Favorite widely available bourbon or whiskey

[mneeley490]

A good introductory rye would be Rittenhouse BIB. It's not quite as sharp on the bite as others. And it's fairly inexpensive.

 

[mr_whipple]

Funny this should come up... I was at the Coast Guard Exchange last weekend and they had a pretty girl in there with a sample table setup for Hotel Tango products. I've seen it on the shelves but never bothered with it. Can't say I have ever been a rye drinker, but I decided to try that and for what its worth I really liked it so I bought a bottle. I haven't cracked it open yet but since it's going to rain all weekend I'm sure to test drive a few glasses.

 

[noboundaries]

The 51% rye in the WT 101 Rye added a complexity to the whiskey that I'd been missing in bourbons, which are 51%+ corn.

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try them.

Ray

 

[Steve H]

Coming home from work yesterday. And stopped at the local liquor store . And they had a tasting booth set up.

I'm not a fan of scotch. But When asked if I'd like to try it. I couldn't say no. The lady was very pretty! Now, since I don't drink it. I can't compare it to other brands. But I was quite impressed with the flavor. And at 30.00 a 750 ml. The price seemed fair enough. The little copper flak is cool too. She said that was how it got its name.

 

[Brokenhandle]

Coming home from work yesterday. And stopped at the local liquor store . And they had a tasting booth set up.

View attachment 676791

I'm not a fan of scotch. But When asked if I'd like to try it. I couldn't say no. The lady was very pretty! Now, since I don't drink it. I can't compare it to other brands. But I was quite impressed with the flavor. And at 30.00 a 750 ml. The price seemed fair enough. The little copper flak is cool too. She said that was how it got its name.

Sure glad you're not a pretty lady Steve... you enable us enough already!

Ryan

 

[Steve H]

Sure glad you're not a pretty lady Steve... you enable us enough already!

Ryan

Yeah. I know. I do enough damage already!!

 

[bill1]

This thread has been sleeping a few months. Time to give it some CPR.

Last year, I bought a 50ml bottle of Balcones Rye. I was NOT a fan, but it may have been too much for a rye newbie. Today, I bought a bottle of Wild Turkey 101 Rye because I'm a fan of regular WT 101, but still a rye newbie.

I know WT 101 Rye is barely rye at 51%, but I'm now a huge fan. To me, it's like sipping a spiced Chrismas cake with a long finish. I love the nose, too.

I had a former writer friend who said she LOVED Rye whiskey. Today, I got a hint why she felt that way. Time to explore more rye options.

Ray

I'm with you Ray. I tried ryes before and didn't care for them so went back to wheat and corn bourbons. But someone gave me a Bulleit rye shot the other night and it was pretty good. And I'm a VERY long-time WT101 fan (that's about all I drank for ~15yrs when I was younger) so I'll be keeping an eye peeled for their rye. Thanks!

 

[noboundaries]

I want to try Old Forester Rye, but it is out of stock locally until November unless I want to pay a premium. I don't. It has a 65% rye, 20% malted barley, 15% corn mash bill. My plan is to fool my tastebuds by sneaking up on the higher rye whiskies over time.

That Balcones I mentioned earlier was 100% rye and only aged 15 months. Too much and too young for me, at the time.

 

[PulledPorkSandwich]

I want to try Old Forester Rye, but it is out of stock locally until November unless I want to pay a premium. I don't. It has a 65% rye, 20% malted barley, 15% corn mash bill. My plan is to fool my tastebuds by sneaking up on the higher rye whiskies over time.

That Balcones I mentioned earlier was 100% rye and only aged 15 months. Too much and too young for me, at the time.

Old Forester is very good, and affordable too. It's always available here in the DFW area for less than $30. Very sweet with a nice rye spice.

I've developed a fondness for Michter's Rye. It's between $40 and $50 in my area. A sip of it brought back memories of a Snicker's bar. They had a bottle at a hotel bar in Minneapolis. I ordered a double shot neat and really enjoyed it -- except they charged me $50!

Bulleit rye is especially good in a Manhattan. It has a very high rye content in the mash bill. I get orange notes when sipping it, and it is very "rye spicy"

 

[Dive Bar Casanova]

Blantons.
At one time widely available but since Covid bar owners tell it’s tough to get.

