Thanks Richard. My “standard” depends on whether I drink straight-up or in a Manhattan. Since I have not yet found Pappy 20 in my stores, my go to straight bourbons are Eagle Rare 17, Pappy 12 and Jefferson’s Reserve Very Old. For mixed drinks, I usually use Makers 46, Eagle Rare 10, Buffalo Trace, Russell’s Reserve, and Rittenhouse Rye. I will open and try the Noah’s next time it is a spirits night.
I normally go back and forth between Maker’s Mark and Buffalo trace, but I recently found a new “house” favorite: Black Ridge. Amazingly good, and really reasonable at $30 for a fifth in MD. Purchased at Total Wine, formerly Beltway Wine, in Towson, MD. I’ve also been drinking Bernheim, which like Makers is a wheat wiskey.
Interesting, I hadn’t heard of Black Ridge. A bit of digging suggests it might be a private label brand for Total Wine packaged by Buffalo Trace out of their Barton distillery - possibly the same juice as Very Old Barton?? Are there any other details or age statement on the Black Ridge label??
Meh. It’s no Pappy that’s for sure!
Another KBD product. It could be bourbon from any distiller in KY. KBD buys aged bourbon stocks and bottles them under their private labels. This also means that the bottle you tatsed today could be wildly different from the bottle you purchase tomorrow.
I need to restock, so when I do I will let you know. ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Over the weekend I bought a bottle of the Evan Williams Single Barrel.
Very good for the price, but my gut reaction is that I still prefer the Eagle Rare 10 (Barrel Select, not the regular).
Even though the EW is 86 proof (compared to the ER’s 90), the EW had a lot of heat in the nose and finished noticeably harsher than the ER. Again, I’ve only had it one night so perhaps this will change as I drink it over the next few weeks.
UPDATE: The heat in the nose I initially got from the Evan Williams has dissipated which I find a good thing. Overall, it’s a pretty smooth drinker, but lacks a little bite/spice in the finish that I prefer.
Next up on my list will be Weller 12 Year…
Picked up another of the Black Ridge bottles; bottled by “Clear Spring Distillery.” That lead me to this: http://whiskeyapostle.com/2011/08/kirklands-signature-bourbon/ Apparently it was Beam’s, but now it’s Buffalo Trace’s. And they apparently make damn good bulk juice. I will pick up some of the Kirkland Signature next time I’m in Kentucky (in about 3 weeks).
So, in my hunting for Pappy (I was able to get a 10yr and 12yr), I bought some Noah’s Mill and Weller 12yr. I’ve got enough Bourbon to last a long time now…
I used to think that too. If one of those hits your sweet spot, it is amazing how quickly a bottle can go.
Had Sazerac 18 and WLW out tonight, just a couple tastes of each. Really stellar Bourbon.
Out to try Stagg and PVW 23 later this week. Then Handy Rye next week.
Tasted through a slew of rare bourbons (and a single malt whiskey, from St George) with a fellow Berserker last night, with some really interesting stuff.
Wm Larue Weller 2011 came out on top. The St George 30th Anniversary Single Malt was by far one of the most unique whiskies I’ve ever had - finished partially in pear eau de vie barrels, you REALLY get the pear character. The nose was astonishingly like a good old Riesling auslese to me. It’s $400/bottle and very limited, but for the well healed whiskey enthusiast, I’d highly recommend it. Everyone’s favorite - PAPPY 15 - came in towards the middle of the pack actually, not quite up to previous tastings from the same bottle. A barrel proof Elijah Craig 12yo also really impressed me, a great bourbon.
Full notes at http://www.thirstysouth.com/2012/12/13/epic-rare-bourbon-whiskey/
That was a fun tasting.
Echoing what Brad said, as I think we agreed across the board.
The 2011 William Larue Weller was awesome. I will seek this out.
The St. George’s was one of the more interesting spirits I’ve ever tried. Good stuff.
Elijah Craig showed well, too, as did the now ubiquitous Pappy 15.
They were all really strong, though, and I’d be happy to drink any of the lineup any night of the week.
Any idea what the bottling date on the PVW 15 was? BT v. S-W?
If you’re asking about the one we had last night, yep, it’s a 2008 bottling, so S-W. This was towards the end of the bottle though, and it definitely didn’t show as well last night as it has in the past (I moved it to small bottle to minimize air exposure a long while ago).
The 2011 WLW is probably my favorite wheated bourbon. I do have an old weller antique that’s SW juice but haven’t opened it yet.
How long had the 12’ WLW been open prior?
Over a month. And it was poured from the primary bottle into a smaller sample size bottle after opening, so shouldn’t have “new bottle” issues.
Good to know, wheaters are funny with air and all
Is the cask strength EC a distillery or retailer SB offering, I don’t remember if these were wide distribution or not. Sad to hear the 17yr four roses wasn’t up to par, was this one of the gift shop bottles?
Cool tasting all around!
The EC was a distillery gift shop special (too bad, would love this to have wide release). Four Roses also gift shop.