Off-Topic Bourbon Heads

[SFbayCane]

SFbay's Offseason Bourbon Story:

I was at a mini-storage where I was keeping my ATV's a few years ago. There was an old man a few spaces down who looked like he was struggling. He comes over and asks if I can help him load some large wooden shipping crates onto his trailer. Of course I stop and help him. After we're done loading, we get to talking.

He tells me his dad recently passed away and he's cleaning out his father's stuff. Having done that after my father passed I can tell you it can be a heavy event, so I hang with him for a few minutes, he seemed like he needed some company. He tells me that his father was collector of unique restaurant memorabilia. He takes a few minutes to show me a bunch of stuff, he had all sorts of cool stuff in that storage. He then says, "Son, do you like bourbon?" I said yes, even though I'm not a big bourbon guy.

So he takes a crow bar, pops open a large shipping crate, reaches in and hands me a bottle wrapped in newspaper. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, I take a quick peek, leave it wrapped in the newspaper, thank him, exchange a greeting and head home.

When I get home I find that its a bottle of 1970 Old Fitzgerald Prime. I have no idea what that is. A while later I go on the web and find a message board of high end whiskey lovers. I sign up and post pics asking what I have. Within minutes a guy responds telling me he knows exactly what I have. Old Fitzgerald used to do limited run, custom cannisters of bourbon. He said he'd seen a near identical bottle to mine sell at auction for $1200 recently. He then offers me $800 for it. We exchange cell numbers and I tell him I'll call him tomorrow. Im thinking $800 for being a good samaritan for 25 minutes is a fine reward.

I grab the bottle and go to put it on the kitchen counter. As I grab it the cork fails, the decorative ball cap comes off and shatters on the tile floor. Doh! The next day I text him some 'after pics' of the bottle to the buyer and tell him what happened. He says he's got bad news and worse news. lol Bad news - I broke the seal so I cannot sell it at auction. Worse news - I could have sold the empty cannister to collectors online for $75 but not now that the ball cap is broken.

He said he believed me and said he'd still offer me $350 for it and would cover shipping. I said for $350 I'll just keep it for a fitting occasion. You could tell he was true whiskey & bourbon lover because he seemed excited to here me say that. So I kept it. Still haven't opened it.


The bottle.

The old man and the shipping crates.

The newspaper it was wrapped in. Dated June 24th, 1973.

Post accident bottle. Still sealed though. whew.

 

[Angry Ibis]

SFbay's Offseason Bourbon Story:

I was at a mini-storage where I was keeping my ATV's a few years ago. There was an old man a few spaces down who looked like he was struggling. He comes over and asks if I can help him load some large wooden shipping crates onto his trailer. Of course I stop and help him. After we're done loading, we get to talking.

He tells me his dad recently passed away and he's cleaning out his father's stuff. Having done that after my father passed I can tell you it can be a heavy event, so I hang with him for a few minutes, he seemed like he needed some company. He tells me that his father was collector of unique restaurant memorabilia. He takes a few minutes to show me a bunch of stuff, he had all sorts of cool stuff in that storage. He then says, "Son, do you like bourbon?" I said yes, even though I'm not a big bourbon guy.

So he takes a crow bar, pops open a large shipping crate, reaches in and hands me a bottle wrapped in newspaper. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, I take a quick peek, leave it wrapped in the newspaper, thank him, exchange a greeting and head home.

When I get home I find that its a bottle of 1970 Old Fitzgerald Prime. I have no idea what that is. A while later I go on the web and find message board of high end whiskey lovers. I sign up and post pics asking what I have. Within minutes a guy responds telling me he knows exactly what I have. Old Fitzgerald used to do limited run, custom cannisters of bourbon. He said he'd seen a near identical bottle of mine sell at auction for $1200 recently. He then offers me $800 for it. We exchange cell numbers and I tell him I'll call him tomorrow. Im thinking $800 for being a good samaritan for 25 minutes is a fine reward.

I grab the bottle and go to put it on the kitchen counter. As I grab it the cork fails, the decorative ball cap comes off and shatters on the tile floor. Doh! The next day I text pics some after pics of the bottle to the buyer and tell him what happened. He says he's got bad news and worse news. lol Bad news - I broke the seal so I cannot sell it at auction. Worse news - I could have sold the empty cannister to collectors online for $75 but not now that the ball cap is broken.

