I need a more sophisticated drink befitting my age and thought I would give Bourbon a shot. (See what I did there?)
Recommendations?
Any ‘Bourbon’ afficionados here?
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Musings on the byways of popular culture
I don’t like the chocolate biscuit variety in the UK.
Wild Turkey I remember as being okay back in the day when I drank this stuff occasionailly.
Always more of a Custard Cream man, myself.
✋️
Whither the Peak Frean Trotsky Assortment?
We have nothing to fear but the wafers
Of the “standard” ones (availble in all good supermarkets (and some bad ones), Bulliet is my cuurent Bourbon of choice.
Makers Mark and Woodford Reserve are particularly good, and Buffalo Trace always welcome
do they give you a headache
Boubons do not give headaches, well not to me anyway.
Too much Jack Daniels (other American whiskies are available) can cause fuzziness in the morning.
The “secret” for me is to sup into an open mouth (not slurp) and drink neat, or with a splash of mixer (ginger beer works well surprisingly)
Mrs M very much likes a whiskey and ginger beer of a weekend. Can’t see it myself, though it’s logical enough.
I’ve tried a few, and always come back to Maker’s Mark. In fact my real name is on one of their barrels! I’ve yet to go and check. Woodford Reserve, Knob Creek (fnarr), Bulleit (sp?) and Wild Turkey are all very good though. MM is slightly sweeter, but I like sweet. I like it with a couple of hefty cubes of ice, left to dissolve for five or so minutes. In fact, I think I’ll have one now…
MM also makes for very good bourbon-based cocktails.
As for the biscuits, I’m convinced they were originally intended for another species altogether.
Bulleit is uncommonly good (sorry for mixologising my metaphors), as is its near namesake…
after many years of bourbonising (made up word!!) my drink of choice is Four Roses.
not widely available but worth ordering of the tinterweb.
Makers Mark is a nice drop….widely stocked.
If you can find a decent stockest, you should try a bottle of Rye……seems a bit wild west but you will appreciate the smoothness.
my son visited the states a couple of years back and bagged a bottle of Jack Daniels Frank Sinatra Select.
cost him over $150, a heavy gauge glass bottle in a plush lined box…..for VERY special sippage.
we opened it at Christmas and half a dozen of the family held our glasses with bated breath…….the verdict……..Frank Sinatra would have been happy drinking meths……it was shit!!
no better than regular JD, which itself is pretty dire.
I loudly second the recommendation of Four Roses
My step mum (aged 75) requested Knob Creek (that’s a bourbon, not a medical condition) when she and the old man visited last summer. She loves her whisky, whiskey and bourbon and gave it top marks. She must have liked it – the bottle was empty before they left! My dad’s prefers Bombay Sapphire and tonic.
I’ve had my eye on a bottle of Maker’s Mark for a while so I think I shall invest tomorrow.
at the other end of the scale…..if you fancy a hollow laugh, get youself a bottle of “stars and stripes”.
stocked in aldi-netto style supermarkets.
listed in the ingredients is caramel….for colouring. its taste can be best described monty python style…..”this is no a bourbon for drinking…..it is a bourbon for lying down and avoiding”.
my wife bought me a bottle on a whim a few years back and it came in handy on our Saturday night dartfests.
a shot of the above was made mandatory if a dart strayed from the board and hit the wall…….even late in the evening and VERY refreshed, the wall was remarkably unmarked.
I remember fondly of those drops of Maker’s mark in my afternoon tea on my work. It was more than twenty years ago and I always have a bottle at home. I left this workplace though.
So, as others I recommend that one.
‘Maker’s Mark’ is probably the best widely available Bourbon & it shouldn’t break the bank.
‘Rebel Yell’ was always my fave & ‘Jim Beam’ is decent, certainly better than JD.
It has to said though, if you hanker after good Whisky (not Whiskey, obvs) & want to explore fab tones & flavours, forget Bourbons & get into single Malt Scotch – there’s no comparison & the variety is almost infinite.
