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Deceptive Thinker posted:It's similar in the sense that they said the goal is trying to show that good single malts can come from all over the world rather than just Scotland. Not a "haha our whiskey is better than yours" So I watched the follow up from last night and they did give away 2 things about the whiskey the Westland expression was their new "flagship" expression and the scotch was a "Top 5" Speyside distillery and the way they described it made it seem a bit "holier than thou"- so I have a hunch based on my notes that it was Macallan No details on the Australian and Indian, but there are far fewer possibilities for those
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Jan 20, 2022 15:00
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Professor Shark posted:You guys seem to like Wild Turkey and I’m intrigued. We have 81 and 101 available in my province, are either of those good? 101 is widely seen as a bang for the buck king in the US, but it has a kind of funky note that people either a) don't pick up on at all, b) love or c) hate.
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Jan 20, 2022 15:44
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The 81 I'd leave on the shelf, the 101 is good and the Rare Breed is great.
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Jan 20, 2022 19:50
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spankmeister posted:The 81 I'd leave on the shelf, the 101 is good and the Rare Breed is great. IIRC the old WT80 was younger/shittier than 101 in addition to being lower proof, while the 81 that replaced it is literally 101 + H2O. I think the price difference is pretty much proportional to the proof difference lol
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Jan 20, 2022 20:20
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Cool, I’ll give the 101 a shot!
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Jan 20, 2022 23:23
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spankmeister posted:The 81 I'd leave on the shelf, the 101 is good and the Rare Breed is great. Yep. They apparently use somewhat older stock for 101 and treat it as their flagship, whereas the 81 is basically a super cheapo mixer. The 101 rye is also solid and 1/3 the price of the Rare Breed Rye if you can find it.
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Jan 21, 2022 07:32
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There is also Buffalo Trace for a couple bucks more. Which would be better as an intro to bourbon?
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Jan 21, 2022 10:08
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Professor Shark posted:There is also Buffalo Trace for a couple bucks more. Which would be better as an intro to bourbon? BT availability is incredibly hit or miss, but if you can get it for a couple bucks more than 101 I'd go with BT
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Jan 21, 2022 12:26
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Availability aside, I think it would come down to preference / personal taste. I much prefer WT101 to standard BT.
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Jan 21, 2022 15:20
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I think buffalo trace is going to be more enjoyed as an intro imo
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Jan 21, 2022 15:31
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Definitely go with BT for a bourbon intro. It's a solid bourbon if you can find it.
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Jan 21, 2022 15:41
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WT101 has a lot of fans but it's more of a love it or hate it product IMO. It's also a bit hot for a bourbon newbie.
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Jan 21, 2022 15:43
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BT is alright. I have a bottle of it and I'm struggling a bit with it due to it being the lower-proof EU version. 40% ABV just doesn't do it for me anymore.
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Jan 21, 2022 19:29
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Rare breed rye was so god drat good I’m officially converted. The availability of both makes it taste better also. I recently had a e.h bib rye and while I preferred it it wasn’t much better and I don’t have to sell a toe for it. I’m slowly turning into liking that 30-50% rye range like with the rare breed and monarch.
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Jan 21, 2022 19:38
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Vox Nihili posted:The 101 rye is also solid and 1/3 the price of the Rare Breed Rye if you can find it. The 101 rye is awesome. I haven't had the Rare Breed, but with these last few posts I'm going to have to pick up a bottle. Professor Shark posted:There is also Buffalo Trace for a couple bucks more. Which would be better as an intro to bourbon? BT is right down the middle. If you created in a lab what "bourbon" tastes like. I much prefer Wild Turkey 101. Speaking of Wild Turkey, I walked into a liquor store today and saw the newest Master's Keep, One. Which, yeah I'm excited for it and I got it for MSRP, but I googled it looking for reviews and some of these prices are nuts. Do you think there's any chance I could actually swap that plus a Weller 12 for something like a Thomas Handy, or is that just not nearly enough? I've never done anything with the secondary market ever, but I had a pour of Handy at a bar and it was one of the best whiskies I've ever had, and I think it's generally disrespected for a BTAC?
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Jan 21, 2022 23:00
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Do you guys trust the secondary? Paying a grand for a bottle that could be $30 bourbon with a resealed top?
