Bourbon Whiskey and its drinks

[Ashoka]

Okay lets take a bit of a break from the sensitive topics.. onto a REALLY SENSITIVE topic!!!!

 

The mint julep mention by Pdoggg got me thinking.. How many of us really like Bourbon?

 

I personally like Four Roses and Jack Daniels.

Mostly I don't drink it neat, so I'll do the mint Julep or a lemonade with the bourbon.

My missus likes it with Pepsi (I think most all thai's like whiskey's on the rocks with Pepsi).

 

So what do you guys like?

And @Pdoggg since you're from my neck of the woods.. did you find any NY made bourbons to your liking?

[duke007]

JD has never done it for me tbh, not my bag

I will try a couple of others in the Whiskey Lounge (Delirious Bar) though come November, be rude not too. 

[Ashoka]

I've never bought a bottle of this but I did like a sample drink

Quite expensive though..

[Quietguy]

I've never tried American bourbon. I don't usually drink spirits. In UK winter I'll have some Jamesons Irish whiskey or a cheap Spanish brandy on a cold dark night.

In los I generally stick to red wine or beer.

[Ashoka]

9 hours ago, Quietguy said:

I've never tried American bourbon. I don't usually drink spirits. In UK winter I'll have some Jamesons Irish whiskey or a cheap Spanish brandy on a cold dark night.

In los I generally stick to red wine or beer.

I generally don't like spirits because they have that ethanol taste (yuck) and burn your mouth with the bitter/ strong after taste.

 

However I'm a sweet tooth and bourbons are at a minimum 51% corn.

So if you're a sweet tooth, I suggest trying a bourbon with a high corn content on the rocks with Pepsi (like the Thai's try blend 285).

It should taste a lot better than that or Sangsom.

 

Now you probably tried scotch but didn't like the taste. The reason is generally the scotch requires it to be 100% malted barley. The more malted barley.. the more bitter it tastes???

 

The ones I spoke about.. JD is 80% corn, 12% barley and 8% rye.

Four Roses (personal favorite) is cheap and 75% corn, 20% rye and 5% malted barley.

Makers Mark is 70% corn, 16% wheat, 14% barley.

 

P.S. Since you like beer.. I suggest try a Thai beer and a Coors Light beer for comparison. You'll see what I mean by corn content in taste. Thai beers are quite bitter in comparison.. Chang being the most bitter!

All personal taste though!

[Quietguy]

4 hours ago, Ashoka said:

Now you probably tried scotch but didn't like the taste.

You are right. Tastes bitter and smoky/peaty to me. I like Jamesons Irish whiskey as it is matured in oak casks which were previously used to mature sweet sherry, which gives it a sweet taste. That's why I like the cheap Spanish brandy too, which has a sweet taste.

[Ashoka]

Yep I'm the same as you then drinking wise.

As such you'll really like bourbons on the rocks with Pepsi or diet-Pepsi!

 

The thing is you and I will get plenty of shit from the scotch drinkers who will say bourbon isn't real whiskey lol.

[Quietguy]

13 hours ago, Ashoka said:

As such you'll really like bourbons on the rocks with Pepsi or diet-Pepsi!

The main taste would be the Pepsi. I might as well drink Sangsom & Coke!

[JustSumGai]

Scotch is too much like perfume.  Makers Mark IS good. My  fave is Dickel 12 which is aged 12 yrs, but the regular Dickel is GOOD too.  For avg. everyday I'll order Jim Beam.  Some of the cheap bourbons are actually pretty good.  I gave up all that fooferall about mixing. Bourbon, glass...ice.  Years ago I lived in an old (150 yrs) house built on brick piers about 2 feet high.  Kept my bottle next to the easy chair on the floor...which was cold :)  Worked for me haha.  Always wanted to try Willie Nelson's bourbon, Whiskey River I think, sposed to be good. Bourbon is now about as crazy as ales. Trendy.  Still, I'd rather have Early Times or some cheapie than ANY Scotch.  Well a very fine one might work, that single malt stuff.   If yer a spirits pussy try blended Canadian "whiskey" light flavor, disappears even in 7up.

