Favorite Whiskey?

EC Toasted Barrel - this is bottle of goodness. I don’t have much of it left, but this is excellent!







As are the peanut M&Ms

 

Unbeknownst to me my girl entered a drawing for allocated bottles awhile back and got a call today - she initially requested Little Book 2023, she told me when I got in from work. I already have that bottle though and I was able to talk the rep into Stagg instead. Apparently changing bottles is a policy no-no even though they had not finished calling all of the winners and there were bottles unaccounted for.

 

This is from last week. Restaurateur buddy got 2 new Buffalo Trace barrel proofs in so decided to crack those and do a flight with 2 others that have been opened about 2 weeks.



In order by proof...

Weller BP - was good, very sweet upfront but washed out pretty quick so no distinguishable notes, little to no heat but its wheated so expected. Ranked 3rd

Blanton's BP - went into it with some bias because Blanton's gets way too much hype so i'm inclined to be more critical of it... but this was the best of the bunch in my opinion (so much so I ordered a double neat to go with my prime rib). Sweet upfront but followed by a bath of butterscotch/leather/oakiness and a perfect balance of spice on the throat.. Ranked 1st.

EH Taylor BP - so disappointed. Little to no distinctive notes and washed out immediately. Hard to believe it's BP. Ranked 4th

Stagg BP - wanted to like this the most and it was good - sweet up front with some leather, coffee and apple?! notes as it settled across the palate. Decent spice but unexpectedly smooth at this proof. Ranked this 2nd

 

Work had me in the Lehigh Valley of NE Pennsylvania. Took three goodies with me back south:

 

just missed all the horses and eagles this week

 

Very good Rye

 

I'm in AZ, not Cali but I make the occasional trip to Disney Land.
And by Disney Land, I mean Old Town Liquor Deli in San Diego.

Anyone else like to go there to shop for obscure stuff?

 

nabbed this on the way home for $70 OTD, a few short years ago I would have called myself a Tater, for some reason today I feel like it’s a small victory. These are bottles I’ve been drinking for 25 years and have given away countless times to people getting into Bourbon…. Now I’m shocked to even see one, I bet I haven’t in over a year. Anyway I still over paid for it but compared to what I see out there…

To make room for a tall bottle this had to be finished off. Still a tasty albeit low proof pour.

 

Next time you’re craving a bottle hit me up, happy to help. The eagle lands here frequently.

 

After letting this bottle sit a couple weeks after the first pour I went in for another…

I just didn’t love it. Poured it down the drain (the glass not the bottle)

Cracked the latest Larceny FP instead. Much much better.

 

TY I might. What’s the going rate down there?

 

$34.99

 

OMFG.. buy me 10 bottles. I’ll just drive down and get it from you. You’re only 5 hours away. I almost think that’s below MSRP at this point …. That’s old pricing but I’m very interested. Don’t suppose it rains Weller down there too????

 

That’s Buffalo Trace territory. That’s SRP in PA? $10 less than NC.

 

lol this is after they raised prices last year

 

I'm big on shopping local when possible and Memphis has some great local alcohol. Old Dominick Distillery has a phenomenal bourbon and recently released a Tennessee whiskey that's pretty good. Chattanooga Whiskey also has a damn good bourbon. As far as the big guys go, my favorite is Buffalo Trace at the moment.

 

Cheers to starting Christmas break from work