My Palate: The Liar...

[bayouredd]

There were several bottles that I opened this year or late last year & thought how bad or mediocre they were.

Upon opening my second bottle of CEHT SiB, I thought how boring it was. It was ok but no pizzazz. It was missing the bubblegum flavor of the first & I had no cravings to go back to it.

It got a B---

I actually like Bulliet. After enjoying Frontier, I saw the 10yr as a big step up. I figured the Barrel version would be very good. I was waaay wrong. The flavors seemed convoluted.

It received a never buy again D+

Lastly a LS pick of Barrel Bourbon. This stuff was musty & plain ol' nasty

Big F

 

I decided that this week would be re-visitation week...

First the Col. That was on Monday It definitely puts into play that single barrels can be like 2 totally different bourbons. The revisit was wonderful; sorta like ER10 on steroids. I really love the Col.

Bumped to an A 

 

Tuesday was Bulliet Barrel Day. Again, I can't believe how good I thought it was. Not as complex as the Col but worthy of buy again status as well as a future blend; possibly.

Bumped to a B+

 

And today while cooking, the Barrel Bourbon got it's chance. Though the mustiness is still there, it is more like a finish in a wine barrel or cooking something & putting a little too much wine in the recipe.

Not my cup of tea but still bumped up to a C+

 

My question to the gallery, what have you tried this year & said, "never again", yet upon re-visiting, wondered how good it was or is???

 

 

 

[0895]

Hey, plagiarizer....

 

 

 

 

To answer your question, the first EHT single barrel bottle I had (2016 I believe) wasn't good to me.  Bought this new one (2018 release) on a whim, and I like it.

 

Also, there are many bottles that improve after being open awhile.  This is very common for me with four roses.

I describe initial disappointment as "New bottle syndrome".

[bayouredd]

26 minutes ago, 0895 said:

Hey, plagiarizer....

 

 

 

 

To answer your question, the first EHT single barrel bottle I had (2016 I believe) wasn't good to me.  Bought this new one (2018 release) on a whim, and I like it.

 

Also, there are many bottles that improve after being open awhile.  This is very common for me with four roses.

I describe initial disappointment as "New bottle syndrome".

I thought I had heard that before, but never mistake plagiarism for pure unadulterated laziness of not coming up with my own thoughts. hehe  Damn I need clichés.

Edited June 16, 2018 by bayouredd

[flahute]

I can't call it a "never going to back to it again" bourbon but I'd avoided Woodford for a number of years because I thought it was just 'ok' and not worthy of what was at the time a premium price. Now that pricing on everything has gone crazy, Woodford stands out as a value but all that's beside the point if you don't like it. I've found myself actually really enjoying it when I drink it. B-F whiskey all has a distinct taste (I even find Jack having a similar enough DNA despite the fact it's distilled in a completely different place. I wonder if their yeast strains are derivative of one another). When I'm in the mood for that flavor Woodford can deliver it in a very satisfactory manner.

 

Larceny is one I had given up on but went back in when a good deal presented itself. I was surprised how much I like it.

[dcbt]

I'm not a big fan of B-F but there really isn't anything wrong with WR. It's the American Airlines bourbon, and having spent 8 straight months in the air I got well acquainted with it, and it sure as hell hit the spot on those late Thursday night flights. I'd prefer the WT101 of Southwest Airlines, but I'm just thrilled to have an option besides banana juice jack.

[Postal Grunt]

I agree with flahute's observation on a similarity of taste between BF whiskey and JD. JD's master distiller, Jeff Arnett, stated at his appearance in NKC, MO that JD uses a proprietary strain of yeast for their products and retains the services of microbiologist to maintain quality of that yeast strain. Since the mash bill for JD differs from the BF products and the juice is distilled in different locations, the probability of cross contamination is almost microscopic. Yet to my taste buds, there is an underlying flavor in both lines that distracts me but is non existent to most others. Taste matters when I take out the Visa card so I have no problem spending money on something else that I know I enjoy.  Perhaps I'll change my mind in the future but right now there are many fine whiskeys and only so much time to enjoy them.