What surprised you the most?

[BigRich]

Steve's thread about a recent Dickel pick got me thinking about those whiskeys that have surprised me the most.  I'm not talking about when you are just getting into bourbon and you're like "damn that doesn't taste like the Jim Beam I drank in college".  I'm talking about after you been in the thick of our little hobby for quite a while.  When you've been doing this long enough to have serious experience based preconceived notions.  Then something comes along that you are sure is going to not be worth the money or have underwhelming flavor but when you try it you are blown away.  

 

For me, I can think of three on American side of the pond.

1) Booker's Rye - I thought the price tag on this was ridiculous.  And on top of that, recent pricing changes and (to me) the decline in the quality of what was in the bottle of Booker's Bourbon just screamed that this was a sucker bottle for sure.  Then I got a taste of it.  Ho-lee-sheeeeeeeeit.  This is one of best rye's I've had.  I'm kicking myself for not dropping the coin when I had the chance. 

2) Kentucky Owl Rye Batch 1 - This came along in the midst of the sourced-whiskey-palooza and I was very dismissive at the $110 price point.  Then a buddy let me try a pour of his and again, I was sorely mistaken.  I only had the opportunity to grab one bottle after that because it had been out for a while.  I really wish that I had bought a case.  The climbing price, mixed reviews, and limited availability of subsequent batches has kept my wallet in my pocket though.

3) New Riff - Craft...blah.  Sexy bottle....probably hiding crap whiskey.  Again, I tried their bourbon and rye at an April in Bardstown gathering and it partially changed my religion on craft bourbon and especially rye.  I bought some that next day.

[bayouredd]

Although I am not really a "BBD" (Bourbon Big Dog) I have been in the game about 5 years and do consider certain bourbons to provide classic flavors. JB, EW. WT, KC, 4R and many others all fit the bill.

Strangely enough, I don't get that actual classic taste from OF stuff. The whole line seems to be skewed off of that about 3 degrees. Sorry but that is the best way I know to describe it...

 

It started with my fav restaurant's burnt Old Fashioned. They used OF. I figured that I could up the game and have tried WR, 4R, KC and one other that I can't remember.

I was wrong!!! The OF kills them on this drink & My Gang along with myself have done about 3 SBS to concur.

Next came the 1920. I liked it enough to keep a bottle around and will choose this when wanting "different". I now have 4 different OFs around and they fit my mood quite often, however different they may be.

 

So, to answer your question, long windedly: OF (the whole bunch of them)

And it's a nice surprise!!!

[Jazzhead]

Defining "surprise" for this purpose as whiskeys that I purchased thinking they'd be good but was blown away by just how doggone good,  two that immediately spring to mind are Rare Breed Rye and Woodinville Private Select Single Barrel.

[0895]

WT MK Bottled in Bond 17 year.

Very hard bottle for me to stay out of.

[Marekv8]

Four Roses Al Young-- and I'm still paying for it.

[JakeySnakes]

4R Small Batch Select for me. Based on price and some reviews, I managed to stay away until I found a very, very good deal. Needless to say I was surprised at how much I liked it. Not sure what it is about it, but damn did it agree with me in an odd and wonderful way. Have gone through a couple more bottles in the meantime. Still keep an eye out for a sale or deal.

[B.B. Babington]

11 hours ago, BigRich said:

3) New Riff - Craft...blah.  Sexy bottle....probably hiding crap whiskey.  Again, I tried their bourbon and rye at an April in Bardstown gathering and it partially changed my religion on craft bourbon and especially rye.  I bought some that next day.

Friend put out bunch o' bottles last month which included Riff and Woodford Cask.  He was broud of the Riff and with good reason.  I liked it a lot.  Very Tasty.

 

The Woodford Cask was bigger surprise for me.  Smooth as water, even at this higher proof.  But astoundingly, it didn't taste like woodford.  I've bought Master's since just after 4 grain.  I've pile of the new ones.  I've 3 ryes.  Rye, malt, sweet mash, maple finish, though all have distinct woodford flavor.  Even youngest noob could ID any woodford as a woodford in blind test.  Not this one.  Cra-cra.  Someday maybe I'll explore to figure it out.  Oh, and it's pretty good.  flat but very enjoyable.

 

[mbroo5880i]

I have yet to have a bottle of New Riff that I haven't enjoyed and I have had several.  

 

What has surprised me the most on the bourbon journey is how my palate changes not only over time but just daily.  I have had to learn to adjust to the daily variances, mood, season, ambient temperature, what's on tv, what I did at work, time of day, etc.  Some whiskeys are more resilient across all variables and others are not.  

 

Relative to specific whiskeys, similar to @bayouredd, I found OF to be surprising.  I started with OF 1920 and worked my way back.  Now, I find everything OF with a proof 95 or greater to be enjoyable.  I have never tried OF 86.  Maybe someday but, as a cheap bastard, I don't believe the drop off of $2 difference in price between OF 100 and OF 86 to make sense.  At $20 v. $18 proof over price makes the most sense.  Prior to this, I thought of OF as old timers bourbon.

Edited August 26, 2021 by mbroo5880i

[dwg13013]

Some friends really recommended I try Early Times BIB. I did not think I would like it, but I really do.

Bought more.

 

They also recommended Old Forester 1020.  I thought or hoped I would really like it.

I didn't care for it, although I tried hard. 

[steven s]

having some William Larue Weller for the first time tonight. I assumed it would be great, but damn.

 

[Paddy]

^^^^

There's a reason we lovingly refer to it as, ‘the King’.

[Old Hippie]

Old Forester Rye for me. A little different from most ryes but in a good - richer mouthfeel way. Really surprised at the price. They would probably sell just as much at $10 more a bottle

[PaulO]

Back when I started to get really interested in Bourbon, it was the era of no age stated Austin Nichols Wild Turkey 101 (with the turkey shape outlined in the glass under the label).  I thought it tasted too young, ethanol forward, corny, bitter on the finish.  Not very interesting to me.

Move forward a few years, to the big turkey head label, and wow, this stuff is great.

It's my proverbial yardstick to measure other brands.

[Jazzhead]

8 hours ago, Old Hippie said:

Old Forester Rye for me. A little different from most ryes but in a good - richer mouthfeel way. Really surprised at the price. They would probably sell just as much at $10 more a bottle

I agree.   I wish I could find another bottle.  Just a darn fine sip from start to finish.

[fishnbowljoe]

I’ve had a number of bottles that have surprised me over the years. That being said, my biggest surprise was probably a barrel and not a bottle. I’ve posted this story here before, but I feel it’s worth posting again. 
 

Long story short, many years ago p_elliott and I basically had a personal tour at Four Roses/Cox’s Creek after the other five people that were supposed to be on the tour never showed up. When we got to the bottling hall, they were dumping barrels for FR Yellow Label. We were given plastic cups and had a nice pour straight from the barrel. It was fantastic! Paul thought so too. After the tour, we were in the car on our way back to Bardstown when we had one of those moments. About the same time, we started talking about how great that pour was. We both agreed that if we’d had the money and had been allowed to, we would have bought that barrel right then and there. Yes, it was that good. We both also second guessed ourselves as to why neither one of us looked at the barrel head or asked what recipe it was. Doh!

 

Biba! Joe