StarSurfer55 Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 Has anyone tried their Bourbon. I was down in St. Augustine and the hotel shop had half fifths for $40. The bottle label indicated that it was from 2016. Given that my experiences with craft whiskey has been poor, I walked away. I would rather spend my $40 on a better known product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richnimrod Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 41 minutes ago, StarSurfer55 said: Has anyone tried their Bourbon. I was down in St. Augustine and the hotel shop had half fifths for $40. The bottle label indicated that it was from 2016. Given that my experiences with craft whiskey has been poor, I walked away. I would rather spend my $40 on a better known product. Sorry, I can shed zero light on the craft offering (if indeed that's what it is) mentioned; but, I can say I heartily agree about seeking better options for the $40. There exist a great number of very good Bourbons in most markets for that kind of cheese. In many markets one could get a couple, or even 3-bottles of decent Bourbon for that. Certainly a single bottle at or near that price can be very nice stuff indeed. Sticking with the big established houses and their well-known brands may not be sexy or adventurous; but the stuff in your glass will be what you expect, and hopefully well-enjoyed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarSurfer55 Posted February 1, 2019 Author Share Posted February 1, 2019 Richnimrod, I completely agree that sticking with an established house is the route to a consistent well done experience. I have tried product from two of craft distilleries, one local and one in SC. I was very disappointed in both the quality of the product and the knowledge of the distllers. The cost often is not supported by the product quality and my dollars will continue to be spent on established brands. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thig Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 I visited them but the prices are not in line with what you are getting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarSurfer55 Posted February 2, 2019 Author Share Posted February 2, 2019 Thanks, I looked at their site and obviously the hotel put a premium price on it. I have some of the same issues with this distiller that I had with the one in SC. Both claim their vodka are made from sugar cane juice. In my opinion, they are making Chacaca and not Vodka. When I asked the rep at the SC distiller what was the difference between their vodka and Chacaca, he had no idea what the latter was. It tasted like Chacaca as well. My local distiller uses pure corn for their vodka and it tastes exactly like a corn liquor. TimSmith’s Climax Moonshine tastes better than their vodka. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarSurfer55 Posted February 2, 2019 Author Share Posted February 2, 2019 Thanks, I looked at their site and obviously the hotel put a premium price on it. I have some of the same issues with this distiller that I had with the one in SC. Both claim their vodka are made from sugar cane juice. In my opinion, they are making Cachaca and not Vodka. When I asked the rep at the SC distiller what was the difference between their vodka and Cachaca and he had no idea what the latter was. It tasted like Cachaca as well. My local distiller uses pure corn for their vodka and it tastes exactly like a corn liquor. TimSmith’s Climax Moonshine tastes better than their vodka. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wadewood Posted February 3, 2019 Share Posted February 3, 2019 On 2/1/2019 at 8:37 PM, StarSurfer55 said: I have some of the same issues with this distiller that I had with the one in SC. Both claim their vodka are made from sugar cane juice. In my opinion, they are making Chacaca and not Vodka. When I asked the rep at the SC distiller what was the difference between their vodka and Chacaca, he had no idea what the latter was. It tasted like Chacaca as well. You should read the TTB definition of Vodka. It can be made from anything that ferments, including sugar. The key is it has to be distilled at or above 190 proof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarSurfer55 Posted February 3, 2019 Author Share Posted February 3, 2019 Thanks. As a scientist, I clearly understand the specs for a vodka. I know that at least one distiller is making vodka from milk whey so I take your point that it can be made from anything fermentable as along as it is distilled at or over 190 proof. However, I will make two points: 1. If your product is indistnguishable in taste from another product, it really doesn’t matter in if you meet the spec or not. If I made a Caipirinha with the SC distillers product it would taste as if I had made it from Cachaca rather than a Caipirinoska made with vodka. 2. When you ask a simple question about how your product is different then you should be able to tell me about the spec. The fact that the distiller thought they had something unique and was completely unaware of the existence of Cachaca makes me doubt their compentence as distillers. They should have been able to tell me the about the spec and clearly explain the difference. I guess this brings it back to the original point of staying with the large houses to make sure that you get a consistent product made by competent distillers. In my opinion, this is particularly true for bourbon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarSurfer55 Posted February 4, 2019 Author Share Posted February 4, 2019 After re-reading my previous post, it was a bit terse and needs a tone down. I keep forgetting that these posts, like email, fail to convey emotion well. You can easily tell that based on my experiences with craft distillers that they have not been good. Moving on now....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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