Just to circle back, she does like the 1792. Good call!
Hopefully she'll like one or two others mentioned earlier too. But next time out, I may buy a bottle of 1792 and one of the others just in case.

At that price point… Basil Hayden? Maybe EH Taylor Small Batch too if you can find it at the $39 MSRP, she didn’t like Buffalo Trace but the EHT tends to dial back the sweetness a bit and bring on more of a spice which I think puts it closer to some of the ones she enjoyed like Four Roses and Michter’s Small Batch.

Thanks. I forgot to list Basil Hayden. I think she was indifferent to it, but it's not one of my favorites. I think you're right, I'm starting to figure out her palate. She likes spice over sweet, and likes a smooth finish. I would put Four Roses, Michter's and 1792 all in that profile, or at least close. I haven't tried the EHT, but will look for it in the future.

In the Jack Daniels/Woodfield family is also Cooper's Craft in 83 and 100 proofs.

The Jim Beam family has Beam Bottled in Bond at 100 proof and if available in your area, Old Tub, which is unfiltered Jim Beam aged at least 4 years.

Both Larceny 92 and Old Fitzgerald Bottled In Bond are part of the Heaven Hill tree but are more wheated bourbons (20% wheat and 60% corn).

Has she tried any MGP-sourced brands?

I can't seem to find the bonded bottles anymore. At $20, they were my go-to travel buddies. Thanks for the heads-up on Old Tub. Probably going to find a bottle of it today.

Had to look up their brands, and I'm a little confused. Looks like they are part of Luxco with their own brands but supply others too? I don't think we've tried any of the Luxco brands.

Other way around, they bought Luxco within the last year. They've been an outright massive producer of distilled spirits, both bourbons and ryes, for quite a long time now. They're arguably the biggest operation in the whiskey game that no one's ever heard of. For many years, they white-labeled and sold most of their product to non-distilling producers (who in turn bottled it under their own labels, and operated with varying levels of transparency about who was actually making the product), but more recently started bottling more of their own brands. If a whiskey label says it was distilled in Indiana, chances are it's MGP.

Their own house brands include, right now, Rossville Union rye, George Remus bourbon and a few others. But there are many more brands out there using MGP distillate. Smoke Wagon, Untitled, even Jeppson's (and don't let the label conjure up any PTSD, it's nothing like Malort). I'd maybe try a couple of those, and if they hit the mark, widen the net for other MGP-sourced brands.

Thanks, I'll keep an eye out for those. And as a Chicagoan, thank you for the Malort reference. It's one of the foulest tasting liquors I've ever come across.

Had both 2021 VW Lot B and Eagle Rare 17. Both were good, but the ER blew the Lot B out of the water. Past years I thought the ER didn’t hold up because of its low proof point, but this year’s has a ton of spice that really kicks up the complexity and depth. Highly recommend.

Would love to try that ER17. I've become a big fan of ER -- it shows up every once in a while in NC.

Now if only we could get our hands on either of those more exclusive in NC. I've resigned myself to either never trying these or finding a bar when I finally start business travel again and offsetting the bar cost from my per diem -- I'm just not willing to shell out the insane secondary prices, unless it comes with a gold bar there's no bourbon worth paying that much money (unless I win the lottery one day)

Road trip to KY?

David

I grew up in Chicago and had never heard of Malort until a few years ago when my niece's husband (who doesn't drink) tried to get me to do a shot of it. I told him it's bad form to try to get others to do a shot when you won't join them.

It is. It seems kind of like an inside joke here to get visitors to try a shot. Meanwhile, no one I know would ever actually have one. Occasionally, when sitting at a bar with an out of town buddy the bartender has offered one for free when he learns the friend isn't from here. And the fact that the Binny's near me stocks about 3 bottles tells me something about its overall popularity.

To clear any confusion on the owners/distillers of major brands, this chart is helpful.


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Gotta say that it is kind of sad to see the corporate gobble up of all those bourbons. I guess it is a trend everywhere, but lately I am more interested in whiskey from Japan, Scotland and Ireland by independent producers. For as long as that lasts.

And all the hundreds of different rums around the world.

I’m a bourbon guy through and through, and I dislike most scotch (especially peaty ones) and usually find other malt whiskies uninteresting at best… but I was blown away by Glendalough 17yr.

Only for the former. Not the latter. Regardless of the brand owner, it's all distilled by MGP in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.



(partially) kidding, of course.

Strong and good
we finished - 8 degens

angels envy Kentucky bourbon


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It is my bourbon of choice too. I love the dark Rye which I use in my ole fashion.

