Not Really Worthy. The Drain Pour Thread.

[fishnbowljoe]

Ask and ye shall receive. The banter between a couple of members here may have been in jest, but what the hey?
 

Pours that really missed the mark, and didn’t even come close to making the grade. In other words……

I’ll start things off. As I recently mentioned, a 3 yr old wheated bourbon from Rush Creek Distillery in Harvard Illinois wasn’t anywhere near up to snuff. After a few tries, down the spiral abyss it went.

 

Biba! Joe 

[PhantomLamb]

Ooooh oooh pick me!

 

I was at a bar in Melbourne FL a few years back and the “top shelf” bourbon they had was High West “insert gimmick western name here” bourbon.

 

The one sip I took tasted like gasoline, immediately asked the bartender to dump it. 

[Marekv8]

[flahute]

Dave wasting no time making a big splash!

[Harry in WashDC]

And here I sit, thinking I was the only person who could not stand 1776 Rye or Basil Hayden TOAST.  And it has been a few years, but I once was working my way down a shot list (a long shot list, not a short one) and balked at a Black Maple Hill.  To me, it was undrinkable and dangerous.  Bartender poured himself one, tasted, picked up my glass and his and poured them both down his sink.  He comped me two different 4R recipes to try, saying, "Now THESE are bourbon."  Lately?  A basic Rebel Yell almost got dumped this Spring; my wife used some of it to make a pork tenderloin marinade with soy sauce and a couple other ingredients.  Bottle is now in HER condiment cabinet and does not count against my stash.

[Clueby]

The Dickel/Leopold Collaboration was almost that. Glad I didn't buy a bottle. Others raved about it. 

[RWBadley]

I try to Repurpose not dump. 
 

Having said that, I have dumped some pretty nasty old flat bourbons when they come along. 

Harry has it right. Whiskey marinade for bbq. Deelish

[mbroo5880i]

6 hours ago, Marekv8 said:

 

I recall your "purge" from prior posts.  This photo saddens me.  "Whiskey, whiskey down the drain. It tasted like piss but still a sad refrain.  Whiskey, whiskey, down the drain."  Hey, maybe this should go in the favorite poem or lyric post.

[0895]

2 hours ago, Clueby said:

The Dickel/Leopold Collaboration was almost that. Glad I didn't buy a bottle. Others raved about it. 

It actually grew on me a lot as time went on, to the point where the wife and I enjoyed finishing the rest of the bottle Frank left behind. 
 

Also, don’t you still have that HH gold label kicking around collecting dust?  That might be a candidate.

 

Edited July 5, 2022 by 0895

[Harry in WashDC]

25 minutes ago, RWBadley said:

I try to Repurpose not dump. 
 

Having said that, I have dumped some pretty nasty old flat bourbons when they come along. 

Harry has it right. Whiskey marinade for bbq. Deelish

Getting to be an old faht over here.  PLUS, I been hitting a 750 of SB Blend that's been on the shelf for about seven months (i.e., exceptionally well blended) while watching "A Capitol Fourth" on PBS.  Mentioning flat bourbon to me is like saying, "Niagara Falls!" to the Three Stooges - - OLD BARDSTOWN ESTATE 101 does it for me.  Whenever I see a bottle, I cramp up and get "dry mouth".  Some of my circa 2015-2016 posts on SB document the travails - I blended it, added vanilla extract to it, put vodka in it, mixed it with a half dozen fruit juices, put sugar in it, even added molasses, put it in BBQ sauces, spread it on saltines.  NOTHING made this stuff consumable except extreme malnutrition or a drunken stupor looking for something close at hand.  Had I known what intellectual pain I would suffer in the future, I'd have dumped this crap when I opened the bottle and tasted it.

 

RANT IS OVER.  "Stars and Stripes" coming up.

[fishnbowljoe]

9 minutes ago, Harry in WashDC said:

 

RANT IS OVER.  "Stars and Stripes" coming up.

I wish I had a dollar for every time I played Sousa’s iconic, patriotic march.

 

Biba! Joe

[mbroo5880i]

11 minutes ago, Harry in WashDC said:

Getting to be an old faht over here.  PLUS, I been hitting a 750 of SB Blend that's been on the shelf for about seven months (i.e., exceptionally well blended) while watching "A Capitol Fourth" on PBS.  Mentioning flat bourbon to me is like saying, "Niagara Falls!" to the Three Stooges - - OLD BARDSTOWN ESTATE 101 does it for me.  Whenever I see a bottle, I cramp up and get "dry mouth".  Some of my circa 2015-2016 posts on SB document the travails - I blended it, added vanilla extract to it, put vodka in it, mixed it with a half dozen fruit juices, put sugar in it, even added molasses, put it in BBQ sauces, spread it on saltines.  NOTHING made this stuff consumable except extreme malnutrition or a drunken stupor looking for something close at hand.  Had I known what intellectual pain I would suffer in the future, I'd have dumped this crap when I opened the bottle and tasted it.

 

RANT IS OVER.  "Stars and Stripes" coming up.

