Bourbon

[Nil]

Beam Black is one of the biggest surprises you'll find out there. Pour it over the rock and you'll be amazed how quickly it goes from a sipper's drink to a guzzler's.

Listen to this man. He speaks the truth.

[Veritas593]

Thanks I think im gonna pick up some Jim Beam Black.

[slipperyyoke]

Thanks I think im gonna pick up some Jim Beam Black.

Good choice. Beam Black is a great introduction/precursor to the mid to high shelf Bourbon brands. If you get a chance, try some Rye Whiskey as well.

[Vuh_Jay_Jay]

Beam Black is one of the biggest surprises you'll find out there. Pour it over the rock and you'll be amazed how quickly it goes from a sipper's drink to a guzzler's.

My other recomendation is Elijah Craig 12yr. It's smooth and has a lot of subtle flavors just a great Bourbon.

I bought a fifth of that for a doctor I know, and he gave it eleven thumbs up. Outstanding drink.


From the same distillery as EW.

[grippingthewheel]

Beam Black is one of the biggest surprises you'll find out there. Pour it over the rock and you'll be amazed how quickly it goes from a sipper's drink to a guzzler's.

My other recomendation is Elijah Craig 12yr. It's smooth and has a lot of subtle flavors just a great Bourbon.

I bought a fifth of that for a doctor I know, and he gave it eleven thumbs up. Outstanding drink.


From the same distillery as EW.

The Daphne drinks EC, and she has two thumbs. I enjoy EW, again only two thumbs, one for each hand. But that's four thumbs of bourbon. A respectable pour. Next time I will go to the bar and ask for four thumbs of Bourbon and report back the look on their faces.

[Elijah Craig]

Thanks I think im gonna pick up some Jim Beam Black.

My dear friend but to choose starting your bourbon experience with Jim Beam first is like when most 14 yr olds choose Southern Comfort and end up puking all over themselves much to their dismay. With all due repect of course to those who like Jim Beam Black or otherwise.


Basil Hayden; although not my very first choice for my personal polishing off a bottle for the evenings drinking pleasure is without question the perfect starting bourbon. It's 80 proof, usually 80 is lacking in balance for want of bite, but this bourbon delivers with a perfect balance of taste and bite. A subtle bouquet of cherrys with a dusting of cinnaman fused with maple cherry finnish and a very subtle vannilla, silky body and surprisingly long finnish. A newcomer to bourbon drinking's delight.


Evan Williams and Old Grand Dad 114 are alright too.


Elijah Craig 12yr, one of my personal favorites and (what I believe to be) one of the best qualty bourbons for the money, $22 is without a doubt an excellent price for a bourbon that easily holds its own with bourbons reaching $40 or more. ELIJAH CRAIG 12yr, at 96 proof, a bouquet of spicy green apples draped in caramel, a perfect body with an appreciable weight sliding over your palette, and bite that perfectly balances the flavor, it's an excellent bourbon experience. I've been drinking this bourbon for years when it was only $17 a bottle, then in the last year or so it was voted best bourbon in an international bourbon tasting between the US, Scotland, and Japan, etc. Shortly following this victory the price jumped up to $22 or more.

Wild Turkey Rare Breed, for the longest time this was my preferred bourbon drinking pleasure, at 108 proof with a perfectly balanced bite/ flavor ratio, not an easy feat. Maple, vanilla oak with a cinnamon finnish, a full bodied, long silky finnish, this bourbon kicks your ass in such a sweet way.

Bookers Noe, at around 127 proof this bourbon approaches Absinthes for knocking you on your ass. Surprisingly flavorful for its strength and drinkablility, though you feel like you have neutron star burning in your chest upon your first couple of shots. Which by the way if you insist on mixing your bourbons with soda or anything else be sure to sip it neat all the while so as to retain an appreciation of the flavor and the buzz that comes along with drinking these fine liquors straight.

Blanton's, one of the first of the small batch bourbons to hit the commercial market is also an excellent bourbon.