It may be regional shortages. Friends back east say widely available.

Late night sitting at a 100+ year old bar out in the desert a cowboy came in and bought me a shot.
Good stuff.
Last bottle and the owner says he still is waiting on his order 4 years later.

 

[Dive Bar Casanova]

Is there anything to the oak bbl Whisky tale that’s secured on the deck of a ship to be exposed to the salt air and rocked and rolled for a long spell?

 

[mneeley490]

View attachment 677156Is there anything to the oak bbl Whisky that’s secured on the deck of a ship to be exposed to the salt air and rocked and rolled for a long spell?

I've had it, even once visited the distillery where it's made. Not impressed with the Ocean, especially at the price point.

 

[mneeley490]

Blantons.
At one time widely available but since Covid bar owners tell it’s tough to get.

It may be regional shortages. Friends back east say widely available.

Late night sitting at a 100+ year old bar out in the desert a cowboy came in and bought me a shot.
Good stuff.
Last bottle and the owner says he still is waiting on his order 4 years later.
View attachment 677150

Cool bar, there.
Blanton's is the Unicorn in my area, PNW. It rarely comes around and when it does, only a few stores will get it, and that's only a bottle or two which are quickly gone.
That said, I still have 2-1/2 bottles. One I bought on the secondary market for $100, and another I traded for an unopened bottle of 1943 Mumm's champagne.

 

[PulledPorkSandwich]

View attachment 677156Is there anything to the oak bbl Whisky that’s secured on the deck of a ship to be exposed to the salt air and rocked and rolled for a long spell?

I kind of doubt that the salt air and rocking and rolling contribute much to the flavor, but I note that this is a "wheated" bourbon, which means wheat replaces rye in the mash bill. A wheated bourbon tastes very different to me than a "normal" bourbon. You don't get any rye spice and the wheat contributes a bit of sweetness. Makers Mark is another wheated bourbon that's widely available.

 

[mneeley490]

I kind of doubt that the salt air and rocking and rolling contribute much to the flavor...

The way they explained the process at the distillery was that normally the liquid just sits in the barrel maturing. When it's rocking on the boat, it's sloshing around inside, making more contact with the toasted oak inside the barrel, and theoretically absorbing more flavor. Their first experiment was onboard too long, and when they got it back the bourbon was pitch black and undrinkable.

 

[Dive Bar Casanova]

My mom worked for Walt Disney and they'd go across the street from the Hyperion studio and have lunch at the Tam O' Shanter. Walt ordered a Scotch Mist with Buchanan's.

You can still visit the Tam'O Shanter, sit in their same booth and once again Buchanan's is available,, or was last visit.

Great Prime Rib at reasonable prices BTW. Excellent bar where you can "drink your way around Scotland."

 

[Dive Bar Casanova]

Speaking of Whisky.
I bought a Jack Daniels salesman’s glass at a Jack Kiosk at Knotts Berry Farm.

It was imperfect so if you filled water to the imperfection spot, it would form a meniscus thus you could pour Jack in and it would float on top the water.

I gave the glass to a cute bartender and she bets Jack and water customers she can “float Jack on water .” She wins and collects the bets.

I love good bartender & servers tricks.
There was a bartender at the D casino Jack and Stoli bar in Vegas. He could take a normal drinking straw, throw it horizontal 6 to 10 feet down the bar, it would loop around return back and he’d catch it in the glass.

On our last cruise we never figured out how our bartender/servers jumping napkin trick worked. Seems obvious at first but watch to the very end.

 

[noboundaries]

My plan is to fool my tastebuds by sneaking up on the higher rye whiskies over time.

Well, that plan went out the window. Picked up a bottle of Bulleit Rye today (95% rye MGP juice), $19.99. Yep. It's a keeper. Less sweet (my preference) and drinks easy neat. Gotta be careful.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

I got a hold of a bottle of Buffalo Trace. Was OK for sipping but makes really good Old Fashion.

 

[noboundaries]

Educational info on rye whiskey.

As I was researching rye whiskies, I kept seeing a common source, MGP out of Indiana. The price of their 95% rye mashbill from various "bottlers" varied widely. Age ranged from 2 years to 10+, and proof ranged from 86 to barrel strength. I found the following chart interesting when it came to a spend.