Good bourbon?

cpettit said:
The Four Roses Small Batch in the round shaped bottle is pretty good and the single barrel ones they sell at the distillery are good. Any single barrel with the pale yellow label is usually a good bet.

I like most from Heaven Hill but the Elijah Craig barrel proof are always one of my faves. They get pretty strong though. I have an older one I’m a lil scared to get into cause it’s 136 proof or something like that.
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I agree on the Four Roses small batch, and I've never tasted anything from Elijah Craig that I did not like.
 
younglion said:
Old Fashioned for this guy. I make my own syrup with brown sugar, orange zest, and bitters. Toss in a bourbon soaked cherry to make it all fancy and I’m a happy camper.
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My sister loved them.:beer:
Her twist was to serve them in a mason jar (“just like gramma and grampa used to do”)
Last year when we spread her ashes (out on the farm) my niece had made up a gallon (or so!) which were properly served, in mason jars.
Everyone got their own jar … (The youngest grand kids are in middle school …)
Giggles, and tears, were shared, and shed.
A fitting memory of/for her.
RIP JRMT
 
A family friend is visiting the US currently and is promising to bring me back a bottle - only instructions were to give him a list of “under $100 bourbons” so I gave him:

List:




-George T Stagg


-Wild Turkey Rare Breed


-Old Forrester Single Barrel or 1920


-Jack Daniel’s 14 year, Single barrel barrel Proof, or Single Barrel Tanyard Hill


-Knob Creek 15 year


- Eagle Rare 12 year


-Blantons/EH TAYLOR


- Weller 107


Haven’t tried any of these but have heard good things.

Any bad bottles on this list?
 
younglion said:
A family friend is visiting the US currently and is promising to bring me back a bottle - only instructions were to give him a list of “under $100 bourbons” so I gave him:

List:




-George T Stagg


-Wild Turkey Rare Breed


-Old Forrester Single Barrel or 1920


-Jack Daniel’s 14 year, Single barrel barrel Proof, or Single Barrel Tanyard Hill


-Knob Creek 15 year


- Eagle Rare 12 year


-Blantons/EH TAYLOR


- Weller 107


Haven’t tried any of these but have heard good things.

Any bad bottles on this list?
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Wild Turkey Rare Breed is under $50/bottle and is amazing for that price. One of my favorites.
And I don't see any duds on that list.
 
younglion said:
A family friend is visiting the US currently and is promising to bring me back a bottle - only instructions were to give him a list of “under $100 bourbons” so I gave him:

List:




-George T Stagg


-Wild Turkey Rare Breed


-Old Forrester Single Barrel or 1920


-Jack Daniel’s 14 year, Single barrel barrel Proof, or Single Barrel Tanyard Hill


-Knob Creek 15 year


- Eagle Rare 12 year


-Blantons/EH TAYLOR


- Weller 107


Haven’t tried any of these but have heard good things.

Any bad bottles on this list?
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I prefer OF 1910 over the 1920, but I don't like hot bourbons. Somebody gave me a bottle of Old Fo Single Barrel and damn, it's 133.5 proof! I can run that in my RZ:crackup:
 
R1Racer99 said:
For those that don’t like the higher proof, don’t you just lower it yourself with a cube or water?
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I know the purist will blister me for this. I drink 86 to 95 proof, and pour a bourbon glass half and half with lots of ice. Diluting higher proof like this does nothing to change the heat for me.
 
I'm just kinda tired of every special or 'rare' release being over 100proof... I've got 9 bottles in the cabinet right now 100 proof or higher... gimme something I can daily and you'll sell it faster. My go-to is still Devils Cut, love it on the rocks or mixed and it doesn't burn my nostrils. LOL
 
thrak410 said:
I'm just kinda tired of every special or 'rare' release being over 100proof... I've got 9 bottles in the cabinet right now 100 proof or higher... gimme something I can daily and you'll sell it faster. My go-to is still Devils Cut, love it on the rocks or mixed and it doesn't burn my nostrils. LOL
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Devils Cut is damn good for the price. So is their Dbl oaked.
The high test stuff is good straight if it's good quality. I drink it neat and don't mind the 120 proof stuff. Turkey Rare is 120ish and surprisingly smooth.
 
