Favorite Bourbon

[allmanbros]

View attachment 3087218
A new pour.

Rebel (Yell) Distiller’s Choice. 113 proof wheated Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.

No complaints here.

Yessir!...another golden oldie that got new life with the bourbon revival of the last 6-7 years...Rebel Yell has been around for probably 40 years or so...originally claimed to be sold only south of the Mason-Dixon Line...we had it in our wholesale portfolio in the mid-80's, never did much with it but it had a really cool package...it was eventually sold to a new owner who revived the brand with some production tweaks to attract the new bourbon consumers...I haven't tasted this version, but a wheated 113 proof bourbon should be pretty tasty if the alcohol doesn't overpower the wheat in the mash bill.

 

[audiotemp]

Yessir!...another golden oldie that got new life with the bourbon revival of the last 6-7 years...Rebel Yell has been around for probably 40 years or so...

Introduced as a brand by Stitzel-Weller in 1936, apparently. Inherited by Heaven Hill with the demise of SW in 1992, I think.

 

[pmsummer]

Yessir!...another golden oldie that got new life with the bourbon revival of the last 6-7 years...Rebel Yell has been around for probably 40 years or so...originally claimed to be sold only south of the Mason-Dixon Line...we had it in our wholesale portfolio in the mid-80's, never did much with it but it had a really cool package...it was eventually sold to a new owner who revived the brand with some production tweaks to attract the new bourbon consumers...I haven't tasted this version, but a wheated 113 proof bourbon should be pretty tasty if the alcohol doesn't overpower the wheat in the mash bill.

The proof doesn’t overpower the pour. Similar to Weller Antique 107. The juice apparently comes from Heaven Hill, even though it’s a Luxo whiskey.

 

[Blowed Fuse]

Love this stuff

 

[finnbow]

I just picked up a Barrell Private Release at a steep New Years inventory reduction at the county store. Normally, it's $130 and I got it for $50. It's a blend of selected barrels up to 14 years old from Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee finished in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks and bottled at cask strength (124 proof). Delicious.

I also picked up a $55 bottle of Stellum rye (also a Barrell bottling) for $25. It's also a blend of rye whiskeys of several mashbills from Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, also bottled at cask strength. Very nice.

Both are better than my daily pours (Wild Turkey 101 and High West Double Rye), but only available at this price until the inventory is gone and probably never again.

 

[allmanbros]

Introduced as a brand by Stitzel-Weller in 1936, apparently. Inherited by Heaven Hill with the demise of SW in 1992, I think.

Wow, I missed the age by a mile!...I think you are right, it was in the Heaven Hill portfolio when our wholesaler had it back in the late 80's...it was the owners' wife of our company that created most of the depetions!..it never did much since the bourbon category back then was dominated by Jim Beam, Old Charter, Ancient Age, Old Barton plus Jack Daniels...Seems it finally was bought by a brokerage company called David Sherman, which I think has morphed into Luxco today...Luxco has since sold the brand to MGP Ingredients, a huge producer of custom distilled spirits in Lawrenceburg, IND., but Luxco still brokers the brand to the general market for MGP...interestingly Rebel Yell has a major pedigree, coming from Stitzel-Weller, but it never gained notoriety like Weller and Pappy...in order to keep Kentucky on the label, it is distilled in Bardstown at Lux Row Distillery, which I think is a joint venture between Luxco and MGP...a long history with good genes that never translated into significant sales.

 

[onepixel]

It's been awhile.

 

[klamsoss]

I've got a bottle of Blanton's gold label that my wife gave me for christmas. That's obviously going to be the top of the heap, but for value and as an every day sipper, i'm really enjoying Russell's Reserve 10 year small batch.
When I make a manhattan, I can't find anything I like more in there than woodford reserve.

 

[allmanbros]

This is a hidden gem in the Heaven Hill bourbon stable IMO...the taste profile is on the softer side as the standard HH bourbon mash bill is 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% malted barley...even though the rye content is low, there is enough there to give just enough spiciness to offset the sweetness of the corn...1783 is not new although it has undergone some changes over the years, the main one being it is no longer ten years old...1783 is the year in which Evan Williams whiskey was first distilled...it is readily obtainable, and a 750ml bottle retails in the $18-$20 range...it is labelled as small batch and HH claims the blend comes from less than 200 selected barrels...worth a shot if a softer, low burn, sipping bourbon is your preference.

 

[klamsoss]

This is a hidden gem in the Heaven Hill bourbon stable IMO...the taste profile is on the softer side as the standard HH bourbon mash bill is 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% malted barley...even though the rye content is low, there is enough there to give just enough spiciness to offset the sweetness of the corn...1783 is not new although it has undergone some changes over the years, the main one being it is no longer ten years old...1783 is the year in which Evan Williams whiskey was first distilled...it is readily obtainable, and a 750ml bottle retails in the $18-$20 range...it is labelled as small batch and HH claims the blend comes from less than 200 selected barrels...worth a shot if a softer, low burn, sipping bourbon is your preference.
View attachment 3423949

Thyis is a workhorse bottle for me. I keep a 1.75L of this in my bar most of the time because it has enough character to sip on, makes a good manhattan, and is darn cheap for what it is. It's the Heaven Hill version of Wild Turkey 101... surprisingly good for the price, very versatile, and easy to find just about anywhere.

