Carnagusfarnbuckler Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 I am going to put this out as my advice for a newbie purchasing bourbon. Do not do what I did. When I got into bourbon about 8 months ago. I bought a few really cheap bourbons, heck one was an American whiskey and I did not know the difference. I thought they were all bourbon. They were bad, real bad. I then started watching YouTube, websites, reviews, and forums. I bought a lot of bourbon and thought I knew what I was doing. Now I look back I can see I probably should not have bought so much so fast. So what I am saying for a new person to bourbon is slow down. Get you a few good starter bottles that are under twenty bucks and learn what a wheated bourbon and rye bourbon are, like Evan Williams Black Label, Larceny, Rebel Yell, Wild Turkey, and Very Old Barton. Then later you can pick out a couple of better bourbons and go from there like Eagle Rare, Elijah Craig Small Batch, Henry McKenna, or Evan Williams Single Barrel. I was just looking at all the stuff I have bought over the last several months and thought why did I buy that and why did I buy two of that. I now know that there are tons of better bourbons that I could have spent that money on instead. I hope this makes sense and I am sure some of the more veteran bourbon drinkers will also have some great advice to add. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Limegoldconvertible68 Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 The best advice I can give is to make a bourbon budget. Stick to it. That’s “x” number of bottles every so often. The key when starting out, however, is to open those bottles and taste them. After you become famwith a few bottles do a blind test of what you have purchased. Have your spouse or a friend pour four or five different bourbon and let you you savor them without knowing what you are drinking. You will soon learn if you are buying bottles because of the name on them or because you truly like what’s in the bottle. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinbrink Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 There have been a few versions of this thread over the years but I'll say what I tend to say, buy small format bottles and keep your early investments low. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dad-proof Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 Everyone's budgets and preferences are different, but I see more people wasting money early on in their bourbon journey overpaying for craft, NPD, or unicorn bottle that they have no frame of reference for properly evaluating. I understand the letdown of buying Old Crow, but hey it's $9. My recommendation would be to taste and each of the mid-shelf workhorses bourbons from across the majors like WT101, Elijah Craig SB, BT, OF100, KC100, OGDBIB, MM etc. and do your best to figure out what you like and don't. These are all likely $4-7 pours, or you could split bottles between 2-3 friends, so for less than $100 one could taste each of the workhorses multiple times. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulO Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 Most of the 80 proof stuff, you can skip. The interesting to drink neat is usually 90 proof or above. Be wary of non distiller producer brands. Do your homework. A few are honest brokers with good product. Many are overpriced mystery juice. Rarely will you find anyone working in a liquor store that can give good recommendations. Check out the Bourbon Of The Month, and Whiskey Tree threads on this site. Don't worship unicorn bottles. Have fun, and enjoy reasonably priced bottles that aren't too hard to find. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pouringwhiskey Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 As someone who is fairly new to enjoying bourbon, I only have one piece of advice so far - start from the bottom and work your way up. I made the mistake early on of trying to hunt down allocated bottles like Eagle Rare, Blanton's, ETL, EH Taylor (I realize these may sit on shelves elsewhere, but are harder to come by in Ohio). I was successful at finding most of these early on and enjoyed each of them for what they were, later on down the road I started picking up easy to find, cheaper bourbons like Benchmark, Buffalo Trace, VOB, etc. Since I worked backwards from higher end to these, they all kind of fell short comparatively. Not to say I don't enjoy them all, but I think I would have enjoyed them more if I would have went the opposite direction. But hindsight is 20-20, and I still find myself enjoying $10-$15 bottles along with my $100 bottles 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottledInBond Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 Here is a piece of advice for newer people that are in a Total Wine market. Don’t listen to anyone that works there, and passion all of their Spirits Direct crap. The only caveat to that is that occassionally if they do a barrel pick they also call those Spirits Direct and if it is from a distillery you know, you can buy those as you normally would. I know this one doesn’t apply to everyone since TW&M isn’t in all markets, but they do tend to be large players in the markets they are in. They will try to direct you to a Spirits Direct product 99% of the time, and 99% of those products are terrible or just overpriced for what they are. