(Part 2) Best products from r/bourbon

I hate to be that guy that says "Read the fuckin sticky", but, the bourbon guide is very very good here, and I used it when I ventured here from scotch land. Check it out on the sidebar, or just click here!

I like /u/rebo2's idea of getting smaller bottles to try and do a taste test, but i would definitely suggest going through the guide and start off by getting Buffalo Trace, Bulleit, and Maker's Mark, in that order. Make sure that by the time you buy your third bottle, you still have some left over in each of the other two bottles so you can compare. Setup a night where you can taste all 3 back to back to back. This will give you a chance to really compare the difference between low rye, high rye, and wheated bourbons. There is a reason why these 3 are recommended for beginners, you get a really great base for tasting everything else in Bourbon land.

My personal favorites of commonly purchasable items, Buffalo Trace, Makers, Wild Turkey 101, Jim Beam Black (far superior to the white label), Four Roses small batch, Elijah Craig 12, Eagle Rare, and Old Weller Antique 107.

For the Rye Whiskey, Sazerac Rye, High West Rendezvous Rye, Bulleit Rye, and Rittenhouse. I need to try a few more ryes to be honest, but i love the spicy flavors they have.

Invest in some real glassware, get some old fashioned glasses at least, and when you are ready get some Glencairn glasses. You can find them relatively inexpensive on Amazon, I linked the Glencairn set I purchased.

Read /u/texacer guide on reviewing whiskey. Also, watch this Highland Park video on nosing and tasting. These both helped me tremendously for appreciating and learning how to nose and taste whiskey. There is a ton of great info in both links.

Hope this helps, good luck and ask away any questions on this sub, I have found that this is my favorite sub here on Reddit, everyone is super awesome here. Remember, whiskey is best shared with friends, so bring some friends with you on your journey if you can.

Inspired by /u/HerpDerpinAtWork 's post on his Staggerac and also recently by /u/NJWhiskeyHunter 's comments about making a Thomas Handy Sazerac, I thought I would go a little mental with the most balls to the wall rye cocktail I could think of.

I'll admit I'm not an expert at cocktails but I like to consider myself a professional amateur. I've made a lot of manhattans in my days though and stuck to my standard recipe with this one:

• 2 oz rye
  
• ⅔ oz sweet vermouth
  
• Several dashes of Angostura bitters
  
  Add ingredients and some ice to a mixing glass. Stir. Strain into a cocktail glass. Add a lemon expression. Drop in a marinated cherry.
  
  That's it. Pretty classic, I believe. A few notes - I'm heavily partial to Yarai mixing glasses. I usually prefer Punt e Mes Vermouth but Carpano Antica was what I had on hand and it's arguably just as good or better. I also had Luxardo cherries on hand so I used those as well. They aren't cheap but I like them as a nice treat at the end of the cocktail.
  
  So the real question - how does it taste? Well, it's interesting. It's bolder than any other manhattan I've ever had and that should be expected. It's boozy. Almost too boozy. Maybe I should have cut back on the rye ratio given the batshit crazy proof here. I dunno. It's really good but I don't think I will be using any more of my boss hogg for cocktails any time soon.

Here is a recent blind tasting I hosted. I've got 36 of these because they're cheaper than glencarins, have lids, a good shape (wide bottom, focused nose), and can be used for other things. I wouldn't bother with the '33 Whiskeys' book, they'll probably just end up gathering dust. Have a lot of water ready. Cheese, crackers, cured meats, sliced apples, honey, nuts, and maybe some salmon are all good palate cleansers (and, you know, just good). For whiskeys I would say: BT, Larceny, add EC as /u/21st_amen suggested, and I would throw something else in there with a dramatically different profile (some approachable scotch so you can talk about the differences). After going through the four you can open things up to your collection and/or cocktails depending on their preferences. I've never charged for any of my tastings; maybe have them bring the cheese/crackers etc.?

I love hosting tastings and the best piece of advice is to make sure people feel comfortable. There are a lot of perceptions about whiskey and even more about "tastings." Just make sure your guests know it doesn't really matter what they taste--there are a million variables that go into what each person experiences and there isn't a right or wrong, just focus on what you like or don't like and enjoy themselves. Good luck!

Old Forester was originally bottled in 1870 by George Garvin Brown, a pharmaceutical salesman from Louisville, making it the first Kentucky Bourbon to be sold in glass bottles. Bourbon whisky was seen as having curative, as well as recreational powers during the American Restoration, so pharmacies were largely the primary source of distribution.