 

I found Old Bardstown, Noah Mill, Johnny Drum to be subpar during that period.  Frankly, I have not tasted any of those offerings since.  The Kulsveens made stellar barrel picks up until that time and for the WFE line.  However, as the brands of concern were batched, I assume they included the less than stellar bottles.  I haven't seen the Willet line in Indy for several years.  At some point when it hits Indy, I will give it a try.  I doubt I will go back to OBE, NM or JD...unless folks on here start talking about how great it is.

[mbroo5880i]

18 minutes ago, 0895 said:

It actually grew on me a lot as time went on, to the point where the wife and I enjoyed finishing the rest of the bottle Frank left behind. 
 

Also, don’t you still have that HH gold label kicking around collecting dust?  That might be a candidate.

 

 

Of course, free whiskey will grow on you, especially if Frank left it behind.  

[Harry in WashDC]

Just now, mbroo5880i said:

 

I found Old Bardstown, Noah Mill, Johnny Drum to be subpar during that period.  Frankly, I have not tasted any of those offerings since.  The Kulsveens made stellar barrel picks up until that time and for the WFE line.  However, as the brands of concern were batched, I assume they included the less than stellar bottles.  I haven't seen the Willet line in Indy for several years.  At some point when it hits Indy, I will give it a try.  I doubt I will go back to OBE, NM or JD...unless folks on here start talking about how great it is.

Hhhmpf.  THANKS!  I had not thought about 2015-2016 as a transition period.  HECK!  That's when some of us thought Wild Turkey 101 KSBW had gone sour and WT 101 Rye disappeared..  Perhaps the whole industry was retooling on the fly then, and as any of us who have worked in a bureaucracy of more than 500 people can attest, nine months of adjustment is INCREDIBLY FAST(!!).  Now that six/seven years have gone by, maybe that's why I'm back down on the bottom shelf sniffing  . . .

[PhantomLamb]

7 hours ago, Marekv8 said:

Funny, the restoration rye single barrel I got is either wonderful or rancid depending on the day.

[Clueby]

54 minutes ago, 0895 said:

Also, don’t you still have that HH gold label kicking around collecting dust?  That might be a candidate.

 

I do have that around somewhere. I'll bring it just for you next time we get together!

[PaulO]

18 hours ago, Marekv8 said:

Is that JEP 1776 the 95% rye from Indiana.

[fosmith]

6 minutes ago, PaulO said:

Is that JEP 1776 the 95% rye from Indiana.

If it is, it hurts my heart to see it in that picture.  I've had several bottles and they've been quite good.  But it is a very small batch product so there could be some that are sub par... 

[PaulO]

12 hours ago, Harry in WashDC said:

Getting to be an old faht over here.  PLUS, I been hitting a 750 of SB Blend that's been on the shelf for about seven months (i.e., exceptionally well blended) while watching "A Capitol Fourth" on PBS.  Mentioning flat bourbon to me is like saying, "Niagara Falls!" to the Three Stooges - - OLD BARDSTOWN ESTATE 101 does it for me.  Whenever I see a bottle, I cramp up and get "dry mouth".  Some of my circa 2015-2016 posts on SB document the travails - I blended it, added vanilla extract to it, put vodka in it, mixed it with a half dozen fruit juices, put sugar in it, even added molasses, put it in BBQ sauces, spread it on saltines.  NOTHING made this stuff consumable except extreme malnutrition or a drunken stupor looking for something close at hand.  Had I known what intellectual pain I would suffer in the future, I'd have dumped this crap when I opened the bottle and tasted it.

 

RANT IS OVER.  "Stars and Stripes" coming up.

Harry, I must concur.  I purchased a bottle of that Old Bardstown Estate 101 in Louisville around that same time.  It was horrible, worst whiskey I ever tried.  I described it like Evan Williams that went terribly wrong.  It tasted like citrus fruit that had gone bad.  One small sip, and this stale orange peel bitterness coated the palate like paint, and would not go away.  And they sold this abomination at the time mid shelf price.  I would have returned it if local.

[Marekv8]

2 hours ago, PaulO said:

Is that JEP 1776 the 95% rye from Indiana.

 

Apparently…

[geclbxf]

2 hours ago, Marekv8 said:

 

Apparently…

I've had good luck my my Pepper bottle - back to the quality of the batch blending I suppose.   

[flahute]

My first drain pour bottle was the original batch of Michter's Toasted. I had avoided their products generally due to price and their shenanigans related to their history but someone told me how great it was so I caved in a moment of weakness and regretted it immediately. Super strong flavor of fake red hot cinnamon that I tried and tried to like over multiple tastes over about a month or so. It was definitely not a bad palate day situation. Felt good to finally get rid of it.

[Bob_Loblaw]

20 hours ago, Clueby said:

I do have that around somewhere. I'll bring it just for you next time we get together!

Careful @0895 is always primed for a Benchmark retaliation!

[Marekv8]

Queued up for the next round…

 

[Anwalt]

32 minutes ago, Marekv8 said:

Queued up for the next round…

 

I'll be curious as to your impressions on Peerless & Revival.  I really like Peerless.  A little spendy on the rye, but good.