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Any Bourbon drinkers among us?

Doc

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Well Bob, I've read your reviews and enjoy them. I don't often drink bourbon, but when I do it is with ice and water. 2/3 water. Tonight I'm watching the buckeye's and beer did not sound good, so I'm drinking some Makers Mark your way. Straight for now and later I'll have one with an ice cube. Very enjoyable. Thanks Bob. :tiphat:
 

Melensdad

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Well Bob, I've read your reviews and enjoy them. I don't often drink bourbon, but when I do it is with ice and water. 2/3 water. Tonight I'm watching the buckeye's and beer did not sound good, so I'm drinking some Makers Mark your way. Straight for now and later I'll have one with an ice cube. Very enjoyable. Thanks Bob. :tiphat:

The reason I drink it straight is to really taste the flavor. I add a bit of ice, let it meld down some, to see how it changes the flavor.

Some bourbons taste better straight. Some taste better with a bit of water or ice.

Makers Mark tastes good either way.

But what I don't like is watered down bourbon. A bit of water can sharpen up the flavors, tame down the burn, or both. But too much water tends to wash out the flavors and can make different bourbons take the too similar because the flavors have been washed out and diluted.

Last night I had about an ounce of GEORGE T STAGG. Its a 'barrel proof' bourbon. Very bold flavors and very high alcohol content. I put in an ice cube but is SANK. I swirled it around, it sank again. Not sure what the proof is on my bottle, but its high enough that it won't float an ice cube. I added a bit of water to that glass to tame it down. But even after the cube melted and the water was added, I doubt it was 50% water/50% bourbon.

I don't drink bourbon, I sip it. I think that is the best way to enjoy it.
 

Doc

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I am sipping bourbon tonight. I agree that Makers Mark is good either way (straight or on ice). I'm on the ice now (2 cubes) and I do like that better.
 

Melensdad

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I've got an ounce of Makers 46. Straight. No ice.
 

Doc

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OK, but tonight it's Glenfiddich with a dash of water. It's all good.
I had my GlenFiddich in my hand to bring upstairs and drink tonight, but the Makers Mark was beside it and changed my mind and decided to go with that this evening. Will have GlennFiddich sometime in the not to distant future. You are correct, it's all good. :thumb: :beer:
 

Melensdad

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Finally getting some time to try out the Woodford Reserve MASTERS COLLECTION Sonoma Cutrer bourbon. Roughly $100. I sampled it previously but really just shot. So tonight will be the real test as I have some time to sip and consider.

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First off this has a reddish brown color to it and when you get your nose anywhere near the glass you pick up very strong scents of vanilla, it is perhaps the best smelling bourbon on the planet. Rich, sweet vanilla.

In the mouth you also pick up some of the vanilla, there is a modest bit of mouth tingle and a bit of burn, but the burn is overshadowed by a long flavor finish that lasts. This has many characteristics of traditional bourbons, specially the traditional Woodford Reserve, but the second aging in the wine barrels adds a lot of character to this drink. I suspect that this is second aged for an extended period.

Many bourbons that are second aged only pick up hints of other flavors and are typically second aged for a few short months. Now I have no clue how long they second age this in the wine casks, but it certainly picks up a lot of flavor and complexity. Some may not like the bold flavors of this bourbon but I tend to like bold flavors, and this bourbon has plenty of flavor to spare. It also has a nice rich mouth feel, its not watery or thin, but rather it coats the mouth. The flavors are full and rather sharp, while you smell plenty of vanilla, you don't taste a lot of vanilla, at least not up front. After the drink is down your throat you will still pick up some flavors on your pallate and one of those will be the vanilla, but you also taste some butterscotch, and some spices like a spicy root beer.

I suspect that this bourbon is going to divide people. Love it or hate it. I personally hate the regular line of Woodford Reserve. But this bourbon from their MASTERS COLLECTION is something that I like.

And I like it plenty fine straight. But for the consistency in testing I am going to drop a small ice cube into my glass now that I have sipped down about 1 ounce of the 2 ounces that I poured. So I picked out a small cube, dropped it in and let it melt down about 1/2 of the way. Swirled my glass around to incorporate the water and the bourbon and the beautiful vanilla scent remains. Right away I noticed the change in the flavor, its certainly sharper, and also seems much weaker in flavor and thinner in mouth feel. I pulled out the remainder of the ice. I personally wouldn't recommend this fine bourbon on ice. I would say if you like it you will really enjoy it straight up, but there is no point in watering it down. Ice doesn't add to this drink.

