Unique taste profiles

[cornsqueezins]

I know that a lot has been said (though maybe not recently) about Buffalo Trace in this forum. Linn has posted some tasting notes and several people have listed BT in their "top 5", etc.

Is it still holding out as a favorite among forum members and is it doing as well if not better than the BT distillery had hoped?

I bought my first bottle of BT recently and have only had a few chances to sample it but I took notice right away of the unique taste profile. I normally tend towards sweeter, more full-bodied bourbons. Buffalo Trace is not in that category (at least not for me) but I have to say the intense spiciness and organic, earthy tones definitely made a strong positive impression. I believe several members spoke of "freshly plowed fields" or "the ground in spring time", etc. I could have sworn I was sitting in the middle of a corn field on a humid summer evening as I was sipping. Strange, I know, but the aroma of corn silk was definitely present.

Buffalo Trace really seems to stand out with these characteristics. As an intermediate-level bourbonnoisseur, just a couple of other whiskeys have struck me that way: Old Charter "The Classic 90" with its stronger-than-usual peppery notes in the finish, and George Dickel No. 12 (bourbon-cousin) which has a sweeter-than-usual combination of butter and apples in the nose and taste. Both are favorites of mine so BT may be moving its way up my list to join them.

What are some of the more unique bourbons that you guys have tried? It doesn't necessarily have to be a favorite or something that you liked. Just a bourbon, or perhaps a specific bottling, that raised a few flags in your palate.

Just curious....hope this isn't a repeat of a past thread. Thanks for any input!

-Troy

[bobbyc]

For something very dry try Old Taylor. The Beam version is fine. You might find some old National product around , and I have but they remain sealed for the time being.

[bluesbassdad]

One of my flag-raisers, along with the GD no. 12 that you mentioned, is Elijah Craig 12 y/o. (I think there's a thread on it in the Tasting forum.)

To my taste it is so different from what I expect a bourbon to taste like that it could deserve its own designation, akin to "Tennessee Whiskey". Of course, I'm still new at this serious tasting stuff; it may be that there are other bourbons that it resembles. However, I find little similarity to anything else I've tried, even the Elijah Craig 18 y/o. If someone had introduced me to both in a blind tasting, I would not have identified them as being from the same distillation process.

Another standout, though not as dramatically so, in my taste, is Virginia Gentleman 90*, six y/o. There's a thread or two on it in the Tasting forum, too. It is different in a different way (is that an oxymoron, or just moronic?). Whereas EC12 has additional flavors, VG90 (aka, "The Fox") has fewer, allowing a clearer perception of the remaining, customary flavors.

That's my two cents, unedited.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[rwilps]

Troy:

Check out Old Granddad Bottled in Bond (OGD BIB, in this forum). There's a lot of posting on its unique flavor profile, and the way its high-rye mashbill provides a somehow old-fashioned dry bite. Some folks, including me, love it.

Ralph Wilps

[kitzg]

to answer the first question you posed, Buffalo Trace is being expanded carefully by market as it has done very well in the markets where introduced (according to the last conversation I had with marketing manager Ken Weber).

At the same time, I know of a number of high volume bars in markets where it has been so far that report it did not sell well.

Your "freshly plowed field" would likely please Gary Gayheart and Elmer T. Lee. One and one-half years ago the first dumping of BT created a little less favorable reaction in this forum. However, they've made a few tweakings as I understand it. This seems to be a bourbon that some love and some don't. The BT folks win (well deserved) awards for experimentation.

[kgiammarco]

My vote for unique bourbon also goes to Virginia Gentlemen 90, it seems to be 'smooth' in a way that other bourbons are not... It definitely lacks the 'bite' that most other bourbons have, but not in a watered down way...

[cornsqueezins]

Thanks for the info Greg! Also thanks to the rest of you folks that have replied so far. I've got a few new bourbons to go try as a result.

I have to give credit to John Lipman for the term "freshly plowed field" though my tasting experience was right on with his. I guess we're becoming one with our inner farmer

[cornsqueezins]

Strange, VG90 struck me as good standard bourbon but slightly on the bland side. I'll have to go back and try it again for good measure. But, at times, I've gotten too accustomed to drinking 100 proof bourbons and then a sudden switch to an 80-90 proof drink made the bourbon seem overly mild or bland.

However I can't say the same for 94 proof Elijah Craig 12 yr. old. That stuff speaks loudly. Its got more fire and kick than many higher proof drinks but retains all the flavor and character you could ask for. A good one.

-Troy

[MurphyDawg]

That was gonna be my suggestion for different & Yummy, Virginia Gentleman 90 "THE FOX"! I know that Linn will chime in with a hearty BLEEE when he gets the chance as well.

TomC

[MurphyDawg]

For something that redifined my bourbonic scale, try Ancient Ancient Age 10 Year, another take on Buffalo Trace Mashbills It is inexpensive and mighty tasty and has been quite enlightening to more than one member.

Tom (AAA Fan) C

PS The 10 star, while quite good in itself, is a different bottling. . BLLEEEEEEE!!!!!!

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

Troy every flavor profile is unique.

[cornsqueezins]

I've just lately noticed the AAA 10 star in a local shop but I've not seen the AAA 10 yr. anywhere close to home. But I'll be on the look out. Thanks!

[cornsqueezins]

Linn, "unique" can be a subjective term and I fully realize that in a strong sense every bourbon has a unique taste profile. What I was asking members to do (and I thought I was fairly clear on this) was to list certain bourbons that, to them, seem to stick out for some peculiar reason.

