Great report! Your comment about the results with the apple are making me consider finishing my batch earlier than the recommended five days; tonight would be four days total.

Give it a shot and see how it tastes. I just used a spoon, and got maybe 1/4 of a spoonful to taste, so you won't waste much.

Also, from what I've read the filtering (either through cheesecloth or a coffee filter if you have to) is really important. It seems like that to do with more than just keeping apple bits out of your whiskey too, so I'm wondering if it will freshen up the whiskey flavor or something.

I'd hate to overreact when the flavor is going to change again after straining, so I'm torn on what to do. We'll see how it tastes tonight I guess.

going to this place tomorrow

http://www.drinkwellaustin.com/Drink...urrentMenu.pdf

any must tries from their bourbon/Rye list?

So, I recently remember that my first taste of Lagavulin was from a smaller then usual bottle. Not airplane sized, but smaller then the standard. I got it from a friend, and I'd like to get one for another friend.

Anyone know where to get one of those? The couple of stores around here that I thought would have it, don't.

Yup I tried a spoonful earlier today and decided it had enough apple flavour to finish the steeping period. Tonight I used cheesecloth to filter impurities from the liquor, re-bottled it and tried some.

The first thing I noticed is that thanks to the filtering, it is immeasurably smoother than the original whiskey; which is saying something as Glenmorangie is smooth in itself. The second was that you probably lose about 10% of the fluid into the apples, so you won't be topping up a full bottle when you're done.

I am really unsure if I like the taste or not. The 'bite' of the alcohol is almost entirely absent, but it has been replaced with a tarty apple finish that reminds me a little of the chemical-apple aftertaste of a really commercial apple cider. I should point out that it isn't the fact that it's fruity that I find unpleasant (I really enjoy fruity grappa/rakia), but that the fruit flavour is more of a 'rindy' taste than a subtle essence that permeates the liquor. It definitely tastes best over ice I think, but I can't imagine adding any kind of mixer to it other than maybe a dash of soda.

I will definitely try this process again, but imo for any whiskey purist you would probably wouldn't want to drink this too often. What impressed (smoothness and lack of alcoholic 'bite') in the process would suggest to me that this technique would work very well with vodkas and berry flavours, as vodka in itself is less demanding to drink anyway. I really like the bite in whiskey; removing it really makes it feel like you aren't even drinking whiskey at all.

Talking about this? http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-6999.aspx

Is it possible that the finished product is less alcoholic? Doesn't fruit absorb alcohol? I bet you'd get messed up if you ate just the fruit.

Yep. They ship to the US right? I thought that was illegal, so I always searched for US companies who had these, but never found one.

Thanks.

I guess it wasn't fair to ask to comb through a long menu, so I've posted the list. I have no bourbon knowledge so any must tries in the below list?

1792 Ridgemont Reserve Bourbon (KY). . .. 8
Basil Hayden 8 Year Bourbon (KY). . .. . 11
Black Maple Hill Bourbon (KY). . .. 10
Blanton’s Bourbon (KY). . .. 14
Booker’s Bourbon (KY). . .. . 13
Buffalo Trace (KY). . .. . 7
Buffalo Trace Texas Editions 1 thru 4 (KY). . .. 8
Bulleit Bourbon (KY). . .. . 8
Corner Creek Reserve Bourbon (KY). . .. . 6
Eagle Rare Single Barrel 10 Year (KY). . .. . 8
Elijah Craig 12 Year Bourbon (KY). . .. . 8
Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon (KY). . .. . 9
Four Roses Yellow Label Bourbon (KY). . .. . 6
Garrison Brothers Texas Bourbon (TX). . .. . 14
Hudson Baby Bourbon (NY). . .. . 18
Hudson Four Grain Bourbon (NY). . .. . 18
Jefferson Presidential Select 18 Year Bourbon (KY). . .. 16
Knob Creek Single Barrel (KY). . .. . 9
Maker’s Mark (KY). . .. . 7
Maker’s 46 (KY). . .. . 9
Noah’s Mill Bourbon (KY). . .. . 12
Parker’s Heritage Bourbon (KY). . .. 15
Ranger Creek .36 Bourbon (TX). . .. . 15
Rowan’s Creek Bourbon (KY). . .. . 9
Van Winkle 12 Year Bourbon (KY). . .. . 16
*Very Old Barton 6 Year Bourbon (KY). . .. . 6
Willet Pot Still Bourbon (KY). . .. 10
Willet 4 Year Bourbon (KY). . .. . 9
Willet 5 Year Bourbon (KY). . .. . 11
Willet 6 Year Bourbon (KY). . .. . 12
Willet 7 Year Bourbon (KY). . .. . 14
Willet 20 Year Bourbon (KY). . .. . 30
Woodford Reserve Distiller’s Select (KY). . .. . 10
Woodford Reserve Seasoned Oak Finish (KY). . .. . 17

Got a bottle of Glenlivet 15 for my birthday.. it's good, but it's no 18

Having a few people around for whiskey drinking tomorrow, and need some ideas for foods/snacks to have on hand for 7-8 people. Dark chocolate, charcuterie, grill up some beef or pork, cheeses? Mostly whiskey noobs.

