Bourbon question
- Thread starter JonathanW
- Start date
Pappy for the top tier.
Weller special reserve for every day drinking.
Buffalo Trace for a more low end.
Favorite mixed drink is Bourbon/Sprite/7Up/GingerAle
Brand doesn’t matter as much but there is still a noticeable taste difference between brands.
Weller special reserve for every day drinking.
Buffalo Trace for a more low end.
Favorite mixed drink is Bourbon/Sprite/7Up/GingerAle
Brand doesn’t matter as much but there is still a noticeable taste difference between brands.
I jsut tried pappy for the first time after the Ohio game (neighbor had it). Wow. And i mean wow.
My go to is Woodford.
My go to is Woodford.
My favorite cocktail is sometimes called a Gold Rush: honey bourbon, regular bourbon, triple sec and lemonade. Sweet/tart mix is really nice and you can make it fairly benign or really, really strong and the overall taste of the cocktail stays pretty consistent. Especially in hot weather, it's a nice refreshing cocktail.
Elijah Craig or Jim Beam Black for low-tier
Makers for mid-tier
Woodford and Buffalo Trace for high-tier
.. don't really go much higher than that, unless we're talking ultra-high tier, special occassion, etc.. Maybe a bottle of Blantons if I can get it not too pricey, but otherwise it would be things like higher end Wellers, Jeffersons, Old Forester if I'm feeling myself.
Makers for mid-tier
Woodford and Buffalo Trace for high-tier
.. don't really go much higher than that, unless we're talking ultra-high tier, special occassion, etc.. Maybe a bottle of Blantons if I can get it not too pricey, but otherwise it would be things like higher end Wellers, Jeffersons, Old Forester if I'm feeling myself.
Truthfully, this is probably what Bourbon drinkers would define as the "tiers".. but for almost everyone else, and even casual Bourbon drinkers, you're a snob lol.
Lower tier/strictly as a mixer: Jim Beam or Evan Williams
Mid tier/with water: Woodford or Knob Creek or small batch Wild Turkey
Upper tier/bragging: I don't participate in this tier as I'm cheap and don't have enough of a sophisticated palate to discern really fine/expensive bourbon from Woodford or Knob Creek. Basically, I'm a hillbilly in a button down shirt.
Mid tier/with water: Woodford or Knob Creek or small batch Wild Turkey
Upper tier/bragging: I don't participate in this tier as I'm cheap and don't have enough of a sophisticated palate to discern really fine/expensive bourbon from Woodford or Knob Creek. Basically, I'm a hillbilly in a button down shirt.
Woodford, in old fashioneds. at this point, i've made more than most bar tenders, and i prefer to do it myself.
i enjoyed an old, small batch bottle of hilltop my wife had gotten me a decade ago. too bad we didn't buy more.
Upper tier. Obviously the Van Winkle bourbons and the 13 yr Rye, and George T Stagg and Eagle Rare 17 yr. The middle tier would be Bulleit 10 yr, Jefferson’s Reserve and Noah’s Mill. The lower tier would be Old Forester Signature 100, Wild Turkey 101 , Elijah Craig Small Batch and Evan Eilliams 1783. We all have different taste buds but Weller Special Reserve is swill. That was a $9 bottle of bourbon from 2000- 2015 or so. Flavor hasn’t changed but the price sure has. Never bought it then and won’t buy it now. The Weller Antique 107 is one of the finest out here but the problem is that it is never out there.
I agree completely. There are lower bourbons than Buffalo Trace but that’s as low as I will go. I fully admit as Bourbons go I am definitely a snob.
My little brother purchased 2 bottles of Colonel E.H. Taylor Small Batch from the distillery. He gifted me one, which I'm taking to Germany next month. Around $125-$150 bottle. I'm not a normal bourbon drinker, but making an exception for upcoming Thanksgiving.
I got a bottle of that for Christmas a few years back. Was saving it for a final four appearance.My little brother purchased 2 bottles of Colonel E.H. Taylor Small Batch from the distillery. He gifted me one, which I'm taking to Germany next month. Around $125-$150 bottle. I'm not a normal bourbon drinker, but making an exception for upcoming Thanksgiving.
Sigh.
Not sure what tier but Wild Turkey Rare Breed is excellent.
I agree, my favorite bourbon for sipping, and only way I drink it is neat. My every day is Makers and sprite.
Blanton's
Woodford Double Oaked
Woodford
Henry McKenna for Mixing
I like Wild Turkey, but after loosing the UT game in 2007, and drinking waaayyyy tooo much Wild Turkey in the stands...I have shied away from it since then. That loss was a crushing blow to my Wild Turkey game...
Woodford Double Oaked
Woodford
Henry McKenna for Mixing
I like Wild Turkey, but after loosing the UT game in 2007, and drinking waaayyyy tooo much Wild Turkey in the stands...I have shied away from it since then. That loss was a crushing blow to my Wild Turkey game...
