What Bourbon Are You Enjoying (Summer 2017)

[flahute]

4 hours ago, Phil T said:

The knowledge is strong here in SB nation grasshopper! 

Indeed it is. Taking advantage of my newfound knowledge with another pour of HHBIB 6yr out of the fridge. I've even survived my wife's questioning of a bourbon bottle in our refrigerator.

[flahute]

Following my HH6yr BIB with my final pour of Old Forester Single Barrel Barrel Proof. If you are wondering what I'm talking about, it's an unsanctioned sample that I stealed away with during an OF barrel pick.

I'm here to tell you that if Brown Forman were to make this a real thing that they'd have a hit on their hands. Barrel proof OF is a beautiful thing. The OF 1920 is a good substitute and I love it, but actual OF barrel proof would be a hit. They did it with JD finally (which is awesome),......bring it to OF!

[garbanzobean]

On 7/3/2017 at 11:40 PM, flahute said:

It's more than chill filtering. I forget the specific name of the filter type (and I was just talking about it with a friend a few weeks ago - sorry about that.) Your description of "soft" is exactly how I describe it. All of the bourbons that are known or are rumored to be heavily filtered have the exact same flavor characteristic. Michter's is one of them. My friend was at an event at Michter's and none other then Willie Pratt was telling him about the filtration they use. My friend knows a thing or two about these filters since he uses them in his own business (not liquor related). He asked probing questions and got further clarification. I don't know for a fact that Diego does the same, but the exact same flavor character is present in the Orphan Barrels, the older Michter's, and the older Jeffereson's - all of them being older sourced bourbons. In contrast, a Willett 23 yr old bourbon I have, which is not filtered, has none of these characteristics. The heavily filtered character is so identifiable that I've picked it out and properly identified it in double blind tastings.

 

I don't say any of this to denigrate Barterhouse. It's a good whiskey for the price.

I'll say one thing: It's interesting how quickly the high aged JPS, Michter's (and how quickly the "10" year old completely changed flavor profiles), etc dried up once Diageo started pumping these Orphan Barrel releases out.  Almost like someone got tired of selling over the hill barrels from their Bulleit blending stock to NDPs for cheap, only to have them turn around and sell out at $100+ a bottle.  Or perhaps they even did it as an experiment to see  if it would sell.  Not saying that's for sure where they were getting them from, just that some blind SBSBSBSBS tasting of my bourbon archive samples has aroused suspicions.  Maybe it's just the filtering process that makes them all taste similar, though.

[EarthQuake]

Speaking of Orphan Barrel, I had a pour of Gifted Horse at a bar last night. I'm not sure why this got such scathing reviews (maybe variations in batches meant bad stock was used for some bottles?), while not as good as Barterhouse (one of my favorite bourbons), it's still quite good and certainly has a very similar flavor profile. Maybe I'm just an outlier in how much I like this flavor.

 

@garbanzobean it's interesting to hear you think Michter's 10 has a similar profile to Barterhouse - I quite like the standard Michter's but have been hesitant to try the 10, just because I find it hard to justify paying over $100 for a 10 year old bourbon when Eagle Rare is $30 and awesome in its own right.

Edited July 6, 2017 by EarthQuake

[flahute]

52 minutes ago, EarthQuake said:

 

@garbanzobean it's interesting to hear you think Michter's 10 has a similar profile to Barterhouse - I quite like the standard Michter's but have been hesitant to try the 10, just because I find it hard to justify paying over $100 for a 10 year old bourbon when Eagle Rare is $30 and awesome in its own right.

I believe he's referring to the widely held supposition that Michter's 10 used to have much older whiskey in it. Tasted double blind, I once thought it was Jefferson's 21. In the past few years it's profile has changed rapidly as it likely has become actual 10yr old whiskey. 

[garbanzobean]

1 hour ago, flahute said:

I believe he's referring to the widely held supposition that Michter's 10 used to have much older whiskey in it. Tasted double blind, I once thought it was Jefferson's 21. In the past few years it's profile has changed rapidly as it likely has become actual 10yr old whiskey. 

Yeah, I was referring to that.  Specifically a 2013 Michter's 10.  I expect more recent bottlings are actually 10ish years old.  Either way, hard pass on future Michter's 10.  It tastes similar enough to Barterhouse that I don't care to  obtain anymore of it.  It was the witting SBS between that and Barterhouse that initially made me suspicious, and a friend was willing to go pour some archive samples of "older bourbon" for me to muddle through blindly.  Smart@ss even threw in some Armagnac and rum to mess with me, though I caught it that time.

