Whisky Redux

[epaul]

Largely due (ok, completely due) to the whiskey thread a couple months ago, I found myself in Happy Harry's a while ago standing in front of a wall of whiskey bottles. All I remembered was that single batch whiskey was good and that Makers Mark was over-rated. So I asked one of the sales guy if one of their whiskey dudes was available to help me sort through the choices. A holler went out and a fellow came out of an office and introduced himself. He was one of their whiskey buyers and an avid whiskey drinker.
I asked for a whiskey tour and gave him my rough guidelines: I wanted something a cut above Makers Mark but I didn't want to buy the best stuff in the store, just a good, mid-quality sipping whiskey that would serve as a good bench mark for a beginner to use as a stepping stone into the world of whiskey. He asked if I was inclined towards smooth or bitter and few other questions. I didn't have any answers other than smooth sounded better than bitter.

We looked at several likely candidates and I settled one of Beam's fancy brands, Basil Hayden. He described it as a nice easy to drink mild whiskey that would be a good place to start. So I bought a bottle. And I really like it. And it is soon gone. Gone surprisingly fast.
So, I have decided that Basil Hayden is as fancy (expensive) as I want to go (it was around $45 or so for a 750 ml). I will not go over $50 and I would prefer to dip into the $30s. I do pour the whiskey over ice. That may mark me as a cretin, but that's what I do and I like it that way. A lot. I like the transition from the early pungent sips to the last smooth slurp of half-melted whiskey flavored ice.

So, additional recommendations in the $40 (plus or minus $10) range? And a few $30 and below sleeper picks that are smooth and suitable for an ice slurper? And just what's wrong with Four Roses and Makers Mark? They are both at a nice price point and are reputed to be smooth. And what is Buffalo Trace? It seems to do well in a lot of ratings.


I also bought a bottle of good mid-grade single malt Scotch. I dip into that when the whiskey is all gone.

[Deleted]

A bottle of Bushmill's Irish Single Malt will run about $35, their 8 yr old blend $20, 12 yr old Black Bush $25 or so. Been through the gambit of American whiskeys and Scotch whiskys and for the taste compared to price still prefer the Irish. There are a lot of good American and Scotch offerings and I'll happily sip a glass of them but when I go to buy a bottle it will most likely be Irish.

[Doug]

Right now I"m drinking Wild Turkey 101.  Not much selection here.  I like Rebel Yell too but can't find it in town. 

[RickW]

I was at a whisky tasting on Friday night. A lot of very expensive whiskies, some of which I have had before. What was a surpise was that the first one they brought out, (it was all blind tasting,) was Chivas Regal, and it was quite good. Smooth, easy to drink. It's a reasonable price. It got a whole lot more expensive from there.

I'm with Marty - Irish is a bargain. I usually have a bottle of Black Bush around, because I really love whiskey aged in sherry and port barrels, that touch of sweetness. But I might pick up a bottle of Chivas next time, for the first time in a couple of decades.

And, btw, when you are talking scotch, it's whisky. Anything else, it's whiskey.

[Marshall]

Mar 29, 2015 22:24:14 GMT -5 epaul said:

. . . , I wanted something a cut above Makers Mark but I didn't want to buy the best stuff in the store, just a good, mid-quality sipping whiskey that would serve as a good bench mark for a beginner to use as a stepping stone into the world of whiskey. . . ,

. . . , I do pour the whiskey over ice.
That may mark me as a cretin, . . . ,

CRETIN !


Woodford Reserve (Bourbon) is in the $40s. I think it's much smoother and aromatic than Makers Mark

[brucemacneill]

Chivas is my drinking whisky and has been for many years. A single malt is a sipping whisky and a nice change when I have some but for daily use Chivas has served me well and yes I have it over ice generally. On sale, Chivas is around $30 here but $35 regular price. Booze ain't cheap here.

[Tamarack]

No good advice from me. I usually have a bottle of cheap bourbon around (Evan Williams) and occasionally indulge in a bottle of Bushmills. On special occasions Dawn gives me a bottle of Glenlivet (she gets it at Costco).

