Blind barrel proof tasting fun....

[paradoxical3]

Not a bad lineup we had last night.  Of course, with any barrel proof tasting I question my tastebuds accuracy just due to the alcohol content, but we tried to mitigate this with water to drink and coffee grounds to smell in between tastings.
 

There was a clear consensus with both of us that bourbon #1 was far and away the best.  To my mild surprise, that bottle was Smooth Ambler Old Scout 121.6 proof, aged 10 years.  Everything about this bourbon is big time - the nose, the taste, the mouthfeel, etc.  Just an absolutely massive bourbon.  I was 100% sure this was going to be the WLW before I knew what it was, and was very surprised that it wasn't.  WLW came in #2 for me, also quite an amazing pour (but not as amazing as the SAOS).  After the SAOS And WLW, there was a pretty big drop in quality in my opinion, with EHTBP and OF1920 rounding out the top four. 

I consider OF1920 my overall favorite widely available bourbon (I don't consider any of the others here regularly available in my area).  I was very surprised it ranked 4th; I expected it to hold up better to the top bourbon.  But what is interesting to me is that I have always considered myself a MGP guy....two of my favorite bourbons ever before this blind tasting were SAOS and OKI Single Barrel 10 (another MGP 10 year with similar mashbill to SAOS).  It was crazy to see this juice stand up to WLW.  Not what I expected, but hey - I like what I like!  

Definitely a good night, and we plan on doing a longer term "bracket style" tasting next to see if we can replicate these results over a longer time period where taste fatigue is not a factor.

[fishnbowljoe]

1 hour ago, paradoxical3 said:

Not a bad lineup we had last night.  Of course, with any barrel proof tasting I question my tastebuds accuracy just due to the alcohol content, but we tried to mitigate this with water to drink and coffee grounds to smell in between tastings.
 

There was a clear consensus with both of us that bourbon #1 was far and away the best.  To my mild surprise, that bottle was Smooth Ambler Old Scout 121.6 proof, aged 10 years.  Everything about this bourbon is big time - the nose, the taste, the mouthfeel, etc.  Just an absolutely massive bourbon.  I was 100% sure this was going to be the WLW before I knew what it was, and was very surprised that it wasn't.  WLW came in #2 for me, also quite an amazing pour (but not as amazing as the SAOS).  After the SAOS And WLW, there was a pretty big drop in quality in my opinion, with EHTBP and OF1920 rounding out the top four. 

I consider OF1920 my overall favorite widely available bourbon (I don't consider any of the others here regularly available in my area).  I was very surprised it ranked 4th; I expected it to hold up better to the top bourbon.  But what is interesting to me is that I have always considered myself a MGP guy....two of my favorite bourbons ever before this blind tasting were SAOS and OKI Single Barrel 10 (another MGP 10 year with similar mashbill to SAOS).  It was crazy to see this juice stand up to WLW.  Not what I expected, but hey - I like what I like!  

Definitely a good night, and we plan on doing a longer term "bracket style" tasting next to see if we can replicate these results over a longer time period where taste fatigue is not a factor.

 

 Thanks for posting P. It's alway interesting to see the results of folks blind tastings. By the way, helluva line up. 

 

Cheers! Joe

[JoeTerp]

That's a great lineup.  Thanks for sharing.

[Richnimrod]

Hmmm, Interesting... As Artie Johnson would've said many a year ago.    I too commend your line up, sir.    Sounds like loads of fun.