Your Top Five

[tmas]

I have felt the same way about various bottles of RR 101 I've had, some being among the very best bourbons I have had, and other bottles being far less impressive. Has anyone else experienced this with RR 101? ... for that matter, are any SB folks of the opinion that this sort of variation is the rule rather than the exception, and might be a significant factor in the widely differing judgements of various bourbons by SB members? Tom V

...anyway, I just wonder how many times when you have two experienced bourbon afficianados with completely different impressions of a given bourbon, they might turn to each other and say " hey, I see what you mean YOUR bottle does taste like that" if they were sitting next to each other instead on comparing notes on line. Tom

[polyamnesia]

1. Wild Turkey 101
   
2. Michter's US1 Whiskey
   
3. Eagle Rare Single Barrel 10yr
   
4. Stagg '07 (with a touch of water...or at least, whisper, "H2O" into the pour...)
   
5. Russell's Reserve 90

of course, WT RR 101 was leading the way last week! and Rare Breed is still challenging me. it's all good! i just can't get a descriptive handle on it quite...

honorable mention:

Gentleman Jack (whiskey candy!)

Old Weller Antique 107

[squire]

Well, very favorites would involve time, place and company. In 1968 I had a pickup truck, blond girlfriend and a bottle of Very,Very Old Fitzgerald. It was one of the French authors, Dumas I think though Baudelaire more likely who wrote, "I don't remember the place, I've forgotten the name of the girl, but the wine was Chambertin".

Bourbon is my heritage. Rite of passage as a teenager. Hunting and fishing with the grown men who reared me. Overcast day in late Autumn, colors, light misty rain, smell of wet dogs and burned gunpowder out of paper shot shells, Old Crow out of a pint bottle after the dogs and guns had been put up, naw, I can't pick a top five choice without connecting the brand to a favorite recollection.

One does stand out. The day I got back from Vietnam my father and I sat on the back porch with a bottle of 6yr 86 proof Old Taylor. That was Dad's favorite and I really wish someone would restore Taylor to its former Glory.

Regards,

Squire

[HipFlask]

You painted quite a picture there Squire. I can certainly relate to Hunting and Fishing parts. Thanks for your service as well.

[ratcheer]

In no particular order:

• Rock Hill Farms
  
• Old Forester Birthday Bourbon 2002
  
• Blanton's
  
• Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit
  
• Pappy 20

Tim

[fog]

WT 101

EC 12

FR 40th Anniversary

Knob Creek

Henry McKenna Single Barrel

[NickAtMartinis]

No, not hype -- inexperience, maybe? Granted, Stagg is fine whiskey. But there have been many equals and/or betters over the years. George T. Stagg is, in some ways, the 'flavor-of-the-month'. It surely is popular these days, and highly-regarded by those publications that value their own ratings so highly. Especially by those that feature Scotch whisky.

Please don't take this as criticism or insult. But, understand also that many here have tasted not one, but many, whiskeys more memorable than the latest Stagg. That said, we like it, too. But, sometimes we appreciate a kiss on the cheek over a slap in the face. Ya know?

Tim, it's funny how much I agree with you now. It's amazing how, in such a short period of time, I've changed how I feel about bourbon. It just goes to show that we're all always changing our likes/dislikes as time goes on.

Thanks for the advice.

Mark

[jwrussell]

Wow, hard choices.

1) GT Stagg (that's the easy one)

2) Bakers

3) Knob Creek

4) William Larue Weller BTAC

5) Lot B

That's current and of course subject to constant change, lol. Just tried bookers recently and it will probably work its way in there as well.

[Gillman]

On the point of inconsistency: in truth except for a few brands, such as Jack Daniels, Jim Beam and one or two others, I find most brands change from bottling to bottling. They can't ever be the same almost by definition: since the wood staves in each barrel are from different trees from different places, no whiskey can taste the same even if the white dog always does (which it doesn't, I think). Add to this the variables produced by batching different barrels every time (i.e., they are not always from the same part of the warehouse and of the identical age), you will end up with something different - maybe not hugely different, but different.

