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What was your "gateway" bourbon?


Dr. François
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I drank WT101 occasionally but seldom tasted it on it's quick trip down the gullet. We thought 101 proof was rocket fuel! In college though we did the Seagrams 7/JBW/Jack whatever was on sale thing until I was steered to David Nicholson 1843 which in 1979 was still SW whiskey. What kick started my current obsession though was Bookers. My first bottle in my bunker and I still revere every drop left in it. But seldom go to it. I'll have to rectify that situation.... But then after Bookers the next bottle I bought was Jefferson's Reserve 15 YO. Not the current bottling but the 15 YO which I found delightful. And from then on my foot held the throttle to the floor.

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I started drinking JBW in about 1997 after deciding I don't like beer. I was on it for a while and then started working in retail liquor, where I stumbled across Maker's Mark. Was definitely my gateway bourbon, which led me to the Small Batch Collection, Knob Creek and Booker's jumping out at me.

As we don't have a large selection down here in Australia, it wasn't until I discovered SB.com in 2006 that I started getting into the great stuff that I enjoy today.

In saying that, I still enjoy Maker's Mark, but haven't touched JBW for many years, and don't intend on it.

Thanks to all the great people here, you have opened my eyes.

And Jim, thanks again for this great playground :bowdown:

Scott

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Fascinating thread!

My gateway to bourbon in general (after the usual JD/JBW in college) was Rebel Yell at every family gathering with my brother-in-law.

My first "call" bourbon at bars and restaurants was Maker's Mark, which led to me discovering Blanton's at a "shot bar" in Japan. That was the first bottle in my collection (though I didn't replace it once emptied...)

The gateway to seeking out different top-shelf bourbons was Woodford Reserve -- it was good (though pricey) stuff in the early days! I then tried Stagg and Black Maple Hill 21yo at a friend's tasting years ago and discovered this site trying to learn if they were easier to obtain in Japan (the answer: nope!)

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Jefferson's Reserve Very Old for me. It was the first time I sipped bourbon from what I remember and thoroughly enjoyed it.

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My first bourbon was JBW, along with JD. My gateway bourbon was Knob Creek, when I first discovered the Beam Small Batch collection. I was also drinking everything on the rocks, including KC. My first bourbon neat was Hirsch 16, and everything's been neat ever since. Don't drink KC as much anymore, as I tend to prefer wheaters.

-Kevin

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Maker's was the first that made me appreciate "good" bourbon but I didn't get the bug to fill up my cupboard -- so it wasn't really my gateway.

PVW 15 was my gateway. After my first bottle I became a bit obsessed with buying and reading about Bourbon.

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After college years of JD and Yukon Jack:puke: , the slick marketing of MM caught my attention and my cash. From there it was on to Beam black, then WT101, then WT Rye, ORVW, . . .

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I would have to add another tally for Maker's. After a short affair with single malt scotch a few years back and a ongoing affair with wine, I decided try the spirits again. I picked up a bottle of Maker's and decided bourbon seemed like a good candidate. I finished the Maker's and am currently working on liter of WR, and waiting for next months BOTM to try another bourbon.

-R

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Wow...That's a tough one. The first two bourbons I really enjoyed were Makers Mark and Knob Creek. Knob Creek grew on me to the point that I decided I REALLY liked bourbon. But then...last year I was at a gathering with fellow cigar smokers and someone pulled out a bottle of George T. Stagg. I've been ruined ever since. I went on an absolute rampage trying to track the stuff down and have already gone through 2 bottles. I have to ration my supplies or it would be gone before I knew it and if I had to choose a single bourbon for the rest of my life the choice would be easy. So yeah, I guess I still like the stuff. ;)

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I can't recall now which were the entry bourbons I started drinking since I began sampling bourbon in the 1970's. But probably they were Old Fitzgerald Supreme, the Weller marques and Maker's Mark. Like most, the taste for rye-recipe bourbon came a little later. I recall though buying in that decade and the early 80's numerous rye-recipe bourbons such as Old Gran-dad, Ezra Brooks and Evan Williams. I had sampled quite a range even before reading Michael Jackson's (1987) World Guide To Whiskey. I would try anything and I recall e.g., Old Charter, Heaven Hill, I.W. Harper, Old Forester of course, Early Times and many others. They were all good.

I got the taste for bourbon quite early on (and straight rye) but it took many years until I could accustom to the taste of malt whisky much less blended whisky. I recall for example being able (just) to drink Glenmorangie, which is a pretty mild malt, but not being able to get down anything with peat in it. I was well into my thirties before I started to get the taste for scotch and it came quite slowly - but now I completely " get it" and enjoy it.

