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I have put so many people on Captain and Coke
Tastes like Vanilla coke
Try it
Tastes like Vanilla coke
Try it
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This man knows where it is at. He left off a couple other bourbons that I enjoy, I from KY so I'm kind of partial to bourbon. If you head down the bourbon trail definitely try Woodford Reserve. I like my bourbon on the rocks and for me it's my favorite that way. Another brand that's not bad for the price is Ridgemont Reserve 1792. Pretty smooth, and good on the rocks. Not quite as expensive as Woodford but in the same ball park. Eagle Reserve isn't bad in that price range. And after you try the stuff and get hooked on it, then move up to the $40-50 range like like Mojo said, but be sure to check out Bookers'. It's fantastic, but I wouldn't recommend starting out with it.
Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD) is an Independent Bottler based in Bardstown, Kentucky. While KBD has been in the process of renovating the old Willett Distillery, until recently it had not been doing any distillation. The company’s model has centered on sourcing choice barrels from other distilleries for bottling under their many labels. After the first of the year KBD was able to crank up the still at the distillery, and I sure hope to see some of their own distillate coming out soon. Until then…….
One of their more popular products is the Willett Family Reserve line of longer aged bourbons. The subject of this review is the 8 year old version. The source distillery is unknown and the folks from KBD would probably have to take out all of my taste buds one by one (a fate worse than death) if they told me. Here are my thoughts….
Willett Single Barrel Bourbon (8 Year) , Barrel #305, 64.15% abv (128.30 Proof), $50
Color: Deep Mahogany
Nose: Baked banana, smoky caramel, sorghum syrup, vanilla, cocoa, flint and roasted nuts.
Palate: This is brooding whiskey – molasses, toffee, dark chocolate caramels, bitter espresso, and heavily toasted bread. There is a good bit of waxiness as well. In spite of the deep dark flavors, this whiskey does not drink it’s proof. I would have guessed something around 100-105 – it hides it very well.
Finish: Huge finish with cocoa, coffee, toffee and more of the wood spices than were present on the palate (clove and cinnamon in spades). There’s a nice interplay between bitter and sweet.
Overall: What a fantastic whiskey! This is “end of a great meal” whiskey that could easily substitute for a well balanced dessert. Intense, sweet, bitter, solidly spiced, and interestingly smoky. I loved it from start to finish. At $50 it’s certainly not inexpensive, but considering the proof it is a tremendous value. Without hesitation, this can go toe to toe with the big boys from the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. One note of caution – as mentioned in the opener, KBD sources these barrels. I can only imagine their program focuses in some way on consistency and flavor profile, but it’s still a single barrel product. As a result I would expect some variation. Please note that I’ll continue tasting some additional barrels and will post my thoughts and updates as I try them. Even considering the potential for variance, I highly recommend you give this one a try.
Sour Mash Manifesto Rating: 9.4 (Superb/Outstanding)
just drink that cheap stuff while you're still in college because once you're out, people start fronting like they never had a taste of charcoal filtered booze in their life.
Keep that empty bottle of Kettle One/Ciroc/Grey Goose/etc, buy a handle of bottom shelf generic, poor into previously mentioned empty bottle, mix with any Red Punch, invite the females, wave bottle around, gather yambs. Rinse and Repeat
Maker's Mark
Woodford Reserve
I love Booker's. I don't live that far from Kentucky, so I tend to visit the bourbon trail somewhat often. Of all of the bourbons I have tried the Willett Family Reserve 8 yr is my current favorite. Sadly, I've learned that this bourbon, along with other Willetts, aren't available in a lot of areas. Here is a review from the Sour Mash Manifesto.
Why only one type per year? Its a whole year
A shot of this taste just like big red bubblegum..and it's cheap as hell x
Gonna try this next weekBeginners? Jameson and ginger ale....if you want to go a step up Johnny Walker Black, no ice for me though.
I plan on getting some and I'll let you know my man.just do the 1738 and thank me later
I'm DEFINITELY thinking about it. My moms has some Courvoisier XO and she loves it. I told her Remy XO probably tastes better and she got mad at me for even mentioning drinking to herRemy Martin XO. Worth the $$$
Jameson is a very easy drinking Whiskey to start with if you dont have a ton of experience with any whiskey. Other Irish whiskeys are also good like Tullamore Dew or Bushmills (although, I dont drink Bushmills... that is Protestant Whiskey, i kid i kid). Once you develop a taste for Irish and you want to take a step up, check out Red Breast. I am a dedicated Jameson drinker (I always try to keep atleast 1 bottle of Jameson, Jameson Reserve, and Jameson 18 in the house at all time) but man oh man that Red Breast is some good stuff.
Scotch is more of an acquired taste IMO. Some people get turned off by the smokiness of it. With scotch, there really is a wide range of flavor profiles based on the region in which it was produced. I dont really have a palate for scotch yet so I tend to drink some of the lower to mid range stuff like Chivas, JW Black, or Glenmorangie. The only exception is JW Blue which I drink often, mostly because my dad keeps cases of it and will always kick me down a couple of bottles when I stop by my parents house.
Bourbon is slowly becoming my new favorite whiskey. I havent been messin with Bourbon on a regular basis for that long, maybe only the last 3 years or so. On the cheaper end of the spectrum you cant go wrong with Bulleit. When I dont have Bulleit, I will usually default to something like Makers Mark. Once you develop a taste for Bourbon and are looking for a step up in quality, you can find some very tasty bottles in the $40-50 range. Some folks like Basil Hayden which is OK, not necesarily my favorite or go to. My pick for a mid-tier bourbon is Blantons. If I could afford it, this would be my daily drinker. Unfortunately I usually go through a 750ML in about 3-4 days (weekdays, weekends are a different story), so it would be quite a dent to my wallet to be drinking this stuff daily. My Holy Grail for my liquor cabinet is Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 20 year and 23 year. The problem is, its very difficult to find as it isnt mass produced. Pappy is like the Air Yeezy II's of the Bourbon world.
Cases of it though? Granted it's not some crazy expensive stuff, but at anywhere from $130-$200+ for a bottle, keeping cases.
This man knows his whiskeys though.
One of my recent favorites has been Whistlepig. Got put up on it by a buddy of mine, and started seeing it around at some bars around LA. It's a rye whiskey from Vermont of all places, strongly recommend giving it a try.
This & Whiskey Sours.
I got a case of some blue, you should take a couple bottles home.
A case of JW blue? **** it like $300 a bottle. I use to be a JW homer till I tried Glenlivet.. Havent gone back since.
Cases of it though? Granted it's not some crazy expensive stuff, but at anywhere from $130-$200+ for a bottle, keeping cases.
This man knows his whiskeys though.
One of my recent favorites has been Whistlepig. Got put up on it by a buddy of mine, and started seeing it around at some bars around LA. It's a rye whiskey from Vermont of all places, strongly recommend giving it a try.
hahahahaha my dad is a somewhat functioning alcoholic and has been as long as i've been alive (30+ years). he was like hey son, check it out, I got a case of some blue, you should take a couple bottles home. I said why would you buy a case? he said, because its on sale and im gonna drink it all eventually (cant argue with that). Then I look over at my mother and she got the stoneface x smh killer combo goin.
Where do you stay where it's $300? Around here (LA) it averages around $170-$220, and some of the Asian shops can run as low as $130 when it's on sale.A case of JW blue? **** it like $300 a bottle. I use to be a JW homer till I tried Glenlivet.. Havent gone back since.