There many other great bourbons to choose from all with their distinct flavors and buzzes. These are just a few of the tried and true.

For tequilas;

Chinaco / anejo, tequila supreme here with a butterscotch bouquet and full silky body, delicious straight

Don Julio / anejo, delicious yet now being sold at exorbitant prices.

Again there are many more.

Good luck brother and have fun getting wasted as you find YOUR FAVE BOURBON.



Wild

[Xian]

Old Crow
Ten High
Jim Beam
Beam Black
Makers
Bookers


that's all you really need to know. Generally, I skip on the Beams though. And Ten High is a rarity as well.

Old Crow is my standard.
Maker's is smooth and sweet.
Bookers is a hellish beast, and a dear dear friend of mine. But he's costly, so we don't hang out much.

[daphne]

I KNEW there was a reason I like Oggar! And this new person, this Elijah....ah the name. Music to my ears.

As to bourbons, I find myself prone to getting particularly hammered on sour mash. While I will do shots of it (I really like shots), it kicks my ass in a way that tells me to stay on the porch.

The sweetness of Elijah Craig is a nice touch, I think. When he's not around, good old Jim Beam is. And when they're gone, we have Bullitt at the house.

Others I've had lately have been Basil Hayden (spelling?), but that's something one saves for a rainy day and costs a bit, Maker's, and the 18 year old Elijah wonderful Gerald sent me for Secret Santa. It's not as sweet as the 12 year old and packs a nice punch. Depends on the mood.

[TheBigCasino]

I tried to stay away from this thread because it was so damn cliche, for me anyway. I guess I'll follow suit.

If you have never had Bourbon before, you don't go striaght for the top because the taste will be simply overwhelming. It's like buying a handgun or a Sports Bike, you don't run out and purchase a .50 Magnum Desert Eagle or a Hayabusa as soon as you get your license. Booker's and the like have to be earned. Beam Black is the perfect starter, you drink it, learn it's taste, enjot it, then move on to something more. Try a new Bourbon every two or three weeks, always advancing, Beam to Beam Black to EW, to OG114, to WT101 and so on. That's my own personal preference but you get the idea. You don't "win over" Bourbon on the first night, Bourbon is an achievement, something you have to work for.
If anyone thinks you should run out and buy top shelf without drinking the mid or lower shelves first, they have no idea what they are talking about. it's like talking to a guy that bought a brand new Corvette and has no idea what 60's muscle even is. It's a waste of time, play the field, find your path, and know this, in Bourbon land, every path leads to the great stuff.

[Savage]

When in doubt, I always go for the classics. Bach, basic black, a string of pearls, roast beef with two veg and a nice red wine...

Maker's Mark is so simple, so classic, so smooth.

[Elijah Craig]

"If anyone thinks you should run out and buy top shelf without drinking the mid or lower shelves first, they have no idea what they are talking about."


The Big Casino, that is the stupidest way to waste your money. Start where ever you feel like spending your money. Anyone who knows what their talking about also knows cheap bourbon buzzes start giving you a fucking hang over before your even finnished getting wasted. But some people just never notice the difference. To each their own I guess. Ignorance is bliss...

[liquor&poker]

Anyone who knows what their talking about also knows cheap bourbon buzzes start giving you a fucking hang over before your even finnished getting wasted.

When I read this I thought of the kind of guy who decants his Bourbon. I'm not trying to diss on anybody; Elijah is certainly entitled to his opinion, but I think he's got a whole other perspective on Bourbon than, say, Casino.

I guess no matter where we start drinking Bourbon, or why, we have our own goals and our own reasons. I mean, to me, when he says:

Start where ever you feel like spending your money.

I feel like he's way off. Bourbon isn't about money. There's no such thing as "good" Bourbon or "bad" Bourbon. Bourbon starts out at "fantastic" and just moves up from there. I haven't tried a lot of the top-shelf stuff because of what I have, I've been a little disappointed. I like Evan or Beam or the Old Crow better than Knob Creek, or Maker's or whathaveyou. But, then again, I don't drink Bourbon for smoothness or subtle flavors.

