Best & worst Bourbon?
#151
#154
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: in the vicinity of SFO
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#155
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: ORD
Posts: 14,231
Maker's Mark is the de facto not-cheap-but-not-fancy bourbon that would be top shelf in a dive bar and well in a fancy bar.
Drink bourbon as you would scotch: the fancier stuff should be drunk with a little water or a little ice; the less fancy stuff gets mixed with other stuff.
#157
Company Representative - Starwood
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Austin, Texas
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Posts: 31,593
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#158
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: NYC
Programs: AA LT PLT, SPG Gold
Posts: 2,564
I've been enjoying a bottle of Rock Hill Farms. It's from Buffalo Trace. Quite good stuff, and a solid value at under $50. Jason of Sour Mash Manifesto awarded it an "outstanding/superb" rating.
Rock Hill Farm Single Barrel Bourbon, 50% abv (100 Proof), $45-50
Background: Rock Hill Farm is a Single Barrel bourbon made by Buffalo Trace in Frankfort, KY. Like Blanton’s, Rock Hill Farm is made using Buffalo Trace’s mash bill #2.
Color: Deep Golden/Amber
Nose: Corn, honey, apple cider, a sprinkle of rye, mint, and wet oak. What a fantastic nose this is, and with fruit and corn prevailing and enough oak and spice character to keep it lively.
Flavor: Again we have corn right from the fore, loads of honey, rye, peppery bite, burned sugar, maple, and again that apple note.
Finish: Moderate length -fruity with caramel and peppery spice.
Overall: Rock Hill Farm is a tremendous bourbon that really doesn’t get its due. It has depth and layers of flavor that Blanton’s didn’t quite measure up to. More than anything I enjoyed the balance of grain and fruit that shines through.
Sour Mash Manifesto Rating: 9.0 (Outstanding/Superb)
Rock Hill Farm Single Barrel Bourbon, 50% abv (100 Proof), $45-50
Background: Rock Hill Farm is a Single Barrel bourbon made by Buffalo Trace in Frankfort, KY. Like Blanton’s, Rock Hill Farm is made using Buffalo Trace’s mash bill #2.
Color: Deep Golden/Amber
Nose: Corn, honey, apple cider, a sprinkle of rye, mint, and wet oak. What a fantastic nose this is, and with fruit and corn prevailing and enough oak and spice character to keep it lively.
Flavor: Again we have corn right from the fore, loads of honey, rye, peppery bite, burned sugar, maple, and again that apple note.
Finish: Moderate length -fruity with caramel and peppery spice.
Overall: Rock Hill Farm is a tremendous bourbon that really doesn’t get its due. It has depth and layers of flavor that Blanton’s didn’t quite measure up to. More than anything I enjoyed the balance of grain and fruit that shines through.
Sour Mash Manifesto Rating: 9.0 (Outstanding/Superb)
#159
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Central Texas
Programs: Many, slipping beneath the horizon
Posts: 9,859
Tasted pretty damn good as a reward from having successfully transited Navasota, BCS, Hearne, Calvert (speed trap) Marlin, and Riesel (minor speed trap) and arrived home as darkness fell over the prairie.
On the other hand, a tumbler of Old Crow would have probably tasted good too.
#160
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Snooky
Posts: 2,508
Introduced to a new premium "Bourbon' type whiskey. recently, supposedly winner of some recent contests. "1835" out of (God save me from such heresy!) Lewisville, Texas. Very pleasant, smooth and mild, but without the darker over-tones which i seek in corn whiskey.
At the same time, I was gifted with a bottle of "Yellow Rose" Rye from another Texas distiller. Impressive, with a full, rich flavor....
At the same time, I was gifted with a bottle of "Yellow Rose" Rye from another Texas distiller. Impressive, with a full, rich flavor....
