Top Ten American Whiskeys...One More Time

[Vange]

for what it's worth since i am relatively new to bourbon and have probably only tatsed about 20 total, so picking 10 is kind of forcing it, but here goes anyway

Hirsch 16

Pappy 20

Pappy 23

WL Weller 19

GT Stagg

ER 17

WT Tribute

EW23

VWSR LotB

I guess 9 works!

[PFC]

Looking at my list I believe I'm reside in the "Buffalo Turkey" domain.

Wild Turkey Kentucky Legend

Wild Turkey 12 Split label

Wild Turkey Russells Reserve 101

Eagle Rare 17

WL Weller 12

Elmer T. Lee

Old Charter Proprietors Reserve 13

Old Rip Wan Winkle 15

Hirsch 16

Bookers

That being said, I've never tasted Tribute, Spirit, PWVFR 20/23 or GTS.

/Mats

[kbuzbee]

Thank you! Do you know the difference between the wild turkey 12 and the wild turkey 12 limited edition? I think the normal 12 years old has some more chewy oak in the taste and isn't as well balanced as the limited edition.

chears

barrelproof

Are you talking about the gold foil bottle? Yes, I think that one is slightly better "balanced" but they are both fantastic Bourbons. I'd drink either one without reservation.

Ken

[kbuzbee]

Looking at my list I believe I'm reside in the "Buffalo Turkey" domain....That being said, I've never tasted Tribute, Spirit, PWVFR 20/23 or GTS.

/Mats

A great place to live!

You do need to try the GTS, Kentucky Spirit and Tribute if you get the chance. All are wonderful!

Ken

[1holegrouper]

I feel his pain! I look forward to loading up next time I roll into Kentucky.

[Hillbilly]

It's hard to narrow it down, so many good ones out there. But, in no particular order, I'd take these ten with me to a desert island:

Wild Turkey RR 101

Evan Williams SB 1996

Buffalo Trace

Old Forester

Wild Turkey 101

Wild Turkey Rye

Woodford Reserve

Jim Beam Black

Wild Turker RB

Eagle Rare 10 YR SB

Of course, as my bourbon journey continues, this list is subject to change at any time.

[BERNCOW]

my best ten 1. WT RARE BREED 2. Woodford reserve 3. Eagle rare 10yr 4. Four roses single barrel 5. Knob creek 6. WT Russell's Reserve 7. Very old Barton 8. WT Kentucky Spirit 9. Elijah Craig single barrel 10. W L Weller special reservel

[SBOmarc]

In my so far limited career, and in no particular order.

Knob Creek

Blanton's

Bookers

ETL

Van Winkle Lot B ( that one was a wow )

Rock Hill Farms

Wild Turkey KS

Wild Turkey RB

Old Grand Dad 114

Makers

I do look forward to changing my mind.

[ProofPositive]

Just for fun - when this thread has run its course, it would be interesting to tally up & rank the top 10 vote getters. Any volunteer to do so? Maybe the moderator has a way to do it electronically(?).

[T47]

95 different Bourbons have received votes so far.

The Leaders so far are as follows:

Elmer T Lee (11)

ORVW 15 (11)

WT Rare Breed (9)

Blanton’s (7)

Van Winkle Lot “B” (6)

Rock Hill Farms (6)

WT RR 101 (6)

Bookers (5)

Elijah Craig 12 (5)

GT Stagg (5)

Pappy 23 (5)

The rest have 4 or less votes each. Obviously there may be some errors, 5 people voted for GT Stagg...2 others voted for particular GT Stagg Bottling’s so I separated them.

I have the list broken down and can post it when the thread run's out if anyone is interested. It may not be perfect but should be darn close.

Can you tell I was bored tonight?

[tmas]

I still have lots of tasting to do, but in no particular order my current 10 favorites are:

ORVW 10 yr 107

ORVW 15 yr 107

Weller 12 yr

Weller Antique 107

WT RR 101

Bakers

Bookers

E Craig 12 yr

Rock Hill Farms

Sam Houston

[nor02lei]

I still have lots of tasting to do, but in no particular order my current 10 favorites are:

ORVW 10 yr 107

ORVW 15 yr 107

Weller 12 yr

Weller Antique 107

WT RR 101

Bakers

Bookers

E Craig 12 yr

Rock Hill Farms

Sam Houston

This is not an easy list to do, but a will try. My preferred drinking proof at the last time I drank the brand is inside ( ).

It is no particular order, except that the brands marked * are the 3 I like best.

