Favorite Whiskey?

Saw a Yamazaki 12 for 119 today. Haven't been looking for it, but is that somewhat reasonable?

 

$120 is about par for the course anymore. Goes for a tad more on secondary.

 

Woot! I have two of those four! I have an unopened Stagg Jr. that is batch #9. Maybe I can swap it for batch #10 and get a third one from that list.

 

If there is one for that I'll take it (and obviously pay for shipping). Let me know and we can make arrangements- i.e. if you have Paypal or something. Thanks!

 

Cabinets looking a little bare on the bourbon and rye...need to drop some dough soon.

 

I keep coming back here and getting thirsty. Have a big run on Sunday, so I've been trying to eat/drink fairly cleanly leading up to it.

Need to pick a bottle to crack Sunday afternoon.

 

I have a bottle of that Centenaro tequila that I haven't opened (not big tequila fan). How do you like it?

 

Wait a second. That High West Silver has the red illustration. Is that a bottle of OMG Pure Rye?!?!?

 

I filled up my Infinty bottle a few days ago (apologies to Blanton's but put the empty bottle to good use) and had my first taste tonight. A bit surprised- it was very good! I wasn't sure what to expect but honestly, it's just about as good as anything I have in my cabinet.

When I put it together I didn't just dump everything but the kitchen sink in; I decided to start with various ryes then added some Wild Turkey Longbranch for the smokey mesquite/oak charcoal flavor. It combined very well with the sweet Angels Envy rye, the spicy/pepper Pikesville and the middle of the road Gelrge Dickle rye. Came out very well balanced.

Roughly:
Pikesville rye - 200ml
Angels Envy rye - 185ml
George Dickle rye - 150ml
Longbranch bourbon- 200ml

 

If I am out camping or fishing-Jack #9. You could argue any fine whiskey but for real life I want to draw on Jack.

 

I’ll swing by and check on it tonight.

 

Have you ever run into overly attached girlfriend? I think she's from Denton.

 

Hey all, I for some reason this last year have been very intrigued with whiskey's and bourbons, more bourbons and have more been mixing them for now, but wanting to find one that I can sit back and drink straight without searing my throat/taste buds with burning fire from it being just crap. Would really like to find something with all around great flavor that doesnt choke you from being over powering.

Right now my stock consists of Woodford Reserve, Johnnie Walker 18 years, and a cheap bottle of Johnnie Walker White Walker my wife bought me as a gag over game of thrones. I know it is blasphemy but White Walker and Diet Coke is down right dangerous, cannot taste any alcohol at all and will put you on your ass if not careful. The woodford reserve isn't bad to drink straight. The 18 year JW is different, has a smokey aroma to it that I can't quite but my finger on and I cannot decide my feelings on it quite yet. I'd like to find a local tasting to be able to not buy bottles until I find what I like, so coming here for some aged advice. I'd be willing to spend $50-100 a bottle to find what I want to keep revolving around as I know anything in the sub $50 range will be more challenging to find something that isn't full of impurities and not distilled appropriately. Thanks in advance, have mercy on me

 

My bourbon recommendations to get started:
Four Roses Single Barrel (the squarish bottle) - Should be right around $45 or so. Easy to find. Has a "spiciness" due to the higher amount of rye in the mashbill but is a smooth sipper at 100 proof.
Russell's Reserve 10 Year ($30) or Single Barrel ($55) - Easy to find and decent. Also spicy due to the higher rye that Wild Turkey uses in all of their bourbons.
Old Forester 1920 (Prohibition Style) - $47.99 MSRP here. Really classic, solid bourbon flavors...vanilla, caramel, oak, etc. Easy to find.
Eagle Rare 10 Year - MSRP is $27 but can be hard to find. My opinion is that at $27 (and no more than about $35) this is probably the best cost/quality bourbon out there. Unfortunately, Buffalo Trace can't keep it on the shelves. Demand is way higher than supply.
Blanton's Single Barrel - $58.99 MSRP - Can be harder to find than ER10.
Anything from the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection - Almost impossible to find at retail price. "Almost" because it's usually a lottery draw for the opportunity to purchase. I only put this here because you should keep your eyes/ears open for advertisements for lotteries. They release in the Fall usually and lotteries tend to be in that Oct/Nov/Dec time frame.

The biggest advice I can give when trying bourbons is to find what you like. I tend to prefer a higher rye (spicier) bourbon like Wild Turkey and Four Roses produces. Although I really liked the Old Fo' 1920 because it has a solid, classic bourbon flavor profile. I'm honestly not a fan of Woodford Reserve (not a knock on you...I got my start on WR and learned a lot from it). I find the finish to be almost syrupy with a lingering "aftertaste," and not in a good way. Also, if you find a bourbon that the flavor interests you but has too much alcohol burn, don't be afraid to add a few drops of distilled water prior to the next sip. This not only reduces the overall ABV, but also tends to open up flavors hidden behind the burn.

These are all my opinions. I'm no expert by any means. These are just the bourbons I can reach for at any time and be happy.

 

Agree 100% with Adamant365 except for the Old Forester 1920. It along with the Woodford's are not to my taste.
I'm not an expert but here, but pointed out are my choices after buying 30 or so bottles over the past 6-8 months.

 

Too funny...I agree with every bottle from your picture except the Booker's. I know lots of people who swear by Booker's. I just don't get it. It's been a few years and I didn't keep the bottle to know the batch though so maybe I'll have to give it another crack. I'm always open to reexamining a bourbon, especially when they are released in batches like Booker's. This is where tastes just differ from person to person and it's important to try as many as you can. I have a friend with a huge collection and have gotten to try many different bourbons prior to buying.

The red arrows point to a very solid lineup though.

 

I had my first Booker's a few days ago and fell in love with it. I don't know what bottle it was... asked the waitress what bottle the Booker's was and she said "that's the brand, Booker's." Yeah... I got that...

Anyway, it was $7.50 for a pour so I didn't care. Definitely one of my next buys though.

 

Booker's is my favorite Whiskey. But I've only had the one release 2018-04. It drinks like a 90-100 proof Whiskey even though it's 128 proof!

Tell ya something else that's funny. My wife over the years has graduated from White Zinfandel to now Pinot Grigio.
About 3 months ago I gave her a taste of Monkey Shoulder. Now almost every night she'll have about 1 finger of MS and a little Dark Chocolate after Dinner for desert. Now she's been tasting "just a little" most all my Whiskey's. I made the mistake about 3 weeks ago of letting her taste my Booker's.
Since then about 2 nights a week she's been in my Booker's.
She keeps this up and I'm gonna run out!

 

Ooooo, that's unfortunate. My wife prefers wine and or a vodka martini. The only time she's ever liked any whiskey/whisky was when I bought a pour of Macallan 18 for my birthday at a restaurant. We both thought it was delicious. She occasionally tries a sip of bourbon but shudders and kind of has a retching look on her face. I think my bourbon is safe from her

 

Dude, all that means is that it'll be really easy to bring new bottles into the house. "No honey, I thought we could share these!"

My wife can barely stand the smell, let alone the taste. Let her try the TX Whiskey, which is probably the easiest drinker I have and she almost spit that out. So no hope for her, I'll just have to keep all the "precious" to myself.