Nikka Coffey Grain (corn) Whisky.. Nectar of the gods. Employee brought me two bottles from Hong Kong. By far the best corn whisky I've experienced.Quote:
Originally Posted by mt_wilson
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Nikka Coffey Grain (corn) Whisky.. Nectar of the gods. Employee brought me two bottles from Hong Kong. By far the best corn whisky I've experienced.Quote:
Originally Posted by mt_wilson
http://malt-review.com/wp-content/up...a-620x350.jpeg
I'll be in Kentucky for three weeks in June: best distilleries? Best shuttle/tour service for the Bourbon Trail? I'll have probably 2-3 days to do assorted bourbon activities and I'm stoked for it!
I'm a big fan of Woodford Reserve, gorgeous grounds, really cool activities (check their calendar), and of course outstanding bourbon.Quote:
Originally Posted by fool
The surrounding area of Midway (nice little downtown) and Woodford County are really nice too - the most gorgeous horse estates in the world and miles of beautiful roads. Get a sandwich at the gourmet sandwich shop Wallace Station and if you're looking for an amazing dinner do their sister restaurant, James Beard nominated Holly Hill Inn. Get a nice car and enjoy getting lost in the area.
Thoroughbred racing won't be happening but a trip to Keeneland is well worth it - the most beautiful horse track in the country.
My other two favorite distilleries are Heaven Hill and Buffalo Trace.
Perfect, Bmills, thank you! While I'm not a horse aficionado by any means, I really enjoyed Seabiscuit and Secretariat (the books), so I'll have to do some more horse research too. Forgot about that when I was distracted by the bourbon.
Oh, and special bourbon gifts? I've heard Jack or Makers will let you get a custom label or something. Thinking of wedding presents for friends, etc.
Sounds great. Never having been there, I'd look to the Buffalo Trace Distillery, and maybe Jim Beam too.Quote:
Originally Posted by fool
Many of the distilleries will do custom labels for you. If it were me though, I'd opt for the custom engraved bottle of Woodford that you can pick up at The Party Source in Belleview, KY (right across the Ohio from Cincinnati).Quote:
Originally Posted by fool
https://www.thepartysource.com/expre...m.php?id=30804
Party Source is Gods gift to booze lovers. It's the size of a super wal mart and has everything you could ask for, from a cooking school to a Tasting Library where you can sample any liquor they sell and even some that they're out of for purchase (read: really rare bourbons). Their bourbon selection is usually the best in the state.
Also, down the street is the Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar which is a really cool small spot that has over 100 bourbons on the menu.
Oh, and Party Source is a stop on the Bourbon Trail too - their really modern distillery, New Riff, opened on property a few years ago.
Only an hour or so north of Lexington.
Total Wine had the Ocean for ~$75, so I went with Angel's Envy and am really digging it. Carmel-y flavors...tasty. And thanks for the additional info Bmills & Meadow Skipper, I'll be sure to post up some pics as I'm traveling around.Quote:
Originally Posted by BmillsSkier
Attachment 167736
The bourbon list at Doc Crows, in Louisville. Ridiculous!
Did the Evan Williams Experience in Louisville last weekend, Heaven Hill VIP tour tomorrow (through a friend's hookup).
Had a good time doing the Heaven Hill distillery tour a few weeks ago. Great tour and decent tastings at the end.
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Good stuff, glad you had fun! Really a cool experience.
Btw, I can smell that pic. So good!
Boss just dropped a bottle of Voyage No 4 on my desk. Wondering if that's implicit approval to start drinking it at lunchQuote:
Originally Posted by BmillsSkier
I'll have to put that one on the list next time I'm in KY.Quote:
Originally Posted by fool
This looks interesting: http://www.klwines.com/Products/i?s=...toric#moreinfo
I haven't been overwhelmed by any of those orphan barrel releases. They've all been good but, if not for the age statements, I'd be hard pressed to find the value in them. Still, as older bourbons become more difficult to get and more expensive when you can get them maybe the orphan barrel products have their place. Diageo's management seems to be pretty well advised but their focus on bottom line takes precedence over delivering quality and value to the consumer.