Whatever, bottom’s up!
I see them as quite different things, not alternatives.
Fair do’s. I obviously prefer Malt (I’m not a big drinker of anything) & always find Bourbon really rough & crude when I haven’t had any for a while. Last year at a gig in tiny club, I had need of a bit of firewater & JD was the only option – I had a double for an eye watering price & what it brought to mind was the type of drink you might have knocked back in error at a dodgy party, discovering too late it was someone’s impromtu ash tray – ‘I’m getting Bells & 2 half-smoked B & H …’ – totally foul.
Still went down the hatch of course.
Agree, JJ, any of these american “whiskies” are all a bit firewatery and, usually, sweet. Heck, american wine, beer, everything, why is all so goddam sweet? Cameron, you make no secret of your heritage! If you want a change from malt, try a grain:
https://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/cameronbridge/cameronbridge-32-year-old-1984-cask-11342-xtra-old-particular-douglas-laing-whisky/?utm_content=cameronbridge/cameronbridge-32-year-old-1984-cask-11342-xtra-old-particular-douglas-laing-whisky&utm_source=database&utm_medium=base&utm_campaign=mom_base_1&agegate=true&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkJncjcPE1AIVzLftCh1f4QiPEAQYAyABEgKVwvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Or maybe a Canadian Club?
Canadian Club wins – whatever the competition
Mmm the preferred tipple of Don Draper of course!
This is coming along nicely. Maker’s Mark seems to be a popular choice so I shall opt for that one first.
Here’s mud in yer eye!
@bricameron, you might want to give this a go, though it looks expensive.* Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible whisky of the year.
‘Claiming the top accolade was Booker’s Rye 13 Year Old, praised on its “brain-draining, mind-blowing” nose and finish of “amazing depth”. Murray hails it as a “staggering example of a magnificent rye, showing exactly what genius actually means. A very big, unforgettable whiskey from a very big, unforgettable man”. The Booker’s Rye began life as an experiment by Booker Noe, grandson of Jim Beam, shortly before his death in 2004, and scored 97.5 out of 100 in the Whisky Bible.’
The Whisky Bible is worth the price of a bottle of cooking whisky in Tesco for the descriptions alone, which sound like no whisky I’ve ever tasted. FWIW he thinks that bourbon is now ‘better’ than Scotch, whatever that means.
*It is. A mere $500 US a bottle, if you can find it.
Another vote for Makers, and also a note that Jim Beam is perfectly fine, and often ridiculously cheap.
Where are bargains to be had? 17 quid at the ‘Trose, can better be found?
Waitrose have (or had) Cahadian Club for 21 quid.
That fine purveyour of groceries that is Asda has a surprisingly large range at reasonable prices.
Bulliet £20
Bulliet Rye £22
Wild Turkey £20
Buffalo Trace £17
Tin Cup (Amercan Whisky, never heard of it before but quite smooth) £25
Old Forrester (see above) £25
Others are available, but don’t bother with the cinnamon infused muck
I’ve been an enthusiastic purchaser of American whiskeys for a number of years now.
I can recommend the following:
George T. Stagg (this is simply IMMENSE)
Note: avoid the “Stagg Jr” brand, which is a pale imitation of the real thing
Booker’s (superb, of course)
Noah’s Mill (small producer – very fine)
Four Roses Single Barrel
Balcones (various of theirs are good, including the bizarre barbecue-flavo(u)red Brimstone)
George Dickel No.12 (a good everyday sippin’ whiskey)
Michter’s US No.1
Some of the High West bottlings from Park City, Utah are rather nice
The trouble is, once you’ve got a nose for the good stuff, it’s no fun going back to the common or garden brands…
Financial health warning – George T Stagg is available in the UK for 682.45 a bottle. Er, pass
I used to bring back a bottle of Wild Turkey from my trips to North Carolina. I don’t go there anymore and I haven’t seen it in an airport dutyfree for yonks