Today's New York Times reminded me of Brown and the world in which his whisky lived, and thought it was about time I review one of my all-time favorites: Old Forester 86’er.


Tasted neat, in a Glencairn glass, 43% abv.


Color: Light brown to dark straw, with thin, quick tears.

Nose: Mellow, sweet, nutty, floral, with a dusty charcoal finish. Nice.

Mouthfeel: Light, but static. Not much bloom through the chew.

Palate: Bright acidity right away, with a healthy dash of cinnamon almonds quick to follow-up. The spice settles heavily on the sides of the tongue, and banana & caramel notes waft above, on the roof of the mouth.

Finish: The texture may be thin, but there is concrete-hard spice right in the jowls for a dozen minutes, with a wispy smattering of sweet rolls and bananas balancing it out. The banana slowly turns into an artificial vanilla extract hangover, which is fairly unpleasant, but not a killer.

Overall: The spice and charcoal notes provide a steady, earthy base for some of the fruitier and sweeter notes to rest on. There seems to be an overall lack of finesse however, as this dram fails to develop any complexity on the palate and finish. Very balanced and straightforward, and a personal favorite of my early bourbon days.

Score: 83/100

Edit: I forgot to give credit to a source for the information about Brown, so check out Bourbon: A History of the American Spirit, by Dane Huckelbridge, my favorite book about the history of America's spirit.

You don't get all those flavors at once either. You'll get the standard "bourbon" taste up front, then as you hold it and maybe chew it a little, you notice some caramel. Then on the 2nd, 3rd, or 12th taste you notice some oak astringency or some brown sugar.

I don't get nearly all the subtleties that others do, but that's OK, I still enjoy it and try to give it the best description I can. I like to use the 33 Whiskies booklets to help identify flavors and how strong or light they are.

Hello everyone! Just got a job at a liquor store (partly thanks to the information learned from the folks here at r/bourbon) so what better way to celebrate than with a review? Here goes my first:

Four Roses Single Barrel

I only bought the mini but the 750mL bottle sells for $42.99 USD. Bottled at 50% ABV and has a mash bill of 60% corn, 35% rye and 5% malted barley. No Age statement. Can't seem to find information on the barrel from the mini's label.

• Appearance: golden orange
  
• Nose: fairly powerful alcohol that gets toned down with a hint of water, sweet corn, lemonade, orange peel, caramel
  
• Palate: medium body, raspberry candy, hint of licorice and caramel
  
• Finish: very long with rye spiciness and slightly soapy bitterness
  
  Very intense overall and takes a little time to appreciate its in-your-face nature. This intensity, most apparent on the nose, made discerning different notes difficult. The initial taste is surprisingly easy with a burst of what tastes like [Altoids sour rasberry candies] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001IZ5LKA) after you've sucked the sour powder off of them. This quickly gives way to a strong alcohol burn that turns into one of the longest finishes I've encountered in a bourbon. To me it was less woody and had less vanilla than most bourbons which is odd considering how most reviewers pick up on those notes. Perhaps this barrel is happens to be different. In summary this is quite a good whiskey, especially if you like high rye content bourbons. Pick up a bottle if you can afford it.
  
  Score: 90/100

These Reidel Bourbon glasses cost a bit, but they're totally great. They're not suitable if you like to add ice, but they're perfect for straight bourbon with or without a splash of water.

Honestly if I'm doing anything more rugged than car camping, I just bring a flask.

These are good for backpacking, lightweight and they collapse.

This one is great, it holds quite a bit more than your standard 8oz flask. And the blue cap pops off to act as a kind of cup. I guess it doesn't help a lot if you're trying to drink with more than one person. Bonus points it will fit in your sock and get past metal detectors ;)

Otherwise maybe just go with some of those disposable shot glasses you can get for parties? I have a pack that I've brought along if a lot of people might want to take little tasters of. Like this

I mostly drink from rocks glasses myself, especially with bourbon but if you're looking to get him something special that isn't an expensive bottle then a glencairn is certainly the way to go. If he likes to drink on the rocks and doesn't have any whisky stones yet, he might appreciate those as well.

Definitely pick up some Glencairn glasses. The glass really helps you get the nose just right, plus it looks dope.


In terms of a best bourbon under $100, there's a lot of choices, but I think a lot of people around here will recommend Four Roses Single Barrel and/or Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (if you can find it) as fantastic bourbons that won't kill your wallet.

