Help Me Figure Out What I Like

9outof10mms

9outof10mms

Enginerding, good coffee, and factual opinions.
2A Bourbon Hound 2024
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I’m cautiously sticking a toe into the Bourbon/Whisky waters. After being gifted a couple bottles over the past few years, I’ve purchased a couple trying to dial in a taste.

I *think* I prefer wheated bourbon over rye as I feel like it’s more smooth. No sting/bite.

A friend sent me a bottle of Stranahans from CO. It was sharp…a bit powerful.

I was gifted a bottle of Glenlevet Nadurna (I know it’s Scotch). Again, a bit spicy/strong.

I tried a bottle of Frey Ranch straight bourbon as they are using my last name. https://freyranch.com/
Not bad—less sting than the previous mentions. A little pricey with shipping.

I can’t sit here and spout flavors of vanilla, cigars, or wood.

While in KY last month, a friend asked us to pick up a bottle of Wellers Reserve. A few of the stores we hit basically laughed us out of the store when I asked if they had it. Apparently it sells out quick. We eventually found a hole-in-the-wall place that had it (very classy drive-thru establishment). $80 for a regular bottle, $140 for a giant one. My friend wanted the giant one. Before I knew what was happening, the wife had a regular bottle rung up for us.

I cracked it open when we got home and DAYUM! That stuff is like candy! No sting, good flavor.

Do I just have an expensive pallet or what?!
 
My mother is a big bourbon fan. Her go to, old faithful, is Makers Mark. It's not cheap, but won't brake the bank either. It's generally all round smooth, somewhat strong flavored, but not over powering.

Edit to add, when I saw the title I checked to see if this was posted in the basement.
 
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Benenhiem
 
The range of flavors in bourbon whiskey is literally all over the map.

And it doesn’t matter whether you spend a ton or a little you can find great bourbon for not that much money and you can find horrible bourbon for a lot of money.

If you like milder flavor, which if you’re just starting out you probably will, I highly recommend Colonel EH Taylor. $40-60 a bottle but hard to find.

It is hands down my favorite bourbon.

Buffalo trace in non ABC states is about $25 a bottle and it’s really good.

Blantons, if you can find it is another smooth one but more expensive.

Jefferson’s ocean I have used to ruin a lot of people new to bourbon. If you get one of the Caribbean voyages it is so smooth you won’t even know you’ve been drinking.

And feel free to send me the rest of that Nadura. Love glen livet and the nadura is really interesting. If you serve it over a large ice cube, it actually turns cloudy as the ice melts.
 
amnesia said:
Benenhiem
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Yep. That’s a great wheated.

@KnotRight brought me a couple bottles IIRC of crown royal wheated a couple years ago. Some kind of holiday special. And it was fantastic.

Edit: Yep the winter wheat noble collection.

Man that stuff has gone up in price.

IMG_6298.jpeg
 
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So am I correct in generalizing wheated stuff is smoother than rye?
 
Chdamn said:
Jefferson’s ocean I have used to ruin a lot of people new to bourbon. If you get one of the Caribbean voyages it is so smooth you won’t even know you’ve been drinking.
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To me, Jefferson’s ocean tasted like smooth bourbon with an aftertaste of fish. Didn’t care for it.

A lot of folks like Whistle Pig too, but I’ve tried a couple and didn’t like them.

@9outof10mms if you liked scotch, get a small bottle of Johnny Walker blue label. By small, I mean the single serving bottles. It’s really good, but kind of like vanilla in that your tastes will desensitize to it after a little bit.
 
Sure enough. For the folks that have a palate that prefer the "wheated" bourbons (such as myself) Weller Special is where it's at as a daily drinker.

Oddly enough, it's not actually that expensive. It's the "bottom" of all the Weller offerings. Problem is location and availability. It's only the scarcity of certain bottles in certain locations that drives the price up. Get off the beaten path in Texas for example WSR is often on the bottom shelf and it's only around $28 per fifth and $38 for the "big" bottle (1.75L).

I do a lot of trading and surf the "secondary market" and $80 per for a fifth is about right, although if you work the FaceBook groups hard you can pick up the WSR for about $50 per bottle somewhat regularly. I've bought WSR in South Carolina for $50 a pop but you have to get a good ways off the beaten path.

When I have an itch for a strong wheater but don't want to hit the WSR I go to Bernheim as mentioned above. Or even regular Makers Mark or Makers 46.
 
