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

I like Knob Creek a lot. Tastes vary, of course, but I don't think anyone considers it cheap rot gut swill. I put it on par with Maker's Mark, if not higher.

 

One of the things I like about Christmas is getting bottles of hooch I might not normally try. Sometimes you get a real gem. So I got a bottle of Captain Morgan Tattoo this year.

This stuff should be illegal. IDK WTF it is, but it isn't rum. It's like they tried to make a rum version of Southern Comfort... and failed. It's awful. Truly, truly awful. Not even Coke can mask how bad it is.

So if you get a chance to try or buy their Tattoo, don't. :no:

 

Of course, being New Year's Eve, I did some imbibing. Which also gave me the excuse to try a few new things I received as Christmas gifts.

First up:



This came out this year, but I never got around to trying it. I also read some less than praising reviews for it, so I was a little tentative.

Tastes vary.

I love it. Easily my favorite edition of Captain Morgan. Even better than Private Stock. The nose is sweet, with strong notes of vanilla, brown sugar, oak and spice. And the taste follows the nose: Sweet, heavy vanilla on the front end, with brown sugar, molasses, nutmeg and other spices coming through with a burnt sugar finish. Very little burn, and the aftertaste is pleasantly almost cookie like. Straight, or on an ice cube or 2, it's an easy sipper - and not a bad entry level sipper for the uninitiated at that.

Of course, I HAD to try it with some coke. Gorgeous. I wish I had some ginger beer. This would go very well with it.

Quite a nice surprise.

Next up, by way of a very thoughtful and ambitious gift from my daughter:



Years ago, I had the chance to try their Centurio 23 years aged. It was my eye opener to rums being good for something other than mixers. Luxurious, sweet, with a nose and taste beyond compare. And zero burn whatsoever.

This... is not that Centurio.

That's not to say it's bad. Not at all. But it wasn't what I expected. The nose was very harsh, and reeked of alcohol. Very little else came through. So I let it decant in the glass a little while. Finally, the aroma revealed itself. Woody. Burnt sugar, oak and leather(?). The taste is very dry. Not very much - if any - sweetness. Oaky. Notes of cherry, and toffee (but not sweet) with a hint of nuttiness. A good amount of burn going down.

I had to do a double take and make sure I didn't accidentally pour rye whiskey.

It's very good. But it's more like whiskey than rum. Not that that's a bad thing. The overall experience is quite nice once you accept it. I won't match this up with Coke. That would offend the rum gods.

 

I used to really enjoy Private Stock. Really smooth and mellow. Have you ever flavored your own rum? http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/...iced-rum-homemade-captain-morgans-recipe.html

Btw Ray, you could get the Dalai Lama to drink rum.

 

No, I've never tried spicing my own. I'm a serial overspicer, so it would probably end in disaster.

Closest I've come to that is making Bumbo or Grog.

 

Really getting into "Old Fashioneds" lately. My wife and I went out a few weeks ago and they were the Happy Hour special. Such a relatively simple, yet very tasty drink. Certainly elevates lesser bourbons. I like making mine with Orange bitters rather than the standard bitters. At least, they help when you don't have any oranges. LOL

Not the bar variety, but the ones I make for myself:

2 maraschino cherries muddled.
One slice of orange muddled (if available. if not, just as good)
Roughly 2/3 teaspoon Angastora orange bitters (the type you eat with. not measured)
2-3 measured teaspoons simple syrup (or 2-3 sugar cubes muddled)

Muddle and mix above ingredients in rocks glass. Add twice the volume bourbon (maybe a little more). Mix well. Add ice until the glass is full and stir.

Tasty and packs a punch.

 

Alas, they didn't have Trace. Out of stock. Couldn't afford anything better.

 

Only reason I even know that brand is because a friend swore by it. I tried it. It wasn't completely offensive.

(Most scotch is way too dry for me)

 

Yes, I'm quoting from a year ago, but it's relevant.

As I said in reply once, I love Tequila, but refuse to pay $50 and up for a bottle. My favorite for taste to cost ratio was Cabo Wabo (usually around $35 if you time it right). And I like reposados for straight drinking.

It's that time of year again, and I wanted some tequila so I took a chance on a brand I have never tried.

I might have found my new favorite.



Only $25 per bottle and every bit as good as Cabo (if not, dare I say, better) and miles better than 1800, Sauza, Cuervo, etc. Bright scent of citrus and agave. Tastes very clean, crisp, and citrusy.... even a slight hint of sweetness (caramel?). ZERO aftertaste. Very little burn if any.

I can't say how it compares to Don Julio, Patron, et al since I haven't bought them in years. But for my money, a damned fine tequila. I'll buy this until the price goes up.

 

Quite a tip!

Orendain isn't available on the east coast to my knowledge. Maybe by special order (but then they want you to buy a case). I'm a little confused. Did he give you Orendain's Private Reserve or Patron? They're 2 different distilleries, no? Then again, I have no idea how long ago it was, and maybe it was before Patron became their own thing. Either way, I'm sure he was a happy driver. LOL The last time I saw any "reserve" bottle of Patron, it went for over $200.