In and of itself, age is beginning to mean less to me. It catches my attention when I'm looking around but it doesn't always seem to guarantee better whiskey...even though that can certainly be the case.
OTOH, my current approach to bourbon (and rye) is that I've kind of stopped trying different bottles and settled on 7 labels for the day to day stash. That, and keeping a lookout for hard to find things like Pappy and old Sazerac.
I'll be curious to know how that one drinks, haven't seen the latest Voyage at my local booze purveyor yet. I stocked up and got two more of the #3 Ocean in anticipation of Christmas gifts for family.Quote:
Originally Posted by JimmyCarter
Yeah, I think they'll be getting Amazon gift cards instead.
NY Times article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/23/tr...erve.html?_r=0
Very stoked! Scored a 2015 release of George T. Stagg 138.2 proof. Price was premium, but not stupid. Looking forward to comparing it to the older (2013 I think) Stagg that I got from Cruiser. 2013 is some of the best bourbon I have ever had. Still think the Evan Williams Single Barrel is one of teh best deals going.
BTAC is hitting shelves already!? Wow. The evaporation on this year's GTS is pretty insane. Interested to hear how it tastes. I got a bottle of 2014 GTS, but highly doubt I'll be able to even see a bottle of BTAC this year, let alone buy one. Good on you!
I've got a honey hole here in ATL for the big dollar releases (no I'm not sharing, you heathens :D ) But I've got to say, it's nice to see the insane prices tempering a bit. I actually found a bottle of Black Maple Hill when I stopped in tonight on a whim when I was out that way for a very reasonable price (rumor is it's not being produced anymore). For the money, the rarity, and the age, I was more than happy to fork over $100. I'm still convinced the kid behind the counter had no idea what he was selling.
Yay, bourbon!
That's a hell of a score of it's the real stuff!!! I haven't had the really good BMH in years. Then the decent stuff dried up a couple years ago. The new release (OR distilled) stuff I tasted was terrible.
It's the real deal. Was concerned about the same thing so I poured two glasses for my wife and I, one from a 1/2 bottle of BMH we have in the bar and one from the new bottle. Same stuff.
Further confirmed when I talked to my buddy last night who lives close to the Honey Hole Liquor Store and he was pissed as shit that the bottle was gone when he got there - he got a call from the bourbon guy when he got into work saying "hey buddy, got a single bottle of BMH that came in off a purchase from a local collector that was moving". Oh, and the sale price was supposed to be way more than what I paid. Update your POS system fellas :fmicon:
Quiver pic. This thread has cost me a few $$; all well enjoyed. Quite a few trophies in this mix.
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Time to open that Noah's Mill, Mike!
Respect.Quote:
Originally Posted by ColoMike
Nice collection!
Anyone get the feeling (it could just be the bottles) that Noah's Mill and Rowan's Creek are the replacements for the much loved Black Maple Hill?
Are they NDPs?
Thanks. Missing my Weller 12 year that is no longer available and some of the others that used to be drinkers and that have become "highly sought after" and now you can't find. Those were some of my favs. was a great tour guide for those. Re Noah's and Rowan's, bottles are the same. Flavors are not. Who knows where the juice is coming from.
Cruiser, freakin' owl eyes to spy that. Buried in that mess is another Noah's that is open. Time will get us there. Still the BEST BOURBON EVER is that Evan Williams from 2001 you sent me to. I hoard that like it is the dew that collects off of the eyelashes of unicorns. Just. The. Best. Bourbon. Ever.
