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DoctaFun posted:I don’t think it specifies either of those, I’ll have to check. It’s one of the darkest whiskies in my collection, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it has some coloring. at 23 years sherry finished it's probably going to be pretty dark without coloring even if it was entirely 3rd+ fill casks
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Feb 8, 2021 16:04
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spankmeister posted:Onna similar note; my cleaning lady, bless her heart she is such a sweet person, saw that I had been boarding whisk(e)y for the past year or so and got me a gift of a "whiskies of the world" sample pack. They're 5cl sample bottles of Irish, Canadian, Scotch and Kentucky whisk(e)y. I think it's from the German Lidl. Wrong topic for this thread but my wife bought me a "hot sauces of the world" sampler for Christmas this year and 80% of them tasted like overly salty and vinegary-y Tabasco. Even the handful that had some of their own notes had the same basic undertaste. I hesitated to tell her (but eventually did) because I do generally like hot sauce and actually enjoy getting weird samplers like that, and didn't want to discourage her from trying again. I wish I could find something like a whiskey sampler around here. Last time we were in Vermont I did the tourist thing and nabbed a pack of nips from Smuggler's Notch distillery. On the one hand, it was way more expensive on a per-unit basis than just buying a bottle. On the other hand I didn't have any strong feelings about any of it so I don't feel like I missed out not getting a 750ml.
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Feb 8, 2021 19:52
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Quiet Feet posted:Wrong topic for this thread but my wife bought me a "hot sauces of the world" sampler for Christmas this year and 80% of them tasted like overly salty and vinegary-y Tabasco. Even the handful that had some of their own notes had the same basic undertaste. I hesitated to tell her (but eventually did) because I do generally like hot sauce and actually enjoy getting weird samplers like that, and didn't want to discourage her from trying again. There's places that specialize in samples, like https://drinksbythedram.com/ In other news: Cracked open a bottle of WT Rare Breed. It's good.
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Feb 8, 2021 20:59
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I've never really bought whiskey speculatively before, but saw a bottle of 2019 Glendronach 18 at the store the other day and decided to grab it and hang onto it for awhile. There's a chart floating around that shows it's 24 years old, and hopefully in a few years it becomes something I can swap for a bottle I would otherwise never be able to get.
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Feb 9, 2021 02:27
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Yeah you could absolutely do that. You could also just drink it because it is very, very good. Also, not to burst your bubble but I do believe that starting from 2020 the 18 is 18 again so check your bottle code.
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Feb 9, 2021 07:54
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I bought another bottle of OF 1920 after finishing my first one about a month ago and... it doesn't taste as good as I remember? 
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Feb 9, 2021 09:35
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Josh Lyman posted:I bought another bottle of OF 1920 after finishing my first one about a month ago and... it doesn't taste as good as I remember? Give it a few weeks after you open it.
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Feb 9, 2021 15:13
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spankmeister posted:Yeah you could absolutely do that. You could also just drink it because it is very, very good. It's a 2019. And I have another bottle of it. There's no way I could resist if I didn't.
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Feb 10, 2021 00:32
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 Wow this bourbon is wayyyyy better than its $40 price point. I think I found a new favorite bourbon. 120 proof is fiery but it's so smooth and complex with a tiny splash of water. A+ would recommend.
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Feb 10, 2021 01:16
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Casu Marzu posted:
Oh wow, I've never seen the 120 proof! That's awesome. I recently found a gas station that consistently stocks the 12 year, which is probably my favorite bourbon. Knob is really good stuff and at a fair price.
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Feb 10, 2021 01:37
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Nimmy posted:Oh wow, I've never seen the 120 proof! That's awesome. I recently found a gas station that consistently stocks the 12 year, which is probably my favorite bourbon. Knob is really good stuff and at a fair price. Casu Marzu posted:
Store picks too are all 120 proof, usually under $50 and range from 9 years all the way up to 15 (if you can find them, rumors are the older picks are going away). Definitely one of the best values in Bourbon out there.
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Feb 10, 2021 01:57
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Deceptive Thinker posted:Store picks too are all 120 proof, usually under $50 and range from 9 years all the way up to 15 (if you can find them, rumors are the older picks are going away). Definitely one of the best values in Bourbon out there. Well, drat. KC has been in my blind spot for ages. Def need to keep my eye out.
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Feb 10, 2021 02:05
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Drink the glendronach op. It’s probably my favourite dram for the money. Amazing stuff.
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Feb 10, 2021 02:06
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The Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve is a really excellent value fir what you get. I was so pleasantly surprised by it.
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Feb 10, 2021 02:25
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OTOH I forgot how much I hate the wax dip on Knob Creek bottles. Hands down the worst wax seals I've ever dealt with.