He said he believed me and said he'd offer me $350 for it and would cover shipping. I said for $350 I'll just keep it for a fitting occasion. You could tell he was true whiskey & bourbon lover because he seemed excited to here me say that. So I kept it. Still haven't opened it.


The bottle.

View attachment 140358


The old man and the shipping crates.

View attachment 140359


The newspaper it was wrapped in. Dated June 24th, 1973.

View attachment 140361



Post accident bottle. Still sealed though. whew.

View attachment 140362

Neat story man.

 

[Melbcane]

Angel's envy would be my top choice

I like that also. The family that started Angels were from the Melboune area and he was a FIT graduate before they moved to KY and started making bourbon With his dad who was a master distiller who had retired. Basil Hayden, four roses and Elijah Craig are what I have most often.

 

[dookie blaylock]

Templeton Rye Maple Cask Finish is a good go-to Rye. Whistle Pig 10 year is the best Rye I've ever had.

Bourbon go-to is Four Roses Small Batch. Any good recs on higher quality bourbon?

fyi, templeton has flavoring additives that aren't just from the finishing casks. not sure if that changes your stance on them or not but it's something to consider.

 

[dookie blaylock]

Hate all you want, but no cap, I kind of like well-done or medium well prime steaks. I know when in a "judged situation" to order medium or mid-rare, and they're all good. But I kind of like well cooked steaks with a great crust. I like Ruth's Chris and Luger's because the plate is so hot, you can turn mid-rare to medium by pressing the steak to the plate. And I think that's the point here. Like, while it may be a sign of "sophistication" to some to enjoy a Macallan 18 neat or with a splash of water or 1 ice cube, sometimes if we're keeping it a buck it's better with half a can of coke and a lime wedge.

To each their own. But I stand by the fact that objectively liquor is better when mixed and yeah, further cooking and/or bernaise or au poivre sauce improves good steaks.

it's a waste of good liquor to mix top shelf with anything other than ice or a few drops of water. why pay that much for booze that you're going to cover the taste of?

 

[dookie blaylock]

SFbay's Offseason Bourbon Story:

I was at a mini-storage where I was keeping my ATV's a few years ago. There was an old man a few spaces down who looked like he was struggling. He comes over and asks if I can help him load some large wooden shipping crates onto his trailer. Of course I stop and help him. After we're done loading, we get to talking.

He tells me his dad recently passed away and he's cleaning out his father's stuff. Having done that after my father passed I can tell you it can be a heavy event, so I hang with him for a few minutes, he seemed like he needed some company. He tells me that his father was collector of unique restaurant memorabilia. He takes a few minutes to show me a bunch of stuff, he had all sorts of cool stuff in that storage. He then says, "Son, do you like bourbon?" I said yes, even though I'm not a big bourbon guy.

So he takes a crow bar, pops open a large shipping crate, reaches in and hands me a bottle wrapped in newspaper. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, I take a quick peek, leave it wrapped in the newspaper, thank him, exchange a greeting and head home.

When I get home I find that its a bottle of 1970 Old Fitzgerald Prime. I have no idea what that is. A while later I go on the web and find a message board of high end whiskey lovers. I sign up and post pics asking what I have. Within minutes a guy responds telling me he knows exactly what I have. Old Fitzgerald used to do limited run, custom cannisters of bourbon. He said he'd seen a near identical bottle of mine go sell at auction for $1200 recently. He then offers me $800 for it. We exchange cell numbers and I tell him I'll call him tomorrow. Im thinking $800 for being a good samaritan for 25 minutes is a fine reward.

I grab the bottle and go to put it on the kitchen counter. As I grab it the cork fails, the decorative ball cap comes off and shatters on the tile floor. Doh! The next day I text pics some 'after pics' of the bottle to the buyer and tell him what happened. He says he's got bad news and worse news. lol Bad news - I broke the seal so I cannot sell it at auction. Worse news - I could have sold the empty cannister to collectors online for $75 but not now that the ball cap is broken.

He said he believed me and said he'd still offer me $350 for it and would cover shipping. I said for $350 I'll just keep it for a fitting occasion. You could tell he was true whiskey & bourbon lover because he seemed excited to here me say that. So I kept it. Still haven't opened it.


The bottle.

View attachment 140358


The old man and the shipping crates.

