Discussion
Do you have any bourbons that you like so we can gauge whether you are more of a fan of a high wheat or high rye mashbill?
Choice is very limited over here unless you are prepared to spend some money at places like TWE or Gerrys etc.
Out of the readily available stuff in the supermarket you can't really go wrong with Buffalo Trace, Woodford reserve or Four Roses yellow label. All of these are available at asda, woodford can be found at other supermarkets, a lot of people will suggest makers mark too which is a good introduction to Bourbon as its very thin, its also one of the few bourbons that is easy to find over here that is a wheater or high wheat mash bourbon.
Choice is very limited over here unless you are prepared to spend some money at places like TWE or Gerrys etc.
Out of the readily available stuff in the supermarket you can't really go wrong with Buffalo Trace, Woodford reserve or Four Roses yellow label. All of these are available at asda, woodford can be found at other supermarkets, a lot of people will suggest makers mark too which is a good introduction to Bourbon as its very thin, its also one of the few bourbons that is easy to find over here that is a wheater or high wheat mash bourbon.
Rutter said:
Do you have any bourbons that you like so we can gauge whether you are more of a fan of a high wheat or high rye mashbill?
Choice is very limited over here unless you are prepared to spend some money at places like TWE or Gerrys etc.
Out of the readily available stuff in the supermarket you can't really go wrong with Buffalo Trace, Woodford reserve or Four Roses yellow label. All of these are available at asda, woodford can be found at other supermarkets, a lot of people will suggest makers mark too which is a good introduction to Bourbon as its very thin, its also one of the few bourbons that is easy to find over here that is a wheater or high wheat mash bourbon.
Cannot give you much to go on I'm afraid. I've had Bulleit, and if I recall correctly, quite liked it, I've also had Jim Beam, which cannot have been that bad as I cannot recall tipping it down the sink, unlike JD which I did. Choice is very limited over here unless you are prepared to spend some money at places like TWE or Gerrys etc.
Out of the readily available stuff in the supermarket you can't really go wrong with Buffalo Trace, Woodford reserve or Four Roses yellow label. All of these are available at asda, woodford can be found at other supermarkets, a lot of people will suggest makers mark too which is a good introduction to Bourbon as its very thin, its also one of the few bourbons that is easy to find over here that is a wheater or high wheat mash bourbon.
So an open book really, in the case of whisky, I tend to be into big peaty stuff,Islay etc and Springbank/Cambletown malts.
Curiously enough, I have Woodford's in my sights. Waitrose stock it, but at a silly price so perhaps an excuse for a TWE order. I was thinking of trying a bourbon costing in the lower 2o's and then a couple at higher prices, perhaps one around high 30's early 40's plus another in the early 50's, if that makes any sense.
Obviously, after some research done. Its to help with that i've posted here
Cheese Mechanic said:
Cannot give you much to go on I'm afraid. I've had Bulleit, and if I recall correctly, quite liked it, I've also had Jim Beam, which cannot have been that bad as I cannot recall tipping it down the sink, unlike JD which I did.
So an open book really, in the case of whisky, I tend to be into big peaty stuff,Islay etc and Springbank/Cambletown malts.
Curiously enough, I have Woodford's in my sights. Waitrose stock it, but at a silly price so perhaps an excuse for a TWE order. I was thinking of trying a bourbon costing in the lower 2o's and then a couple at higher prices, perhaps one around high 30's early 40's plus another in the early 50's, if that makes any sense.
Obviously, after some research done. Its to help with that i've posted here
Ok well if you liked Bulleit then that's a start, it is a very high rye content whiskey. Woodford as mentioned is becoming popular in the UK and is usually around £28 in tesco or asda.So an open book really, in the case of whisky, I tend to be into big peaty stuff,Islay etc and Springbank/Cambletown malts.
Curiously enough, I have Woodford's in my sights. Waitrose stock it, but at a silly price so perhaps an excuse for a TWE order. I was thinking of trying a bourbon costing in the lower 2o's and then a couple at higher prices, perhaps one around high 30's early 40's plus another in the early 50's, if that makes any sense.
Obviously, after some research done. Its to help with that i've posted here
As for some price point recommendations, in the £20 bracket you will struggle to beat Buffalo Trace, its made by the distillery of the same name that also produce the big hitters like George T Stagg, Eagle rare, Sazerac etc. so they know how to make a good whiskey.
For around £30 you could go for "W L Weller 12 year old", a high wheat content whiskey that is very easy to drink or one of my favorites "Old Grand Dad 114" which is a high rye content whiskey with loads of brown sugar flavour but it packs a punch at 57% abv!