A Bulleit just opened is rather different from one opened last month: much less cinnamon red hots, more wood, more dull.

But in general I find EC 12 very good: the old eucalyptus taste is gone, it has a brandy-like smoothness and depth, and is just good. I think it is the best all-round bourbon and I am prepared to accept some differences from bottle to bottle.

I have found this with almost all the bourbons I like best. Only, say, Beam Black is really consistent to any degree, and Beam White, and some others (Jack Daniel too). I attribute that to very rigorous scientific control but then those bourbons and Jack seem the least interesting to me of the whole group (although Beam Black occasionally hits a high point).

The differences are inevitable with what is essentially a natural product..

Gary

[Old Lamplighter]

I've mulled over this for a while now.....tough choices for sure.

PVW 15

WTRB

VWFRR

OCPR

Blanton's

[birdman1099]

Well, I'm so new to the Bourbon, my list seems to change frequently.

so, here they are today....

(in no particular order)

Pappy 20

Parker Heritage

EC 12

4 Roses 1b

WL Weller BTAC 2007

[spun_cookie]

Pappy 23 "B" version

WT 1855

Four Roses 40th 171C

WLW 2005

GT Stagg 2007

[SBOmarc]

Blanton's

VW Lot B

WLW '06

Buffalo Trace

Weller 12

Ask me next week...

[boss302]

1) Eagle Rare 17-year. For when only maturity and sophistication will do.

2) Ridgemont Reserve 1792. For an excellent digestif. Also good for the girlfriend's first dram.

3) Woodford Reserve. For when I'm drinking in a bar. In this part of PA, this is about the only small-batch bourbon you will find at a local bar-- aside from Knob Creek, of course.

4) Basil Hayden's. For an excellent aperitif. I like the lighter body and cool spiciness in this one. As a long-time OGD drinker, I went nuts for this one when I first discovered it.

5) Blanton's. Still the neatest bottle, and a mature, sophisticated spirit with just enough variation from barrel to barrel to keep me plenty interested.

[PAspirit1]

Like others have said, my top five will likely change every couple of months. I also havent delved very much into the top shelf or had any whiskey older than 12 years. This is a newbies list. I am leaving out whiskeys where I had only a 50ml or a drink.

Strait Bourbon only (a shooting from the hip and splitting hairs list):

OGD 100

Weller Antique

EC 12 (despite what I thought was a little canned mushroom like taste or feel)

EWSB 97' (that bottle just went like the wind but it may have been skewed as a return to Bourban bottle from scotch only for a while)

Bufalo Trace or Jim Beam Black

All whiskey:

OGD 100

The Glenlivit French Oak 12

Highland Park 12

Weller Antique

Johnnie Walker Black or EC12

If I bought all these again the bourbon list might come out different. Its really close.

[HipFlask]

Well to revisit my post here. My list has changed. It was

1.Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye 13 yr

2. Van Winkle 15 yr

3.Four Roses Single Barrel

4.Rittenhouse BIB

5.Elmer T. Lee

It is now.

1.Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye 13 yr

2. Van Winkle 15 yr

3.Four Roses Single Barrel

4.GTS

5.BTAC WLW

[cigarnv]

I tend to jump around a bit given my palate on a given day, the time of day and if in fact I may be pairing a cigar with the bourbon. In any case these 5 never seem to disappoint...

RVW 15/107

Hirsch 16 (gold wax)

Weller Antique

WT Rare Breed

GTS (141)

[Old Bill]

Top five overall:

Jim Beam Black

Old Grand Dad (any of the variants works for me)

Geo. Dickle No. 12

Wild Turkey

Jim Beam Rye

As you probably note from my list, I tend to drink from the middle of the road. I am a firm believer that a good bottle can be had in the $15 to $20 range. I know a few folks who absolutely will not drink anything that is under $30, and in my opinion, they are missing out on a lot of good bourbon and other whiskey.

[Martian]

Ardbeg 10

WT Rare Breed

EC 12

JB Rye

Clontarf Single Malt

[fogfrog]

So hard... I have only tasted maybe fifteen bourbons.... but of those I like I think I like these best.... I reckon my list will change real soon once I try four roses single barrel (Mcscrooges says they have a good bottleing) and Old Fitz..... shoot, maybe I should go out, buy a couple bottles and give you an update. In the past, my first days of drinking, I loved the Jim Beam White 7YO. I haven't had it in so long..... I bought a bottle of Old Grandad BIB based on people in here recommending it, and I think its about double the price of Evan Williams BIB but not better...... my taste changes from day to day and my collection is pretty large, but the most expensive pours I have are these.... I didn't include Jim Beam Black in the list but it is good but expensive here in TN.

4Roses small batch

Weller antique 107

Evan Williams

Basil Haydens

OGD 114

[boss302]

Ardbeg 10

Wow, Ardbeg has a 10-year out? I didn't know they've been distilling that long. Or was this a bottle from before the distillery got mothballed?

[Jazzhead]

I'll answer the question as if I had nothing in my liquor cabinet and had to restock it from scratch. The first five bottles I'd buy are:

1. Wild Turkey RR101 (I know a place in South Jersey that still has it)

2. Four Roses Single Barrel (I've only just been able to try this stuff and it is absolutely delicious)

3. Balvenie 15 yo Single Barrel (a premiere Speysider, and a must-have item for any liquor cabinet)

4. Redbreast Irish pot-still (the best Irish, hands down)

5. Lagavulin 16 yo (as a representative of the smoky Islay style; 18 yo Caol Isla would be a good substitute)

Two great and distinctive high proof bourbons, two scotches of contrasting styles and an ultra-smooth Irish. I could live with those!

[drrich1965]

Ardbeg's "old" 10 is still very much around. Many of them are vattings, in all likelyhood, of some older malts as well, and are mostly in the teens. Ardbeg's new 10 year old should be out later this year, as it has now been about ten years since the new owndership took over. The progression of the new bottelings when from the Very Young, Still Young, to the Almost There (6,8, and 9 year old, or something close to that, I belive) over the last several years.

I love the old Ardbeg 10, and have been trying to bunker a few for the time when they become harder to find (I would guess in about two years or so).

Worth finding now is the Uigadall, especially if you can find one of the bottels marked with 2004- that is the last one that had some very old Ardbeg, from the 1970s-it has a great deal of depth and complexity, and a good deal of malty sweetness, and some good sherry character as well (with the intense peat, of corse!).

[drrich1965]

I'll answer the question as if I had nothing in my liquor cabinet and had to restock it from scratch. The first five bottles I'd buy are:

1. Wild Turkey RR101 (I know a place in South Jersey that still has it)

2. Four Roses Single Barrel (I've only just been able to try this stuff and it is absolutely delicious)

3. Balvenie 15 yo Single Barrel (a premiere Speysider, and a must-have item for any liquor cabinet)

4. Redbreast Irish pot-still (the best Irish, hands down)

5. Lagavulin 16 yo (as a representative of the smoky Islay style; 18 yo Caol Isla would be a good substitute)

Two great and distinctive high proof bourbons, two scotches of contrasting styles and an ultra-smooth Irish. I could live with those!

I like your number 5 pick! Do you like the Caol Ila 18 better then the 12? I find the 12 better- more brightness, more intensity, and still enough aging for good balance (oak, sweet malt, peat, oily notes).

[Jazzhead]

The honest answer, drrich, is that I haven't tried the Caol Isla 12 yo. I have an open bottle of the 18 yo, and it is delicious (and leans like the Lagavulin more toward the "smoky" side of Islay as opposed to the "medicinal" side (not that I'm all that good at describing such distinctions; I've enjoyed all the Islays I've tried with the exception of 17 yo Bowmore.)

I will certainly try the 12 yo on the basis of both your recommendation and my enjoyment of the 18 yo. With the money difference, maybe I can also pick up an Ardbeg 10!