Drinking any alcohol 3 nights in a row is setting a record for me. Well maybe in my college days?
Tonight I've got a Tennessee Whiskey, one of only 2 that also qualifies as a Bourbon, but proclaims loudly that it is not a Bourbon. Jack Daniels Single Barrel. I've also got some of the BEER BARREL Bourbon that I had previously sampled.
Right off the bat the colors are different. The Jack Daniels Single Barrel is much darker with more brown in the coloring while the BEER BARREL is more golden/amber colored.
The BEER BARREL smells more complex with an array of scents hitting your nose while the Jack Daniels Single Barrel smells mostly of alcohol.
In the mouth the Jack Daniels Single Barrel goes in smooth but then begins to tingle on the lips. The flavor is over shadowed by the burn as it goes down, then the burn intensifies when it hits bottom.
Switching over to the BEER BARREL Bourbon and the difference are striking as there is virtually no burn at all, just flavor. Not overly sweet. Very pleasant. This is my third try at the bottle of BEER BARREL and I'm really liking this one. Easy to drink, good flavor on the tip of your tongue and good flavor when it moves to the back of your mouth, and virtually no burn.
Adding one cube of ice to each of these the test comparison continues. First the Jack Daniels Single Barrel. The ice really tames this drink! There is still some burn but honestly its much more manageable and not objectionable. The flavor seems to open up and the taste seems to even out from front to back of mouth. With a cube, the Jack Daniels Single Barrel is pretty darn good.
Switching over to the BEER BARREL Bourbon and the ice ruins it. Again. I've tried this test before. I simply don't understand how a pleasant flavor can all of a sudden become unpleasant when its chilled and slightly diluted. Now I still think the BEER BARREL is near the top of my list of bourbons, but I'm still not thrilled with it when you drop an ice cube into the glass.
I know with cigars that what you eat before you smoke, even an hour or two before the cigar, can affect the taste of the cigar. I assume the same is with bourbon. What I believe is that its best to try something several times, just to confirm the test. So with these tests I try to do the same things, repeatedly. Each test has about 1.5oz of each bourbon. 2 bourbons, neat. Same 2 bourbons with a single ice cube.
Tonight I've got a Tennessee Whiskey, one of only 2 that also qualifies as a Bourbon, but proclaims loudly that it is not a Bourbon. Jack Daniels Single Barrel. I've also got some of the BEER BARREL Bourbon that I had previously sampled.
Right off the bat the colors are different. The Jack Daniels Single Barrel is much darker with more brown in the coloring while the BEER BARREL is more golden/amber colored.
The BEER BARREL smells more complex with an array of scents hitting your nose while the Jack Daniels Single Barrel smells mostly of alcohol.
In the mouth the Jack Daniels Single Barrel goes in smooth but then begins to tingle on the lips. The flavor is over shadowed by the burn as it goes down, then the burn intensifies when it hits bottom.
Switching over to the BEER BARREL Bourbon and the difference are striking as there is virtually no burn at all, just flavor. Not overly sweet. Very pleasant. This is my third try at the bottle of BEER BARREL and I'm really liking this one. Easy to drink, good flavor on the tip of your tongue and good flavor when it moves to the back of your mouth, and virtually no burn.
Adding one cube of ice to each of these the test comparison continues. First the Jack Daniels Single Barrel. The ice really tames this drink! There is still some burn but honestly its much more manageable and not objectionable. The flavor seems to open up and the taste seems to even out from front to back of mouth. With a cube, the Jack Daniels Single Barrel is pretty darn good.
Switching over to the BEER BARREL Bourbon and the ice ruins it. Again. I've tried this test before. I simply don't understand how a pleasant flavor can all of a sudden become unpleasant when its chilled and slightly diluted. Now I still think the BEER BARREL is near the top of my list of bourbons, but I'm still not thrilled with it when you drop an ice cube into the glass.
I know with cigars that what you eat before you smoke, even an hour or two before the cigar, can affect the taste of the cigar. I assume the same is with bourbon. What I believe is that its best to try something several times, just to confirm the test. So with these tests I try to do the same things, repeatedly. Each test has about 1.5oz of each bourbon. 2 bourbons, neat. Same 2 bourbons with a single ice cube.