p.s. Dickel is "tennesee sour mash whiskey"as is Jack Daniels.  Some others are kentucky sour mash whiskey but all these are basically "bourbon".  Sour mash is when you take the run out mash from an earlier run and put it in a thumper keg where the new run (the alcohol going off as vapor) goes thru this thumper keg and gives it a different flavor.  The technical requirements for "bourbon" are at least 51% corn and aged in oak barrels.  Pretty loose seems to me.  It's a bit like the champagne/sparkling wine debate.  

Wiki do sayeth...A concurrent resolution adopted by the United States Congress in 1964 declared bourbon to be a "distinctive product of the United States" and asked "the appropriate agencies of the United States Government ... [to] take appropriate action to prohibit importation into the United States of whiskey designated as 'Bourbon Whiskey'."^[17][18] Federal regulation now defines bourbon whiskey to only include bourbon produced in the United States.

[Ashoka]

10 hours ago, JustSumGai said:

The technical requirements for "bourbon" are at least 51% corn and aged in brand new CHARRED white oak barrels.

FTFY.

Can't use older barrels or non charred barrels or its not bourbon!

Charring essentially opens the wood up, making it easier for bourbon to extract flavors. It also catalyzes key chemical changes that are essential to bourbon. Ever tasted vanilla? That's because lignin, the source of vanillin (vanilla), produces a higher level of flavor the longer a barrel is charred.

Bourbon whiskey has to be aged a minimum of two years, though most brands are aged at least four years and often longer than that. The drastic change in flavor profile comes from how temperature affects the barrels.

But there is a limit to the aging process. The federal standards regulating bourbon state that it cannot be aged more than 25 years. Most bourbon, if aged longer than 15 years, tends to lose its flavor complexity and starts tasting more bitter or ashy.

[Quinn]

It's a Brandy ! 55555

[Ashoka]

40 minutes ago, Soju said:

This is somewhat off topic but you guys seem to know yer booze.  So....why is SangSom called Thai Whiskey when it is a rum?

says Rum on the bottle!

Think you're confusing it with this:

Very popular with people (ladyboys) from Isaan!

 

[Ashoka]

They call it SONG PAT HA which is why you probably thought they were referring to Sang Som!

 

BTW I'm no expert at booze but I've figured out what I like (sweet) and what I don't like (bitter).

For example I didn't even know that the best selling bourbon was Bulleit which is 90 proof, 68% corn, 28% rye and 4% malted barley! Kinda curious to try it out now..

[Quietguy]

12 hours ago, Soju said:

This is somewhat off topic but you guys seem to know yer booze.  So....why is SangSom called Thai Whiskey when it is a rum?

11 hours ago, Quinn said:

It's a Brandy ! 55555

11 hours ago, Ashoka said:

says Rum on the bottle!

Think you're confusing it with this:

Whisky/whiskey is made from grains.

Brandy is made from grapes.

Rum is made from sugar cane molasses.

Sangsom is made from sugar cane molasses so it is rum. I don't know why Thais call it a whisky, TIT?

[Ashoka]

I couldn't find Bulleit nearby.. but every shop had the good old Jim Beam.

1.75L for $35

Not bad at all.

Actually feels sweeter than Four Roses and no bad aftertaste.

I think I'm gonna relegate Jack Daniels.

Cheers!

 

[Pdoggg]

On 9/26/2022 at 10:16 PM, Ashoka said:

And @Pdoggg since you're from my neck of the woods.. did you find any NY made bourbons to your liking?

Never had any.  Mostly drink nowadays as a strategy not to get drunk.   There are only so many beers I can drink befiore I get too full.

On 9/27/2022 at 4:23 AM, Quietguy said:

I like Jamesons Irish whiskey

 

2 hours ago, Ashoka said:

I think I'm gonna relegate Jack Daniels.

