Favorite Bourbon Opinions

Chordeiles

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
May 25, 2019
Messages
216
Location
Virginia
Glad to see some love for the WT 101:love:

If I go cheaper, it’s usually Evan Williams BIB.

WT Rare Breed or Bookers would be a treat for me.
 

fatlander

WKR
Joined
Feb 11, 2016
Messages
2,126
I’ve got a pretty extensive collection. About 50 bottles.

If you’re talking real budget bourbon that’s damn good, Benchmark that’s bill. 20 dollars for a 1.75.

I keep it in a decanter and I haven’t had one person ever take a drink of it and complain. My favorite whiskey under 30 is knob creek or eagle rare.

Higher end stuff: ETLee and Taylor Single Barrel are top notch. I’ve got a bottle of pappy that I haven’t cracked into yet.


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Scottyboy

WKR
Joined
Dec 17, 2016
Messages
1,131
Location
Minnesota
Where people getting Eagle Rare for less than $30?

everywhere around here. Store picks are/were sometimes a little more, depending on how proud the store is of its’ pick.

It’s crazy how much things vary from market to market. Texas will have weller falling off the shelf and I have seen 1 bottle of OWA, ever. I have no problems finding Blanton’s, EHT etc sitting on the shelf most of the time. And then you have Lincoln Road who gets 10-20+? barrel selections a year (don’t get me wrong, Jamie can pick a barrel..), likely more than my state will see. Weird times to be a bourbon drinker..
 

Sevens

WKR
Joined
Apr 14, 2020
Messages
508
Location
Dallas, TX
everywhere around here. Store picks are/were sometimes a little more, depending on how proud the store is of its’ pick.

It’s crazy how much things vary from market to market. Texas will have weller falling off the shelf and I have seen 1 bottle of OWA, ever. I have no problems finding Blanton’s, EHT etc sitting on the shelf most of the time. And then you have Lincoln Road who gets 10-20+? barrel selections a year (don’t get me wrong, Jamie can pick a barrel..), likely more than my state will see. Weird times to be a bourbon drinker..
Eagle Rare or pretty much anything from Buffalo Trace can be hard to find at retail in Dallas. The bourbon seen is a bit much here. There are literally guys who DAILY wait outside the big box liquor stores (Total Wine, Specs, Goody Goody) at open to see if the store got anything allocated. Never could figure out how they can do this and maintain a job.

Then you head on over to a state like California, where the local palate is more into clear spirits, and you can find Eagle Rare pretty much anywhere, including the grocery stores thanks to their relaxed liquor laws. The unicorns are still heavily sought after, but demand for the regular stuff is normal.
 

2ski

WKR
Joined
Jul 17, 2012
Messages
1,777
Location
Bozeman
It varies on the taxes in your state. I can buy liquor cheaper in Hawaii than I can in Montana. By alot. Thats why that same Eagle Rare is cheaper for some than others. Around $35 in MT.

Eagle Rare would be my go to too. It was the first nice bourbon I tried here at the whiskey bar in Bozeman. I'm starting a nice collection of booze. Every year for my birthday I buy myself a good bottle. This year was a bottle of Hine Rare(cognac). Big birthday was a bottle of Middleton Very Rare(Irish whiskey) and Orphan Barrel Larceny. I see my brother has drank about a 3rd of the Larceny. Don't think he realized what I had. Also have a bottle of Orphan Girl Barterhouse I like.

The most expensive bottle I've tried was Eagle Rare 17yr. A couple years ago I was in said whiskey bar and said I wanted to try something new. The bartender said they just got it in. I said let's do it and let's do a double. He asks if I want it price checked. Nope. I know it will be a little pricey. Not $114 pricey....was it that much better than the 10 yr? Eh

Glad noone has mentioned Bib and Tucker. The man at the liquor store talked it up a bunch and I wasn't impressed.
 

2ski

WKR
Joined
Jul 17, 2012
Messages
1,777
Location
Bozeman
Eagle Rare or pretty much anything from Buffalo Trace can be hard to find at retail in Dallas. The bourbon seen is a bit much here. There are literally guys who DAILY wait outside the big box liquor stores (Total Wine, Specs, Goody Goody) at open to see if the store got anything allocated. Never could figure out how they can do this and maintain a job.

Then you head on over to a state like California, where the local palate is more into clear spirits, and you can find Eagle Rare pretty much anywhere, including the grocery stores thanks to their relaxed liquor laws. The unicorns are still heavily sought after, but demand for the regular stuff is normal.
Yep. It's trendy to like bourbon. And most are probably mixing it. In Manhattans and the like. Like barrel aged beers. I used to buy them for $8 per bottle. Now I'm up over $20.
 

Turkeyfreak12

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Aug 20, 2019
Messages
126
Location
Utah
I really enjoy high west American prairie bourbon. I get it for around $30. It is the one I drink consistently. Also like wild turkey 101.
 

Reburn

Mayhem Contributor
Joined
Feb 10, 2019
Messages
3,405
Location
Central Texas
Eh I'm going to go off the reservation a little as I really prefer a rye. And honestly I just don't drink enough to worry about what the cost is.

Best bourbon - angels envy finished in port wine barrels
Favorite - high west rendezvous rye followed closely by crown XR depending on my mood.
Non bourbon - paddy's Irish whiskey.
 
Joined
Aug 26, 2014
Messages
3,158
Bourbon is one of those products where perception is affected by price. Wine is the same. Double-blind taste tests reveal over and over that people (many) expect a pricier glass to taste 'better'. When it becomes nothing but a matter of taste irrespective of price, people have nothing to follow except their palates. And when that happens, it's sometimes the cheaper drink that tastes the best.

Weller at $25 a fifth is a bargain to me. It drinks better than many $70 bottles.
I personally stopped buying Eagle Rare...my palate says over-priced for taste.
Old Forester BIB is nice value with enough smoothness to enjoy.
I have 3 Blanton's in the cabinet.....obviously a preferred. Not worth $80+.
Woodford Double-Oak is a VERY nice selection and quite smooth...neat.

Higher on the price scale I think my current favorite is Jefferson Pritchard Hill Cask Finish. I see it from $65 to $100 a fifth. Not spending over $75 to get it. I'm sitting on 3 various bottles of Col EH Taylor at $50-$80 each....one is the 4 Grain selection gifted to me. My wife bought me a bottle of Woodford Brandy Cask Finish once....about $105 and I could hear angels singing whenever I de-corked the bottle.

I have no interest in 'status' bourbon or competing for hard to find bottles. Mostly it's a game of collect-and-impress with....I believe....many people convincing themselves that going higher into 3-digit prices gets them something special in taste. Maybe. I'll stay in the moderate ranges and enjoy 3-finger pours of what tastes great to me.
 

slaton

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
May 3, 2015
Messages
122
Old elk has been my go to here no lately. Pretty good for right at $50 a bottle.


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Joined
Aug 26, 2014
Messages
3,158
Somebody needs to organize a Rokslide Virtual Happy Hour....or maybe a Bourbon Night. The sophisticates here could regurgitate terms of endearment like 'toasty'....'caramel corn'....'approachable'....and my favorite 'mouth feel'.
 
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