bluesbassdad Posted March 19, 2005 Share Posted March 19, 2005 Tonight it's Knob Creek, which seems especially appropriate now that winter has returned to the Arizona high desert. To me KC is definitely a cold weather bourbon. I really should test that proposition come summer by having it on the rocks some dry, hot afternoon. Last night, as befits the holiday, I strayed from the one true path long enough to have a glass of Black Bush. I found it pleasantly sweet and grainy, but lacking in both intensity and balance compared to bourbon, especially KC.Yours truly,Dave Morefield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ambernecter Posted March 19, 2005 Share Posted March 19, 2005 Well I got up and "did the gym" today and have enjoyed both Maker's Mark and Wild Turkey 12YO this fine evening...The Wild Turkey 12YO is tough to get hold of in England but really is almost as good as Rock Hill Farms! (Did I really say that out loud?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff Posted March 22, 2005 Author Share Posted March 22, 2005 I'm having some Evan Williams White Label BIB and I agree with Dane: Typical EW taste with a punch to it. I believe Bettye Jo told me that it is indeed a 4yo bourbon. I enjoy it most with a couple drops of water to bring it down to what I would guess is about 90 proof or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNbourbon Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 Earlier, I re-decanted a 1.75L King Tut Michter's from the Seventies that had a bad cork (fortunately, no harm had come to the whiskey, and more than 2 750ml decanters remained) so, of course, I had to taste-test to make sure it hadn't been tainted. Right now I'm sipping a pour from the other 1.75L I have open, a Stitzel-Weller-distilled W.L. Weller Special Reserve. It's evidence that Julian comes by his spicy wheated bourbons genetically -- it seems to be in the Van Winkle blood (although S-W was long past it's Pappy days by the time this one was bottled, Ed Foote was still making the whiskey). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ambernecter Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 Got back to the family home and cracked a bottle of Knob Creek. I enjoyed it side by side with Wild Turkey 12YO.I was shocked at how good the Knob Creek tasted in such heavy company... I've had about a year away from any of the small batch Bourbons but Knob Creek is way, way, better than I remembered... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camduncan Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 Finished the final 3 drinks from my first bottle of Bulleit last night. I definately enjoyed the bottle, and will probably pick another up for the 'bar', but for the same money ($45AU), I think I'd prefer to drink Evan Williams Single Barrel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbyvirus Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 Tonight I had a nice healthy pour of Evan Williams, Single Barrel, 1994 vintage. I always think of Bettye Jo when I drink this one, because she gave us a tour of the production line. Then, as a night cap, I had a small nip of Blanton's. A nice evening indeed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 I'm about to go pour some Four Roses Single Barrel. I'm looking forward to it. Now that I think about it, what am I waiting for?Ah, there you go. Raisins, spice cake, the really good homemade kind. licorice. Sadly, this glass finished the bottle. I'll definitely be buying more of this stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Weber Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 Cam,What is the proof of the Bulleit down under?Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasking Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 We're moving next week to our new house, and last night I packed up all my booze. I hadn't planned on it, but I couldn't resist taking a nip of the Stagg before that long tall bottle slid into the case.I kept out a couple bottles with only a little left in the bottom, i.e., drink it rather than move it. So, for about the next week, I've got a little bit of Knob Creek (won't last long; will be replaced once the bar is set up at the new house) and the rest of my "get rid of it" bottle of Dickel No. 12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedVette Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 EWSB 94, the end of the bottle. I'm not always sure about this Bourbon, it has a bitterness that like a good Belgian beer can either be refreshing or overwhelming depending on mood and circumstances. Tonight at the back end of an exhausting work week, it might just be "too much" Bourbon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rancastle Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 Four Roses Single Barrel last night, Black Maple Hill 14yr tonight. Bottled in Bardstown. Anybody know who distilled the Black Maple Hill? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrbriggs Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 Weller Centennial. Good stuff. I might have some Buffalo Trace afterwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubleblank Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 The earlier BMH's were done by Julian and SW bourbon. The Bardstown bottling is from Kulsveen and probably HH. Don't know for sure.Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesbassdad Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 A delayed report from last night: My wife and I took the neighbors to a restaurant in nearby Prescott Valley, AZ. As we entered, the first thing I saw was a small, U-shaped bar. The visible shelf-stock sat on three shelves about ten feet in length. To my amazement, sitting in the middle of the second shelf were the following (to the best of my memory):Woodford Reserve[unidentifiable]Elijah Craig 18 y/oMaker's MarkVW Family Reserve RyeJim Beam Black[Memory fails me as to the last two.]The sight of those bottlings on such prominent display struck me as an oasis of bourbon civilization here in the remote, high desert.I'm probably the first person in the history of all-you-can-eat rib night at this establishment to order EC 18 neat. It had been several months since I'd tasted it. It wasn't nearly as heavy with char as I remembered. In fact, it seemed rather nicely balanced between sweet and dry, herbal and caramel, etc. Besides the enjoyment it provided me, it gave me an excuse to mention Bettye Jo and this forum. Here's to ya!Again I am left to wonder: Has my taste changed that much in a few months? Or can I chalk it up to variations within a single-barrel expression?One clue in that regard: After arriving home I tried a few sips of the Ezra B 15 y/o, which I had once pronounced better balanced than the EC 18. It seemed sweeter and more herbal than I remembered. Somehow the EC 18 seems to have overtaken it on my list of favorites.Yours truly,Dave Morefield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 I don't know why exactly, but reading this and Randy's post about the bar in Houston absolutely delight me. I'm just tickled when somebody discovers a good bourbon selection in a bar.And one with an all-you-can-eat buffet? Heaven on earth.As for why the EC18 tasted different, just being in a different environment, different ambient odors and such from what you are used to at home, can make a huge difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbyvirus Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 I have tasted EC 18 from several different barrels, and I have been struck how different they all have tasted. I'm not sure if it's a characteristic of this bourbon in particular, or just of all single barrels (although I haven't noticed it with other single barrels) but the EC 18 seems to really vary from barrel-to-barrel...which of course, makes it all that much more fun and interesitng to sample. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 I have been putting a lot of nearly-empty bottles to rest this week. The latest: Evan Williams Single Barrel 1995.Incidentally, I have decided to retire the euphemism "dead soldier" from my personal vocabulary. It just strikes me as disrespectful to, well, dead soldiers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr8erdane Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 Why not call them "spent magazines" instead? Having fired off all the cartridges, it's time to lock and load again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedVette Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 I have been putting a lot of nearly-empty bottles to rest this week. The latest: Evan Williams Single Barrel 1995. Me too. Must be spring and its cleaning thing happening. I have managed to polish off half a dozen bottles in the last few weeks. The garbage man must think I am a serious lush.Tonight Buffalo Trace followed by ORVW 15. Hard to believe that these come from the same distillery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musher Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 Tonight Buffalo Trace followed by ORVW 15. Hard to believe that these come from the same distillery. They don't. At least, not as far as distillation is concerned. The 15yo would have been distilled at Stitzel-Weller, if I'm not mistaken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkman Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 I have to throw in my 2 cents on a bottle of EC18yr SB. I have barrel #702 barreled on 3-11-82 and I gotta say, I can hardly gag this stuff down. This is my most disapointing bottle of Single Barrel ever... I wish I could put my finger on the taste, but all I can say is DIRT... Even feels gritty going down. Plus, so much alcohol taste... No class what so ever. Makes me totally afraid to buy another bottle to see what gives? For those who enjoy their bottling of EC18yr SB, congratulations. I got burned somehow... it's the weirdest thing I have ever tasted in a bourbon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedVette Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 The Straightbourbon.com database has ORVW 15 listed as a Buffalo Trace product. Hard for me to keep straight, but I thought that the Van Winkle stuff has been BT for a while now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 The whiskey is now aging at Buffalo Trace, is bottled by Buffalo Trace, and the Van Winkle operation is essentially a joint venture between Julian and Buffalo Trace. However, none of the whiskey currently being sold under the Van Winkle name was distilled at Buffalo Trace. All of the Pappy and Family Reserve bourbons were distilled at Stitzel-Weller, the Old Rip Van Winkle was distilled at Bernheim, and the rye was distilled (we think) at Medley in Owensboro. Buffalo Trace is making wheated bourbon and, as it matures, the Van Winkle line will transition to Buffalo Trace-made product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesbassdad Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 Gee, Chuck, is there perhaps some publication that one could subscribe to that would lay out that sort of thing in eloquent detail? Yours truly, Dave Morefield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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