OT: [Weekend Drinking Thread] Really nice bourbon to buy for guests who love bourbon?
December 23rd, 2017 at 4:54 PM ^
Four Roses is the best quality to price bourbon I know of.
December 23rd, 2017 at 5:13 PM ^
Four Roses ... Single Barrel? Or is another variety their best? It's for guests so I don't mind splurging.
December 23rd, 2017 at 5:19 PM ^
You won’t be disappointed
December 24th, 2017 at 12:42 AM ^
I agree with the Four Roses Single Barrel (in the tapered rectangular bottle). Mind you the mash bill for this has a high rye content, making it a bit less sweet and more spicy.
Blanton's has the cool spherical bottle with the horsey ornament on the stopper. Makes a really noice gift! I gave to my uncle for his 70th which coincided with the Preakness a few years ago.
Lately, however, I've been very keen on the Eagle Rare, which is much lower rye content, (Knob Creek is comparable). Very smooth neat, and great with a splash of water or over a block of ice.
Bookers is also a low rye mash bill that is very smooth, yet will evaporate your esophagus the proof is so high. It's appropriate for special occasions, the most memorable for me being when my uncle brought it to my father's wake. It really cut through and hit the spot at the time, and helped repair the damages of the day.
December 23rd, 2017 at 6:48 PM ^
If you can find it. Little more kick, but still smooth.
December 23rd, 2017 at 9:44 PM ^
Trust the Kentucky boy
December 23rd, 2017 at 9:14 PM ^
Came here to say the same.
I wish you'd given us some warning though--I could have put your name in for a bottle from the Great Bourbon Heist of 2013:
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2017/11/30/need-pappy-van-winkle-…
December 23rd, 2017 at 4:54 PM ^
Crown. And for $25 you get two glasses with it!
December 23rd, 2017 at 5:27 PM ^
Is not bourbon.
December 23rd, 2017 at 6:40 PM ^
What makes you say that
Edit- I think maybe the comment you replied to was deleted?
December 24th, 2017 at 8:20 PM ^
Yeah someone suggested Crown Royal, which is a fine Canadian Whiskey, but not bourbon.
December 24th, 2017 at 9:48 AM ^
I do love me some Canadien whiskey
December 24th, 2017 at 9:49 AM ^
Specifically their Northern Harvest Rye.
December 23rd, 2017 at 4:55 PM ^
Knob Creek
December 23rd, 2017 at 5:03 PM ^
Knob Creek
Booker's -- if they like strong bourbon (128 proof unfiltered ... but really good)
Blanton's
Woodfood Reserve
December 23rd, 2017 at 5:04 PM ^
for Bookers. My favorite bourbon.
December 23rd, 2017 at 5:06 PM ^
On my 40th birthday -- 18 years ago now -- me and two friends emptied a bottle of Booker's.
Yow. Powerful stuff.
December 23rd, 2017 at 6:54 PM ^
I drank near a bottle of Bookers during the 2014 Notre Dame game. I’m surprised I am alive. Ever wake up from a night of drankin and find an almost empty bottle you just opened the night before? Not good.
December 23rd, 2017 at 8:34 PM ^
-law's stash last year. Is it good stuff? I was thinking about taking it to our annual UM football reunion game next year but, if it's too good, won't waste on my lousy buddies.
December 24th, 2017 at 1:05 AM ^
Envy. Hands down. If unavailable...Basil Hayden.
December 23rd, 2017 at 4:56 PM ^
About $30 and really good stuff. A little sweeter, very smooth drinking.
December 23rd, 2017 at 7:44 PM ^
Buffalo Trace. Eagle Rare. Blantons. Elmer T. Lee or Pappy's (good luck)
December 23rd, 2017 at 9:18 PM ^
Best bourbon I've ever had; the rye was even better. Used to be able to find it at Sam's (now Binny's, the one by North and Clybourn) in Chicago but I don't know if that's still the case.
December 23rd, 2017 at 10:25 PM ^
He's a UM grad, as well. The family sold the brang but still seems to be able to get a hold of it without any problem.
December 23rd, 2017 at 10:29 PM ^
jper bottle?
good for him. That seems to be the unicorn of bourbons
December 24th, 2017 at 8:41 AM ^
I can’t seem to find Elmer T. Lee in my local spots. Have you found it in SE Michigan?
Had a bourbon flight at a great place near NIU while while visiting friends for Thanksgiving in Iowa and Elmer T. hooked me.
December 24th, 2017 at 9:29 AM ^
I'm in Louisville and I find it on Craigslist often for avg of around $75 which is high when it retails at $30... It's never on the shelves.
December 23rd, 2017 at 4:57 PM ^
I really like giving Colonel E.H. Taylor as bourbon gifts. It comes in a nice easily wrapped container, should be around $45 (they have a rye that is more expensive) and is pretty tasty.