A,

That all sounds good.

Amoeba,

Black Maple Hill is great. I'm picking up a bottle of Booker's tonight, I can share my thoughts then. I'm a whisky noob though.

Amoeba, I am a pretty big fan of Parkers, Rowans Creek, and Blantons. Anything Willet makes is great.....the 20 yr is going to be substantially better than everything else on that last, hence the price. The 7 yr is also great.

Just bought a bottle of Oban 14. Thoughts?

Edit - saw it marked down to $49 and couldn't pass it up. Pretty much the same way I buy wine - look for the biggest mark down.

I'm not educated enough in whisky/scotch to have any meaningful descriptive words, but I dig it.

Thumbs up for Booker's bourbon. My bottle says 64.6% avb, but it didn't feel that strong at first taste. Great nose but it can get overpowering because of the alcohol content. Sipped it neat first, and then added some water to it. More flavors that I can't really describe started to show up after I added water. Amoeba, I'd certainly recommend it.

ah unfortunately I had to go before I read all these recommendations but there is always a next time.

I ended trying the Noah's Mill Bourbon straight and Willet Rye in an Old Fashioned.

The Noah's is quite spicy with a slight hint of caramel. This is a very strong bourbon and is quite high proof at over 110 proof. There is a solid alchoholic attack and a long finish. Enjoyable though I probably should have had the Old Fashioned before it.

I like the way this new place makes Old Fashioned. No Cherry, No Orange flesh, no soda water, just sugar cube, bitters, a bit of water, rubbed orange peel, booze.

I stopped buying new whiskies some time ago. The plan is to renew my collection. Right now I'm sipping some Irish whiskey, Greenore, among the last shots of that nice bottle.

Problem with my strategy is that the favorites have all gone and will go first, leaving many of the less preferred left. I try to look at this long term though, knowing the work will pay off in the end, getting a totally new fresh collection of exciting W.

I have one blend in my collection, close to untouched, the Ballantines 12y. That after "mucking" the Famous Grouse earlier, after deciding to drink quality. I'd better take care the Ballantine will not be my sole bottle of whisky, after the single malts are consumed. Horrific not to have the freedom of choice.

I did, but it's been >4 years. Was excellent for what I remember. That night also led to me cheating on my gf, so take that with a grain of salt.

Anybody know the difference between Tullemore Dew, Tullemore Dew in a crock, and Tullemore Dew 10yr?

Alright, finally the finished products! It took so long because I waited until all of them were finished and the blueberry bourbon took a while to get some flavor.



I filtered the apple whiskey after 3 days. I think that was the right choice. It definitely has some apple flavor and is smoother, but it retained that whiskey bite at the end of the sip that lets you know there's still alcohol there. Overall I think this one was a success. Not a roaring success though, so I'm interested to try it with crab apples, dried granny smiths, or with a lower ratio next time.

I also finished the cherry whiskey off at the 3 day mark. This one is just silly so depending on what you like you'll either love this or hate it. It barely tastes like whiskey at all. I mean, it has that warm glow taste/feeling but there is no bite and it tastes like cherries. I don't mean like a hint of cherries, I mean like cherries. This is actually WAY smoother than the apple one, but there's so much more flavor infused that I wouldn't recommend doing it if you wanted a smooth whiskey-tasting alcohol. Not 100% sure what I'm going to do with it (other than fight off every girl in a 20 mile radius because this is like their dream in a bottle) but I'll let you know what recipes I end up liking.

And finally the blueberry bourbon that I just filtered today.

<strike>Like I said, there wasn't a lot of flavor that made it through to the bourbon. In some ways that's a good thing because it is still definitely a bourbon. But at the same time I wanted you to at least realize you were getting something different.</strike>

Ok, after writing that I went back and did a mini taste test against what I had left in the original Bulleit bottle. There's definitely more flavor. I obviously couldn't identify it as blueberry (admittedly my palate isn't the most refined) but there is an enhanced sweetness on the front end that goes beyond your standard corn liquor. I'm way more in on this blueberry bourbon now after doing that quick test, and looking forward to trying it in a Boulevardier.

Update about my whisky buying strategy:

Couldn't stand to let my collection dwindle totally before buying new. So today I came up with this: the same time as I'm filling the tank in my car up, I take a look at what the nearby liquor store has to offer (well equipped with different whiskies). Kind of filling up car and man at the same time

Remembered that the Bowmore tasted well when getting a 5cl bottle, and got a full 70cl, not expensive, but good. I'll try to keep away from the three numbered prices. Can't afford them in the long run.

Mmbt and other dude,

Awesome trip reports. I am actually most tempted to try the cherry infusion now. Slightly smoother apple flavored whiskey doesn't sound all that interesting, especially since I really enjoy a bit of heat. But some weird cherry-whiskey liquor sounds strange and intriguing, though perhaps kinda gross too.

A friend is bringing her bf over to the wife and I's for the weekend. I asked what he drank and the answer was "scotch". Is jw black a decent scotch to have on hand?

I have no idea If He drinks ridic expensive single malts or mc****tinghams with orange juice.