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Off-Topic Bourbon Heads

Angry Ibis said:
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 ***...
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you know what board you're on right? any given tailgate at hard rock has people with more money than sense making gran patron margaritas.
 
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Antcane said:
Do not sleep on anything that comes from the House of Suntory The Hibiki 21 for the $$$ and The Toki for the $.
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Was able to go to Japan a couple years ago, and visited Suntory......while you're there, you can drink a lot of what would cost us big money here, for not that much. I forget what I had, but I remember standing at the bar looking up on my phone what the bottles they were pouring for me would cost in the US......crazy.
 
guys don't hate on me...i enjoy bourbon but i prefer regular ice cubes. i guess i am a bit of a pu$$y and i like that it gets a little diluted. i have a bottle of four roses right now. have had basel haydens in the past but i am not a huge fan. any suggestions on some good $40-50 dollar bottles to broaden my horizons.
 
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db305 said:
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.
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Yeah......I have a pretty large liquor selection, and I definitely have "tiers" of spirits I'm more apt to use for mixing, and tiers of spirits I'm more likely to drink straight. Not to say I won't ever make a mixed drink with a high-end spirit, sometimes I like to try things, sometimes I think the particular flavor profile of high end spirit X will go really well in ****tail Y.....but for the most part I don't typically use those in mixed drinks. Like you say, there are almost always less expensive bottles that are great for mixing.

With bourbon in particular, Total Wine sells a brand called Two Stars at $19.99 for a 750ml. I'm not going to claim it's the most amazingly complex bourbon out there, but it has perfectly OK vanilla and woodsy flavors, and works great in basically any ****tail that calls for bourbon. **** it's enjoyable enough over ice on its own right. I'm always going through bottles of this stuff.
 
LPK2006 said:
Was able to go to Japan a couple years ago, and visited Suntory......while you're there, you can drink a lot of what would cost us big money here, for not that much. I forget what I had, but I remember standing at the bar looking up on my phone what the bottles they were pouring for me would cost in the US......crazy.
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Suntory now owns some of the US brands through the acquisition of Jim Beam. I think they did some experimental batches with the two distillers working together. But yea, the Japanese stuff is delicious and much cheaper over there. I regret not bringing a couple of bottles back when there in 2019.
 
wspcane said:
Suntory now owns some of the US brands through the acquisition of Jim Beam. I think they did some experimental batches with the two distillers working together. But yea, the Japanese stuff is delicious and much cheaper over there. I regret not bringing a couple of bottles back when there in 2019.
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Yeah, I should have done the same, and didn't.
 
itsacanething said:
guys don't hate on me...i enjoy bourbon but i prefer regular ice cubes. i guess i am a bit of a pu$$y and i like that it gets a little diluted. i have a bottle of four roses right now. have had basel haydens in the past but i am not a huge fan. any suggestions on some good $40-50 dollar bottles to broaden my horizons.
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some water can open up the flavors in bourbon so you're not doing anything wrong adding regular ice. just be careful to not let if melt entirely if you use a lot. it took me over a year to be able to really enjoy high proofs neat and i'll still add a small cube to temper them most of the time. when i'm feeling frisky i'll add a dash of bitters to see how the flavors compliment each other.

best ~$50 bottle for the money: old forester 1920 (prohibition style). 115 proof packs a lot of heat, but with a single cube it opens up.

if you can find it on the shelf, eagle rare is ~$30-35 retail and can stand up to bottles that are $75+. easy to drink neat and makes a mean old fashioned.

if you want something very similar to blanton's, john j bowman single barrel will scratch that itch and has a higher proof. uses the same mashbill and is distilled again before barreling.

the closer you get to barrel/cask strength, the more versatile your bourbon is. everything below that strength just had water added to bring it to its selling proof.
 
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LPK2006 said:
Yeah......I have a pretty large liquor selection, and I definitely have "tiers" of spirits I'm more apt to use for mixing, and tiers of spirits I'm more likely to drink straight. Not to say I won't ever make a mixed drink with a high-end spirit, sometimes I like to try things, sometimes I think the particular flavor profile of high end spirit X will go really well in ****tail Y.....but for the most part I don't typically use those in mixed drinks. Like you say, there are almost always less expensive bottles that are great for mixing.

With bourbon in particular, Total Wine sells a brand called Two Stars at $19.99 for a 750ml. I'm not going to claim it's the most amazingly complex bourbon out there, but it has perfectly OK vanilla and woodsy flavors, and works great in basically any ****tail that calls for bourbon. **** it's enjoyable enough over ice on its own right. I'm always going through bottles of this stuff.
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i should clarify that, for me at least, mixed drinks and ****tails are entirely different things and higher-end stuff is great for ****tails as long as the flavors are complimented, not masked. if the flavor of your alcohol is still the more forward-tasting note, then by all means use good liquor. if i'm going to put coke or ginger ale in it then i'm going to use the cheapest stuff i have.
 
Two quick things I’ve heard:
- guide in Louisville on way to tour two distilleries — “the best bourbon is the one you like, drink it how you like it”

- bourbon bar in Chicago suburbs - “what do you usually drink, because I’m not serving you that, you can drink it at home, let’s try something new”

Enjoy what you like friends and try new stuff...

... but we’re still not going to let you mix it with coke....
 
I'm a Bulleit guy myself, but in general, if it's brown booze I'll drink it and be happy. Tried Duke's for the first time. Pretty tasty stuff.

Go Canes!
 
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Have always liked whiskey (bourbon, scotch) and am interested to get more into it. Looking for some guidance:

1) I like smooth, not too sweet, bold flavors. I like it neat or on the rocks. What should I target that's readily available that's $50 or under? And why not, also in the $50 - $100 range?

2) I'm sure this must be looked down on by most bourbon-heads, but any thoughts on Misunderstood Ginger Spiced Whiskey? I love ginger and kentucky mules - will get it just for that, but wondering how it neat or on the rocks.

misunder-ginger.jpg
 
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itsacanething said:
guys don't hate on me...i enjoy bourbon but i prefer regular ice cubes. i guess i am a bit of a pu$$y and i like that it gets a little diluted. i have a bottle of four roses right now. have had basel haydens in the past but i am not a huge fan. any suggestions on some good $40-50 dollar bottles to broaden my horizons.
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That is not a sign of being a pvssy, my friend. It's all just a matter of preference. And believe it or not, some bourbon/whiskey is actually distilled with the expectation that it will be drank with a single ice cube or splash of water. Some Japanese whiskeys, for example, are distilled with this method of enjoyment in mind (because in Japan, the Highball is king). I do recommend you try any spirit neat when tasting it for the first time, but after that do whatever works for you. With a few exceptions, I tend towards have one small ice sphere with my whiskey, unless it's a rare cold day.
 
redsoxcane said:
Today’s shopping trip was successful.
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You need to know someone at a liquor store down here for a GTS. Those are sold once they hit the packing list.

If you live in so Flo and want an Eagle then call the ABC's or TW's in your area and ask. They don't place those bottles on shelves and keep them behind the desk to limit them to 1pp.

Costco liquor department also sometimes carry hidden gems. I picked up a Willett Family Estate from there last year.
 
There’s a liquor store here that usually has eht or eagle rare in their back room when I ask, occasionally a stagg jr or Blantons. Hit the jackpot today with the GTS.
 
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