Best & worst Bourbon?
Jun 3, 2014, 12:07 pm
#256
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An excellent post as always TMOliver. Nice that some people on Flyertalk still respect "to each their own". I'm only just starting to get back into bourbons the last few years after a bad experience with Wild Turkey on my 21st birthday, so it's very helpful getting advice from this thread.
Jun 3, 2014, 12:34 pm
#257
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Jun 3, 2014, 12:44 pm
#258
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Faux pas? We all have our eccentricities, yours no worse than the guy in the UK who enjoyed rolling in slurry of aging cow manure......
The question is why? I suspect that we could line up a dozen "blind" Bourbons/Blends/"Sour Mashes" & Coke, all the way from the working man's friend, Old Crow, to some exotic bottling from a chic new distillery, and your reaction to tasting would be amazingly unpredictable. You had just as well buy "Ancient Age" as one of the premiums, if B&C is your tipple.
Even more unlikely to be meaningful beyond simply looking pretentious are those who order "name brand" Cognac and Coke. The once popular "Brandy & Ginger" was the sundowner of choice for those who traveled far and were exposed to the somewhat doubtful brandies bottled in strange places. Italian "Stock" is fine in "caffe' correto", and mixed with Coke or Ginger Ale provides a flavor not much different than using fine Cognac. For most who commit the travesty of Cognac & Coke, they wouldn't know the difference if the barman cozened them (which as once a long ago a barman, I'll promise you they will...).
Remember.... The reason folks in Georgia often mix locally (and illegally) distilled "corn squeezins" with ice tea is 'cuz the damnable popskull tastes so bad otherwise.
But man can repent and recover from sin. After all, it seems only yesterday that a popular drink in NYC was a "Manhattan" made with the mildest flavored of Canadian blends and "White" Vermouth.
The question is why? I suspect that we could line up a dozen "blind" Bourbons/Blends/"Sour Mashes" & Coke, all the way from the working man's friend, Old Crow, to some exotic bottling from a chic new distillery, and your reaction to tasting would be amazingly unpredictable. You had just as well buy "Ancient Age" as one of the premiums, if B&C is your tipple.
Even more unlikely to be meaningful beyond simply looking pretentious are those who order "name brand" Cognac and Coke. The once popular "Brandy & Ginger" was the sundowner of choice for those who traveled far and were exposed to the somewhat doubtful brandies bottled in strange places. Italian "Stock" is fine in "caffe' correto", and mixed with Coke or Ginger Ale provides a flavor not much different than using fine Cognac. For most who commit the travesty of Cognac & Coke, they wouldn't know the difference if the barman cozened them (which as once a long ago a barman, I'll promise you they will...).
Remember.... The reason folks in Georgia often mix locally (and illegally) distilled "corn squeezins" with ice tea is 'cuz the damnable popskull tastes so bad otherwise.
But man can repent and recover from sin. After all, it seems only yesterday that a popular drink in NYC was a "Manhattan" made with the mildest flavored of Canadian blends and "White" Vermouth.
I certainly agree, well, except maybe about the Manhattans.
I have ordered Lagavoulin and soda on the rocks while sitting outside on a hot summer night and the saltiness in the whisky makes it a damn fine drink. When my friends questioned my drinking this whisky this way I told them to &$@* off, as I liked it that way.
I have also really liked Manhattans made with Bullet, Whistle Pig and Jefferson rye. I think the key to a good Manhattan is the quality of the rye, the ratio of rye to other ingredients, and the quality of the cherry. Last ones I had were last month in the bar at Les Halles, while waiting for a table and they were yummy, with Bullet rye.
Jun 3, 2014, 12:57 pm
#259
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But back to mixers, I had always heard that 100+ years ago men never mixed anything with their whiskey, but women needed to dilute it a bit and they were encouraged to add sweet mixers. Somewhere along the way, perhaps it was prohibition and bathtub gin, men too began to add mixers.
I used to add coke to bourbon, then I realized how much Coke I was drinking on a night out and then I switched to straight whiskey. And then I moved upscale and really appreciated the straight stuff.
Jun 3, 2014, 2:51 pm
#260
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Jun 3, 2014, 4:49 pm
#261
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I couldn't even smell it for about 15 or 20 years without gagging. Eventually I had a student from Mexico bring a really nice bottle of an aged Anejo for the instructors in a course I was teaching. I tried it to be polite and it was a different beast. So now I really enjoy a good Anejo or Reposada. I can't drink the cheap stuff though.
Jun 5, 2014, 12:50 pm
#263
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Jun 13, 2014, 7:35 am
#266
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Jun 13, 2014, 2:58 pm
#267
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I paid about $65 each a year or two ago when I heard they were stopping production. Have a couple bottles in my bunker...maybe some day they'll be valuable enough to trade for a bottle of Pappy 15. lol
Jul 3, 2014, 1:18 pm
#269
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Jul 7, 2014, 4:50 pm
#270
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I've passed on it a number of times. Primarily because if I'm spending that kind of $$$ I want one of their Limited edition products (which was insanely hard to find this year)
FDW