What bourbon are you drinking now?

[ProofPositive]

Tonite I started off with ETL and finished with a pour of BT. It was kind of like going from sitting on the couch with a tabby cat to a bench in a tiger's cage. I don't know about anyone else but this BT I have is a little on the wild side w/some low heat. Maybe it is just the single barrel it came from by virtue of a local retailer - as opposed to the standard Trace bottling.

You know, maybe I should have done it the opposite way.....BT first, the more tame & mellow ETL second. Maybe something to experiment with a little further down the road.

[Virus_Of_Life]

Wasn't going to have any tonite, but then decided I'd skip the gym, something I have done way about every day in the last year because of work, health and other issues, but anyway after a little deiliberation as I now have too many open bottles (14?15?) I poured some Black Maple Hill. I rarely see that talked about on here, but man I tell you some nights my taster is off and this is just good but then nights like tonite it is freaking GREAAAAAAAT! It makes me wonder; this is only the 11yo, how much better can the 14 and 16 year olds be? :skep: I need to do some research on these BMH bottlings because it seems that at the least the distribution is sketchy at worst it is all out hard to get or running out? :searching:

[chouffe62]

Weller 19, Sazerac (2002), & Old Forester B'Day Bourbon (Spring 2003)

[mrt]

Early Times Kentucky Straight Bourbon (the one available outside the US only). Maybe I'll take a glass more

[fogfrog]

Wild Turkey 101, my taste buds have changed. It seems that I no longer need to add anything to whiskey anymore. I don't know what happened.

I went to Denver last week and was at this cowboy restaurant called the traildust. We had a happy hour before dinner so I asked what sort of Bourbons they had. They said, " Jack Daniels, Gentleman Jack, Jack Daniels Single Barrel and Crown". I thought, "they don't have any bourbon!".

Sort of funny what we learn here. I shoulda had some of that Jack but I have yet to try Jack Daniels.

I will say this Wild Turkey is good stuff. Its getting to be all good as far as I can see. At the Casinos in Tunica MS just south of Memphis, I was sitting with this lady from work at the Slots and when the drinks came around ordered scotch. They brought me Cluny. I didn't know how cheap it was but to tell you the truth, it was darn good too! Later here in KC I saw Cluny for 15 bucks a half gallon!

[tsangster]

Small pour of Johnny Drum 15 yo while watching the NASCAR shootout.

Now having EW BIB. Will definitely be getting more of this on my next trip to SC. Very tasty and quite inexpensive.

[ratcheer]

Tonight I am having a shot of Knob Creek with cold, filtered water. About 2/3 whiskey, 1/3 water. It is actually quite delicious.

Tim

[Mad Mac]

Booker's. I drink them all, from wheaters to straight rye, but Booker's is the one I bring out when I want to remind myself of how good it can get.

[RedVette]

Welcome Mr. Mac,

We seem to have a lot of Bourbon Newbies on the board lately. Welcome all.

Tonight started with Corner Creek, an enjoyable drink, followed by Pappy 15 an even more enjoyable drink, and now I have Saz 18 in the glass. A very nice day.

[Ghoste]

A little pour of Wild Turkey 101 tonight. It was my youngest's 6th birthday today so it was a busy day and it seems to be a milestone for some reason. We don't have any "little" kids anymore. Why 6 marks big kids to my wife and I, I cannot say.

Nonetheless, the WT seems to be a nice relaxing end to the day.

[bluesbassdad]

Moments ago my wife and I returned from dinner at what may be Prescott area's finest restaurant. (Haven't tried them all yet; could finish the job in a month or two if I wanted.)

I had not planned to order a cocktail, but my wife likes to eat the cherry out of a whiskey sour, and she suggested I order one. I agreed with very little reluctance.

I drank whiskey sours for years before I joined this group, and I never gave much thought to what kind of whiskey was used, only how much. In my previous ignorant state I thought it pretentious to order a cocktail and specifiy the brand of liquor.

However, tonight, without even thinking about it, I ordered "a whiskey sour, straight up with Wild Turkey 101". Guess what? That drink was more enjoyable than any whiskey sour I can remember. The assertive WT taste profile was there. The sour component was there, balanced with just a hint of sweetness. I easily drank it all before even the slightest warming occured. It was a whiskey sour for the ages.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[bobbyc]

It's been awhile since I've had a Whiskey Sour but at one time, for a very long time, Whiskey Sours were my poison. Maybe a revisit is in order.

[ProofPositive]

Started the night with a gracious pour of ETL and finished it off with a slightly shorter pour of EWSB '95 - both on the rocks. I think this is the first time I have had these 2 together in the same evening. My assessment: If I had to leave the house quickly tonite, could only grab one of these and leave the other, I would take the ETL hands down. IMHO, ETL is smoother, has more depth, and leaves less of the alcohol after-taste on the palate which hits the spot for me. At first, I thought ETL was a little too sweet to be an everyday pour. However, each time I now open this bottle, it justs seems to get better. Only about 1/3 of my first ETL left now.....will soon have to get another to keep on hand.

