News:

And we're back!

Main Menu

The What's In Your Liquor Cabinet? Thread

Started by Caliga, May 26, 2013, 10:18:50 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

derspiess

Quote from: Caliga on May 28, 2013, 11:59:30 AM
I think you need Knob Creek, yes. :whistle:

It may not be my  favorite bourbon these days (though still a close second), but it was the first small batch bourbon I tasted, and you never forget your first.  I think I first tried it the first year it was bottled.  And of course the bottle is cool as hell.

QuoteWhat about some Basil Hayden's instead of Buffalo Trace? :sleep:

How about I stick with the Buffalo Trace and just mail you a dollar. 
"If you can play a guitar and harmonica at the same time, like Bob Dylan or Neil Young, you're a genius. But make that extra bit of effort and strap some cymbals to your knees, suddenly people want to get the hell away from you."  --Rich Hall

Syt

I brought a bottle of JD Single Cask home today.
I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein's brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops.
—Stephen Jay Gould

Proud owner of 42 Zoupa Points.

Caliga

Quote from: derspiess on May 28, 2013, 12:09:50 PM
How about I stick with the Buffalo Trace and just mail you a dollar.
Ok. :cool:
0 Ed Anger Disapproval Points

Caliga

Quote from: Syt on May 28, 2013, 12:33:13 PM
I brought a bottle of JD Single Cask home today.
JD is the competition (Brown-Forman), but it's so damn good that you are forgiven, my son.
0 Ed Anger Disapproval Points

Caliga

...which reminds me: at the tail end of my Alabama trip I stopped by the JD distillery and toured it.  I need to finish up that AAR.
0 Ed Anger Disapproval Points

Syt

Quote from: Caliga on May 28, 2013, 12:39:35 PM
Quote from: Syt on May 28, 2013, 12:33:13 PM
I brought a bottle of JD Single Cask home today.
JD is the competition (Brown-Forman), but it's so damn good that you are forgiven, my son.

My parents had a bottle that one of my American brother in laws polished off. To make up for it he bought a new special bottle, hand labeled, in a fancy decanter. I used to sip secretly from the bottle, and my parents' liquor cabinet smelled of JD. I think it's about the only whiskey I recognize immediately by smell. Well probably also Connemara, but I haven't tried many other peated whiskies.
I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein's brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops.
—Stephen Jay Gould

Proud owner of 42 Zoupa Points.

Caliga

I just brought up a bottle of Jim Beam (rī)1 from the bar and shall review it shortly.  I don't think I've ever had straight rye before. :blush:
0 Ed Anger Disapproval Points

fhdz

I've got a bottle of Bulleit, a bottle of Ardmore, and a bottle of a local vodka. And some bitters. There's also a bunch of weird mixer-type liqueurs and such that I never use.
and the horse you rode in on

Ed Anger

I still have at least 6 bottles of unopened Jack my former boss and mentor gave me.
Stay Alive...Let the Man Drive

fhdz

Quote from: Caliga on May 28, 2013, 11:15:26 AM
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on May 27, 2013, 02:06:39 PM
Wife likes good tequila, and usually has some silver Patron around.
My boss swears by that shit.  Is it really so much better than typical tequila?  I'm hardly a tequila connoisseur so I really have no way to tell by taste.

Tequila is a liquor where probably more than any other, improvements in quality make a far superior product. Cheap tequila tastes like rocket fuel and isn't even worth using in margaritas.
and the horse you rode in on

PRC

Quote from: fahdiz on May 31, 2013, 07:51:03 PM
Quote from: Caliga on May 28, 2013, 11:15:26 AM
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on May 27, 2013, 02:06:39 PM
Wife likes good tequila, and usually has some silver Patron around.
My boss swears by that shit.  Is it really so much better than typical tequila?  I'm hardly a tequila connoisseur so I really have no way to tell by taste.

Tequila is a liquor where probably more than any other, improvements in quality make a far superior product. Cheap tequila tastes like rocket fuel and isn't even worth using in margaritas.

Absolutely true, this is the case with Tequila!  Silver Patron is great stuff, the Anejo is awesome as well.

Admiral Yi

Quote from: fahdiz on May 31, 2013, 07:51:03 PM
Tequila is a liquor where probably more than any other, improvements in quality make a far superior product. Cheap tequila tastes like rocket fuel and isn't even worth using in margaritas.

Not sure I agree about the margs, but agree that tequila is the booze that improves the most when you move up from rail.

Cal, try a sip test.  Good tequila can be sipped like whiskey.

Caliga

CAL'S REVIEW OF RĪ(1) BY JIM BEAM:

Neat: Very nice legs, still clinging to the glass a full ten minutes after swirling.  Nose is very sweet, almost like Maker's Mark level sweetness.  Hints of rock candy, licorice and vanilla but not particularly spicy.  Taste is interesting... not really like any other whiskey I've ever tasted.  Smoother and stronger than I expected (according to the label, it's 92 proof), yet not nearly as sweet as a bourbon.  Strong earthy tones vaguely reminiscent of Laphroiag (and in fact the color is more of a Scotch color than a Bourbon color).... this reminds me more of a Scotch than a Bourbon which is odd because it was distilled in Clermont, KY with (I presume) the local limestone water.  Overall the taste is pretty unremarkable and doesn't have much in the way of spicy notes, which from what I hear of ryes  is supposed to part of their draw.  It is however exceptionally smooth, which like I said is a nice surprise.  Very, very light mouthfeel.

Cut with a splash of water: Really no difference in the nose at all, except I detect a slight band-aid/phenol odor now.  The water really seems to bring out the spiciness though.  Notes of cherry, licorice, more earthy, a bit of chocolate.  Even more Scotch-like.

Overall, I think this is an ok spirit.  I wouldn't recommend it neat because it's too bland, but it'd probably also work well as a mixer.  In general it reminds me of Scotch.  If you blindfolded me and had me taste it, I would probably guess that's what it was, although it's a bit less woody than the Scotches I'm used to (so I'd probably guess it was cheap Scotch).  It is remarkably 'light' in character, which to me isn't a good thing, but probably also reinforces it as a good mixing spirit.

I got the bottle free, but I believe it retails for $50.  IMO that's way, way overpriced given what you're getting here.

CAL'S GRADE: C



0 Ed Anger Disapproval Points

Admiral Yi

That's a dumbass name.  Tell Princessa to track the naming dude down and punch him in the nuts.

fhdz

Quote from: Admiral Yi on May 31, 2013, 08:22:32 PM
That's a dumbass name.  Tell Princessa to track the naming dude down and punch him in the nuts.

Concur.
and the horse you rode in on