Booze.

[Prospero]

Check out Buffalo Trace if you can find it. I haven't tried it yet, but I've heard nothing but good things. It's on my bourbon treasure hunt list.

[justdave]

Actually, I was under the impression that it was the additional processing (e.g., the filtering) that made Jack not a bourbon. I've never heard anything about it having to be made in Kentucky to be 'Bourbon', just that it had to be produced in the USA. Although, to be called 'Kentucky Bourbon', etc., etc. And yes, the force is strong, there.

[Salamok]

While we're on the topic of specialized whiskey's, anybody have some good high end Bourbon suggestions?  The bevmo near my house has a staggering amount to choose from.  I'll probably go grab an expensive bottle of Scotch and an expensive bottle of Bourbon, as I'd like to start developing a better whiskey pallet.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Once again this stuff is incredible - A.H. Hirsch when I had it it was around $80 a bottle but since it isn't in production the value goes up with every bottle consumed. 

Actually, I was under the impression that it was the additional processing (e.g., the filtering) that made Jack not a bourbon. I've never heard anything about it having to be made in Kentucky to be 'Bourbon', just that it had to be produced in the USA. Although, to be called 'Kentucky Bourbon', etc., etc. And yes, the force is strong, there.

Jack is Tennessee Whiskey and I believe the main distinctions involve filtering it through charcoal and aging it in charred oak casks.  Edit: Technically all Tennessee Whiskeys are Bourbons but not all Bourbons are Tennessee Whiskeys

[Teleku]

Hmm.  I had always thought that amongst other things, to be Bourbon, it had to be made in Kentucky, and had to use water from the Bourbon river.  However, according to wiki, these are the only requirements:

Legal requirements

On 4 May 1964, the United States Congress recognized Bourbon Whiskey as a “distinctive product of the United States," creating the Federal Standards of Identity for Bourbon. Federal regulations now stipulate that bourbon must meet these requirements:
Bourbon must be made of a grain mixture that is at least 51% corn.[1]
Bourbon must be distilled to no more than 160 (U.S.) proof (80% alcohol by volume).
Bourbon must be 100% natural (nothing other than water added to the mixture).
Bourbon must be aged in new, charred oak barrels.[1]
Bourbon may not be introduced to the barrel at higher than 125 proof (62.5% alcohol by volume).
Bourbon which meets the above requirements and has been aged for a minimum of two years, may (but is not required to) be called Straight Bourbon.[2]
Bourbon aged for a period less than four years must be labeled with the duration of its aging.
If an age is stated on the label, it must be the age of the youngest whiskey in the bottle.

Then again, 95% of the Bourbon produced is made in Kentucky, so maybe its redundant.

[Abagadro]

While we're on the topic of specialized whiskey's, anybody have some good high end Bourbon suggestions?  The bevmo near my house has a staggering amount to choose from.  I'll probably go grab an expensive bottle of Scotch and an expensive bottle of Bourbon, as I'd like to start developing a better whiskey pallet.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Blanton's.

[Fraeg]

To the OP

I am not going to wade through 3 pages see if this was suggested.   You probably already bought your friend whatever.

But, you asked about Tequila.  Corralejo Anejo.   

http://www.tequila.net/tequila_reviews/anejos/corralejo_tequila_anejo.html

if you shops smart (s-mart) you can fihd this for about 60 bucks.   You will impress your friend, because he will probably never have heard of it before (unless he is a Tequila guy) and you will blow him away with the taste.   For a mass market tequila this is tough to beat for the price


*edit* cause I suck donkey dick and didn't realize this post was about 3 years old and I have already posted.....Anyway...   go try  Corralejo Anejo Tequila.

[Yegolev]

You get a pass for bringing up tequila, we have not hit on that one in the reanimated section of the thread.  Tequila was my liquor of choice for many years because I really could only shoot so much of it at once and it was something of an external limiter on my drinking.  That, in reverse, is one of the main reasons I cannot drink schnapps: it's like candy and I'd likely kill myself.

I stopped at the liquor store yesterday and stared at three Balvenie tubes: 10yr, 12yr and 15 yr.  The 12 is indeed double-casked to impart a cherry flavor, so no thanks.  Cherry + alcohol = cold medicine in my mind, but some people like it.  The 15 was a single cask at $62 instead of $46, and I almost got it to check it out but I chickened out and got what I knew was good.

Besides I may not have a job by the end of June.

[Miguel]

I tried a bottle of 1983 Macallan, and all I can say is:  PEATY.  Peat flavor so strong it made my eyes water.  I'd like to give Oban a try:  all I can find locally is 14y and 18y.  Is the 18y that much better?

