What Bourbon/Scotch are you drinking?

Thanks, Duane.

 

Which Discovery Series and Fusion Series did you get?

 

They're both 8.

A few years ago I tasted the DS 4 and it turned out to be one the top five bourbons I ever had, better than any of the well known super expensive stuff, it was incredible. Bought a few more bottles on the web and kept drinking them without it ever occurring to me that at some point they would run out (it was the first time I had heard of it or bought it). I spent months trawling the web thing to find an extra bottle or two but never did. To this day I regret not saving a couple of bottles to set aside to treat myself for special occasions. Since then the subsequent DS have been very good, but have never lived up to that 4. So now I buy at least two bottles when it's released just in case. I'll crack one open this weekend to see what it is, and see whether I need to find even more. My suspicion is that nothing will ever replicate the DS 4, it was just the perfect blend, at least to me.

The FS is also usually good, but my expectations for that one are a lot lower so it's fun to see what they do with it each release.

 

So my #1 is still Blanton's and my close #2 is still Jefferson's Ocean (all voyages are good but voyage 23 is ridiculous) - But I just tried the Basil Hayden Subtle Smoke and OMG - It is fantastic!! I have always been a Basil fan and think it is a great "go to" bourbon and at a very good price point but this stuff is flipping ridiculous and while a uptick in price over normal Basil Hayden it is still a bargain IMHO - I highly recommend it - neat or with a cube - Cheers

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^ proof?(BH smoke)

 

That DS4 was spectacular.

 

80

i so badly want to love BH. they have the potential for some spectacular bottles. but they dump all that water in it to maximize volume and it kills what could be a glorious profile.

Not dumping in any way on anyone who likes it. I'm sure half the bottles in my collection would result in many an upturned nose. And that's okay. I always cheer people on when they find the stuff they enjoy.

 

I started the weekend shopping a little early:

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Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit
Bardstown Discovery Series #7
Eagle Rare 10
Weller Full Proof
Michter’s Toaster Barrel Sour Mash
Heaven Hill 7 year Bottled in Bond
Old Forester Birthday 2022

JK

 

Stopped on the way to the LakeHouse. Opened the Representative…quite enjoyable!
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Gimmicky but very fun bottle aside, some great MGP juice inside.

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80 proof

 

Part Two:

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Maker’s Mark BRT-01
Maker’s Mark BRT-02
Knob Creek 18 Year
Russell’s Reserve 13 Year (Batch Three)
Elmer T Lee

JK

 

Quick flight during brunch. A couple i wanted to try and a couple i knew would be solid. (The boots one was Mrs. And she enjoyed it thoroughly)

25 bucks well spent.

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Awesome selection and $25 seems pretty good value, certainly around here.

Also…

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JK

 

Yep they had another fall drink named apple bottom jeans. Was a whole theme for the millenial "fall girls" of social media posting.

Even a regular pour of Blantons was 13 bucks there, considering everyone and their mums wants secondary or third-dary pricing for it anywhere in this state, that was superbly reasonable.

Just wish they'd had JJ Bowman.

 

I’ve seen JJ Bowman around Chicago pretty regularly. If there’s one you’re looking for, let me know and I’ll see what I can do. No promises, but I’m pretty resourceful.

JK

 

Oh that's really kind thank you!! To be honest A Smith Bowman distillery is right down the road from me in Fredericksburg VA. DC gets their stuff regularly it just never gets to MD due to the "unique way" in which the state runs alcohol allocation and sales. Which is to say unbelievable corruption lol. But nah its easy tk find bottled i was just craving a little John J today at brunch.

All good though, jumped into some OWA instead. That was already opened and my JJ hasnt been yet.

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Well, that’s good. Thankfully there is no corruption in Chicago. No, sir. Honest as the day is long. I fell back to a standard tonight, EH Taylor Small Batch.

JK

 

Stopped on the way home from the lake and added these two bottles. I’ve heard really good things about the Jacob’s Well and I am a big ZZ Top fan so I bought the Tres Hombres. Back in the late ‘80’s/early 90’s we were living in Houston and I played on a pretty competitive softball team. We had a sponsor that paid for everything and even played occasionally when he was in town. The sponsor…Frank Beard.
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Working on Scapa, Bruichladdich, Kavanlan, Yamazaki, Suntori, and Nikka.
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Quick note to report back on some of the stuff I've been drinking.

Both the Fusion and Discovery 8 releases were delicious. I'm going to stop comparing any Discovery release to the 4, it's not fair to them, that was a magical moment in time where the ingredients and stars aligned never to be repeated. To make it short the Discovery 8 is good, especially smooth for the proof but not that special, certainly not worth the price of admission relative to what else is available ... it'd be a great $80 bourbon, but not at double that piece. The Fusion wasn't as good as the Discovery, and it still was not as good as its price, but the delta was a lot closer than the Discovery, as in the Fusion would be a very good $50 bottle. Very different than the Discovery inasmuch as it provides the much needed complexity at a lower proof. TLDR, both very good whiskeys, both overpriced based on hype from previous peak releases that Bardstown is no longer able to reproduce.

The shocker was the Knob Creek 18. I was expecting disappointment given its price and given that the 15 is easy to get and pretty much the best value in the bourbon world. But the 18 turned out to be truly a exceptional bourbon ... were it to have any other label than KC it would be trading north of $500. In a way it's like trying to convince people that a $150k Corvette can still be a value proposition. And although the KC18 does not have a flat plane crank NA engine it is just suuuuuper delicious. In fact because people feel uncomfortable about spending that much on a KC my store had two of the three bottles they got still sitting on the shelf ... I want in and bought them all.

That's all I got for now.

 

Picked up another BO8 and this other thing that I’ve never heard of that was recommended by a fellow drinker.

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How the F do you guys keep your bottles full like that?

 

"One weird trick to keep your bourbon bottles full. Liquor stores hate him! Click below!"

 

I mean they’re full when I buy them, but not for long.

Weirdly enough my mid level ocd has an issue with having multiple bottles open at a time. I really wish I had it me to be the sort of person that can have ten bottles open and pick according to what I feel like on any specific day. Instead, other than always having one open bottle of WFP at all times for the rare occasion where I’ve earned a treat, once I open a bottle I pretty much have to finish it before opening something else.

It’s such a fine line between quirky and batshlt crazy.