bluesbassdad Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 Responding to Virus of Life’s OT questions in the BOTM, Elmer T. Lee thread . . .First of all, welcome aboard. You will find a wealth of interesting information here. If my experience is any guide, it won’t help you much in identifying your favorite bourbons. There's a bewildering array of flavors, and I find that my response to them is not very consistent from one day to the next. (I'm reminded of a play on the old cliché about art. "I know all about bourbon; I just don't know what I like.") Nevertheless, or perhaps for that very reason, it’s fun to hang out here, anyway. In connection with your possible purchase of Russell’s Reserve, I’m surprised to hear of your disappointment with Kentucky Spirit. There’s probably some predictive value in that experience, but, not knowing what aspect you found disappointing, it’s hard to say.Nevertheless, I will suggest that your regard for the basic Wild Turkey 101 proof is a better predictor of your response to Russell’s Reserve. Both of those bottlings have what I consider bold taste profiles; whereas Kentucky Spirit is both full-flavored and subtle, IMO.I’ve never tried the Kentucky Vintage; I can’t comment on it. If you take time to search the archives for it, try searching on “+Kentucky +Vintageâ€, omitting the quotation marks. IIRC, the usual convention of using quotes to search for an exact phrase doesn’t work in this search engine.Yours truly,Dave Morefield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virus_Of_Life Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 Many thanks for your insights Dave. I love this website already and can spend hours reading and pass an evening before I even realize it! As for the WT Kentucky Spirit, being a lover of the regular WT 101 I just didn't see much difference, other than being a bit smoother I guess you'd say than the 101, but for a much higher price. And since I don't like overly smooth bourbons (if I wanted my whisk[e]y smooth I'd drink scotch) it just didn't impress – rather buy 3 bottles for the price of one kind of thinking, if you follow?... As for Pappy I recently put that in a tasting with two of my friends over thanksgiving weekend in Oregon, along with Buffalo Trace, GTS, Michter's Rye and Bulleit. Funny we all chose Pappy initially as our favorite in a blind tasting, but by the end of the weekend I was back almost exclusively to the GTS . I cannot wait to get my bottle of fall 2005! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virus_Of_Life Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 I’m surprised to hear of your disappointment with Kentucky Spirit. My friend just reminded me that prior to opening the WT KS we were sipping on Hirsch, and that was probably tainted my impression of it 'slightly.' It will have to be had again without a precursor so great as the Hirsch... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNbourbon Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 ...It will have to be had again without a precursor so great as the Hirsch... While I love the younger -- and, alas, long-defunct -- Michter's Sour Mash Whiskey, I've always found the Hirsch bottlings well-made, but too austere and oaky for my tastes. I often wonder just how much of the enjoyment of Hirsch is the mystique of its pending disappearance. Anyway, I just opened an early Kentucky Spirit (mid-'90s), at 8-1/2 years old or so just half of the Hirsch's age, and find it a much more palatable whiskey to me. Nothing wrong with differences of opinion -- except to disavow their possibility. Every label out there is somebody's favorite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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