Want bourbon, want Scotch, want beer

[mross]

Greeting all. I was wondering if any of you go back and forth between whiskey styles?  My whiskey journey started off with the Canadians. We had Seagram’s 7, VO, Canadian Club and Crown Royal as opposed to Royal Crown. (Sorry could not resist the play on words there. Anyone remember Royal Crown? But I digress). It was not my choice that was what was prevelant at the time and what my father had. So that’s where I started. I continued like this through college. At one party someone was passing around a bottle of Four Roses. And I do mean passing, as most of the party goers where beer drinkers so they gagged at it and just passed the bottle. I tried it, then tried it again, it was great. (I don’t remember which FR it was. It was college so it was probably the cheapest available) I went t back to the Canadians as I had no idea what the FR was. Then I heard about this wonderful elixir call Single Malt Scotch. So I started on a pilgrimage to find my favorite Scotch. One of my sessions was at the 50th wedding anniversary my wife and I threw for my parents. We had an open bar. I figured I was paying for this shindig so I may as well have some fun. So I bellied up to the bar and proceeded to sample, yeah that’s it sample all the Scotch offerings they had, neat. The bar was very well stocked with quite a selection of mid to higher range Scotch’s. I remember it was a really good party and I had a great time but don’t remember much else. Then one day I was at my favorite liquor store around Christmas and they had a Glenlivet offering with a standard bottle of 12 year old, a small sampler of 15yr old and 18 year old. I went through the 12 year old and thought it was good but did not wow me. Then on my 18th wedding anniversary I celebrated with the 18 year old. Man I was hooked. The sky rockets went off it was afternoon delight. Soon as I could I went back to get me a real bottle of the 18 year old. Then I saw the price. Yikes. I checked the 12 to see if I had misread earlier. Nope. I started looking at the other older Single Malts. It just got worse. Much worse. OK maybe Single Malts where not my thing. So fast forward to another open bar party. Not one I paid for, so I decided to try this other thing I heard about called bourbon. I ordered a Makers Mark 46 on ice. Nice. Heaven.  I think I found my thing. So there you have it I have been on a bourbon quest as of late which brought me to this sight. However I keep getting a hankering to go back to Single Malts. My means are better than when I first started my journey. But not sure about cheatin on the Bourbon/Rye. Do any of you go back and forth? Does it have an effect on your tasting experience? Does it matter? I’m kinda curious. I also realize even though my means are better, the real high end Single Malts are out of my willingness to spend. One of the stores I frequent has a Black Bowmore. But at 4G’s I don’t think I’m going there.

[lcpfratn]

I think if you look around the forum, you’ll find that many of us are not just bourbon drinkers. There are separate sections of the SB forum where scotch, rum, beer and other sprits are discussed quite frequently...go check them out.

 

[Richnimrod]

Personally, I concentrate my imbibing almost exclusively on Bourbon. 

For dietary reasons, the rules of making Bourbon make it the best option for me.    ...Not to mention, I find the flavors and aromas of a great many Bourbons far more appealing than most alternatives, anyway.

[flahute]

Lots of people on this site enjoy other whiskies, other spirits, wine, beer, and cocktails. We're a versatile bunch. Bourbon is the dominant drink of choice for most of us (certainly for me) but mixing it up is a good thing.

As Jeff said above, check in on the forums for other spirits and beer.

[kevinbrink]

5 hours ago, mross said:

