Yes, I feel it's not good to forget about the blends. I think I always will have at least one in my small collection, for example some of the ones you are enjoying.


I've done some math. If I consume 5 centiliters of whisky on average every second day, a bottle containing 75 centiliters will last for 30 days. The consumption will then be be 12 bottles of whisky every year, with this very small consumption rate. Plan not to drink anything else. Getting to test at least 12 new whiskies every year!

17,5 centiliters of whisky per week is very little. If you take one shot of 5 centiliters on average every day, you get to consume 24 bottles on a yearly basis. Maybe I'll go for 15-20 bottles per year, sounds much, but look at the math.

Have only got to page 2 so far, but enjoying the thread so far, problem is I'm sat at work and now I fancy a whisky.

I'm a recent convert to whisky, have bought a fair few bottles and just learning about the differences between them. As someone else mentioned I know what I like, but I'm not good at describing the flavours etc.

A bit off topic, but heading to Vegas in a week or so, what whisky do you recommend that I will be able to order for free while gambling?

PSA to bourbon drinkers: check out Lincoln Henderson's Angels Envy

Saw that for the first time the other day and almost picked it up. What's it like?

Tried it a couple months ago...it wasn't for me personally. Not sure how well received it was in general but I'm glad i tried it rather than buying a bottle.

Looking for suggestions on new bourbons. My taste- I find Basil Hayden to be a bit overrated, Woodford Reserve a bit underrated, and Buffalo Trace to be an amazing bang for your buck. I'm looking for a reasonable sip every night bottle (currently WR or BT) and something for more special nights (pretty clueless here aside from Pappy).

I don't regret I just obtained another whisky: Laphroaig Quarter Cask, Islay Single Malt.

My single word characterization: Smoky. That word can't cover how thrilling it is though

Reasonable- Eagle Rare. I bought a bottle (~$33 for a 750ml in MA) on the advice of ppl in this thread and it is my new go to. Very very good for the $. Really smooth.

I've got no recs for special nights but I found Pappys(15 + 20) to be pretty overrated. Maybe it's just my newb palate tho.

For everyday stuff if you like BT check out Old Weller Antique...BT puts it out but its higher proof and at least used to be aged longer though I'm not sure about that anymore as they did away with their age statement. It's a wheater though so will have a very similar taste profile. Baby Sazerac and Rittenhouse BIB are great everyday ryes.

For something special you can't go wrong with George T Stagg or William Larue Weller from the BTAC. The newest EH Taylor Tornado Survivor is also really good. Parkers Heritage Collection 10 yr wheated is amazing. It was their 4th release and they are currently on the 5th so it might be tougher to find. Check out some of the 7+ yr aged Willett offerings as well. I've really enjoyed all that I've tried...also tried a 5 yr that was great too. Van Winkle rye is the best bang for my buck even over their Pappy offerings but its pretty tough to come by as they have a very limited supply that is tanked and has to last them the next few years until the rye their aging currently reaches 13 years old.

tpf,

Quick scan down the bourbons at klwines.com, I think all of these are very good values and I'm happy to drink them all:

Four Roses $20
WL Weller $25
*Eagle Rare 10 $25
Jefferson's $30
*Rowan's Creek $40
Four Roses Single Barrel $40
*Blanton's $47
Jefferson's Reserve $50
*Noah's Mill $55
*Vintage Bourbon 17 $68

Looking at caskstore.com where the prices are always a few bucks higher but they usually have some less common stuff, a few others:

*Black Maple Hill $34
*Willett 6/8 ~$50
*Willett 16/17 ~$110
*Black Maple Hill 16/23 ~$130

*'s next to my favorites.

If I were you I'd prob grab an Eagle Rare 10 and either a 6/7/8yo Willett or Vintage Bourbon 17 if you can find those in the $50-70 range.

If you want to try some rye, Templeton Rye and Willett 3yo Rye are both incredible deals imo at ~$35.

PS: DO NOT GET THE POT STILL WILLETT THAT COMES IN A WEIRD LOOKING BOTTLE. IT SUCKS IMO. Everything I've had that they make in a normal bottle w/ a sorta cream label has been great, though, with one exception that I'll make a separate post for.

Willett fans,

I have previously had Willett 3yo Rye ($35), and various bottles of Willett Bourbon (ranging from ~$50-~$200) - I believe 6/7/8/13/16/17/18/20-something. I've enjoyed them all a lot.

Last week I tried the Willett 23yo (~$220) at a friend's house and really wasn't into it. The nose was nice, and the initial sip had great caramel and fruity flavors to it, but the alcohol taste was just too harsh. I love the 140 proof older bourbons, even though they are very hot, they feel balanced. But the alcohol on this one was just too hot/harsh for me (I later tried some w/ a little water and that took care of the heat fine). Much worse for me, though, I just hated the finish. It was woody/oaky/maybe even sorta grassy, and kinda bitter even. Left a bad taste in my mouth, literally and figuratively. Was not into it at all.

Has anyone else had that rye? From reading some reviews, it sounds like that is pretty much how it is supposed to taste, but people seem to love it.

