Confess Your Unpopular Bourbon Opinion

[Bourbon_Watcher_84]

21 hours ago, flahute said:

Your opinions are not that unpopular here. You will find that this group is a lot different from the groups you see on social media.

Now you won't get universal agreement. Especially that comment about Four Roses. Them's fightin' words!!

I'm not sure how much experience you have with 4R. If it's only recent, than I partly understand your position. The devotion to 4R was earned 8-9 years ago when Jim Rutledge brought the distillery not only back from almost dead but to the top of the bourbon nerd opinion polls. The LE small batch and certain single barrels that came out from 2011 to 2013 are among some of the best whiskies I've ever tasted.

Unfortunately, 4R has been just as much a victim of the boom as everyone else and due to rising demand along with their contract with Bulleit (where literally half of their distilling and warehousing capacity belonged to Bulleit) 4R quickly found themselves in a pickle. They are now out of that contract and they have recently doubled their capacity but they still have a lot of catching up to do.

That's interesting information I haven't heard before.  And you would be correct, the 4R bottles I've had have all been from the last 3-4 years.  I respect what they are trying to do with their 10 different mash bills, and I heard that they also currently have some of the oldest single barrels aging in their warehouse.  But like I also said, their Small Batch Select (a blend of different mash bills with different yeast strains?) was quite enjoyable, one of the better bourbons I'd had in 2019.  And part of that goes to the blending of barrels to reach a quality flavor enjoyable by the masses (like me!). I'll have to give them another shot when I get a chance.  Like Adam Sandler said in Billy Madison: "I'm here to learn, people! Here to learn!"  

[CardsandBourbon]

On 4/25/2020 at 7:26 AM, Richnimrod said:

Just curious; and please forgive 'an outsider', but . . . . Why is this area always referred to as Kentuckiana; but never as Indyucky?   ...Hmmmmmmmm.  

Reason #1:  Indyucky sounds stupid; Reason #2:  Kentuckians are inherently smarter than Hoosiers so therefore we are listed first in the mash up word Kentuckiana.

On 4/25/2020 at 1:49 AM, fishnbowljoe said:

 

I probably shouldn’t, but what the heck? I was born and raised in Indianapolis. Just before we moved to Illinois, I lived and worked on the north side. As a preface here, states have rivalries, and sometimes take jabs at each other. This is evident in the banter and jokes between Kentucky and Indiana. Anyway, Noblesville was a city just north of Indy. For whatever reason, a number of folks referred to it as Nobletucky. 

 

Biba! Joe

You mean jokes like:  Why did Kentucky build all the bridges over the Ohio River?  So the Hoosiers would have some shade when they swim across to KY.

What are the first 3 words from a Hoosier baby's mouth?  Attention Kmart shoppers.

Edited April 26, 2020 by CardsandBourbon

[fishnbowljoe]

1 hour ago, CardsandBourbon said:

Reason #1:  Indyucky sounds stupid; Reason #2:  Kentuckians are inherently smarter than Hoosiers so therefore we are listed first in the mash up word Kentuckiana.

You mean jokes like:  Why did Kentucky build all the bridges over the Ohio River?  So the Hoosiers would have some shade when they swim across to KY.

What are the first 3 words from a Hoosier baby's mouth?  Attention Kmart shoppers.

Why won’t Kentuckians cross the Ohio River on a Hoosiers spotlight beam? 
Because the Hoosier will turn it off when they’re halfway across.  

[PaulO]

A pickup truck full of Kentuckians drove into the river.  Half of them drown.  They couldn't get the tailgate down. 

 

But seriously, Southern Indiana is the same USDA zone as KY, same hilly topography too.  Historically that region was more linked to KY.  Major roads mostly went South.  Linguists refer to dialect of Southern Indiana as "Northern Kentucky".

[CardsandBourbon]

3 hours ago, fishnbowljoe said:

Why won’t Kentuckians cross the Ohio River on a Hoosiers spotlight beam? 
Because the Hoosier will turn it off when they’re halfway across.  

You're from Illinois.  What are you even doing on this conversation? 

 

Where did the word Hoosier come from?  Who's yer mama?  Who's yer daddy?

[jvd99]

Sometimes I like single malts better than bourbon - even for months at a time

[fishnbowljoe]

Born and raised in Indianapolis.  

