The Bourbon - and other spirits - Thread (was: @ Myronwemissyinz)

Actually, yes, I have.

I prefer regular Guinness. But it's not bad. Just more (cold) coffee than beer.

 

I'm a huge Laphroaig fan. I already have 7 different bottles in my collection. But not that one.

It's very good. The "Fino Cask" I believe is a white wine cask. So it's a tad lighter and drier than the PX Sherry Cask I have. But at Cask Strength, it holds it's own against standard Laphroiags.

My favorite is still "Lore." My favorite affordable is still Quarter Cask.

 

Good luck finding anything made by Buffalo Trace anymore - at least at retail value. The "bourbon bros" (hoarders, taters and those looking to flip bourbons for a quick profit) have ruined that market. They literally chase trucks around. So Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare and Blantons are near impossible to find, or at least find at retail price. They're all good bourbons, but not worth anywhere near what the secondary market is trying to price them at. LOL, $100 for Eagle Rare? GTFO. $60 for Buffalo Trace, what are you smoking??? Yes, they're GREAT bourbons. But they're great at their retail price! Eagle Rare is an awesome $30 bourbon. Maybe the best at that price point. But at extortion prices? No way. Not even close. And Blantons never was, and never will be worth more than $60. I'd argue it's not worth $50. But there they go trying to make it some ultra rare, high priced bourbon. A fool and his money are soon parted I guess.

(Yes, I'm aware there's some places in the country where you can find cases of the stuff sitting on shelves for cheap. But in most areas, finding them at MSRP on a store shelf is like finding Bigfoot)

Makers (especially the 46), Bakers, Elijah Craig, Knob Creek, Four Roses, hell even Basil Hayden are all just as good or better at reasonable prices and easier to find (I probably shouldn't even say that lest the taters make a run at those too). Bulleit is a decent cheaper bourbon as is Wild Turkey.

Old Fashioneds are great when made well. And not hard at all to make. The trick is to not try to get fancy. Less is often more. But I usually just take it neat.

My Old Fashioned recipe:

1/2 - 1 oz Demerara Syrup (simple syrup made with brown sugar)
4 dashes of bitters
2 - 2 1/2 oz.s bourbon (traditionally rye, but I prefer bourbon)
1 sliver of orange peel (edited to add: outside layer - washed - of the peel. Try to avoid as much white as possible. Using a shallower cut with a peeler helps)

I use syrup instead of a sugar cube because it's just easier. No muddling necessary.

Add syrup and bitters to glass. Twist the orange peel over the glass (to express the oils) and drop into glass. Add large ice cube preferably. Or larger ice chunks if need be. Stir. Add bourbon. Stir again. Drink.

It's that easy. Go ahead and add a cherry or 2 if you must. I won't judge you. You can adjust any of that to your personal taste. Depending on the bitters you use, you may want more or less. Add an extra 1/2 oz of syrup if you like it sweeter, or take it back 1/2 oz if you want it less sweet. Nothing is written in stone.

 

Aside from Old Fashioneds, if I'm in the mood for something other than whiskey and a beer, I usually opt for a high ball of some variation. 2 ingredients that most people usually have on hand and ice. Simple. All a high ball is is a liquor and soda. Rum/Jack and coke? High ball. Seven and seven? High ball. Tequila and grapefruit soda, etc etc etc. But as you said, most often I'm drinking scotch (sometimes bourbon) and a beer.

Anything more complicated than those, I'll wait until I'm at a bar. Let the pro make it.

 

I suppose I should have been specific. Cocktail bar.

I wouldn't go to my corner bar for something like a Pain Killer.

 

Some cocktails require balance. So you could use too much alcohol in those. (Mostly tiki drinks. But they're already strong enough as is). For simpler drinks and highballs, no such thing as too strong for me.

A long time ago, I wanted a whiskey neat - well, I asked for a double shot. I wasn't sipping whiskey yet back then. Bartender says we don't sell anything neat. So I said, "Fine. Give me a Jack and Coke. Hold the coke. Hold the ice."

 

Yeah. Got a laugh out of him anyway. (I definitely heard something along that line before which made me try it. Just can't remember where)

Still wouldn't give it to me... (and now the story is ruined. lol)

Not sure why some bars won't do that. Something to do with pricing I guess (or maybe some BS ordinance or law?). I've been to some that will give it to you on the rocks, but not neat. WTF?

 

On a side note, I saw a video today about making different syrups.

TIL that I've been making simple syrup (and variations) all wrong!

I've always made simple syrup using a 1:1 ratio of sugar and water. Turns out that is WRONG. It should be 2 parts sugar to 1 part water. Same goes for any variation, like ginger syrup.

That explains why when I follow a drink recipe to the letter, it always seems less sweet than it should be. Made appropriate syrup tonight as an experiment. Night and day difference with classic recipes. Updated my Old Fashioned recipe reflecting proper syrup. If you used a 2:1 syrup using my old recipe, it would be WAY too sweet.

 

Honestly, I haven't done much whiskey shopping lately. My collection was growing too fast and I decided to thin the herd before I buy anything else.

But the few times I walked into the liquor store, yeah. Whiskey overall seems to be in a sad state. Many reasons for it, but none of them offering consolation:

Supply chain issues are real. Whiskey is no exception. And this applies across the board to an extent.

Bourbon: Demand is through the roof, and supply is limited for anything outside of the mass marketed stuff.

Single Malt: those effing tariffs. In my neck of the woods, they raised the average price by $30-40. People just started buying blends instead since they're not under the tariff. And that drove down demand (but not the price. They just stopped ordering as much).

That said, I can still find Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Macallan and other usual suspects. I just don't like the new prices. I'll buy Johnny Walker Double Black or Green for $30+ less instead. (Seriously. Lagavulin 16 was $125 last time I looked. Laphroaig 10 was $85. That's obscene)

 

How about that. Tells you how long its been since I went whiskey shopping. The tariffs are done. In fact, they were done long before the last time I looked. So IOWs, my state decided to just keep some prices higher for no reason.

 

That story seems to make the rounds every couple years. Last time it did, the lead distiller at Laphroaig said he had no worries whatsoever about that. Then again, where are they supposedly running out? Not all peat is the same, and one region getting hit hard doesn't mean they all are. Hell, we have almost untapped peat in North America. Wouldn't be the same as the peat on Islay, but it's something. Or they'll switch to wood eventually. Most scotch doesn't even use peat anymore.