Cranking Down some New Bourbon

Bigshankhank · Post by **Bigshankhank** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 6:09 pm

This non-news shit should be in my blog but whatever, this is The Grinder afterall. I have been a dyed-in-the-wool Maker's Mark guy since before I could walk (my Mom made me toddies for teething pain). My Granddaddy drank it (family legend has it that my old PawPaw bootlegged a lot of Maker's during prohibition up and down the Ohio river valley to local speakeasy's, including his own), and so did my mom, and so it passed to me to be the standard bearer. My oldest sister is a beer snob, a result of her living for too long in San Jose, and my other sister is a Mom with a college-frat-guy-that-never-grew-up for a husband so she doesn't really drink much. My parents live in Texas and drink Olympia. As for me, I still love my wax-topped bottle, but every now and again I like to try something new. Back in college, people tried to convince me that Southern Comfort was bourbon, and given that I liked Joplin at the time I gave in to drinking it but never mistook it for the genuine article. So to this new stuff, Bulleit Kentucky Straight Bourbon. Real cork in the bottle, about $40 a liter but sometimes the wife is outta town and I wanted to spoil myself. Pretty good, a little course aftertaste but I can see it as a sipping whiskey. Overall its nice but not better than the standard, once its gone I can fill the bottle with ash from the firepit and show off another dead relative to spook little kids with.
After I put some of this stuff down, I gotta kick the boys out of my bedroom (their xBox is in there close to the broadband) and hit the bag. My wife is gone tonight until I meet up with her Sunday in San Diego to welcome home our globetrotting daughter. What a life, 21 years old and she's now been to ten different countries from Canada to Europe to Africa to SE Asia and on to home in a few more days. Yeah Dad is jealous a bit, but proud. And slightly tipsy.
This stuff still reminds me of having a toothache.

calamari kid · Post by **calamari kid** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 7:03 pm

Yeah, that Bulleit is some tasty stuff. I've always got a bottle on the shelf. First bourbon that I ever wanted to keep in the supply. Single malt scotch is my regular poison when it comes to the hard stuff.

Whiskeywrist · Post by **Whiskeywrist** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 7:58 pm

Bulleit and Maker's are both very smooth and tasty, granted, But Jim Beam Black is my go-to Bourbon for most purposes. Really a great value, too.

Sisyphus · Post by **Sisyphus** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 8:42 pm

I miss drinking, I really do. I can't drink more than about four or five beers before the headache comes on. Bourbon, unfortunately, is like good Scotch for me-- tasty, but carries a hefty penalty for participating.

It was fun while it lasted.

Bigshankhank · Post by **Bigshankhank** » Sat Dec 12, 2009 4:57 am

Sisyphus wrote:I miss drinking, I really do. I can't drink more than about four or five beers before the headache comes on. Bourbon, unfortunately, is like good Scotch for me-- tasty, but carries a hefty penalty for participating.

It was fun while it lasted.

Yeah, nowadays I get two drinks in me and I'm happy, just a light buzz and I can relax on the couch for a bit. Not too foggy in the morning, either.

MagnusTheBuilder · Post by **MagnusTheBuilder** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 9:57 pm

This is what I like to drink. It too a lot of testing but I finally found my drink. I don't generally drink to get drunk, I drink to enjoy drinking and to enjoy the liquor. This is a very drinkable scotch. A little bit more charcoal/smokey flavor than the Glenfarclas 17.

This is my 'Always on hand' scotch. This is the scotch that I usually drink. It is very 'easy' and has the caramel and vanilla flavors that I really like. This is what will be in my flask at Ragnarok. It isn't for the faint of heart, but it is definitely for people who prefer something delicious and drinkable as opposed to the usual kicked-in-the-mouth-by-a-horse-with-shit-in-it's-shoe drinking experience that some other 'real' scotch leaves you with.

I know some people who swear by the Laphroaig 18, but that tastes too much like sheep shit for me. I know that may make me seem unrefined but I hate unnecessarily peaty scotch.

Photo · Post by **Photo** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 10:58 pm

Sheepshit? I thought Laphroaig tasted like a campfire, made with very old, dusty books. I think the sweeter/vanilla thing is what makes Glenfiddich so popular. Less sweety, more peaty, in my book. Me still likey Talisker 10 year and 18-year Glenlivet.

Everyone's entitled to their own favorite taste. Drinking the expensive hootch is supposed to make you happy, not cranky.

Drinking expensive, shitty tasting liquor is best left for those who love Wild Turkey. I like the honey stuff, but the original Turkey claws from my throat, all the way down to my stomach. I'm left bleeding inside when I imbibe that stuff. I've never tried Makers Mark, nor Bulleit - sounds like it's time for a tiny sample (or 2).

Merlyn · Post by **Merlyn** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 7:00 am

I may try scotch again, if I can find one that doesn't taste like peat moss soaked in camphor.

For bourbon, I like Maker's Mark and WL Weller.

My favorite is still tequila though. Gran Centenario Reposado Tequila to be exact. $65 a liter and worth every penny.

