Whisky appreciation

[Doug3006]

We are distilling some fine brown water in Texas these days as well, some are American whiskies, some are Bourbons.

Among my favorites..
Balcone's Baby Blue
Balcone's Brimstone (aged in smoked mesquite barrels, very smoky flavor, though nothing like peat smoke)
Rebecca Creek
Yellow Rose blend, though the rye and straight are also quite good
Texas Giant 91 - hints of walnut and caramel without being sweet
TX
Red River
Cypress Cove
and of course, Garrison Brothers

If you like hints of vanilla, then Texas Ranger is also quite tasty, and under $30 for a 750 mL.

And though definitely not a bourbon, if you guys ever see a bottle of Laird's Applejack, it's also very good, and under $20. Laird's is THE oldest distillery in the United States, they've been around since the 1760s, and was a favorite of none other than George Washington. It takes about 100# of apples to make a single bottle. If you end up not liking the flavor, it's a very good cooking brandy as well. I know, most people see "apple" anything on a liquor bottle and assume "sweet" or "chick drink." My wife is not a NEAT whisky drinker, but she'll drink Laird's, Rebecca Creek, and Texas Giant neat. They're that smooth and tasty. I only drink neat, or maybe a few drops of water.

This stuff is most ricky-tick not sweet, with a character similar to drier Bourbons.

For Scotch, Glenmorangie 10 yo is my favorite.

I tried some Treaty Oak Ghost Hill the last time I was down Tejas way. Lovely. Then I attended the DSC. Then I hunted ducks on the Laguna Madre out of Port Mansfield. Texas is my happy place.

 

[CraigV]

So, American "Whiskey" is different than the post origination.

For Whisky, Mcallan can't be beat. 2ND is Glenmorangie, and it's very close.

Try the Frey Ranch out of Nevada, or the new Willett Straight Rye. Both really good.

 

[Paul G]

Very nice. Let us know how you like it. Does it compare to something costing 10% of the price or is it truly worth it.

Some people are buying these as investment whiskey bottles for sale at a later date.

You know I have had 2 or 3 bottles and I love it. I have a bottle of Old Forester Birthday Bourbon I bought in 2016 for 69.00 bucks selling or 1,500 to 2k now. Pretty sure I'll simply sell that one some day. This is about as high as I go. If you are ever out west in Park City hit me u we'll drink a few glasses.

 

[CraigV]

An

You know I have had 2 or 3 bottles and I love it. I have a bottle of Old Forester Birthday Bourbon I bought in 2016 for 69.00 bucks selling or 1,500 to 2k now. Pretty sure I'll simply sell that one some day. This is about as high as I go. If you are ever out west in Park City hit me u we'll drink a few glasses.

Antigonos,

Every try any if the High West Stuff out of Park City? Not my favorite, but it's decent,

 

[Paul G]

An

Antigonos,

Every try any if the High West Stuff out of Park City? Not my favorite, but it's decent,

 

[CraigV]

Hahahahaaha!

Visited there years ago.

Overpriced IMO, but decent.

Drinking Frey Ranch out of Nevada tonite.

Understand in UT that options are sometimes limited.

 

[sgt_zim]

 

[BourbonTrail]

It’s so accurate

 

[sgt_zim]

She does a lot of "Craig, the bored tour guide..." videos. They're all pretty funny.

 

[Jeff505]

Both food groups, liquid and solid. Angels Envy is hard to beat for the price.

 

[NTH]

My pick up for the night

View attachment 465189

How’s the pour? Is there another Rye you can compare it to?

 

[mdwest]

Lol... The Irish and American tours arent much different....

Did "the bourbon trail" several years ago and took tours at 5 different distilleries in Kentucky in a single day.. it was interesting.. but.. it was never very "enthusiastic" lol..

And toured Jamison in 2019 when I was in Dublin for a wee bit... more of the same.. just with a different accent lol...


That said.. We're headed back to Ireland in October for a sika deer hunt (and maybe red stag.. still undecided on that one).. and have a 3 additional days to burn.. so 1 gets set aside for typical dublin tourist stuff (Trinity and the Book of Kells, Dublin Castle, etc..) and 2 are for driving around and checking out some of the rest of the country (Cliffs of Mohr, Blarney Castle, having a drink in an old traditional pub, etc..)...

And naturally.. we'll be touring the Teeling Distillery in Dublin, and the St. Patricks Distillery in Cork.. (cant resist, despite having already done a half dozen or more distillery tours lol...)...

 

[CAustin]

Recently purchased this Calumet 15 year, have read good reports on it. Into the collection it goes.

 

[Paul G]

Hahahahaaha!

Visited there years ago.

Overpriced IMO, but decent.

Drinking Frey Ranch out of Nevada tonite.

Understand in UT that options are sometimes limited.