 

There are many different ideas about the who, what, when, where, how and why the term Hoosier originated. One popular theory is that it came about from the greeting; “Who’s here?” You can find this one when you google it. Another idea is one that  I remember a grade school teacher telling us about. It’s also a greeting, but it doesn’t appear on Wikipedia. This one was used when a person met a friend who had another person with him. The person by himself would greet his friend (shake his hand?) and ask  “Who’s yer friend?” about the other person he hadn’t met yet. Over time, this was eventually shortened to “Hoosier?” Of course this was way back when in The Indiana Territory/Indiana area. 
 

Biba! Joe

[Vosgar]

When I sorta kinda went to college many moons ago, my roommate was from Indianapolis. He referred to it as "Indian-no-place". Does anyone still call it that or was he just a disgruntled punk teenage stoner? 

[fishnbowljoe]

5 minutes ago, Vosgar said:

When I sorta kinda went to college many moons ago, my roommate was from Indianapolis. He referred to it as "Indian-no-place". Does anyone still call it that or was he just a disgruntled punk teenage stoner? 

Back in the day, it was called that partly because even though it was a pretty large city, it was considered somewhat of a backward town. Another nickname it had was Queen Of The Rust Belt.  In the late 70’s -early eighties when there was a downturn in the economy, Indy was booming.

[flahute]

4 hours ago, Vosgar said:

When I sorta kinda went to college many moons ago, my roommate was from Indianapolis. He referred to it as "Indian-no-place". Does anyone still call it that or was he just a disgruntled punk teenage stoner? 

It was still referred to by that name when I lived there in the late 80's.

[PaulO]

I remember relatives in Chicago saying this back in the 1970s, but it still comes up nowadays.  Indianapolis was referred to as nap-town, a place to go and take a nap.  I believe some residents have even appropriated the name.

[GTStagg]

Not a fan of craft bourbon. The best stuff with some age to it still tastes inferior to HH, BT, Beam, WT, etc. and the average 2 year old craft tastes like it had whole grain bread soaking in it, too young. 

 

 

[Kane]

1 hour ago, GTStagg said:

Not a fan of craft bourbon. The best stuff with some age to it still tastes inferior to HH, BT, Beam, WT, etc. and the average 2 year old craft tastes like it had whole grain bread soaking in it, too young. 

 

 

Title says "unpopular" 

[JCwhammie]

1 hour ago, GTStagg said:

Not a fan of craft bourbon. The best stuff with some age to it still tastes inferior to HH, BT, Beam, WT, etc. and the average 2 year old craft tastes like it had whole grain bread soaking in it, too young. 

 

 

I'm not sure that's unpopular around here. Now if you said New Riff and Wilderness Trail fall into the category of crappy craft you would have an unpopular take. 

[flahute]

5 hours ago, JCwhammie said:

I'm not sure that's unpopular around here. Now if you said New Riff and Wilderness Trail fall into the category of crappy craft you would have an unpopular take. 

This is a great point. I have yet to find a New Riff that I like so I DO have an unpopular opinion.

[GTStagg]

13 hours ago, JCwhammie said:

I'm not sure that's unpopular around here. Now if you said New Riff and Wilderness Trail fall into the category of crappy craft you would have an unpopular take. 

Love New Riff. I was on the bandwagon way before they hit the shelves here in Florida as I picked up a store pick while driving through KY. The SiB is a solid pour and not overpriced as it is a BP. However, if I have my pick between their 4 year juice and an ECBP with 12 year juice for the same price.....in a perfect world I would buy both, lol

WT also makes good bourbon, no 2 yr juice in their bottles. Price is a little high for BIB, but they get a pass on account of offering unique mash bills, especially the wheater. 

Edited April 28, 2020 by GTStagg

[parksmart]

OK.  Finally read thru the entire thread, so I’m not repeating what’s been said ad nauseum by other forumites.  So here are my hot takes:

 

1)  I get much more excited finding a dusty than I do a popular and limited current bottling at MSRP or close to it, e.g. OWA107 or W12

2)  Bottom and middle shelf dusties from the glut years are tastier (oftentimes significantly) than middle shelf stuff nowadays

3)  If you have a bunker, then you’re a hoarder

[GeeTen]

2 hours ago, parksmart said:

 

3)  If you have a bunker, then you’re a hoarder

 

 

Yeah, so?  Sheesh - you sound just like my WIFE!   

