What bottle did you open today? - 2023

[Kepler]

I cracked open a new Maker's FAE-02.  If I'm not mistaken this is my 2nd bottle of this that I've opened.  It's a good bourbon.  Like most barrel proof Maker's variations these are rich and flavorful but they all seem to have a similar limited ceiling.  Complexity is not their strong suit.

 

 

 

Edited July 15, 2023 by Kepler

[Wedelstaedt]

2 hours ago, MM818 said:

I like young bourbon. There I said it! I think this is very good. For me, it’s pretty much one note but just tastes like classic bourbon. 

I’m pretty sure Booker liked youngish bourbon too, so you are in good company. 
 

Cheers

[MM818]

10 hours ago, Kepler said:

I love Booker's too.  I don't believe I've had that batch, but for some of the "one-note"  Booker's I found that if I added some drops of water it really opened up and unlocked some of the complexity.  Sometimes it's fun to experiment with water on these 125+ proof monsters.

Good advice. I probably spoke too soon. I did get a burnt sugar, caramel, and then the peanuts closed the door on the experience. Finish doesn’t linger and I suppose that’s why I think it drinks below its proof. 

[fosmith]

14 hours ago, MM818 said:

I like young bourbon. There I said it! I think this is very good. For me, it’s pretty much one note but just tastes like classic bourbon. 

That Front Porch batch 2017-03 was pretty solid, iirc.  Back in the good old days when Booker's was $55 and could be found on the shelf at any liquor store. 

[Skinsfan1311]

21 hours ago, fosmith said:

That Front Porch batch 2017-03 was pretty solid, iirc.  Back in the good old days when Booker's was $55 and could be found on the shelf at any liquor store. 

Yup!

Just a memory now

[GeeTen]

FRYL 1.75L to re-fill (again!) 1L "freezer bottle" - maybe I just need a bigger freezer to hold the 1.75???????   

 

 

[fishnbowljoe]

1 hour ago, GeeTen said:

FRYL 1.75L to re-fill (again!) 1L "freezer bottle" - maybe I just need a bigger freezer to hold the 1.75???????   

 

 

Multiple plastic 375’s work nicely. You can stick ‘em in smaller nooks and crannies. I used to have 8 of these OF 86 plastic 375’s. Not quite sure what happened to the others.   ️

 

[0895]

 

The red apple notes and syrupy sweetness make this a delightful pour.

Edited July 17, 2023 by 0895

[fishnbowljoe]

I normally don’t post here cause I usually just open bottles when I feel the need, and forget to post. Well, tonight I opened a bottle of Weller SR because I actually haven’t had one open in a while. Let me backtrack slightly. I tried to open a bottle of Weller SR. And tried, and tried, and tried. WTF? I couldn’t get it. I even held the bottom of the cap in place and used one of those rubber jar openers to get it to pop. No luck. I finally grabbed my old box cutter from work and carefully cut along where it was supposedly serrated. I finally got the darn thing off. I poured quite a bit in my glass and tried to put the cap back on. No go. I finally said to heck with it and grabbed a spare cap I had. I’ve had problems with a few Weller corks in the past. Mostly from older WLW’s. This is the first problem I’ve had with a Weller screw cap. I sure hope this doesn’t happen again. I really don’t think BT wants to make the Weller Whore angry.    Okay, time for another pour.

[PaulO]

4 hours ago, fishnbowljoe said:

I normally don’t post here cause I usually just open bottles when I feel the need, and forget to post. Well, tonight I opened a bottle of Weller SR because I actually haven’t had one open in a while. Let me backtrack slightly. I tried to open a bottle of Weller SR. And tried, and tried, and tried. WTF? I couldn’t get it. I even held the bottom of the cap in place and used one of those rubber jar openers to get it to pop. No luck. I finally grabbed my old box cutter from work and carefully cut along where it was supposedly serrated. I finally got the darn thing off. I poured quite a bit in my glass and tried to put the cap back on. No go. I finally said to heck with it and grabbed a spare cap I had. I’ve had problems with a few Weller corks in the past. Mostly from older WLW’s. This is the first problem I’ve had with a Weller screw cap. I sure hope this doesn’t happen again. I really don’t think BT wants to make the Weller Whore angry.    Okay, time for another pour.

Those metal caps can be a real bitch.  I'd much rather deal with a plastic screw cap, or a decent cork.  I've had some OF 100 bottles that required holding with a rubber glove and lots of swear words to open.  Once, the whole thing came off without breaking along the perforations.  Anytime a brand switches to those, I'm like  -  especially if what they had before was just fine.

[jvd99]

16 BT Wheated White Dogs - making my own jvd99 Weller - it'll be ready in about 4+ years!!

 

 

[Harry in WashDC]

HMcK 10 yr 100 proof, barrel 2498 barreled on 26 July 2005.  I bought one of these at a Va ABC store in late 2015 after a discussion of HMcK 10 on SB.  Price was under $35 a 750.   Liked this barrel so much, I did an online search for ABC stores close to the one where I found it.  Spent several hours driving around Spotsylvania and Louisa Counties and around Fredericksburg and bought every 2498 I found.  It was a honey barrel for me.  I’m down to this last one.

[MM818]

My business partner went to Japan last month and she tracked a bottle down.  I found another one locally. I’m looking forward to blind tasting against my other elevated WT products. 

[Kepler]

3 hours ago, Harry in WashDC said:

HMcK 10 yr 100 proof, barrel 2498 barreled on 26 July 2005.  I bought one of these at a Va ABC store in late 2015 after a discussion of HMcK 10 on SB.  Price was under $35 a 750.   Liked this barrel so much, I did an online search for ABC stores close to the one where I found it.  Spent several hours driving around Spotsylvania and Louisa Counties and around Fredericksburg and bought every 2498 I found.  It was a honey barrel for me.  I’m down to this last one.

 

That does sound great .  The McKenna single barrels from that period can be really excellent.  In 2015 or '16 I found a few bottles of a store pick from a 2003 barreling (I think 2003 off the top of my head) that are among my favorite Heaven Hill bourbons in my collection.  Right behind some of the PHC and roughly equivalent to a lower proof version of some ECBP batches of the same period.

 

[Kepler]

On 7/26/2023 at 1:30 PM, jvd99 said:

16 BT Wheated White Dogs - making my own jvd99 Weller - it'll be ready in about 4+ years!!

 

 

Your barrel details?

 

 

 

 

[GeeTen]

9 hours ago, Harry in WashDC said:

HMcK 10 yr 100 proof, barrel 2498 barreled on 26 July 2005.  I bought one of these at a Va ABC store in late 2015 after a discussion of HMcK 10 on SB.  Price was under $35 a 750.   Liked this barrel so much, I did an online search for ABC stores close to the one where I found it.  Spent several hours driving around Spotsylvania and Louisa Counties and around Fredericksburg and bought every 2498 I found.  It was a honey barrel for me.  I’m down to this last one.

 

Funny you should mention this oldie - last week at Whiskey Wednesday, one the "old guys" (age and longevity at Pappy's Place) brought a Loch & K(e)y Society pick HMcK 10yr 100 proof barreled on 15 April 2003.  Our nornal tastings consist of a small sip in a Glencairn and then on to the next sample - but this bottle was shared and emptied by the few in less than an hour!  Yummo - great minds really do think alike, Harry!  

 

 

Edited July 29, 2023 by GeeTen

[jvd99]

7 hours ago, Kepler said:

 

Your barrel details?

 

 

 

Bad Motivator Barrels - heavy toast - char #3 - about 1.7 gallons - the head is American oak properly seasoned outdoors for 4 years - the same stuff that would be used in a regular 53 gallon barrel - supposedly the math on the liquid to wood ratio is similar to a 53 gallon barrel, so the aging process with a Bad Motivator barrel should be measured in years, not weeks or months like the small gimmicky countertop barrels

 

My cost was $100

 

The construction is top notch - no leaks

 

However, the gentleman who made these barrels, Ben Quady, died in a paragliding accident a few weeks ago. I got one of his last barrels. The company has been taken over by what I'm assuming was a co-worker or apprentice, named Christopher with a new company name of Badmo Legacy Barrels and they are now $145. They only come up for sale in small batches and not very frequently. The only way to know when is sign up to the e-mail list on the company website and you will be given notice of when a batch will go live for sale, sometimes just hours before the sale.

 

There's more info on the website here...

 

https://badmotivatorbarrels.com

 

....and a great video of the process Ben used to make the barrels

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGx5JrB-mZE&t=12s

 

 

[Kepler]

5 hours ago, jvd99 said:

 

 

Bad Motivator Barrels - heavy toast - char #3 - about 1.7 gallons - the head is American oak properly seasoned outdoors for 4 years - the same stuff that would be used in a regular 53 gallon barrel - supposedly the math on the liquid to wood ratio is similar to a 53 gallon barrel, so the aging process with a Bad Motivator barrel should be measured in years, not weeks or months like the small gimmicky countertop barrels

 

My cost was $100

 

The construction is top notch - no leaks

 

However, the gentleman who made these barrels, Ben Quady, died in a paragliding accident a few weeks ago. I got one of his last barrels. The company has been taken over by what I'm assuming was a co-worker or apprentice, named Christopher with a new company name of Badmo Legacy Barrels and they are now $145. They only come up for sale in small batches and not very frequently. The only way to know when is sign up to the e-mail list on the company website and you will be given notice of when a batch will go live for sale, sometimes just hours before the sale.

 

There's more info on the website here...

 

https://badmotivatorbarrels.com

 

....and a great video of the process Ben used to make the barrels

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGx5JrB-mZE&t=12s

 

 

Cool stuff!  Good luck on your project and let us know how it turns out!

 

[0895]

21 hours ago, MM818 said:

My business partner went to Japan last month and she tracked a bottle down.  I found another one locally. I’m looking forward to blind tasting against my other elevated WT products. 

I think that is absolutely one of the best recent releases out there.  The nose is mesmerizing.

[CUfan99]

C922 on this fine Monday evening. Well, fine now. 

[Harry in WashDC]

New bottle Baker’s (107 proof 7YO of course).  It hits the Baker’s profile I learned to love a dozen (hahaha 20?) years ago when Beam started its SmB releases.  Sipping slowly as it is SO easy to sip.

[Harry in WashDC]

On 7/31/2023 at 7:04 PM, CUfan99 said:

C922 on this fine Monday evening. Well, fine now. 

Got onE on an upper shelf.  Really Dusty - untouched since purchase.  Thx for the nudge.

Edited August 2, 2023 by Harry in WashDC
“One” is spelled with an “e” on the end.

[CUfan99]

On 8/1/2023 at 9:53 PM, Harry in WashDC said:

Got onE on an upper shelf.  Really Dusty - untouched since purchase.  Thx for the nudge.

It’s very good. 

[bayouredd]

Not today but these were the openings with the SIL last week. We dented them pretty good as well a a KC12 & Murray Hill. Not an ugly chick in the bunch...

 

 

[anthony. g.]