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Jan 21, 2022 23:19
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Lowness 72 posted:Do you guys trust the secondary? Paying a grand for a bottle that could be $30 bourbon with a resealed top? Not at all
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Jan 21, 2022 23:25
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Lowness 72 posted:Do you guys trust the secondary? Paying a grand for a bottle that could be $30 bourbon with a resealed top? I don't like to condone secondary but if you do local trades and get references or ask for receipts it usually helps a bit Also, if it's a 21 BTAC bottle they started doing RFID tags to detect if it's open
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Jan 22, 2022 00:02
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 Decided to pick one up since a few of you spoke highly of this bottle. Smells like old Fuji apple, vanilla and a mixture of woods. Taste is big and bold, lots of orange, spices and spicy cinnamon. Finish lasts for a long time, but isn’t overly hot. Adding a few drops of water the nose changes to some baked bread and nuts. The palate also becomes much spicier. There is a minty thing going on in my throat. Overall pretty good, I would give this a smiley face.
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Jan 24, 2022 04:15
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Really tempted to try Rare Breed Rye. I love the bourbon but haven't tried the rye because it's $60 compared to $45 for the bourbon. Does anyone know how it compares to Pikesville, which is my favorite rye in that price range (and also only $45)? Picked up some store picks. The Stellum rye was 117 proof and $55. The ABC also had regular Stellum rye and bourbon. They also had 2 bourbon store picks but those were $10-15 more, and I've had regular Stellum bourbon in the past and it was "high proof but nothing special." This store pick rye is very good and has a very orange finish. The New Riff was 114 proof and $50. I had a different store pick from the same ABC last year and it was good but I wouldn't have bought it again. This one is better but less interesting than the Stellum rye and I also wouldn't get it again. I think I'm done trying New Riff bourbon but I'd try a store pick rye. The 2 bottles are very complementary basically 2 sides of the same coin. 
Josh Lyman fucked around with this message at 06:15 on Jan 24, 2022 |
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Jan 24, 2022 06:05
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Josh Lyman posted:Really tempted to try Rare Breed Rye. I love the bourbon but haven't tried the rye because it's $60 compared to $45 for the bourbon. Does anyone know how it compares to Pikesville, which is my favorite rye in that price range (and also only $45)? Deceptive Thinker posted:Solo blind tasting today of high proof ryes
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Jan 24, 2022 21:18
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Pikesville rules, I got a KC rye barrel pick just over 6 years old that's pretty good too but Pikesville is still my rye king.
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Jan 24, 2022 23:05
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Costco has 6 packs of Glencairns for $30, in the kitchen appliances area. They're about 8% lighter and a slightly different shade (clearer?) than 2 Glencairns I got from Bed Bath and Beyond back in October 2020 though. 
Josh Lyman fucked around with this message at 01:30 on Jan 25, 2022 |
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Jan 25, 2022 01:25
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One of those is likely fake, sorry to say
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Jan 25, 2022 01:42
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Josh Lyman posted:Really tempted to try Rare Breed Rye. I love the bourbon but haven't tried the rye because it's $60 compared to $45 for the bourbon. Does anyone know how it compares to Pikesville, which is my favorite rye in that price range (and also only $45)? Pikesville at $45 is a better deal I think, but personally I prefer Rare Breed. It brings more intense rye notes in my estimation (although not as much as MGP make). They're both solid, though. Josh Lyman posted:Costco has 6 packs of Glencairns for $30, in the kitchen appliances area. They're about 8% lighter and a slightly different shade (clearer?) than 2 Glencairns I got from Bed Bath and Beyond back in October 2020 though. There are "official" Glencairns and unofficial glassware made by other companies that may look almost but not quite identical. If it's marked as "Glencairn" at Costco that should be the real thing. Not that it really matters.
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Jan 25, 2022 01:43
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Josh Lyman posted:Costco has 6 packs of Glencairns for $30, in the kitchen appliances area. They're about 8% lighter and a slightly different shade (clearer?) than 2 Glencairns I got from Bed Bath and Beyond back in October 2020 though. It doesn't matter that much, but most of the fake Glencairns I've seen do not have the mark on the bottom of the glass. There are other material/shape differences, but the fakes are pretty close.
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Jan 25, 2022 02:09
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Don’t they also say “The Glencarin Glass” on the bottom or some poo poo?
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Jan 25, 2022 02:11
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They both say "The Glencairn Glass" on the bottom. Bed Bath Beyond is on the left, Costco on the right: BBBY came in this packaging:  Costco came in this: 
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Jan 25, 2022 02:15
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Vox Nihili posted:Pikesville at $45 is a better deal I think, but personally I prefer Rare Breed. It brings more intense rye notes in my estimation (although not as much as MGP make). They're both solid, though.
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Jan 25, 2022 02:21
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Strange, those glasses look perfectly fine to me. Probably an manufacturing thing, cutting costs or just a different factory. I wouldn't say it matters in terms of how the glass is "supposed to operate". I do like a glass that is slightly heavier.
