Favorite Bourbon

[abpeep]

Not bourbon but I'll have to try this one.



Augie Meyers Hey Baby Kep Pa So Rye Whiskey

My brother has become friends with Ernie Durawa (former drummer for Doug Sahm, Delbert McClinton, Texas Tornados) and they took a trip to San Antonio yesterday. While there, Ernie got on the phone and got a bunch of guys, including Augie Meyers, together for dinner. My brother got to asking about Augie's whiskey - he'd looked at liquor stores in Austin and couldn't find it. They told him it was only sold in one liquor store in San Antonio so far. On his way home, he went by that liquor store and picked me up a bottle.

Alan

 

[czshadow]

I love many types of whisky, mainly a scotch drinker, Highland or speyside single malts. Glen Breton is a great Canadian single malt, I do enjoy a glass of bourbon every once in a while, usually try a new one each time lol, currently have a bottle of Wild Turkey Longbranch edition, pretty tasty

 

[RT Fan]

Not bourbon but I'll have to try this one.

View attachment 2754929

Augie Meyers Hey Baby Kep Pa So Rye Whiskey

My brother has become friends with Ernie Durawa (former drummer for Doug Sahm, Delbert McClinton, Texas Tornados) and they took a trip to San Antonio yesterday. While there, Ernie got on the phone and got a bunch of guys, including Augie Meyers, together for dinner. My brother got to asking about Augie's whiskey - he'd looked at liquor stores in Austin and couldn't find it. They told him it was only sold in one liquor store in San Antonio so far. On his way home, he went by that liquor store and picked me up a bottle.

Alan

Love it! I don’t believe I ever saw Ernie play but have seen Delbert at least a dozen times, he never disappointed! The first time I ever heard of the Texas Tornados was at a Richard Thompson concert where the guest was David Byrne where they played: “Who Were You Thinking Of” by the Tornados! I asked David Byrne after the show when did they rehearse and he said they hadn’t, they only met that afternoon but had swapped “faxes” of tunes they wanted to play together. So of course I went out and picked up a Texas Tornados cd in short order. “Thanks For The Memory.”

 

[Bill S]

Old Dependable:
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I love their double oaked. Very nice, dark and rich bourbon.

 

[RT Fan]

I love their double oaked. Very nice, dark and rich bourbon.

Thanks for the recommendation, I will put it on the list of things to try.

 

[maxsmart]

A few from my list:
E. H. Taylor
Rock Hill Farms (top 3 for me so far)
Elmer T. Lee (top 3 for me so far)
Weller’s (good and often available in my area)
Very Old Barton’s (good and inexpensive)
Basil Hayden’s Dark Rye
Jefferson Reserve Groth

Ohio is not the place you want to live if you're a bourbon fan due to policies (now laws and well established bureaucracies). I have a good friend that lives in a state that has enabled me to try most of the above items (and many more). He's well established in the bourbon trade in his home state which means he gets hard to get bourbons and very, very reasonable prices.... He usually gets Pappy at least one a year and often a few vintages..... easily #1 from my limited tasting experience.

 

[Nyjblbob]

Pappy? is that the full name?

 

[maxsmart]

Pappy? is that the full name?

No, it's "Pappy Van Winkle" usually/always followed by the number of barrel years - e.g., Pappy Van Winkle 20 Year

 

[daveshel]

Old Dependable:
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I tried a bottle of Woodford over the holidays. It was pretty good, but I didn't love it.

 

[Greg wilson]

I had one of the best. Crown royal bourbon. In the bourbon label.which had to be changed to blenders mash. Because they couldn't sell it in USA as bourbon.
Talk about smooth. I don't think k I cou!d say water was as smooth. And good.
Now I nave to bet to veto get the 6 bottles a buddy bought me.

 

[allmanbros]

I had one of the best. Crown royal bourbon. In the bourbon label.which had to be changed to blenders mash. Because they couldn't sell it in USA as bourbon.
Talk about smooth. I don't think k I cou!d say water was as smooth. And good.
Now I nave to bet to veto get the 6 bottles a buddy bought me.

To clarify, the label was changed from bourbon to Blenders Mash because it's NOT bourbon, it's Canadian whiskey and the attempt to pass it as bourbon to capitalize on a very robust American bourbon market was rightfully challenged and corrected by bourbon producers and Fed regulators...regulators initially approved the "bourbon" label, but rescinded it after determining it was not bourbon, only bourbon like....big difference.....they were given one year to change the label, which they did.....bourbon like meaning it has a mash bill using corn, rye, and malted barley like some bourbons do, but probably the distinguishing differences are Canadian whiskey does not require new barrel aging like bourbon, and Canadian whiskey can add coloring to its final blend but not allowed with bourbon.....aging in used barrels is a tremendous cost saver, and is a major factor in making Canadian whiskey "smooth" as you rightfully described.....the influence of a new charred barrel on bourbon is well documented in the final product whereas aging in a used barrel does not have nearly the same affect on Canadian whiskey.....Canadian whiskeys are most times lighter in color and lighter in flavor than American bourbons......Crown Royal is a highly respected Canadian brand, but putting bourbon on the label was misleading as the feds rightfully determined.......marketing is a wonderful thing, until it's not.