I use the exact same OXO 2oz measuring cup, but I have the stainless steel version. Same difference. I use it for almost all of my cocktail measuring as it is easy to read, easy to use, and easy to clean. Only time I use my other measuring devices is when that one is dirty...

here's the link to the stainless one http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Steel-Angled-Measuring-Jigger/dp/B00B6LUAPW/ref=pd_sim_k_10?ie=UTF8&refRID=172EY2R4X5REZ6F9VNVW

My wife and I are coffee people as well so we weigh everything with a .1 resolution scale from American weight ~$20on amazon. When drinking Stag i usually calculate various proofs so I can come back to the taste I loved or discard proofs from before. Purchasing a good kitchen scale is truly an investment. From bourbon to coffee to baking. Sitting down with a dram of whiskey with some homemade creme brûlée is life changing. But as others have said it's all preference i just like being able to calculate my preference and return or change easily.

It was a gift, but they are sold on Amazon and the official glencairn site. It is called a cut crystal glencairn. Wonderful glass, great weight, though a little pricey.


https://www.amazon.com/Glencairn-Crystal-Whisky-Tasting-Glass/dp/B016YJ0SA2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542042696&sr=8-1&keywords=crystal+cut+glencairn

In case anybody was wondering, the chart is from this book. I was recently given a copy as a gift and it's been a pretty good read so far.

When do you need it for. This book is set to come out shortly, and looks pretty interesting. Chuck Cowdery's Bourbon Straight is generally well-regarded. I wouldn't recommend Mike Veach's Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey, though--it's a very slight book and certainly didn't tell me anything I didn't already know.

For a real-world recommendation, these are amazing for whiskey. The bend in the glass is right around 1.75 ounces, so measuring my pour is easy.

Sorry. Clay Risen is the author that wrote American Whiskey, Bourbon & Rye, mentioned in the OP. That one is a great resource and buying guide.

[Michael Jackson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jackson_(writer) has written several books on ales and spirits. I found The World Guide to Whisky to be an excellent resource.

I dont know of any up to date North America whiskey books b/c I haven't done the research. However I currently have this in my library and it is fantastic: Whiskey: The Definitive World Guide

I've had great luck with the Stanley Classic Flask. It doesn't leak or give my whiskey a weird taste. It's only 8oz, but maybe you could pack 2 of them?

https://www.amazon.com/Stanley-Classic-Flask-Black-Size/dp/B006D3PZV2

I enjoyed the heck out of this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Kings-County-Distillery-Guide-Moonshining/dp/1419709909

Let's have a little real talk. Are you a drinker or A DRINKER? When I'm taking a flask someplace it's because I plan to DRINK, possibly with a friend. Which means it needs to hold some volume. I have a couple of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Bormioli-Rocco-Fiaschetta-Glass-Pocket/dp/B0001UZOE6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413324422&sr=8-1&keywords=bormioli+flask

Glass = no rust.
8.5 ounces = enough for a couple of real drinks.
$7 = not gonna cry when you lose/break it.

I have a couple stainless flasks that were event giveaways, but my favorite option is to use glass since it doesn't have to be emptied after a couple days.

I have a few 200 and 375 ml hip flask bottles from old whiskey and rum purchases that I wash and reuse, but they also sell them in various sizes: https://www.amazon.com/Bormioli-Rocco-Pocket-Flask-Clear/dp/B0001UZOE6

If you do decide you want a book:

http://www.amazon.com/Whiskey-The-Definitive-World-Guide/dp/0789497107

https://www.amazon.com/Glencairn-Whisky-Glass-Set-4/dp/B003QX2JMA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1539377310&sr=8-3&keywords=glencairn+glasses+whiskey

Joey Magnus or some Glencairns. Even a Glencairn Tasting/Carrying Set.

http://www.amazon.com/Bormioli-Rocco-Fiaschetta-Glass-Pocket/dp/B0001UZOE6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427144099&sr=8-1&keywords=glass+flask

http://www.amazon.com/Bormioli-Rocco-389130MBB321990-Pocket-Flask/dp/B003R0GU0E/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1427144099&sr=8-3&keywords=glass+flask

http://www.amazon.com/Clear-Glass-Woozy-Bottles-12/dp/B00LYWDK00/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1427144142&sr=8-3&keywords=woozy+bottle

The Glencairn Cut Crystal Whisky Tasting Glass https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016YJ0SA2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_-1hnDbT0GV9NP