Whisky and Scotch Recommendations

Minarchist wrote:
Lobo wrote:

Eagle Rare is my new favorite bourbon, displacing Buffalo Trace. It danced in my mouth! It danced and sparkled and would not stay still. Its texture changed constantly. What a delight!

10 or 17? If the former, try to track down the latter. If the latter, congratulations! That may be the best bourbon money can buy.

Shame on me, I'm not too sure. My friend owned the bottle and she did the pouring, so I didn't get a close look at it. It was almost certainly the 10, I would think. You make me eager to try the 17.

Fredrik_S wrote:

My latest quest is to try every whisky on this list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islay_whisky

So far I've tried Bowmore, Bruichladdich and Laphroig and they've all been fantastic. Been looking for a bottle of Caol Ila for quite awhile now but no luck so far.

I think my favorite for a drink late at night with some games or conversation is Glenlivet. It's very unassuming and doesn't have a overpowering flavor so I've converted some whisky haters with it.

I enjoyed Caol Ila a good bit, even if it could rightfully be described as Laphroaig for .... the less brave. It's smokey but a bit more subdued. How was the Bruichladdich compared to the others?

Lobo wrote:

Eagle Rare is my new favorite bourbon, displacing Buffalo Trace. It danced in my mouth! It danced and sparkled and would not stay still. Its texture changed constantly. What a delight!

I've never had Eagle Rare before. *adds to list*

booty wrote:

I enjoyed Caol Ila a good bit, even if it could rightfully be described as Laphroaig for .... the less brave. It's smokey but a bit more subdued. How was the Bruichladdich compared to the others?

It's been a plethora of years since I tried it so my memory of it is hazy, but I remember it being fairly smooth with very little peatiness (peaty-ness?) to it. I remember it was the regular 12 year old version and not one of their super peaty versions. I also remember comparing it to Famous Grouse, so there's that.

[size=32][color=blue]Gentlemen![/size][/color] (and Lara)

May I have your attention please?

IMAGE(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-IciP4CHZ7-g/TpX9q3E3gFI/AAAAAAAAAik/kLnC_T9PfGg/s640/IMG_20111012_154639.jpg)

The Buffalo Trace Antique Collection is out! I snagged a bottle of George T. Stagg and Eagle Rare 17 yr. The others include Sazerac 18 (rye), William L. Weller, and Thomas H. Handy (rye). I'd like to go back and get the others (and multiple bottles of the Stagg), but in my stupid state with its stupid sin taxes they're $86 a bottle.

Anyway, seek them out! It will be some of the best bourbon/rye you've ever tasted. Better than Pappy Van Winkle, I dare say. I read one review that said the ER 17 is a bit off this year, which would make me supremely sad, but I'm still happy just to have scored any of these bottles. I dunno if you can make it out from the picture, but the Stagg is — get ready — 142.6 proof, which I'm pretty sure qualifies it for "firewater" status. The Weller is also cask-strength, so be warned (though a bit of branch water opens them both right up).

You will most likely have to ask for these, as they are almost always back-room stock (some stores may get 2 or 3 of each bottle; some won't get any). This is why you make friends with the buyer at your local liquor store.

Happy drinking!

Drool. I will be making my stop tomorrow.

In a not quite so expensive vein, did we talk about regular wellers? Good (and sweet) bourbon for 20 bucks...but still can't beat buffalo trace at 24. Especially since it's from the same warehouses.

I saw the Buffalo Trace Antique stuff hit a store locally but this is Bourbon Country and that stuff was gone literally within an hour of them posting about it on Twitter. I'm camping out Twitter for some Pappy hopefully, but I might have to beat up a couple of old rich dudes to get it. Still sad I missed out on the Sazerac 18yr.

PyromanFO wrote:

I saw the Buffalo Trace Antique stuff hit a store locally but this is Bourbon Country and that stuff was gone literally within an hour of them posting about it on Twitter. I'm camping out Twitter for some Pappy hopefully, but I might have to beat up a couple of old rich dudes to get it. Still sad I missed out on the Sazerac 18yr.

Y'know, I figured it'd be easier to find for you, being 20 minutes away from the bottling plant. Could you drive over to Frankfort? Think they'd have any at the actual distillery?

When I visited the buffalo trace distillery their selection was awful. They didn't even have their full "regular" selection. The did have tons of tourist swag though!

I did not actually get to sample my wares last night. I haz a sad. It was already a long day, then I had choir rehearsal (I direct) afterwards, then I got home and the wife melted down because the kids were being total hooligans. Pretty much passed out at midnight. Ugh. So I'll report tomorrow as to the awesomilitude or lack thereof contained in said bourbon.

Whiskey is both the cause of and solution to a large proportion of the country's hooliganism.

wordsmythe wrote:

Whiskey is both the cause of and solution to a large proportion of the country's hooliganism.

Eh, Simpsons did it first.

Btw, called my three liquor store mainstays and no luck. One of them said the entire state is out. So now I'm calling podunk stores to see if I get lucky. Grr.

