Ive got a store that has store picks of Buffalo Trace for the same price as regular. They almost always have some
Whiskey
- Thread starter naturalmwa
- Start date
- Sep 13, 2002
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Wait for Tribe76 to enter the thread to give everyone the definitive answer.
Or fifty definitive answers...
Scotch is whiskey made in heaven, hence giving up the angels share.
I like their bourbon a lot more than their whiskey...but yeah. Bourbon, it is my go to bottle.
Basil Hayden is around 50 usually but it’s been on sale a lot in Des Moines this year for $28-$32. It’s delicious.
All Iowa list for around 40:
Cedar Ridge Bourbon. Their single malt is also quite good. The rye is ok. I haven't had a chance to try No. 9 yet but have heard great things.
Templeton Rye
Steeple Ridge Bourbon. I also have a barrel proof of theirs that I need to try.
Cedar Ridge Bourbon. Their single malt is also quite good. The rye is ok. I haven't had a chance to try No. 9 yet but have heard great things.
Templeton Rye
Steeple Ridge Bourbon. I also have a barrel proof of theirs that I need to try.
Basil Hayden is my go to and have been loving that it has been on sale
I’ve got a rather expansive private bar and I’ve got probably 40+ whiskies or so in it at the moment and maybe 50-60 other liquors and liqueurs.
So for me, I’m going to break the categories into Budget which will be under $25 for 750ml, MidTier which I will say is $25-50 and Premium which I will say is $50-100. I have yet to have any Ultrapremium (over $100 and up to thousands of dollars) that I would recommend to anyone other than millionaires with money to burn because honestly there is no discernible increase in quality over the regular premiums in the $50-100 range. I will say that in whisky/whiskey categories, I have yet to find a budget on par with premiums (although Mellow Corn is close) so you’re usually getting your money’s worth with the best Budgets being on par with the average Midtiers, the best Midtiers being on par with the average Premium and so on. That’s not true of other categories of liquor as I’ve found budget priced options I prefer over most premiums and ultra premiums (Altos platinum for platinum tequilas, Reyka vodka, Gosling Black Seal Rum for black rums, and so on).
So these are my recs:
Bourbons
Budget: Mellow Corn (not technically a bourbon as it’s not aged in new barrels but previously used bourbon barrels but it’s the same mashbill and other requirements of Bourbons and the use of aged barrels means less woody tannins and other flavors which allows the sweet buttery corn flavor to shine through and it’s ridiculously smooth for it’s 100 proof strength). I also strongly recommend Evan Williams “Bottled in Bond” otherwise called White Label and not the standard black label and Wild Turkey 101.
Midtier: Maker’s Mark 46 with Four Roses Single Barrel and Woodford Reserve as runner-ups.
Premium: Bulleit Blender’s Select with Blanton’s Single Barrel and Stagg Jr. as runner’s up.
American Rye
Budget: George Dickel Tennessee Rye
Mid-tier: Redemption Rye, Pikesville Rye, and Basil Hayden Dark Rye
Premium: Wild Buck Rye and Rare Breed Rye Single Barrel
Canadian
Budget: Forty Creek Barrel Select
Mid-Tier: Crown Royal
Premium: Forty Creek Confederation Oak Reserve
Irish
Budget: Bushmill’s Red Bush
Mid-tier: Powers
Premium: Redbreast 12
Japanese
Budget: Suntory Toki
Mid-tier: Akashi Single Malt
Premium: Suntory Hibiki
I’ll come back and do the Scotches when I have more time
You single malt snobs are whackos. A good blended scotch is vastly superior to a Middling single malt.
hawkeyetraveler
HR All-American
Just chiming in to second the Suntory Hibiki recommendation. I thought Japanese whiskey was not very good after sampling some maybe 15 years ago.
Something changed (or maybe just my tastes?) over the past couple decades and they have gotten very good. This is the one that opened my eyes to their quality. It is one of my go to whiskeys now.
The best thing about Knob Creek is store picks of 120 proof bourbon and 115 rye are readily available at usually around $50. I don't know of any other brand that offers that so often.Knob Creek (budget) and Knob Creek Single Barrel (premium) are my go to. I think it should be yours too...just based on what I know about you from here. Just fits for some reason.
Always on my shelf are Angel’s Envy and something from High West. Usually their Campire or Rendezvous Rye. Surprised not to see High West mentioned yet, I love it.
@PoopandBoogers Found a bottle of Old Grand-Dad 114 today. It's been a long time since I've bought a $35 bourbon. I'll let you know.
Whale, whale, whale, look what I ran into today. Found a Buffalo Trace. They only get a few per quarter and hold it in the back storeroom; request only, word of mouth type of deal.
Also scored store picks of Knob Creek Single Barrell Rye and Jefferson Reserve. I will say that the BT holds up very well against the Jefferson Reserve at half the price. It's hands down the best value out their if you can find it.
I can find BT up here but I don't know if I've ever seen Stagg on any shelf.Whale, whale, whale, look what I ran into today. Found a Buffalo Trace. They only get a few per quarter and hold it in the back storeroom; request only, word of mouth type of deal.
Also scored store picks of Knob Creek Single Barrell Rye and Jefferson Reserve. I will say that the BT holds up very well against the Jefferson Reserve at half the price. It's hands down the best value out their if you can find it.
The main Market Square Liquors location in Tallahassee carries it on occasion or at least they used to. I would give the location a call and see if they’ll order it for you. They did a special order for me of Aberlour 18yo and Balvenie 21 which are not commonly seen in liquor stores. So they can probably get you some Stagg or at least put you on the list for when it comes out.
The Stagg and Weller were won by lottery at an ABC store. I actually "lost" the Pappy lottery, but won these in consolation. The store said there were 16 people on the list and only 4 people won, which I won twice somehow.