#161
In Memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Had my first ever Old Fashioned last week at a local cigar bar called, appropriately, Whiskey. I definitely enjoyed it though I may ask for it over rocks next time (this was served straight up). Nice to find a new cocktail every now and again ^
#162
Company Representative - Starwood
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Austin, Texas
Programs: Marriott Employee Level
Posts: 31,593
Best regards,
William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
[email protected]
#163
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Central Texas
Programs: Many, slipping beneath the horizon
Posts: 9,859
I don't think I've ever run into and OF served "Up", since the "muddling" in the bottom of a heavy cut glass or crystal "short/rocks" glass glass dates back many, many decades. Some of us cling to the custom of using cane sugar instead of simple syrup, Angostura bitters, a twist of lemon peel, and a little water in the muddling, then adding ice (large cubes/chunks) and whisky (eschewing the barman's dose of club soda) and the orange slice and cherry, traditional at least in the modern era.
Somehow, for me at least, there's no better use for a short heavy Waterford crystal tumbler, its cut facets casting a colorful aura in the evening's light, than to mix, serve and enjoy of good OF. Speak of "Comfort Food"....Well that's a "Comfort Drink", a calmative and restorative ranking with a snifter of good Cognac or Armagnac.
#164
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: ORD
Posts: 14,231
The OF is a cocktail of ancient lineage, often ascribed to attempts (as with the Manhattan) to "gentle" the "raw" of edge of much of early American whisky (which suggests that it continued popular thru Prohibition, when the quality and consistency of available whisky was questionable). Certainly, an OF represents a good way to enliven many of the customary "well" brands, but represents a less than optimal way to enjoy better Bourbon, Sour Mash or Rye.
I don't think I've ever run into and OF served "Up", since the "muddling" in the bottom of a heavy cut glass or crystal "short/rocks" glass glass dates back many, many decades. Some of us cling to the custom of using cane sugar instead of simple syrup, Angostura bitters, a twist of lemon peel, and a little water in the muddling, then adding ice (large cubes/chunks) and whisky (eschewing the barman's dose of club soda) and the orange slice and cherry, traditional at least in the modern era.
Somehow, for me at least, there's no better use for a short heavy Waterford crystal tumbler, its cut facets casting a colorful aura in the evening's light, than to mix, serve and enjoy of good OF. Speak of "Comfort Food"....Well that's a "Comfort Drink", a calmative and restorative ranking with a snifter of good Cognac or Armagnac.
I don't think I've ever run into and OF served "Up", since the "muddling" in the bottom of a heavy cut glass or crystal "short/rocks" glass glass dates back many, many decades. Some of us cling to the custom of using cane sugar instead of simple syrup, Angostura bitters, a twist of lemon peel, and a little water in the muddling, then adding ice (large cubes/chunks) and whisky (eschewing the barman's dose of club soda) and the orange slice and cherry, traditional at least in the modern era.
Somehow, for me at least, there's no better use for a short heavy Waterford crystal tumbler, its cut facets casting a colorful aura in the evening's light, than to mix, serve and enjoy of good OF. Speak of "Comfort Food"....Well that's a "Comfort Drink", a calmative and restorative ranking with a snifter of good Cognac or Armagnac.
#165
Suspended
Join Date: May 2013
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Posts: 9
I really enjoy drinking a good bourbon.
My first choice is Booker's but at $50+/bottle and a special order, I don't drink it all that often.
My everyday drinking Bourbon is Wild Turkey 101 (NOT 86) so I guess that I'm one of the love-it types. What's funny is that a friend of mine had always drunk Maker's Mark and when she tried WT 101, she switched..so I guess I'm not alone in the love-it category.
My first choice is Booker's but at $50+/bottle and a special order, I don't drink it all that often.
My everyday drinking Bourbon is Wild Turkey 101 (NOT 86) so I guess that I'm one of the love-it types. What's funny is that a friend of mine had always drunk Maker's Mark and when she tried WT 101, she switched..so I guess I'm not alone in the love-it category.