I agree with Marty that Irish whiskey is the pinnacle of the whisky/whiskey universe.

[dickt]

After not buying any brown liquor for years, I am on a bourbon quest too. Buffalo Trace is what I am drinking and I found a half gallon for $50 in MD last week. I am planning a bourbon trail tour in May and will hit Buffalo Trace and Woodford one of the days. When I bought the Buffalo Trace I was actually looking for Wellers. My friends from TN, Ed Kelley, Tim Wampler and John Beasley bring it to our RMMGA EC gathering. It is not high dollar, but they don't stock it in VA ABC stores. In talking to sales guys, they say it seems hard to get now--maybe because it came out that it uses the same recipe as Pappy Van Winkle. Binneys in Chicago was out of Wellers too.
Again I recommend the documentary Bourbontucky--they are showing it on Directv. And I drink mine over ice too, which is not sacrilege like it would be with scotch. I also tried Bulleit at a cville restaurant called The Whisky Jar--a serious bourbon joint. Liked it but I think it is priced like Woodford.

[Doug]

Slightly funny Bourbon story.

My father bought Jack Black as a high end Bourbon.  
My sister and BIL drink Bourbon & Coke.  My brother and drink Bourbon straight up, my mother and father drank Bourbon on the rocks or some times with water.
My father thought it was sacrilege to mix good Bourbon with coke.
So my father's liquor cabinet always had two bottles of Jack Black the one in the front had ABC Bourbon that my father bought at the ABC store for less than $4 a fifth vs Jack Black in those days at ~$10 a fifth. (old story, Bourbon sold in fifths  ) 
My sister and BIL never knew that the front bottle was ABC Bourbon but my brother and I did. 
When we cleaned out my mothers house and split up the contents of the liquor cabinet my brother made sure that my sister got the front bottle of Jack Black.  

[RickW]

Mar 30, 2015 6:14:46 GMT -5 brucemacneill said:

Chivas is my drinking whisky and has been for many years. A single malt is a sipping whisky and a nice change when I have some but for daily use Chivas has served me well and yes I have it over ice generally. On sale, Chivas is around $30 here but $35 regular price. Booze ain't cheap here.

Ha. Chivas is $55 here. You think you have expensive booze? Apparently that's how they are paying for expensive health care system.

[drlj]

I like those little chocolates that are shaped like bottles and have booze in the center.

[Doug]

Mar 30, 2015 14:11:15 GMT -5 RickW said:

Mar 30, 2015 6:14:46 GMT -5 brucemacneill said:

Chivas is my drinking whisky and has been for many years. A single malt is a sipping whisky and a nice change when I have some but for daily use Chivas has served me well and yes I have it over ice generally. On sale, Chivas is around $30 here but $35 regular price. Booze ain't cheap here.

Ha. Chivas is $55 here. You think you have expensive booze? Apparently that's how they are paying for expensive health care system.

Yea but that's funny money.  How much is that in real money. 

[Greg B]

If you want to try an exceptional bourbon in an affordable price range try "Buffalo Trace". Buffalo Trace is the name brand whiskey of the same distillery which makes Ancient Age and Blanton's. Buffalo Trace is the nicer bourbon in their stable and they've changed the name of the distillery to "Buffalo Trace" to reflect that. It's incredibly smooth with overtones of toffee.

[dickt]

Mar 30, 2015 19:49:46 GMT -5 Greg B said:

If you want to try an exceptional bourbon in an affordable price range try "Buffalo Trace". Buffalo Trace is the name brand whiskey of the same distillery which makes Ancient Age and Blanton's. Buffalo Trace is the nicer bourbon in their stable and they've changed the name of the distillery to "Buffalo Trace" to reflect that. It's incredibly smooth with overtones of toffee.

And it's reasonably priced. $28 for a fifth in our state stores. But the $52 I paid for a half gallon in MD last week is under $20 a fifth.