9outof10mms said:
So am I correct in generalizing wheated stuff is smoother than rye?
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Yes

Some of us experience an almost "heartburn type feel" from rye whiskeys, myself included.

Has nothing to do with proof.

I can sit here all day long and drink Stagg (Jr.) at 133 proof and since it's heavier on wheat vs. rye to me it does not feel "hot".

Invigorating, but not hot.
 
thrillhill said:
Sure enough. For the folks that have a palate that prefer the "wheated" bourbons (such as myself) Weller Special is where it's at as a daily drinker.

Oddly enough, it's not actually that expensive. It's the "bottom" of all the Weller offerings. Problem is location and availability. It's only the scarcity of certain bottles in certain locations that drives the price up. Get off the beaten path in Texas for example WSR is often on the bottom shelf and it's only around $28 per fifth and $38 for the "big" bottle (1.75L).

I do a lot of trading and surf the "secondary market" and $80 per for a fifth is about right, although if you work the FaceBook groups hard you can pick up the WSR for about $50 per bottle somewhat regularly. I've bought WSR in South Carolina for $50 a pop but you have to get a good ways off the beaten path.

When I have an itch for a strong wheater but don't want to hit the WSR I go to Bernheim as mentioned above. Or even regular Makers Mark or Makers 46.
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The shop that we eventually found Wellers in KY had 5 or 6 variants. I wasn’t sure which my friend wanted so I shot from the hip and said “how much for that one?” $400!!! I forget what color the label was…maybe yellow? We bought the green label at $80.
 
thrillhill said:
Yes

Some of us experience an almost "heartburn type feel" from rye whiskeys, myself included.

Has nothing to do with proof.

I can sit here all day long and drink Stagg (Jr.) at 133 proof and since it's heavier on wheat vs. rye to me it does not feel "hot".

Invigorating, but not hot.
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Yes—the heartburn feeling is not enjoyable. That’s what I mean by “spicy.” No thanks.
 
9outof10mms said:
The shop that we eventually found Wellers in KY had 5 or 6 variants. I wasn’t sure which my friend wanted so I shot from the hip and said “how much for that one?” $400!!! I forget what color the label was…maybe yellow? We bought the green label at $80.
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Yeah, make no mistake, just because I said it's the "bottom" of the Weller offerings, I ABSOLUTLEY love it! And even though I have had a total of 4 out of their 7 or so offerings, it is my favorite to drink on the "daily" and if I could only have one bourbon the rest of my life I'd be pretty happy with the "green label" WSR.

The black label is the Weller 12 (year old). I'm on my second bottle of it, but it's not a "daily". Special occasion only.

The blue label, the Weller Full Proof is pretty dang awesome too. I could probably drink it daily as well but I've only had one bottle and it came out of Missouri at $250 4 years ago. It can be pretty hard to get.

I actually dislike the red label, the Weller Antique 107 and have traded off 3 or 4 bottles over the past 4 years. Since I don't like it of course it's the one I find most often, at retail in NC for around $50-60. I usually just trade it to someone who does like it for Blanton's or something like that.

I don't care where WSR ranks in the lineup, it's special to me. But of course, palates vary and there is most often no right or wrong in that regard.
 
9outof10mms said:
I’m cautiously sticking a toe into the Bourbon/Whisky waters. After being gifted a couple bottles over the past few years, I’ve purchased a couple trying to dial in a taste.

I *think* I prefer wheated bourbon over rye as I feel like it’s more smooth. No sting/bite.

A friend sent me a bottle of Stranahans from CO. It was sharp…a bit powerful.

I was gifted a bottle of Glenlevet Nadurna (I know it’s Scotch). Again, a bit spicy/strong.

I tried a bottle of Frey Ranch straight bourbon as they are using my last name. https://freyranch.com/
Not bad—less sting than the previous mentions. A little pricey with shipping.

I can’t sit here and spout flavors of vanilla, cigars, or wood.

While in KY last month, a friend asked us to pick up a bottle of Wellers Reserve. A few of the stores we hit basically laughed us out of the store when I asked if they had it. Apparently it sells out quick. We eventually found a hole-in-the-wall place that had it (very classy drive-thru establishment). $80 for a regular bottle, $140 for a giant one. My friend wanted the giant one. Before I knew what was happening, the wife had a regular bottle rung up for us.