And I'll second the Corralejo Anejo recommendation:  liquid gold!

[Oban]

If you found the Macallan strong, Oban might not be right for you.  No harm in trying though, right?

The 18 is a tad less sweet than the 14.   The 32 is quite smooth, and there are a few odd lot (13, 16 and so on) manager's drams you can find on the market as well that are good.  I would suggest trying the 14 first, and then moving on from there. 

[Prospero]

Balvenie 15 is wonderful, although I really like 12 too. I've never noticed any hints of cherry. I may have to go pick up a bottle at lunch; my work bottle is getting a bit low.

[Yoru]

As a slightly more expensive alternative to Makers', I enjoy a bit of Knob Creek bourbon. Goes great with some mint, if you catch my drift.

On the scotch side, I'm currently nursing a bottle of Glenrothes, which is quite excellent. Very smooth and drinkable, a perfect Speyside scotch. I also like the peaty stuff and used to drink Lagavulin Rusty Nails with some regularity, although you have to order 'em easy on the drambuie or most bartenders will ruin them. I'm still partial to most forms of Ardbeg and Aberlour's 12-year variety, although the Aberlour 10-year is wearing out its welcome.

[Yegolev]

I went to a Function on Saturday night and I tried the Glenfiddich.  Not really awesome.  I suggest people drinking this stuff might want to branch out a bit.

[Sky]

When I hit up my favorite bar at the Inn at Long Trail in Killington this autumn, I plan on trying out a few whiskies. They have a massive selection and love to do taste tests.

As I said before, I was surprised at how nasty the 10 year Bushmills single was after having the Laphroaig, which has become my new standard for whisk(e)y. Ridiculously smooth and tasty. Only about one small glass left in the bottle right now :(

[Murgos]

For single malt, 'keep a bottle around' I go with Glenmorangie.  I am aware that real whisky drinkers think it's rather pedestrian but I'm not a huge fan of sucking on muddy peat bogs just after they've been burnt down to charcoal which cuts out a lot of the more available in the US choices that aren't Glenfiddich or Glenlivet.

I was at a friends a while back and he broke out some Johnny Walker Blue, I have to say that it was pretty damn tasty.

[Paelos]

I'm looking to try some good bourbons. Anybody have experience there? I'm looking for something that's not mainline like Knob Creek or Maker's Mark, and that is a single barrel whiskey. I've had Elijah Craig before, and I'm looking for more things in that vein.

[Murgos]

I don't know about 'good' but, uh, Old Crow is pretty cheap

Fake Edit:  According to wikipedia it was the drink of choice of 18th president U.S. Grant.

[Paelos]

An apocryphal story about Grant's drinking has the general's critics going to President Lincoln, charging the military man with being a drunk. Lincoln is supposed to have replied, "I wish some of you would tell me the brand of whiskey that Grant drinks. I would like to send a barrel of it to my other generals."

That, good sir, is badass.

[JWIV]

For single malt, 'keep a bottle around' I go with Glenmorangie.  I am aware that real whisky drinkers think it's rather pedestrian but I'm not a huge fan of sucking on muddy peat bogs just after they've been burnt down to charcoal which cuts out a lot of the more available in the US choices that aren't Glenfiddich or Glenlivet.

I was at a friends a while back and he broke out some Johnny Walker Blue, I have to say that it was pretty damn tasty.

Blue is quite good.   Green makes me weep as it has about 4 of my favorite scotches in it and is worse than them all.

[Pennilenko]

If you really want to put some hair on your chest drink some "cask strength" scotch without adding any extra water.

I have a small collection of scotch ranging from 12 years to 35. My favorite of them all is my Macallan Cask Strength. My second favorite is a 15 year Dalwhinnie

[NowhereMan]

I've usually got a bottle of cask strength Laphroaig around though my last one got drunk somehow and I haven't seen it on a shelf for almost a year now. Hell I'm presently down to a bottle of Redbreast 12yr old, I need to look at restocking a bit in the near future.

[stu]

I agree about the blended scotchs.  Most people who decide to try single malt (myself included) tend to grab the low end stuff(~$30 a bottle), not wanting to drop a lot of cash into something they might not like.  This turns people off from single malts because, IMO, a good blended scotch is much better than a low end single malt.

1. Cutty Sark
2. Dewars
3. J&B
4. Johnny Walker

Now I don't have a whole lot of experience with single malts, so I can't remember all the names I've tried, but I can tell you that regular Glenfiddich is just very "ok", and I'd prefer a bottle of Cutty.  However, I've tried some 15 and 20 year old Glenfiddich(or was it Glenlivet? It's been a while) that were great.  One brand that I do remember liking quite a bit was one that a bar which I used to frequent carried, and that was Auchentoshan.

