What Bourbon Are You Drinking Spring 2025?

[GeeTen]

Prime Dry-aged Sirloin Strip cooked Pittsburgh rare on the Napoleon infrared burner with a wee dram of Booker's 2024 "The Reserves" (shared by @Anwalt in Bardstown).  A great "Derby Day" dinner!  

 

 

 

Typical European style, Caesar Salad followed closely behind (HONEST!!!)  

 

 

Edited Saturday at 11:42 PM by GeeTen

[MSB]

1 hour ago, Kepler said:

 

Interesting close-up photos.  Great color on both of those! 

Thank you. Wish I had a better set up and knowledge to use it properly. Lol

Just my phone.

 

My vision is well intended.

 

[MSB]

3 hours ago, Jazz June said:

 

Actually, the 8-year version of the 101 is the original. They dropped the age statement domestically around 1992, but have continued to export it. This release marks its return to our shores. I have also heard that the 70th Anniversary is a step up from this 8/101, but I have yet to crack mine to form my own opinion.

 

 

Good to know sir.  I was drinking Ten High and coke back then. Not good for anyone. Kept me from brown water for a long time.

[fishnbowljoe]

My wife and granddaughter went out shopping today after my granddaughters soccer game this morning. They went to a number of places looking for prom items and other things. At one vendor/antique mall, they even found something for me. I named him BT. Baby Thunder. Some of y’all will know. So, I’m having a pour or two of BT this evening. Cheers!    

 

[kcgumbohead]

WTRB was a fitting Derby day pour and thoroughly enjoyed!!

[markandrex]

18 minutes ago, kcgumbohead said:

WTRB was a fitting Derby day pour and thoroughly enjoyed!!

That sounds like an excellent idea!  I will join you, to your health sir.

[Skinsfan1311]

KC18 in the glass...

[ebo]

This evening it's a generous pour of OF 1920. I'm a huge fan of the OF flavor profile. I think the only bottle I'm not a fan of is the 1897. I'm not sure why.

[WhiskeyMaier7]

On 5/1/2025 at 8:21 PM, MSB said:

Called in a couple birds. They were fighting for my attention so I took a shot at both of them. 

 

 

For the nose, i give the 70th the win by a beak.

 

The palate, The 70th wins with a better beard and wattle.

 

The finish, you prolly guessed it, The 70th wins by the snood and tail coverts.

 

Obviously the winner is the 70th and I give it 18 tail feathers.

 

Seeing how the 70th is basically gone, I will grab a btl or 2 of the 8yr when i find it. Would like to do a sbs with WTKS and the 70th, maybe next time I'm at the bar.

 

Then I would like to do a sbs with The Original Kicking Chicken (WT 101) and the 8yr. Note to self, I prolly should do that before I buy the 8yr.  

I did a blind of these and I think I prefer the 8 year. The 70th is more textbook, but the 8 has a cinnamon finish and seems more playful. Cheers!

 

 

[0895]

4 hours ago, WhiskeyMaier7 said:

I did a blind of these and I think I prefer the 8 year. The 70th is more textbook, but the 8 has a cinnamon finish and seems more playful. Cheers!

 

 

Nice sbs.

Looking forward to trying the new 8 someday.

[MSB]

16 hours ago, WhiskeyMaier7 said:

I did a blind of these and I think I prefer the 8 year. The 70th is more textbook, but the 8 has a cinnamon finish and seems more playful. Cheers!

 

 

A blind sbs is the way to go! ( hindsight, i should have done that at the bar)

 

Great to hear your input.  

 

 

[LCWoody]

Some  good old WT 101 by the fire, 
waiting for the fire to get right on for some ribeyes
u

[Kepler]

21 hours ago, WhiskeyMaier7 said:

I did a blind of these and I think I prefer the 8 year. The 70th is more textbook, but the 8 has a cinnamon finish and seems more playful. Cheers!

 

 "a cinnamon finish and seems more playful"

 

Playful .... care to elaborate?  Sounds like the finish on the WT8 kinda just draws you in for another pour? 

[markandrex]

I took a ribeye and made some steak fajitas and elote for Cinco de Mayo and my wife’s birthday.  I was sipping on some MMCS while the steak, veggies and corn grilled.

[rzelinka]

1 hour ago, LCWoody said:

Some  good old WT 101 by the fire, 
waiting for the fire to get right on for some ribeyes
u

Now we are talking... Ribeyes. Fabulous

[MSB]

So I am at the bar again and wanted to do a blind sbs with The 70th and 8yr. For whatever reason the 8yr is in hiding and was not available tonight. So I decided to do a blind sbs with the 70th and WTKS.

for some reason i am unable to upload the pic of the pours. No biggie. 

please forgive me for my basic interpretation of the tasting i have done.