All bourbons share similar characteristics; some share fewer than others. I'm just curious as to what members feel are the brands on either edge of the bourbonic spectrum.

-Troy

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

I do appreciate your point Troy. It's just that I disagree. Bourbon is serious business. Master Distillers and their team of tasters and Quality Control pros do their very best to create unique flavor profiles and meet those profiles in their barrel selection and bottling.They are very concerned with any anomaly.I have sent a few bottles back to a few distillers. None of them ever admitted that the bottling was sub-par, but I always got either a new (and better) bottle or a refund. Things are never ever always as they seem. Wise up my brother!

[cornsqueezins]

Some good points Linn. Though we might be more in agreement on this than it appears. It seems that you're describing this situation more from the production or distillers' standpoint whereas I'm attempting to describe this strictly from the consumers' perspective.

If I could use an example hopefully without insulting anybody's intelligence:

Distillery X may produce bourbons A, B and C with the intent of producing distinct flavor profiles within each. And the flavor profiles may indeed be different from one another based on conclusions arrived at by the distillers, tasters and QC. But then some old Joe like me might sample each bottle and arrive at a strictly subjective conclusion that A and B cannot be differentiated from one another as clearly as A and C or B and C. This would then lead me to describe C as having a more unique taste profile respectively.

And that has been my experience with only a handful of bourbons. I'm not saying you can't distinguish most bourbons from one another. It's just been my experience that some bourbons are more distinguishable than others. And I'm sure that will change as my palate hopefully becomes more discriminatory.

In the meanwhile, I aim to taste them all, distinguishable or not.

-Troy

[bobbyc]

An Admirable goal Troy.

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

Yes; of course Troy we consumers have a different take on each bottling than do the bourbon pros. We show them how we feel about that with our purchases. Money makes all the difference. It does not matter how good a bourbon may be if nobody buys it. Oh! Bye the way it is not cool to stick your tongue out at the moderator please keep that in mind. I'm Linn Spencer and I'm awholelottamoderator! Yeah! Baby, yeah!

[bluesbassdad]

At a purely seat-of-the-pants level it's clear to me that some pairs of bourbons are more or less similar than other pairs of bourbons.

Novice that I am, if someone gives me a blind tasting of Maker's Mark, Rebel Yell, Russell's Reserve and Kentucky Spirit, I won't have any trouble discerning where the greater and lesser similarities lie.

Hypothetically, if the world of bourbon consisted of nothing but Kentucky Spirit and the wheaters, KS would stand apart from all the rest (i.e., it would be unique in a unique way, if that makes any sense), regardless of how widely the profiles of the wheaters differed.

In the real world the distinctions are not always this clear cut, but it may help illustrate what Troy is looking for (or at least what I think he is looking for).

We may have a bit of linguistic difficulty here (don't get me started on linguistics) regarding the word unique. The usage of that word sometimes suggests that uniqueness is absolute; either a thing is unique or it isn't. Other times the usage suggests that uniqueness is a variable attribute; one thing can be more or less unique than another thing, or it can take on varying degrees of uniqueness by changing its properties.

In that linquistic context, Linn's statement seems to reflect the former usage, Troy's the latter. Viewed in this way, there is not necessarily any disagreement between the two viewpoints.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[cornsqueezins]

Oh, that's not me sticking my tongue out. That's me panting after my next bottle of bourbon!

[MurphyDawg]

Linn Says:

" I'm Linn Spencer and I'm awholelottamoderator! Yeah! Baby, yeah! ".

Thats the scariest visual I have had all day !!

Tom(prankster)C

PS !!

[MurphyDawg]

Dave Says:

"We may have a bit of linguistic difficulty here (don't get me started on linguistics) "

But we already have Dave, so lets try rewording the question for a more desired result. Does Troy mean More along the lines of "Would you please suggest a bourbon to me that hasd stood out to you particularly?", or "Would you please list a bourbon that changed your ideas about what a bourbon could taste like?" or "Please list a bourbon that helped expand your tasting horizons." Was this in the line of what you were getting at??

Tom (the emissary) C

[cornsqueezins]

Ha ha, yeah I'd like to see Dave get going on linguistics after a few good drinks of KS !!

"Would you please suggest a bourbon to me that has stood out to you particularly?"

Yes, more or less, that was my original question. I know that you could take that and run with it but I was hoping, by describing my experiences with Buffalo Trace, GD No. 12, etc. that others could relate with similar experiences drinking other bourbons. I got several good responses and recommendations so there seemed to be no confusion initially.

"Would you please list a bourbon that changed your ideas about what a bourbon could taste like?"

I wasn't really asking this second question but I guess you could include it. A bourbon may stand out to you solely because it changed your ideas about what a bourbon could taste like. But, as with me tasting Buffalo Trace, it didn't really change my ideas about the taste of bourbon. I was just surprised at the strong emphasis on the earthy qualities which are found in many bourbons but don't stand out near as much as they do in BT.

"Please list a bourbon that helped expand your tasting horizons."

I would think that every bourbon may expand our tasting horizons...even poor quality bourbons. At least we'll know better not to buy them anymore! And this may be more along the lines of what Linn was talking about. Every bourbon is "unique" or at least different, so every bourbon has the potential of expanding our tasting horizons.

Enough bourbonological hair-splitting for me! I'm going to chill for a while......

-Troy