What Bourbon Are You Enjoying (summer 2018)

[elmossle]

2 hours ago, CardsandBourbon said:

Since I was able to pick up additional bottles of RY 10, Stagg Jr., RHF & Blanton's I've been enjoying my existing bottles of the same the past couple of days.  I just hope my new bottle of RY 10 is as good as this one.

 

I'm sure it will be. I have gotten a lot of the previous releases and various barrels and have yet to be let down by any of them.

[NDN98]

Was going to save this for a special day and then realized their wouldn’t be another Tuesday in June 2018. That seemed a good enough reason to me.

[MTNBourbon]

Another little SBS with the George T. Stagg 2014 (16 Yr. Old) (138.1 Proof), and some Old Grand-Dad (114 Proof). The color, pretty damn close. The nose is kinda close, lots of vanilla, cinnamon, the GTS is sweeter, and more of everything kinda. The taste of both is very very nice, vanilla, cinnamon, the GTS is sweeter, pretty awesome finsh, lasts alot longer. Definitely would be nice to see the GTS around here for MSRP. Usually OGD around here, under $30.

[Masset1982]

11 hours ago, MTNBourbon said:

I would definitely buy some, if I could find it at MSRP, any day of the week.

Every bourbon lover's dream ha ha. Thx for the SBS, it shows that even a $30 bottle can compete with Limited Edition if you let the hype out of it. Cheers! 

 

Will. 

[Richnimrod]

18 hours ago, NDN98 said:

Was going to save this for a special day and then realized their wouldn’t be another Tuesday in June 2018. That seemed a good enough reason to me.

Not only was yesterday the last Tuesday in June 2018... ever! 

...But, it was also the ONLY  Tuesday in the current week!!!!!     It just doesn't get any less than common than: ONLY!!!     Ya' done good, NDN98!  

[Mako254]

[LCWoody]

Having a very good pour of KC SB from Lake Street Liquor. If anyone is passing through Lake Charles stop by and pick one up, you want be disappointed. 

[MTNBourbon]

Still have some of this left, would buy again, especially for what I paid for this bottle. Nice little pour. I think I'm picking up some more sweetness.

[flahute]

Struggling with this SA Big Level. The corn graininess is too much. Tried to blend it into some OGD114 for a four grain blend. First try wasn't successful. Palate might have been off though.

I poured a little into my RY10 and Larceny blend (which I did to save a bad RY10 barrel) and that worked. Still have a lot left though.

[kevinbrink]

13 hours ago, Mako254 said:

How is it?

[kcgumbohead]

WTRB 116 again last night, this time with a cube and just as stellar as every preceding pour from this bottle. My current favorite regularly available bottle and by a wide margin, just loving this latest RB batch.

[Mako254]

2 hours ago, kevinbrink said:

How is it?

Like the nose, palate kinda all over the place. Long finish for me. I’ll get one at some point but dont need to spend $150 right now. 

[Jav]

12 hours ago, flahute said:

Struggling with this SA Big Level. The corn graininess is too much. Tried to blend it into some OGD114 for a four grain blend. First try wasn't successful. Palate might have been off though.

I poured a little into my RY10 and Larceny blend (which I did to save a bad RY10 barrel) and that worked. Still have a lot left though.

I've loved SA stuff, but the Contradiction really disappointed me so much that I haven't bought a Big Level (it also hurts that I've only seen it for $64 around here).  I'm just not going to pay that for what I feel will be the part of Contradiction I really don't enjoy, and so far comments coming in support that.

 

If it was $40 I'd probably buy it just to support their endeavors and give it a shot myself, but it just seems too expensive for how people feel about it...

[Clueby]

2 hours ago, Jav said:

I've loved SA stuff, but the Contradiction really disappointed me so much that I haven't bought a Big Level (it also hurts that I've only seen it for $64 around here).  I'm just not going to pay that for what I feel will be the part of Contradiction I really don't enjoy, and so far comments coming in support that.

 

If it was $40 I'd probably buy it just to support their endeavors and give it a shot myself, but it just seems too expensive for how people feel about it...

I did not care for Contradiction either.  BL is much better.  I paid $54 for mine and even then its a bit overpriced.  It is very unique tasting.  To me it tastes like shortbread cookies.  I might buy it again but wouldn't rush right out and replace it when its gone.  Will be interesting to see what more age will bring.

 

flahute said:

Struggling with this SA Big Level. The corn graininess is too much. Tried to blend it into some OGD114 for a four grain blend. First try wasn't successful. Palate might have been off though.

I poured a little into my RY10 and Larceny blend (which I did to save a bad RY10 barrel) and that worked. Still have a lot left though.

 

Interesting because I got hardly any corn graininess in BL.  Also interesting but I have also not had a good RY10 barrel.  I've tried 2 different barrels of RY10 and didn't like it at all.  Just a hot, bitter mess.  Don't care for Larceny either.  All I can taste is acetone.  I really like Old Fitz BIB though.  It has a minty-ness that is missing in RY and Larceny.  Go figure.