Low tier go tos that I can find regularly:
-4 Roses (all iterations)
-Elijah Craig
-Old Forester
-Woodford
Mid tier:
-Heaven Hill BoB
-Russel Reserve 15
-Blantons
-Eagle Rare
High tier:
-Don’t go this high
Tried the traveler bourbon the other day that was great and what I would consider low tier.
I love making cocktails and two of my go tos are manhattans and old fashioneds. Yes the bourbon matters. But going more high end than woodford or 4 roses for these is a waste imo Woodford double oaked in a Manhattan is money imo
-4 Roses (all iterations)
-Elijah Craig
-Old Forester
-Woodford
Mid tier:
-Heaven Hill BoB
-Russel Reserve 15
-Blantons
-Eagle Rare
High tier:
-Don’t go this high
Tried the traveler bourbon the other day that was great and what I would consider low tier.
I love making cocktails and two of my go tos are manhattans and old fashioneds. Yes the bourbon matters. But going more high end than woodford or 4 roses for these is a waste imo Woodford double oaked in a Manhattan is money imo
Top Tier (Birthday Bourbons): George T Stagg and to me it isn't close (most years)
Second Tier (Allocated): Blanton's (Gold or Straight from the barel)
Lower Tier (Open Shelf): Woodford reserve
Lot's of others that I love but those are my top 3 at each level.
Second Tier (Allocated): Blanton's (Gold or Straight from the barel)
Lower Tier (Open Shelf): Woodford reserve
Lot's of others that I love but those are my top 3 at each level.
One other one I would like to mention is fairly new. It’s the Makers Mark Wood Finishing Series, Heart Release. This stuff is so good but a little pricey. I have found it from $61-$75. I treated myself and boy is it good. Buy it if you can find it. I found mine at Kroger.
Wild Turkey brings out the best and worst in me.
Flew from Frankfurt, Germany to DFW in 1996 on American Airlines. Drank vodka-grapefruit like a fool until the flight attendant shut me off. Old gal warned me not to drink any more. Got so wild that fellow passengers in other aisles yelled at me to STFU. Some German dudes hooked me up with a 12 oz cup of Wild Turkey.
Flight attendant came after me to take my drink from me. Nope, no way, so I slammed that 12 oz cup.
Awakened 5 hours later on a stretcher at DFW with an IV in my arm. Head hurt like crazy. Looked up and said, "Holy s--t! We crashed! I knew it. No wonder my damn head hurts so much." The attending medic said, "no, dumbass, you may have alcohol poisoning".
Clearing US Customs was fun, too, especially after I barfed in their trash can. Ah, the good old days.
God blessed you my man. lol. But Wild Turkey Rare Breed is very good. One of my favorites.
lol. I do mainly drink Woodford now but I mentioned it mainly because is shelf accessible. If I had to pack a true low tier bourbon I would be makers or Old Forrester.
What is sad is back in the day my go to for cheap bourbon was white label Weller. Now you can’t find it, and if you do they want an arm and a leg for it.
Maybe we should do by price?
I was thinking more in the $25 and under, $26-50, $50-100, $101+
Wild Turkey 101, Old Forester Signature, Makers, Elijah Craig Small Batch, Evan Williams BIB and EW 1783 to name a few. All very good in my opinion.
Yeah what Don said, plenty out there drinkable in that price. I'm pretty much Blanton's only at this point but I won't turn my nose up at anything but the most atrocious bottom shelf bottles.
Are makers and EC Small Batch in that category? Maybe for a 5th? I usually only buy 1.75’s
About as good a bang-for-your-buck as you can find, especially for a cask strength bourbon. As good as many bourbons double the price. Rare Breed has become the closest thing to my daily sipper as I have (I don’t drink bourbon every day), right there with Old Forester 1920.
Evan Williams BiB has become my go-to cocktail bourbon. Works every bit as well as Wild Turkey 101 and a bit cheaper.
Appreciate the Pappy line, but they’ve never been near worth the money to me. Love the rye and the 15 the most, think the 20 and 23 are a touch too oaky for my tastes, though I have a hard time finding a bourbon over 15 years old that I love. Now Scotch on the other hand….
I’ve had a ton of fun over the past few years trying a lot of the smaller craft distilleries out there. Green River is making killer stuff, as is Starlight out of IN. Still Austin out of TX and Redwood Empire out of CA are also making amazing bourbons and ryes. As for the best I’ve had the last few years, Fortuna Barrel Proof from the Rare Character guys blew me away. Lots to sift through, but it’s a good time to be a fan of bourbons/ryes, and there’s even some great stuff coming from distilleries specializing in American single malts.
As others have noted, Wild Turkey 101, Evan Williams BiB (prefer that to 1783), and my personal favorite if using for both drinking straight and mixing, Old Forester Signature. Awesome bourbon.
I really like yellow label Four Roses for cocktails.
Knob Creek is a great mixer too.
The ones I really don't like are Maker's, Beam, and Buffalo Trace. Which is kinda weird because Blanton's is my favorite and I like absolutely every other thing I've tried from them.
Similar threads