Minarchist wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:

Whiskey is both the cause of and solution to a large proportion of the country's hooliganism.

Eh, Simpsons did it first.

This is a derived rule.

So I have been curious about all these bourbons you talk about. I have only really had it with coke, usually Early Times, Makers Mark if I'm stepping it up a notch.

So I made a list from this thread and went out to the fancy liquor store tonight to pick something out. I got a bottle of Evan Williams from 2001, and then my friend got me a bottle of Booker's as a birthday present.

I tried them both side by side with ice. They were pretty good. I have to say I think I liked the Evan Williams a little better. Maybe that will change as I try them more, I dunno.

Bourbon all pretty much tastes the same on ice. Try it at room tempurature. For the booker's (and the evan williams, but for different reasons), add a couple drops of water to them, and then sip them slowly. You'll get used to the heat; search for vanilla, caramel, molasses, coupled with a dry spice. Let it sit in your mouth before swallowing.

Basic rule of thumb is that it should warm the belly, not burn the throat. If it burns, hold it in your mouth longer.

And pardon me while I weep for comparing Booker's unfavorably to Evan Williams.

Seth wrote:

And pardon me while I weep for comparing Booker's unfavorably to Evan Williams. :-)

+1.

Though to be honest, Booker's is deep end of the pool. It's perhaps reasonable to think that someone just easing in to bourbon wouldn't think of it as highly as one firmly entrenched, just as man 2-buck-chuck drinkers would think a fine aged Burgundy tastes terrible.

But he's right, most whisk(e)ys are meant to be drunk at room temperature, and chilling them too much can hide and close off any flavors you may get.

Personally, I often drink Booker's neat, though I do admit it's better with a bit of branch water. This is in stark contrast to the Stagg I posted earlier on this page, which demands branch water -- I've found myself using almost a 1:1 ratio of water to bourbon, which is way higher than I'd ever go with anything else.

As an aside, Booker's makes the best damn Manhattan on the planet. Yes, it's iced, but oh man is it tasty.

Well looks like I will be re-trying them tonight with just water.
How much water, and what is branch water?

EDIT: Also, how much do you usually put in a glass?

In cocktail terms it just means flat (not soda) water. Hardcore drinkers really like to use mineral water for this, but I have good water out of the tap and then further filter it through a Brita, and that works just fine for me. You just want something that's been poured long enough ago that the chlorine has had a chance to dissipate.

For the Booker's, I'd try maybe half an ounce of water for a 1.5-ounce jigger pour of bourbon. Maybe a half-jigger (3/4 oz) if it still feels a bit closed off.

EDIT: I answered your edit before you asked it.

Nuean wrote:

EDIT: Also, how much do you usually put in a glass?

How big is the glass?

Try it neat first. Sip it. Don't pound it. If it is too much then put water in it. I never have done that with the bourbons I have tried.

In cocktail terms it just means flat (not soda) water.

A branch in the South of the US is a stream, so it's just regular water. I would not filter it, though, and I'd avoid tap water if possible. I'd use mineral water with some good flavor to it. Try Poland Springs (the non-carbonated) or Calistoga or something like that. If you can get some from the area where the whiskey was made, that could be even better.

The good people at Mt. Vernon have started distilling Mr. George Washington's Rye whiskey in his own still. 60% rye, 30% corn, 5% malted barley, cask-aged. $185 a bottle, 300 made this year. I would *love* to try this.

Wick malt named world's best whisky

Old Pulteney was crowned World Whisky of the Year in Jim Murray's 2012 Whisky Bible.

...

US bourbons took the two runners-up places in the Whisky Bible awards.

George T Stagg was named second best while 10-year-old Parker's Heritage Collection Wheated Mash Bill picked up third.

I'm not gonna lie — the Stagg is tremendous. Parker's is quite excellent this year, as well. Heaven Hill really needs to get their act together on the PHC stuff. Most years it's too damn expensive for a bunch of crap. The idea that it's a wildly different bottling based on completely different mash bills each year isn't going to win them a fan base, either.

How much do these typically run for a fifth (.75L)?

Can you clarify that pronoun?

Stagg or Parker's.

11.80 ish for evan williams. More than that for pretty much anything else. in my state, bookers sells for around 54.00, george stagg is between 78 and 85.

I just tried a bit of whisky; something from our dusty drinks... shelf. Made me grimace. I can imagine the after taste being interesting, but having to get through the alcohol is the problem. I had it with a bit of water.

For me the whole BTAC (including Stagg) is $85.99, though Tennessee has some pretty high sin taxes (they supposedly "list" for $70). PHC can vary drastically from year to year, and was well over $100 for a few years running. The 2010 was the cask-strength wheated, and that went for ~$80 and won a whole crapload of awards (BTW, it's probably the only good wheated bourbon Heaven Hill has ever put out). You can no longer purchase it anywhere, unless you're insanely lucky. This years' version was ~$90 in my area, and was a 100-proof rye bill that was aged for 4-6 months in used cognac barrels after the traditional charred oak aging. I thought it was pretty good, but not what the price was asking for.