BOURBON
My brother took a tour of the Jameson's factory when he was in Ireland. Throughout the tour, they kept singing the praises of Irish Whisky (natch), opposing it primarily to our fine Kentucky Bourbon. At the end of the tour, to prove their point, they had a taste test opposing Jameson's (good stuff, no doubt) to white label Jim Beam. That's a bit like proving the superiority of a BMW over American cars by road testing it against a Chevy Malibu: duh, who's gonna be better? At least run against a 'Vette, for chrissakes. With that in mind, here is a short discussion of bourbon, based on our years of enjoyment of Kentucky's finest export.
If you had to pick one archetypal bourbon, not the best, not the cheapest, but a bourbon's bourbon, it would have to be WILD TURKEY 101 proof. A nice, strong, forthright bourbon best poured straight in a tall tumbler over lots of ice. Just don't plan on doing much after you finish the tumbler (except, maybe, pouring another one).
The best bottle of bourbon that I ever had was a 19 year old (?!) batch of W. L. WELLER, distilled '80 & bottled '00. It may not be the best, but considering I have yet to let myself spend over $50 for a bottle, this limited edition was numero uno, and also one of the best bargains even if it did cost $40. The same distiller also issued a 17 year old EAGLE RARE at the same time: the main difference between the Eagle Rare and the Weller is that Weller uses wheat as its secondary grain, while Eagle Rare (as well as the majority of bourbons) uses rye. The wheat gives bourbon a smooth, buttery, sweet taste, while rye is spicier. I never got a bottle of the 17 year old Eagle Rare . . . the last time I spotted either one of these was at Big Red Liquors in Bloomington, IN, for about $45 a bottle. Eagle Rare's main line of bourbon is a ten year old bourbon originally introduced as a competitor to Wild Turkey, and like Wild Turkey, runs $17 - $20 for a bottle. It is a rather strange bourbon, very full-bodied, and tastes great straight, though it also holds up to ice well. It also became the deal of the summer when Old Town Liquors on Bardstown scored several cases of under filled liters and sold them for $9.99 apiece. As for Weller, it's basic bourbon is a seven year old, 90 proof ("special edition") bourbon that, with it's sister bourbon REBEL YELL, has consistently been the best bourbon deal in the neighborhood: the Weller, which is slightly better, runs $11 - $13, while the Rebel Yell is even cheaper. Both are wheated.
Jim Beam was probably chosen for the Irish taste test because it is the most visible bourbon, but there is rarely a reason to choose the white label Beam from any well stocked liquor store: Rebel Yell and Weller Special Edition are usually in the same price range, and even if the wheated bourbons are a bit sweet for your tastes, JIM BEAM BLACK LABEL is usually not much more than the white label. I paid $13.29 for the last bottle I bought at the Keg Liquors on highway 131 in Clarksville. It is 86 proof (although you may find some around that's 90) and seven years old. Back in our days of drinking Beam almost exclusively, we used to talk about getting a really good batch once in a while: this is what the good batches taste like. Not worth more than $17 (time to move to Wild Turkey or Eagle Rare at that price), it is a nice spicy bottle that is just fine over ice.
A few years back, a bunch of bourbon distillers got together and created a "boutique" line of bourbons to try and draw away some of the "discerning" drinkers who were sucking up single-malt scotches. The two of these I have the most experience with are BOOKER'S and KNOB CREEK, which represent the two poles of price in this line (Booker's runs $40-$50, while Knob Creek can fairly consistently be found around $20). Booker's is a wonderful "dirty" bourbon, perhaps one of the only bourbons that can safely be cut with water. It will knock your socks off in more ways than one. Knob Creek is nice, especially over ice, but it really seems that you pay at least $5 a bottle for the packaging and reputation. As for readily available premium bourbons, WOODFORD RESERVE is a consistent favorite, and worthwhile averaging around $35 a bottle. Of more recent issues, BUFFALO TRACE is interesting, but I never seem to pick up a bottle unless it is less than $16.
Speaking of over-rated, MAKER'S MARK is perhaps the most over-rated bourbon around. The price keeps creeping up (seems like I used to be able to get it for $16 a bottle, now it's hard to find under $20). No question this wheated bourbon is good, it's just not all that. Then again, maybe I'm just pissy about all the money Bill Samuels poured into Ann Northrup's congressional campaign. Yeah, that's probably it.
Here's one that you'd probably walk by if someone didn't tell you differently: OLD FORRESTER. Seems like what your grandpa would drink, doesn't it? And maybe he did, as far as that goes. The 86 proof is pretty ok, and usually the same price as white label Beam, which makes it the obvious choice for a cheap spicy bourbon. The 100 proof is fantastic; spicy, yet smoother and more refined than Wild Turkey, and almost delicate when compared to Turkey or to Eagle Rare. I found this at $12 bucks a bottle at the Big Red; it is a fantastic deal at any price under $18.
And then there's J. W. DANT. The less I say about Dant the better, probably. It was the cause of the great Bourbon Rift of '89 in the band. I'm not sure the Dant partisans have ever fully forgiven me for that . . . I still say that even OLD GRAND DAD is better. Sure, there are worse bourbons: I'll let you tell me what they are.
Well, that's it for now. More as it becomes available, as they say on the six o'clock news. In the meantime, drink as much as you damn well please, just stay off the road so you don't run over my sorry sober ass.
[Bill]
Maybe I've been slacking in my KY pastimes, or maybe I've just been busy. In any case, I have not tried that many of the newer small batch/high end bourbons. Bill is always good about sharing, though, and that Eagle Rare blem find last summer was a killer deal and really fine drink. Last week found Dan & Heather getting paid and treating (walloping) us with Booker's. Smooth and Hot. Always liked the "wooden coffin" packaging. I've been buying Weller S.R. as my stock bourbon since the Mudflap days and it is a bit rich, but consistent, well balanced and a great bargain. (Oh sure, now it'll go up). My absolute favorite, ignoring price, is Blanton's ($45). I am on my own with this one. I really prefer it to all the other small batches, but NO it is not TWICE as good as Knob Creek ($20). Knob Creek is still my overall fave when considering both taste and price. I prefer it mixed about 3/1 with filtered water - no ice - so it goes farther than most! Bring YOUR Bourbon to TBW! practice and we'll weigh in on it for you at no charge.
[Matt]
