Whiskey or Whisky? Let's talk about them.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > Whiskey or Whisky? Let's talk about them.

Lyon: Apr 17, 2003

blueshifting posted:

Re: Maker's Pick

I've done six Makers PS picks now, and I'm really liking the relatively new French Mendiant stave that they introduced a couple of years ago. It's now the backbone of most of the picks I do.

Now is a great time to get in the barrel-picking game - while barrels from the OG KY distillers get harder and harder to come by, there are so many others putting out amazing barrels that it's hard to complain.

Here are some of the picks I've made this year:

Single Malt
Rare Character Exceptional Series 9yr Single Malt
Dry Fly 8yr 136.6pr Single Malt (This was a surprise - I had written off Dry Fly but this was one of the best American Single Malts I've tried all year)

American Whiskey
Barrell Craft Spirits Whiskey CQ11 finished in Oloroso Sherry cask

Light Whiskey
Old Rick 15yr 143pr
Backbone 14yr 142pr
J Mattingly Light Whiskey Blend "Stormbreaker 3.0"
- Don't sleep on Light Whiskey, the high-proof aged stuff is crazy good, with lots of butter and butterscotch custard character that is really appealing.

Wheat Whiskey
Backbone Wheat Whiskey finished in Columbian Rum Cask

Rum (Included because I find there is a lot of overlap between Whiskey and Rum drinkers, especially for barrel-pick offerings)
Nashville Barrel 5yr Rum 138pr
Plantation 12yr Panama Rum finished in Pineau des Charentes Cask

Canadian Whiskey
Found North finished in Muscat Cask
Copper & Cask 15yr finished in Armagnac Cask
Copper & Cask 15yr finished in Port Cask
Backbone 15yr finished in Sherry Cask
- It turns out that Canadian Whiskey is pretty drat tasty with some age and a finish on it! I find that these really appeal to Speyside Scotch drinkers, especially those that like Aberlour, Glenallachie, and other Sherry-Matured Speysides.

Rye Whiskey
Nashville Barrel 7yr Rye
High West Double Rye finished in Barreled Manhattan Barrel
Copper & Cask Double-Cask Toasted Rye
Backbone Triple-Finished Rye (A blend of sherry, port, and rum finishes, I believe)
Woodinville Rye (x2)
Rare Character Rye finished in Amburana Cask (x2, first one was a portion of a barrel instead of our own barrel)
Rare Character Straight Rye
New Riff Rye
Good Times 95/5 Rye (Strange to have non-finished Good Times, but this pick was really solid straight MGP Rye)
Good Times Rye finished in Honey Barrel
Barrell Craft Spirits Rye 1R01 finished in Barbados Rum cask
J Mattingly Rye Blend "Apple Crumble"
- Rye moves slower in our market, so I didn't pick up a lot this year. That being said, the Copper & Cask Double-Cask Rye is phenomenal, and those Rare Character Amburana picks mind-blowing if you haven't had Amburana finishes before.

Bourbon Whiskey
1792 FP (x2)
1792 BiB
Buffalo Trace
Eagle Rare
Blantons
Weller Antique 107 NCF
Elijah Craig BP (x3)
New Riff Bourbon (x2)
Woodinville Bourbon
Barrell Craft Spirits Bourbon E78K
Whiskey Thief Distilling Bourbon (might be the first barrel outside of KY?)
Rare Character Port Finished Bourbon
Rare Character Apricot Brandy Finished Bourbon
Rare Character Straight Bourbon (x2)
Yellowstone Handpicked
Ezra Brooks Cask Strength
Rebel Cask Strength
Knob Creek
J Mattingly Bourbon Blend "Short Stack" (The added staves that J Matt uses really add a maple-bacon character to the whiskey, always giving us a breakfast vibe to the blends)
Backbone Bourbon (x2)
Backbone Bourbon finished in Amaro Cask
Backbone Bourbon finished in Vermouth Cask
Backbone Bourbon finished in Wave Stave Barrel
Backbone Bourbon finished in Apera Cask
Backbone Bourbon finished in PX Sherry Cask
Good Times Bourbon finished in Hawaiian Honey Cask
Good Times Bourbon finished in Tawny Port Cask
Good Times Bourbon finished in Icewine & Apricot Brandy Cask
Nashville Barrel Bourbon (x3)
Nashville Barrel Nashtucky 8yr Bourbon
Rabbit Hole Hiegold (x2)
Copper & Cask Bourbon (x4)
Copper & Cask Double-Cask Bourbon
Hand Barrel Single Barrel Bourbon (I really wanted to hate this stuff. Gimmicky bottle, sourced, young whiskey. To say that I was skeptical would be an understatement. Yet somehow, they're making really good bourbon with great depth of flavor. I'm convinced they've made a deal with the devil.)
Maker's Mark Private Select
Nulu Bourbon finished in Apple Brandy Cask
Nulu Double-Cask Double-Toasted Bourbon
Nulu Bourbon finished in Amburana Cask
Nulu Bourbon (SUPER short barrel, yielding only 24 bottles. 134.8pr with crazy intensity. According to Nulu, straight up the best Bourbon they've ever bottled.)
Four Roses Single Barrel OBSV (wish it was one of the rarer combinations, but it was delicious, immediately standing out from the other 9)
Jefferson's Reserve
Jefferson's Ocean Cask Strength
Lucky 7 The Proprietor 6yr
Lucky 7 Holiday Toast
Lucky 7 The Frenchman

