DeaconCav06
Dickie Hemric
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That's what we told ourselves back in the day.
Good bourbon
- Thread starter captruss24
- Start date
- Latest activity Latest activity:
That's what we told ourselves back in the day.
Yellow label or small batch? I'm hoping to finish the bottle I posted earlier tonight so I can break into the old Weller.
myDeaconmyhand
First man to get a team of horses up Bear Mountain
Small batch, I really like it. I generally stick between the 25-35 dollar price range, but that's top shelf at my ABC store. My last bottle was Henry Mckenna 10 year and I didn't like it, it was dry to the point of being bitter, this Four Roses is sweeter and more mellow.
Four Roses Small Batch is most definitely my favorite in that price range.
RacerDeac
#iwasright #rjlies
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2011
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Dude, open it up. Always good to have 2-3 options open.
Sadly at this point in the night, I need nothing else opened. If I didn't have spell check, I'd resemble rjkarl right about now.
Bears and Deacs
Bourbon Drinker
Definitely open it up! I'm working on cutting down on my open bottles though...I know it's a contradicting message. So I'm going with a long open bottle of Jim Beam Black label...this one is about ready to hit the trash can.
Are you one of those bourbon drinkers who automatically throw out the last 10% of the bottle because of its exposure to oxygen? My bottles generally dont stay open long enough to reach that point, so I dont have that problem.
wfudkn
cookout = blabbermouth?
I picked up a new bottle yesterday that I don't recall seeing before: Dad's Hat Pennsylvania Rye. It is unique, and the rye is very noticable (made with 80% rye). I'm not sure how much I like it after one drink, but I'm hoping it grows on me. It seems very young and could have probably used some additional time in the barrel, but I'm going to give it a try in a cocktail and see how that goes.
Bears and Deacs
Bourbon Drinker
Haha no, I drink it all. I've never reached a point with any of my bottles, even ones that have been open for several years, where I think there is too much oxygen. If it gets to a point where the bourbon isn't tasting particularly good I just dump it into a 1.75L that I keep as my "living bottle." I dump low fill bottles that I don't plan to drink into it as well as stuff that doesn't taste particularly good to me. The sum is greater than the parts, in many cases, and I always use the living bottle when I'm making a bourbon cocktail.
tvcigar
Steve Lepore
I have a bottle of bourbon that my grandfather owned. Bottled back in the 60's. The 3rd of a bottle that is left turned cloudy 2 years ago, but I can't bring myself to pour it down the drain. I even sipped a tiny bit of it Sunday night after the Ravens won just to "share" the moment with my Granddad. I'm sure cloudy bourbon isn't good for you, but what the hell.
What do you think of the new incarnation of Old Forrester?
What do you think of the new incarnation of Old Forrester?
Bears and Deacs
Bourbon Drinker
Yeah, cloudy isn't good. What proof is that Old Forester?
If it's 100 proof it should say "Bonded" on the bottle and will have the DSP-KY-414 number. Also, if it was bonded, the tax strip would be green. If it's 86 proof, the tax strip should be red. This is, of course, if the tax strip is still on the bottle.
Bears and Deacs
Bourbon Drinker
So I think there are two sides to bourbon - the drinker and the hobbyist. The drinker usually has a couple of bottles on hand at any given time and drinks it and enjoys it, but still views it as a beverage. The hobbyists are the collectors, connoisseurs, and "experts." I think I fall under the hobbyist side because I enjoy collecting (but am certainly not a connoisseur or expert!).
Another part of the hobbyist side is "dusty hunting." This is the ridiculous and time consuming task of crawling around some of the dirtiest, nastiest, and scariest liquor stores hoping to find some bottle that time forgot. I’ve seen some strange things on Saturday mornings in South Atlanta…quite comical at times. That’s where I found a lot of Eagle Rare and when I found them I cleared them out. On another site where I am a member, here is what someone had to say when asked about dusty hunting in Los Angeles:
I have pulled a couple hundred bottles from LA. I have picked clean entire areas, mostly Long Beach, Compton, Torrance, Newport Beach, ect. Not to say that you won't find anything. I have left many bottles of OT and OGD ND behind. I have also cleaned out Palmdale and Lancaster. Santa Clarita was pretty clean when I looked. I have hunted most of San Fernando and Van Nuys. I have not touched east LA, but I have cleaned out Victorville, Hasperia, and Adelento, north of east LA.
