Favorite Bourbons

[TimmyBoston]

I was wondering what people favorite bourbons are?

Not the Holy Grails, or what they think is the best bourbon but what do they actually enjoy drinking the most. At least for me this is a big difference. I love watching "Dumb and Dumber", but I wouldn't call it one of the greatest films of all time.

I'd say my favorites are in no particular order:

Van Winkle Special Reserve Lot B

Wild Turkey Tribute

A.H. Hirsch !6 - Gold Foil (Only one I've had)

George T. Stagg Fall 05 (Again only Stagg I've had)

Sazerac Rye 18 (Not bourbon, but still great)

[jeff]

Some of my casual favorites include:

Weller 12yo

Buffalo Trace

Ancient Ancient Age

Elmer T Lee

Old Forester

On the higher end I really enjoy:

Pappy 20 & 23

Eagle Rare 17yo

Rock Hill Farms

Elijah Craig 18yo

Black Maple Hill 16yo

[Nebraska]

I'm thinking this is the kind of thing that changes with time too.

At the beginning,

Virginia Gentleman 90 (the fox)

ORVW 10/107

Earlier this year,

Old Weller Antique 107

EWSB 1995

Pappy 20

Currently,

Rittenhouse BiB 101

Bulliet

WT Rye

Some of what my favorites to reach for is based on availability as well, if I know I have to stretch my Pappy 20 out because of price and availability, then it becomes not one of the first line grabs because I know I have to savor every drop.

[scopenut]

Top favorites are the usual suspects:

Hirsch 16 gold foil (only one I have)

Pappy's 20

Pappy's 15

VW Lot B

WTRR 101

WTKS

(Looks like I'm a Van Winkle kind of guy)

Everyday pours:

Eagle Rare 10 SB

Old Charter Classic 90

Kevin

[mythrenegade]

My favorite everyday pour is Eagle Rare 10 year old.

I also frequently pour Elmer T. Lee and Maker's Mark, and keep those restocked when they run out.

Joel

[TimmyBoston]

A couple more I'd like to add:

WT Rare Breed

Black Maple Hill 11/16 Depending on my mood

One thing I'm curious about if anyone would also like to add, their least favorite bourbons.

[scopenut]

Oddly, my current least favorite is Black Maple Hill 11 yr. Don't know why, there's a taste of damp leather/chemical. Maybe I got a bad bottle. I think it will be a while before I revisit it.

Kevin

[smokinjoe]

Evan Williams Single Barrel 1994

Elmer T. Lee

AAA 10yr

Ezra Brooks 7yr 101

Old Heaven Hill 10yr BIB

Weller 12yr

George T. Stagg (any year)

Maker's Mark (Simply for it's mind numbing consistency)

JOE

[Whiskey Willie]

Hey gang. Here are my 3 faves...

1. Wild Turkey 101

2. Buffalo Trace

3. Knob Creek

[Ambernecter]

Fave Bourbons due to regularity of consumption/value for money must be:

WT 101

Maker's

BT 90 (These 3 are all around the £18 - 20 mark and wonderful everyday pours.)

A step up in price by around £10 involves:

Lot B

VWFRR 13YO

ETL

VW 10YO 107

Around £40 is RHF, which I love above all else but don't drink that often, due to wanting it to remain a special treat and respecting the value of money.

[TimmyBoston]

Oddly, my current least favorite is Black Maple Hill 11 yr. Don't know why, there's a taste of damp leather/chemical. Maybe I got a bad bottle. I think it will be a while before I revisit it.

Kevin

I have a couple of bottles of Black Maple Hill, 11 and 16 and I notice that my palate has to be in the right stage to drink these, sometimes I taste them and they are bitterly astringent and sometimes they are slices of heaven, all from the same bottle. It all depends.

[photogjunkie]

As stated earlier, favorites tend to change with the seasons and the list seems to becomes longer as time goes by. This summer, the two bottles I reach for most often are Old Charter 12yo and Eagle Rare 101.

[tgriff]

I'm still too new to bourbon to have favorites...but I am impressed at the range of brands that folks have listed. Each post of the thread seems very unique.

[wintersway]

Hello all, first post here! Current favorite coming from a long time single malt drinker sick of paying the premium price for unnaturally manipulated products:

Old Weller 107

I just keep coming back to this bottle. Outstanding flavor, nose and body. My wife smells it and says "wow, that smells great!" that's telling me something!