Greeting all. I was wondering if any of you go back and forth between whiskey styles?  My whiskey journey started off with the Canadians. We had Seagram’s 7, VO, Canadian Club and Crown Royal as opposed to Royal Crown. (Sorry could not resist the play on words there. Anyone remember Royal Crown? But I digress). It was not my choice that was what was prevelant at the time and what my father had. So that’s where I started. I continued like this through college. At one party someone was passing around a bottle of Four Roses. And I do mean passing, as most of the party goers where beer drinkers so they gagged at it and just passed the bottle. I tried it, then tried it again, it was great. (I don’t remember which FR it was. It was college so it was probably the cheapest available) I went t back to the Canadians as I had no idea what the FR was. Then I heard about this wonderful elixir call Single Malt Scotch. So I started on a pilgrimage to find my favorite Scotch. One of my sessions was at the 50th wedding anniversary my wife and I threw for my parents. We had an open bar. I figured I was paying for this shindig so I may as well have some fun. So I bellied up to the bar and proceeded to sample, yeah that’s it sample all the Scotch offerings they had, neat. The bar was very well stocked with quite a selection of mid to higher range Scotch’s. I remember it was a really good party and I had a great time but don’t remember much else. Then one day I was at my favorite liquor store around Christmas and they had a Glenlivet offering with a standard bottle of 12 year old, a small sampler of 15yr old and 18 year old. I went through the 12 year old and thought it was good but did not wow me. Then on my 18th wedding anniversary I celebrated with the 18 year old. Man I was hooked. The sky rockets went off it was afternoon delight. Soon as I could I went back to get me a real bottle of the 18 year old. Then I saw the price. Yikes. I checked the 12 to see if I had misread earlier. Nope. I started looking at the other older Single Malts. It just got worse. Much worse. OK maybe Single Malts where not my thing. So fast forward to another open bar party. Not one I paid for, so I decided to try this other thing I heard about called bourbon. I ordered a Makers Mark 46 on ice. Nice. Heaven.  I think I found my thing. So there you have it I have been on a bourbon quest as of late which brought me to this sight. However I keep getting a hankering to go back to Single Malts. My means are better than when I first started my journey. But not sure about cheatin on the Bourbon/Rye. Do any of you go back and forth? Does it have an effect on your tasting experience? Does it matter? I’m kinda curious. I also realize even though my means are better, the real high end Single Malts are out of my willingness to spend. One of the stores I frequent has a Black Bowmore. But at 4G’s I don’t think I’m going there.

I tend to stick with bourbon....

and Rye....

and Scotch....

and Rum....

and Brandy....

and Gin....

 

with the occasional diversion of a beer

Edited January 23, 2019 by kevinbrink
Not to mention whiskey that comes from the rest of the world.....

[smokinjoe]

 Quite an ambling journey.  I was a little worried I was going to get to a part of that one time at band camp...    

 

Jokes aside, I’d bet your experience is similar to most here.  Personally, I drink more bourbon than any other spirit, but have a healthy appreciation for other spirits, and taste among them regularly.  For me, it’s a nice change-up and allows for a welcomed palate adjustment.  

 

 

[CardsandBourbon]

I'm pretty much a bourbon drinker, with a few ryes thrown in for good measure, and wine.  I tried scotch one time and I liken my experience to it tasting like if a Scotsman had put on some wool socks then traipsed around the moors all day in a torrential down pour.  Then after doing that he came back and wrung the socks out in a glass to drink.  Haven't been back to the scotch since.

[Marekv8]

In my experience— the more challenging, obscure, expensive and generally hard-to-move (non-bourbon/rye) bottles you can steadily remove from a retailer's inventory; the more LE bourbon will silently materialize in your basket.

 

Also, whenever you want to discuss RC Cola-- I've got you covered.

[smokinjoe]

20 minutes ago, Marekv8 said:

In my experience— the more challenging, obscure, expensive and generally hard-to-move (non-bourbon/rye) bottles you can steadily remove from a retailer's inventory; the more LE bourbon will silently materialize in your basket.

 

Also, whenever you want to discuss RC Cola-- I've got you covered.

Pro Tip!

[Marekv8]

37 minutes ago, CardsandBourbon said:

I'm pretty much a bourbon drinker, with a few ryes thrown in for good measure, and wine.  I tried scotch one time and I liken my experience to it tasting like if a Scotsman had put on some wool socks then traipsed around the moors all day in a torrential down pour.  Then after doing that he came back and wrung the socks out in a glass to drink.  Haven't been back to the scotch since.

 

Any chance you remember the distillery and expression? Sounds fantastic.