Funny how some spirits disagree with people. I'm that way with most (if not all) vodkas. I like them well enough. They don't like me. I'll pay dearly the next day unless very careful. And don't get me started on schnapps... any kind.

But tequilas always treat me well. Well, good tequilas that is (100% blue agave). Mixtos not so much. Upset stomach that night, horrible hangover the next day. I can get away with using them in cocktails, but even then only so much.

All I ask for is a good tasting, good sipping tequila that's 100% pure and not overpriced. They're too far and few between. (I blame Patron on prices. It's good, but half the cost is "branding." So other tequilas equally as good or better tend to charge similar prices. So I'll enjoy Espalon until they get popular I guess. )

 

1 LONG week of work ahead, and then I'm on vacation for 10 short but sweet days!

It's more of a staycation. My wife is traveling with my daughters for a girls vacation. So I have a bachelor week at home. I took stock of my, er, um... supplies. Aside from a serious need to get some beer, I think I'm more than covered. About 7 liters of rum (spiced, dark and aged). 3 liters of tequila (blanco and reposado). 1 liter of bourbon and 2 liters of my new favorite summer time drink:



Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka (70 proof). I'm not a big vodka guy as I've said before. But this stuff is magical. Brewed tea vodka - not flavored. Great as a shooter ice cold. Good sipper on the rocks. Excellent hot weather drink with a splash of sweet tea or lemonade and plenty of ice. They also make a sweet tea bourbon which I NEED in my life. Alas, it's not available in my area yet.

IOWs. if I make bizarre posts next week, disregard: I'm in the bag.

 

Sounds like you're pretty well stocked. You should only have to restock a couple times before they get back.

I've never heard of Firefly. Sounds intriguing.

We'll all look the other way.

 

I was wondering if I needed anything. I didn't have everything in one place (A bottle in the kitchen, a few in a cabinet, a few in the basement. Wasn't keeping track). Some I picked up here or there. Some were BD / Father's Day gifts I stowed away. I might be good for the rest of the summer and some or most of the fall! Certainly on the rum side.

That said, I DO need to get some beer. Down to 2-3 bottles.

They also make several flavors of moonshine. I can't comment to those. I've never tried them. But the Sweet Tea Vodka is very good. I imagine using it in place of normal vodka should make for one mean Long Island Iced Tea.

 

I was just busting your...chops. I made a similar discovery recently. I was going through the cabinets one day looking for something for my wife and was surprised to find a few half-full bottles that I thought were gone.

I'll have to keep an eye out for the Firefly next time I'm at the store.

 

Oh, I know. I was doing the same to myself upon taking inventory.

 

I've often said that I don't like scotch. I never developed the taste for it. To me, it's just liquid fire. Etc. Etc.

Truth is, I never really gave it a chance. I tried it in my early adulthood. Didn't appreciate it much, and rarely revisited it. I have, on occasion, had some peer pressured on me. I just choked it down and didn't even try to taste, much less appreciate it. To me, a "decent" scotch was one that didn't numb my tongue and set my throat on fire. Flavor? Yeah right. Who can actually taste anything in it?

And so I let my biases keep me away from it for 2 decades.

Funny thing. In that time, I learned how to appreciate tequila. I learned to love rum. Not in mixed drinks, but on its own. And thanks to a former member here (who the thread was originally named after), I expanded my horizons into bourbon. Now, one would think that if I could appreciate bourbon, surely I could appreciate other whisky/whiskies. But my mind was closed to it. Scotch was a whisky meant for old men who killed their taste buds.

As fate would have it, people make assumptions. Some people close to me assumed I liked scotch since I liked "whiskey." So I got a couple bottles for Christmas. Nothing fancy, but scotch just the same.

I would like to apologize to scotch lovers everywhere, and people I've misled by my prejudices. Since trying them - mostly because, well, free booze is free booze - I realized scotch is quite nice! I just didn't give it enough of a chance after my misbegotten early adulthood. Now, I've only been trying middle of the road blends. Nothing single malt, or Islay (heavy smoke). But a new world is now open to me, and I look forward to trying what I can as life goes on.

My new love? Monkey Shoulder. It's a blended malt scotch. And it is... everything. I've yet to have a bourbon this good. At least for an equivalent price. But I've also found that scotch in general isn't the liquid fire I associated it with since my very early drinking days. It's actually subtly sweet, and quite complex with flavors.

 

Posts in the Bourbon Thread in the middle of the night...

 

Was always a whisky guy. Never really big for scotch. I think really good scotch is probably out of my price range.

Whisky/bourbon us really starting to grow on me. I blame watching Mad Men for that.

I went to a "whisky" festival about a month ago that had many whiskys, scotch and bourbons.

They had alot of 18 year old and 20+ year Old scotch but none of them were really great in my mind.

The best drink I had all night was a bourbon in an oak cask. The name slips me now but when I find my booklet I'll update it here. Very delicious.