Extremely smooth with a sweet, fruity finish. This is maybe my new favorite straight bourbon.
A few months back I did a Four Roses blind tasting for some friends. They got Four Roses single barrel, Four Roses small batch, a barrel strength (116 proof) Four Roses single barrel that was picked by the head of a bourbon club, and Four Roses small batch select.
All were great bourbons, but I was pretty surprised when 3 out of 4 chose the Small Batch Select as their favorite. The fourth preferred the regular single barrel. Then again, the small batch select does usually sell for about $10 more per bottle than the single barrel does so maybe they are priced appropriately.
Picked up some buffalo trace to make old fashioneds on Sunday
+4
3cl1ps3I will build a labyrinth to house the cheeseRegistered Userregular
I'm lowkey shocked you even found Buffalo Trace. Was it at an insane markup?
0
KetarCome on upstairswe're having a partyRegistered Userregular
edited February 2022
Buffalo Trace is usually pretty easy to find for 2-3 days after a Friday drop around here lately. I see it often enough at Target or my preferred liquor store that it's now something I'll only buy once in a while when I'm almost out.
Everything else the distillery makes is still difficult to find without a markup though.
3cl1ps3I will build a labyrinth to house the cheeseRegistered Userregular
In related news, there's a liquor store near me selling bottles of Blanton's for $250 and it's one of the funniest slash bleakest things I've ever seen.
Blanton's is pretty good! Do not pay more than 50 bucks for a bottle. If you want a similar flavor profile at generally lower prices and much more obtainable, grab Maker's 46, which is shockingly good.
+1
3cl1ps3I will build a labyrinth to house the cheeseRegistered Userregular
I think my favorite bottle in terms of bang for buck right now is Knob Creek Single Barrel (my favorite fullstop is Little Book but that's like $150 a pop lmao). Generally $50-60, 120 proof, and incredibly complex in terms of flavor. Starts very spicy and rye heavy, mellows out to some really cool fruit notes in the finish, absolutely delicious whiskey. Can't recommend enough.
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LuvTheMonkeyHigh Sierra SerenadeRegistered Userregular
edited February 2022
Speaking of stupid bourbon prices!
A friend and I consistently enter the sales lotteries that the PA LCB runs a few times a year for super rare stuff. This past week we entered one with a bunch of Pappy Van Winkle products, and he happens to have selected to purchase a bottle of Van Winkle Special Reserve 12 year (MSRP $99).
Apparently that shit goes for like $1,000+ on the secondary market, if one were so disposed to look into such things.
I've never had Pappy myself but it seems to be the Beats by Dre of bourbon. Everybody knows the name and thinks it's the Holy Grail but all the people I've talked to that have had it are like, "eh, it's ok."
I know a place that does pours but they're like $45-60 bucks for 2oz so I haven't pulled the trigger yet. I may need to just to see what all the fuss is about.
3cl1ps3I will build a labyrinth to house the cheeseRegistered Userregular
I have yet to hear a review of Pappy that's better than "I mean, it's fine." I guess if you can actually get it for MSRP it's probably worth it to see what the hype is about.
I did try like a quarter ounce of it just to get a taste of it a bit ago. It's quite good. Definitely think it'll fit better in an old fashioned than my usual Jameson which is a little sweet I think for a drink that's gonna have sugar and orange in it.
Buffalo Trace is one of the better mid shelf bourbons on the market but I don't think you should ever pay more than like $35 for a handle. I think it's just boomed in popularity over the last couple of years and supply lags so it gets marked up.
People also love their barrels for aging and its making barrels hard to come by too.
3cl1ps3I will build a labyrinth to house the cheeseRegistered Userregular
Buffalo Trace hit the hype machine at the exact right time and become unobtainable as people with only a passing familiarity with bourbon all tried to get their hands on it. Same thing happening with Blanton's (although that's a somewhat more cynically designed push by the Blanton's distillery). Same thing happened with Angel's Envy a few years ago; its prices are still inflated over what it's actually worth in my opinion.