The woman in the background doesn't look very impressed.Quote:
Originally Posted by ColoMike
wife and I had a celebratory in-laws went to bed bourbon tasting tonight. The Black Maple Hill was tastier, and finished better than the Pappy 15. Take that for what it's worth.Quote:
Originally Posted by ColoMike
EDIT: to add, I've been picked in Woodford all day
Stagg allotment just came in. Been two years since the last. The bottle is going to the impossible-to-shop-for old man for Xmas, so haven't tasted it yet. I'll report back around noon on Xmas day.
Killed off most of another bottle of the Willett Pot Still Reserve yesterday. So damn good.
https://www.sipfinewine.com/images/l...ve-bourbon.jpg
Crazy thing is that we're lucky to get a few bottles of the pot still at our shop and when we do they retail for like $50. But then I was down in Nola visiting my mom and I see bunches of them on sale at the local grocery store for $30 (which is less than or wholesale cost). They appeared to have an unlimited supply. The dirty south is bourbon country though...
$45 here and worth every penny.
Do you think you guys are possibly getting hoodwinked?
For example, Willet's, Rowan's and Noah's are all brands of KBD (Kentucky Bourbon Distillers), which used to make bourbon prior to 1984 and restarted production in 2012 but you're not drinking that yet. KBD refuses to say who makes Willet's for them but people speculate it's Heaven Hill (Heaven Hill's distillery is a half-mile from KBD headquarters, on the same street).
Heaven Hill is privately owned but they own a large number of brands, most of them pretty off-brand shit like Burnett's Vodka and Christian Brothers brandy and O'Mara's Irish Cream liqueur. They do make Evan Williams, which I have liked in the past. Which is not to say Willet's isn't good - I've never tried it in fact. But the provenance is suspect, to me at least.
And go down the worm hole with Woodford's and it takes you to Brown-Forman, a huge conglomerate. And Booker's is made by Jim Beam. Those are all the ones I looked at but I suspect it's that way with most or all of these brands. I've had to leave the liquor pretty much alone over the past few years but what do you think? Are you guys buying fancy bottles filled with suspect over-hyped mass-produced and relabeled liquor? Or is it really that good?
edit: I really haven't read this thread, maybe this has all been covered, if so, sorry. I was bored watching the interminable TCU-Baylor game last night and nobody was posting so I spent some time reading about bourbon.
Oh I get that KBD just stores & bottles liquid gold distilled by others, but they do their own QC and blending before bottling. This makes them basically equivalent to Negociants in the wine world.
Remember when High West started selling their Rye whiskies - all aged 6+ years - right after they opened? Yeah they bought that stuff from someone else. Doesn't make the booze less good. They're not alone either. There has been a huge explosion in boutique distillers over the last couple years. Unless they're selling un-aged or minimally aged liquors they are all selling someone else's product initially. It's all about the pick of barrels and the blend.
Not sure what's wrong with Beam having high-end whiskies. It's not the same stuff just in a different bottle.
The whiskeys taste different though. There may be an analogy with skis - brands make different qualities in their line, and some outsource the construction. Never Summer factory has at least one other brand there.
But bottom line is the taste, and KBD/MGI, and Beam, and all the rest have different juices that they age and bottle in different ways. Sure, the stuff is overpriced and overhyped a lot (or most) of the time, but Booker's is definitely different from Jim Beam white label. Not always, but usually the more expensive stuff is better because of things like Tip mentioned. If you guys are ever in NM I could host an interesting sit-down tasting.
My current go-to - Blanton's - has been hard to find lately which is irritating. I've been getting ryes instead - High West Rendezvous and Lot 40, and I'm very happy with those.
Sipping a glass of Elijah Craig cask strength from last year's release. I'll be damned if it's, not the best value in bourbon available today (even if it's only a little bit available).
Ice, She rarely is.Quote:
Originally Posted by iceman
Cruiser, The Elijah is very nice. Have one that is not opened and will open soon. Still love the Four Roses single barrel from your shop better. Spicy and clean. The Evan Williams 2001 is better than Mary's tears for me. Clean and carmel. Should have bought a case.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cruiser