Bourbons

[CoventryCat86]

Hey CC,

I agree with most of what you said. You need to sample the Knob Creek again though. Toss a damn ice cube in it, ya damn curmudgeon. Or at least a whiskey stone.

Cool note on the Blantons. Don't throw away the stopper. Take a look at it. There's a letter on the bottom left behind the horse. The horse and rider are in a stage from standing to full gallop. (I'm doing this from memory, so the stages may be incorrect) There are a total of 8 different stoppers. Each with a different letter, and stage in going from standing to full gallop.

I'll give you one guess as to what the letters spell out. Pretty cool.

I actually just bought my brother a display for the bottle and stoppers. It's made from a half of the bottom or top of one of their charred whiskey barrels. They also send the wood shavings from the drilled holes for decoration, or (what I would use it for) smoking some meat on the Egg or grill.

Hope all is well!

ETA Just realized I quoted your post from Aug. Not the most recent. Above still stands....

Yeah, I know about the letters on the stoppers however, quite a few of the Blanton's customers do not though so thanks for mentioning it.

I have three bottles so far and each time I buy one, I make sure the letter on the stopper is one I don't already have. I heard an urban legend that one of the letters is supposedly hard to get. I also don't know if there are two different figures on the "N" since "BLANTON'S" is indeed eight letters but only seven unique letters. I guess I just have to pay real close attention to the Ns, LOL!

Bourbon has been my primary drink for a better part of this year and I have to say, the Hancock Reserve is my all around favorite. Bourbons are like cigars, they're all different from one another and one day I may be in the mood for the Elmer T. Lee (90 proof) and another day, I may want a lighter one like the Two Star. Overall though, my "go-to" is the Hancock Reserve.

EDIT: The Elmer T. Lee is 90 proof, not 107 as I posted incorrectly the first time, musta been drinking too much bourbon at the time, LOL!

[TheGreekTitan]

Yeah, I know about the letters on the stoppers however, quite a few of the Blanton's customers do not though so thanks for mentioning it.

I have three bottles so far and each time I buy one, I make sure the letter on the stopper is one I don't already have. I heard an urban legend that one of the letters is supposedly hard to get. I also don't know if there are two different figures on the "N" since "BLANTON'S" is indeed eight letters but only seven unique letters. I guess I just have to pay real close attention to the Ns, LOL!

Bourbon has been my primary drink for a better part of this year and I have to say, the Hancock Reserve is my all around favorite. Bourbons are like cigars, they're all different from one another and one day I may be in the mood for the Elmer T. Lee (107 proof) and another day, I may want a lighter one like the Two Star. Overall though, my "go-to" is the Hancock Reserve.

Ha! Yeah, I haven't done much research on it (and won't, because sometimes ignorance is bliss), but in regards to the "N", the horses posture (or gait?) is the way to distinguish. I have seen a picture an gold stoppper. Now, that would be an unicorn imo.

Pretty cold in Nova Scotia right now?

[Kenyth]

I picked up Michter's small batch American Whiskey. I'm not sure why this isn't described as a bourbon. It's very good.

Direct quote from an article:

"Bourbon needs to be produced in America and made from 51 percent corn, and whisky does not," says Maker's Mark Master Distiller Greg Davis. Bourbon also needs to be stored in new charred-oak barrels, whereas whiskey barrels do need to be oak but not new or charred. "Lastly, to be called bourbon, the liquid needs to be distilled to no more than 160 proof and entered into the barrel at 125." For other whiskies the liquid must be distilled to no more than 190 proof. David notes that this isn't just common practice — "it's actual bourbon law."


Perhaps it doesn't meet one or more of these standards?

[badwhale]

Direct quote from an article:

"Bourbon needs to be produced in America and made from 51 percent corn, and whisky does not," says Maker's Mark Master Distiller Greg Davis. Bourbon also needs to be stored in new charred-oak barrels, whereas whiskey barrels do need to be oak but not new or charred. "Lastly, to be called bourbon, the liquid needs to be distilled to no more than 160 proof and entered into the barrel at 125." For other whiskies the liquid must be distilled to no more than 190 proof. David notes that this isn't just common practice — "it's actual bourbon law."


Perhaps it doesn't meet one or more of these standards?

You're probably right. I didn't look up the mash bill on that second one.

[SPEEDRACER]

Recently scored bigtime on a couple of pretty rare bourbons. Found 2 bottles each of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, and Old Weller Antique 107! Bought them all, and shared with a fellow bourbon fan. The owner of that store also said he's pretty sure he can get his hands on a bottle of Old Forester Birthday for me too, I was pretty excited about that, but it's been a little over 2 weeks and I haven't heard back from him yet.

[CoventryCat86]

As I mentioned earlier, I have a bottle of the Old Weller Antique 107 as well, nice bourbon. Just last week, I bought a bottle of the W. L. Weller Special Reserve, 90 proof. Definitely a different bourbon, I like them both.

[SPEEDRACER]

Well, turns out the Old Forester Birthday was a flop... He says he never got that shipment. I've never had the W. L. Weller Special Reserve. I'll have to give it a shot.

[CoventryCat86]

The Old Forester's Birthday comes out every year on September 2nd. I wasn't aware of this special bourbon from Old Foresters last fall otherwise I would have had the spirits guy at my store look out for it for me.

Thanks for mentioning it, this year I'll keep an eye out for it this year.

I'm getting ready to drink some Two Stars (<clicky) this evening with a Padron 1926 #6 maduro.

[CoventryCat86]

Ha! Yeah, I haven't done much research on it (and won't, because sometimes ignorance is bliss), but in regards to the "N", the horses posture (or gait?) is the way to distinguish. I have seen a picture an gold stoppper. Now, that would be an unicorn imo.

Pretty cold in Nova Scotia right now?

TheGreeekTitan,

Sorry, I missed this earlier? Oh yeah, tooooooo cold up here in good ole N.S. The closest Total Wine store to me is Everett, MA. Flights are pretty cheap from Halifax to Boston on WestJet and Air Canada, beats driving, I'm getting too old for that crap, LOL!

Great point about the "N", I'm definitely going to check out a few Ns and see if the horses are all the same or if there are two different gaits (or whatever, I don't know the proper terminology either).

You're a heck of a lot smarter than I am, that's for sure....

[WinstonSpencer]

Not quite as good as Hibiki but still a nice sipper. I'll continue to try Japanese drank.