They only had like 5 bottles on the shelf and I almost walked right past them because they were all in the back of the shelf.
I did get there right at opening time this morning too, I imagine lots of people in Ohio are stocking up bottles for the game on Sunday already like me though.
One of my stores here actually managed to get a Buffalo Trace barrel pick, which I didn't even know they were still doing over at BT. $27, too, so I picked one up.
And, naturally, as I went to grab the link for this post it's now sold out.
I just poured myself a slightly more substantial taste of it now that it's not so early in the day.
It's really good actually. I think I vastly prefer this to other bourbon I've tried of which I think is really just makers mark and wild turkey that I can remember.
Buffalo Trace hit the hype machine at the exact right time and become unobtainable as people with only a passing familiarity with bourbon all tried to get their hands on it. Same thing happening with Blanton's (although that's a somewhat more cynically designed push by the Blanton's distillery). Same thing happened with Angel's Envy a few years ago; its prices are still inflated over what it's actually worth in my opinion.
Blanton's is actually also made by Buffalo Trace under contract from the people who own the brand. I went there in 2019 (fantastic tour, by the way) and we picked up a bottle of Blanton's on what definitely seemed to be a purposefully obscure location in the gift shop.
My GF and I are strongly considering doing some part of the Bourbon Trail late summer or early fall. The Buffalo Trace distillery is one I want to make sure we visit.
My GF and I are strongly considering doing some part of the Bourbon Trail late summer or early fall. The Buffalo Trace distillery is one I want to make sure we visit.
At least on the ones I went on, the Buffalo Trace "hard hat" tour was the only one I went on that involved an actual production distillery. The tasting was underwhelming (just all the normal national retail stuff), but the tour actually being a tour was nice. The other ones I did were just for show but definitely but had tastings that had stuff that maybe wasn't widely available or was a distillery special. (Note that for a lot of these places, if you live in Kentucky there's not going to really be any surprises as far as I could tell.)
I just poured myself a slightly more substantial taste of it now that it's not so early in the day.
It's really good actually. I think I vastly prefer this to other bourbon I've tried of which I think is really just makers mark and wild turkey that I can remember.
Buffalo Trace is the bourbon that got me into bourbon back in the day. It's just solid stuff, no gimmicks, which ironically is part of what has led to all the hype and its meteoric rise, but at the core it's just a really good bourbon for not a ton of money.
Buffalo Trace hit the hype machine at the exact right time and become unobtainable as people with only a passing familiarity with bourbon all tried to get their hands on it. Same thing happening with Blanton's (although that's a somewhat more cynically designed push by the Blanton's distillery). Same thing happened with Angel's Envy a few years ago; its prices are still inflated over what it's actually worth in my opinion.
Blanton's is actually also made by Buffalo Trace under contract from the people who own the brand. I went there in 2019 (fantastic tour, by the way) and we picked up a bottle of Blanton's on what definitely seemed to be a purposefully obscure location in the gift shop.
It may have been too long since I've had hard liquor because I just mixed an old fashioned for practice for the weekend and 2oz of bourbon is kinda kicking my ass.
We've been drinking a fair amount of Larceny bourbon lately because it's cheap and easy to get and I don't know if I'm outing myself as some kind of bourbon dunce but it tastes pretty good straight or in a cocktail! It's got no rye at all so it's not spicy, and I do love a spicy bourbon, but my wife doesn't and Larceny threads the needle for something we both like and that's a good thing.
+1
3cl1ps3I will build a labyrinth to house the cheeseRegistered Userregular
Larceny is pretty good, it flies under the radar for the most part.
Had Cuba Libre's with Plantation 5 Year to watch the Super Bowl and its such a simple drink, but it just works so well. My GF is gone for the week for a family funeral so I'm going to spend the time arranging our bar now that we've got a nice bar table. Its in front of a window and I don't trust my dog so sadly the liquor bottles are going to have to be on the bottom in a cupboard, but still happy to get it setup finally.
