Love those two also.
Have reservations with some friends to go to Bourbon & Branch in SF in a few weeks. Anybody been / recommend a particular drink there?
I’ve got to go with 1792 along the same lines of logic as the guy who told the “This bourbon screwed my man up and he still drinks it” story.
While I’m a Tennesseean by birth (and therefore an unwilling Jack Daniels man), most of my friends are Kentuckian. At a shindig last summer, someone broke out a nice bottle of 1792 as the grand prize in a burger cooking contest. I wasn’t much of a drinker then (still not now), so I had no idea what to do as far as servings go.
So when two of my friends decided to drink themselves into getting busy, I was poured the same amount as they were. After spending two hours in a bathroom worrying about people thinking I was spending too long in the bathroom, I collapsed into bed crying about all my friends becoming alcoholics.
And it’s the only bourbon I’ll touch to this day.
If they have it, right now we’re (drunk Kentuckians) all in rough agreement that Booker’s is about the best damn bourbon on the planet.
H.
Not to hijack your own thread Ryan, but read everything you need to know here amongst my friends. I have experienced the naive myth and then the real deal, having attended the premiere Absinthe festival in the world and sampled every good brand currently in production (not to mention having dined with most of the major purveyors, bottlers and experts). Also check out these for some pretty pics and info.
edit: Found out you can get one of the better brands here in the states now - http://www.kublerabsinthe.com/ . I recommend it.
As for bourbon, I prefer Knob Creek on most occasions.
The single malt stuff I generally reserve for neat, Glenfiddich occasions.
Hougan, you’ve intrigued me with your CV posted on the scotch thread. What are your top 5 bourbons?
I am looking for a change-up to my normal Knob Creek (straight) and Woodfords Reserve (for bourbon cocktails) routine…
BTW it is a year later but Bourbon & Branch was fantastic and I highly recommend it to anybody who lives or visits S.F.
It depends on taste. I’ll tell you what the master distiller for Knob Creek told me. There are ten, count 'em ten, distilleries that make bourbon, period. (This is Kentucky bourbon, you can get equivalent process and recipe from other states.) Of those ten, they put out 100+ labels I would estimate, and when it comes right down to it, none of them are bad.
Now, that’s not to say they aren’t different. But nobody is taking rotten grains or skanky water and producing something that is later called “bourbon.” So here are his recommendations, and I have followed them with great success:
- Get the highest proof bourbon you can. This relates to how much the finished product is watered down for market. All bourbon must age a minimum of 4 years, and all bourbon must be barrelled at no more than 165 proof. Now, the reason that we think of bourbon as being a Kentucky thing is that we are smack in the middle of a bunch of weather systems, and as such have some of the most distinct seasons in the US. This causes the barrels to breathe the bourbon in and out of the oak during the aging process, as the houses heat and cool through the seasons.
As they age, the “angel’s share” is lost through evaporation through the wood, and the proof decreases in the final product. A ten year bourbon will probably wind up around 110 proof or more. 12 years, you’re looking at 100 or so, and so on. Note that bourbon can’t be aged indefinitely, there are significant diminishing returns in flavor after 12 years or so.
So, first rule: Get the highest proof of the age group that you can find. That means it is the least diluted (or hopefully barrel strength) of the lot.
- Get the oldest, up to a point, that you can. Keeping in mind the above, the older the better, as it will have mellowed more and taken on more of the barrel’s flavor.
That being said, the rest is personal taste, your choices tend to the sweet side. Maker’s, Knob, Woodford, Four Roses, etc. My personal taste tends to the oakey side. Also, I’m a cheap bastard, so value also plays into my favorites.
Right now I like Weller’s Reserve, 107 proof. A serious go-to bourbon, but nothing to scream about. At 21$ a bottle, however, it’s great.
Next up would have to be Corner Creek, a ridiculously good bourbon for 20$ or so. I doubt it will stay at that price for long, it is damned fine.
I’ve always been partial to Wild Turkey 101. Forget the 80 proof crap, but the 101 is a fine bourbon. Turkey is one of the oakier bourbons out there, and much maligned for its name, but it is a great sipper.
