Comments on: Bourbon Treats

By: MichaelD

MichaelD — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 04:56:54 +0000

Jack Daniels is not Bourbon, it is Sour Mash Whiskey made in TN.

Elijah Craig is the best Bourbon for drinking straight. Makers Mark is not smooth compared Elijah Craig. Havn’t had every bourbon but EC is my Favorite.

Great Boubon deserves to be drinken straight.

Read more about Straight Bourbon at:
http://www.straightbourbon.com/articles/ccname.html

By: Howlin' Hobbit

Howlin' Hobbit — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 16:08:26 +0000

A couple years ago my sweetie bought me a bottle of Elijah Craig for Christmas that had its “put in the barrel” date on it. It was about 25 years old. It was awesome. By dint of extreme self-control I managed to make it last til almost the end of January.

Gotta add my “not sure about it” to the comments thing. I already spent a lot of time here. :-)

By: Benjamin Baeker

Benjamin Baeker — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 04:18:17 +0000

Also too, the article makes good mention of elijah craig. More good stuff there, for a cheaper aged choice (12 year I believe)

By: Rez

Rez — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 22:20:08 +0000

I’m confused — I thought like the whole Champagne thing that real Bourbon only comes from Bourbon County Kentucky? what’s up with Virginia “Bourbon”??

By: David

David — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 20:51:02 +0000

I wish there were more choices in the straight Rye category. I prefer it because it’s not as sweet as Bourbon.

By: brent

brent — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 19:41:10 +0000

Wild Turkey. neat or rocks. Also, take Mr. Monkey’s advice and try Rare Breed, or one of the aged versions of WT.

By: Kafka234

Kafka234 — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:09:25 +0000

2nd on the Van Winkles…makes Woodford and all of the like (Bulliett, Eagle’s Eyrie, Old Grand Dad 114, Bookers, etc) seem like Old Crow. Flavor still develops after almost 30 seconds after the first sip. Want to try thier 20 year, but I think I smoke too much to truly appreciate the difference…that and it is $75 a bottle around my parts.

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 16:14:48 +0000

I am particular to Woodford. It is awesome, though Knob Creek is my second.

By: Phanatic

Phanatic — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 16:07:54 +0000

Try Van Winkle, the 12-year. 90 proof, smooth as silk, best bourbon I’ve ever tasted.

By: Sithmonkey

Sithmonkey — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:23:41 +0000

Woodford is excellent stuff…especially with a nice cigar. Radley, far beit from me to tell you what to do, but give Wild Turkey Rare Breed a try. It’s pretty strong stuff, but IMHO, much smoother than the regular bird.

By: Benjamin Baeker

Benjamin Baeker — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 07:34:17 +0000

Add in a plug for blantons. Not quite as smooth as Woodford, but a GREAT aged bourbon nonetheless.

I’ve got to disagree with you on the Turkey. It is one of the few that I can drink alone on rocks (along with WR, Makers, and Blantons). Don’t ever try to do this though with anything less than Makers (Jack, Jim, Rite Aide Store brand, etc.).

By: Ochressandro

Ochressandro — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 02:19:53 +0000

Woodford Reserve is indeed excellent, but I’ve got to put in a good word for Booker’s. If you haven’t had it, I heartily recommend it.

I’ll second Ryan’s recommendation of Basil Hayden’s, too.

And if you can afford it, the Black Maple Hill stuff is all grand, too.

By: sirhcton

sirhcton — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 01:37:17 +0000

I invented a cocktail with Maker’s Mark, in part because I am too wimpy to drink bourbon straight up and in part because I thought it would be fun to have my own drink.

No offense intended, but you, sir, should be dragged through the effluent of the rear end of Kentucky’s other fine product. The idea of mixing a good straight bourbon with anything other than a bit of water is not to be tolerated be decent folks! Go, and take your concoctions with you.

sirhcton

By: Ryan The Sea Lion

Ryan The Sea Lion — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 22:23:40 +0000

Booker’s + Basil Hayden’s, baby!
(but I have many more bourbons to explore)

glad comments are back.. hopefully the new system will weed out the dickheads

By: Matthew

Matthew — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 21:27:08 +0000

Good call on the Woodford Reserve. It’s very rare to find it anywhere they serve liquor, in Dallas, so I’ve had to make friends with the GMs of the places I like and get them to special order it for me. Usually, they get a bottle, people like it and buy it, and then the place keeps buying it because it has a higher margin. Taste + Education = Profit!

As for drinking it straight up, I usually will drink bourbon on the rocks (put water in the glass and I’ll stab your eyeball with a rusty spoon), but when I’m truly looking to savor the bourbon, it must be unmolested.

By: Eric R.

Eric R. — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 21:25:55 +0000

I invented a cocktail with Maker’s Mark, in part because I am too wimpy to drink bourbon straight up and in part because I thought it would be fun to have my own drink. It is called The Falcon and it is delicious: equal parts Pepsi Holiday Spice and Orange Juice, with a shot or two of Maker’s. It looks like watery barf, though, which will probably keep it in the minor leagues of cocktails.

Of course, they no longer make Pepsi Holiday Spice (imagine that), so now I have to make a “Bald Falcon” with regular old Coke in for the Pepsi Holiday Spice.

You can also make a Lean Bald Falcon (Diet Coke), a Spicy Bald Falcon (Dr. Pepper), a Spicy Lean Rocky Bald Falcon (Diet Dr. Pepper, with ice), and on and on. It becomes a pretty fun party game to come up with names – for example the Bony Thick Spicy Creamy Fruity Lean Rocky Bald Falcon, made with Diet Berries-and-Cream Dr. Pepper, pulpy orange juice with calcium, and ice.

By: Rob

Rob — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 21:24:59 +0000

Best bang-for-your-buck bourbon…Jim Beam. I’m more of an Irish whiskey guy, but you can’t beat a handle of Beam when you need a bottle to pass around a group of friends.

And welcome back to the blog comment world Radley…Although I gotta admit I kinda liked the style of no comments…

By: Jack the Misanthrope

Jack the Misanthrope — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 21:09:12 +0000

My wife, also a bourbon snob, likes most of those you listed, but her favorite by far is Ridgemont Reserve 1792. The trouble is finding it in my part of the country. Ever try that one?

By: mike

mike — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 21:01:16 +0000

Nice pick – Woodford Reserve is also my favorite. I can’t believe it wouldn’t have been included.

I like the story about how prohibition gave birth to the modern day concept of a cocktail. Bathtub gin and moonshine, etc. were so nasty and hard to drink compared to the professionally distilled liquors that people had to start cutting it with juices and other mixers. “Mmm, this tastes much better! I hope we don’t go blind!”

New Years a couple years ago, some friends and I had been drinking scotch for several hours when we ran out (we had gone through a couple bottles). We turned to the next best thing – a handle of Jim Beam. You know how they say after a while they all taste the same? No way. Switching from scotch to bourbon was a very difficult transition even after drinking all day. I like both, but they’re very different, and you really have to have some hair on your chest to drink bourbon straight up.