For Brother's new to Bourbon

[Pipefighter572]

Stopped by a small liquor store on my way home from work to pick up my first bottle of rye to try it out. Turns out they only had a small handful of ryes on the shelf, so I decided on woodford reserve rye. Just pulled the cork on it. We will see how it goes

Cheers!

 

[BourbonBinder]

Stopped by a small liquor store on my way home from work to pick up my first bottle of rye to try it out. Turns out they only had a small handful of ryes on the shelf, so I decided on woodford reserve rye. Just pulled the cork on it. We will see how it goes

Cheers!

View attachment 92411

Good luck, I hope it's a fond memory & the start of an exciting new hobby. That's an interesting bottle of Woodford Rye, I just bought a bottle myself & the label looks different. (Coincidentally My 1st Rye as well)

Is that a Lancero? (The supermodel of cigars...love them) I'm lucky, my lounge stocks 3 different kinds of Lanceros

 

[CVAC085]

Woodford Reserve is a solid start down the slope!! I always have a bottle on hand. Hope you enjoy it!!

Good luck, I hope it's a fond memory & the start of an exciting new hobby. That's an interesting bottle of Woodford Rye, I just bought a bottle myself & the label looks different. (Coincidentally My 1st Rye as well)

Is that a Lancero? (The supermodel of cigars...love them) I'm lucky, my lounge stocks 3 different kinds of Lanceros

Looks like the smaller bottle and I believe their bottles have the clear labels, plus the pic is outward to the bright light.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Pipefighter572]

Good luck, I hope it's a fond memory & the start of an exciting new hobby. That's an interesting bottle of Woodford Rye, I just bought a bottle myself & the label looks different. (Coincidentally My 1st Rye as well)

Is that a Lancero? (The supermodel of cigars...love them) I'm lucky, my lounge stocks 3 different kinds of Lanceros

It's a 750 ml bottle here's a slightly better picture of it


I'm having a good time with it so far. I can tell it's a little spicier than the bourbons I've had, but it's enjoyable. I'm drinking it out of a yeti lowball with a big ice sphere in it. I've noticed that the colder it gets, the more I enjoy it.

And yes the Caldwell was a lancero. Great flavors but it didn't want to burn or draw for shit. Kind of a pain in the ass really, which I hate because it's a great cigar in other vitolas

 

[BourbonBinder]

It's a 750 ml bottle here's a slightly better picture of it

View attachment 92416
I'm having a good time with it so far. I can tell it's a little spicier than the bourbons I've had, but it's enjoyable. I'm drinking it out of a yeti lowball with a big ice sphere in it. I've noticed that the colder it gets, the more I enjoy it.

And yes the Caldwell was a lancero. Great flavors but it didn't want to burn or draw for shit. Kind of a pain in the ass really, which I hate because it's a great cigar in other vitolas

Awesome. I'll have to try my Rye with some Limestone Ice or even just a few droplets of limestone water. My first experience with Rye wasn't as good because it gave me massive heartburn. I find that funny because my average bourbon is upward of 120 proof (Woodford rye being only 90.4). I realize now that Rye is a different animal and much spicier,especially on the backend (think rye bread vs wheat).

Upon further inspection I see you have a proprietary batch of Rye (hats off, that's a nice find). I need a glass that will accommodate some ice (only have glencairn's as I'm a "neat drinker").

 

[PetersCreek]

Sorry I'm late to the party. I started my whiskey journey about 15 years ago. I never liked whiskey before that but then I had never had a really good one. I liked wine though and heard serious scotch drinker's talk about them in much the same terms as oenophiles. So, I decided to give them a serious try. I was hooked. Then I tried bourbon. Same story. Then came rye, Irish, Canadian… I'm hopeless now.

A piece of advice I have for novices: if you take a chance on a bottle and wind up not liking it, don't struggle through it or get rid of it. Put it aside and come back to it after you've got a few more whiskeys under your belt. You just might discover it to be a different whiskey after your palate has developed a bit.

 

[BourbonBinder]

Sorry I'm late to the party. I started my whiskey journey about 15 years ago. I never liked whiskey before that but then I had never had a really good one. I liked wine though and heard serious scotch drinker's talk about them in much the same terms as oenophiles. So, I decided to give them a serious try. I was hooked. Then I tried bourbon. Same story. Then came rye, Irish, Canadian… I'm hopeless now.

A piece of advice I have for novices: if you take a chance on a bottle and wind up not liking it, don't struggle through it or get rid of it. Put it aside and come back to it after you've got a few more whiskeys under your belt. You just might discover it to be a different whiskey after your palate has developed a bit.