Merlyn

dozer · Post by **dozer** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 7:06 am

A vote for Bulleit here too, tastes as good as burbon twice its price in a super cool bottle too. I drink it nearly daily, but then again I'm 20, so I think I'm supposed to, no?

..I'm also partial to Bernheim wheat whiskey for a treat, and Pikesville Rye Whiskey for the best shitty whiskey that i've been able to find, and for 11 bucks a bottle its a steal...

Jonny · Post by **Jonny** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 9:34 am

MagnusTheBuilder wrote:

This is my 'Always on hand' scotch. This is the scotch that I usually drink. It is very 'easy' and has the caramel and vanilla flavors that I really like. This is what will be in my flask at Ragnarok. It isn't for the faint of heart, but it is definitely for people who prefer something delicious and drinkable as opposed to the usual kicked-in-the-mouth-by-a-horse-with-shit-in-it's-shoe drinking experience that some other 'real' scotch leaves you with.

I know some people who swear by the Laphroaig 18, but that tastes too much like sheep shit for me. I know that may make me seem unrefined but I hate unnecessarily peaty scotch.

Interesting. Everyone has their own perception of flavours, and cetainly their own tastes, but Highland whisky is just too sickly sweet for me. Don't like it at all. Glenfarclas and Glenlivet 18 I've tried to like (due to recommendations) but found I just couldn't at all.

I'm not really a big single malt fan, to be honest, but if I'm going to drink it, I'll start my day off with a couple of Campbeltown malts like Glen Scotia or Springbank and then head on to some good peaty Lagavulin, Bowmore, or Laphroaig.

I'll happily drink the sheepshit.

Metalredneck · Post by **Metalredneck** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 10:20 am

I'd much rather drink a good tequila or mezcal than any scotch I've come across.

Toonce(s) · Post by **Toonce(s)** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 10:36 am

Maybe it is my scandanavian heritage coming out but I have begun to favor Aquavit for general hooch. It is way cheaper than a good scotch (~18 for Aalborg) and fills the same niche but in a friendlier way. I still adore Talisker but it ain't economically viable.

MagnusTheBuilder · Post by **MagnusTheBuilder** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 11:28 am

Photo wrote:I think the sweeter/vanilla thing is what makes Glenfiddich so popular.

Glenfiddich is for Frat-Boys. Glenfarclas is for men.
(Intentionally antagonistic.)

Honestly, everyone has their taste and what they like. It would be as foolish for me to tell someone else what they should like as it is for them to tell me that what I like is wrong.

Basically if it makes you happy, drink it.

Bottoms up!

roadmissile · Post by **roadmissile** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 2:13 pm

dozerone wrote:I'm 20, so I think I'm supposed to, no?

At twenty you're supposed to drink directly from the (plastic) bottle...

A little over a year ago I downed an entire bottle of Bowmore, and remained drunk for more than a full day...

/RM

Sisyphus · Post by **Sisyphus** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 2:21 pm

Bowmore......
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Rabbit_Fighter · Post by **Rabbit_Fighter** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 2:28 pm

+1 on Bulleit. I've never been much of a Maker's person, but absolutely love Bulleit. The quality/dollar ratio is amazing.

Also love the Akvavit as well, though I tend to shoot it from the freezer.

Toonce(s) · Post by **Toonce(s)** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 2:33 pm

Rabbit_Fighter wrote:
Also love the Akvavit as well, though I tend to shoot it from the freezer.

The traditional way, shooters + beer (porter preferably). YUM-O

And whether Talisker or Aalborg, I know I am having one of those days when I find myself drinking straight from the bottle.

Thankfully I don't have days like that very often.

thack · Post by **thack** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:07 pm

Buffalo Trace. Good stuff.
Also the Maker's, and the Bulleit, and the Stranahan's, and the Jameson, and the Guinness, and... well, you get the idea.

But Buffalo Trace is very tasty.

gazza · Post by **gazza** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:10 pm

I am a Maker's regular too, but I just got a bottle of Knob Creek. Buliet was ok, but it just didn't talk to me the way Knob Creek and Woodford do.

My list in order is:

Woodford Reserve
Knob Creek
Makers

My Little Pony · Post by **My Little Pony** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:39 pm

You guys are making me feel like a redneck. Minutes ago, I just finished a bottle of Jim Beam Rye. I like it just fine. Expensive booze is great to receive as a gift, but I just don't see it as a good way to spend my money. One can certainly take this too far though, as I found out when I bought a bottle of Evan Williams. Tasted vile, and gave me a headache while I was drinking it. The only time I recall throwing away booze.

dozer · Post by **dozer** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:43 pm

You think evan williams is shitty, try black velvet. i'd rather eat poo

MagnusTheBuilder · Post by **MagnusTheBuilder** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 7:20 pm

My general rule in life is that I don't drink booze from a plastic bottle. It might make me sound like a snob, but if it doesn't have a glass bottle, I'm not likely going to drink it.

Plastic bottles are for pouring into a punchbowl to make 'jungle juice' at frat parties or weekends when your parents leave town when you were a kid. Other than that, plastic bottles are for soda and water.

erosvamp · Post by **erosvamp** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 7:42 pm

gazza wrote:I am a Maker's regular too, but I just got a bottle of Knob Creek. Buliet was ok, but it just didn't talk to me the way Knob Creek and Woodford do.

