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Bourbon/Scotch/Other Whisk(e)y Recommendation Thread

dkeester

dkeester

"TSC's Master of Bourbon"
This one is for @BarberDave. Let's talk about our favorite whiskies/whiskys.

Some bourbons that I love:
  1. Larceny
  2. Knob Creek 9 year
  3. Maker's Mark Cask Strength
  4. Wild Turkey 101
What are some of your favorites???
 
Elijah Craig BP
Maker's Mark 101
Rare Breed
Old Forester 100

Those are some of my daily hitters
 
Laphroaig Triple Wood
Lagavulin 16
Kilchoman Machir Bay
Midwinter Night’s Dram
 
no @Spider we asked them to start these threads for everyone, the folks tagged were just for reminders
 
One thing that is interesting is that especially in the last like 3 years the Whiskey scene in particular the bourbon scene has BOOMED! I personally really enjoy Bourbon, Rye, and American Whiskies. Yes I have a few scotches I like and even some Canadian, Irish, and Japanese.

But when it comes to a daily hitter something that I know is always on the shelf, inexpensive, and consistent in taste. I tend to lean onto bourbons.
 
As Chad mentioned, the "bourbon boom" is real and honestly has been thriving for years. I've spoken to the master distillers at Beam, Makers, WT, and HH and EVERYONE was caught off guard when things really started to take off in the early 2010's. The lead time on aged liquid is so long that only recently has inventory finally been able to start to keep up. I long for the days back in 2011 when I could walk into my local mega chain and scoop up Elmer T Lee or ECBP without issue or when the liquid in Booker's was closer to 13 or 14 years old. Things like the BTAC and Pappy were never "easy" to find but it was a far cry from what it's become today. Then there's bottles like HH BiB or Baker's that have seen substantial price increases for what basically equates to the same liquid in fancier packaging.

All said, there are still so many great "value" pours out there in bourbonland and that's where I tend to stick, especially for everyday pours.
  • Elijah Craig Barrel Proof - not super easy to find but base liquid availability has increased at HH resulting in more bottles each release, haven't had issues for a few years finding
  • Wild Turkey 101
  • Jim Beam Black (RIP Green)
  • Knob Creek SiB Reserve (store picks if possible)
 
The whole Bourbon Boom thing makes me really sad. From 2000 to around 2012 or so bourbon had three great qualities. It was cheap (lots of good bottles at sub $30 that now go for $50 or $60). It was good (even if the bottles didn't carry an age statement, the juice inside was well aged). It was plentiful (allocation was not yet a thing, at least it wasn't as prevalent as it is today). Today you are lucky to find a bottle that is 4 years old for under $40.

As long as Knob Creek (which has put the 9 year age statement back on the bottle this year) stays at around $30, I will keep buying it. It is exactly what I expect to see on the shelves, good bottles at reasonable prices. But many bottles are a hard pass when I see that $50 or $60 price tag (or higher) and I remember what it used to go for. My first bottle of Booker's was purchased in 2004-2005 (I forget exactly when). It was a $60 bottle at that time and stonkingly good. I saw a bottle at a local liquor store a few weeks ago. They were asking $299.95. That upset me. But, there are tons of people out there that will pay $300 for that bottle these days.

There are bottles that I will pay $80, $100, $110 for. There are some that are worth the money. But there are so many more that command prices that are seriously overinflated (e.g. Booker's and McKenna 10 year BiB).

Okay, I should stop ranting now...

@Fightingillini22 mentioned Beam Black label. I am also a fan of the "Extra Aged" black label bottle.

Also, Old Grand Dad 114 proof is super good and goes for ~$26 around me. So, it also goes on the recommended list.
 
I passed on a Bookers at $79.99 (Utah state regulated price) I enjoy the juice but I also remember paying $60. I still have a bottle on hand so didn't pick it up. I did pick up a bottle of McKenna BIB for $44.99 this will be my first bottle.

Also like @dkeester I will keep buying Knob Creek 9. I will also keep buying Russels Reserve.
 
This might be blasphemy but I am going to say it. While in San Francisco with @uacowboy and we met up with @NurseDave who supplied some Blanton's. After Dave left for the evening Kyle and I had a little bit of Knob Creek 9 Year to finish off before flying out the next morning. We both agreed it had a better flavor profile than the Blanton's.
 
Not sure how OGD 114 slipped my mind but 100% agreed with @dkeester on that one. There was a time where supply for this one was scarce too but the last couple years have been much better. OGD BiB is also nice if you don't want the full 114 proof. McKenna was great but went the way of the tater in terms of being chased and sold for far above what it should be.

Echo @CVargo 's opinion on Blanton's. I wasn't a big fan back when it was easier to find. Now that it's become so much harder, I hard pass even when it does appear on the shelf since pushing $100 retail just doesn't make sense to me for what the liquid is.
 
CVargo said:
This might be blasphemy but I am going to say it. While in San Francisco with @uacowboy and we met up with @NurseDave who supplied some Blanton's. After Dave left for the evening Kyle and I had a little bit of Knob Creek 9 Year to finish off before flying out the next morning. We both agreed it had a better flavor profile than the Blanton's.
Click to expand...
The following is a serious case of "this is my opinion, feel free to disagree if you wish."

You are not blaspheming at all. Buffalo Trace products are mediocre (i.e. "middle of the road", okay, "not bad", "I've had better" etc.). They are far from stellar and you pay more for the name on the label than for the juice inside. I recently purchased a bottle of Blanton's through a whiskey club at a local store. I paid $65 for it (which is current MSRP). It wasn't worth the price I paid. It was good, but not $65 worth of good. The last Eagle Rare 10 year that I purchased (it was a store pick that I got for $35) was also not great. It was drinkable, but not something I would seek out again even at that price. I had a dram of Col. E. H. Taylor Small Batch at a restaurant last summer. It was good, but forgettable. The only memorable thing about it was that it did not live up to the hype around the label. Buffalo Trace products are all hat and no cattle. They are overhyped due to getting tons of screen time in some movies and tv shows. It is all name recognition, not the quality of the spirit, that is driving popularity. And, yes, that includes the "Pappy" line of bourbons under the Van Winkle brand. I have sampled the 10 year, 12 year, 15 year, and the 23 year. They were all "meh" at best. The 23 year tasted like I was drinking a pureed bourbon barrel. It was all wood and very little grain (the sweet spot for my palate for most bourbons tends to be between 6 and 12 years old, FYI). The 15 year was the best of them, but it is a $45-$50 bottle at best in my mind. There are much better whiskeys out there, at better prices, that are much less hyped, than Buffalo Trace. I even find the standard Buffalo Trace bottle disappointing at ~$26 (and I just finished a bottle of that last week).

So, if you like them. (Obviously, I do not.) Pick them up, but make sure you are getting them for retail prices. I really feel that BT quality has steeply declined in recent years (probably due to overproduction to try meeting the insane demand) and will be spending my money elsewhere for the foreseeable future.
 
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