 

[audiotemp]

In other words, get your stanky Canadian whisky out of the Bourbon thread!

Just kidding, folks! This thread does see the occasional Bourbon-adjacent post (and I have nothing against CR).

 

[Greg wilson]

In the other side. How about rebarreling whiskey. I had some Cleveland underground and cou!d not finish the first drink. I had gotten a 2 liter oak barrel I wanted to put so.e moonshine in it and see how it did. So I put that Cleveland stuff in it and let sit 6 weeks. Man what a difference. Best 50$ spent.

 

[Nyjblbob]

No, it's "Pappy Van Winkle" usually/always followed by the number of barrel years - e.g., Pappy Van Winkle 20 Year

I just priced the Cheapest Pappy Van Winkle, the 10 year old one.
It was over 1,000$.for a small bottle
Guess I won't ever get to try the 20, or even the 15,or 12 year Vintage.

 

[allmanbros]

In the other side. How about rebarreling whiskey. I had some Cleveland underground and cou!d not finish the first drink. I had gotten a 2 liter oak barrel I wanted to put so.e moonshine in it and see how it did. So I put that Cleveland stuff in it and let sit 6 weeks. Man what a difference. Best 50$ spent.

Your willingness to try to make something out of nothing is admirable and if it is a taste you like, good on you.....95% of all bourbon produced is distilled in Kentucky using a process that has been passed along from generations of master distillers.....that leaves only 5% to account for craft distillers (like Cleveland Underground) ands hundreds of other small craft start-ups.....many are trying to figure out how to make whiskey by trying to "fool" the process like using oak chips vs oak barrels and using small barrels to try to speed up the aging process....small barrels will make the liquid change color faster, but the maturation of the liquid takes a much longer time......aging time is a major factor in a finished bourbon and it takes deep pockets to have product aging for 2,3, or however many years before it is ready to be sold.......for $50 you can get a damn fine bourbon, and maybe even two.

 

[allmanbros]

I just priced the Cheapest Pappy Van Winkle, the 10 year old one.
It was over 1,000$.for a small bottle
Guess I won't ever get to try the 20, or even the 15,or 12 year Vintage.

It's not Pappy, but any variation of Weller comes from the same family as Pappy....in fact the mash bill for both brands is the same, the difference being aging time and the location in the rick house where the barrels are aged........significantly less expensive, but unfortunately almost as hard to find.....both use wheat as the second grain in the mash bill......easier to find alternatives are Larceny and Makers Mark.

 

[Tiver]

This bourbon has real character. I've had other Old Forester but this is my first bottle of 1910. The alcohol takes a distant back seat to the flavor this one has to offer.

 

[Oerets]

So what is going to happen with the supply shortage of new oak for barrels?

More aging of the spirits?
Higher prices?

Talk in the Derby is trouble ahead for the supply chain of quality oak sooner then later....


Get yours now!


Can always switch to.......

 

[allmanbros]

So what is going to happen with the supply shortage of new oak for barrels?

More aging of the spirits?
Higher prices?

Talk in the Derby is trouble ahead for the supply chain of quality oak sooner then later....


Get yours now!


Can always switch to.......

I will respond to this with some facts and lots of speculation......Fact..I know there is much experimentation being done (largely at Buffalo Trace) to see whether woods other than oak can be used in aging and whether even different parts of a tree can have good or ill effects on the aging and maturation processes....Fact..the everyday influx of craft distilleries is partially to blame for the shortage, but also the dynamic growth of bourbon as a category is also a factor......Speculation with logic...if the shortage becomes very serious, I would expect that the big production distillers that combined use millions of barrels each year would be the last to feel the pinch over the many smaller distilleries whose needs are significantly less.....
More speculation..I think more aging would be unlikely but not impossible for several reasons...first, longer aging means less liquid to bottle/sell due to evaporation (angels share), second, the taste profile of the whisky is likely to change, and third this could lead to detrimental to the brand price increases.

Logic speculation....a shortage of oak could lead to the demise of some secondary whisky brands whose purpose is to generate volume at a certain market price point.....usually these brands are low profit volume dependent brands which still require new oak barrels to meet the bourbon requirement set by law......or these lesser brands might resort to using wood chips instead of barrels and be labelled whisky instead of bourbon.....logic speculation..a combination of some or all all these things is possible.

 

[Oerets]

If the required “new” oak barrel for bourbon becomes a big factor. Makes sense to age longer this enabling the benefit of selling less juice for the same amounts. Going from four year to say six, seven.
Changing the wood or reusing barrels this would no longer be a true Bourbon?