Man I think it's crazy underpriced, The Rendezvous had consistently been ranked one of the top in the world for 69.00

 

[BourbonTrail]

Lol... The Irish and American tours arent much different....

Did "the bourbon trail" several years ago and took tours at 5 different distilleries in Kentucky in a single day.. it was interesting.. but.. it was never very "enthusiastic" lol..

And toured Jamison in 2019 when I was in Dublin for a wee bit... more of the same.. just with a different accent lol...


That said.. We're headed back to Ireland in October for a sika deer hunt (and maybe red stag.. still undecided on that one).. and have a 3 additional days to burn.. so 1 gets set aside for typical dublin tourist stuff (Trinity and the Book of Kells, Dublin Castle, etc..) and 2 are for driving around and checking out some of the rest of the country (Cliffs of Mohr, Blarney Castle, having a drink in an old traditional pub, etc..)...

And naturally.. we'll be touring the Teeling Distillery in Dublin, and the St. Patricks Distillery in Cork.. (cant resist, despite having already done a half dozen or more distillery tours lol...)...

Off topic of Whisk(e)y. Guinness is a great place to visit.

 

[mdwest]

Off topic of Whisk(e)y. Guinness is a great place to visit.

Yes it is!

I dont know why.. but the Guinness sample they give you when you reach the end of the tour and go to the bar thats on top of the tower to overlook the city is far and away the best dark beer Ive ever had... Silky, smooth, creamy, etc.. 10x better than the Guinness you get in a bar or at the store here..

If we have the time, Im going to guess we'll tour Guinness .. It wont hurt me to see it a second time

 

[geoff rath]

so many whiskies to try, so little time left ...

 

[NTH]

Lol... The Irish and American tours arent much different....

Did "the bourbon trail" several years ago and took tours at 5 different distilleries in Kentucky in a single day.. it was interesting.. but.. it was never very "enthusiastic" lol..

And toured Jamison in 2019 when I was in Dublin for a wee bit... more of the same.. just with a different accent lol...


That said.. We're headed back to Ireland in October for a sika deer hunt (and maybe red stag.. still undecided on that one).. and have a 3 additional days to burn.. so 1 gets set aside for typical dublin tourist stuff (Trinity and the Book of Kells, Dublin Castle, etc..) and 2 are for driving around and checking out some of the rest of the country (Cliffs of Mohr, Blarney Castle, having a drink in an old traditional pub, etc..)...

And naturally.. we'll be touring the Teeling Distillery in Dublin, and the St. Patricks Distillery in Cork.. (cant resist, despite having already done a half dozen or more distillery tours lol...)...

Good luck with your Irish tour. We ventured there for St Patrick’s Day and that was interesting. When we visited Trinity they said they were closing the library this fall for 3-4 years for updates and repairs so hopefully it’s not closed when you’re there.

You should look into booking the Jameson Black Barrel Blending Tour where you get to blend your own bottle. It was a fun experience.

 

[mdwest]

Will definitely check out the Jameson Black Barrel Blending Tour! That sounds very cool..

Im the only person I know that actually prefers a good irish whiskey over most US, Japanese, and Scot options.. 9 times out of 10 I'll take a couple of fingers of simple blended Tullamore Dew over a glass of 18 year The MacAllan (or other high end options).. Ive got 18 year glenmorangie, 18 year Ben Nevis, a couple of half to 3/4 full bottles of Barterhouse, Pappy, etc.. all on the bar...

And I keep going back to Jamison, Tullamore Dew, or Redbreast pretty much any time I would like to have a wee drink (which is why the barterhouse is still 1/2 full after picking it up well over 10 years ago)..

Sucks to hear that the library might be closed.. Thankfully I scooted around Trinity in 2019 for a bit and got to see the library and the book then.. would have been nice to get a second gander at it all though this time around if I could have..

 

[BeeMaa]

Will definitely check out the Jameson Black Barrel Blending Tour! That sounds very cool..

Im the only person I know that actually prefers a good irish whiskey over most US, Japanese, and Scot options.. 9 times out of 10 I'll take a couple of fingers of simple blended Tullamore Dew over a glass of 18 year The MacAllan (or other high end options).. Ive got 18 year glenmorangie, 18 year Ben Nevis, a couple of half to 3/4 full bottles of Barterhouse, Pappy, etc.. all on the bar...

And I keep going back to Jamison, Tullamore Dew, or Redbreast pretty much any time I would like to have a wee drink (which is why the barterhouse is still 1/2 full after picking it up well over 10 years ago)..

Sucks to hear that the library might be closed.. Thankfully I scooted around Trinity in 2019 for a bit and got to see the library and the book then.. would have been nice to get a second gander at it all though this time around if I could have..

I encourage you to try Teeling Small Batch Irish Whiskey if you haven't already. Incredibly smooth and dangerously delicious. Distilled in Dublin.