What bourbon are you drinking now?

[Gillman]

5 parts OC and 2.5 parts each Beam and Grandad.

My Grandad was regular, 86 proof OG in the flashy orange trade dress.

Each whiskey on its own was unsatisfying to me (a little rough and unbalanced); the combination is completely different to each and VERY satisfying.

Gary

[TNbourbon]

Welcome back, Gary -- I assume you are at home now because of your access to your 'stores'. Thus, in recognition of your return, I have combined equal parts National Distillers Old Grand-Dad BIB and 129-proof 2004 Stagg tonight to create what I call 'Old Grand Stagg 114-1/2'. My intent was to contrast the high-rye OGD with the presumably lower-rye Stagg, and I find it pleasing -- the Stagg has softened the rye edge of the OGD, while the latter has taken some bite out of the Stagg's proof while still maintaining a resultant high-proof pour.

The rye really comes through on the nose of this one, with both the milk-house grain bin and spicy licorice/anise present. It has a candied orange-peel, fruity entry which evolves into a leathery-ness that does not go completely dry. The tobacco and leather linger on the finish.

Cheers, Gary!

[Gillman]

Hi Tim, oh yes I'm back, thanks, and your blend sounds very good. Of course you used primo whiskeys to begin with but that won't guarantee a good result, rather, thinking it through (as you did) will! The OG and Charter used for my blend are both current issue and I think you would agree that National Distillers OG is rather a bit better than the current one. Not that my blend wouldn't have been good had I used my (single) ND Grandad, but I'm pleased I got such good results from using decent but otherwise unexceptional whiskeys. I saw your post on Jack, too. The way to get good Jack is to vat different examples, e.g., different bottles of 80 proof regular Jack and throwing in some Jack Single Barrel (and maybe some Gentleman). Also, I find it goes well with Cola and I wonder if maybe its current taste profile is "designed" with that in mind. But again you can come up with a drinkable version of Jack neat by vatting, "layering" as it were slightly different examples of the whiskey. Not that each bottle isn't the result of hundreds of barrels (so it is already a vatting in a sense) but somehow individual tinkering seems to produce a better result. But some Single Barrel is needed for this to happen because it adds oomph and depth. My current Jack blend (about 10 Jacks in total with 40% approximately from two Single Barrels) is another Gazebo candidate.

Gary

[ProofPositive]

Started w/BT & branch, finished with RR101 and splash of spring water. The BT is from the stock of one of those local stores who selected a barrel and had it bottled. So, I guess you could call it BT Single Barrel. I have seen quite a number of these around here lately. I keep meaning to pick up a 'regular' issue of BT so I can compare with this one. Just the same though, this BT is really good.

Wayne

[Edward_call_me_Ed]

I had a couple of pours of Black Maple Hill 21 year old at the bar tonight. I think it was 97 proof. Wonderful stuff.

Ed

[kbuzbee]

Welcome home, Gary! Did any of those OGDs you found follow you home??

Ken

[Gillman]

Hi Ken, thank you. Yes, I have one almost full bottle of a ND Old Grandad. My plan is to bring this to the next Gazebo. It is very good, rich, fruity, chewy, balanced, bearing only a slight resemblance to the current OG (which can disclose an unpleasant "raw" note). I went back to Philipsburg on the Dutch side to find the row of them I chose my bottle from, and when I got there (from Grand Case on the French side) of course I couldn't find the store. I found 20 others, but not the right one. The row I had chosen my bottle from had a number of bottles with labels faded almost to yellow and they had reduced the price from, say $10 to about $4. I had chosen the label that looked the least faded.

Now I can pinch myself.

Gary

[NYtaster]

Stagg Fall 2005, WOW!!!!!!!

I can't find this near home so I ordered via the internet, K&L Wines, (sorry 'bout the plug, but great service!!!)

I started with a straight pour, just to see what it was like in its natural state, one sip was all it took.

After adding a little spring water to cut it down to somewhere near 100 proof, and waiting a few minutes for my taste buds to recover, I think I like it.

The initial burn gives way to a pleasing, though not intense , woody bourbon, not a lot of spice, with a very long and satisfying finish. If I wait long enough I am rewarded with a final note of black cherry, you really have to wait for this one!!

I see this as a great winter pour, and winter is a LONG season up here in NY.