Gary

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However I do recall two bourbons which I did not like. One was Bellows (this is late 70's early 80's) which I found raw and very grainy, I wonder if I would have the same reaction today, possibly not since I may not have been used to an assertive rye palate in a young whiskey. The other was Virginia Gentleman which I found to have an overpowering green pepper-like taste. Yet today, I enjoy VG very much. Either the bourbon has changed or I have, I suspect the latter.

I recall buying Dickel and thinking it was okay, but probably again I didn't have the palate to appreciate it (since the Dickel of 30 years ago as I know from recent tastings was excellent).

I wish I could remember the ones I bought apart from the names already mentioned.

Oh yes Old Yellowstone, I think that was my favourite in those years. It had a strawberry-like flavor and smoothness that was very appealing. This would have been the regular one, not Mellow Mash although I must have tried that one too.

In those years, if there was a go-to, it was Old Yellowstone.

Gary

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Nothing new here...mine, also, was Makers.

I've since moved on. I don't consider it bad by any means, I've just discovered there's a lot more out there.

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I had some experience with WT101, but I was mostly a tequila drinker....until I tried Van Winkle Lot B, which converted me over to bourbon. I still like the Lot B, but I tend to prefer the PVW15, ORVW10/107 for more my more expensive pours, and Weller Antique when I'm watching my budget (which I have to do quite a bit). Of course there are others that I like too, but those are three of my favorites that are still in production.

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I had some experience with WT101, but I was mostly a tequila drinker....until I tried Van Winkle Lot B, which converted me over to bourbon. I still like the Lot B, but I tend to prefer the PVW15, ORVW10/107 for more my more expensive pours, and Weller Antique when I'm watching my budget (which I have to do quite a bit). Of course there are others that I like too, but those are three of my favorites that are still in production.

In my opinion, you can't go wrong with ORVW 10, PVW 15 or Weller Antique.

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Mine was Jim Beam White Label 7YO. I put it on the rocks and loved it. Now you know I think I am going to try some more of it. Its only about a buck more than the four year old, but its a lot better I think. Maybe its like Basil Hayden? LOL

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In my opinion, you can't go wrong with ORVW 10, PVW 15 or Weller Antique.

Ohyes, I had a half bottle of Weller's the other night and wen't very wrong!... just kidding!

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Ohyes, I had a half bottle of Weller's the other night and wen't very wrong!... just kidding!

:lol::lol::lol::lol:

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For me, it was Old Charter 8 followed very closely by MM and WT101. Alternating between those 3 and adding Charter 10 a bit later, it was a blur for about the next 25 years......then, I began discovering the BT 'family'.

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My gateway bourbon was definitely Old Grandad 100. I had a Scotch and an Irish open and the flavours of OGD just jumped out at me. I very much looked forward to the next drink. I bought a 200ml bottle recently and I still enjoy it alot.

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Just curious (Lamplighter), when you rotated amongst those three, did you notice differences in the drinks made from them? So that when say it was the turn of WT 101, or Charter 10, you would say, right, that's the taste I associate with that one? Even though you kept amongst a small group of 3 or 4, still they are not really the same in flavor (even I would think when mixed with cola or other soda) and I'm just wondering if this is something you remarked on at the time.

Gary

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Jim Beam White label (with Coke) and Ezra Brooks 90 proof white label (with Buffalo Rock Ginger Ale).They still taste good but to many carbs. The first sips as a child came in hot toddy with Old Forester to knock that cough out.

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...What was your gateway bourbon?..

Simply put, there wasn't one. I assayed bourbon after forays with Scotch and Canadian, and found that -- unlike those whiskeys -- there weren't any I really disliked.

W.L. Weller Special Reserve (Louisville/Stitzel-Weller -- I finally bought my first Frankfort bottle earlier this month) was an early favorite, but I also found a wax-sealed Hirsch 16 early, and Ezra B 15yo, Evan Williams Black, Jim Beam Black 90-proof/7yo, and National Distillers' Old Taylor in my neck of the woods. It was an embarrassment of riches, truly, for a neophyte. Still, there was no single bourbon that resulted in an epiphany -- it was a melange of desireable bottlings.

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My Gateway bourbon was Jim Beam White label in the 80s. Because of the whiskey glut it was a very different animal to what it is today. In the early 90s, here in Japan, I notice a distinct difference between the Beam that was labeled for the American market and the stuff that was labeled in Japanese. The American label must have been some of the last whiskey glut Beam White. The Japanese stuff was markedly lower in quality.

Also in the 80s and 90s I occasionally spent a few dollars more to buy WT 101. That was my holiday bourbon.

In the late 90s early '00s bourbon kind of fell off the radar. I still drank WT 101, but was drinking more beer and Glenlivit plus other spirits.

Then I read a SF novel (Island Out of Time) in which one of the characters drank Makers. I bought a bottle and liked it. Bought another. Then I got Jim Murray's Whiskey Bible and the floodgates were opened. Makers fell out of favor and was replaced by several dozen favorites.

Ed

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