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinbrink Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 5 minutes ago, BottledInBond said: Here is a piece of advice for newer people that are in a Total Wine market. Don’t listen to anyone that works there, and passion all of their Spirits Direct crap. The only caveat to that is that occassionally if they do a barrel pick they also call those Spirits Direct and if it is from a distillery you know, you can buy those as you normally would. I know this one doesn’t apply to everyone since TW&M isn’t in all markets, but they do tend to be large players in the markets they are in. They will try to direct you to a Spirits Direct product 99% of the time, and 99% of those products are terrible or just overpriced for what they are. Pretty spot on for bourbon, although for other spirits there are some great products that count as spirits direct, virtually all of the Independently Bottled Scotch and Rum, a number of Rums from Foursquare (Doorly's, R.L. Seale etc.), virtually all of the Armagnac, and on top of that many of the "Luxury Whiskies". If you into such things and you spend enough to get a chance at the LE stuff more power to you. Probably worth noting that if you download their app they have coupons all the time, right now at least here in NJ there is one for 10% off all SD if you buy two bottles. I'm not advocating for buying at TW but if you are going to do it at least save some money. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pouringwhiskey Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 18 hours ago, Limegoldconvertible68 said: Have your spouse or a friend pour four or five different bourbon and let you you savor them without knowing what you are drinking. You will soon learn if you are buying bottles because of the name on them or because you truly like what’s in the bottle. I love this idea and agree 100%. A lot of people, admittedly myself included, let hype, price and availability alter our opinions of bottles. Thankfully I have since grown to know better, it's quite the eye-opener to have a lineup of expensive, rare hyped up bourbons and pick WT101 as the best. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bourserker Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 One piece of advice I have is that when first getting into bourbon if you happen across a unicorn at or near MSRP buy it on the spot. Back when I was buying up everything in sight (several years ago) I left some stuff on the shelf that I wish I had bought...I still think about "the ones that got away" to this day. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnagusfarnbuckler Posted February 12, 2019 Author Share Posted February 12, 2019 2 hours ago, pouringwhiskey said: As someone who is fairly new to enjoying bourbon, I only have one piece of advice so far - start from the bottom and work your way up. I made the mistake early on of trying to hunt down allocated bottles like Eagle Rare, Blanton's, ETL, EH Taylor (I realize these may sit on shelves elsewhere, but are harder to come by in Ohio). I was successful at finding most of these early on and enjoyed each of them for what they were, later on down the road I started picking up easy to find, cheaper bourbons like Benchmark, Buffalo Trace, VOB, etc. Since I worked backwards from higher end to these, they all kind of fell short comparatively. Not to say I don't enjoy them all, but I think I would have enjoyed them more if I would have went the opposite direction. But hindsight is 20-20, and I still find myself enjoying $10-$15 bottles along with my $100 bottles I sort of did the same thing. Great advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnagusfarnbuckler Posted February 12, 2019 Author Share Posted February 12, 2019 10 minutes ago, Bourserker said: One piece of advice I have is that when first getting into bourbon if you happen across a unicorn at or near MSRP buy it on the spot. Back when I was buying up everything in sight (several years ago) I left some stuff on the shelf that I wish I had bought...I still think about "the ones that got away" to this day. Great advice, I did the same thing at Christmas time this year. I went into a larger store here and the guy was saying they had Weller Antique 107 for $24.99. I only bought one since I did not know much about it. Two days later it was gone. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnbowljoe Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 I’ve been a member here for going on 12 years now. I’ve learned a lot here in those years. Some of the things I learned were by my own trial and error. Other things I learned were from the wisdom provided by other members here. This includes being bitch slapped a few times for not really thinking, and just being plain f**king stupid. Thankfully, I was a quick learner. Sometimes being bitch slapped can hurt a little. The best advice I can give to newbies? “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.” Ain’t The Wizard Of Oz one of the greatest movies of all time? Think about it. Biba! Joe 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtis Reed Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 My advice is to drink blind. Have spouse or friend pour your bourbon and remove the bias of the label. You will learn much quicker what you like. Side by side blind tastings or 4x blind flights help develop palate. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jodytek Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 My advice is to buy what you can afford. Buy it to drink it, it’s not an investment. Be happy with what you have. Share it with friends and family. And don’t worry, they’ll make more. So many warehouses full to the rafters with it. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnagusfarnbuckler Posted February 14, 2019 Author Share Posted February 14, 2019 17 hours ago, jodytek said: My advice is to buy what you can afford. Buy it to drink it, it’s not an investment. Be happy with what you have. Share it with friends and family. And don’t worry, they’ll make more. So many warehouses full to the rafters with it. Great advice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilsweetpea Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 Our bourbon journey took flight when we visited Kentucky and met some of the great members here in person. There is a wealth of knowledge in these walls (easy boys, don't let the egos inflate too much). Once we took the tours, tasted, learned the history, tasted, sat around the table, and tasted... and tasted. Just follow your tastebuds and be open to the journey because it evolves in it's own way for each one of us. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graftonbc1 Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 Taste before you buy and drink what you like. You can always find WT, WT101, JB, and Maker's Mark at most bars. Knob Creek, Woodford, and Buffalo Trace can also be fairly easily found (in my parts anyway). You should also find a good liquor store that has regular tastings (if you are in the Boston area, I can make a great recommendation). If you want to venture up the price ladder, try it within a brand you enjoy. For instance, if you try Four Roses standard (used to be "yellow label), and you come across the small batch at a good price, try that. If you like that, and you feel froggy, try the single barrel. Then, if your budget permits, and your taste buds want more, start to search out the store select barrel proofs. However, if I only had Four Roses standard to drink for the rest of my life, I would not consider myself living poorly. You can apply this to Jim Beam products. Don't let someone else tell you what you should be drinking. Have fun. There is no reason to stress about this. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnagusfarnbuckler Posted February 18, 2019 Author Share Posted February 18, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, graftonbc1 said: Taste before you buy and drink what you like. You can always find WT, WT101, JB, and Maker's Mark at most bars. Knob Creek, Woodford, and Buffalo Trace can also be fairly easily found (in my parts anyway). You should also find a good liquor store that has regular tastings (if you are in the Boston area, I can make a great recommendation). If you want to venture up the price ladder, try it within a brand you enjoy. For instance, if you try Four Roses standard (used to be "yellow label), and you come across the small batch at a good price, try that. If you like that, and you feel froggy, try the single barrel. Then, if your budget permits, and your taste buds want more, start to search out the store select barrel proofs. However, if I only had Four Roses standard to drink for the rest of my life, I would not consider myself living poorly. You can apply this to Jim Beam products. Don't let someone else tell you what you should be drinking. Have fun. There is no reason to stress about this. Edited February 18, 2019 by Carnagusfarnbuckler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radioyada Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 1 hour ago, graftonbc1 said: Don't let someone else tell you what you should be drinking. This is the advice I most often give, and the hardest one for people to accept for some reason. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnagusfarnbuckler Posted February 18, 2019 Author Share Posted February 18, 2019 Just now, Radioyada said: This is the advice I most often give, and the hardest one for people to accept for some reason. I was just typing up something to go along with this. Don't think you have to "keep up with the Joneses" with bourbon. I used to homebrew and I could brew as good a beer as any craft beer on the market. I loved all the imports and specialty beers but I also drank Keystone Light and Miller lite. Same with bourbon I like stuff like Henry McKenna, Weller Antique 107, Russel’s Reserve. I also like Old Crow, Cabin Still, George Dickel, and J.T.S Brown. So what I am saying is don’t listen to what others say you should like, like what you like. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flahute Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 2 hours ago, Radioyada said: This is the advice I most often give, and the hardest one for people to accept for some reason. Exactly this. I've said this many times on these pages but too many of the new people coming into bourbon want to know what is "the best" so they can go straight to the top and then post photos of what they are drinking on Instagram for all the likes. Too few want to take the time to undertake the journey of finding out what they really like. This results in hordes of newbies idolizing anything from Buffalo Trace while sharing in store photos of overpriced NDP bottles followed by the question of "is this any good?" followed by my favorite "I just bought this bottle, is it any good?" Nobody has the confidence to make their own conclusions. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokinjoe Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 7 minutes ago, flahute said: Exactly this. I've said this many times on these pages but too many of the new people coming into bourbon want to know what is "the best" so they can go straight to the top and then post photos of what they are drinking on Instagram for all the likes. Too few want to take the time to undertake the journey of finding out what they really like. This results in hordes of newbies idolizing anything from Buffalo Trace while sharing in store photos of overpriced NDP bottles followed by the question of "is this any good?" followed by my favorite "I just bought this bottle, is it any good?" Nobody has the confidence to make their own conclusions. Yep. Even better when it’s, “I just bought TWO. Is it...”. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomLamb Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 On 2/13/2019 at 9:32 PM, jodytek said: My advice is to buy what you can afford. Buy it to drink it, it’s not an investment. Be happy with what you have. Share it with friends and family. And don’t worry, they’ll make more. So many warehouses full to the rafters with it. Amen to that. It's definitely fun to experiment and grow your palate on your own, but definitely better when you can share something you're interested with friends and family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supercharger Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 (edited) This is a great thread. Some really good foundational info here. Heres a question from rom a newbie: What threshold do you determine you need to Saran Wrap your bunkered bottles? Plan to drink in 6 months, 1 year, 10 years? Edited February 19, 2019 by Supercharger autocorrect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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