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First try of Bourbon

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    #31
    When it comes to Bourbon, I'm a Woodford guy all the way. I really like Woodford reserve and ha e fallen head-over-heels in love with the Woodford Double Oaked.

    Woodford will privately blend a barrel and my local purveyor of fine spirits took me with him to do a tasting at the distillery. We blended 3 different Woodford bourbons into a private label Woodford bourbon that is truly sublime and reserved only for really special occasions.

    I drink my bourbons neat ... no ice or water to dilute the whiskey. Ice makes a bourbon too cold and hides some of the lighter flavor notes at the end. As for water, why put back in what the distiller tried so hard to take out? Why dilute your bourbon and miss the really subtle flavors that water masks? A really good bourbon is smooth enough without having to dilute the distillate.

    Finally, I truly hope bourbon doesn't go the way of Scotch. Scotch became ridiculously priced because it got to be the drink of choice for too many people with money who couldn't tell a single malt from Chivas.

    Just my ramblings ...

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      #32
      The more oak exposure, the faster the "aging." I used to put a lot of oak chips in a jar when I made cognac, and the "aging" went REALLY fast. I don't recall ever reusing chips, so I don't know how long you can reuse the bottle. It'll be interesting to find out.

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        #33
        The website has this to say.

        I have used my Oak Bottle multiple times and it seems to be giving off less oak flavor, can you retoast my bottle?
        Currently we do not offer a retoasting service but we may in the near future. We suggest our customers to buy a new bottle after 50 uses or when the desired oak flavor is not able to be reached. You can always leave the wine or spirit in the bottle longer than the suggested 24-72 hours to make up for the loss in oak infusion that may occur after many uses.

        And also this

        How many uses will I get out of the Oak Bottle?
        The Oak Bottle can be used indefinitely as long as you clean and store it properly, however it can begin to lose its optimal oaking ability over time. But if it does, then just leave the alcohol in the bottle slightly longer and get the same oak flavor as before. And since the Oak Bottle is the fastest Oak Aging vessel in the world, a little bit longer is still going to be multiple times faster than anything else you could use to impart extravagant oak aged flavor into your wine or spirit. Based on our own experiments and feedback from customers, most Oak Bottle’s begin to impart less oak into wine and spirits after a few dozen normal aging cycles. But having said that, we have bottles we have been using back to back for over 50 uses now and they still impart just as much great oak aged flavor as they originally did. It really depends on the type of alcohol you have been using (since some higher proof alcohols have a tendency to saturate the oak faster since they are more solvent than other lower proof alcohols), how long your aging cycles have been, and how good of a job maintaining your oak bottle you have done.

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          #34
          Wow, interesting stuff! Thanks for posting about this!

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            #35
            Anybody try Willett or Col. EH Taylor bourbons? Both small batch, apparently, and not easy to come by in my neck of the woods. Are they worth the hunt on upcoming trips to other states?

            Kathryn

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              #36
              Rebecca Creek! Texas Bourbon/whiskey

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              • billg71
                billg71 commented
                Editing a comment
                If it isn't distilled in Kentucky it isn't Bourbon, it's whiskey. Just ask Jack Daniels.
                Last edited by billg71; March 24, 2016, 06:37 PM.

              #37
              fzxdoc --

              Problem with Willett is they don't make their own bourbon; hence, the cheaper versions (well, relatively cheaper) can vary from good to below average depending on when they bought it and from whom they bought it. Pay no attention to the cool bottles. In a couple years, they will be selling their own make, and I, personally, won't buy any until their own shows up. EH Taylor is made by Buffalo Trace (which is owned by Sazerac, a family-owned company) and is excellent, in my opinion. The Single Barrel ("SB") is expensive and rare. The Small Batch and the Rye are more available. All the EH Taylors come in that really nice cardboard tube and are great gifts. Check out some websites (Caskers, KLWines, Binnys) to see what prices SHOULD be as lots of gouging and price variations are out there. They do run "hot" for some palates so sip carefully.

              If you are a "value" purchaser (that is, a person looking for good bourbon at a fair price), my faves are Very Old Barton 100 proof (i.e., "Bonded"), Heaven Hill 6 year old Bonded, Old Grand Dad Bonded, and Knob Creek (9 years old, 100 proof -bonded but doesn't say so). Confused? Is OK - it took me 48 years of legal drinking to get here. Can't make up your mind? Buy a 750ml of Blanton's. I have NEVER had a bad bottle of Blanton's.

              Have fun hunting.

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                #38
                I go from one extreme to the other on the scale of bourbon. Bottom shelf, drink when I want bourbon of choice.... Old Crow. Probably not quite the same exact recipe that was the favorite of U.S. Grant or Mark Twain, but I like it. Then on the top of the scale that I can afford for special occasions, such as sitting back after eating the results of a nice long 8-hour plus smoke cook .... Blanton's.

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                  #39
                  Just for the curious, here's a list of bourbon distilleries and the brand names they market or sell to for distribution:
                  Last edited by billg71; March 24, 2016, 06:30 PM.

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                    #40
                    Drinking Rittenhouse Bottled-in-bond Rye 100 proof as I read this. Love a good whisky

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                      #41
                      For anybody reading this thread that's enjoys learning about whiskey(y), this book is a straightforward and entertaining read as well as being cheap. It is a great guide to learning how to appreciate the flavors of whiskeys. Also it really spells out the differences in the processes and histories of bourbon, Tennessee whiskey, canadian whiskey, scotch, irish, and japanese. After reading it my collection tripled. It gave me some really good perspective on adding water or ice, making cocktails, etc. Copy the link, use your tinyurl amazing ribs amazon link, then paste it in
                      http://www.amazon.com/Tasting-Whiske...ywords=whiskey
                      Last edited by Flavorsavor; March 25, 2016, 05:57 AM.

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                      • IrondeQuer
                        IrondeQuer commented
                        Editing a comment
                        I concur on the book Flavorsavor! And like you, my collection tripled as well after reading it!

                      • Flavorsavor
                        Flavorsavor commented
                        Editing a comment
                        I think I was most interested in learning about the Irish whiskies, about which I previously knew very little. I went out and got a bottle of Redbreast after reading that section, and man, I fell in love.

                      • IrondeQuer
                        IrondeQuer commented
                        Editing a comment
                        You're killing me! Same here, but I picked up a bottle of Jameson Black Barrel and have been sipping on it ever since.

                      #42
                      If you guys like Jameson, then you love their premium brand, Midleton. Simply a stunningly good Irish. Smoother than a baby's butt.

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                      • Bobmcgahan
                        Bobmcgahan commented
                        Editing a comment
                        This. I had this for the first time last weekend. Simply the best Whiskey I’ve ever had. Period. The Yamazaki 12-year is good but a distant second.

                      #43
                      I'll keep an eye out for that. Just picked up a bottle of Caskmates Stout Edition. Sounded interesting if nothing else!

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                        #44
                        I'm an anything Buffalo trace guy. Eagle rare is my favorite.

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                          #45
                          Funny you should mention that, nickgutnick. Just picked up these the other day:

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