[Deleted]

A Taiwanese whisky just won 'best single malt' at the World Whisky Awards. Surprisingly Taiwan have only been making whisky since 2005.

www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/11490228/The-worlds-best-whisky-It-comes-from-Taiwan.html

I looked up the price in Sterling and it's quite dear.

The competition site says -

"Lots of stewed fruits on the nose. There’s also aged Bourbon notes. Water brings out custard creams. Surprisingly smooth on the palate. The alcohol is very present. It’s like Bourbon infused milk chocolate.

Another nutty, meaty, savoury nose, with sweet notes in the backdrop. Very sweet pruney flavours initially on the palate, with fruit cake and big clove, chilli and dry cinnamon. Walnut and hazelnut on the very dry finish.

Immediately and subtly liquor rich. Tiny bit of incense, a thread of spice and smoke.

Caramel, marzipan, coffee-vanilla, fudge, rich, creamy, dried black fruits. Integrated and surprisingly light. Element of sandalwood. Starts creamy, waters out, almost disappears before rubbing hot brown sugar into the oesophagus. Tiny bitter trace."

Yum!


www.worldwhiskiesawards.com/2015/

[Doug]

I don't know about y'all but I don't want my bourbon to taste like toffee, custard creams, milk chocolate, fruit cake and big clove, chilli and dry cinnamon, Walnut and hazelnut, Caramel, marzipan, coffee-vanilla, fudge, rich, creamy, dried black fruits.  

None of those are things that I want my bourbon to taste like.  Might as well mix it with Coke.

[Deleted]

I reckon these tasters have noses and palates more sensitive than us lesser mortals and heads slightly over-stuffed with foody adjectives.

For American bourbon they like Pappy Van Winkle's 20yr old Family Reserve. Also rather dear.

"Deep, powerful and concentrated. This has moved into almost rancio territory: eucalypt/laurel, spice, burnt orange peel, apple, pear, biscuity wood. Soft and surprisingly delicate given the age. A charred note adds to the complexity. Gentle and elegant: cigar box, prune, molasses, soot.

Long finish. In fact it’s very, very long and complex. A subtle sipper to be taken neat and definitely without ice!

Deep. Dried fruits like raisins, prunes.

‘Country store’ aromas. Slightly dusty. Rich, buttery. Maple syrup. Slightly burnt pancakes. Long and warming. Slightly drying and some char. Showing its age, but I like its big, earthy, old-fashioned American flavours."

[Deleted]

Mar 30, 2015 15:23:01 GMT -5 drlj said:

I like those little chocolates that are shaped like bottles and have booze in the center.

I worked at a factory making those. Most of the time I was on the foil wrapping machines. If you were one of the thousands of people, one year in the eighties, who chomped excitedly into a little chocolate barrel expecting Baileys Irish Cream inside but was surprised by the much less pleasant taste of champagne syrup, sorry about that.

[Deleted]

Mar 30, 2015 21:03:22 GMT -5 @elf said:

I reckon these tasters have noses and palates more sensitive than us lesser mortals and heads slightly over-stuffed with foody adjectives.

For American bourbon they like Pappy Van Winkle's 20yr old Family Reserve. Also rather dear.

"Deep, powerful and concentrated. This has moved into almost rancio territory: eucalypt/laurel, spice, burnt orange peel, apple, pear, biscuity wood. Soft and surprisingly delicate given the age. A charred note adds to the complexity. Gentle and elegant: cigar box, prune, molasses, soot.

Long finish. In fact it’s very, very long and complex. A subtle sipper to be taken neat and definitely without ice!

Deep. Dried fruits like raisins, prunes.

‘Country store’ aromas. Slightly dusty. Rich, buttery. Maple syrup. Slightly burnt pancakes. Long and warming. Slightly drying and some char. Showing its age, but I like its big, earthy, old-fashioned American flavours."

But the question is, do they like it?
I would like to read one of those snooty descriptions for Dewar's, which in my opinion is bottled dumpster juice.

[david]

I too like it over ice with the change in flavor as the ice melts. I don't drink it often, but when I do it is Jameson Irish Whiskey.