Calling all connoisseurs of the Bourbon Whiskey!

In reply to Beer Baron :

There is a place in Covington that has Heineken on draft.  My buddy told me that I absolutely had to meet him there and drink some Heinekens and I thought he was kidding me.

Their story is that they had to pay a bunch of money to have some special system installed - I don't know how much I believe that.  But, damn if he isn't right.  I can't stand it in the bottle, but Heineken on draft at the House of Orange is one of my favorites.  They're also super cheap, which doesn't hurt.

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

Michter's is solid. They're probably more famous for their rye, but I understand their bourbon is good.

In reply to wae :

German kegs use a different coupling system. $40-$70 for a coupler. A couple minutes to swap them. All the hoses and stuff are the same. CO2 pressure will be the same.

If they spent a bunch of money to upgrade their draft system, it was independent of carrying Heineken. Or possibly Heineken dictated certain requirements for the draft system to be sure the beer meets their standards when it's poured, but aren't anything unique to Heineken. Just a company having the weight to flex.

We've had our beer ruined by taprooms running brass in their systems instead of all stainless and polymers, but we don't have the clout to tell a bar to replace all their faucets, shanks, and couplers in order for us to sell them beer. (Although we've had one voluntarily do it when they realized our IPA didn't taste like the can, and they thought we maybe we sent them a bad keg.)

In reply to Beer Baron :

Any pointer on where I could find those around here?

Aaron_King said:

In reply to Beer Baron :

Any pointer on where I could find those around here?

Those two whiskies? You're in Ohio, right? I'm assuming you're not wondering about European keg couplers.

Redwood Empire should be readily available in liquor stores. Check out the Ohio Liquor Control website for locations where liquors are available.

Paul John, Ohio sometimes carries. The Classic Select appears to be in the system, but out of stock in Ohio. I bought some when I was in Kentucky last. If you're ever in Cincinnati, it's worth popping across the border for liquor. The Nirvana is frequently in stock, but it's the budget one and is very 'meh'. It has that same thing of tasting very bourbon, but the notes just don't integrate quite right.

Benswen said:

Javelin said:

Elijah Craig drinks fantastic, it's replaced nearly all the bourbons in my collection. 

 

Hear hear.  Not too sweet, not too spicy, with a very clean finish.  Nothing better at the price.

I swear that something changed at the same time they changed the bottle shape a few years back.  Started to taste a little harsher.  (I am not so good at describing flavors)

I ran up to the my closest liquor just a few minutes ago to get some decent beer for the weekend. Saw Four Roses and a few versions of Woodford. Didn't see Blanton's or Bookers, but they did have Basil Hayden's which is also decent. They had a few higher end brands I didn't recognize (and can't remember the name) that were in the $125-200 range for a 750. But they are more of a beer/wine/vodka/tequila place. So some of the other larger stores may still have a better bourbon and rye selection. 

Another vote for Basil Hayden.  Also a fan of Angels Envy and Whistle Pig.  
 

Also, I'm new to the brown liquors so more of a sewer than a connoisseur.

Bulleit is quality stuff.

Amen.....check it....oh and Evan Williams will do quite well thank you

Oh, another one that's not exactly bourbon by definition but still close in the spectrum would be the VA made either Copper fox or Wasmund's single malt whisky or anything from Belmont Farms but they do mostly "moonshine" outside of buying on site.

759NRNG said:

Bulleit is quality stuff.

Good whiskies, especially the rye. Unfortunately, the family's homophobia towards their own daughter is such that I choose to no longer support their products. Michter's is at least as good of a rye, and there are any number of equal bourbons at the same price point.

Well, the bottle of Michter's was well-received and we put a bit of a dent in it last night.  Thanks to all who offered advice here, proving yet again that there is not an area of human knowledge in which GRM forum members are not well-versed.

Beer Baron said:

759NRNG said:

Bulleit is quality stuff.

Good whiskies, especially the rye. Unfortunately, the family's homophobia towards their own daughter is such that I choose to no longer support their products. Michter's is at least as good of a rye, and there are any number of equal bourbons at the same price point.

I did not know that. I will also not choose them for my rye whiskey going forward.

https://www.gobourbon.com/bulleit-legacy-on-the-line/

You do whatever, but it's a he-said-she-said story with no real evidence one way or the other.  And, frankly, reading all the articles - from both sides - that have been written about this whole dust-up, she sounds to me like an entitled crazy person.

It's a decent MGP juice in a nifty-looking bottle.  You're not going to miss some fabulous product, but it is a decently priced whisky with pretty good availability.  It'll remain on my shelf until it's gone and then I'll get another.

I've never had the rye, though.  Is that any good?  I assume it's probably close to whistlepig or one of the other MGP ryes.

Following since I should really try more bourbon.