December 23rd, 2017 at 6:05 PM ^
One of my favorites.
December 23rd, 2017 at 7:23 PM ^
EH Taylor is FANTASTIC!!!
December 23rd, 2017 at 9:16 PM ^
EH Taylor, Bookers or Bakers are all good choices and somewhat easily findable. Other options I like that are a bit less well known would be Jefferson reserve or ocean, Few bourbon or anything from High West (i prefer the campfire rye)
December 23rd, 2017 at 4:59 PM ^
As an early Christmas gift I got a bottle of 16 year old Lagavulin. I expect it to be gone by Tuesday.
December 23rd, 2017 at 5:19 PM ^
The Lagavulin I've had was very good, but it was Scotch. Do they also make bourbon? Or are you in the wrong thread?
December 23rd, 2017 at 5:49 PM ^
(Pedantic)
December 23rd, 2017 at 6:11 PM ^
Also reading comprehension fail
December 23rd, 2017 at 8:22 PM ^
Lagavulin is Scotch. Try Two James’ J. Riddle which is a peated bourbon and made in Detroit.
December 23rd, 2017 at 8:42 PM ^
Lol I'm well aware of that. The OP asked what else we were sipping on this weekend and I answered.
December 24th, 2017 at 11:44 AM ^
Lagavulin 16 is the best scotch you can buy for the price. Fantastic stuff. Close second would be Bunnahabhain Toiteach. Both greath.
December 23rd, 2017 at 4:59 PM ^
Their rye is also really good as well
December 23rd, 2017 at 5:03 PM ^
The Wifey is a corporate accountant at a large chain of liquor stores. Angels Envy by far is my favorite (and I've tried ALOT ~ she brings bottles home all the time that have been sampled by the liquor buyer). Their rye is amazing too. Rye is about $70, regular about $55.
December 23rd, 2017 at 5:09 PM ^
At the risk of sounding really stupid, why is rye more expensive?
Also, is good bourbon sort of cheap? It seems like most aficionados consider the good stuff in the $40-60 range? Is there just not great quality bottles in the $60-120 range? I do know that Pappy stuff is super expensive, but outside of that, I'm not sure.
My wife loves wine and it seems $75 100 150 bottles are pretty commonplace.
December 23rd, 2017 at 5:33 PM ^
Good bourbon is much cheaper than similarly good Scotch. Pappy is impossible to find but still officially retails for ~$100.
They raised the price of Bookers to $80. No reason to pay more than that except for a really special release.
Tons of great $50 bourbons, and some great finds and daily drinkers for $30.
December 23rd, 2017 at 6:04 PM ^
I also saw Bookers for $80 which is dumb. However, Meijer was selling it for $59.99, which I'm ok with.
December 23rd, 2017 at 6:27 PM ^
I can confirm that - the Meijer near me in Belleville had it for $59.99, which isn't a bad price for it. I bought some to pass the time as it snows tomorrow. Seemed like a good idea, shoveling while buzzed and all that.
December 24th, 2017 at 8:17 PM ^
Beam is apparently experimenting with higher price points for their rarer bourbons, including Booker’s, to get more in line with Pappy/BTAC retail, and to see if the market to support it (since rare stuff is going for insane prices on secondary markets, they figure more of that ought to go to the distiller and “good guy” retailers that don’t mark up - can’t say I blame them).
Costco also usually has it for $55, but that’s in AZ.
Booker’s is a (delicious) commitment - a couple fingers of that, and don’t plan on doing anything else for the evening...
December 23rd, 2017 at 7:03 PM ^
Very Old Barton is $15 dollars and most people I have taste tested it with like it better than $60 bottles. There really are only five bourbon distillers in the country making 90% of the bourbon. Mostly you pay for marketing
December 23rd, 2017 at 8:19 PM ^
That and age. A lot of the "juice" is the same. Some mash bills are kept secret but you can tell what they are by where they're from.
I'm a Buffalo Trace guy mostly but I like Evan Williams and Elijah Craig from HH. And I do like old Forester 1920 (which is the only brown foreman product I will drink). Woodford is garbage. Anything from Jefferson is garbage too. That's all poor bourbon marketed as something special. None of it is. It's all blended crap in my opinion.
December 23rd, 2017 at 9:09 PM ^
Evan Williams is another whiskey that shocks people when they taste it blind. It is very good
December 23rd, 2017 at 10:56 PM ^
I can show you dozens of bottles of $5 to $10 wine that are indistinguishable from $100 wine. Anybody that pays that much for wine is just being pretentious.
December 23rd, 2017 at 5:12 PM ^
Its called "Angels Envy" for good reason. It's awesome.