I cracked it open when we got home and DAYUM! That stuff is like candy! No sting, good flavor.

Do I just have an expensive pallet or what?!
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I would recommend that you try CONVICTION local Nc company
 
My aunt enjoys a sip of rye shes old school and it's for medicinal purpose. Myself i don't like rye. I don't care for the peppery bite rye gives. I don't mind if there is a little rye in the grain bill but don't like a predominant rye mash. One of my favorite store bought liquors is Jim beam black. 27 bucks a fifth and for a regular ol shelf liquor it's got a good taste and smooth.
 


Alternatively, you could drink something that tastes good.
 
JBoyette said:
Dude,
You quoted " @pinkbunny " on not being a girly man?

Lol

John
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I mean, to be fair, I am a teetotaler who lives vicariously through others drunkeness, so it's even worse.
Username: I was 12, my grandad wanted me to move his screensaver from one computer to another, and I couldn't think of a yahoo email account to make to email the file. It was their porch, so I picked items in the room.
Nowadays, in cybersecurity, it chaps insecure people more to be pwned by someone with a girly name.
:p
 
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Woodford is a common go to for a reason. Reasonably priced. I like Michter’s for a couple $ more. Simple drinkers that are pretty good. But as said above there are tons of options. Just start buying sale bottles and try a bunch. You’ll find one that is your happy place.
 
CZfool68 said:
Just start buying sale bottles and try a bunch. You’ll find one that is your happy place.
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That’s not really a bad idea. Just go buy some smaller bottles of stuff and give it a try. Worst that happens is you hate it bad enough to pour down the drain and try something else, but that’s not too likely. Except, that’s what my mother did with a large glass of my expensive mead I bought. They came for a visit, wanted some alcohol, poured a big glass of my mead from the fridge, poured it down the drain and went to the ABC store. Man was I pissed.
 
"Smooth" is a highly subjective term. Alcohol burns when you drink it unless you mix it with something, there's no getting around that. Another person's subjective tolerance for that burn can't really translate to you.

Buy flights at restaurants and take notes.

I'm a total sucker for rum cask finished whiskey. It adds a tiny sweetness that really helps iron out the burn.
 
Berheims isn’t bad. Definitely a contender for $35. Not as good as Wellers, but in the same family tree. Very little burn. Dare I say I tasted vanilla???

Appreciate the suggestion. Now off to dream funny things with this buzz!
 
I went to the ABC store in Siler City the other day, and didn’t see any of these brands mentioned. :(
 
Definitely give 2A bourbon a try! I also really like Ezra Brooks.... But I would take my opinion with a grain of salt.
 
My suggestion is to make note of the distillery that makes the products you try. You might find a trend that you prefer some distilleries' products over others in general. I am a bit partial to Heaven Hill products. That being said, look around for a bottle of Michter's Unblended American Whiskey. It is not in every store, but it is pretty readily available if you look around a bit. It is a very high quality product that has a lower proof and less "burn", but it still has plenty of flavor. Also, try putting just a few drops (3-4) of distilled water in your whiskey to open up the flavors just a bit.

Screenshot_20240506-222702.png
 
Henry McKenna 10 Year Bottled in Bond
Old Forester 1897
Old Forester 1924

A lot of bourbons are held to make them less available and more popular in my opinion: Buffalo Trace, Blantons, Eagle Rare, and Wellers. Lots of bourbons like these above are equally good and available. I don’t drink much but have a small collection of higher end stuff.
 
I have a couple different bottles and every day is different in what I want to pour. There is a lot of good suggestion here. There are a couple that I will always have besides the everyday bottles.

Maker Mark 101 Around $55
Flat Boat $25 - Sleeper - Compare to Buffalo Trace - Same company
Elijah Craig $30
Wild Turkey 101 $35
Maker Mark Double Oak $55
Old Forester 1910 $55
Old Forester 1920 $60

If you ever around Savannah, you are welcome to come try some.
 
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I just saw an article that said Old Forester 1920 was named best something something.
 
Woodford Double Oaked is my person favorite followed by Eagle Rare.

Buffalo Trace family of Whiskey is my typical favorites.

For hotter whiskey, Bakers 7, Stagg Jr and Bookers is where my pallet sits for 100+ proof.

Any bad whiskey to me is just a mixer whiskey after that lol.
 
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