3cl1ps3I will build a labyrinth to house the cheeseRegistered Userregular
After drinking about half a bottle over the course of a month or so, I think I've decided I just don't like Angel's Envy, especially not at its price point. It's fine, but the aging in port barrels makes it lack a lot of the punchiness I'm looking for from a bourbon. It's very thin bodied for a whiskey and I find the port notes overly strong.
Maker's 46 is a serious dark horse bourbon right now though.
After drinking about half a bottle over the course of a month or so, I think I've decided I just don't like Angel's Envy, especially not at its price point. It's fine, but the aging in port barrels makes it lack a lot of the punchiness I'm looking for from a bourbon. It's very thin bodied for a whiskey and I find the port notes overly strong.
Maker's 46 is a serious dark horse bourbon right now though.
I really like port so I might have to pick up a bottle of Angel's Envy for something like that. I haven't had it in a while, but generally I do like more of a punch. I'm pretty new to the whiskey and bourbon drinking so I'm stilling looking to find my favorites and preferences.
Maker's 46 is a serious dark horse bourbon right now though.
I have been going through a bottle of this since Christmas. I'm not enjoying it as much as I did the Woodford Reserve I went through before it, but that set a pretty high bar. It's still really good.
Larceny, along with Rebel Yell, and of course Makers, has been at the like forefront of sub-$20/$25 wheated bourbons and I'm completely here for it. I don't love those so much for cocktails (I will generally use rye instead of bourbon in cocktails, given the choice), but for drinking neat they're excellent values.
3cl1ps3I will build a labyrinth to house the cheeseRegistered Userregular
My absolute favorite right now is Knob Creek Single Barrel. Just about cask strength and some fantastically rich flavors at a really good price point for what it's doing.
I got Fistful of Bourbon in a deal with Grey Goose for $50 bucks and that's worked well in my Old Fashioneds, but when I didn't put enough simple syrup in my first drink the bourbon was pretty harsh, but with the right combo of Syrup made a nice cocktail.
I made a semi-sweet simple and demerara and a simple apple-cinnamon. The apple cinnamon was definitely hindered by using ground cinnamon and not using a stick, but also because I added too much cinnamon. On the plus side the apple slices left over from that tasted great like undercooked apple crisp so not only did I get a learning experience, but a nice snack as well. I think the syrup might actually be decent, but I just have shitty bourbon I'm using right now. I kind of want to try it with my Woodford, but I could just make a good Old Fashioned with the Demerara syrup.
It's a 101 proof straight bourbon whiskey from Bardstown, Kentucky and boy is it hot.
Just an extreme amount of ethanol right up front. Enough that if you linger too long in the glass your eyes will burn. The nose is all vanilla and caramel behind the fumes and that's basically what you taste when you sip it. Little bit of some kinda spice in there too. Some very mild smokey char. I'm drinking it neat but it would probably be one of the few bourbons I'd reccomend on the rocks.
All I can find on the mash bill is its at least 51% corn. The actual distillery is also listed as "unkown". I don't think it's out of any kind of secrecy it just seems like a small batch that's produced wherever the parent company is producing it at the moment. Rumor is Heaven Hill.
It also apparently used to sport a 15 year label but no longer does so not a lot of info on the actual age of individual batches.
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60% corn
35% Rye
5% Barley
100 proof.
Extremely smooth with a sweet, fruity finish. This is maybe my new favorite straight bourbon.
A few months back I did a Four Roses blind tasting for some friends. They got Four Roses single barrel, Four Roses small batch, a barrel strength (116 proof) Four Roses single barrel that was picked by the head of a bourbon club, and Four Roses small batch select.
All were great bourbons, but I was pretty surprised when 3 out of 4 chose the Small Batch Select as their favorite. The fourth preferred the regular single barrel. Then again, the small batch select does usually sell for about $10 more per bottle than the single barrel does so maybe they are priced appropriately.