ORVW 10 Y 107 proof Bernheim version (107)

GTS spring 2005 (110-120)

GTS fall 2005 (141.2)

EC 18 Y single barrel (90)

*WT 101 old tax stripe bottling with red!!! whiskey inside (90-101)

WT Kentucky Legend old 101 proof version (don’t remember)

*ORVW old time rye early gold neck not black neck bottling (85-90)

Younger versions of ORVWFRR including 1985 vintage (15 Y) and Lottas home (13-14 Y)

Sazerac 2002 still 18 Y much better than the 2005 (85-90)

*Old St Nick winter rye (90-100)

I still got a lot of new and old-time unopened bottles at home so I am sure that I have to change this list quiet frequently.

Leif

[etohchem]

in order

PVW 20yo

PVW 15YO

Elmer T Lee

Buffalo Trace

Stagg 05fall

Hirsch 16

Weller 12YO

Eagle Rare SB

Blanton's barrel proof

Russel's Reserve 101

Etohchem

[T47]

Current talley with correctons

Current Leaders

1) Elmer T Lee (12)

2) ORVW 15 (12)

3) WT Rare Breed (9)

4) WT RR 101 (8)

5) Blanton’s (8)

6) Rock Hill Farms (7)

7) Bookers (6)

8) Elijah Craig 12 (6)

9) Van Winkle Lot “B” (6)

10) WL Weller 12 (6)

11) WT 12 (6)

[ProofPositive]

Current talley with correctons

Current Leaders

1) Elmer T Lee (12)

2) ORVW 15 (12)

3) WT Rare Breed (9)

4) WT RR 101 (8)

5) Blanton’s (8)

6) Rock Hill Farms (7)

7) Bookers (6)

8) Elijah Craig 12 (6)

9) Van Winkle Lot “B” (6)

10) WL Weller 12 (6)

11) WT 12 (6)

THANKS SO MUCH!!! Let me know if you need any assistance....be glad to help. I am a bit surprised by the leader. I knew ETL had gotten a lot of votes though. Being the BOTM probably gave it a bit of boost here among us. I admit to not trying it until this month - the BOTM selection nudged me into the buying decision.

Thanks again.....very interesting!!!

Wayne

[T47]

I have it all saved now, so it is easy to update. I am looking forward to trying ETL. I have found it at a non-retail sales Liquor store, but one of the mangers at a regular store says he can get me a bottle. For some reason it does not appear to be for sale at any of our regular liquor stores?

For me, nice to see with the exception of the ORVW 15 and WT 12, I can try most of these.

[ProofPositive]

I have it all saved now, so it is easy to update.

Maybe I had a bad idea. The tallying seems to have killed the thread. Sorry for the inquiring mind!

[T47]

Oh well, I thought it was kind of interesting myself, anyway gave me some new ideas of Bourbons to try. I picked up a Bottle of Old Grand Dad 114, not bad at all.

[BourbonBalls]

My list of the 10 "Greatest Hits" IMO (with a few comments). . . and by the way, greatness has no order:

1) Pappy 15 year old (better than 20 or 23 for me)

2) Weller Antique 107 (so very VanWinkle-like, such a great value, and the best 7-year-old anything I've tasted)

3) Van Winkle Lot "B"

4) Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit (I need to try Tribute)

5) Evan Williams Single barrel 1994 (was there a better year?)

6) Old Charter Proprieters Reserve (try this!)

7) George T Stagg (pick one)

8) Eagle Rare Single Barrel (its seems to have changed recently tho....color is not as dark...has anyone noticed or is it just me?)

9) Bookers (over-priced as with ALL Beam products, but sometimes it is the only thing that hits the spot)

10) My own personal vatting from time-to-time (I think its the "surprise" factor)

While making this list, I realized my tastes seem to go to the higher proofs and the single barrels (not ETL or Blanton's...sorry!) And I also realized that these choices represent in most cases, very different tastes and flavor sensations.

This is a great thread....it makes us pause and really think about why we drink this wonderful concoction called Kentucky Bourbon.

[NorCalBoozer]

i have to agree with you on OC Proprieter's Reserve...tried it a while back and its really a great pour.....

[bluesbassdad]

In reply to your self-deprecating lament I say: Not so! Ya'll didn't kill nuttin'.

Some of us are just natural-born procrastinators. Furthermore, in my case I'm still not completely over a URI that set in before Thanksgiving. It has kept me from enjoying bourbon, or even thinking much about bourbon, until the last week or so.