If you enjoy Cutty Sark, Glenrothes would be a good fit for you, as it's the main label in the blend. Glenrothes only bottles 2% of what they make each year, so what you get is good. The rest goes to blenders like Cutty Sark and Chivas.

Their distillers don't try a lot of far out experiments like those at Glenmorangie or their American counterparts at Buffalo Trace, but the high level of quality is always there. Plus, the corrugated cardboard packaging is great. 

[Salamok]

I'm looking to try some good bourbons. Anybody have experience there? I'm looking for something that's not mainline like Knob Creek or Maker's Mark, and that is a single barrel whiskey. I've had Elijah Craig before, and I'm looking for more things in that vein.

Bookers and Bakers are both decent.

[Miguel]

My local BevMo has the following blended bourbons:

1) Hirsch (looks very expensive...it's locked up)
2) Woodford Reserve Sweet Mash
3) Michters 10 Year Old Bourbon
4) Booker's
5) Knob Creek
6) Jim Bean Ri 1
7) Blanton's (recommended by Abagadro above)
8) Baker's

I got a 10% off coupon so I thought I'd try from among these (though probably not the Hirsh, since it looks like $100+ a bottle).  The rest are in the $50 to $75 range.

 Any recommendations?  From the thread, I think it's +1 to Booker's, Baker's, and Blanton's (and Blanton's has the coolest bottle!)

[Salamok]

Woodford isn't bad but I wouldn't rank it among the $40+ a bottle group.   If you haven't tried Single Barrel JD you may want to give that a go.

[trias_e]

So this thread inspired me to buy my first bottle of scotch ever.  I've always loved bourbon, but the price range of scotch always scared me off.  I like that practically every bourbon is in the 25-40 bucks range.  Thus, my tastes can't run too expensive.

So I grabbed a bottle of highland park 12, which apparently is a good choice for a fairly poor college student and first time scotch drinker.

It's awesome.  I have no capability for food/drink reviews other than "It's just good motherfucker, can't you see!", and it gets that rating.  Thanks thread!  Once finals are over I will be trying out many more 30-60$ bottles...that I can find in Utah.  Meh.

[stu]

Many shops here in Florida barely have more than 50 different single malt labels. Shops carrying close to 100 or more always get special treatment (distributers often refund the cost of bottles used for tasting), especially if the shop has been around for a while, so those ones should have plenty to taste.

If you aren't sure what to get, make a short list before going and then ask a clerk at the shop if they have anything for tasting. Chances are, they'll have something on your short list for sampling (about an ounce or two) and they will even be able to tell you what makes each one so unique.

[Salamok]

Many shops here in Florida barely have more than 50 different single malt labels. Shops carrying close to 100 or more always get special treatment (distributers often refund the cost of bottles used for tasting), especially if the shop has been around for a while, so those ones should have plenty to taste.

The manager at the liquor store i frequented during my 1st 3 years in Austin would open a few bottles of whatever he thought i might like every time I came in.  This led to me dropping a hundred or two a week on booze, sneaky bastard.

[Prospero]

For lovers of scotch that don't like peaty scotches I can't recommend Tomintoul 16 enough. I picked up a bottle for my wedding a couple years back and it was amazing. It's a fantastic starter scotch, and the best non-smoky scotch I think I've had. The peaty version is also quite good.

[cironian]

Has anyone tried the Laphroaig Quarter Cask (Double matured)? Very different taste (like charcoal).

That's my current drink of choice. With just a half teaspoon of water, it's the best Whisky I have ever had.

[Mattemeo]

I ruined Scotch for myself about 9 years ago, now. I'd been an early-starter enthusiast thanks to my parents, though even then never a fan of the peatier examples (Laphroiag etc). Sadly though, I was in a particularly bad trough during a depressed period and sitting alone in my flat (flatmates had gone off to a party at a non-mutual friends') with only a shitty Mel Gibson movie on TV ... think it was Man Without a Face... and a cheap-ass litre bottle of Teachers, a cheap and cheerful blend available in the UK, not sure about overseas - truly nothing special. I polished the whole thing off in an hour. Probably the closest thing to an unintended suicide attempt I can think of in the circumstances.

