly selected by a newbie will be his last bourbon purchase. 

 

Most of the newbies doing most of the buying of this new generation of "craft" bourbon are likely drinking it with coke or ginger ale or some other mixer after maybe the first try neat and it is hard to tell crap from liquid gold in a glass of a diluted mixer. But hey, it is the latest thing and it is "artisanal" that is what is important right?

 

Ok, so I am a bit cynical! Doesn't mean it isn't true...