My list in order is:

Woodford Reserve
Knob Creek
Makers

My list:

Knob Creek (because you can get it most places)
Bookers
Pappy Van Winkle

I have a list of bourbon I want to try.

MATPOC · Post by **MATPOC** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 8:59 pm

When I was Twenty I drank what ever I could get my hands in, living in near prohibition post-Gorbachev Russia prepared me for anything but the brake fluid (my cycling coach warned me that it'll make me blind).

Once in USA I discovered Jose Quervo and Capt'n Morgan Spiced and it was my drink of choice for a while second only to Absolute Vodka. It took years to realize that Absolute is Shit and so is cheap tequila (fucking Mexican moonshine!)

I still not sure what is my fave, good scotch? I like the highland stuff, still drink Morgan, good tequila and of course mothers milk (Vodka) but not the cheap stuff. Good beer (had plenty tonight) is always welcome, and even wine sometimes. I'll try anything as long as it's not gona make me blind!

GeekGrl · Post by **GeekGrl** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 9:08 pm

I hereby bestow upon you all my life's allocation of scotch, whiskey, and bourbon.

After years of trying to acquire a taste for it, I finally ended the quest a year ago after sitting in a Scottish pub with a few mates and a friendly bartender on a slow night ... the bartender decided to let us taste a vast array of obscenely expensive Scotch - for free. Expected result of lots of different scotch ensued. Lesson learned. Quest abandoned.

I'll stick to manna from the gods: Guinness. It's good for you! Although for preference (rather than what I actually get to drink) a close second would be a nice cold stubby of Victoria Bitter.

Photo · Post by **Photo** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 2:17 am

dozerone wrote:You think evan williams is shitty, try black velvet. i'd rather eat poo

But to get that true poo-eater aftertaste, you haven't lived through a 10 year prison stretch wearing a flowered dress until you've tried Hyram Walker's Ten High. They use that shit for starter fluid and degreaser in Alaska.

Jonny · Post by **Jonny** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 9:37 am

GeekGrl wrote:I'll stick to manna from the gods: Guinness... ...a close second would be a nice cold stubby of Victoria Bitter.

Faaakin' good on ya, Aussie!

To be honest, I've never heard of VB spoken about in such glowing terms. You are dead right, though, that it must be drunk COLD.

Back to the thread proper, I do like Makers Mark as a straight up, go-to bourbon, but have never seen Bulliet over here or in Aus. Bookers is a very good drop for me, and I also quite like the Elijah Craig and I.W. Harpers 12 year olds, but I'd say the best I've tasted is Blanton's Straight From the Barrel. About 130 proof and at our bar sells for $35 an ounce. So yes, I've never paid for that and doubt I ever will.

Drift · Post by **Drift** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 10:45 am

Maker's has been the Bourbon of choice for quite a while, it never dissapoints.

As much as I've tried, I've never been into the Scotch thing, I found I prefer the Irish. Powers is my current fave, with Jamesons running a close second (but costs 30% more than Powers).

Tequila is tricky. You can't trust advertising.

You can spend more, but you won't find a better tequila than Casadores. It's perfect. My wife doesn't even like tequila and she'll drink the Casadores straight. You don't even need the salt and lime. When I order it in a real Mexican restaurant, the mexican guys (waiters, bartenders) give me the "Ok, you know what you're doing." nod and a smile. Try it with a slice of orange dipped in a cinammon/sugar mixture. I guarantee, even the viccar will ask for seconds.

I like liquor.

Zer0 · Post by **Zer0** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 1:24 pm

Sisyphus wrote:I miss drinking, I really do. I can't drink more than about four or five beers before the headache comes on. Bourbon, unfortunately, is like good Scotch for me-- tasty, but carries a hefty penalty for participating.

I don't drink much anymore (unless Scumbag comes over to visit my likker cabinet),, I gget the heasdaches too.

Never got into whiskeys. Scum got me into Sailor Jerry's Rum and grapefruit juice, and that stuff can be a power punch upside the head. Good stuff,.

But I have all that whiskey, Makers (good for whiskey--even though they spelll it wrong) Snob Creek, you name it--alll those damn Scotch Glenthisnthats, whatever. Now I just hit the Rum or PBRs on rare nights--the rest is for people coming over loooking for free hooch.

But anyone who hits my cabinet must have a shot of Laphroaig first.

GeekGrl · Post by **GeekGrl** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 11:37 pm

Jonny wrote: Faaakin' good on ya, Aussie!

To be honest, I've never heard of VB spoken about in such glowing terms. You are dead right, though, that it must be drunk COLD.

Nostalgia/rarity makes it taste better! It's not available in the U.S. I'm lucky to get 2 or 3 stubbies a year. A mate goes back to Aus about once a year and usually remembers to bring me back some VB. Wish she'd remember the damn hobnobs, though!

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Cranking Down some New Bourbon

Cranking Down some New Bourbon

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