Barrel Picks I've Passed On
Templeton Rye - All tasted young and thin. Pass.
Old Potrero - Really wanted to like these, as I like everyone I've met from Hotaling, but these barrel samples were super funky and downright unpleasant.
Heritage 4 Grain - This mashbill won them a bunch of awards recently, so I was hopeful. Unfortunately, these barrels didn't deliver.
Kirk & Sweeny Rum - Nothing like their standard product, these samples were dry, astringent, and lacking depth of flavor.

I�m confused, how does one get into the barrel picking game? Are these all samples you�ve tried, bottles you�ve purchased, or�?

# ¿ Jul 11, 2023 01:02

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# ¿ May 9, 2024 12:53

Lyon: Apr 17, 2003

blueshifting posted:

They're all barrels I've selected - I do the spirits buying for a small regional chain of liquor stores.

Haha okay that makes way more sense. Feel free to save a store pick of each for me and/or bring me with you for the tastings

# ¿ Jul 11, 2023 05:44

Lyon: Apr 17, 2003

$20-30: Evan Williams BIB, OGD BIB, OGD 114, Wild Turkey 101, Buffalo Trace, Weller Special Reserve
$30-40: Elijah Craig Small Batch, Four Roses Small Batch, Eagle Rare, 1792 Small Batch, Larceny Small Batch
$40-50: New Riff BIB, Russell's Reserve 10 year, Wild Turkey Rare Breed, Four Roses Single Barrel, EH Taylor Small Batch, Maker's Mark, Woodford
$50-60: Old Forester 1897/1910/1920, Heaven Hill BIB, this is sort of a dead zone
$60-70: Woodford Double Oak, Four Roses Small Batch Select, Larceny Barrel Proof, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, Henry McKenna 10 year, Baker's 7 Year Single Barrel
$70-80: Knob Creek 12, Blanton's

I think everything I listed is pretty good value for the price. This is based on what's available in Pennsylvania.

# ¿ Aug 29, 2023 15:58

Lyon: Apr 17, 2003

Hakarne posted:

Thanks, that Four Roses description sounds right up my alley so I'm more excited to try it now. I was hesitant with 1920 due to the higher proof, but if it works to bring out the flavor more like with EHT I'm all for it. It's amazing how the higher proof manages to feel smoother with less ethanol burn, I've been learning a lot by trying all these different bourbons!

Edit: Also, I guess the premium I paid for EHT wasn't as bad as it could have been. I got it for $110 yesterday after some exaggerated hemming and hawing to take it down from $130. I checked another store today and they wanted $200 for it .

$100 is about standard on secondary for EHT so you did fine, $45 if you find it at MSRP.

HH BIB, 4R SIB, RR10, WT Rare Breed (higher proof), OF 1897 BIB, OF 1910, and of course Woodford are all in the $40-50 range and worth checking out. I skip Knob Creek Small Batch ( the white label 9 year) and Maker�s Mark but YMMV.