Again, that all being said.. keep looking. Chances are high that I overlooked something, or just couldn't bring any more bottles on a plane (my record is 65). And let us know what you find!
This same guy has also cleared out a hundred or so bottles from Spartanburg, SC and Greenville, SC in the matter of a few days. South Carolina used to have some great old bourbon but it has been picked over pretty good over the past few years. The reason for this was the mills that operated in the 60's, 70's, and 80's. With those mills came money and with money came an influx of things like bourbon. When the mills shut down and operations moved overseas, the money left but the bourbon remained. Two of my oldest bottles that I’ve found in the wild were in South Carolina – an Old Granddad Bicentennial decanter from 1976 and an Eagle Rare 10/101 from 1978.
The reason for all of this is to try older whiskey and, if you like it, buy all you can find. Recipes can change, proof off the still can change, proof into the barrel can change, water sources can change, warehouse locations can change, distilleries can change (but still produce the same label) and all of this has an impact on the final product. Stitzel-Weller bourbon is regarded as some of the best bourbon in history and it was shut down in 1992. This was the distillery that the Van Winkles owned until 1972 and continued to operate until it was shut down. This bourbon tastes very different that stuff that is produced today.
That’s not to say that bourbon today is bad by any means. I think that the bourbon produced today is some of the best in history. We are in a bourbon boom, which means that better bourbon is being made every day. The older stuff is just different and it’s fun to drink something that is a part of American history. I’m 33 and it’s pretty cool to be able to drink something that was bottled before my dad was born. I just enjoy the history of bourbon and how it so uniquely American. Oh, and drinking it is pretty good too.
Oh well…some people probably don’t care about this one bit, but I think it’s fun and enjoy the hunt as much as the drink.
Another part of the hobbyist side is "dusty hunting." This is the ridiculous and time consuming task of crawling around some of the dirtiest, nastiest, and scariest liquor stores hoping to find some bottle that time forgot. I’ve seen some strange things on Saturday mornings in South Atlanta…quite comical at times. That’s where I found a lot of Eagle Rare and when I found them I cleared them out. On another site where I am a member, here is what someone had to say when asked about dusty hunting in Los Angeles:
I have pulled a couple hundred bottles from LA. I have picked clean entire areas, mostly Long Beach, Compton, Torrance, Newport Beach, ect. Not to say that you won't find anything. I have left many bottles of OT and OGD ND behind. I have also cleaned out Palmdale and Lancaster. Santa Clarita was pretty clean when I looked. I have hunted most of San Fernando and Van Nuys. I have not touched east LA, but I have cleaned out Victorville, Hasperia, and Adelento, north of east LA.
Again, that all being said.. keep looking. Chances are high that I overlooked something, or just couldn't bring any more bottles on a plane (my record is 65). And let us know what you find!
This same guy has also cleared out a hundred or so bottles from Spartanburg, SC and Greenville, SC in the matter of a few days. South Carolina used to have some great old bourbon but it has been picked over pretty good over the past few years. The reason for this was the mills that operated in the 60's, 70's, and 80's. With those mills came money and with money came an influx of things like bourbon. When the mills shut down and operations moved overseas, the money left but the bourbon remained. Two of my oldest bottles that I’ve found in the wild were in South Carolina – an Old Granddad Bicentennial decanter from 1976 and an Eagle Rare 10/101 from 1978.
The reason for all of this is to try older whiskey and, if you like it, buy all you can find. Recipes can change, proof off the still can change, proof into the barrel can change, water sources can change, warehouse locations can change, distilleries can change (but still produce the same label) and all of this has an impact on the final product. Stitzel-Weller bourbon is regarded as some of the best bourbon in history and it was shut down in 1992. This was the distillery that the Van Winkles owned until 1972 and continued to operate until it was shut down. This bourbon tastes very different that stuff that is produced today.
That’s not to say that bourbon today is bad by any means. I think that the bourbon produced today is some of the best in history. We are in a bourbon boom, which means that better bourbon is being made every day. The older stuff is just different and it’s fun to drink something that is a part of American history. I’m 33 and it’s pretty cool to be able to drink something that was bottled before my dad was born. I just enjoy the history of bourbon and how it so uniquely American. Oh, and drinking it is pretty good too.
Oh well…some people probably don’t care about this one bit, but I think it’s fun and enjoy the hunt as much as the drink.
Bears and Deacs
Bourbon Drinker
I'm sorry for another long post, but I thought some of you might find this interesting. This is a breakdown of distilleries and known mashbills by product. This is only macro distilleries.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whiskey Tree, 5.0
Mashbill Source: Regan & Regan, The Book of Bourbon and Other Fine American Whiskeys (London: Mixellany) 2009, unless otherwise noted. Barton, WT, and Dickel are noted as approximate.
Brand Name (%corn/%rye or wheat/%malted barley)
Note: These tree is only a breakdown of "macro" distillers
Barton-1792, #3 char, Independent Stave
Barton (75/15/10)- Very Old Barton all proofs +???
1792 (high barley?)- 1792 Ridgemont Reserve, +???
Other Bourbons: Tom Moore BiB, Kentucky Gentleman, Kentucky Tavern, Ten High, Walker's Delluxe, other "cats & dogs".The rest, unknown
Rye 37/53/10? (speculation based on label of High West Double Rye!)- Fleischman's Rye
Before it was purchased by Sazerac, sold to a lot of NDPs.
Beam, #4 char, Indepnedent Stave
Beam Mashbill (76/13/10)- all JB bourbons, Old Crow, Old Taylor*, Knob Creek, Baker's, Booker's
Old Grandad Mashbill (63/27/10)- OGD, Basil Hayden
Rye- JB Rye, Old Overholt, Ri¹, Knob Creek Rye
Brown-Forman, #3 char, Brown-Forman Cooperage
Old Forester (72/18/10)- Old Forester, Woodford Reserve
Early Times (79/11/10)
Jack Daniels (80/8/12)
Rye (see Heaven Hill below)- Current source of Heaven Hill's Pikeville and Rittenhouse ryes.
Also sells to many NDPs.
Buffalo Trace, #4 char, Independent Stave
#1, higher corn- BT White Dog, Benchmark, Buffalo Trace, Old Charter, Eagle Rare, Col. E.H. Taylor, Geo. T. Stagg
#2, lower corn- Ancient Age*, Elmer T. Lee*, Hancock*, Blanton's*, Rock Hill Farms*, Virginia Gentleman/Bowman Bourbons?
Wheat bourbon: Everything Weller, Van Winkle Special Reserve "Lot B"*, Old Rip Van Winkle*, Pappy Van Winkle 15 y/o*
Rye: Sazerac, Bowman Rye, Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye* (?)
Diageo, char #3, Indpendent Stave
Dickel (80/12/8)George Dickel, Cascade Hollow
Four Roses, #3.5 char
Has 2 mashbills and 5 yeasts.
All Ten Combinations- Four Roses (yellow label)
OBSK, OBSO, OESK, OESO- Four Roses Small Batch
OBSV- Four Roses Single Barrel
All the combinations are also available as Single Barrel, Barrel Strength retailer bottlings.
Also sells whiskey to Diageo that goes into Bulleit (from the high rye OBS recipes) and I.W. Harper (not available in the U.S.) and produces the overseas version of McKenna. For more information, including mashbills, see Oscar's chart here.
Heaven Hill, #3 char, Indpendent Stave
Rye Bourbon (75/13/12)- Heaven Hill, J.T.S. Brown, T.W. Samuels, Evan Williams, Elijah Craig, Henry McKenna (U.S.), Parker's Heritage (except for 2010), et al. Also probably the source of Luxco's Ezra Brooks line and the current Yellowstone.
Wheat Bourbon- Old Fitzgerald, Parker's Heritage 2010. Also probably the source of Luxco's Rebel Yell and Rebel Reserve.
Wheat Whiskey- Bernheim Original
Rye Whiskey (37/51/12, aprox.)**- Future source of Pikesville and Rittenhouse 80 & BiB, Stephen Foster, current source of Rittenhouse 21 & 23 (?)
Corn Whiskey: Mellow Corn, JW Corn, Georgia Moon, Platte Valley*
Also sells to many NDPs.
LDI, ??? char, Independent Stave?
Sells bourbon and rye for many brands including Templeton, Redemption et al, High West, W.H. Harrison, Cougar (Australia), Bulleit Rye and KBD. For a breakdown of the of corn, rye and bourbon whiskey mashbills used, see the MGP website: http://www.mgpingredients.com/product-list/
Maker's Mark, #3 char, Independent Stave
Maker's Mark (70/16/14)
Wild Turkey, #4 "the heavy char", Independent Stave
Bourbon (75/13/12)- Wild Turkey, Russell's Reserve Bourbon
Rye (37/51/12, aprox.)**- Wild Turkey Rye, Russell's Reserve Rye
Brands on the market with whiskey from closed distilleries:
Medley Rye- Older bottlings of Hirsch, post-PA Michter's(?), Black Maple Hill rye, others?
Mix of Medley Rye and Cream of Kentucky rye (Bernheim distillery)- Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye.
Stitzel-Weller bourbon- Pappy Van Winkle (20 & 23 only?), Jefferson's Reserve 17, 18 et al
A few American bottlers and/or marketers have been purchasing 100% rye rye from a Canadian distillery or distilleries. It is often presumed these are from Alberta distillers in Calgary, but as of yet there is no firm evidence. So far, these are Whistle Pig, Jefferson's and Masterson's Rye. Jefferson's may be switching to American-made rye.
*Brand(s) not wholly owned by the distiller.
**Based on more current information.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whiskey Tree, 5.0
Mashbill Source: Regan & Regan, The Book of Bourbon and Other Fine American Whiskeys (London: Mixellany) 2009, unless otherwise noted. Barton, WT, and Dickel are noted as approximate.
Brand Name (%corn/%rye or wheat/%malted barley)
Note: These tree is only a breakdown of "macro" distillers
Barton-1792, #3 char, Independent Stave
Barton (75/15/10)- Very Old Barton all proofs +???
1792 (high barley?)- 1792 Ridgemont Reserve, +???
Other Bourbons: Tom Moore BiB, Kentucky Gentleman, Kentucky Tavern, Ten High, Walker's Delluxe, other "cats & dogs".The rest, unknown
Rye 37/53/10? (speculation based on label of High West Double Rye!)- Fleischman's Rye
Before it was purchased by Sazerac, sold to a lot of NDPs.
Beam, #4 char, Indepnedent Stave
Beam Mashbill (76/13/10)- all JB bourbons, Old Crow, Old Taylor*, Knob Creek, Baker's, Booker's
Old Grandad Mashbill (63/27/10)- OGD, Basil Hayden
Rye- JB Rye, Old Overholt, Ri¹, Knob Creek Rye
Brown-Forman, #3 char, Brown-Forman Cooperage
Old Forester (72/18/10)- Old Forester, Woodford Reserve
Early Times (79/11/10)
Jack Daniels (80/8/12)
Rye (see Heaven Hill below)- Current source of Heaven Hill's Pikeville and Rittenhouse ryes.
Also sells to many NDPs.
Buffalo Trace, #4 char, Independent Stave
#1, higher corn- BT White Dog, Benchmark, Buffalo Trace, Old Charter, Eagle Rare, Col. E.H. Taylor, Geo. T. Stagg
#2, lower corn- Ancient Age*, Elmer T. Lee*, Hancock*, Blanton's*, Rock Hill Farms*, Virginia Gentleman/Bowman Bourbons?
Wheat bourbon: Everything Weller, Van Winkle Special Reserve "Lot B"*, Old Rip Van Winkle*, Pappy Van Winkle 15 y/o*
Rye: Sazerac, Bowman Rye, Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye* (?)
Diageo, char #3, Indpendent Stave
Dickel (80/12/8)George Dickel, Cascade Hollow
Four Roses, #3.5 char
Has 2 mashbills and 5 yeasts.
All Ten Combinations- Four Roses (yellow label)
OBSK, OBSO, OESK, OESO- Four Roses Small Batch
OBSV- Four Roses Single Barrel
All the combinations are also available as Single Barrel, Barrel Strength retailer bottlings.
Also sells whiskey to Diageo that goes into Bulleit (from the high rye OBS recipes) and I.W. Harper (not available in the U.S.) and produces the overseas version of McKenna. For more information, including mashbills, see Oscar's chart here.
Heaven Hill, #3 char, Indpendent Stave
Rye Bourbon (75/13/12)- Heaven Hill, J.T.S. Brown, T.W. Samuels, Evan Williams, Elijah Craig, Henry McKenna (U.S.), Parker's Heritage (except for 2010), et al. Also probably the source of Luxco's Ezra Brooks line and the current Yellowstone.
Wheat Bourbon- Old Fitzgerald, Parker's Heritage 2010. Also probably the source of Luxco's Rebel Yell and Rebel Reserve.
Wheat Whiskey- Bernheim Original
Rye Whiskey (37/51/12, aprox.)**- Future source of Pikesville and Rittenhouse 80 & BiB, Stephen Foster, current source of Rittenhouse 21 & 23 (?)
Corn Whiskey: Mellow Corn, JW Corn, Georgia Moon, Platte Valley*
Also sells to many NDPs.
LDI, ??? char, Independent Stave?
Sells bourbon and rye for many brands including Templeton, Redemption et al, High West, W.H. Harrison, Cougar (Australia), Bulleit Rye and KBD. For a breakdown of the of corn, rye and bourbon whiskey mashbills used, see the MGP website: http://www.mgpingredients.com/product-list/
Maker's Mark, #3 char, Independent Stave
Maker's Mark (70/16/14)
Wild Turkey, #4 "the heavy char", Independent Stave
Bourbon (75/13/12)- Wild Turkey, Russell's Reserve Bourbon
Rye (37/51/12, aprox.)**- Wild Turkey Rye, Russell's Reserve Rye
Brands on the market with whiskey from closed distilleries:
Medley Rye- Older bottlings of Hirsch, post-PA Michter's(?), Black Maple Hill rye, others?
Mix of Medley Rye and Cream of Kentucky rye (Bernheim distillery)- Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye.
Stitzel-Weller bourbon- Pappy Van Winkle (20 & 23 only?), Jefferson's Reserve 17, 18 et al
A few American bottlers and/or marketers have been purchasing 100% rye rye from a Canadian distillery or distilleries. It is often presumed these are from Alberta distillers in Calgary, but as of yet there is no firm evidence. So far, these are Whistle Pig, Jefferson's and Masterson's Rye. Jefferson's may be switching to American-made rye.
*Brand(s) not wholly owned by the distiller.
**Based on more current information.
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DeacWatcher
Ricky Peral
Bears and Deacs
Bourbon Drinker
I do from time to time on another site. Oddly enough he references the Georgia Bourbon Society in that link you posted. The GBS started as a joke and I was the third member in. Since then we've had many other people join in the Atlanta area and purchased our first barrel last year (it was an Elijah Craig 12yr that was actually 15 years old). We're working on a second and third barrel now. The Fairfax county that Chuck writes about is fantastic bourbon. Let me know if any of you ever come across a bottle!
Sipping this now. Quite tasty.
Bears and Deacs
Bourbon Drinker
I like it with an ice cube...a little water brings out a little more sweetness.
I'm on my second glass, both with my Makers Mark ice balls. I like it. Its definitely entering my rotation.
Bears and Deacs
Bourbon Drinker
Joining you with some OWA. If you ever want to try something different just PM me.
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