Lately, I've ben working with it and with the standard four roses small batch (and my go-to for manhattans: woodford) to explore different vermouth options. I've always used Martini Rossi, and occasinally Cinzano, but there's a lot more out there.

 

[klamsoss]

It's been awhile

I jsut picked up a bottle of the elijah craig barrel proof limited release the other day. I'm not someone who intends to collect lots of bottles, and of the ones I have, exceedingly few will be replaced when they are gone. I'm planning to pick up at least one more bottle of the ECBP. even at $70, a price point I RARELY visit, I find it to be a very good value.

 

[jheu02]

This is a hidden gem in the Heaven Hill bourbon stable IMO

I tried it once, several years back. Unfortunately, the bottle I got had a very musty, moldy taste/smell. I actually wrote them and sent a sample of it back to them. They ended up giving me a refund and coupon for any of their brands IIRC.

 

[allmanbros]

I jsut picked up a bottle of the elijah craig barrel proof limited release the other day. I'm not someone who intends

I tried it once, several years back. Unfortunately, the bottle I got had a very musty, moldy taste/smell. I actually wrote them and sent a sample of it back to them. They ended up giving me a refund and coupon for any of their brands IIRC.

Bourbon very definitely can go bad and the culprit is usually heat and/or oxidation...I would be curious to know if there were other bad bottles from your batch, which would indicate the issue was at the distillery (probably in the rick house or bottling line) or a lone wolf bottle which would indicate improper storage at the retail store...it was not unusual from any of our suppliers to get bottles with cracked caps from a mis- calibrated cap machine or get bottles with very fine cracks in the glass that over time would allow air to get to the liquid...bourbon does not age in the bottle nor does it go bad after opening barring the issues mentioned above....the last thing any distiller wants is bad product in the market, but it does happen occasionally...I recall several times we received shipments of goods from suppliers that subsequently sent us notice to hold all cases with certain batch numbers pending investigation...usually it was "floaters" in the bottle, something missed due to improper filtration...sound like HH responded properly to you.

 

[NH Spinner]

I drank Jack Daniel's when I was in college because that's what Frank, Dino, and Sammy drank.
A Boston Bruins player I knew [because we went to the same North End barber ] turned me on to Wild Turkey.

In my old age, I don't drink whiskey at all, anymore. Just clear rather than amber spirits.

 

[tarior]

Bourbon very definitely can go bad and the culprit is usually heat and/or oxidation...I would be curious to know if there were other bad bottles from your batch, which would indicate the issue was at the distillery (probably in the rick house or bottling line) or a lone wolf bottle which would indicate improper storage at the retail store...it was not unusual from any of our suppliers to get bottles with cracked caps from a mis- calibrated cap machine or get bottles with very fine cracks in the glass that over time would allow air to get to the liquid...bourbon does not age in the bottle nor does it go bad after opening barring the issues mentioned above....the last thing any distiller wants is bad product in the market, but it does happen occasionally...I recall several times we received shipments of goods from suppliers that subsequently sent us notice to hold all cases with certain batch numbers pending investigation...usually it was "floaters" in the bottle, something missed due to improper filtration...sound like HH responded properly to you.

I prefer whiskey that has pieces of the barrel in the bottle.

 

[Bill Ashton]

Buffalo Trace

 

[allmanbros]

I prefer whiskey that has pieces of the barrel in the bottle.

A prerequisite of mine as well, preferably 12 years old with wheat as the second grain!

 

[allmanbros]

Buffalo Trace

Buffalo Trace as a brand is 25 years old but has quite a following for a comparatively short life span...it uses BT Mashbill #1, which is low rye ( thought to be less than 10%, but not confirmed) shared with Eagle Rare, Old Taylor , Old Charter, and Benchmark ...there is no age statement by design because putting an age statement on a bottle locks the distiller into using only that age or that age mixed with older whiskey...any age statement must reflect the youngest whiskey in the bottle, regardless of how much is in the blend...the case for not using an age statement is that in some situations the taste profile for a 6 or 7 years old whiskey may be so close to an 8 year old whiskey that there is no need for the additional aging...in short varying climactic conditions can cause faster maturation levels in shorter time periods...shorter aging means higher profit margins and generally more availability ...great packaging, great bourbon!

 

[Bushikan]

Some favorites.

 

[allmanbros]

View attachment 3427038Some favorites.

Calumet we had in our wholesale portfolio but for some reason we never got any traction with it...as I recall it changed hands several times but never had any organized marketing behind it...not familiar with Old Scout, but a Google search says it is 36% rye which is a very spicy robust bourbon, not for everyone...The ORVW 10 yr is the original label for PVW...Pappy owned this label while he owned Stitzel-Weller, but he never bottled any bourbon under any Pappy label...Julian II bottled under the ORVW label from barrels he got as part of the Stitzel-Weller distillery sale...the other Pappy labels came in the late 70's from Julian III wanting to commemorate his grandfather's legacy...all Pappy bourbons are made at Buffalo Trace now, as any aged Stitzel-Weller whiskey is long gone.