I won't change my WT allegiance but I do like it!

[CrispyCritter]

Yup, that '05 Stagg is potent stuff!

Tonight, I'm visiting my lower-priced bottles - first some AAA 10yo, now some Old Fitz BIB, next up, Rittenhouse BIB rye.

For all the (often justified) hype surrounding the premium brands, these three bring a whole lot of enjoyment for a pittance. As long as I can find them available, these will always be on my shelf.

[wku88]

VOB 90 , and I'll prolly do some EWSB before I go to bed....

[ProofPositive]

VW-SR12 and WT RR101....not necessarily in that order though.

That is still to be determined.

[gr8erdane]

I too opted for the 2005 Fall Stagg but to tell you the truth, even at 141.2 proof, this bottling just doesn't burn like previous versions did. I can drink this straight up and truly enjoy every drop.

[ProofPositive]

VW-SR12 and WT RR101....not necessarily in that order though.

That is still to be determined.

Scratch the WT RR101. The VW-SR12 is just so smoothe.....I can't change gears now. Nothing wrong with the RR - had it last 2 nights....just a change of plans for the here & now.

[BourbonJoe]

The VW-SR12 is just so smoothe.....

How does the 12 stack up against the 15 and 20 in your opinion?

Joe

[nor02lei]

The VW-SR12 is just so smoothe.....

How does the 12 stack up against the 15 and 20 in your opinion?

Joe

I like both the 12 and 15 and the upper hand to the 15 I think. The 20 I don’t like at all. To old and woody for me. But my favourite VW bourbon is the 10Y 107 proof Frankfurt bottling. An amazing bourbon and about the chewiest I ever tried.

Leif

[pepcycle]

I second that motion.

BMH 21 SB Rye.

Getting to the last drop.

Great Whiskey.

[camduncan]

Last night I tried very hard to drink some of the Australia only "Jim Beam Small Batch with Port added" I poured it neat, tried letting it sit for 30 minutes, put it over ice, added water - all to no avail.

Some people like this stuff, but I can't stand it

In the end I mixed it with coke and ice in a tall glass. It wasn't a bad mixer for a hot summers night (30 deg Celcius, 70% humidity) on the back varandah

[fogfrog]

I'm drinking Jim Beam 7 Year Old. I had been drinking Wild Turkey and Evan Williams Single Barrel over the last few days but today i actually started with some cheap scotch.

I drank the speyburn and then decided to switch to bourbon. I thought the Scotch was good and way simpler and more drinkable than bourbon. So I tried the Jim Beam 7YO as opposed to the Wild Turkey 101 which I had been drinking earlier in the week.

The Jim Beam reminded me of Vanilla big time! It was as if I was drinking an egg nog without the egg. Needless to say I am on my third Jim Beam 7YO.

This stuff is awesome! Not complex at all. Simple and good!

Paul

[TNbourbon]

I've had a rough couple of nights, bourbon-wise. Nothing has really tasted good. Last night, I even returned half-a-pour of Lawrenceburg Pappy 20 to the bottle, as I was unable to appreciate it properly. I finally poured about 25ml of Glenfiddich 18yo Scotch, and that was OK -- which is really quite good, because 'OK' is what I expect from Glenfiddich and older Scotch (I did not buy an entire bottle, by the way, but a 3-pack of 12yo, 15yo and 18yo minis).

Well, tonight hasn't been much better. I started with some 2004 Stagg, which seemed too hot to me, so I made one of my 'Gill-Manhattan's with the last couple of ounces of it. Then I tried some 1968 Beam BIB 8yo (mine, Cliff, not yours!), only to suspect (correctly, as it turned out) that I'd decanted it into glassware contaminated with dishsoap. I poured it all away, a disappointing happenstance. Disheartened, I finished the Glenfiddich 15yo, too.

Not for a moment, though, did I believe I had lost my taste for bourbon. I started pulling corks and nosing: Buffalo Trace -- nah, too 'usual'; 1994 Old Forester BIB -- ah, sweet! I like sweet ! OK, try it.

This bottle is an 'occasional' for me -- I pour it now and again when I don't really have anything in mind and it strikes my fancy. Tonight, it is THE one to drink. It's warm, fruity in front and dry at the finish, and lets me finally simply relax my thought processes. No analysis, just enjoy!