Do I like it? Yes I do. Woodford Reserve MASTERS COLLECTION Sonoma Cutrer is a very different bourbon, and I think a very nice one, if you like different.
 

Melensdad

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Stopped off at the local liquor purveyor tonight on my way home from the fencing club looking for the new fall 2014 release of Jefferson's OCEAN. Still not there yet. But he had a set of RYE WHISKEY that I picked up. Not cheap. Not outrageous either. These are 1/2 bottles, BTW, not full 750ml but rather only 375ml bottles. It is NOT bourbon. Bourbon has to have at least 51% corn in the mash, this stuff may not have any corn? Don't know, it doesn't say. But its got plenty of rye.

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Broke open the "NEW CASK" tonight for a sip, poured just 1 ounce into a juice glass. No ice. Not one of my regular taste tests. Just wanted to sip a bit to see what this stuff is. What I found out was that it is a very spicy rye. Very spicy but not a whiskey that has a harsh taste or a harsh burn. In fact the burn is more of a warming glow. The peppery spice, however, tingles in your mouth long after the warmth in your belly is calmed.

This is an interesting drink. Not something I'd go to for a soothing drink, the rye's spicy character is a little too intense for that. If you like peppery drinks this might be a great choice for you. I don't dislike it. I like it. Don't love it. I'm looking forward to trying a real taste test of it, probably with the aged cask as a comparison.
 

Melensdad

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Enjoyng some WIDOW JANE bourbon tonight. Really like this juice. I know its an NDP with, apparently local mineral water from the Widow Jane mine in NY state added to bring it down to selling proof. I have no problem with NDP bourbons, although I would prefer that the sellers be honest about it on their label, as per the law. But all that aside, Widow Jane is a wonderful bourbon to drink, neat. Sweet followed by some spice and a bit of heat. Very drinkable. Only available by mail order here, but my lovely wife got a bottle for me a couple months ago. Fine woman is she. I will be sad when this bottle is gone.

Also got a phone call from my favorite liquor purveyor. They got their delivery of JEFFERSON'S OCEAN. He is holding a bottle for me. He said he sold 3 bottles already, had a couple other people on the "call list" waiting for it to arrive. So I'm guessing it is all sold out? This is generally referred to as OCEAN 3 among the bourbon collectors, because its off the 3 vessel used for aging. Rumor has it that OCEAN 2 is better than OCEAN 3. Fortunately for me, I have some OCEAN 2 left so I can make my own comparison.
 

EastTexFrank

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Bob, you're turning into the biggest drunk I know with the lovely Mrs Bob as a willing accomplice. :yum::yum::yum:

I'm jealous. :w00t2::w00t2::w00t2:
 

Melensdad

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Bob, you're turning into the biggest drunk I know with the lovely Mrs Bob as a willing accomplice. :yum::yum::yum:

I'm jealous. :w00t2::w00t2::w00t2:

I am thining of buying T-shirts for my public school fencing team students that read "I am the reason my coach drinks" so that I have someone to blame for this issue of mine.

And I'm pretty sure by now that most people think I have a huge drinking problem.

However, just like with my Detonics pistols . . . I have a lot of them but rarely do they actually get shot or carried. So it is with the bourbon. I have an entire cabinet dedicated strictly to bourbon. Most bottles have only a few ounces gone. With the Widow Jane last night, I took a small "juice glass" that I believe holds about 3 ounces and put about 1.5 ounces of bourbon in it. Sipped on it while watching a movie just after I had finished a large meal. Never even got the slightest hint of a buzz from that small amount of distilled 'corn juice' from New York. But the taste was wonderful.
 

Melensdad

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Been waiting and waiting but my ship finally came in. I got my bottle of Jefferson's OCEAN (voyage 3) today. Only 6 bottles were allocated to our entire county and I got 1 of them. I still have some of my bottle of the 2nd voyage so I'll be able to compare these to rare bourbons. Its the only bourbon that is actually aged while on a ship that crosses the equator (4 times) subjecting the barrels to changes in waves, temperature and humidity to give this stuff a very unique character. I'm thinking I'll crack this open on Saturday evening after the JV Team fencing tournament.
 

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Melensdad

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Oh Mr Skurka!!!!!

