T W Samuels

[fogfrog]

Today I went to the liquor store at Campbell Station Road in Knoxville TN and bought their last bottle of OGD 114 which is what I went in there for....

The cashier told me how he really liked the T.W. Samuels.... It was 8.29 a bottle ..... I dont know what it would cost in a reasonable state.... TN way overcharges for alcohol.... but I added it to what I was buying on his recommendation. Now this whiskey which is made in Bardstown is very good really for the price. I mean I might prefer EW Black, but it is not bad at all..... It is very simple and warm.... not sweet. The one I bought is the 6YO. There is also a BIB variety, but the cashier did not recommend it to me.... I am curious what you alls experience is with this whiskey.. As far as I can tell, because it is not sweet, it would still be good to warm up a coca cola drink or sprite....

I am drinking it with a little water.... and its not like the OGD 114... does not have the sweetness of other bourbons, but its not bad! Has a lot of the hotter taste you find in a bourbon whatever that is.

Curious how you all like it...

[mozilla]

What was the proof? I have a Bib(unopened) from the same line. Should be a HH derivative of their basic bourbon.

[fogfrog]

the 6YO is 90 proof which is what I bought. They also sell the BIB for the same price but its not 6YO

[gblick]

I've had T.W. Samuels *Blend* (80 proof), and was unimpressed. But I'd still like to try the others to see how they compare.

[fogfrog]

well let me tell you tonight I did a little experiment.... I first had a little Jim Beam Black and followed it with Old Grand Dad 114 and found the OGD to have a lot more sweetness and I had a lot more pleasure drinking it than the Black... then i tried some Elmer T. Lee and found it really lacking in taste. It was OK but... not much of what I was looking for such as black and red essence... mostly yellow... it was sort of mellow.... I decided it couldn't take water. I thought... OK, Elmer T. Lee needs to be drank without water to get the effect. i was afraid the cork was leaking out the alcohol! I also tried some Weller Antique! and it was actually very very tasty.... after all this, I tried the TW Samuels which I had disdain for last night and found it has some of the liquorice that is in like the Weller...... I found the TW Samuel to have more 'complexity' than the Elmer T. Lee! This is so fascinating! now I like the TW Samuel 90 Proof 6YO.... Now I like this bourbon better than Jim Beam Black, better than Elmer T. Lee. I still like Antique Weller better, but this TW Samuels for 8 bucks is pretty tasty.

I don't know if tasting half a dozen bourbons affects your taste buds....... so ... that could be part of it too....

[fogfrog]

this stuff is damn tasty once you learn what to look for.... if it cost 8 bucks here, it must cost about 5 in a place like NH or KS..... this is a steal for premium....

[fogfrog]

.... I feel stupid saying this, but this bourbon which I was writing off last night is a prize winner tonite. I am sipping and cherishing the tastes in this fine bourbon (I had my wife pour me more of what she was going to pour down the drain)....

[fogfrog]

well I tried the TW Samuels again yesterday and think that when I was liking it it was after having a few other good bourbons like OGD 114 etc....... Do you think the bourbons get tastier at closing time? If you have it before having much bourbon... then the taste of getting your mouth washed out with soap seems to get in there and screw this bourbon up. Funny, I didn't notice it the other day after having a few other pours before it.

[wku88]

I've never seen the 6YO, but it seems it's a little better than the BIB. Since my uncle owns the old T.W. Samuels distillery in Deatsville ( no chance of it ever distilling again, though HH and Maker's lease or own the warehouses on property), I felt obligated to try it out. It might be good for paint thinner, but it is unfit for human consumption.

[fogfrog]

I don't really care for the TW Samuels I bought... I think I might add it to the list of what i won't buy again. I will say that it is pretty good if you have been drinking a bunch already, but otherwise, I prefer other bourbons. Evan Williams etc.....

[bvscfanatic]

I bought a bottle of T W Samuels 100 proof BIB today. I was just looking around and grabbing a 750ml bottle of practically any BIB bourbon that I'd never tried before. Since I was least able to find anything in writing about the Samuels, I decided to break it open after I had had a couple of shots of VOB BIB. I was expecting the worst.

Here in Lexington, it was $9.19.

Okay, I'm a newbie at this, but here goes:

My impression is that it rather is lacking in taste. It's not BAD tasting, but it really isn't particularly interesting or robust tasting either. And to me it IS sweet and a bit creamy. Other than that, it is unobtrusive and not unpleasant. It's not like any other bourbon that I have tried to date (not that I have tried so very many).

I like it much better than the four year old Jim Beam white label that I once made the mistake of buying.

Okay, so now it has been sitting for awhile (neat), and the entire nature of it has changed. It's still bland, but what began as an aroma of smoked ham (with a hint of sweaty sneakers) out of the bottle now smells sweeter and more like vanilla, maple, and a hint of melon or citrus, but very, very weak. To me the taste is sweet with a hint of orange with vanilla and possibly even cinnamon, but too faint to really distinguish. A slightly creamy texture. Smooth. No heavy alcohol taste at all. It's not bad. Pleasant. I can't speak badly of it. It's just not terribly flavorful or robust like the bourbons I've been drinking of late. Mild. And yet, BIB. No age statement. It IS interesting. Maybe next time I'll try ice. I'm sure I'd drink it again if I were in the right mood.

[bvscfanatic]

... I felt obligated to try it out. It might be good for paint thinner, but it is unfit for human consumption.

I am now given to suspect that perhaps fogfrog and I experienced a similar phenomenon.

I'm thinking that my tastebuds (and smellbuds) must have been just a little bit numb and/or over worked last night whenever I tried this stuff for the first time. It definitely improves in direct proportion to how much you've had to drink.

Taken as an initial drink, the initial aroma is very smokey and leathery and faintly musty or woody. Not so sweet as I thought I tasted the night before. More dry and a little spice like black pepper or citrus peel or something. Any flavor fades fast. The alcohol taste is far more noticeable. There is a faint aftertaste that lingers when drinking it neat. Not sure what it is. Might be the soapy taste that fogfrog was referring to. Not as bad with a little water though, but not good enough to be worth buying.

I tried it smoothered with some Dr. Pepper (something that I never do with bourbon -- I drink neat or on the rox), and that worked okay. Extreme circumstances call for extreme measures. Probably not bad if you're looking for something cheap to serve to guests who drown their bourbon in soda pop or wanting to get blitzed this way, since the taste improves with each shot.

But why buy it when you can have EW Black Label or VOB for the same price or less and actually ENJOY the taste?

Any further commentary on this pour will be found on that vatting thread to be sure as I try to salvage this bottle. Will probably try vatting with the wonderfully flavorful EW.

I really can't recommend this stuff at all and will NOT repurchase.