It was rull good.
Everything else the distillery makes is still difficult to find without a markup though.
Blanton's is pretty good! Do not pay more than 50 bucks for a bottle. If you want a similar flavor profile at generally lower prices and much more obtainable, grab Maker's 46, which is shockingly good.
A friend and I consistently enter the sales lotteries that the PA LCB runs a few times a year for super rare stuff. This past week we entered one with a bunch of Pappy Van Winkle products, and he happens to have selected to purchase a bottle of Van Winkle Special Reserve 12 year (MSRP $99).
Apparently that shit goes for like $1,000+ on the secondary market, if one were so disposed to look into such things.
Bourbon is stupid.
I know a place that does pours but they're like $45-60 bucks for 2oz so I haven't pulled the trigger yet. I may need to just to see what all the fuss is about.
Mine was like 28 something after tax
I buy like one bottle of liquor a year usually so
I did try like a quarter ounce of it just to get a taste of it a bit ago. It's quite good. Definitely think it'll fit better in an old fashioned than my usual Jameson which is a little sweet I think for a drink that's gonna have sugar and orange in it.
People also love their barrels for aging and its making barrels hard to come by too.
I did get there right at opening time this morning too, I imagine lots of people in Ohio are stocking up bottles for the game on Sunday already like me though.
And, naturally, as I went to grab the link for this post it's now sold out.
It's really good actually. I think I vastly prefer this to other bourbon I've tried of which I think is really just makers mark and wild turkey that I can remember.
Blanton's is actually also made by Buffalo Trace under contract from the people who own the brand. I went there in 2019 (fantastic tour, by the way) and we picked up a bottle of Blanton's on what definitely seemed to be a purposefully obscure location in the gift shop.
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At least on the ones I went on, the Buffalo Trace "hard hat" tour was the only one I went on that involved an actual production distillery. The tasting was underwhelming (just all the normal national retail stuff), but the tour actually being a tour was nice. The other ones I did were just for show but definitely but had tastings that had stuff that maybe wasn't widely available or was a distillery special. (Note that for a lot of these places, if you live in Kentucky there's not going to really be any surprises as far as I could tell.)
Buffalo Trace is the bourbon that got me into bourbon back in the day. It's just solid stuff, no gimmicks, which ironically is part of what has led to all the hype and its meteoric rise, but at the core it's just a really good bourbon for not a ton of money.
This explains a lot!
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Maker's 46 is a serious dark horse bourbon right now though.
I really like port so I might have to pick up a bottle of Angel's Envy for something like that. I haven't had it in a while, but generally I do like more of a punch. I'm pretty new to the whiskey and bourbon drinking so I'm stilling looking to find my favorites and preferences.
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I have been going through a bottle of this since Christmas. I'm not enjoying it as much as I did the Woodford Reserve I went through before it, but that set a pretty high bar. It's still really good.
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I made a semi-sweet simple and demerara and a simple apple-cinnamon. The apple cinnamon was definitely hindered by using ground cinnamon and not using a stick, but also because I added too much cinnamon. On the plus side the apple slices left over from that tasted great like undercooked apple crisp so not only did I get a learning experience, but a nice snack as well. I think the syrup might actually be decent, but I just have shitty bourbon I'm using right now. I kind of want to try it with my Woodford, but I could just make a good Old Fashioned with the Demerara syrup.
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It's a 101 proof straight bourbon whiskey from Bardstown, Kentucky and boy is it hot.
Just an extreme amount of ethanol right up front. Enough that if you linger too long in the glass your eyes will burn. The nose is all vanilla and caramel behind the fumes and that's basically what you taste when you sip it. Little bit of some kinda spice in there too. Some very mild smokey char. I'm drinking it neat but it would probably be one of the few bourbons I'd reccomend on the rocks.
All in all maybe a 6 outta 10.
It also apparently used to sport a 15 year label but no longer does so not a lot of info on the actual age of individual batches.