Here's mine, subject to change on a daily basis:

1. Wild Turkey 12 y/o (split label; the only one I've tried)
   
2. Hirsch 16 y/o (gold wax seal)
   
3. Rock Hill Farms
   
4. Van Winkle Family Reserve 12 y/o Lot B
   
5. Old Rip Van Winkle 10 y/o, 107 proof (S-W distilled)
   
6. Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye
   
7. George T. Stagg 2002 (the only one I've tried, I think; I arrived late at this party; I finally found that neat doesn't work for me; I cut it to 100-110 proof, where it really shines)
   
8. Weller Centennial
   
9. Eagle Rare SB 10 y/o
   
10. Wild Turkey Russell's Reserve 101 proof

Others that almost made the cut are the following:

1. Old Rip Van Winkle 10 y/o 107 proof (later distillation)
   
2. Van Winkle Family Reserve 18 y/o, Park Avenue Liquor Shop bottling (one of a kind; I've been nursing this bottle for about three years; if I could replace it, I'd put it in the Top Ten)
   
3. Old Rip Van Winkle 15 y/o 107 proof
   
4. Hirsch 16 y/o gold foil sealed
   
5. Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit
   
6. Wild Turkey Rare Breed
   
7. Elmer T. Lee
   
8. Elijah Craig SB 18 y/o (I've sampled three bottles which ranged, in reverse chronological order, from superb to barely drinkable because of excess char influence -- or maybe my taste has changed.)
   
9. Virginia Gentleman 90 proof, 6y/o, "The Fox" (Nothing beats it on the rocks on a hot, summer day.)
   
10. Buffalo Trace (sweet almost to the point of excess, but sometimes, like VG, above, it's just right)

Some I've tried that make others' Top Ten lists (now or past) but not mine:

1. Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 15 y/o (I'd likely place it higher if I could just get the defunct ORVW 15/107 out of my mind.)
   
2. Blanton's
   
3. The Jim Beam Small Batch Collection
   
4. Evan Williams Single Barrel ('92, '93 & '94), although it goes well with a country ham sandwich.
   
5. Maker's Mark
   
6. Eagle Rare 17 y/o (a little too much wood for my taste; older is not better in this case; the younger bottling is richer)
   
7. Hirsch 20 y/o (ditto)

Some I haven't tried:

1. Pappy Van Winkle 20 y/o (in the bunker; just waiting for the right time)
   
2. Sazerac rye 18 y/o (ditto)
   
3. Pappy Van Winkle 23 y/o
   
4. William Larue Weller
   
5. Wild Turkey Tribute
   
6. Wild Turkey Russell's Reserve 90 proof (in the bunker)

Many of the bottlings mentioned above were one-off, exploratory purchases, not likely to be repeated on a retiree's budget, or gifts. Over time my stable will decrease, and my Top Ten will become irrelevant. One of these days I may try to forecast what my liquor shelf will contain when it reaches steady state. I guess that would be an Everyday Ten (or less) list. Let's see, Wild Turkey 101, Evan Williams black, Jim Beam black, . . .

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[Joeluka]

It so hard to really pick a top ten but here it goes.

1. Pappy Van Winkle 20 Lawerenceburg

2. Wild Turkey Tribute

3. ORVW 15yr 107

4. Pappy 15yr

5. Old Charter Proprieters Reserve 13 (Old UD bottling)

6. Rowans Creek

7. Weller Centennial (another older UD bottling whick=h I bunkered 6 bottles)

8. Bakers 107

9. WT 12 (both bottles are great)

10. AAA 10yr (yes a bottle under $15 on my list)

I gotta admit that this is hard to do, I have so many different bourbons and I'm always finding new things I like and dislike with all of them everytime I drink them. So thats my story and I'm sticking to it!!!

Joe

[tsangster]

In no particular order:

1. Van Winkle Lot B

2. WT Rare Breed

3. Baker's

4. Weller Centennial

5. Russel's Reserve 101

6. Pappy Van Winkle 15

7. Booker's

8. Buffalo Trace

9. Weller Antique

10. Evan Williams SB

I've only had two small pours of the Spring '05 Stagg. A few more tastings and one of the aforementioned would likely have been replaced.

[ProofPositive]

Oh well, I thought it was kind of interesting myself, anyway gave me some new ideas of Bourbons to try. I picked up a Bottle of Old Grand Dad 114, not bad at all.

Looks like the thread has been resurrected and I'm glad to see the renewed interest. There are some fantastic posts here. Hope it goes until everyone can provide input.

[Bamber]

In order !

Eagle Rare 17yo

GTS

Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye 1985 / 13yo (prefer 1985 slightly)

Sazerac 18YO

Noah's Mill

Weller 19YO

Henry McKenna SB

Buffalo Trace

Wild Turkey 12YO (Gold Foil)

Wild Turkey RR 101