What is the point of good bourbon with ice and water ?

I want to taste the barrel.

That's like putting cheese on a hamburger to me.

Leave it alone.
 
tony 340 said:
What is the point of good bourbon with ice and water ?

I want to taste the barrel.

That's like putting cheese on a hamburger to me.

Leave it alone.
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Meh, its easier to drink. Im not into sipping. I get it. A bunch of people are. Thats not my thing. I dont drink Bourbon for the taste. Its strong, low calorie, and dont have to add sugar shit to drink it. Im not a pinky raising Bourbon drinker. I dont care for the taste. I like to get a good buzz from drinking the least amount possible. Maybe I dont belong in this thread.
 
05Yamabomber said:
Meh, its easier to drink. Im not into sipping. I get it. A bunch of people are. Thats not my thing. I dont drink Bourbon for the taste. Its strong, low calorie, and dont have to add sugar shit to drink it. Im not a pinky raising Bourbon drinker. I dont care for the taste. I like to get a good buzz from drinking the least amount possible. Maybe I dont belong in this thread.
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I totally get what you're saying. I grew up in the epicenter of bourbon and can very easily remember when nobody drank the stuff. My son in laws great, great grandfather owned Four Roses distillery, and back in those days it was considered rot gut wino liquor. And then all the sudden about 30 years ago it became hip to drink bourbon. I laugh at the pomposity that some people put towards the way it's consumed now. It's liquor, drink the damn stuff however you please and enjoy the buzz same as you would with any other sprit.
 
IMO high proof doesn't always mean "hot" drinking. I'm no purist, but if I'm trying something new it's always neat. Sometimes it turns out that it's better on rocks, some things only work for me with mixers (old fashioned usually). My favorites are usually in the 115-125 range and consumed neat.
Clearly everyone's taste is different- some of the favorites listed recently I think are hot garbage...I wish I liked Buffalo Trace, it would save me a ton of $$
 
don't recall Frank August being mentioned here- the wife bought some last week because "cool bottle", and it turns out it's really good shit. Just wish it wasn't like 80 bucks.
 
rd400racer said:
I totally get what you're saying. I grew up in the epicenter of bourbon and can very easily remember when nobody drank the stuff. My son in laws great, great grandfather owned Four Roses distillery, and back in those days it was considered rot gut wino liquor. And then all the sudden about 30 years ago it became hip to drink bourbon. I laugh at the pomposity that some people put towards the way it's consumed now. It's liquor, drink the damn stuff however you please and enjoy the buzz same as you would with any other sprit.
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That’s pretty interesting. I “discovered” the hard stuff when I was on a low carb diet. Prior to that I always drank beer or wine. Then I went on that diet and started discovering it.

I don’t drink as much as I used to, but when I was learning I found most bourbons too sweet for my liking. I found the scotches and some whiskeys to please me more. I usually drank it neat, sometimes with a cube.

I’m no expert, but someone on here explained to me, that I like the Rye’s better and Bourbons are made with corn which makes them sweet. I actually gave away the Maker’s Mark I bought, too sweet for my liking.

I also like the peaty, mossy scotches too
 
Boman Forklift said:
That’s pretty interesting. I “discovered” the hard stuff when I was on a low carb diet. Prior to that I always drank beer or wine. Then I went on that diet and started discovering it.

I don’t drink as much as I used to, but when I was learning I found most bourbons too sweet for my liking. I found the scotches and some whiskeys to please me more. I usually drank it neat, sometimes with a cube.

I’m no expert, but someone on here explained to me, that I like the Rye’s better and Bourbons are made with corn which makes them sweet. I actually gave away the Maker’s Mark I bought, too sweet for my liking.

I also like the peaty, mossy scotches too
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I grew up on Maker's, from the 60's to the 90's it was considered the gold standard of bourbon. I know the place well, did many projects there. Then when the boom hit around mid 90's, all the sudden Woodford Reserve was the darling. I started drinking it and liked it over Maker's. Around 2005 my mom was dating the CFO of Brown Forman and I went to his house for dinner. Of course he had all their offerings in his bar and when I asked for Woodford he kind of laughed and said try the Old Forrester, it's basically the exact same as Woodford for half the price. He made me a convert for life.

