Show Us Your Bourbon/Whiskey/Rye/Scotch!

[Whiskeyman53]

This weeks Whiskey Wednesday took us to an independent bottler. Great selection from European distilleries. I walked away without a selection mostly due to the 350ml offerings being very allocated.

[Whiskeyman53]

This weeks Whiskey Wednesday took us to the Campbeltown region of Scotland. We tasted expressions from Glen Scotia. My selection this week was their double cask which I am enjoying on Halloween night.

[Skinsfan1311]

Old Fashioneds tonight, after a day of tailgate prepping for tomorrow

[Skinsfan1311]

Couldn't waste that cube
This is a SiB pick that was finished for a year in a used Jamaican rum barrel.
I'm not a big fan of finished whiskey, because the barrel seems to overwhelm the base spirit, especially in the used port or cognac barrels. That's not the case with this one.
The finish is subtle and works really well.

[cruiseplanner1]

|I agree. I have a bottle of Balvenie 14 year old Caribbean cask I have yet to open as I finished the other bottle and to me it is almost too mellow. I think some of those processes take the "body" out of the whisky. But I am no expert and that is just my taste. I am kind of leaning to bourbons now, perhaps it is my aging. Will be 70 soon. My older friends always drank bourbon and I wondered how they could do it now it's my go to drink. Not neat but with a couple ice chips. Enjoy

[Whiskeyman53]

Oh what a night. Whiskey Wednesday this week took us all over the globe for the annual pre holiday tasting..

[cruiseplanner1]

That looks so cool.

[Huskee]

Where are you doing these tastings? Are all these bottles from this and similar posts in your personal collection?

[Whiskeyman53]

Huskee, there is a liquor store halfway between Worcester and Boston that has weekly whiskey tastings for the first 50 people that sign up. Luckily I’m a regular and can sign up before the general public. They are very well known for their single barrel store picks. Several times during the year they have large scale events especially when the holidays approach. We had the leftovers from a weekend tasting on this night. I usually will buy a bottle that I liked.

[ssandy_561]

So yesterday was Single Barrel Saturday here in Ohio and I participated in the event at my local liquor store that is inside of a Giant Eagle grocery store.

Yesterday reminded me of the good and bad of living in a State where the State (Ohio) controls liquor sales.

First THE GOOD:

I picked up these two bottles yesterday



Both were at MSRP.

$47.99 for the Weller 12 and $64.99 for the Henry McKenna.

I got both bottles for $120.61 with Tax. The Weller 12 probably would have costed that (or more) in another State.

I got to spend 1 hour talking with other Bourbon lovers waiting for the store to open.

Now THE BAD:

I had to wait in line for an hour before the store opened to get the bottles I bought. When I arrived at 7:55 am I was probably 30th in line. Not sure when the people in front of me arrived. There were probably 50 people in line by the time the liquor store opened.

Ohio has been advertising and posting on social media about the greatest of this event. Single barrels from Four Roses, Knob Creek, Buckners and Old Rout 8, Frey Ranch, George Dickel, Whistle Pig, Heaven Hill, Dark Arts, Horse Soldier, Boone Co., Pursuit Spirits, Willett and Corazón. Multiple barrels with both Bourbons and Ryes with multiple finishes. Here is what was given to my local liquor store.



Quite a bit underwhelming. Plus the quantities the store had were laughable. Only 6 bottles of Pursuit, Only 6 bottles of the Four Roses. Only 12 bottles of Knob Creek.

The liquor store in the Giant Eagle I go to is the busiest one in the county I live in. Even the manager of the store said how disappointed he was for the quantities he received.

The rules for the bottles were only one bottle could be purchased at a time and once you bought one, you got back in line. I purchased the Weller 12 first and by the time I got back around, the only thing left were the McKenna.

Last evening I had a pour of each of my new bottles and enjoyed them both.



This was nice and sweet with a bit of char on the palette. Picked up some notes of Apple and Cherry pie. Had a long finish and was a bit warm for only 90 proof.




Not as sweet as the Weller with a slight peach/apricot scent on the nose. The taste was brown sugar caramel with a bit of rye spiciness on the finish. Actually drank not as warm as the Weller with it being 100 proof. This could have been since I drank this after I drank the Weller.

[barelfly]

Good scores! I’ve not had the McKenna but hear it’s good. Nice pickups!

[cruiseplanner1]

Look like fine sipper's there. I don't garner the taste's that you describe but do enjoy my amber drinks on a couple of ice chips. I like post's like this as I can use that info on my purchases

[klflowers]

I am a huge Weller fan. Had some of everything but the Blue; amazing how many friends I had dropping by lol

[Whiskeyman53]

Brought the sophisticated stemmed glass out for tonight’s Scotch.

[cruiseplanner1]

Last night's sippin'

[Purc]

Enjoying this as I do wings on the Kettle and Vortex.

[Skinsfan1311]

A little Baker's in a Buffalo glass...

[ssandy_561]

Reminds me that Buffalo plays Tampa Bay tomorrow. Go Bills! 😆

[Skinsfan1311]

ssandy_561 Go Bills!

[ssandy_561]

Picked this up this week. Just a standard bourbon in my opinion. Not bad, but also not great.

[Starsky]

First time trying this. IMO the flavor leans a little more towards a whiskey than a bourbon, but I would definitely buy again.

[Alan Brice]

Poor mans liquor cabinet. Buff Trace

[barelfly]

If those would come into NM I’d be all over that! All of it! For that price point,all day long!!

[Skinsfan1311]

Damn right! You like what you like.

[Alan Brice]

I usually love what I cannot afford.
Can you say Walker, Silver n Blue??
Sure, I know you can.(Mr. R)

[cruiseplanner1]

Tonight back to a scotch. Been drinking more bourbon's the last few years.

[barelfly]

First Call Rye for this wonderful Old Fashioned…First Call is a Total Wine Spirits Direct that is just perfect for a mixer or Old Fashioned.

And….it’s starting to look a lot like Christmas in this house!