I'm gonna need a bigger bourbon cabinet :whistling:

Picked up these two bourbons and a Rye too. The Prichard's is their very complex Double Oaked bourbon. Very nice, easy to sip. Hard, but not impossible, to find. A little pricy but worth it. The WL Weller uses the same mash as Pappy Van Winkle, its a "wheated" bourbon but is aged in a different area of the rickhouse. Cheap, but very hard to find, its always a limited release, always rated as one of the best available. Haven't seen it in my area in over a year, probably should have picked up 2 of them. It won't last long at the store. Rye whiskey is interesting sometimes, don't know much about this one, figured I'd try it.
 

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Melensdad

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Sipping on some of the WL WELLER Special Reserve tonight. Poured about an ounce and a half into a short glass to give it a try.

WL WELLER Special Reserve is a 90 Proof "wheated" bourbon, meaning it is mostly corn with the second ingredient being wheat instead of the usual rye.

It smells beautifually sweet with some vanilla and carmel tones. When it hits your mouth you pick up a real nice sweetness but that is followed by some alcohol tingle on your lips and then you get a good bit of burn in the belly, more burn than you want. But you come back for more because it tastes so good in your mouth before the burn. I didn't have an ice cube to tame it down any but there was a bottle of water next to me so I added a few drops. My biggest concern was that I would water down the wonderful flavor trying to tame the burn.

After adding the water I brought the glass up to my nose and noticed that some of the sweetness/caramel scents were reduced so I feared that maybe I'd ruined it trying to tame the heat. The water seemed to really help this bourbon! The heat was all but gone. The bourbon to water ratio was probably 12:1, so not too much water. There was still the wonderful mouth coating sweetness, there was still SOME of the alcohol tingle on the lips, but the majority of the burn was eliminated, with only a bit of warmth remaining. For about $23 a bottle this stuff is a massive bargain, so much so that I think it should replace Makers Mark as my top pick in the low priced category of "everyday" bourbons. The ONLY reason it simply cannot replace Makers Mark is that the WL WELLER Special Reserve is not widely distributed and typically not available year around. But as much as I like Makers Mark, this stuff is better juice and if you find it you need to buy it. But buy 2 because if you find it today it will likely be gone next week.

Good stuff this is. Very. Very good stuff.
 

Melensdad

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Been a long day. This morning I was at the Catholic high school with their fencing team. Ths afternoon was the public school for their fencing team.

Now there are two small glasses sitting beside me. Glass 1 has Jefferson's Ocean Voyage 2 while glass #2 has Jefferson's Ocean Voyage 3. Both neat.

Truth be told I absolutely love the Voyage 2 but while I think that juce is among the best bourbon ever produced, I don't understand why some people in the bourbon collectors groups are offer up harsh criticism of Voyage 3. Voyage 3 is very good too. It may not be as good as Voyage 2, but its still very good bourbon, even if a little bit too hot for my liking.

The flavor of Voyage 3 is very nice, the complaint I have with it is the heat tends to slightly overwhelm the flavor on the finish. I don't pick up as much brine in Voyage 3, which is a shame, its one of the things that makes Ocean unique. Honestly not upset that I bought 2 bottles of Voyage 3, only wish I had found 3 bottles of Voyage 2.
 

Melensdad

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Poured a bit over an ounce of each of these into 2 glasses to try them side-by-side. Without going into a full review like I've done in the past let me just say that I don't really like either of these. The darker one is worse, actually its not good. The lighter one is better, but its drinkable, not really good.

Counter intuitive, the lighter one is aged in aged casks while the darker one was stored in new casks.

I don't think I could recommend either of these. But take that with a grain of salt since I am not really a fan of Rye whiskey, so its not really fair for me to not recommend something that is outside of my wheelhouse.

Neither is what I favor. First off they are RYE whiskies, tend to spicier than I enjoy. The darker colored one is moderately hot and spicy and has lots of complex flavors; the lighter colored one is smoother, easier to drink, but less complex and flavorful but simultaneously more enjoyable for my palate.
 

Melensdad

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Finally found something FOUR ROSES Single Barrel (100 proof) does well. Its nasty hot when you drink it neat. There is no outstanding flavor that makes it stand out in taste.

But it does make a fine OLD FASHIONED.
 

Melensdad

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At the cigar lounge this morning, trying to keep warm. Its -1F outside with -30F wind chills. One of my friends came in the right recipe for warmth.

A limited edition rye blend finished in French Port casks. Very nice!
 

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Melensdad

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Heavy drinking day today. Had about 3/4th of an ounce of the rye in the previous post this morning. Now I have about 2.5 ounces of bourbon sitting next to me.

Both of the below bourbons are under $50 per 750ml bottle, so both are in the affordable category.