I'll still have a bottle of Old Fo on the shelf, but I graduated to Weller green label, it's my favorite bourbon. There's a few that I enjoy, such as Knob Creek 12, Heaven Hill BIB and Old Fo 1910, but those are all over $50 a bottle. I can get the OF 86 for $21, and if I search hard enough when I'm on the road, Weller green for under $30.

For reference, Old Forrester is a corn and rye mix while the Weller is corn and wheat. I can hardly drink Maker's now.

Oh, and I'll drink some Four Roses just to make my son in law happy. It's OK. Funny thing is, they sold the company to Seagram's in the 40's. Yes, it made the family rich but that was generations ago, that money is pretty much long gone. Very few of the current generation worked and they bled through it. Here's the quick bio on his great, great grandfather (might even have been 3 greats ago). My son in law is a Jones.

"Four Roses Bourbon traces its origins to 1888 when founder Paul Jones Jr. trademarked the brand name, inspired by a Southern belle who signaled her acceptance of his marriage proposal by wearing a corsage of four red roses.

  • 1884: Paul Jones Jr. moved his business operations to Louisville, Kentucky, establishing an office on historic Whiskey Row.
  • 1889: Jones purchased the J.G. Mattingly Distillery to secure direct production capabilities.
  • 1910: The distinct Spanish Mission-style distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky—now listed on the National Register of Historic Places—was constructed (originally operating as the Old Prentice Distillery)

1943–1945: Seagram transitioned the domestic U.S. label into a bottom-shelf blended whiskey. Meanwhile, Seagram maintained Four Roses as a premium 100% straight bourbon in lucrative export markets like Japan"
 
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I like it with a big rock most of the time but occasionally drink an expensive pour neat alongside a beer or if its really high proof, just on the rocks with regular cubes (they melt faster).
 
rd400racer said:
I grew up on Maker's, from the 60's to the 90's it was considered the gold standard of bourbon. I know the place well, did many projects there. Then when the boom hit around mid 90's, all the sudden Woodford Reserve was the darling. I started drinking it and liked it over Maker's. Around 2005 my mom was dating the CFO of Brown Forman and I went to his house for dinner. Of course he had all their offerings in his bar and when I asked for Woodford he kind of laughed and said try the Old Forrester, it's basically the exact same as Woodford for half the price. He made me a convert for life.

I'll still have a bottle of Old Fo on the shelf, but I graduated to Weller green label, it's my favorite bourbon. There's a few that I enjoy, such as Knob Creek 12, Heaven Hill BIB and Old Fo 1910, but those are all over $50 a bottle. I can get the OF 86 for $21, and if I search hard enough when I'm on the road, Weller green for under $30.

For reference, Old Forrester is a corn and rye mix while the Weller is corn and wheat. I can hardly drink Maker's now.

Oh, and I'll drink some Four Roses just to make my son in law happy. It's OK. Funny thing is, they sold the company to Seagram's in the 40's. Yes, it made the family rich but that was generations ago, that money is pretty much long gone. Very few of the current generation worked and they bled through it. Here's the quick bio on his great, great grandfather (might even have been 3 greats ago). My son in law is a Jones.

"Four Roses Bourbon traces its origins to 1888 when founder Paul Jones Jr. trademarked the brand name, inspired by a Southern belle who signaled her acceptance of his marriage proposal by wearing a corsage of four red roses.

  • 1884: Paul Jones Jr. moved his business operations to Louisville, Kentucky, establishing an office on historic Whiskey Row.
  • 1889: Jones purchased the J.G. Mattingly Distillery to secure direct production capabilities.
  • 1910: The distinct Spanish Mission-style distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky—now listed on the National Register of Historic Places—was constructed (originally operating as the Old Prentice Distillery)

1943–1945: Seagram transitioned the domestic U.S. label into a bottom-shelf blended whiskey. Meanwhile, Seagram maintained Four Roses as a premium 100% straight bourbon in lucrative export markets like Japan"
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Have you had their(Makers) Star Hill Farm Whisky?

A malthouse that I did all the automation for has been supplying them malt for the last five years. It hasn't hit the stores yet. I'm dying to try it when it does .
 
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