 

[flahute]

8 hours ago, parksmart said:

OK.  Finally read thru the entire thread, so I’m not repeating what’s been said ad nauseum by other forumites.  So here are my hot takes:

 

1)  I get much more excited finding a dusty than I do a popular and limited current bottling at MSRP or close to it, e.g. OWA107 or W12

2)  Bottom and middle shelf dusties from the glut years are tastier (oftentimes significantly) than middle shelf stuff nowadays

3)  If you have a bunker, then you’re a hoarder

1) I don't think you'll find much disagreement on that here.

2) Again, most here will agree.

3) And I'm damn proud of it. See your point #2 for why.

[Kyjd75]

On 4/26/2020 at 2:31 PM, PaulO said:

A pickup truck full of Kentuckians drove into the river.  Half of them drown.  They couldn't get the tailgate down. 

 

But seriously, Southern Indiana is the same USDA zone as KY, same hilly topography too.  Historically that region was more linked to KY.  Major roads mostly went South.  Linguists refer to dialect of Southern Indiana as "Northern Kentucky".

Way back in 2011 I spent four months in Bloomington, Indiana at IU getting treated at the then operational IU Proton Therapy Center on the IU campus.  FYI, proton therapy is a sophisticated form of radiation treatment that uses protons rather than photons.  I was there for treatment for prostate cancer (treatment was a complete success).  I stayed at a facility near the Proton Center called "Jill's House" which was kind of like a Ronald McDonald's house for adults.  There were 2 or 3 other guys from Kentucky there and we all remarked at one time or another how "similar" the IU/Bloomington area felt to Ky.  Indeed, it felt just like being home in Ky to me.  And although I have no love for IU basketball, I have to say that the medical care I received at IU was the best I have ever experienced anywhere.  Top notch and first class all the way!

[fishnbowljoe]

34 minutes ago, Kyjd75 said:

Way back in 2011 I spent four months in Bloomington, Indiana at IU getting treated at the then operational IU Proton Therapy Center on the IU campus.  FYI, proton therapy is a sophisticated form of radiation treatment that uses protons rather than photons.  I was there for treatment for prostate cancer (treatment was a complete success).  I stayed at a facility near the Proton Center called "Jill's House" which was kind of like a Ronald McDonald's house for adults.  There were 2 or 3 other guys from Kentucky there and we all remarked at one time or another how "similar" the IU/Bloomington area felt to Ky.  Indeed, it felt just like being home in Ky to me.  And although I have no love for IU basketball, I have to say that the medical care I received at IU was the best I have ever experienced anywhere.  Top notch and first class all the way!

Yes, the Bloomington area looks a lot like KY. It’s probably part of the reason I like and feel at home in KY. IIRC, Bloomington sits atop the giant limestone aquifer that encompasses a large part of Indiana and Kentucky. Yes, the one that plays a part in the bourbon industry.
 

I used to go to Bloomington a lot. My sister and a cousin went to college there, and I visited them.  I had a very good friend that had family there, and I would accompany him on visits to see his grandparents. My buddy Dave, knew the areas around Bloomington like the back of his hand.  On trips to the Lake Monroe area, Dave would take a different route every time we visited. He took a perverse delight in confusing the hell out of me. (He loved the area so much, he moved there after he got out of the Air Force back in 1977. He lives there to this day, and worked for IU. I also camped, hunted, fished, and did some amateur spelunking in the area. There was so much to do there, and it wasn’t that far from where I lived on the southeast side of Indy. Another odd coincidence here, my sisters best friend from high school lives near Bloomington. Suzy Butler was her name, but she married her college sweetheart. His name: Jim Butler.    Together they own and run The Butler Winery. 
 

Biba! Joe 

[PaulO]

That's all familiar stuff to me, since I grew up in Bloomington.  My father, brother, sister, and mother in law still live there, plus friends.

All joking aside, KY is wonderful.  I can't wait to go back to visit - probably not an unpopular opinion on this site.

[The Black Tot]

On 4/28/2020 at 9:09 PM, parksmart said:

3)  If you have a bunker, then you’re a hoarder

 

The internet has wine forums for sour grapes.

[smokinjoe]

5 hours ago, The Black Tot said:

 

The internet has wine forums for sour grapes.

Heehee!  Our wayward seaman (where the heck have you been?!?!) puts out the front runner for post of the year!  

[Vosgar]

4 hours ago, smokinjoe said:

Heehee!  Our wayward seaman (where the heck have you been?!?!) puts out the front runner for post of the year!  

It's always good to have TBT here!