Bourbon

JugV2

JugV2

Simply boring.
Moderator
Joined
Feb 8, 2011
Location
Tasmania
Ok so I love bourbon.

I started out with the usual - Beam, Turkey and even Cougar.

Since my youth, and since having more than ten bucks left after the weekend, I have tried many different types and have a top three.

Blantons Single Barrel. This is the best in the $80-$100 price range.

Elijah Craig - very close second.

Basil Hayden - great for sipping and having over ice.

If you love your bourbon, do yourself a favour and ditch the coke mixer. Try Dry Ginger or even just ice. You will love it.


This is not an attempt to spam every sub forum. I have simply had too much coffee and am painfully awake.
 
Someone's got to post here and make it look busy!

I'll drink any bourbon going, but I never get offered any so have to buy my own.

Basil was a bit meh for me. Nice, but I'd prefer 2 bottles of Jack for the same price. Lemmy had a mission years ago to try every bourbon there is. Given he goes through a bottle a day, safe to say he has. And yet Jack is what he likes. Which of course isn't bourbon

Turkey I find a bit on the rough side.

Makers Mark is my go to. Haven't had it for months. Trouble is, when I do buy it, it doesn't last long.

Yes, neat with ice is he go. Otherwise you may as well just buy the cheapest no brand IMO.
 
Last edited:
I've got Slate at the moment as a 'general drinking' bourbon. I don't mind it, it is a blend though and as such the true character of it is confused. I find it infinitely better than Beam, Cougar etc. If you can get it at 2/$65 then it is great value.

Makers is my usual higher quality bourbon. It seems to have a really nice oomph to it that Jack or Turkey just does not have, although I find that Jack has a better flavour profile.

I haven't tried Blantons yet but I definitely will. Elijah was very nice but maybe not quite worth the price in my eyes.

I saw that Turkey Wild Honey abomination in the shops, couldn't bring myself to buy it.
 
Wild Turkey Honey is a liquer, it's more of a flavoured with Turkey than Turkey and Honey, if that makes sense.

I can hold my drinks, as I am over 6 foot tall, normally half to three quarters of a bottle of bourbon and I'm not a blathering mess, but I was able to drink a whole bottle of Turkey Honey one night and was then looking around for something to get pissed with.

It isn't that great IMO.

Blantons is awesome. However, it is slightly overprices to have as a regular drinking Bourbon. Dan Murphy's (if you have that in NSW?) has it on special from time to time, last bottle I picked up for $65.

I've never been a Jacks drinker though. Not sure why, I think I just tend to stick to one type of spirit.

This may sound a bit snobbish but I can't drink Beam any more. It just tastes too sweet.

Not tried Slate before.

I also avoid premixes unless it's a) free at a barbie or b) the only thing available or c) free.
 
JugV2 said:
Blantons is awesome. However, it is slightly overprices to have as a regular drinking Bourbon. Dan Murphy's (if you have that in NSW?) has it on special from time to time, last bottle I picked up for $65.
Click to expand...
We have it, nearest one to me is Bathurst. I have Woolworths Liquor & BWS here, Liquorland is 30 mins down the road in another town.

JugV2 said:
This may sound a bit snobbish but I can't drink Beam any more. It just tastes too sweet.
Not tried Slate before.
Click to expand...
Yes, I think they have changed the recipe... it seems sweeter to me too, and also is missing a heap of the corn flavour profile now. It's like they have 'dumbed it down' to appeal to more people. I have stopped buying it.

Slate is easy drinking, cheap stuff. Makes Cougar and Beam taste like paint stripper, and I won't mention what that 'Nelson Country' stuff tastes like.....
 
mmm, another bourbon lover over here.
if the wallet is light, cougar is the drink of choice for me and the woman. (beam if we're desperate)
generally we'll buy makers or turkey, however we both love woodford reserve - this is incredibly smooth and not overly expensive either (as a 'treat' drink).

tried booker noe's in the city the other night - damn it's a full-on drink! (just checked the web, 63.3% alc/vol!!!)

have been wanting for a few years now to try Four Roses Small Batch - just need to get out to Nick's to buy some.

Trying to branch out to scotches - have gone through a few, but our go-to here is Dimple 15yo; at about $53 it's nicely priced and MUCH better (imo) than Johnnie Walker - i can NOT stand the taste of that stuff (well, of the red or black variety that i have tried). Laguvlin, Glenlivet, Chivas and Yamazaki have all been through the 'drinks cupboard' here too.


On the topic of turkey's american honey - i actually found extremely nice when REALLY chilled.
 
Can't get into bourbon at all. ( I have tried bookers, dickels, all the beams, makers etc - just too pricey for the quality you get) I just buy the cheap stuff to mix with coke when I feel like a really sweet drink. I drink it straight too, but sometimes start off mixed when the weather is hot but there's no beer.
I'd rather buy a high quality rum or scotch to drink straight if I want something that costs more than $40.
You reckon beam has gotten worse? I think it has gotten better (I couldn't stand it in the 90s, easily one of the worse bottom shelf bourbons, and got alcohol poisoning from it in 1993).
I normally only buy bourbon when evan williams is on special at Liquor land, one of the original old distilleries and what jack daniels ripped off as far as label design, when they tried to sell tennesee whiskey to the illiterate drinkers that wanted real bourbon. Sometimes I'll buy beam if nothing else is under $30, sometimes mckenna and slate. But never cougar or woodstock, rather drink bundy, and I don't like bundy. prefer Caribbean rums and scotches straight and beers when I want something cold. But a bourbon on ice with coke when no beer around will do.
edit: forgot, beam rye is OK, traditional bourbons were made with higher rye % and it's not bad. Wild turkey is paint stripper, especially the 101, no flavour just burn, beam black is a lot better, but again not pay that type of money for something surpassed in flavour and quality by similar priced rums and scotches.
 
Last edited:
JugV2 said:
Blantons Single Barrel is only $49.99 from Dan Murphy's.

If you're likely to drop $50 on a bourbon then not only are you a cheap bastard but you should be a happy one too because Blantons is a very good drop.
Click to expand...

The brown one Juggs?
Not the green 80 proofer
 
Bugger.

The brown is excellent. The green is OK and better than most other 80 proofers out there but not a $50 bottle IMO.

I'd rather get an Evan Williams single barrel at the ~$50 range.
 
Has anyone tried that Devils Cut Beam?
I'm too embarassed to buy Beam, and to snobby too, to find out what it's like.
 
JugV2 said:
Has anyone tried that Devils Cut Beam?
I'm too embarassed to buy Beam, and to snobby too, to find out what it's like.
Click to expand...

Beam's fine if you're drinking with Coke. Bulleit was alright too, but overpriced I thought. For straight Bourbon, Makers Mark is nice, and often sells less than $45.

I rarely buy Bourbon, it's downs down to easy and I plough through the stuff. Doesn't given me hangovers either. That's got trouble written all over it.
 
Yeah, don't touch anything with a Beam Label on it. Just not worth it.

In fact, stay away from anything with Beam, Turkey or Daniels on it. You are paying for marketing.

Turkey or Daniels at $50 vs Blantons Green? Blantons every time.

If you see Maker's Mark @ $40, buy it and be happy. You can do much worse than that.
 
Scotch.

Single Malt - your preference of brand.

A little water.

That is it.

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

No alternatives.

E-V-E-R.


Thread closed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top