So far, I've tried the 23-yr, the 20-yr, and the 15-yr.

Price is $30 for a shot of the 23-yr, $25 for a shot of the 20-yr, and $17 for a shot of the 15-yr. Not sure what the others are.

My preferences are a bit different from foobar's. I'd rank them 23>15>20.

My assessment of the 23-yr: Super strong caramel nose. If you were blindfolded, and someone presented you with a snifter of this stuff under your nose, you'd swear it was pure caramel. Not surprisingly, the taste is very sweet for a bourbon. Dominated by caramel, with a cinnamon, minty, brown-sugar note. I heard someone else describe it as an alcoholic cinnabon, which I found to be pretty apt. The second most notable feature is how remarkably smooth this whiskey is. It's labeled at 95.6 proof, but it's every bit as smooth as an 80 proof bourbon. It's not hugely complex though. It's a fine bourbon for sure, but no way is it worth hundreds or thousands of dollars a bottle.

The 20-yr-old had a similar taste profile, but not nearly as intensely sweet and caramel-dominated. The mint and cinnamon are more pronounced. I actually didn't like it that much; it kept reminding me of toothpaste. It's more one-dimensional than most high-end bourbons.

The 15-yr was more along the lines of a standard high-end wheated bourbon. It wasn't nearly as recognizable as the 23-yr or the 20-yr, both of which I could easily pick out blindfolded. The 15-yr, not so much. It was more balanced, without the dominating sweetness or mintyness of the other two.

Oh, and BTW the venue is Honor in Emeryville, just down the street from the Oaks Card Club if you ever play there. It's a great bar with good food; I would recommend it even apart from the PVW.

MA,

Honor is great.

Those prices seem really good!

^---this. Pretty rare to see bars not gouging you for van winkle these days. Multiple places in DC have the 23 for $100/pour.

Honor also has Sazerac 18 rye:



For the money, I'd say this whiskey is easily superior to the PVW bourbons, but it's a rye, so perhaps that's a bit unfair. It has much more complexity and spice, but is also very smooth. It's almost as complex and spicy as Whistlepig, but it's a lot smoother (being 90 proof, whereas WP is 100).

At this point, I'd say Sazerac 18 and Whistlepig are my go-to whiskeys when I want a really good drink. A well-made Old Fashioned using one of those ryes is a top shelf cocktail for sure.

I'd love to try some of the PVW rye, if anyone knows a place around the SF Bay area that pours it.

MA,

Looking forward to foo's response to you rating Whistlepig right next to saz 18.

Hard water has the pvw rye, but only as part of a soak you for all you have flight. Their prices are generally very expensive. For example, saz 18 is 30/1oz there. http://hardwaterbar.com/sample-menus/

I'd guess there's a good chance Rickhouse has it.

I can see why some people might not like Whistlepig -- it's a huge, in-your-face whiskey with zero subtlety or balance. But I like that.

Conversely, I've never been impress with the High West stuff (any of it). Way too wimpy, IMO.

That's just my palette though; taste is not open to dispute.

MA,

Have you had Whistlepig Boss Hog?

Lol. My problem w. The pig is more marketing/price point than the actual juice

I'm just saying that there are cheaper ways to get your Canadian rye fix. *cough* Jeffersons *cough*

Fwiw, I think I like the saz 18 better than the pig head to head in taste, but my personal ranking is handy >>>> both.

That said, blind side by side tasting is a great equalizer. If I get some time this holiday break, I'll do BMH 18, saz 18, whistle pig, hw 21, and handy blind with some friends and report back!

No, I haven't yet.

I'm actually trying to cut back a bit on my whiskey drinking (although you wouldn't know it from these posts LOL.)

Foo: blind tastings rule!

MA: if you love whistlepig, you need to try it. I don't think it's really worth the price, but it's really good.

^^ I will try to find some; thanks for the rec.

An early Christmas gift from my girl

I got my own Christmas gift today: Kavalan Solist sherry single cask, and Longrow 11 red port matured. Unfortunately I'm heading out of town today so the tasting will have to wait for a few days.

I feel back in the room, I have a Blantons and the longbow red port was omg delish at the whisky fringe this year. Excellent choices.

And here I am at my parents house and all they have in the way of any whisk(e)y is a bottle of Bushmills. Alas.

Happy holidays, all!

Best,
Pete

Well my local BevMo had the WP Boss Hog in stock, and I was feeling spendy -- it being Xmas and all -- so I went ahead and splurged on a bottle.

It's very good, but not so much better than the standard WP that I would continue to spend that much money on it. Plus. it's awfully high test, almost too much to comfortably drink neat, IMO.

MA,

Maybe you're too wimpy for it

Zing!!!!

So splash a little water in it. I used to be a purist about always taking whisky neat, but I've come to really enjoy occasionally splashing a little water into higher proof pours, usually half way through the glass.

Are most people here purists about taking high end whisky neat?

I am not. Actually, I go as far as adding a bit of water to almost every whisky I drink. The amount is usually proportional to the alcohol strength, but also to the age. Older whisky needs less water to open up.

water is fine obv....part of what makes buying cask strength whiskeys cool is the ability to dilute to taste. With most whiskey, this is already done for you. Keep some quality bottled water on hand though imo....putting ****ty tap water in your expensive whiskey makes you kind of an arsehole.

I'm fine with the idea of putting water in whiskey, but in this case, I'd rather just buy the standard WP for a lot less money and not have to dilute it. But I'll see if I can detect a significant difference between the two.

Last year for Christmas my wife got me a bottle of this swill, as a "joke":



That I have never opened the Ron Burgundy has not escaped her notice… and so I had to let her know that one does not "joke" with single malt scotch. *HARUMPH*

When she asked what I wanted this year in the way of a scotch I didn't hesitate to provide some input and thus, was pleased to find THIS stalwart under the tree earlier this morning:



As Tiny Tim aptly put it, "A Merry Christmas to us all; God bless us, every one!" Well, dog bless the scotch, at least.

A merry christmas indeed! managed to get this from my gf.



excited to see how it changed my tasting notes/experience. The "decay" smell is seriously gag-inducing and I hope to never find it in a whiskey. would make a great April fools gag though.

i got this beauty from my brother!

now i will try to restrain myself 5 years til i open it.....