Legally, not bourbon, but Jack Daniel's is introducing two new 100 proof, bottled in bond editions this month.

https://thewhiskeywash.com/whiskey-styles/bourbon/jack-daniels-adds-two-new-bottled-in-bond-whiskeys/

Went out to dinner this weekend at an Italian restaurant. Food itself ended up being mediocre but they had William Larue Weller behind the bar(not sure what specific year -- presumably 2022, this restaurant opened in 2022 and given how NC ABC regulates Bourbon it's unlikely to be older). Decided just to ask how much a pour was because that is a unicorn bourbon for me big time. Turned out it was $21 (vs. glass of red wine was about $16-18 so very reasonable) and they gave me a very healthy pour (not a 1oz thimble you get for unicorn bourbons at a lot of places).

Holy cow what a fantastic bourbon. If I ever get selected in the NC ABC lottery (unlikely but you never know), that is going to be at the very top of my list of selections

Forgot about this thread. Need more bourbon...

...oh wait, here's some:

David

That's an amazing find at a shockingly low price. Selling WLW at $21 per shot opens that restaurant up to the risk of violating its liquor license as patrons order 3-5 shots to go. I know I would!

It's nice to see bars selling pours at standard margins rather than marking up based on secondary value. Finding places like this is my favorite way to try allocated/high end bourbon, rather than chasing bottles.

Yeah amazing discovery. I've been scheming to go back just to sit at the bar and have another glass or two. These types of bottles are true unicorns in the RTP area and when you do find them they usually are absurdly priced so this was true double unicorn.

Some Woodford on board:

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David

Some Woodford at home:

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David

Hmmm.
 

Sometimes, even on April 20th, we drink bourbon in cocktail form:

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David

I have drunk a lot out bourbon over the past ten or so years. I have the TV show Justified to thank for this.

Probably about 60 different bottles on top of the stuff you can get in supermarkets.

Currently sipping an Eight Oaks Pinot Noir finished bourbon from PA.

But here's the thing... to my palate there is little to elevate them above the stuff you can get in local supermarkets such as Jim Beam/Wild Turkey/Woodford Reserve/Buffalo Trace etc. At least not for the price multiple.

Heresy, I know.

But there are two exceptions:

Stagg was like two angels fighting on the tongue. The wife tried it and couldn't speak for a minute.

Pappy Family Reserve 15yo was like two angels dancing on the tongue. The wife tried it and just said, "Wow, that's beautiful".

So, back to the supermarket for me. Unless there's a good deal on something better.

Angel's Envy Store Picks
 

Anyone had the single barrel store picks of Angel's Envy? I really enjoy regular Angel's Envy as a widely available, tasty, fairly priced sipper neat. A great bourbon to drink when you're drinking a lot :D

But at more than 2x the price, is the single barrel store pick worth it? A lot of variance between different barrels and different pickers? Nugget Markets (SAC area) and Goody Goody liquor (DFW and East TX) are two places where I've seen store picks of Angels Envy. At Goody Goody I think it was priced right at $100.

Just had a nip of the Jack Daniels Single Malt whiskey. Surprisingly flavourful with a fierce finish. Recommended!

I just saw Angels Envy on sale at Costco. Sorry I don't remember the price and you have to buy 2 bottles to get the deal.

I'm kicking myself for picking up a case of Kirkland Signature Kentucky Small Batch Bourbon (made by Barton's 1792) when I had a chance. 1L for $18, and it's fantastic with my old fashioned mix. I have 1.5 bottles of the Kirkland Signature Bottled in Bond Bourbon (1L for $19) that I'm trying to save so my father-in-law can give it a try.

Russell's Reserve 13 yr old barrel proof. Phenomenally good stuff.

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A friend dropped by last night with the remains of this bottle. He was on his way back from mammoth cave and this was the only distillery on his route. It turned out to be a good choice.

"Remains of this bottle"??? 😁

Received a bottle of Wild Turkey Rare Breed from my wife for Christmas. Amazingly smooth for a barrel proof bourbon and the flavours.. Wow.

My new favourite although a bit pricey to be the house pour, currently Woodford.

I picked up a High West Cask Collection bourbon yesterday. The shelf labeled it as "aged in 2nd use Chardonnay barrels," but the bottle label said "aged in Petit Syrah barrels." I was more interested in seeing how the former would affect a bourbon (even oakier?), but as I generally like most of High West's stuff, gave it a try. The Petit Syrah influence is muted, though I need to try it with a splash of water next time to see if it opens up the 60% ABV bourbon a bit more.

The store also had a rye aged in Amrut (India) whisky barrels, blended with bourbon, that looked interesting--can't remember the particular distillery on that one, though, and at $100-ish a bottle, I didn't feel like experimenting. I've seen barley-heavy mash bill whisky aged in rye barrels (there was even a Johnnie Walker rye-aged one I quite enjoyed), but this was a first for me seeing rye aged in Indian whisky barrels (then blended with bourbon). I imagine the end result would be something like a high-rye bourbon but far less sweet.