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@Andyvans Well, coming from a Scotch drinker, this means quite a bit to me! I've always assumed bourbon drinkers were all uncultured swine who lacked the proper palette for fine scotch. But hearing a scotch drinker change his tune and admit there is something to be found in bourbon...well this changes things. It's cheap enough for me to experiment with I suppose. Got any suggestions? Besides the bottles listed of course.
“I’m a simple man. All I want is enough sleep for two normal men, enough whiskey for three, and enough women for four.”
~Joel Rosenburg
@DramTasticVoyage
Well, I haven’t tried many of them yet. I started with Markers Mark original and Elijah Craig 12 but they didn’t do it for me. The real game changer, with first Wow! effect, was Blanton’s Original. That was the first bottle of bourbon that I kept coming back to until it’s all gone and wanted more. So, even though I hate making suggestions knowing that tastes are very subjective (remember we came completely opposite on Ardbeg 10 profile), but I would take the risk and recommend Blanton’s. Read the story about this bourbon, it is quite intriguing. The other one that I really liked was Koval bourbon from Chicago craft distillery, also very intriguing as they use 49% of millet grains instead of wheat or rye, and I find the result very interesting. I tried Wild Turkey single barrel and didn’t like it at first, but after my taste developed I came back to this bottle and find it quite nice, not exceptional but still nice (maybe it needed some oxidation to open up). Everyone is raving about Bakers 8 (or 9?), so it is at the top of my list to try next. I tried a few more which I liked but don’t want to make it too long.
In the end, the world of bourbon is huge, including really good ones. Just google top 10 bourbons and you will get an idea where to start. From my experience, you just need to find one that earns your true respect and you will be hooked after that. It was Blantons for me, so I recommend it to try. Keep me posted, will be interesting to see if bourbon can win over another scotch fan
@DramTasticVoyage
Forgiveness for ignorance, if any, but, the question is the lack of sensory variety? And a 'single malt', for example, will exceed both your expectations? If it is a range of sensations, do not we necessarily speak of a series of combinations? A series of MIXTURES?
For those bemoaning the lack of posts here, I'm new and this is my first one. I joined because I enjoy Horst's YouTube videos and wanted to check out the community. Forums in general aren't as popular as they used to be but they remain excellent tools for specialty interests.
As far as the original topic, I don't find bourbon boring. However, I find scotch to be more diverse and ultimately more interesting. While I think there is more to explore and experience with scotch, the OP is right that there can be higher barriers to entry for a lot of the the scotch market. I tend to agree that finding decent bourbon can be easier and less expensive than finding decent scotch.
@DramTasticVoyage
For the longest time, Scotch had been the only spirit I drank. Tried some on a port call in Faslane, Scotland. Took a trip to Edinburgh and visited the Scotch Heritage museum. After seeing the effort and variety of Scotch available, and trying samples of different regional styles it struck a chord with me.
i also tried other local spirits when pulling into other ports of call, Raki in Crete, Lemoncello in Italy, Sherry in Spain, Cognac in France. But Scotch was the go to.
After retiring from the Navy and watching some scotch reviews by Ralfy I was also impressed by some of his reviews of other spirits and recommending that people take a break from one type of spirit and try others to reset their pallate.
He recommended rum, gin, tequila etc.
for the last year, I’ve been exploring other spirits. I also found bourbon to be a more affordable and accessible whiskey to try. I found some spectrum in flavors is available based on mash bill, filtering methods (Tennessee whisk(e)y like Jack Daniels or George Dickel which get a charcoal filtering or chilled charcoal filtering, changes flavor profile a bit.
A local distillery here in Washington (Woodinville) has pushed some of the limits on what they can do with whiskey. They have a straight bourbon, which is very traditional, but they weather the wood that the barrels are made of before building the barrels. Still “virgin”, but different.
They have a double cask, which has been aged partly in one cask and then put in another virgin cask. So all aging was done in virgin oak, but gets a richer, flavor profile in a shorter period.
Another twist is aging in virgin oak barrels with apple wood staves placed in the barrel. Still meets the letter of the law for bourbon, but with a bend in the rules.
Then they have a straight rye whiskey, and an American whisky that is a blended whiskey.
So, in just one local distillery I have found that I have some exploring available to me.
Other bourbons I’ve found interesting are Elijah Craig barrel proof. Four releases (batches)per year, and the batches seem to have different flavor profiles.
Bookers, makes unique batches.
Henry McKenna, 10 year, bottled in bond, is pretty widely available and fairly reasonably priced.
if you really get bored with bourbon, some is inexpensive enough that you can explore some classic cocktails. An Old Fashioned of Sazerac cocktail in the Fall/Winter isn’t a bad thing. A Kentucky mule can be refreshing in Summer. And you won’t feel like you are abusing a high end highland single malt, or a rich and Smokey Islay.
@Vasco
You sound (at least your name sounds) like from my part of the world (i.e. Eastern Europe)
There are many good bourbons, of course if you can get BTAC- George T Stagg or William Larue Weller, they are cream of the crop. but expensive and hard to find.
You can try Blantons or Elijah Craig single barrel which are good starters
If you can get Four Roses Ltd Edition small batch will be great.
Anyway, don't follow any rules, follow your taste buds and your heart!
Cheers
@zanzo
Nops, Southwestern Europe - Portugal. But with family in Eastern Europe, namely Poland!
I have nominated 2019 the "bourbon year", so I'm taking your and @DramTasticVoyage advices to start exploring. In this early stage, I'm not aiming to the premium-esque ones, I think both choices of you and Dram can be found here in Lisbon fairly priced.
Thank you for the tips and Merry Christmas!
@DramTasticVoyage
Hello and I am new to this website.
I am in step with Joel's look on lives needs, however...
I love Bourbon for the variety of tastes and drinking with my friends. Living in the states has advantages and trips to the Bourbon Trail are worth its weight in gold.
I have a modest collection of 30 Bourbons, mostly wheated. I just purchased a bottle of 12 yr old Pappy and can't wait to taste.
On a recent trip to Germany, I visited the Slyrs distillery and purchased a bottle of 51 which was amazing.
I kind of like nearly all whisky, so I'm easy to please. I don't have enough bourbon. Like the Maker's Mark and Woodford Reserve. Only now is the selection getting good here in Ireland.
Bourbon barrel is not boring. I like to use this. I always buy this online from thirdbasemarketandspirits.com. It provides the best bourbon barrel.