Finished bottles like EC Toasted, OF 1910, Maker�s 46, and Woodford Double Oaked are probably worth a gander as well in that price range. I tend to avoid finished whiskies in other spirit barrels but the ones that are just straight second set of barrels I�m usually happy with.

At a higher price point, $65ish, you�ve got EC Barrel Proof, Larceny Barrel Proof, Knob Creek 12 (my personal easiest to find/best quality/value pick), Baker�s 7, and Henry McKenna 10 year BIB.

# ¿ Dec 31, 2023 02:24

Lyon: Apr 17, 2003

DoctaFun posted:

It�s been awhile since I stopped in here, cause I had been on a beer kick for the last year or so, but I�m back on the whisky train again :/.

It all kicked off when my liquor store guy gave me a sample of his Larceny BP B523. I�d never had the BP before and I was blown away. So naturally I found a bottle of that and the C923, which is also great.

Now I�m trying to track down an ECBP C923 as I�ve heard that�s fantastic. Of course I picked up a store pick Russel�s Reserve which is great, and an Old Forester 100 that I haven�t tried yet.

And on the �best value� chat, I�m a big fan of Russel�s Reserve 10 year. It�s like $32 near me.

Some people were saying ECBP C923 is their #1 whiskey of the year. Think it's a bit of hyperbole but it is definitely reallly good. RR10 is $44 here but yeah at $32 that would be tough to beat. The RR picks are usually super good, I end up buying them any time I see them, think I've got like 5-6 open RR picks right now.

I've been sick since Thursday so I haven't been drinking but I recently got Old Overholt 10 and a Midwinter Night's Dram so I might have to do a high proof rye tasting. I've got the OF SBBS Rye and I could probably go find the JD SB Rye.

# ¿ Jan 2, 2024 08:37

Lyon: Apr 17, 2003

I think this has changed a bit in the last decade. Lots of brick and mortar shops have an online presence and it�s just a matter if they can legally ship to your state. PA tends to be pretty strict but lots of places will still ship stuff here. I�d double check the reputation and legitimacy of any online shop before you use it and I wouldn�t buy crazy bottles probably but I�ve certainly ordered a lot of bourbon from online retailers.

# ¿ Jan 2, 2024 23:53

Lyon: Apr 17, 2003

KC12 and RR store picks are the two pricier but not crazy bourbons I could live on forever at this point. If I could only have one �shelf� bourbon on a desert island I�d hard pressed to pick between the two. KC12 is 100 proof but the RR private barrel/store picks are 110 so maybe a little higher than you were interested in.

In my opinion they both have a complexity and depth that a lot of other bourbons don�t or at least not for $60-$75. Things like RR13 are even better but with an MSRP of $150 now it�s tough to justify. I find I can drink lower proof and/or cheaper bourbons much more quickly because a lot of them sort of just taste like corn water (for lack of a better term).

# ¿ Jan 14, 2024 07:28

Lyon: Apr 17, 2003

Pennsylvania decided to honor our presidents with a 50% off KC12 sale, not sure why but I�m not complaining.

# ¿ Feb 19, 2024 19:45

Lyon: Apr 17, 2003

PA is rough because they all get identical stuff and it�s boring to go �bourbon hunting� but at least all the stuff is at or near MSRP. Once you learn how to game the system you can have unlimited Blanton�s, Eagle Rare, and Buffalo Trace I guess, if that�s your thing. The online drops are also sort of game-able and there�s usually more variety there but all the best stuff goes to lottery with millions of entries.

# ¿ Feb 24, 2024 18:18

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# ¿ May 9, 2024 12:53

Lyon: Apr 17, 2003

LionArcher posted:

Yeah, Blanton's isn't hard here. It's about once every other month for "retail" which is now $69. I just picked up a backup of it, and I don't know how I feel about picking up anymore bottles for awhile. I don't actually drink very often (I bartend so I can have shift drinks when I'm done,). Eagle rare sits on the shelf for a few weeks, as does buffalo trace.

It's stuff like Stag Jr, Weller's red, white orange and blue, and Taylor's that are harder to get.

Stagg, any Weller other than green label, and any Taylor other than small batch are basically lottery in PA. They get some OWA store picks once and a while that go up online but it's really hard to get.

# ¿ Feb 27, 2024 00:00

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