Usually when I try bourbon I think " this should be a Islay, you should have bought an Islay" so I've tried a few. I do not like Blanton's at all though

wae said:

https://www.gobourbon.com/bulleit-legacy-on-the-line/

You do whatever, but it's a he-said-she-said story with no real evidence one way or the other.  And, frankly, reading all the articles - from both sides - that have been written about this whole dust-up, she sounds to me like an entitled crazy person.

It's a decent MGP juice in a nifty-looking bottle.  You're not going to miss some fabulous product, but it is a decently priced whisky with pretty good availability.  It'll remain on my shelf until it's gone and then I'll get another.

I've never had the rye, though.  Is that any good?  I assume it's probably close to whistlepig or one of the other MGP ryes.

Their rye is pretty good. 

z31maniac said:

Beer Baron said:

759NRNG said:

Bulleit is quality stuff.

Good whiskies, especially the rye. Unfortunately, the family's homophobia towards their own daughter is such that I choose to no longer support their products. Michter's is at least as good of a rye, and there are any number of equal bourbons at the same price point.

I did not know that. I will also not choose them for my rye whiskey going forward.

Me too. That story hits a bit close to home, since someone very close to me was kicked out of her home as a teenager for similar reasons.

Shame, the bourbon's pretty good.

KyAllroad said:

My two current daily drinkers are Old Forester 100 and Old Grand Dad Bonded 100.

Neither one is too spendy (between 20 and 25 a 750 locally) and both are good enough to enjoy without going down the rabbit hole of cost vs enjoyment.  

 

An aside: the OCD #5 is an interesting drink but it's "smokyness" factor is off the charts.  Worth trying in the way a mega-hopped IPS is but not for everyone's palate.

Old Forester 1920 is my joint when I'm not dipping into the cask strength stash. It's pretty much my go to gift bottle too. $60 and criminally underappreciated. I do have a few 100s on my shelf too. 

Scored a few bottles of Weller thia am for some buddies down south who couldn't find it.  Love me some Bakers when Incan find it.

The cruise ship explanation regarding all of the Buffalo Trace stuff makes sense....when I stumbled on to that 10-12 years ago, it was the best $25 you could spend.  Now it's only like $32, but it can't be found.  Before that basically all I bought was Buffalo Trace or Eagle Rare.

I had a bottle of Rabbit Hole Cavehill that my friend got me for helping her move.  It was tip-top.  I'm lousy at describing things, but I know what I like and it was quite tasty.  Seems to run about $60, and it's not hard to find but it's not ubiquitous, so it might be something he hasn't tried if that would matter to him.  

My go-to is Four Roses because it's like $18 at Sam's Club.  Good enough to drink neat or over ice, but not so good that I feel bad throwing in simple syrup and lemon juice or Coke if that's how I'm feeling.  The Four Roses Small Batch is also a great intersection of tasty and cheap.

As mentioned, Rabbit Hole might be something "off the beaten path" that is a fine pour and not terribly expensive.  Under $70

Buffalo Trace is a great sub $30 bottle when you can find it.  Evan Williams Single Barrel is about $35 and punches way above it's weight, as does Evan Williams Bottled in Bond, which should be under $30 and pretty easy to find.  Those along with Four Roses yellow Label are my regular pours--I drink my Bourbon neat.  

Woodford and Angels Envy are nice choices in the $40-50 range.  

Antihero (Forum Supporter) said:

Following since I should really try more bourbon.

Usually when I try bourbon I think " this should be a Islay, you should have bought an Islay" so I've tried a few. I do not like Blanton's at all though

I find there to be much less variety in Bourbon than there is in malt whiskies, and a much greater diminishing returns for quality/$$ spent (big differences between $40, $60, $80, $120, and $180 malt whiskies; those jumps are less pronounced in bourbon). Mostly the flavors of: Vanilla, Cherry, Caramel, and Char dominate all of them, and different brands are just adjusting the sliders of the balance between those.

Still, here is a LOT of good whisky out there, and it's well worth exploring outside your comfort zone of smokey Islays. Bourbon is good and worth trying and enjoying. My preferred flavor profiles are "Rocky", Candied or Stewed Fruits, Briny, Spice Cookie, and Fresh Cut Wood. That means go-to's for me lean Speyside or Indian. I still have Islay, Irish, American malt, Japanese, etc.

If you like Islay and want Bourbon's that would be worth venturing into, my recomendations would be: Redwoow Empire 'Pipe Dream', Stagg Junior (if you can find some), and Yosemite. (For some reason, most bourbon-heads aren't into Yosemit, but seems like punchy malt drinkers enjoy it.)

In reply to Beer Baron :

I'll give those a shot, I'll probably have to find them in a Total Wine in Washington though.

The local one was a bit surprised Bruichladdich existed so selection is.....limited

In reply to Beer Baron :

I know you have a well developed pallette, I've tried multiple different Scotch's from friends collections.....but almost all of them, to me, just taste like a campfire.

In reply to z31maniac :

Some of them are tasty campfires.