 

Palate taste review only.

 

A.

I get floral notes. Buttery notes. A cross between red and white fruit. Smooth oily texture and a long finish. No to very lil ethanol burn.

 

B. No to lil ethanol burn. Maybe some apple flavor. Buttery.  Some flavors that came and went that were very delicious.  Wish i could grasp and verbalize those. Smooth and oily long finish.

 

Both  were very good to great pours.

I chose correctly on which was which, but could I do that again, idk??. 

I would be happy with either one of these pours on any given day.  I really enjoyed them.

 

I would go with B. And B is the WTKS.

 

SO much going on in every sip. All the extra nuances in it make it very good and complex to differentiate the flavors going on in this pour. This is a pour to sit and sip and savor. 

[MSB]

NEXT UP. 

 

 

A pair of champions. There has been some discussion about these two on SB lately. I have my opinions and others have theirs. NOBODY RIGHT AND NOBODY WRONG. Just varying palates, experiences and the result of that is varying opinions. It is ALL GOOD.

 

This will be a short and sweet tasting comparison. 

 

Both are excellent pours. Obviously similar in so many ways but maybe more pronounced in one pour than the other in almost as many ways???? ( hope that makes sense)

 

 These are awesome! I can find no fault in either one of them. Great flavor in the beginning , middle and finish.

I knew which was which.  (A) had more oak flavor and (B) seemed a lil sweeter. A is 18 and B is 12. 

 

NOOO, I was soo wrong. I am amazed that I got it wrong and even more amazed how I MIGHT BE A 18YR WHORE NOW!  LOL

 

The 18yr tonight is the tops! So good and hitting all the right notes. I am so disappointed in myself and sadened that my wallet and bank account will be dwindling faster than anticipated. I love both these btls and will enjoy them everytime I get one but I will be looking for more 18yr in my future.  I will not be happy with paying the $160+, but I can not wait to sip on it again. 

 

Thanks SB'ers for inadvertently pushing me to this blind tasting. I have done sbs with these two before but not blind and I was the one doing the pouring and I MIGHT have been a lil bias. 

 

Gotta love the blind tasting.

[MSB]

 The result of the blind. 12yr is A and 18yr B.

Edited 17 hours ago by MSB

[Kepler]

32 minutes ago, MSB said:

NEXT UP. 

 

 

A pair of champions. There has been some discussion about these two on SB lately. I have my opinions and others have theirs. NOBODY RIGHT AND NOBODY WRONG. Just varying palates, experiences and the result of that is varying opinions. It is ALL GOOD.

 

This will be a short and sweet tasting comparison. 

 

Both are excellent pours. Obviously similar in so many ways but maybe more pronounced in one pour than the other in almost as many ways???? ( hope that makes sense)

 

 These are awesome! I can find no fault in either one of them. Great flavor in the beginning , middle and finish.

I knew which was which.  (A) had more oak flavor and (B) seemed a lil sweeter. A is 18 and B is 12. 

 

NOOO, I was soo wrong. I am amazed that I got it wrong and even more amazed how I MIGHT BE A 18YR WHORE NOW!  LOL

 

The 18yr tonight is the tops! So good and hitting all the right notes. I am so disappointed in myself and sadened that my wallet and bank account will be dwindling faster than anticipated. I love both these btls and will enjoy them everytime I get one but I will be looking for more 18yr in my future.  I will not be happy with paying the $160+, but I can not wait to sip on it again. 

 

Thanks SB'ers for inadvertently pushing me to this blind tasting. I have done sbs with these two before but not blind and I was the one doing the pouring and I MIGHT have been a lil bias. 

 

Gotta love the blind tasting.

 

Blind tasting results can be wild (we've all been there).  Having said that, I'm not totally surprised ... because that KC18 is LEGIT.  The balance it has for an 18 year bourbon is amazing and quite rare.  I don't think Beam gets near enough love for how they hit the KC18 out of the ballpark.  It's special.

 

 

[rzelinka]

9 hours ago, Kepler said:

 

Blind tasting results can be wild (we've all been there).  Having said that, I'm not totally surprised ... because that KC18 is LEGIT.  The balance it has for an 18 year bourbon is amazing and quite rare.  I don't think Beam gets near enough love for how they hit the KC18 out of the ballpark.  It's special.

 

 

And at that price point too. That’s really something 

[rzelinka]

11 hours ago, MSB said:

So I am at the bar again and wanted to do a blind sbs with The 70th and 8yr. For whatever reason the 8yr is in hiding and was not available tonight. So I decided to do a blind sbs with the 70th and WTKS.

for some reason i am unable to upload the pic of the pours. No biggie. 

please forgive me for my basic interpretation of the tasting i have done.

 

Palate taste review only.

 

A.