[cloud8]

"A subtle bouquet of cherrys with a dusting of cinnaman... Maple, vanilla oak with a cinnamon finnish..."

Good grief...what a refined palate! These subtilties elude me, my good man, but yeah...Elijah Craig 12yr is mighty fine Bourbon.

[ivan]

Anyone who knows what their talking about also knows cheap bourbon buzzes start giving you a fucking hang over before your even finnished getting wasted...Ignorance is bliss...

This is where you're wrong, my friend. "Cheap" Bourbon is generally from the same mashes as the pricier options, it's just aged less. Ezra Brooks and Evan Williams have their complexities, as do the more expensive "sippin' whiskies". It all depends on what you're doing with them. If you doubt me, make a Mint Julep with Booker's- it's TERRIBLE. A Mint Julep with Beam? Sublime.

The Bourbons all interact with the ice, the mixers, and whatever you're snacking on to create their own warm and wonderful nuances. Doubt me? Sip some Maker's while nibbling dark chocolate. The caramel goodness of Maker's is suddenly in your face.

Trust me on these things, for I am from Kentucky. Bourbon County is next door to home. I've been there- don't waste your time, it's dry. The county seat, Paris, has little to offer. Kentucky has 120 counties, and county identity is more important than town, with about 5 exceptions. I understand the limestone water. I have made the pilgrimage to Loretto. Bardstown and Lawrenceburg loom large in my psyche. I have sipped the virgin waters, seen the oak before it is charred, and smelled the sour mash raw.

I say enjoy Bourbon, and start mild, so you know what you're looking for. If one does not know what tastes are present or missing, one cannot truly savor the sheer greatness of a good Bourbon.

That is all.

[Elijah Craig]

1. As far as the subtlies of palette, I drink my bourbon straight and when you do so, after a few shots or sips you'll notice as you bring the snifter, shot glass, bottle to your lips for another, if your paying attention YOU WILL smell and taste these scents and flavors I'm referring to.

2. That's right bourbon drinking or taste is not about how much it costs. In fact most bourbons of so called top shelf quality are way over priced. It's a matter of when you drink a lot of bourbon in one night if the taste of that bourbon, regardless of how much you've spent on it, is getting harder to drink or not or hurting you like a mother the next day. And no I don't use a decanter. It's shots or straight out of the bottle usually.


This is where you're wrong, my friend. "Cheap" Bourbon is generally from the same mashes as the pricier options, it's just aged less.'

The above statement is true to an extent and short sighted because there is a HUGE difference in taste between bourbons of different age, what they're aged in, and the quality or condition of the ingredients which can differ. Some have the flavors I've already mentioned , some peppery accents, others you can taste the wood of which the bourbon was aged in (most usually), and some taste like fucking cardboard. And that my friend is WHY there is such a difference between top shelf and bottom shelf bourbons or liquors of any type. Another thing, cheap bourbon, tequila, gin, vodka, all give the drinker Much worse hangovers the next day. Top shelf bourbons tend to leave you still buzzing the next day and not feeling so shitty.


'The Bourbons all interact with the ice, the mixers, and whatever you're snacking on to create their own warm and wonderful nuances. Doubt me? Sip some Maker's while nibbling dark chocolate. The caramel goodness of Maker's is suddenly in your face.'

It's called, complimenting the bourbon's existing flavors, which most bourbons have a caramel, maple or vanilla taste. The flavors I've originally referred to are the results of the aging, what their aged in (charred white oak barrels for the better of the bourbons), and again the quality and or condition of the ingredients. And yes, conditioning your palette with foods similar in flavor will bring those already existing yet very sublte flavors out.



'I say enjoy Bourbon, and start mild, so you know what you're looking for. If one does not know what tastes are present or missing, one cannot truly savor the sheer greatness of a good Bourbon. '

Flawlessly put and with much better tact than I.

CHEERS