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Feb 10, 2021 02:34
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Casu Marzu posted:OTOH I forgot how much I hate the wax dip on Knob Creek bottles. Hands down the worst wax seals I've ever dealt with. Their corks are a pain in the rear end too Yeah they make a tight seal but the grip portion is so tiny and hard to grab and combined with the tightness you need a freaking pliers to get it out
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Feb 10, 2021 02:39
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Is knob creek still making the single barrel at 120 proof? I haven’t seen it in stock in a while.
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Feb 10, 2021 05:11
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Casu Marzu posted:OTOH I forgot how much I hate the wax dip on Knob Creek bottles. Hands down the worst wax seals I've ever dealt with. They are truly the worst. Crumbly, ugly, and just generally unpleasant to deal with. But if it helps keep the Knob Creek barrel pick prices down then so be it.
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Feb 10, 2021 07:21
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I still have a bottle of Knob Creek I got to fill during a distillery tour. I've debated whether to keep it or drink it, and was finally leaning towards drinking it. I'm suddenly not convinced, haha.
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Feb 10, 2021 16:24
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Sounds like it will be terrible. You shouldn't drink it. Also, send it my way for disposal. Speaking of distillery tours, I'm so annoyed I put off doing the bourbon trail a couple years ago now. 
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Feb 10, 2021 16:51
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God yes. Guess whose 2019 Christmas present was Sturgill Simpson tickets in Louisville, May 2020, with a week’s hotel reservations. Sigh.
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Feb 10, 2021 17:23
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I went for my bachelor party in 2019, but we definitely didn't get to hit even 1/3 of the places I would have liked to since it was only a long weekend. We were only really able to hit 3 distilleries outside of Louisville one day and spent the other day and a half hitting the spots in the city. Definitely going back once we're finally post-vaccination and masks
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Feb 10, 2021 17:40
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I went to Louisville in August and most places were closed for tours. I'm going back in April so hopefully I'll get a chance to check out something new. I saw Sturgill in Louisville in 2017 and it was sweet. I'm in Louisville a lot. (Grew up there.)
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Feb 11, 2021 04:39
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It's been a few years, but when I went Beam had the best overall tour. I also really liked Four Roses and Buffalo Trace (BT is not on the official trail if that matters to anyone). Wild Turkey was probably the most disappointing. Half the tour was in a single building looking at 2 grain silos making mash all controlled by a computer. I know that's just modern advancement, but the experience was pretty soulless.
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Feb 11, 2021 19:22
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S.W.O.R.D. Agent posted:It's been a few years, but when I went Beam had the best overall tour. I also really liked Four Roses and Buffalo Trace (BT is not on the official trail if that matters to anyone). Wild Turkey was probably the most disappointing. Half the tour was in a single building looking at 2 grain silos making mash all controlled by a computer. I know that's just modern advancement, but the experience was pretty soulless. I'm guessing that you didn't have Bubba as your tour guide at WT - he makes the whole thing a fantastic experience
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Feb 11, 2021 19:49
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No our WT tour guide was a younger guy. The best tour guide we had by a country mile was Freddie at Buffalo Trace. He was so good I think it's worth calling ahead to see if you could get on one of his tours.
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Feb 11, 2021 20:59
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I did it everyone. I went to total wine today and they had a bottle of EC toasted barrel on the shelf for $42. Now, I have little interest in that bottle, as I have so many open bottles right now and no room for storage. So, I picked it up and held it while I looked around. I know it’s somewhat hard to find right now, so the temptation was there. But what did I do, I put it back and left empty handed.
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Feb 11, 2021 22:46
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DoctaFun posted:I did it everyone. I went to total wine today and they had a bottle of EC toasted barrel on the shelf for $42. You're a good person
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Feb 12, 2021 00:25
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I would still have gotten it, not for drinking but for a special gift or perhaps to trade. ( But if it were me me I'd have gotten it and cracked it open the same night )
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Feb 12, 2021 00:31
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DoctaFun posted:I did it everyone. I went to total wine today and they had a bottle of EC toasted barrel on the shelf for $42. I've still got two of the old, squat style of Elijah Craig 12 bottles stashed away.
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Feb 12, 2021 02:02
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I definitely enjoy the variety that comes from having a broad collection, but I’m at the point where I’ve really identified some bottles that just hit all the right notes for me, and I’ve stashed a few backups away. I have a couple backups of: ECBP B520 Glendronach 18 Aberlour A’bunadh batch 47 Knob creek 15 year store pick Apart from that, I have so many open bottles that I’ve reached a breaking point on storage. I rationalize this minimal hoarding as I’m a very small fish in the whisky hoarding community, as I see guys with like 60+ bottles of OWA post on Facebook. Deep down though, I suppose I am a part of the problem just like they are  . I bought a couple extra Knox creek store picks from my local shop, the shop where I spend 80% of my whisky money and 95% of my beer money. Does that make me different than the guy who bought 6 cases who never shops there? I tell myself yes, but maybe the answer is no.