As a bonus it's a 19.00 bottle. Caoul Ila was my favorite single @ $50 per.

I'm new at this Bourbon thing. I have quite a few bottles in the bunker and I'm really happy to have discovered the wealth of variety and quality that is Bourbon.

A big nod to this board for it's wit and wisdom. It is a spectacular resource for the American whiskey drinker!

-winter

[T47]

My favorite is still Bookers, followed by GT Stagg, OGD 114, WT RB and then maybe Weller Centnnial. Its a little different thread becase its name your top 10 Whiskeys, but it has a lot of list strictly bourbon and is kind of interesting to paruse. Check it out here

[Frodo]

Living in Ontario means I'm restricted to buying what our state liquor stores offer, which is mostly BT and Beam products. Having said that, the ones which I have bought most often are Elmer T. Lee and Elijha Craig.

[CrispyCritter]

In the under-$25 "everyday pour" range, my favorites include:

• OGD 114
  
• WT 101
  
• Old Fitzgerald BIB
  
• VG90
  
• BT
  
• Weller (Antique or 12yo)

Also, I can't forget the ryes!

• Rittenhouse BIB
  
• WT Rye

WT 101 and Rye, and Rittenhouse BIB, are also my favorite choices for Manhattans, with the ryes also great for Sazeracs.

While Saz Jr. fits the "under-$25" category, it seems to have disappeared from the shelves around here. As such, I'm reluctant to open my remaining bottle just yet.

[HBUSSELL]

Woodford Reserve,

Buffalo Trace

Old Pogue

Bulleit

MM

[Whiskey River]

George T Stagg (fall 05)

WTRB

Eagle Rare 10yr (only one I've had)

Bookers

OGD 114

WT Rye

[Nebraska]

Hey Crispy,

I just had some Saz Jr. shipped from Binny's about 4 weeks ago. Although it does not show up on their website, Brett told me he had several cases still left.

[Nebraska]

Hey Winter,

Welcome to the board. I agree about the Weller Antique 107. It was one of my favorite pours early on and still remains in high favor with me.

[gothbat]

Favorites (no particularr order):

Van Winkle Special Reserve 12 year old (Lot

Pappy Van Winkle 20

1792: Ridgemont Reserve

Wild Turkey: Rare Breed

Least Favorite:

Rock Hill Farms

I was going to add George T. Stagg to the list of favorites but it may be a while before I add it. I drank about 3/4 of the bottle I bought last January and while I enjoyed it I wasn't really too impressed by it. Then last week I poured myself a glass of it and was blown away, I loved it and have been thinking about pouring some more ever since. I try to make sure I have no taste in my mouth before I start sipping, I often have a glass of water before, but I always wonder when something like this happens if there was some smell in the air or a taste in my mouth (one that I'm unaware of because perhaps it's been there a while and I've gotten used to it) that complimented it. This has happened to me before, the first time I had Elijah Craig 18 I was raving about it but I’m convinced that I liked it so much because the house smelled like fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. Although I still like this bourbon it has never tasted ½ as good any time I’ve had it since. I look forward to giving the Stagg another try and hopefully adding it!

[jburlowski]

Limiting my self to one (and only one): ETL.

[contrarian]

If money and availability weren't an issue, I'd drink much much more Stagg, Pappy 15, RHF, Wm Larue Weller and Rare Breed.

As it is, I almost get my fair share of these (for which I am thankful), but drink a lot more Weller Antique, OGD 114, Corner Creek, Rittenhouse and WT rye.

gothbat, given your EC18 experience, maybe there was some hinky smell floating through your neighborhood last time you had RHF? I can't find anything I DON'T LIKE about this one....

Jeff

[gothbat]

gothbat, given your EC18 experience, maybe there was some hinky smell floating through your neighborhood last time you had RHF? I can't find anything I DON'T LIKE about this one....

I thought about that but I don't think it's the case as I've had this one several times with the same result and whatever I had after the RHF tasted as good as it usually does. Who knows, maybe I just have a bad bottle or something. It doesn't taste bad, I mean it's drinkable and all but it's also just an odd tasting bourbon to me. If I am ever eating or drinking at a place that sells this by the glass I'll probably order it to test he bad bottle/cork theory since it's such a highly regarded bourbon around here. Maybe they will be sampling it at Whiskeyfest NYC, I'll be there so I'll definitely give it another taste if possible.