Thanks for the reply none-the-less and for keeping this thread going. I'm glad you said that, very nice idea (holding onto something you may not fancy until your palette develops).

 

[irratebass]

Hello fellow Bourbonites, I too have decided to drink/collect bourbon but drink is the key word, like my cigars I plan on smoking everyone of them, and not collecting them.

OK, sorry rambling.....my 1st bourbon was Buffalo Trace, which I wasn't really a fan of, I found it too spicy.....sad to say

I then tried Woodford Reserve, and fell in love, it's just so smooth and delicious.

Then it was Blantons, holy cow that is liquid gold!

Elijah Craig later and wow!

So I went back to Buffalo Trace and found out that I really like them and did some research and found out that they make a lot of my favorites.

I started on bourbon, because I ran out of space for cigars and needed another vice lol. My neighbor gave me a cabinet thatni turned into a liquor cabinet (see pic below), and now I am in the process of filling it and enjoying my drinks with my cigars.


Thanks for this thread.

 

[SurfnSafari]

Two word of advice.

"Ten High"

That's a brand to stay away from.

 

[mi000ke]

Another dedicated bourbon drinker here. Several years ago my doc told me to have one alcoholic drink every night. At the time red wine was the thing - and while I enjoy a good wine with food, it's not what I think of as a "drink" Well the doc finally came around to OKing any alcohol. I never liked scotch but thought I'd give bourbon a try. Rather than rush out and buy bottles of stuff I might not like, I started ordering different bourbons in every bar I visited. Talking to the bartenders was a great source of info for a newbie. My first was a Makers, and to this day it is still my standard go to bourbon. But I have about 20 bottles at home in rotation, as I really enjoy drinking something different every night. I have tried probably about 100 different bourbons over the past few years, and settled on the ones I like the most, but I always order something I have not tried before when I go out to a bar or restaurant. I guess it really is like cigars. You find a good middle of the road smoke to start with, and work out from there trying many others until you identify the profile that seems to work for you. Oh, and always drunk neat!

For the newbie, my suggestion is to try one of the "easier" bourbons - so not a barrel proof/cask strength (unless you are already a whiskey drinker). The easy ones for me have been Makers, Woodford, Buffalo Trace - and for me, wheated bourbons in general. I had a friend suggest I start with Blanton's but when I finally got around to tasting it I found I did not like it that much. It is not an easy drink for me. But over time I found that I do enjoy more complex bourbons - but it takes time to get there. I just went back to try my bottle of Hudson Baby (100% corn mash bill) which I did not like at first, but a year later tastes really good, especially with a cigar.

And here's an interesting whiskey for bourbon drinkers: My daughter gave me a bottle of West Cork Black Reserve Irish Whiskey for Christmas She knows I'm not an Irish whiskey fan, but she had done a tasting of it recently (she's a part time bartender) and was blown away. It is produced by one of only two independent distillers in ireland, and it's aged in bourbon barrels. It tastes like a blend of whiskey, bourbon, and good sipping rum - and it's fantastic and very smooth. A nice change of pace.

 

[BourbonBinder]

Hello fellow Bourbonites, I too have decided to drink/collect bourbon but drink is the key word, like my cigars I plan on smoking everyone of them, and not collecting them.

OK, sorry rambling.....my 1st bourbon was Buffalo Trace, which I wasn't really a fan of, I found it too spicy.....sad to say

I then tried Woodford Reserve, and fell in love, it's just so smooth and delicious.

Then it was Blantons, holy cow that is liquid gold!

Elijah Craig later and wow!

So I went back to Buffalo Trace and found out that I really like them and did some research and found out that they make a lot of my favorites.

I started on bourbon, because I ran out of space for cigars and needed another vice lol. My neighbor gave me a cabinet thatni turned into a liquor cabinet (see pic below), and now I am in the process of filling it and enjoying my drinks with my cigars.


Thanks for this thread.

Welcome to the convo, I appreciate you adding to the thread and keeping it alive. I had all about forgotten about it lol. I notice you have a "stogies on the rocks" poster, I have that exact same one lol. I'm very happy that you found a new hobby in bourbon, your story is very similar to mine, only I got into Bourbon because I couldn't quite stomach anything else (Scotch, Run, Tequila, Brandy, Cognac etc). It was just red/dry wine and certain beer and I wanted something elegant that I could drink when I go out for business meetings and dates. Little did I know how passionate I would become; it has literally surpassed my love for cigars. Speaking oc cigars, I can't think of a more enjoying thing than having my feet up, a bourbon in one hand and a cigar in the other. Woodford was my first love and Blantons was my second, interesting similarities lol.