 

Jack has the reputation but like a rectal thermometer I don't like the taste.  I like Jamesons.  Remember one night a long time ago we did a taste test at a friends house between Jack and Jamesons and we all preferred Jamesons.   Of the mainstream bourbons, I like Makers Mark best. Btw, that pic is J&B scotch not Jim Beam.

 

[Ashoka]

11 hours ago, Pdoggg said:

Never had any.  Mostly drink nowadays as a strategy not to get drunk.   There are only so many beers I can drink befiore I get too full.

 

Jack has the reputation but like a rectal thermometer I don't like the taste.  I like Jamesons.  Remember one night a long time ago we did a taste test at a friends house between Jack and Jamesons and we all preferred Jamesons.   Of the mainstream bourbons, I like Makers Mark best. Btw, that pic is J&B scotch not Jim Beam.

 

Yeah I was wondering about that.. my jim beam had a white label.

 

While I was out buying Jim Beam, the missus had a bit of nostalgia and wanted 100 pipers, so we got her a bottle but we both tested our drinks and she ranked Jim Beam #1, Four Roses #2, Kahlua #3, 100 pipers #4 and Jack #5.

And with current inflation Jack is $57 a bottle and Makers Mark which is rated better is only a little bit more.

So for the money you can buy a whole lot worse bourbon than Jim Beam.

There's a shop here in Elmhurst that has Thai products but crazy marked up prices.. $3 for a small Singha/ Chang.. but we were curious so we bought 1 of each Singha, Chang and Leo and a small Blend 285.

She agreed the Thai beers and whiskey are a lot more bitter than Coors Light and Bourbon. She has a theory that it became more bitter during transportation on hot shipping containers but corn is corn and barley is barley.

[Ashoka]

I might have to check out this Stillhouse distillery in Red Hook Brooklyn.

[Ashoka]

Interesting..

Find out something new everyday.. apparently Bulleit isn't a true distillery like it says at all..

Oh well quite happy with jim beam white label.

 

If you're a true neat bourbon drinker that likes higher proof.. try Knob Creek. It's basically Jim Beam aged longer!

Jim Beam white label: aged 4 years 80 proof

Jim Beam black label: aged 8 years 86 proof

Knob Creek: aged 9 years 100 proof

[Quietguy]

I was given a bottle of Jamesons Black Barrel triple distilled Irish Whiskey, opened it tonight to watch England Women v US Women football (soccer!) match.

[Ashoka]

2 hours ago, Quietguy said:

I was given a bottle of Jamesons Black Barrel triple distilled Irish Whiskey, opened it tonight to watch England Women v US Women football (soccer!) match.

Ahh so you're a neat drinker.

Yep you need the higher proof bourbons then!

 

[Quietguy]

I drink Jamesons neat, especially this one as it was an upgrade. The Black Barrel Jamesons is matured in charred barrels which gives it a bit of a smoky drier taste though it still has the sweet undertones.

Nice but I prefer the standard Jamesons really.

I usually add some water when I'm drinking the cheap Spanish Brandy.

[Ashoka]

4 hours ago, Quietguy said:

I drink Jamesons neat, especially this one as it was an upgrade. The Black Barrel Jamesons is matured in charred barrels which gives it a bit of a smoky drier taste though it still has the sweet undertones.

Nice but I prefer the standard Jamesons really.

I usually add some water when I'm drinking the cheap Spanish Brandy.

This might be right up your alley if you like that.

It isn't watered down to 80 proof either!

[Quietguy]

Thanks for the suggestion @Ashoka! I had a look at prices here and the 9 year old Knob Creek is £36 (US $40) for a 70cl bottle, similar to the Jamesons Black Barrel at £37.

But the regular Jamesons is half the price at £18, so I'll stick with that as my whiskey of choice.

[Ashoka]

1 hour ago, Quietguy said:

9 year old Knob Creek is £36 (US $40)

How much is Jim Beam black label?