The various Van Winkles are mostly good. There’s some sort of schism in the family, so you have the Pappy Van line and the Rip Van line, but I like them both. Again, age and proof are you guide.
Among the super premiums, Booker’s leaves them all in the dust.
http://www.internetwines.com/mb311504.html
Sorry about the price, we get it for 53$ or so. It shows a clear disconnect between “competent” bourbons and “artisan” bourbons.
The original superpremium was Blanton’s, which I have personal reasons for liking, and is a fine bourbon, but I still think falls short of Booker’s. And among the super-super-premiums, I really have no knowledge. I can’t bring myself to pay 100$ for a bottle of bourbon yet.
H.
Good stuff! I’m coming out to Louisville end of June to visit family could be a subject to be continued while tossing back a few…
You’ll be spoiled for choice, that I know. Although we’re a weird little hick state, Louisville has one of the highest restaurant densities around, and you can get fantastic meals and drinks. Give a holler when it gets closer, I can let you in on the good spots.
H.
Thanks for the heads-up on the Wild Turkey 101. Here in Sweden the only bourbons readily available are Bulleit, Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark and Wild Turkey 101.
Do a taste test with Maker’s and Turkey, you’ll see polar opposites of the bourbon world.
H.
Man H, thanks for the heads-up for the Wild Turkey 101 from me too. Not long after I perused this thread I saw it on the shelf at Trader Joe’s and grabbed a bottle. I am most pleased.
I prefer scotch to bourbon, but I go through phases. It’s weird. As the weather turns hot I tend to forsake scotch almost completely. For some reason this 101, with just a couple of ice cubes, is really working for me right now.
Thanks for the recommendation. I think I might get a bottle of Maker’s if I see one on sale and do your suggested tasting. Maker’s is the first bourbon I ever tasted.
Oh…I almost forgot. Here’s a cool article about Four Roses over at the Atlantic’s Food Channel.
-amanpour
“Generally I recommend my men stay away from vodka, and stick with scotch and bourbon.”
Hot weather likes the thin taste of oakey bourbon, cold weather wants sugar. Turkey 101 isn’t a jawdroppingly great bourbon, but it is a damn fine bourbon that is maligned by too many people simply because it has a funny name and figures into too many country songs.
Four Roses I’m still trying to wrap my brain around. I think I like it, but not nearly as much as some of my contemporaries, so I’m guessing there’s some sort of taste thing I’m missing. I know a number of folks that swear by it.
H.
I think I always ignored it because of Thelma & Louise. I just assumed it was cheap crap because Thelma gets all those little bottles of it at the gas station.
-amanpour
Typical reasoning, having a fun nickname like “kickin’ chicken” doesn’t help either, but that’s fine. Keeps the price down for a good sipping whiskey.
H.
Epilogue:
I noticed that I earlier mentioned having personal reasons for liking Blanton’s. It’s a fun story, for a while my mother was worknig with the local placement office that helped mentally challenged folks get work, and one of the jobs was casting the little horsey that goes on top of the Blanton’s bottle.
So, if you’re feeling charitable and wanting a drink, grab a Blanton’s and know that you’re supporting, in a minor way to be sure, a good cause. Also, it’s a fine, fine bourbon, but I would humbly suggest 15% overpriced.
The Wild Turkey Rye is also pretty good.
I mean, it’s no Thomas Handy Sazerac, but it’s very nice for what it costs.
I’m still getting into the ryes, they’re priced high for what I’m getting, taste-wise. But I haven’t had many. I probably don’t have the palate for it yet.
H.
If you haven’t tried the Sazerac six-year, that’s probably my favorite mid-priced one.
I use them more in cocktails than for sipping, though – with a nice spicy vermouth and a couple dashes of orange bitters, the Sazerac rye makes the world’s best Manhattans. Also, y’know, Sazeracs. And rye makes a damn fine whiskey sour.
Man H, thanks for the heads-up for the Wild Turkey 101 from me too. Not long after I perused this thread I saw it on the shelf at Trader Joe’s and grabbed a bottle. I am most pleased.
Where does Trader Joe’s sell liquor??
California.
JEALOUS. Damn, we can’t even get wine at ours.