I will have to take your advice and retry certain ones that fell short of the mark when I first had them (Like Elijah Craig). Impressive collection so far, not just whiskey but your whole setup.

 

[SurfnSafari]

Bourbon is like most thing in life, some are just hype, other are like finding a Gold Nuggert in Sirerra Stream by accident. Some of the BOTL Member have posted brand that I have never seen for sale out by me.

Have a friend who I help with a VA problem, he bring me a bottle of Marker Mark, to me that is a home run, never disappointing, and very smooth.

Need to get over to the high rent part of town, to try and find some better Bourbons.

 

[BourbonBinder]

Another dedicated bourbon drinker here. Several years ago my doc told me to have one alcoholic drink every night. At the time red wine was the thing - and while I enjoy a good wine with food, it's not what I think of as a "drink" Well the doc finally came around to OKing any alcohol. I never liked scotch but thought I'd give bourbon a try. Rather than rush out and buy bottles of stuff I might not like, I started ordering different bourbons in every bar I visited. Talking to the bartenders was a great source of info for a newbie. My first was a Makers, and to this day it is still my standard go to bourbon. But I have about 20 bottles at home in rotation, as I really enjoy drinking something different every night. I have tried probably about 100 different bourbons over the past few years, and settled on the ones I like the most, but I always order something I have not tried before when I go out to a bar or restaurant. I guess it really is like cigars. You find a good middle of the road smoke to start with, and work out from there trying many others until you identify the profile that seems to work for you. Oh, and always drunk neat!

For the newbie, my suggestion is to try one of the "easier" bourbons - so not a barrel proof/cask strength (unless you are already a whiskey drinker). The easy ones for me have been Makers, Woodford, Buffalo Trace - and for me, wheated bourbons in general. I had a friend suggest I start with Blanton's but when I finally got around to tasting it I found I did not like it that much. It is not an easy drink for me. But over time I found that I do enjoy more complex bourbons - but it takes time to get there. I just went back to try my bottle of Hudson Baby (100% corn mash bill) which I did not like at first, but a year later tastes really good, especially with a cigar.

And here's an interesting whiskey for bourbon drinkers: My daughter gave me a bottle of West Cork Black Reserve Irish Whiskey for Christmas She knows I'm not an Irish whiskey fan, but she had done a tasting of it recently (she's a part time bartender) and was blown away. It is produced by one of only two independent distillers in ireland, and it's aged in bourbon barrels. It tastes like a blend of whiskey, bourbon, and good sipping rum - and it's fantastic and very smooth. A nice change of pace.

Thanks for the comment. Wow cool doctor. Like yourself I was never a fan of Scotch no matter what I tried. I even tried the good stuff like Johnny Walker Blue Label and Glennfidich Single Malt, and didn't "get" the taste of it. Hell it tasted a bit too medicinal for my liking. I too prefer to always choose my Bourbon neat first and foremost, then if need be (which is next to never) I had some drops of limestone water to it. I got into bourbon on a whim, from a suggestion by one of the members of another forum. How he described bourbon to me just got me excited in a way that I was almost certain I would take to it. I can appreciate your suggestion about going the bartender route (picking their brains and having them make suggestions), that's one way to do it for sure. I'm a researcher at heart (a statistician if you will), and I just love researching in depth what my next two bourbons are before I buy them (breakingbourbon.com for print reviews and The Bourbon Brothers for visual).

That's funny you say that about Blanton's. I actually made it a goal to first try Blanton's (blind bottle buy) after really getting seasoned with different bourbons prior to. This was the order (all blind bottle buys) that lead to arguably my third favorite Bourbon ever (Blanton's): Woodford Reserve Distillers Select, Eagle Rare, Elijah Craig 12, Angels Envy, Basil Hayden's then I was ready for Blanton's and boy was it worth it. If I had to suggest another great starting point for Bourbon, besides Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select, I would suggest Basil Hayden's. The great thing about Basil's is that it is 80 proof (lowest proof allowed) but drinks way higher (maybe 95 proof) and has a medium-long finish and a palate with various complexities.