Edited June 28, 2018 by Clueby

[flahute]

32 minutes ago, Clueby said:

I did not care for Contradiction either.  BL is much better.  I paid $54 for mine and even then its a bit overpriced.  It is very unique tasting.  To me it tastes like shortbread cookies.  I might buy it again but wouldn't rush right out and replace it when its gone.  Will be interesting to see what more age will bring.

 

flahute said:

Struggling with this SA Big Level. The corn graininess is too much. Tried to blend it into some OGD114 for a four grain blend. First try wasn't successful. Palate might have been off though.

I poured a little into my RY10 and Larceny blend (which I did to save a bad RY10 barrel) and that worked. Still have a lot left though.

 

Interesting because I got hardly any corn graininess in BL.  Also interesting but I have also not had a good RY10 barrel.  I've tried 2 different barrels of RY10 and didn't like it at all.  Just a hot, bitter mess.  Don't care for Larceny either.  All I can taste is acetone.  I really like Old Fitz BIB though.  It has a minty-ness that is missing in RY and Larceny.  Go figure.

What batch do you have?

Mine tastes like it has a significant amount of 1-2 year old whiskey blended in. (Which it shouldn't of course since they say it's 5 years old on the website).

[kevinbrink]

15 minutes ago, flahute said:

What batch do you have?

Mine tastes like it has a significant amount of 1-2 year old whiskey blended in. (Which it shouldn't of course since they say it's 5 years old on the website).

Mine tastes like yours.... 

[JCwhammie]

The past few weeks I've read multiple people say how good WTRB is with a large cube. Well I left my cube in for roughly 5 minutes then removed it. This afternoon I picked up a bottle of 116 proof for $36.99 (pretax). I know it's been stated several hundred times on here, but the quality of flavor for price of this and standard 101 are pretty incredible. 

[NDN98]

21 hours ago, MTNBourbon said:

Still have some of this left, would buy again, especially for what I paid for this bottle. Nice little pour. I think I'm picking up some more sweetness.

This si the one bottle I didn't care for when I first purchased it, but now it is one of my favorites.

[Clueby]

5 hours ago, flahute said:

What batch do you have?

Mine tastes like it has a significant amount of 1-2 year old whiskey blended in. (Which it shouldn't of course since they say it's 5 years old on the website).

Batch 4. Bottled by Sarah.  Maybe that's the difference!  Anyway, I revisited tonight and still get the short bread cookie taste. Smells like fresh baked wheat bread. I agree that the finish makes it taste a tad younger than 5 years but sounds like I enjoy it way more than you guys. 

[Kane]

Started with a Mellow Corn, but things escalated quickly: CEHT BP, ECBP, and now PH promise of hope.

[0895]

30 minutes ago, Kane said:

 and now PH promise of hope.

How's that?

I've heard good things.

[Kane]

12 minutes ago, 0895 said:

How's that?

I've heard good things.

When I first sip it I am immediately reminded of EC and Henry McKenna, but with the knobs turned to get something a lot more elegant and delicate. A lot of sweet bourbon-y things (corn, caramel, maple [probably vanilla too, I'm vanilla-challenged so couldn't tell]), A LOT of oak, little spice. It feels flat in that there is no alcohol burn, no wood bitters, no tannins, nothing to bite your tongue. But it's still quite hefty, not quite GTS chewable territory, but good enough. Long finish that unexpectedly gets citrusy.

 

So sweet & oaky.

 

If you didn't see anything out of the ordinary, that's because there's none to be found here. It's the very definition of a good old standard bourbon, no standout flavors, but done masterfully. I think this is what they call balanced. Actually I find it very difficult to pitch this one, even though it's excellent stuff I can't find any obvious buzzword to sell it. Sipping this next to various 4R BP recipes, RR SB, and even house favorites like ECBP and CEHT BP, I can comfortably say that it still stands out as something special. Overall, I find this more impressive than the wheat and this year's release.

[kevinbrink]

2 hours ago, Clueby said:

Batch 4. Bottled by Sarah.  Maybe that's the difference!  Anyway, I revisited tonight and still get the short bread cookie taste. Smells like fresh baked wheat bread. I agree that the finish makes it taste a tad younger than 5 years but sounds like I enjoy it way more than you guys. 

Mine is batch 10 bottled by Ashton, fairly certain this is my first SA not bottled by Sarah or James.

[kevinbrink]

I'm presently surprised by the Old Fitz 11yr BIB, the reviews have been less than stellar but to me this is a pretty fantastic bourbon, did some warmups before I cracked it to set a benchmark. I like the RY10 and this is definitely more enjoyable to me, the oak is there but so are the baking spices, some dark red fruit and something that just reminds me of being in a rickhouse that I only ever get from HH bourbons. 

[Clueby]

Moved on from Big Level to W12. Totally different wheated profile. While W12 doesn't have the punch of flavor that even OWA it has such an elegance to it that I really love. It makes me think of an old saddle in a wooden barn.  I've read a few comments about newer batches of W12 not living up to past ones but I dont taste a drop off in quality. I do get a tad "brighter" profile than older bottles but that might be the actual age of the bottle, not the age it was bottled at.