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Bourbon #1 is Knob Creek 100 proof Small Batch and I don't recall the price but I think it was about $40 and bourbon #2 is Knob Creek 120 proof Single Barrel which is marked with a silver label proclaiming that it was specially picked by Booker Noe himself. OK. Whatever. Anyway, it was priced at $48.99, just inside the 'affordability' category of under $50.

Both are aged 9 years.

To my eye, the 120 proof Single Barrel has a little darker tint to it, but both are a nice rich dark amber.

To my nose the 120 proof hits you like a baseball bat with the scent of alcohol, once you get past that you pick up some butterscotch and vanilla. But it takes a moment to get past that alcohol. The 100 proof, by contrast, doesn't hit you with the alcohol but rather you get some vanilla, and maybe some spices that hit your nose.

Picking up the 100 proof and taking a sip you get some very nice sweetness followed by a little peppery spice at the back of the mouth. When it goes down you have a very long warm finish, you get some tingling of mouth and some belly warmth that lingers. Its not a hot burn, but it is a warmth that stays with you and it really has a bit of a delayed reaction. Switching to the 120 proof I found a sweeter and easier to drink bourbon that also has a long, but delayed finish, and a hotter finish. The burn was not the most intense I've sampled, but it was more of a belly burn than a belly warmth. Despite that I enjoyed the flavor in my mouth a lot, very sweet up front and yet not as typically spicy in the back of the mouth. It has more of a sweet to savory transition which seemed to also coat the mouth with a rich coating. It tasted so good I went back for a second sip, the initial impressions were repeated. If I stopped this comparison here I would simply throw away the bottle of 100 proof and keep the 120 as the clear winner. I'm not a fan of the heat on the finish of the 120 proof Single Barrel, but everything else about it is just so darn good. In the spirit of fairness I went back to the 100 proof and it was a repeat of my eariler impressions, its just not quite as good as the 120.

On to the ice. . .

Small cubes added to each glass and allowed to melt a bit.

The 100 proof Small Batch, with ice, is very good stuff. The finish is shorter and considerable more tame, the spices are sharpened and the up front sweet flavor is maintained.

The 120 proof Single Barrel, with ice, loses some of its sweetness and some of its richness, but is also tamed down on the finish to something that is manageable. Its easier to drink with a single cube but its, in some ways, less enjoyable too.

Pick your poison, both are very good. I'd have to give the nod to the 120 proof Knob Creek Single Barrel but with the caveat that you need to expect a moderately hot finish.
 

EastTexFrank

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I'm sitting here reading your post, drinking a Midori before bed. Do you think that I need to get my testosterone level checked???? :yum:
 

Melensdad

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Thanks Bob. I was looking for a little more comfort than that. I think that I'll switch to Scotch or Brandy tonight for my nightcap just to remove all doubt. :yum::yum:

After admitting to the Midori you can never eliminate ALL doubt.

Best you can do is eliminate MOST of the doubt. :hammer:
 

Melensdad

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seems to me that jack daniels honey is the nector of the gods.

I like it too. But it is NOT actually whiskey, whisky, scotch or bourbon. It is mostly VODKA, with JUST ENOUGH of the famed JD in the bottle to be marketed legally as a flavored whiskey. Ditto for Evan Williams flavored offering. Ditto for Crown Royal's flavored offerings. Ditto for all the other brands too.

VODKA is a neutral grain spirit that is cheap to produce.

Whiskey and Bourbon are aged spirits that are more expensive to produce and which require time to age. Add to that the fact that American Bourbon and Whiskey are in high demand with limited supplies in the warehouses.

Consequently the "flavored" craze that is sweeping the spirits world needs to have its supply boulstered. So to make that stuff, and WINTER JACK is my favorite of the flavored spirits (Jack Daniels that tastes like a spicy apple pie) is actually made with a large % of "neutral grain spirits" (vodka). Industry insiders know this, us common folk are learning the truth.

Some people honestly think they are drinking whiskey. I have no problem with these beverages, I like them. But they are not whiskey/bourbon/scotch.
 

EastTexFrank

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Damn Bob, first you mock my Midori and now you destroy my belief in what's possibly my favorite late night tipple... Bärenjäger. After reading your post, I did a Google search and you're right, the base is vodka!!!!!

Ah!!! What the heck!!! I love the stuff and don't care. :biggrin::biggrin: I'm sipping one as I write this.

Cheers!!!!!!

Tomorrow I will have to break out the Drambuie. :clap:
 
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