I get floral notes. Buttery notes. A cross between red and white fruit. Smooth oily texture and a long finish. No to very lil ethanol burn.

 

B. No to lil ethanol burn. Maybe some apple flavor. Buttery.  Some flavors that came and went that were very delicious.  Wish i could grasp and verbalize those. Smooth and oily long finish.

 

Both  were very good to great pours.

I chose correctly on which was which, but could I do that again, idk??. 

I would be happy with either one of these pours on any given day.  I really enjoyed them.

 

I would go with B. And B is the WTKS.

 

SO much going on in every sip. All the extra nuances in it make it very good and complex to differentiate the flavors going on in this pour. This is a pour to sit and sip and savor. 

I’d love to add Rare Breed to this mix. It’s one of my favorites. It affordable and readily available. Good qualities for a bourbon. 

[MSB]

11 hours ago, Kepler said:

 

Blind tasting results can be wild (we've all been there).  Having said that, I'm not totally surprised ... because that KC18 is LEGIT.  The balance it has for an 18 year bourbon is amazing and quite rare.  I don't think Beam gets near enough love for how they hit the KC18 out of the ballpark.  It's special.

 

 

Agree with your comment on blinds, they can be revealing, mind blowing and wildly fun. This is how I found out that I like Mellow Corn as a freezer btl. Blind sampled MC bib to friends , they came back ranting and raving about it, so I showed them the btl and laughed at them( I did not care for it) One of the guys and I met up for some golfing weeks later and he had a flask out if the freezer and wanted me to try it. I did and I loved it, then he told me what it was, MC bib, now he was laughing at me. I have a btl in my freezer now.

 

Also agree that the KC18 is a great bourbon. I wonder if my opinions prior to the blind were bias on price and or palate of each sbs tasting. Have done 4-5 sbs with these two before.  Always picking the 12yr.

 

 I still love the 12 for the price, quality and ease of finding it for those reasons i will still say it is a sweet spot for KC.

 

And I am also going to keep an extra 18 around to remind me how great KC can really be. 

[WhiskeyMaier7]

17 hours ago, Kepler said:

 "a cinnamon finish and seems more playful"

 

Playful .... care to elaborate?  Sounds like the finish on the WT8 kinda just draws you in for another pour? 

Absolutely!  To me the 70th is a perfect textbook version of Wild Turkey. By the book...aged oak to carmel, vanilla, etc. The WT8 I thought had a little more of that WT rickhouse funk, and a strong cinnamon finish that was really very enjoyable. 

 

On the nose out of the bottle is a different story however. I got Dill Pickle Sunflower seeds. A very interesting whiskey. 

 

Or....maybe I'm just crazy.

[PaulO]

16 hours ago, MSB said:

So I am at the bar again and wanted to do a blind sbs with The 70th and 8yr. For whatever reason the 8yr is in hiding and was not available tonight. So I decided to do a blind sbs with the 70th and WTKS.

for some reason i am unable to upload the pic of the pours. No biggie. 

please forgive me for my basic interpretation of the tasting i have done.

 

Palate taste review only.

 

A.

I get floral notes. Buttery notes. A cross between red and white fruit. Smooth oily texture and a long finish. No to very lil ethanol burn.

 

B. No to lil ethanol burn. Maybe some apple flavor. Buttery.  Some flavors that came and went that were very delicious.  Wish i could grasp and verbalize those. Smooth and oily long finish.

 

Both  were very good to great pours.

I chose correctly on which was which, but could I do that again, idk??. 

I would be happy with either one of these pours on any given day.  I really enjoyed them.

 

I would go with B. And B is the WTKS.

 

SO much going on in every sip. All the extra nuances in it make it very good and complex to differentiate the flavors going on in this pour. This is a pour to sit and sip and savor. 

The thing about doing a tasting with WTKS is it's single barrel vs. a batched product (that will probably be a lot more consistent).

What I recall is barrels for WTKS are 8 years old (but not listed on the label).  Some I've tried tasted very similar to regular WT101.  Others were fantastic, and others somewhere in between.

It's kind of like with HMcK - you find a bottle from one of those honey barrels, you march your a-s-s back to the store.    

But, then they're all gone.   

[Kepler]

1 hour ago, WhiskeyMaier7 said:

Absolutely!  To me the 70th is a perfect textbook version of Wild Turkey. By the book...aged oak to carmel, vanilla, etc. The WT8 I thought had a little more of that WT rickhouse funk, and a strong cinnamon finish that was really very enjoyable. 

 

On the nose out of the bottle is a different story however. I got Dill Pickle Sunflower seeds. A very interesting whiskey. 

 

Or....maybe I'm just crazy.

Thanks for your feedback.  Looking forward to trying the new WT8 when it arrives on shelves here.