New SB.com Contest Idea.

[cowdery]

Here's an idea for another SB.com contest. Here's the basic idea. The mechanics can come later.

Many people here will understand what I mean when I say it will be a contest (maybe annual) to pick the best Gillmanized whiskey. For the uninitiated, that's another word for blend, but a blend of straight whiskeys which, according to the Standards of Identity, is still actually a straight, but for our purposes the idea is to mix a number of different whiskeys together to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.

We might have categories, like best Gillmanized straight bourbon, best Gillmanized straight rye, maybe an "open" category where any kind of whiskey is fair game. There would need to be a way for people to submit their concoctions anonymously and, of course, a panel of judges would need to be impaneled. What do you think?

I think it would be fun but the serious purpose would be to explore the potential for high end American blends, that would be 100 percent whiskey (no grain spirits), more akin to a top shelf Scottish, Irish, Canadian or Japanese blend.

One technical requirement might be that the concoction would have to be backed up by a recipe, so it can be replicated.

Just to be clear to anybody who might be reading this, I have no official position with SB.com and am floating this idea strictly in my capacity as a member.

[jinenjo]

I'd love to get some recipes for vattings of straight bourbons.

Great idea!

[Stu]

Interesting idea Chuck. Several times I have taken several bottles with and inch or less in them and combined them. Some of them have definitely been better than the parts, and several of them had to have something else vatted with them to make them palatable. Unfortunately, I've never kept any of the recipes - maybe I should start doing that and when I find a good one, submit it.

Stu