Favorite pours of 2020?

[webfoots]

We are winding down on quite the year. And even though many of this years limited releases are just now hitting the shelves, what have you all enjoyed the most this year?

[webfoots]

I’ll pick an unconventional one. I’m willing to go one the record that I don’t normally care for the Michter’s brand. They seem to be the least transparent distillery around and their prices always seem to be ~20% higher than they should. After saying all that, my hand always wants to reach for the Barrel Strength Toasted Rye. I wouldn’t rate it as the best thing I’ve had all year, but I seem to want a taste of it every night I have a few different things. 

[flahute]

As I said in a recent post over on the what are you drinking thread, I think that KC12 and MM101 are the best new releases this year.

[PaulO]

It seems every time recently I have had WT 101 or the standard Four Roses - I really enjoy it.  

Honorable mention goes to VOB 100 and EW BIB.  Also Old Forester 100 is back in the game.

[flahute]

33 minutes ago, PaulO said:

It seems every time recently I have had WT 101 or the standard Four Roses - I really enjoy it.  

 

Hold on, hold on........are you a Lawrenceburg man?

[PaulO]

Yes indeed, I enjoy some stuff from Lawrenceburg.

The truth is, every legacy distiller has at least a couple brands I can recommend.

 

[Not_That_Fancy]

Tie between OF1920 and 1792FP. Both have been go to pours without dissatisfaction. 

[beasled]

Pretty standard stuff for me this year. Older Baker's from the bunker, Bowman single barrel, Beam Distiller's Cut, WT101, nothing too extravagant (that's been saved for Scotch and stuff from Mexico).

 

That said I do have the new 4R SmB 2020 LE to open, I suspect that might be up there. 

[smokinjoe]

I hate to claim a $150 bourbon as my favorite pour of the year, but with Elijah Craig 18, I must.  I’ll even give it my Whiskey of the Year award.  Gorgeous whiskey that is a perfect example of how an uber aged bourbon should be crafted.  
 

On a different note, the standard Four Roses Small Batch gave me the much pleasure, simply because after many years of a lackluster opinion of it, my mind and palate were opened up to how good a whiskey it is at such a reasonable price.  4 bottles in pretty quick succession have gone down here, and I thoroughly enjoyed every drop of each.  Nice to have a regular store shelf occupant find its way regularly into my cart!  

[JCwhammie]

KC12 and the multiple store picks of RR SiB from CNF 6th floor. 

 

I've circled back to drinking quite a bit of EC. It has really hit the spot the past 7-8 months. 

[Marekv8]

From the standpoint of cost and availability-- plus a great sense of terroir and rugged minerality, I'm sticking with George…

 

[Clueby]

ECBP A120 is probably the best thing I actually acquired this year.

[PhantomLamb]

I'd have to say it's the RRSiB store pick that I scored.  Unreal how full and well-rounded it tastes but also incredibly smooth for high-proof.

[0895]

Regular shelf stock Buffalo Trace has been firing on all cylinders for me this year.

 

As far as LE’s go, The WTMK 17 BiB is excellent.

[DeepCover]

51 minutes ago, 0895 said:

Regular shelf stock Buffalo Trace has been firing on all cylinders for me this year.

I completely agree. Over the last few years, I’ve noticed the quality of ER going down, but the standard BT continues to deliver. BT will continue to be my go-to value bourbon for the foreseeable future.

[ABVT]

I'll throw in another voter for OF 1920. Its always available, hits the right spots, and a little can last a whole evening. 

[BigSkyDrams]

2 hours ago, smokinjoe said:

I hate to claim a $150 bourbon as my favorite pour of the year, but with Elijah Craig 18, I must.  I’ll even give it my Whiskey of the Year award.  Gorgeous whiskey that is a perfect example of how an uber aged bourbon should be crafted.  
 

On a different note, the standard Four Roses Small Batch gave me the much pleasure, simply because after many years of a lackluster opinion of it, my mind and palate were opened up to how good a whiskey it is at such a reasonable price.  4 bottles in pretty quick succession have gone down here, and I thoroughly enjoyed every drop of each.  Nice to have a regular store shelf occupant find its way regularly into my cart!  

It’s been a few years since I’ve had a bottle of the small batch. Your praise has convinced me to give it another go! 

[BigSkyDrams]

OT: I think my favorite pours of the year (so far) is the Blanton’s I currently have open. I’ve honestly never had a “bad” bottle of Blanton’s, despite the variation inherent in single barrel products, but when you get an especially good one, man is it good!

 

That said, Thanksgiving is usually an occasion that will open one or more particularly special bottles, so my answer may change within a few days.

[john E]

with the world in disarray this year, I changed how I "drink", or maybe experience bourbon this year. instead of tasting for review, for experience and to judge, I just drank to relax, unwind and enjoy, being much more in the moment rather than analytical. so my picks this year are all over the price range.

 

1) a tie between OF 1920 and ECBP c919. just so enjoyable. different but the same if you know what I mean. these are perfect sitting outside doing nothing but enjoying the piece and quiet and warm summer/fall evenings, or listing to some classic prog rock on vinyl.

 

2) Bowman bros small batch. very sweet and a great mouth feel with a small spicy finish. when I wanted to sit outside at night in the summer and read a good book, this was my choice when reading a comedy or a thriller. the best $30 I spent this year. happy to have found 2 back up bottles. prefer this chilled but not watered down. any mitch rapp novel and this are a perfect match. much prefer this to blantons

 

3) WT 101. like B bros, when I am reading a fantasy novel, this was my choice. the spiciness fits in nicely with the make believe. the wheel of time series and turkey 101 are the perfect match.

 

honorable mention) JB distillers cut, Bowman single barrel, very old barton 100 which I finally found a few weeks ago, 4 roses SBBP OESQ, old forester rye

 

john

 

[Harry in WashDC]

I agree with lots of the comments above.  KC 12 seems to leap into my hands when I pass it - a bottle at a time so I never put it back.  EC BP under $75 is a sure buy IF AND WHEN I see one.   As I noted on another thread, WT 101 was mostly just my fishing bourbon for the last 15 years, but I found a handle I'd forgotten about in my bunker in early October, and for the last couple weeks it is giving my OGD BIB some real competition. 

[yobber76]

This year I have really enjoyed KC 12yr, EC BP B520, my first bottle of CEHT SiB, and last but not least, PVW 12yr lot B from 2019, because it is the first Pappy I have ever tasted, and everyone in my family had a shot with me on my 65th birthday!

[parksmart]

2020 has been a year of discovery for me, at least with regards to non-LE bottles.  Thanks entirely to this forum, I discovered the joys of readily available (at least to us here in the “bourbon desert” of CA) bottles like Jim Beam Distillers Cut, Very Old Barton 90 and VOB 100.  And I also became ensnared in the icy goodness of plain Jane 4 Roses Yellow Label, chilled,

 

As for LE bottles, the Elmer T Lee Tribute 100th and Weller CYPB were #2 and #3 respectively for best pours I had this year.  
 

My #1 for 2020, by a wide margin, was the Old Fitzgerald 6 year BIB from the hallowed Stitzel Weller distillery.  Absolutely mouth and mindblowingly fantastic.........

 

 

 

[markandrex]

WTMK 17 BiB, no question.

[Curtis Reed]

I’ve been enjoying Bakers SiB. Really good pour. 

[Jazzhead]

So far in 2020 we've all survived, both in health and continued prosperity.   I have much to be thankful for,  and am celebrating that happy circumstance with a pour of Belle Meade Cask Strength Reserve, my bourbon of the year.  

Edited November 25, 2020 by Jazzhead