The only two older ryes I've had before this were Sazerac 18 and High West 16, and I like them a lot, especially the high west.

Got a couple of issues of the Whisky Magazine, and became a subscriber. Figure I'll try to go deep into this ultimately. Long way to go, pros itt

Thanks for the awesome responses. Will report back!

plaay,

Please don't take this the wrong way, because I've enjoyed your posts and hope you continue posting here. However, I get this weird sense from your posts that you are approaching this almost like a job, in a really analytical/scientific manner. We're of course an overly logical bunch here at 2+2, but I think you might enjoy this a little more in a more relaxed manner. There are lots of bottles (like the Balvenie 12 and Laphroaig Quarter Cask you picked up) that have been discussed a lot here that people tend to like a lot. I'd just try some of those at bars, and then from time to time maybe pick up a bottle or two. Don't worry so much about the exact mix/range of stuff you're tasting - figuring out what you really like is a long process and a big part of the fun. And FYI I think you'll probably enjoy Oban, Talisker, and Highland Park quite a bit.

Devil:

Re: Willett Pot Still Bourbon (i.e. the fancy bottle) - Agree that it's crap and should be avoided. Note that the Pot Still is actually produced by KBD (the same people who source Vintage Bourbon). The big difference between the Pot Still and the other Willetts is that KBD, from what I understand, actually distills the pot still, while the other Willetts are all just private bottlings (i.e. somebody, The Party Source, etc. picks a barrel from distillery X that they like and want to sell and use KBD as the middleman to bottle and distribute). There's some more detail in this post I made earlier in the thread if you're interested.

Re: Willett 23 Ryes. I've had two different Willett 23 ryes, and both were super duper awesome. That said, they were almost definitely different than what you're drinking as they were released circa early 2000s. Haven't seen any old Rye under the Willett label recently, but will probably stay away from it if I do based on your review.

I've been drinking at lot of Rye at various ages lately. Not sure what I think the sweet spot is for age on them. Some of the 23 years (Vintage 23 I'm looking in your direction) I've had feel like they spent too much time in the barrel and the Oak really dominates to the point of being over-powering. On the other hand, others seem to do well with so much age. The aforementioned Willetts and a Black Maple Hill 23 Rye rank up there among my favorite Whiskeys - well-balanced, complex flavors, and finish that lingers forever (in a good way).

foo,

Thanks for the info. Weird that I disliked the Pot Still so much, because I really like Vintage Bourbon, Rowan's Creek, and Noah's Mill a ton.

"Oak really dominates to the point of being over-powering"

That's a very good description of the 23yo Willett Rye I just had (it came from a Bay Area BevMo, I'll try and grab a shot of the bottle details sometime soon).

Hmm, looks like it was actually 24yo rye. Here's a pic of the front:

foobar,

As far as I know and I could be wrong but KBD weren't producing the Willett pot still themselves nor did they have the means to until very recently. They have recently gotten their own still and have been producing white dog and barreling it but that is a new development in the last several months.

Also KBD is aging the bourbon they release on site. They do/have sourced their white dog from other distilleries and some of their older stuff years ago may have spent more time on someone else's property aging than on theirs...but as of now their younger releases and maybe even older releases are all aged on site there the whole time. I'm not sure of any of the details of that and there are some people who would have a better idea but KBD keeps everything pretty private so all everyone can really do is speculate about who the source of each release they put out is from.

Lucid,

Went back and double-checked and you're right. KBD just sources the pot still like everything else. Had read an article somewhat recently about how they started production and confused that with producing the pot still in reply to diablo.

Re: where bourbon/rye are sourced. This is a hot topic of debate for the guys over at straightbourbon.com and some of them get quite worked up over paying a premium for booze of unknown origin. Personally, i don't much care as long as it tastes good.

Almost 100% positive this isn't the case for the majority of the Willett releases, but may well be true for their other labels.

Yea, the older Willett releases it likely isn't the case but I was talking more the Willett 3/5/7/8 year releases. Of course that may not be the case for those either as I've never toured KBD. You are correct that the do now have an operational pot still and are distilling but any of that bourbon will be at least 3 years away from being bottled and sold.

Re: the newfound white dog market

Anybody see this as anything more than marketing move to create cachet to sell young, crappy booze?

foo,

No. But it's not as bold and awesome as the marketing move behind the Buffalo Trace Single Oak Project!

ElD,

Bold isn't even he right word for selling people bad/decent whiskey at a premium price and making it seem as though they are special for being allowed to partake in such a unique "project". There is really no downside however as they have much of the premium bourbon market cornered. People like me will see the Single Oak Project for what it is and pass on it while still continuing to pick up my favorites from the BTAC and Van Winkle line. Those who fall for it will still buy all their other premiums too. There is just no consequences for doing this...people won't boycott their favorite bourbons because there isn't a lot to replace those with right now.

Lucid,

Agree on your thoughts about single oak project. What do you think about BTEC? A few of the offerings seem interesting but pretty steep price for 375ml bottles IMO.

Lucid,

Just to be clear, I agree with you that Single Oak project is a joke.