[lcpfratn]

In my experience— the more challenging, obscure, expensive and generally hard-to-move (non-bourbon/rye) bottles you can steadily remove from a retailer's inventory; the more LE bourbon will silently materialize in your basket.
 
Also, whenever you want to discuss RC Cola-- I've got you covered.

I’ve had very similar experiences!

[lcpfratn]

 
Any chance you remember the distillery and expression? Sounds fantastic.

LOL! [emoji23]

[Clueby]

I enjoy some beer and some Scotch as well.  I've been known to have a glass of wine here and there or a Mojito in the summer.  Most of the beer I purchase is actually barrel aged beer so I guess I keep some link to bourbon.  Most Scotch is also aged in ex-bourbon barrels.  About the only Scotch I really like is heavily peated Scotch, mostly Ardbeg expressions.  A lot of Scotch I guess my palate is not refined enough and I just find them boring.

[CardsandBourbon]

35 minutes ago, Marekv8 said:

 

Any chance you remember the distillery and expression? Sounds fantastic.

I think the distillery was the well regarded Old Toe Jam Distillery.  It was their 10 toes version.

[mross]

Thanks. I was curious if going between types caused tasting issues. I'm just getting to the point where I can discern flavors in bourbon and rye. I could in Scotch but switched and it took some time to get used to it. I don't want to have to start over if I switch styles. Of course one of my tasting experiences with Scotch was interesting to say the least. I wanted to experience a heavily peated Scotch. So I bought a bottle of Laphroaig. My first impression was if I came across a burning pile of tires, put it out with a fire hose, caught the run off, bottled it and drank it. That's pretty much my first impression. But after a few tries I started to like it. Weird.

[Vosgar]

4 hours ago, CardsandBourbon said:

I tried scotch one time and I liken my experience to it tasting like if a Scotsman had put on some wool socks then traipsed around the moors all day in a torrential down pour.  Then after doing that he came back and wrung the socks out in a glass to drink. 

 

44 minutes ago, mross said:

So I bought a bottle of Laphroaig. My first impression was if I came across a burning pile of tires, put it out with a fire hose, caught the run off, bottled it and drank it. 

Damn, you guys got me drooling with those wonderful descriptors! Now I have to decide which open bottle of Scotch to have a pour from.....Lagavulin 16, Laphroaig 15, PS Caol Ila, Ballechin 11yr Heavy Peated or Bowmore 12yr 

[kevinbrink]

1 hour ago, mross said:

Thanks. I was curious if going between types caused tasting issues. I'm just getting to the point where I can discern flavors in bourbon and rye. I could in Scotch but switched and it took some time to get used to it. I don't want to have to start over if I switch styles. Of course one of my tasting experiences with Scotch was interesting to say the least. I wanted to experience a heavily peated Scotch. So I bought a bottle of Laphroaig. My first impression was if I came across a burning pile of tires, put it out with a fire hose, caught the run off, bottled it and drank it. That's pretty much my first impression. But after a few tries I started to like it. Weird.

DAMN I love Laphroaig, probably my favorite malt

35 minutes ago, Vosgar said:

 

Damn, you guys got me drooling with those wonderful descriptors! Now I have to decide which open bottle of Scotch to have a pour from.....Lagavulin 16, Laphroaig 15, PS Caol Ila, Ballechin 11yr Heavy Peated or Bowmore 12yr 

Wish Ballechin was more readily available stateside so I could do more of the necessary research with it, it has taken more effort than I spend in Bourbon LE Season to get the 4 bottles I have had. What finish is on the 11 year you have? I've said it a few times over on the Drams thread but a Sauternes finished Ballechin 10 year CS is one of my favorite pours I have ever had. 

[PaulO]

I recall, back in the day of Coke vs. Pepsi blind tasting challenge; RC Cola was used as the control in the experiment.  Ironically, more people preferred RC.  Nowadays I only drink seltzer.

As to spirits, I like bourbon the most, and some straight rye whiskies.