View attachment 140359


The newspaper it was wrapped in. Dated June 24th, 1973.

View attachment 140361



Post accident bottle. Still sealed though. whew.

View attachment 140362

whatever you do, don't drink it unless you're absolutely sure about the history of that bottle. those old painted decanters were really popular collector's items and a significant amount of them are coated with a lead glaze that leaches into the juice.

 

[TheUBack]

it's a waste of good liquor to mix top shelf with anything other than ice or a few drops of water. why pay that much for booze that you're going to cover the taste of?

If I will consume good liquor, it will probably be in the form of a mixed drink. A $200 bottle of tequila doesn't interest me unless we're making Margaritas. A really excellent rum will be used for Mojitos or Cuba Libres. Just depends on the situation. If it is a great scotch/bourbon/whiskey, it should be absolutely banging with ginger or coke.

 

[dookie blaylock]

If I will consume good liquor, it will probably be in the form of a mixed drink. A $200 bottle of tequila doesn't interest me unless we're making Margaritas. A really excellent rum will be used for Mojitos or Cuba Libres. Just depends on the situation. If it is a great scotch/bourbon/whiskey, it should be absolutely banging with ginger or coke.

the thing with whiskey is that there's almost always a tier below the good sippers that are perfect for mixing that use the exact same distillate and are just aged for a shorter time. you really shouldn't pay more than $30/bottle for something you're going to mix because the differences between the $30 bottle of the 4 year old stuff and the $60 bottle of 7 year old is going to be covered by the mixers. bourbon is not the same across brands because everything in the process plays a factor: grain source and mash ratio, water source, wood source for barrels and level of char, the rickhouse's exposure to the elements, and a ton of other little things. you can have two distilleries make identically proofed and aged bourbons that taste entirely different. it's more of a matter of finding what works for you.


also as far as mixing and to use your steak analogy: it's entirely fine to use a prime filet for steak au poivre, but it would be a complete waste of an incredible ingredient to do it with a kobe filet. i mix my stuff when i just want to drink, but only from bottles that i wouldn't cry about if they broke.

 

[youngcanefs]

Big blantons guy! I get all my bourbon over at Jensen’s liquors. They also have a lot of they’re own barrel pickings. If I get tired of getting the same juice over and over, I usually gravitate toward their collabs with distilleries.

 

[yeyo]

You might be right. I don't drink straight liquor. Mainly because I'm not a pledge anymore. All the selections on my list make for fantastic mixed drinks. Try a Pina Colada with Ron Abuelo Centuria or a Margarita with Codigo or Patron Estate Release.

Crown and Redbreast also mix much nicer with ginger ale/coke. If I'm spending a bunch of money on hooch I want to enjoy it dammit lol.

 

[TheUBack]

View attachment 140364

No argument lol. Seems pedantic to me, but try it, and I promise it will be nice. I think this level of prescriptive consumption turns a lot of people off to high end booze. Again, you might enjoy fire water with only an ice cube. But I'd rather drink a top shelf Long Island Iced Tea or something. And I think if you asked bartenders what their customers actually order I'd be in the majority.

 

[SFbayCane]

whatever you do, don't drink it unless you're absolutely sure about the history of that bottle. those old painted decanters were really popular collector's items and a significant amount of them are coated with a lead glaze that leaches into the juice.

Thanks for that info. Im a wine guy more so than anything else, so Im always focused on the provenance of a bottle. I have no knowledge of what proper storage of bourbon is or how it might affect taste over time. With wine you can immediately taste (and often times just smell) if its fouled (corked). Is that the same for bourbon?

 

[dookie blaylock]

Thanks for that info. Im a wine guy more so than anything else, so Im always focused on the provenance of a bottle. I have no knowledge of what proper storage of bourbon is or how it might affect taste over time. With wine you can immediately taste (and often times just smell) if its fouled (corked). Is that the same for bourbon?

spirits typically don't go "bad" unless they're contaminated or the cork rots and allows a slow evaporation. uv can also affect it, but i've never had an issue with that. usually the worst thing that happens is the cork dries out and you're left fishing little chewy bits from between your teeth.

 

[SFbayCane]

spirits typically don't go "bad" unless they're contaminated or the cork rots and allows a slow evaporation. uv can also affect it, but i've never had an issue with that. usually the worst thing that happens is the cork dries out and you're left fishing little chewy bits from between your teeth.