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Jan 25, 2022 02:31
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Josh Lyman posted:The MGP Rye I've had most often is Bulleit which is solid for $35 but I'd rather spend $45 for Pikesville due to flavor and proof. I'm a fan of cask strength MGP but it's a pain to find affordably. Used to be that some of the Whistlepig store picks were 10-year cask strength MGP (labeled as product of Indiana rather than Canada) but I doubt those are still a thing. "Bone Snapper Rye" is also cask strength MGP. I also see Old Scout Rye sometimes, which I believe is MGP now as well. Essentially anything with a Made in Indiana label is MGP. They also do their own in-house brand now ("George Remus") but they're pricey.
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Jan 25, 2022 03:07
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Vox Nihili posted:I'm a fan of cask strength MGP but it's a pain to find affordably. Used to be that some of the Whistlepig store picks were 10-year cask strength MGP (labeled as product of Indiana rather than Canada) but I doubt those are still a thing. MGP's in house Bourbon is George Remus, but the rye brand is now Rossville Union and it's 5-6 year cask strength for about 70 Nashville Barrel Company, NULU, and Stellum Single Barrel (like the one JL posted) are all also MGP
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Jan 25, 2022 13:37
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Vox Nihili posted:I'm a fan of cask strength MGP but it's a pain to find affordably. Used to be that some of the Whistlepig store picks were 10-year cask strength MGP (labeled as product of Indiana rather than Canada) but I doubt those are still a thing. There are certainly a number of craft distilleries in Indiana that actually make their own product (like ours), but they are still few and far between the places that just relabel and upcharge MGP. We've had people come into our distillery, take a tour of our production facility, and still call us liars to our face when we say we make everything ourselves and don't do sourcing. Hard to change the assumption when so many companies have and will continue to trick consumers for as long as they have.
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Jan 25, 2022 13:44
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Anyone tried the Booker's Bardstown Batch or Noe Strangers Batch? Worth the money for the wooden box and wax top?
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Jan 26, 2022 02:38
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Deceptive Thinker posted:MGP's in house Bourbon is George Remus, but the rye brand is now Rossville Union and it's 5-6 year cask strength for about 70 drat I really should have remembered this considering I own a bottle of the barrel proof version of Rossville Union. The downside of the in-house MGP brand is that it's priced well into the "premium" range despite being basically the same as sourced MGP products. Vox Nihili fucked around with this message at 00:56 on Jan 27, 2022 |
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Jan 27, 2022 00:53
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Klungar posted:There are certainly a number of craft distilleries in Indiana that actually make their own product (like ours), but they are still few and far between the places that just relabel and upcharge MGP. We've had people come into our distillery, take a tour of our production facility, and still call us liars to our face when we say we make everything ourselves and don't do sourcing. Hard to change the assumption when so many companies have and will continue to trick consumers for as long as they have. Oh yeah, running an actual craft distillery in Indiana sounds like a huge pain due to the assumption that Indiana made = MGP. It's pretty close to being a safe assumption out here in California but it makes sense that there's a lot more going on locally.
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Jan 27, 2022 00:59
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Vox Nihili posted:drat I really should have remembered this considering I own a bottle of the barrel proof version of Rossville Union. Yeah, generally. But the Repeal Reserve is sub $100, and if some company bought a bunch of old MGP bourbon and slapped a 13 year age statement on it, they could easily charge $200+.
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Jan 27, 2022 02:20
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The place I went to had sold out of Buffalo Trace and based on what I like the guy said WT101 might be a bit out of my league. They didn’t have any in, but he said Knob Creek is a pretty good starting point. They had the rye version, but I think I want to try the original before going to the flankers.
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Jan 27, 2022 02:31
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Professor Shark posted:The place I went to had sold out of Buffalo Trace and based on what I like the guy said WT101 might be a bit out of my league. They didn’t have any in, but he said Knob Creek is a pretty good starting point. They had the rye version, but I think I want to try the original before going to the flankers. FWIW I like the standard Knob Creek 9 year bourbon better than either BT or WT101. It's usually easy to get too.
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Jan 27, 2022 02:46
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Professor Shark posted:The place I went to had sold out of Buffalo Trace and based on what I like the guy said WT101 might be a bit out of my league. They didn’t have any in, but he said Knob Creek is a pretty good starting point. They had the rye version, but I think I want to try the original before going to the flankers. For total beginner, and bonus that it's such a low investment, I would suggest Evan Williams Bottled in Bond or the 1783. 1783 for me is more cola, whereas the BiB is more corn sweetness, but both are really solid. And if you hate them, you're only out like $13.
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Jan 27, 2022 03:10
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