Some Scotch is tolerable, but none so far as good as bourbon in my wheelhouse.

Canadians can make some good whisky; but generally waste or ruin it by blending and bottling it at 80 proof.

I like a nice Tequila quite a bit.

I'm a fan of classic cocktails - Martini (gin & vermouth), Old Fashioned, Manhattan,

...

I like beer, as long as it's not: Bud Lite, Miller Lite, or something with odd ball ingredients.

[Clueby]

14 minutes ago, kevinbrink said:

DAMN I love Laphroaig, probably my favorite malt

Wish Ballechin was more readily available stateside so I could do more of the necessary research with it, it has taken more effort than I spend in Bourbon LE Season to get the 4 bottles I have had. What finish is on the 11 year you have? I've said it a few times over on the Drams thread but a Sauternes finished Ballechin 10 year CS is one of my favorite pours I have ever had. 

I've not tried Ballechin before. For some reason Laphroaig is my least favorite of the Islay malts. It's more medicinal tasting to me. Ardbeg was my first introduction to heavily peated Scotch so I think my mind equates it to how peated Scotch is supposed to taste. Any of those on Vosgar's list are a pretty good choice, though. I've got a new bottle of Uigeadail coming. Can't wait as I've been out for a while.

[kevinbrink]

Just now, Clueby said:

I've not tried Ballechin before. For some reason Laphroaig is my least favorite of the Islay malts. It's more medicinal tasting to me. Ardbeg was my first introduction to heavily peated Scotch so I think my mind equates it to how peated Scotch is supposed to taste. Any of those on Vosgar's list are a pretty good choice, though. I've got a new bottle of Uigeadail coming. Can't wait as I've been out for a while.

Yeah Laphroaig is top of the heap for me, Ardbeg is probably right behind though. 

[Vosgar]

26 minutes ago, kevinbrink said:

Wish Ballechin was more readily available stateside so I could do more of the necessary research with it, it has taken more effort than I spend in Bourbon LE Season to get the 4 bottles I have had. What finish is on the 11 year you have? I've said it a few times over on the Drams thread but a Sauternes finished Ballechin 10 year CS is one of my favorite pours I have ever had. 

My open bottle is at cask strength, finished in a Manzanilla Sherry cask. I also have a few unopened ones, Bourbon Cask, Red Burgundy Cask and a Bourbon + Oloroso Sherry Cask. I've never had a Sauternes finished Ballechin, so now I've got a mission  

 

P.S.  I do have an open Edradour 11yr finished in Sauternes and it's outstanding!

[Tony Santana]

My journey was mostly beer, a brief flirtation with gin and tonics, a lot of Jack on the rocks, then Makers and Knob Creek, etc., then a full fledged jump into the deep end of the bourbon pool.  With a smattering of almost everything else thrown in on occasion, depending on availability, circumstance and proclivity.  Now I'm primarily bourbon, but I enjoy most varieties of whiskey and have really started to dabble in Scotch (mostly non-peated).  No "tasting issues" - if anything, broadening my palette just makes me appreciate more.  Although drinking it all in one night isn't a good idea.

[flahute]

3 hours ago, Vosgar said:

 

Damn, you guys got me drooling with those wonderful descriptors! Now I have to decide which open bottle of Scotch to have a pour from.....Lagavulin 16, Laphroaig 15, PS Caol Ila, Ballechin 11yr Heavy Peated or Bowmore 12yr 

Yer killing me Smalls!

Heavy peat...........blechhhhh

[Vosgar]

6 hours ago, flahute said:

Yer killing me Smalls!

Heavy peat...........blechhhhh

Since I know your curiosity is killing you, Steve, I went with the Ballechin. Mmmm good!

Edited January 24, 2019 by Vosgar

[CardsandBourbon]

1 hour ago, Vosgar said:

Since I know your curiosity is killing you, Steve, I went with the Ballechin. Mmmm good!

Sooooooooo Vosgar, how did your glass of wet wool sock water taste?  On second thought I don't really need to know.