How'd you like the OGD 114? I believe it's heavier on the rye side. It packs a wallop, better have a comfy chair nearby! It's one of those 1 hour/2finger pours.
About three or four years ago, some buddies and I bought a barrel of Buffalo Trace and had it bottled with special labels for our business. It was supposed to be used for business development purposes, but I drank most of my share.
The first sip hits hard. After it's had a few minutes to open up, it was good. Being a neck pour, that was expected.
You're right on the mash bill. It is certainly a high rye.
Mashbill: 63% Corn, 27% Rye, 10% Malted Barley
Old Grand-Dad 114 Bourbon Review | Breaking Bourbon
Review and tasting notes for Old Grand-Dad 114 Bourbon.
www.breakingbourbon.com
I finally found some Buffalo Trace and I’m loving it. Thanks for the recommendation. Knob Creek is next. We also really enjoyed Evan Williams white label.
Mix it with Pepsi and some Ice and I will say yes to all of the above. For sippin' whisky it would almost have to be Knob Creek.
I scored some 2nd batch of Cedar Ridge's new The Quintessential Single Malt. Really looking forward to trying it.
Crazy how far Templeton Rye has fallen over the last decade or so. Used to be the top spot, bar none. Now it's barely mentioned.
You're surprised? Really?
Templeton Rye Whiskey Review
Normally this is where I would give a little backstory on the brand and talk about any unique aspects or little nuggets of trivia about the brand, but since we now know that the story Templeton Rye has been trying to sell us is complete bullshit there’s really no point. Instead, as the above picture would imply, I’m going to use this section to hop up on a little soap box and do a wee bit of venting.
Since day one Templeton has lied about where its product came from and now they are even getting sued over it. I’ve already covered whiskey NDPs and how I feel about them so no sense in doing that again. Instead, let’s talk about why Templeton Rye Whiskey has received the first 00 in The Whiskey Jug history. I’ll give you hint… It all has to do with the recent admission of them adding a flavoring to their whiskey.
Yes you read that right, this is actually a flavored whiskey. I don’t cover flavored whiskey here on the Jug for a reason. Not because it isn’t possible for them to taste alright, but because I’d be reviewing nothing more than the ability of some guy in a lab to create a flavor and the ability of the producer to pour it into vats of whiskey and bottle it. Which is exactly what Templeton does.
They take the stock 95% rye whiskey from MGP up to their BOTTLING PLANT in Templeton, IA where they dump the barrels, mix in the flavoring and then bottle it. The only skill and craft on their part in this whole process has been in creating the web of lies that surround the brand.
Look at the label. It says that it’s made from a “Prohibition Era Recipe”, but Clarendon (the chemical company creating the flavoring) was founded about 60 years after prohibition ended. So how the famous Templeton bootleggers they espouse would have gotten their hands on those flavoring chemicals to add to their whiskey is beyond me.
Simply put, if you add it to the liquid IT’S PART OF THE RECIPE. I can’t add chocolate chips to my Grandma’s snickerdoodle recipe and say that I made Grandma’s snickerdoodles… it doesn’t work that way. I made Grandma’s snickerdoodles with added chocolate chips.
If you want video proof of their willful deceit take a look at Templeton’s own Chief Bullshit Artist Keith Kerkoff in a recent interview where he admits that he couldn’t call his Grandfather’s whiskey a rye whiskey “simply because of what was uh in the recipe”. He goes on to say how they went out and found rye (obviously not proprietary if they find it) and then added flavor to it to get it to taste like his grandpa’s whiskey.
He then goes on to say “With the heritage and the history of Templeton rye we wanted to keep the Templeton Rye name”… seriously? In 10 seconds he admits that the whole story is bullshit, that they’re not actually using the prohibition recipe they claim they are and that he’s just exploiting the history of the town by using its name. Now compare that to story on their bottles and site and there is a night and day difference. Yet he still claims that he’s never misled anyone and that the big bad Chicago Lawyers are the bad guys here.
The bottom line to me is that he’s a liar and his product can’t properly be evaluated because he adds flavoring so you don’t know which flavors and aromas you should be attributing to MGP and which ones you should be attributing to Clarendon. Either way, exactly none of the tasting notes below should be attributed to Mr. Kerkoff and his not-so-prohibition-era “recipe”.
Templeton Rye Whiskey Review – Overall
To state it again, the reason Templeton Rye scored a big fat 00 is due to their use of flavoring. If I were To assign a score it would be an 81, but that number wouldn’t have any bearing at all on the distiller and if they did a great job of managing their ingredients, the distillation process, barrel program, etc. It would be saying the folks down at Clarendon Flavor Engineering created a flavor that scored an 81.
First these jerks lie through their teeth about where the whiskey comes from, then they reveal that what you’re tasting isn’t even the whiskey at all but an artificial flavor slurry they add to the Templeton Rye Whiskey before bottling it. The prohibition roots of this whiskey? A lie. The flavor and aroma of their whiskey? A lie. Me ever trusting them, even if they make massive changes to what they do and how they produce their product? Not ****ing likely.
SCORE: 00/100
Templeton Rye Whiskey Review
Templeton Rye Review. Get the story on Templeton Rye Whiskey, who really distilled it, what's being added to it, why that's a problem and more.
thewhiskeyjug.com
I finished the Blanton already along with half the Grand Marnier cuvée du centenaries, so went shopping and returned with these and a couple dozen bottles of wine.
I was drinking E.H. Taylor Single Barrel BiB earlier today. Very good stuff.I finished the Blanton already along with half the Grand Marnier cuvée du centenaries, so went shopping and returned with these and a couple dozen bottles of wine.
I also have oodles of bottles of Jefferson and Makers Mark given as gifts. I might was well pour those when on my third Old Fashioned.
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