[brian12069]

I'll take some heat for this one, but, right now it's Gentleman Jack...love this stuff...

[CrispyCritter]

I'm currently in a "draw down open bottles" mode - not opening anything that's more than half full. Tonight, I just finished a glass of WTRR 101, and I'm now moving on to '04 Stagg. Life is good.

[Ghoste]

Brian, I finished off a shot that was left in a bottle Gentleman Jack myself last night. It may not qualify as bourbon but I like the JD products myself quite often. It has it's own special charm outside of being the "slug from the bottle" choice of rockstars. (why do they all do that?)

[brian12069]

Brian, I finished off a shot that was left in a bottle Gentleman Jack myself last night. It may not qualify as bourbon but I like the JD products myself quite often. It has it's own special charm outside of being the "slug from the bottle" choice of rockstars. (why do they all do that?)

Why do they all do that? Because they like it!!!

[brian12069]

Having said that, there is quite a difference in flavor between Gentleman Jack and Regular JD.

[fogfrog]

Actually, I was drinking Evan Williams Single Barrel 1995 and it was so good! So I also had some 7YO Evan Williams, you know the very reasonably priced stuff? And I am amazed at how much I like this stuff too now!

My taste buds are changing. A lot of things I thought were rough are no longer seeming rough to me any more.

[brian12069]

EW is good stuff, doesn't get enough credit.

[TNbourbon]

I've created a nice "Gillmanization" tonight -- a vatting of Old Fitz BIB 6yo, bottled in 1968, about 3:1 with the Bernheim wheat. Very rich and sweet, but with enough heat and nuttiness not to be cloying.

[Gillman]

That sounds interesting because you are in effect maintaining a bourbon profile but increasing its wheat content and it should result precisely in the palate you described! A good way too to let down the high ABV of the OF '68 without adding water. Well done.

Here is one I did recently, partly by accident: to a base of 20 ounces of Wild Turkey 80 I added 3 ounces of Old Charter 8 year old bourbon (I wanted to soften the rye edge in the WT), a very small addition of Buffalo Trace (maybe one ounce) for additional depth and age, and then 2 ounces Canadian whisky (Centennial). The Canadian affects mostly the finish and the mouth feel by lending softness and in general "displaying" the bourbons. Another candidate for the Gazebo table at Sampler.

Gary

[Virus_Of_Life]

EW is good stuff, doesn't get enough credit.

I have swore by it since I was 17 years old, (13 years ago) and my brother of all people said he wouldn't buy JD for me until I tried EW at about half the price. Needless to say rarely did (do) I ever buy JD again, or JB white for that matter. Rite Aid here in SoCal sells the 1.75L of EW for $13 from time to time, I find that the greatest bang for the buck in the history of bourbon whiskey! :grin: I love it, and swear by it and always have at least one large jug on hand for my beef marinade not to mention drinking!

And on that note I think I like the regular stuff better than the SB bottle I have......

[Frodo]

My taste buds are changing. A lot of things I thought were rough are no longer seeming rough to me any more.

I hear you brother!!

Last sunday, I decided to try a tasting flight of Beam small batch bourbons because lately I found Bookers to be wonderful stuff. It was not so long ago that I couldn't drink it (too strong), or any other Beam product except Knob Creek or Beam Black. This time I tried...

Basil Hayden 8yr: A nice bourbon, but found it too spicy for a beginner, and too mild for a veteran. Nice in its own way, but I don't like the price tag ($40 cdn). Someone on this forum said in effect, "nothing wrong with this bourbon at a lower price tag". I would agree with that!

Knob Creek 9yr: Much drier than I remember it. A "punchy bourbon I found it to be. Wasn't turned on - too one dimentional to my palate.

Baker's: Big suprise! I used to find this one dimentional. I like the nose (sweet) and the palate does change significantly with water. Might actually think about getting a bottle!

Bookers: Wonderful bourbon!!! Used to consider it too powerful. I think it's worth every penny ($80 cdn) although I can rarely afford it. Might actually beat out Blanton's as my favourite so far!!!

Overall though, I'd still prefer anything from Buffalo Trace, or certain Heavan Hill products (EC 12 or EWSB when I last had them 4 yrs ago - perhaps my tastes have changed for these as well) as opposed to general Beam products.

Hopefully I can try GTS some time in the next couple of years (I'm very patient).

[bluesbassdad]

Tonight I'm finishing a bottle of Baker's I've had for at least three years. I think I got it on sale at Binny's for around $27.

At that price I'd buy more. I like it, but not enough to justify paying full price.

It makes me think of a richer version of JB Black. Very little in the way of exotic flavor elements, as far as I can detect. Perhaps a few floral notes on the palate and finish.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield