Originally Posted by
Pdnecro8617
Late comer to this thread. I'm a prolific whisky drinker, basically a hobby for me:
1) Best bourbon I have ever had was Pappy Van Winkle 23 year old. I still dream of finding another bottle. This was before it took off (even then it was expensive, but I have not even seen it for sale since then) in 2008. Loved every drop of it. I dont even want to imagine what it would cost to get a bottle today. As good as it is, probably not worth it.
My wife got me a bottle in 2009 for my 30th birthday. It had sat in the case at my local for months, and I would visit it but at that point it was $200 and I thought too expensive to buy. Fortunately for me she bought it for me. I had saved it for a special occassion to open but then some random Thursday I just opened it. It's good; not my favorite expression of the line but I'm glad that I have it. I prefer the 20. I must say that I was lucky to get another bottle this year though.
2) Worst bourbon.....that's tough. When I was in graduate school we drank some pretty nasty stuff that I wouldn't touch today (if for no other reason than I value my personal health). One that stood out was Ten High. I know some guys who swear by it, but I could not stomach it. Tasted awful. I tried pretty much everyway to drink it with no success.
If you ever see a bottle of Cleveland. Run away; far far far away. It's apparently "pressurized" or something through barrel chunks to age it quicker. Which is not true. There is no substitute for time in a barrel. I'm pretty sure paint thinner tastes better.
3) A great cheap bourbon is Ezra Brooks. Where I live you can pick up a fifth for about $15 or so (if youre in a lower cost area Ive seen it for $12 or so). Decent drink, and can be consumed straight or on the rocks which is how I like mine.
Solid drink. One of my favorite cheap bourbons is Old Weller Antique 107. It's about $23 a fifth where I am. It's actually the same mash bill that they use in the Pappy line, so if you like those you'll like this wheated bourbon....
4) Quick thing about scotch (this is a bit anal I know). There is no such thing as any other kind of scotch but SCOTCH. The phrase I have heard often is "Japanese Scotch" which I guess is used because many of the flavor profiles and the distillation process of Japanese WHISKEY is similar to scotch. To be scotch, the whiskey must be produced from 100% malted barley and spring water and distilled in Scotland.
I agree with your assesment. I think that the correct term would be single malt.
Originally Posted by
gfunkdave
I opened a bottle of Basil Hayden a few days ago. It's been quite some time since I had it. It is quite a tasty beverage. A colleague says he doesn't drink it because it's slightly lower proof (80) and he has to drink too much to get the same effect as his usual 85-90 proof tipples.
Basil Hayden's is my summer bourbon. Pint glass, full of ice, fill with Basil's.... I tend to prefer barrel proof offerrings- I've got this year's William Larue Weller open and it's great at 140.2.....
FDW