Favorite Bourbon

@timsclips
I find that most of the time I'm sipping something straight up, I need a sip of water after each sip. I just burns something down there.
The only spirit that never burns, ever, is Tequila, for some weird reason. I do love the stuff, and my all-time fav is just the basic Hose Cuervo Gold Especiale. Its the cheapest one, but I like the distinct fruitiness of the Blue Agave.
I find that the more expensive the Tequila is; the less flavor it has. And I like the flavor.
But definitely not the flavor of Tequila Sauza. Way, way too peppery.
Sorry to ramble there, this is a frickin' Bourbon thread.
Mmmmm ... Jim Beam Black.

Dave
 
I was able to track down a couple bottles of Buffalo Trace and one Blanton’s! I walked in right as the truck departed... The Blanton’s will go as a gift....it will be put to good use.
 
View attachment 1360490

Picked up some Belle Meade....will report back!

Got to sample the XO bottling of Belle Meade and I'll spend that $70 elsewhere. Had a sample of the sour mash straight bourbon like your pic. It was good but I expected more from the $45 price point and told the rep it would be a hard sell when compared to an established distiller's offering at $30 - $35. I'll stick to my daily Woodford double oak for $5 more.
 
Got to sample the XO bottling of Belle Meade and I'll spend that $70 elsewhere. Had a sample of the sour mash straight bourbon like your pic. It was good but I expected more from the $45 price point and told the rep it would be a hard sell when compared to an established distiller's offering at $30 - $35. I'll stick to my daily Woodford double oak for $5 more.

I liked the Belle Meade well enough, good spicy bite cinnamon, vanilla, leather and maybe a bit of raisin... but the finish disappeared pretty quick. I will continue the hunt, hard to beat the Buffalo.
 
Buffalo Trace was a great value at the $25 price point when I first found it, too bad it is now closing in on $30 or above. Price creep hurts us bargain hunters. Eagle Rare was $29 and now is routinely up at $40. There are so many new brands and names trying to cash in on the bourbon craze. from what I have found most of them are not worth the asking price. The tried and true names still over deliver. Four Roses, for example, is worth every penny for their various expressions at every asking price from $20 Yellow Label to $50 Single Barrel and above.
 
Buffalo Trace was a great value at the $25 price point when I first found it, too bad it is now closing in on $30 or above. Price creep hurts us bargain hunters. Eagle Rare was $29 and now is routinely up at $40. There are so many new brands and names trying to cash in on the bourbon craze. from what I have found most of them are not worth the asking price. The tried and true names still over deliver. Four Roses, for example, is worth every penny for their various expressions at every asking price from $20 Yellow Label to $50 Single Barrel and above.

Four Roses single barrel offering is quite smooth for a 100 proof. Good first rye bite but mellows quickly. I keep that around fo sho! I am also partial to the Elijah Craig cask proof. Give that a try if you haven’t.
 
I liked the Belle Meade well enough... but the finish disappeared pretty quick. I will continue the hunt, hard to beat the Buffalo.

I too thought the finish dropped off pretty quickly and the bottle I sampled had a pretty heavy corn overtone to what short finish it had. Shoulda spent more time in the barrel before bottling.

Buffalo Trace was a great value at the $25 price point when I first found it, too bad it is now closing in on $30 or above. Price creep hurts us bargain hunters. Eagle Rare was $29 and now is routinely up at $40. There are so many new brands and names trying to cash in on the bourbon craze. from what I have found most of them are not worth the asking price. The tried and true names still over deliver. Four Roses, for example, is worth every penny for their various expressions at every asking price from $20 Yellow Label to $50 Single Barrel and above.

Yeah I remember buying Eagle Rare for $19.99 not on sale and 18yo Macallan for $80 a bottle, them days is gone. Can't keep up with all the new kids on the self, getting to the point of just sticking to what I know unless I find something extraordinary at a tasting. One of my boys bought me a bottle of Jefferson "Ocean" I really liked that until the price jumped from $50 to $70.

Four Roses single barrel offering is quite smooth for a 100 proof. Good first rye bite but mellows quickly. I keep that around fo sho! I am also partial to the Elijah Craig cask proof. Give that a try if you haven’t.

Had some 18yo Craig, that was a good pour as well as the Four Roses. If I'm in the mood for some heat I'll do a pour of Booker's. I try to find a bottle closest to 8yo as they seem to be a bit more palletable neat, the 6yo Bookers can be a bit harsh neat. Another favorite is Thomas Handy rye neat @ around 124 proof and for those really cold Minnesota nights a little George T. Stagg neat @ 141 proof warms up the ear tips. :biggrin:

I am more of a wheat bourbon fan, but the Four Roses Single Barrel is a serious bourbon. Thanks for the head's up on the Elijah Craig, haven't gone down that road as of yet.

I tried some Bernheim wheated once, it was good for the price point. Can't compare of course to the 15 - 20 - 23 year old Van Winkle but at least you can find it. Another favorite wheated I used to partake in was William Larue Weller, a Buffalo Trace single barrel - barrel proof offering around 125 proof. It was another fine product that is now almost impossible to find and when you do it will run over $100 a bottle. Have you ever tried Masterson wheated? I'll have to try another, I rather enjoyed it.
 
You are in my friend Lawrence Yeatts' area. Middlebrook has both a good selection, a wall of Bourbon, as well as good prices. I'm behind the Children's Hospital Outpatient facility, West (the cheap side) on Westland from I140 (AKA Pellisippi).

You should be shopping at Total Wine in Turkey Creek. Huge liquor selection
 
The Friday before Christmas we met my best friend and his wife for dinner and gift exchange. I laid a bottle of Icelandic vodka on him (stuff looked good enough to chug straight outta the bottle) and he more than returned the favor with a nice bottle of Woodford Reserve. Some mighty tasty squeezins there. Yum.

And, barely bourbon-related: We were at our eldest son's Christmas Eve. He handed me a nicely-wrapped oblong box. Inside was a presentation case cradling a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label! All I could say was "Holy Crap!" I carefully extricated the bottle from the case for a look...and said "What's this? The seal's broken!" He said "I had to sniff it"...then the truth came out: He'd had it "opened for service" on the top shelf at one of his restaurants for THREE YEARS and no one had ever ordered it. Guess he must've depreciated it down to "gift territory":) I got a couple of rocks glasses out of his cupboard, poured us each a pinky finger's worth and toasted the Queen. Now, it's been at least 20 years since I've had any Scotch, so this was essentially a new experience. Hard to say...thought it tasted a little "bourbony". Further testing will be needed:)
 
I'm not generally a bourbon drinker. I was introduced to Angel's Envy recently and I thought it was very smooth and had a lightly sweet, lingering finish. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone.
 
I live in bourbon country and I'm a tequila & gin guy. Probably comes from the time at 15 years old a buddy and I passed a 5th of Canadian Club back and fourth till it was gone. There was a couple other friends there that took a sip or 2 but they were there to see the carnage. It didn't end well as you can imagine.
 
I live in bourbon country and I'm a tequila & gin guy. Probably comes from the time at 15 years old a buddy and I passed a 5th of Canadian Club back and fourth till it was gone. There was a couple other friends there that took a sip or 2 but they were there to see the carnage. It didn't end well as you can imagine.
I am imagining "Projectile Vomiting."
 
Back
Top Bottom