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Feb 12, 2021 18:08
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DoctaFun posted:I definitely enjoy the variety that comes from having a broad collection, but I’m at the point where I’ve really identified some bottles that just hit all the right notes for me, and I’ve stashed a few backups away. The only bottle I have more than 1 open/1 backup are ECBP (all different batches anyway) and Four Roses barrel picks (some duplicates, some different) No need to hoard stuff when there's always something good on a shelf somewhere I'll usually grab a backup of something I like, like an eagle rare or knob creek pick, or even though I have them, if I see a Stagg jr or Weller on shelf for msrp I'll grab it so I don't feel bad about finishing my open one.
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Feb 12, 2021 19:28
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I probably buy significantly more than you guys are taking about. But I generally gift bottles that are harder to find, and occasionally trade them. I’ve paid secondary for one bottle ever, and that was for a housewarming present. My basement storage has all my unopened bottles. I’d estimate there’s probably two grand in MSRP down there. I keep the stuff I like and search for backups, then have other lower end bottles to open with company who like bourbon so we can both try something new together (Dickel BiB, etc) I hate the guys who buy out entire stores and I loving hate the whole culture of liquor stores being weird and sneaky to avoid those guys.
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Feb 13, 2021 02:17
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S.W.O.R.D. Agent posted:It's been a few years, but when I went Beam had the best overall tour. I also really liked Four Roses and Buffalo Trace (BT is not on the official trail if that matters to anyone). Wild Turkey was probably the most disappointing. Half the tour was in a single building looking at 2 grain silos making mash all controlled by a computer. I know that's just modern advancement, but the experience was pretty soulless. That's a shame. WT made the trip for me, but it's been awhile, maybe 2008-ish? I'd have to look. We got to meet Jimmy and his son. We toured the warehouse, they told us how quickly whiskey matures in each barrel based on proximity to the doors, watched them remove whiskey from the barrels, it was the highlight of my trip. And the place smelled like bourbon heaven. We could smell the Angel Share from 1/4 mile away. I've read they have modernized and separated the offices from the gift shop, but it was all together back then. BT was also a good tour, very modernized while trying hard not to look it. Woodford let us taste barrel strength bourbon, only 2 of use were willing, and we had to share a glass. Didn't make it to Beam and 4R was closing just as we got there, but I got to meet Jim Rutledge at a tasting later on, good guy.
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Feb 13, 2021 07:57
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If you're ever in Birmingham, look up Dread River Distillery downtown. It's an interesting tour. The tasting room is a huge beautiful bar and lounge, with a good kitchen backing it up. The company's a bit of an odd duck; the team doctor for Alabama and his buddies essentially poured money into starting it up, and they have about 8 million bucks in equipment sitting there running at 15% capacity as they futz around with formulas and grow the brand. They make drat near every spirit (vodka, gin, tequila, whiskey), and apparently the CEO used to be on the ABC board, so they essentially had distribution unlocked from day one. It'd probably piss off a small craft distiller to see (it's definitely money chasing expertise), but the employees we talked to were nice folks that were really excited about the company. They're just now getting their own bourbon to the age where they can start selling some (it is pretty raw, but smoother than other 4 years I've had). The other brand in Birmingham is Redmont, which apparently has Charles Barkley as the public-facing owner and doesn't really have any attraction on site like tours or a tasting room yet.
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Feb 13, 2021 08:50
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Is there anything kind of like Bulleit but less diageo? I love the spicy flavor.
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Feb 13, 2021 18:34
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If you like the spice in Bulleit, you should be looking for other high rye mashbill bourbons or just a straight up rye whiskey. Edit: 1792 High Rye, Redemption High Rye, Old Granddad BIB, I think one or two of the Four Roses Single Barrel mash bills is pretty high rye as well. Casu Marzu fucked around with this message at 19:00 on Feb 13, 2021 |
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Feb 13, 2021 18:49
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Even four roses "low rye" mashbill is higher rye than most other mashbills Bulliett used to source from them (they may still for some expressions)
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Feb 13, 2021 19:15
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A bottle of Rittenhouse 100 is cheap as hell and it's a fantastic rye for the price
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Feb 13, 2021 19:27
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Oh yeah, forgot to say thanks for the recs a couple months back, I got my friend crown royal rye and seagrams VO and he really liked them. I've slowly improved my own whiskey tongue as well but not enough to comment
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Feb 13, 2021 20:01
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