A teaching thread on how to consume fine bourbon as opposed to the lesser spirits.
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Bourbon
- Thread starter LBC
- Start date
MSRP. I think there are 2 Blanton's bottles listed at $79 and $89 (plus a few others that were MUCH more expensive). Last quarter they a couple Pappy Van Winkle offerings.
FurmanCock
Grand Poohbah
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/10/us/oregon-olcc-pappy-van-winkle-bourbon.html
Apparently you just need to get on the alcohol commission to make sure you get the good stuff...
Apparently you just need to get on the alcohol commission to make sure you get the good stuff...
Heading to Lexington in a few weeks to do some tours. Hoping to find some decent stuff being dropped. Will hit some stores on the way and make a trip out of it.
Which ones are you doing? I took a trip up there a few years ago and the ones around the Lexington/Frankfort area are in beautiful horse country. Very picturesque drives to some of them.
Buffalo Trace, Castle & Key, Makers. Have tix to Woodford and will do that as well if we have time.
Chilling with the Colonel tonight
We did Buffalo Trace, Maker's, and Woodford among others. Woodford is definitely in horse country up there. While I enjoyed all of the tours and tastings, I thought Buffalo Trace was the best.
Bump...
Anyone tried anything interesting lately?
The Bourbon Trail was great. Just ran out of time too quickly.
Anyone tried anything interesting lately?
The Bourbon Trail was great. Just ran out of time too quickly.
I do like whiskeys finished in wine/rum/sherry barrels. I have a bottle of Amador bourbon that was finished in chardonnay barrels. Looking forward to cracking the seal on that one, although I'll probably wait until I finish a couple of my already open bottles. Lately, I've been on a Scotch kick. Specifically, been drinking Aberlour 12. That's another one that's double barreled in traditional oak and also sherry casks.
I had that same problem with the bourbon trail lol. We went to 10 or so and that's not even scratching the surface on the number of distilleries up there.
Wow! 10 is a lot to do. Curious how you'd rank them and why. We did 5 in our 3.5 days but went to Buffalo Trace each day to stand in line and get the daily drops. Already planning a trip back. Makers to me had a very personal touch and was first class. Woodford was very nice as well. Buffalo Trace was great, don't get me wrong, but it's clearly about selling stuff and whisky there, which I'm absolutely fine with. Getting Blanton's, Weller OA, Col EH Taylor Small Batch, at those prices was great. Four Roses is a good tour as well. We stayed in Lexington so hit what we could in that area. I think Makers and Woodford are about 1.5 hr drive or slightly less from there. Great horse country, obviously.
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We spent a full week up there so we had time to do more. We did 3 full tours and the rest were just tastings. Unless you have specific questions about the mash bill or barrels, you only need to do a couple of tours imo. In order, I would rank the tours as Maker's Mark, Buffalo Trace, Woodford Reserve. Like you alluded to, Maker's puts more effort into their tour and making the customer feel welcome. I think they were also the only one to have a cooperage, so you got the full picture of the operation. BT and WR tours were pretty similar, but I found the BT guide to be more knowledgeable and maybe a little more willing to discuss things more in-depth, so that's why they get second. It actually makes me sad to rank Woodford last, since they're my favorite bourbon. We did tastings at Four Roses, Old Forester, Heaven Hill, Lux Row, Barton 1792 and Jim Beam. Seems like I'm forgetting a couple of tastings though, but that's how I would rank the tastings. Four Roses, Old Forester, and Heaven Hill had guided tastings while the others were just walking up to the bar and getting a sample flight. I will say that Beam looked like it had a pretty decent tour, probably similar to Maker's Mark. We were just kind of rushing through some tastings that day. I know some people don't like Louisville, but I would recommend going there for a few days. There is Whiskey Row and some other non-bourbon stuff to do that make it a fun trip. I really enjoyed the Louisville Slugger factory and Muhammad Ali museum. My wife really liked Churchill Downs. I'm not much into horse racing, but thought it was a well done tour. We also caught a Louisville Bats minor league game, which funnily enough Jack Daniels was the official whiskey sponsor for that stadium lol.
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Enjoyed a few pours of the Broken Barrel I posted about earlier while watching the NBA playoffs.
Just reread my last post here and damn I'm long winded. Lol sorry bout that y'all.
Just reread my last post here and damn I'm long winded. Lol sorry bout that y'all.
You're not long winded at all. Good info. Found some Weller Special Res and Eagle Rare today at a place in Simpsonville. Decent prices and no mins. I only got one each so the next guys can enjoy. I really don't care much for the Weller Sr but have some folks that come by and will drink it. I have a nice stash of Eagle Rare 10 yr already. They also had a Blue Note Uncut store pick which is a very good sipper. I would recommend you give it a try. I have been offered a store pick Rabbit Hole but have not tried it before at all. It's priced up because the artwork on the bottle so I'm reluctant to buy it at $165. While we're at it, if you have any I'd be interested in your thoughts on Calumet 16 Yr. Is it worth the price?
I've never really had any of the higher end bourbons. Mainly because none of the stores I frequent carry them and I refuse to pay secondary market prices. I have read reviews on the Calumet 16 and they are all really positive. While I can't say if it's worth the price, I'd probably get one if you don't mind spending that much for a bottle.
I might need to take a drive to Simpsonville. None of the stores that I frequent carry Buffalo Trace products. I'd like to get another bottle or 2 of Eagle Rare. That's a really good one that doesn't break the bank.
Sipping on some Jefferson's VSB tonight. First time trying it and very smooth.
I have a couple Jefferson's Oceans. Voyage 24 and Voyage 28. They are different but I'm not sure much of that comes form the 'voyages'. I'm a sucker for marketing and looking up the voyages is interesting. They're good sippers but I haven't had the very small batch. I do like the price point though.
Finally broke down and got purchased Blue Run bourbon. Will open it this weekend prior to the Furman game.