Couple of hours later, my body went into full on alcohol poisoned mode, stomach turned itself over and I remember nothing from that point except waking up in the bathroom in agony and massively, dangerously dehydrated. I sobered up fast as hell (it's a knack I've always had) sorted myself and the mess out as best I could and managed to drink some water from the tap. Don't know how I got to bed but I woke up in my own the next day. Sadly though, and to my great regret, I didn't do the 'sensible' thing and force myself to drink some scotch the next day, just to get back on the wagon so to speak... and so subsequently nowadays I take one sniff of scotch of almost any type and I'm transported right back to those hellish moments and nothing on earth could possess me to allow any to pass my lips.

This thread has me longing for the taste to come back to me. But I doubt it ever will. I can just about cope with Bourbon these days.

[Yegolev]

That's how I feel about lots and lots of beverages.

[trias_e]

I just recently finished my second bottle of scotch.  Ardbeg 10.  It was quite the experience.  Brutal at first, but I now regard peat in a similar fashion to hops in beer.  MOAR PLZ!

[Grimwell]

I'm looking for your Old Fashioned recipes, if you happen to have one.

I've been having this classic in many a venue here in SoCal and there seems to be two variants. I'm in love with one, and in meh with the other.  I'm curious what any of you might think an old fashioned is supposed to be, so please share what you have. This is the one that got me started at home:

Old Fashioned
1/2 tsp sugar
3 dashes of bitters
3 cubes of ice
1.5 oz whiskey
1 slice of lemon/lime

In an old fashioned glass (yes, it was named after this drink), add the sugar and bitters and muddle them until the sugar is mostly dissolved. Drop in the ice cubes and pour the whiskey over the top. Squeeze the fruit slice over the top of the whiskey and drop the rind in. Drink and enjoy.

Notice that I didn't say 'stir' anywhere in there.

Based on experiences across SoCal this version is pretty rare and not favored out here. Most use simple syrup and maraschino (cherry with juice) as the base, and then an orange slice up top. Some add a little soda water to fill it out.

I'm not fond of the impact the cherry and orange have on the drink, it covers too much of the flavor of the booze and the soda water does the same. This drink is meant for sipping and enjoying and extra water just thins the enjoyment.

So my bias is still leaning toward the recipe I've posted and enjoyed with different whiskeys in a home test. The bitters, sugar, and fruit take the edge off the whiskey (especially when it's low grade), and using just 3 cubes of ice ensures that it's cold enough to enjoy on a warm day, but will not dilute crazy fast like a glass full of ice would.

Anyone have other recipes and approaches? What are your thoughts?

[Abagadro]

My recipe:

Fill glass with whiskey.

Look at ice, sugar and fruit disdainfully.

Drink whiskey.

 

Sorry, just having a bit of fun.  I agree the maraschino would overpower. I skip that when I make a Manhattan which is basically the same drink only with vermouth instead of the sugar/fruit and have to ask them to keep it out when I order one in a restaurant.

I'd go with:

1/2 oz simple syrup (I prefer this to sugar in making cocktails)
Dash of bitters
Whiskey
Lemon rind (I'm not sure lime works here and I think lemon juice may overpower, but that may be to taste)
Ice

And I'd stir it because otherwise the whiskey will just sit on top of the heavier syrup.

[taolurker]

One of my favorites is a "Bourbon Old Fashioned... No soda".  Mostly the true reason I get a meh one in a bar is Bartenders who do not know or care about Whiskey choices and adding "Bourbon" as a qualifier I usually don't get a whiskey that overpowers the drink. Be sure to stress this when ordering and the no soda part (see below).

Blended whiskey will usually be the choice at a bar, so specifying a preference for Whiskey is something that makes a huge difference. A Canadian Club Old Fashioned will taste way different than an Old Grand Dad Bourbon one,  and specifying a brand you prefer when ordering will make a huge difference in what you receive. It's also a drink that you can pick a taste preference because of the Whiskey itself. Bourbon, Scotch or Rye whiskey will all go into an Old Fashioned, and each gives a different taste. I usually get the bottom shelf blended whiskey if no preference is given.

A Rye Old Fashioned is something I get occasionally, and Brandy Old Fashioned is another variety if you like a sweeter flavor. Also Vermouth can or sometimes is added, which also changes the drink's complexity

I'm not fond of the impact the cherry and orange have on the drink, it covers too much of the flavor of the booze and the soda water does the same. This drink is meant for sipping and enjoying and extra water just thins the enjoyment.

Soda water in an Old Fashioned is sacrilege, and almost half of the times I've ordered one it's made with Maraschino syrup and makes it too cherry flavored.

Next time try ordering a "Grand Dad Old Fashioned -no soda". That's what I order when I'm in need of a calming drink to sip while stepping up to the bar.