Lemme ask you this - Should I consider removing it from the bottle and storing it in some kind of store bought cannister until I drink it?

 

[dookie blaylock]

Lemme ask you this - Should I consider removing it from the bottle and storing it in some kind of store bought cannister until I drink it?

you absolutely should not drink it unless you have a way to test it for lead or if you find out that it's lead-free glaze/paint. if that decanter is what i think it is, then that bourbon has been happily absorbing lead for half a century.

 

[TheUBack]

the thing with whiskey is that there's almost always a tier below the good sippers that are perfect for mixing that use the exact same distillate and are just aged for a shorter time. you really shouldn't pay more than $30/bottle for something you're going to mix because the differences between the $30 bottle of the 4 year old stuff and the $60 bottle of 7 year old is going to be covered by the mixers. bourbon is not the same across brands because everything in the process plays a factor: grain source and mash ratio, water source, wood source for barrels and level of char, the rickhouse's exposure to the elements, and a ton of other little things. you can have two distilleries make identically proofed and aged bourbons that taste entirely different. it's more of a matter of finding what works for you.


also as far as mixing and to use your steak analogy: it's entirely fine to use a prime filet for steak au poivre, but it would be a complete waste of an incredible ingredient to do it with a kobe filet. i mix my stuff when i just want to drink, but only from bottles that i wouldn't cry about if they broke.

I don't think this is sacrilege. If someone randomly is given a bottle of really expensive spirits the most likely consumption would be in mixed drinks. The stuff is like gasoline straight. To go further into the analogy, Japanese Olive Fed A-5 might be best consumed as a tartar or carpaccio, but most people will grill it then attack accordingly.

I find the snobbery among Scotch people really funny, doubly so for "bourbon enthusiasts." If I want my Kentucky firewater to be palatable, then it will be so. Also, the mock or sometimes sincere act of finding "rare" bourbons like "Pappy" is hilarious. It's just aged moonshine. It's only corn whiskey... Hipsters man...

 

[dookie blaylock]

I don't think this is sacrilege. If someone randomly is given a bottle of really expensive spirits the most likely consumption would be in mixed drinks. The stuff is like gasoline straight. To go further into the analogy, Japanese Olive Fed A-5 might be best consumed as a tartar or carpaccio, but most people will grill it then attack accordingly.

I find the snobbery among Scotch people really funny, doubly so for "bourbon enthusiasts." If I want my Kentucky firewater to be palatable, then it will be so. Also, the mock or sometimes sincere act of finding "rare" bourbons like "Pappy" is hilarious. It's just aged moonshine. It's only corn whiskey... Hipsters man...

i don't think it's sacrilege either, but i do think from a monetary perspective: it's absolutely a waste of money. dom perignon mimosas are probably awesome too, just not for the price.

really at the end of the day it's up to you about how you like your hooch, but you're throwing money away if your expensive spirit makes up less than 75% of your drink.

 

[CashMoneyCane]

I don't think this is sacrilege. If someone randomly is given a bottle of really expensive spirits the most likely consumption would be in mixed drinks. The stuff is like gasoline straight. To go further into the analogy, Japanese Olive Fed A-5 might be best consumed as a tartar or carpaccio, but most people will grill it then attack accordingly.

I find the snobbery among Scotch people really funny, doubly so for "bourbon enthusiasts." If I want my Kentucky firewater to be palatable, then it will be so. Also, the mock or sometimes sincere act of finding "rare" bourbons like "Pappy" is hilarious. It's just aged moonshine. It's only corn whiskey... Hipsters man...

Dude, please just go drink Bud Light Lime-a-ritas and stop talking about liquor like you know anything.

Just because you're wildly ignorant, doesn't mean other people have to be.

 

[TheWhiskeyMiser]

I do not see any Magnificent ******** here....

 

[Angry Ibis]

Dude, please just go drink Bud Light Lime-a-ritas and stop talking about liquor like you know anything.

Just because you're wildly ignorant, doesn't mean other people have to be.

He has to be trolling the thread. Why else would someone that distastes bourbon and the way bourbon drinkers drink it pop up on a thread labeled about bourbon?

That would be like me wandering into another team’s message board and trying to convince them they are wrong to be fans of their team.... only reason would be to be a pain in the ***...