Edited July 6, 2017 by garbanzobean

[beasled]

1 hour ago, flahute said:

I believe he's referring to the widely held supposition that Michter's 10 used to have much older whiskey in it. Tasted double blind, I once thought it was Jefferson's 21. In the past few years it's profile has changed rapidly as it likely has become actual 10yr old whiskey. 

 

I believe this, and I believe it happened 2015 onwards. I had some '13s, '14s and 15's, and the 15 was remarkably short on finish and lacked the sweet depth of previous years. 

 

I also took a photo of a 14, 15 and 16 and there's a noticeable change in colour...

 

I also took a shot of them in reverse order to show it wasn't the light (coming from the right). 

 

 

 

[FacePlant]

Might be my imagination but it looks progressive (the color) not just 14-15, but the 13 looks a little richer than 14? Pour me one of those 13s and I'll know for sure.  

[Phil T]

It has rained most of the day here in Buckeye Nation, so now it is a balmy 70°. Sucking down some HH bonded.

Edited July 6, 2017 by Phil T

[CardsandBourbon]

Decided to make it a bottom shelf night (not bottom shelf bourbons, just bourbons that were on the bottom shelf of my cabinet).  Those are the ones I seem to crowd together to make room for other things on the shelves above.  Started out with EWSiB 2008 (still one of the most solid single barrel values in my opinion).  Followed that with some OFSiB (I like it up front but the finish is just a tad rough).  It's still early so I may end up with another single barrel pour of something else.

[HoustonNit]

Having a pour of Rebel Yell 10, stuff is fantastic. Have about one more pour. If the other barrels I have is as good as this one I'm going to be a very happy man.

[Journeyman]

A pour of BT here tonight. 

[jshleffar]

Stagg jr batch 5 for me, sombra mezcal margarita for the girl

[Clueby]

Stagg Jr.:Charter 101 2:1 blend tonight.

[Prof_Stack]

(Old) Weller Antique.  Not a bad drink neat, but I am finding that my whiskey fascination is fading right now, with more bottles than I will drink in two or more years.  

[0895]

BT night @ My house tonight.

Mmm..... Hit the spot after a long day at work!

[lcpfratn]

Enjoying some Barrell Bourbon batch #011 this evening after a pour of W12. The BB #011 is very tasty...pricey, but tasty.

[elmossle]

It was one of "those" type days and decided I needed to start with some higher proof so opened a bottle of Stagg Jr. Didn't even look at the proof to see which batch it was, just opened and poured. That was followed by a really good pour of WTRB. Good nigh with brown water that is for sure.

[Kpiz]

Needed a little warmth after a dip in the bay this evening. I started with some ER10 followed by a very good FRSB private selection from a local store

[Bbstout]

On 7/6/2017 at 6:59 PM, HoustonNit said:

Having a pour of Rebel Yell 10, stuff is fantastic. Have about one more pour. If the other barrels I have is as good as this one I'm going to be a very happy man.

I agree. 

[musekatcher]

With no Weller products or Old Fitz available, and lots of mention on SB, I opened a bottle of Larceny tonite.  Its got merit, a little less refined than I'd like, but not weak or bland.  I fully expect it to grow on me as the level drops.  Almost all whiskey develops with greater investment and patience on my part. 

 

Edited July 8, 2017 by musekatcher

[0895]

Waiting for my car to dry, so I can wax it.

Having some 4R OBSF 9YR, 5MTHS old.

Good stuff.

 

[Clueby]

Having a pour at a liquor store bar while here to sign up for their lottery.

Good stuff!! After a few minutes in the glass the nose was amazing. This stuff has probably got the best nose of any whiskey I've ever smelled. I literally walked around the store with my nose in the glass, even after all the bourbon was gone.

Edited July 8, 2017 by Clueby

[lcpfratn]

Enjoying a good pour of EWSB 2008. I bought quite a few bottles from this barrel and it's hard to beat for less than $30.


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[JCwhammie]

4 hours ago, 0895 said:

Waiting for my car to dry, so I can wax it.

Having some 4R OBSF 9YR, 5MTHS old.

Good stuff.

 

I was at TWCP on Forsyth earlier and didn't see any of this. I'll check the other two locations this next week. I have a bottle of the OESF, which is a great pour.