 

[NOGILLS2]

I like this family tree!



https://www.gq.com/story/bourbon-whiskey-family-tree

 

[mi000ke]

I was visiting my daughter in Brooklyn last night, and we went out for drinks with her friend, and he has never had bourbon. (Best whiskey bar I have ever visited, by the way - see my post here http://www.botl.org/threads/todays-bourbon.86908/page-91#post-1991444 )

I was thinking about this thread and asked the owner of the bar what he would recommend for a first timer. He recommended Evan Williams 10 year. I would not have though of that ( I usually recommend Makers or Woodford Reserve). I had never tried the EW10 and took a sip and it was pretty good. Just a good, average, not too complex, kind of smooth bourbon. Not a bad place to start. Meanwhile, I got to down a couple of Pappy's!

 

[BourbonBinder]

I was visiting my daughter in Brooklyn last night, and we went out for drinks with her friend, and he has never had bourbon. (Best whiskey bar I have ever visited, by the way - see my post here http://www.botl.org/threads/todays-bourbon.86908/page-91#post-1991444 )

I was thinking about this thread and asked the owner of the bar what he would recommend for a first timer. He recommended Evan Williams 10 year. I would not have though of that ( I usually recommend Makers or Woodford Reserve). I had never tried the EW10 and took a sip and it was pretty good. Just a good, average, not too complex, kind of smooth bourbon. Not a bad place to start. Meanwhile, I got to down a couple of Pappy's!

I agree the Evan Williams Single Barrel (aged 10 years) is another great place to start, however there have been a number of batches that have missed the mark. I had the 2008 which was ok but not as good as previous releases. Still a very good single barrel bourbon that is less than $30

 

[irratebass]

OK, so last night I was speaking to a couple of regular customers who are also bourbon connoisseurs, and they were talking about not chasing bourbons that are labeled certain years as these are possibly marketing gimmicks to get newbs or uneducated bourbonites to spend the extra $ when the regular juice is just as good.......

They also mentioned that this bourbon craze with the hipsters is starting to fade and "glampimg" is the new 'it" thing, said RVs are being sold like crazy right now and in 10yrs all the good bourbon being made/released will be readily available......thoughts on both?

Also, for us newbs is there anyway we could have a list and meaning of all the abbreviations being thrown about?

Thanks

 

[BourbonBinder]

OK, so last night I was speaking to a couple of regular customers who are also bourbon connoisseurs, and they were talking about not chasing bourbons that are labeled certain years as these are possibly marketing gimmicks to get newbs or uneducated bourbonites to spend the extra $ when the regular juice is just as good.......

They also mentioned that this bourbon craze with the hipsters is starting to fade and "glampimg" is the new 'it" thing, said RVs are being sold like crazy right now and in 10yrs all the good bourbon being made/released will be readily available......thoughts on both?

Also, for us newbs is there anyway we could have a list and meaning of all the abbreviations being thrown about?

Thanks

I guess the only advice I could offer right how is to always look for two dates when buying a bourbon, and if they're not readily available ask someone or research it online. Those two dates are as follows:
1. When was the bourbon barreled
2. When was the bourbon bottled

Avoid getting a bourbon that is conflicting to that date or paying homage to any other date.....well I guess besides 1792 (when Kentucky entered the Union), which is used quite frequently in the Bourbon world.

 

[irratebass]

I guess the only advice I could offer right how is to always look for two dates when buying a bourbon, and if they're not readily available ask someone or research it online. Those two dates are as follows:
1. When was the bourbon barreled
2. When was the bourbon bottled

Avoid getting a bourbon that is conflicting to that date or paying homage to any other date.....well I guess besides 1792 (when Kentucky entered the Union), which is used quite frequently in the Bourbon world.

Very interesting, good advice....thanks, btw I signed up to bourbon brothers, and I'm reading his blog right now.

Curious which reviews did you not agree with?

 

[BourbonBinder]

Very interesting, good advice....thanks, btw I signed up to bourbon brothers, and I'm reading his blog right now.

Curious which reviews did you not agree with?

Thanks! I actually don't read his blog but I am a subscriber to their Youtube Channel. They are a prime example of being underrated but possessing the talent and the ability to captivate their audiences without droning on and on like some others (WhiskyBitch and Whiskey Blooded to name two.) They also don't come across as pompous or know-it-all's like the guys at "Whiskey Vault" (at least one of those guys is a complete knob head).

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVZCqh4uukiHNcyhmpgH-hQ

I actually hardly disagree with any of their reviews, they are pretty much spot on with my tastes and likes. Although I disagree with their review of Woodford Reserve Rye. I did not really enjoy mine as it was my first ever Rye experience and I was extra careful what I chose....but not careful enough it seems. I should've chose Rittenhouse BIB (Bottle in Bond)