As many of you know, pedantry is my business, with semantics Business 1-A. So, you guessed there's a lesson here, right? Some of you also know I do wine, too -- and so do many of you. There is a moment in every bottled wine's life when it is at its perfection -- open too soon, and you experience an immature wine, open too late and it's faded. And, realistically, there is really nothing you can do but hope. It's nice to open a $7 wine and get a $50 experience, but the reverse can be devastating. What to do?

My general philosophy is this, shared often with our wine/liquor store customers: you can't know the time when the wine is perfect, but you DO know when the time is perfect for that wine. Open it and enjoy!

I've found this week it works for bourbon, too -- whiskey isn't science, it's art! Chasing perfection is a chimera (second definition, Timothy !), because WE are seldom at our best.

And, tonight, this Old Forester BIB is the best thing on my shelf.

[CrispyCritter]

I started off with ERSB (90 proof), and then a pour of WTRR 101. There's a for each of them!

[barturtle]

Chasing perfection is a chimera (second definition, Timothy !),

Just for fun and since I was pointed out, I thought I'd look it up(my personal definition was "a wild idea or fantasy") I came up with-

2. imaginary monster: an imaginary monster whose body is a grotesque combination of mismatched animal parts

After thinking for a moment "Yeah, I can kinda see that", then I realized that I was looking at the capitailized version of the definition, so then I got-

2. genetics organism with genetically different tissues: an organism, or part of one, with at least two genetically different tissues resulting from mutation, the grafting of plants, or the insertion of foreign cells into an embryo

I thought the first one made more sense, but as I looked above this one I came up with-

1. something totally unrealistic or impractical: a wildly unrealistic idea or hope or a completely impractical plan

Now, that's more like it!

Thanks Tim, without you pointing out the fact that there were different definitions to this I would have forgotten about this one-

1. fire-breathing monster: in Greek mythology, a female fire-breathing monster, typically represented as a combination of a lion's head, goat's body, and serpent's tail(My question is: how can something that looks like that be described as female?...But then again, I have met a few that when angry look like they could breath fire )

I really must brush up on my Greek mythology

[Edward_call_me_Ed]

I am drinking some OGD 100 proof. I have been wondering what OGD 100 proof was like but I have never seen it in the store, so I made my own. One shot of OGD 86 proof and one shot OGD 114 proof. I left it to sit in a half pint bottle overnight and am drinking it now. It is pretty nice. I haven't made up my mind whether to do this again or not. I will need to taste it against the original ingredients first. Not tonight. I am going to open a new bottle of ETL after I finish this.

Ed

[chasking]

I've had a rough couple of nights, bourbon-wise. Nothing has really tasted good.

I've had that experience too. Some nights the tasting apparatus just seems to be "off". It is very disheartening, when you're geared up to savor some whiskey but you can tell that you're not getting the real full flavor experience.

Sometimes in that situation taking a slug of something not very good can "prime the pump". I suspect that the off-tasting phenomenon can be due to residual effects of certain other foods or beverages, and they can be scoured away with whiskey---but it is pointless to use the good stuff for that. I have noticed that sometimes after a drink or two the tasting apparatus comes back on-line.

That might not help if the problem stems from an impaired sense of smell due to a cold or allergy or something.

Fortunately, last night was not an "off" night. I pulled out a bourbon I haven't gone to in a while: Weller 12yo, a special Binny's bottling. It was very good---I wish I'd made some tasting notes at the time, but one thing I do remember was the long finish, particularly compared to the Woodford Reserve I had a few days previously. Maybe I'll have to track down a bottle of WLW after all!

[bobbyc]

Trying a little GT Stagg Haz Mat 2. Might as well say Cheers Mr Ed while I'm at it.

This seems a little more refined than the first Haz. I would like to do an A-B with the other one. All in time I suppose.

I like this one, I think it better than the 03 haz and under everything else, still a really good drink.

[CrispyCritter]

I started out with Sazerac Jr., and then had a pour of Sazerac 18 to follow up. As before, I'd give the edge to the 18 - it seems (and I know this is a nebulous term) deeper to me. The 6(7) version is still outstanding though, and it has more bang for the buck. I'm glad I have both.

Now, for the nightcap, I'm sipping some ETL Single Barrel.