What Bourbon Are You Drinking - Winter 2023?

[Skinsfan1311]

HH 7-yr BiB in the glass.

Caps on the tube.

Might need something stronger before this one is over...

[Skinsfan1311]

Moved on to OGD BiB.

It never, ever, disappoints.

 

 

[PaulO]

Another that doesn't disappoint - VOB 100.    It's one of those bottles, if I have one in the cabinet, just keep pecking away at it.

[Anwalt]

Had a friend over for a few hours. In order:

 

1) WT12

2) Bomberger 23

3) SFTB 120.2 and 131.9 side by side (we both preferred the 120.2)

4) GTS 23

5) JD Rye 132.4

6) Michter BS Rye 110

7) OO CS 10y Rye

 

Just great stuff & great conversation.

[Skinsfan1311]

I'm trying to cull the herd.

This one is pretty good, but I won't be replacing it. Give me OGD BiB any day....

Edited March 24 by Skinsfan1311

[Kepler]

2 hours ago, Skinsfan1311 said:

I'm trying to cull the herd.

This one is pretty good, but I won't be replacing it. Give me OGD BiB any day....

 

Or just regular OF100 for twenty bucks less!

 

[Kepler]

I'm having CEHT single barrel.  

[fishnbowljoe]

Nuff ‘Ced.

 

[Kepler]

1 hour ago, Kepler said:

I'm having CEHT single barrel.  

 

Followed by JJ Bowman single barrel.  Now we're cooking with gas.

[Kepler]

7 hours ago, Anwalt said:

Had a friend over for a few hours. In order:

 

1) WT12

2) Bomberger 23

3) SFTB 120.2 and 131.9 side by side (we both preferred the 120.2)

4) GTS 23

5) JD Rye 132.4

6) Michter BS Rye 110

7) OO CS 10y Rye

 

Just great stuff & great conversation.

 

"In order:"

 

Is that in order of consumption or in order of preference?

 

Very nice lineup regardless.

 

[roseonthenose]

On 3/22/2024 at 8:44 PM, Skinsfan1311 said:

HH 7-yr BiB in the glass.

Caps on the tube.

Might need something stronger before this one is over...

Oh hey I went to this game, in my Kuzy jersey. Wild one, well worth the price of admission. 
 

Larceny Barrel Proof for me tonight, did a side by side of batches B523 and A124

[Anwalt]

5 hours ago, Kepler said:

"In order:"

 

Is that in order of consumption or in order of preference?

 

Very nice lineup regardless.

 

Consumption. I'd be quite challenged to put them in order of preference. You guys got me hooked on rye, and boy is it sticking. The 3 ryes boiled down to what mood am I in. The JD rye has ridiculous amounts of flavor. Good grief, what a nose. I love the sweetness and intensity. And the awesome pricing. I did feel the ethanol. The Michters...easy, flavorful sipper, lots of flavor, even at "lower" proofs, as I've come to expect from Michters. And while I'm not much for calling specific notes, I cannot help but get pleasant dill on the finish, every time. I'll be curious to see if I get that note blind or it's "in my head". The OO...sweet (being barely legal, makes sense), but with with some depth and a really nice raspy mouthfeel towards the end. And a nice taste of the barrel and the char (which I normally do not care for, at least not on most "toasted' products), just right, not overdone, offsets the sweetness of the high corn nicely. I have no idea whether the OO is "toasted", I just found that the finish is "barelly" and offsets the sweetness very nicely.

 

Mood thing on the bourbons too, ultimately. WT12 and BB are "can sip and examine the flavor all day". If I had to describe one bourbon as "this is bourbon" it'd probably be the WT. Sweet, complex - and does not seem to have that WT funk for some reason...I don't mind it their other products, I just don't notice it in the WT12. I use it as a starting point for a lot of friends who are even newer to bourbon than I am. The BB is newer to my palate . Still figuring them out, the 22 & 23. Sippy, sweet, with flavors I cannot yet pin down. They got the oak right.

 

I normally love the GTS, yesterday it struck me as hot. Yeah, it's 135, I get it. Prior tastings the flavor shone and the proof wasn't felt nearly as much as one would expect. Could be that I had a massive, booze-absorbing, gloriously greasy burger right before? Maybe that altered things and I did not wait long enough to clear out the palate?

 

I love the SFTB's, far more than Gold or the "meh" regular version. Second place goes to Japanese Red version. I still preferred the lower proof one and easily could tell which was which. But the higher proof one did better on the flavor for proof trade-off than last time. I liked the mouthfeel of the higher proof, but it still drank a touch hot.

 

It was 1 oz pours over 5 hours. Given that I'm a lightweight (the guys who were in Kentucky last year can confirm!), I felt it. Buzzed the whole time. I don't mind that. I go slowly and avoid anything beyond a mere buzz, as I find "more" unpleasant and indicative of a loss of control, which is of course impermissible. My buddy on the other hand has a much greater tolerance than I do (he's larger than I am and drinks a good bit more than I do). He started to feel it a bit at the end.

 

A pleasant afternoon. I vastly prefer to end my drinking by 5 pm. Otherwise it affects my sleep. Shall be repeating today with my friend from Kentucky, albeit with a different selection. 

 

The Wifey's away and the mouse shall play.

 

Granted, my mother in law lives with us, so I am evidently still "supervised".

[Anwalt]

5 hours ago, roseonthenose said:

Larceny Barrel Proof for me tonight, did a side by side of batches B523 and A124

 

Any preference? 

 

I still prefer the C922 and B523. So far. Haven't tried the A124.

[LCWoody]

We had Armagnac at Bourbon night this past week. Did an interesting side-by-side tasting with Bardstown. You can definitely tell the presence of the Armagnac in the Bardstown Bourbon, especially when you taste them side-by-side. Both are very good. 

 

[Skinsfan1311]

10 hours ago, Kepler said:

 

Or just regular OF100 for twenty bucks less!

 

AMEN!   

[PaulO]

11 hours ago, Kepler said:

 

Or just regular OF100 for twenty bucks less!

 

That's on my short list.  I'm also a big fan of the OF 100 Rye too.

[roseonthenose]

7 hours ago, Anwalt said:

 

Any preference? 

 

I still prefer the C922 and B523. So far. Haven't tried the A124.

I was astonished at how much better the B523 was. I found it at MSRP in this little hole in the wall by my house so I brought it home to join my already open A124, which I love, and it just blew it out of the water. All of the depth, none of the ethanol. 

[smokinjoe]

1792 Small Batch on a cube on this Sunny Sunday afternoon.  

[Kepler]

11 hours ago, Anwalt said:

 

Consumption. I'd be quite challenged to put them in order of preference. You guys got me hooked on rye, and boy is it sticking. The 3 ryes boiled down to what mood am I in. The JD rye has ridiculous amounts of flavor. Good grief, what a nose. I love the sweetness and intensity. And the awesome pricing. I did feel the ethanol. The Michters...easy, flavorful sipper, lots of flavor, even at "lower" proofs, as I've come to expect from Michters. And while I'm not much for calling specific notes, I cannot help but get pleasant dill on the finish, every time. I'll be curious to see if I get that note blind or it's "in my head". The OO...sweet (being barely legal, makes sense), but with with some depth and a really nice raspy mouthfeel towards the end. And a nice taste of the barrel and the char (which I normally do not care for, at least not on most "toasted' products), just right, not overdone, offsets the sweetness of the high corn nicely. I have no idea whether the OO is "toasted", I just found that the finish is "barelly" and offsets the sweetness very nicely.

 

Mood thing on the bourbons too, ultimately. WT12 and BB are "can sip and examine the flavor all day". If I had to describe one bourbon as "this is bourbon" it'd probably be the WT. Sweet, complex - and does not seem to have that WT funk for some reason...I don't mind it their other products, I just don't notice it in the WT12. I use it as a starting point for a lot of friends who are even newer to bourbon than I am. The BB is newer to my palate . Still figuring them out, the 22 & 23. Sippy, sweet, with flavors I cannot yet pin down. They got the oak right.

 

I normally love the GTS, yesterday it struck me as hot. Yeah, it's 135, I get it. Prior tastings the flavor shone and the proof wasn't felt nearly as much as one would expect. Could be that I had a massive, booze-absorbing, gloriously greasy burger right before? Maybe that altered things and I did not wait long enough to clear out the palate?

 

I love the SFTB's, far more than Gold or the "meh" regular version. Second place goes to Japanese Red version. I still preferred the lower proof one and easily could tell which was which. But the higher proof one did better on the flavor for proof trade-off than last time. I liked the mouthfeel of the higher proof, but it still drank a touch hot.

 

It was 1 oz pours over 5 hours. Given that I'm a lightweight (the guys who were in Kentucky last year can confirm!), I felt it. Buzzed the whole time. I don't mind that. I go slowly and avoid anything beyond a mere buzz, as I find "more" unpleasant and indicative of a loss of control, which is of course impermissible. My buddy on the other hand has a much greater tolerance than I do (he's larger than I am and drinks a good bit more than I do). He started to feel it a bit at the end.

 

A pleasant afternoon. I vastly prefer to end my drinking by 5 pm. Otherwise it affects my sleep. Shall be repeating today with my friend from Kentucky, albeit with a different selection. 

 

The Wifey's away and the mouse shall play.

 

Granted, my mother in law lives with us, so I am evidently still "supervised".

 

Thanks for the detail, good stuff.

I pretty much agree with you on most if not all of that.  The two I haven't tasted are the Bomberger's (have a bottle but haven't opened it yet) and the new iteration of WT12.  Also not the 2023 GTS. 

[Anwalt]

4 hours ago, roseonthenose said:

I was astonished at how much better the B523 was. I found it at MSRP in this little hole in the wall by my house so I brought it home to join my already open A124, which I love, and it just blew it out of the water. All of the depth, none of the ethanol.

 

Thanks for the intel. I no longer buy every release. I listen, read, learn, and pick. Most appreciated!

[Anwalt]

When you live in the Caribbean but with a friend from Louisville up the street. And have a Sunday to enjoy.

 

The ECBP C923 was even better than its cousin, the HHSS 14. And the Michters - wow! All excellent, but those two stole the show.

 

The ECBP C923 deserves the hype. Glad I picked up a few. I mean to spread them out over the years.

 

 

[roseonthenose]

Knob Creek 9 SBR tonight. One of my favorites

[fishnbowljoe]

I enjoyed the company of The Colonel this evening.  

 

[Anwalt]

Naughty Monday with a friend.

 

I officially love that ECBP C923. I knew it was good. I'm glad I listened to the reviews, here & elsewhere, and picked up a dozen. Going to trade for more. This is one I want 30 years from now. It has just grown & grown on me.

 

I like the BB23, still needs to open up some.; gonna set that one aside for a few months. The OO rye is excellent, kudos to Beam; it is my favorite barely legal rye, at least for now.