In the £50 region if i'm honest there isn't a huge amount that shouts at me, a lot of the bottles at this price point available at TWE you are paying for the bottle, be it that it is an older bottling IE 1980s or that it is a cool brand, if I were to pick anything from TWE at this point it would be "Old Rip Van Winkle 10 Year Old" another high wheat content whiskey, the Van winkles have some great whiskeys and are very highly regarded, I've not tried this particular one but I do have van winkle Lot B and some van winkle family reserve rye which is up there with the best I've ever tasted.
I hope this helps, I've done far too much research into american whiskeys over the years and spent a small fortune on it so if you have any questions i'll be happy to offer my opinion but what tastes great to me may not be the best for you! I personally would focus on the bottles available from £20-£40, most of this is mass produced and sold for much cheaper than this in the US but that does not mean its inferior to the high end stuff!
Just thought I'd give an update on this.
Decision made. The three I'm ordering are Four Roses small batch, Old Grand dad 114 , and Rip Van Winkle 10 year old. The latter 2 I'd already had on radar,
so was good when they were noted on here. I could not decide between Buffalo Trace and Woodfords so cleared that up by buying neither, the Four roses SB seems highly thought of so we will see as they say.
If these go well, then I can look at others, Elijah Craig, Elmer T Lee, etc etc.
I decided against Rock Hill Farms, basically because I'm against paying over £60 for any whisky, and worst of all, found its a <$50 whiskey stateside. I know things are dearer here owing to insane taxation, but you do get the feeling that when something morphs from £32 or so to £62, that someone, somewhere is lifting your leg.
Out of interest though, does anyone know how freely available Rock Hill Farms is in the US? Thinking out loud, my daughter is an exec with a big travel company so her bringing a bottle back when she is next in the US may be an option. Anyone?
Decision made. The three I'm ordering are Four Roses small batch, Old Grand dad 114 , and Rip Van Winkle 10 year old. The latter 2 I'd already had on radar,
so was good when they were noted on here. I could not decide between Buffalo Trace and Woodfords so cleared that up by buying neither, the Four roses SB seems highly thought of so we will see as they say.
If these go well, then I can look at others, Elijah Craig, Elmer T Lee, etc etc.
I decided against Rock Hill Farms, basically because I'm against paying over £60 for any whisky, and worst of all, found its a <$50 whiskey stateside. I know things are dearer here owing to insane taxation, but you do get the feeling that when something morphs from £32 or so to £62, that someone, somewhere is lifting your leg.
Out of interest though, does anyone know how freely available Rock Hill Farms is in the US? Thinking out loud, my daughter is an exec with a big travel company so her bringing a bottle back when she is next in the US may be an option. Anyone?
Edited by Cheese Mechanic on Saturday 11th August 07:54
Engineer1 said:
Out of interest where did you order from, as sometimes I find supermarket drink selections a little samey or tame.
These people: http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/Speaking as I have found, first rate, cannot fault them.
Agree concerning Supermarket selections, Waitrose are not to bad, but the rest tend, with some notable exceptions , to stock the pedestrian ,
right across the drinks range.
Sainsburys the best of the rest I find but even they're a million miles behind Waitrose. Sainsburys have had a few very competitive whiskey offers lately.
I tend to use Tesco to stock up on basics when there's a special offer on but anything remotely interesting is online or Waitrose.
I tend to use Tesco to stock up on basics when there's a special offer on but anything remotely interesting is online or Waitrose.
Cheese Mechanic said:
Just thought I'd give an update on this.
Decision made. The three I'm ordering are Four Roses small batch, Old Grand dad 114 , and Rip Van Winkle 10 year old. The latter 2 I'd already had on radar,
so was good when they were noted on here. I could not decide between Buffalo Trace and Woodfords so cleared that up by buying neither, the Four roses SB seems highly thought of so we will see as they say.
If these go well, then I can look at others, Elijah Craig, Elmer T Lee, etc etc.
I decided against Rock Hill Farms, basically because I'm against paying over £60 for any whisky, and worst of all, found its a <$50 whiskey stateside. I know things are dearer here owing to insane taxation, but you do get the feeling that when something morphs from £32 or so to £62, that someone, somewhere is lifting your leg.
Out of interest though, does anyone know how freely available Rock Hill Farms is in the US? Thinking out loud, my daughter is an exec with a big travel company so her bringing a bottle back when she is next in the US may be an option. Anyone?
Sounds like some great choices, 3 different distilleries too you'll have to let us know your thoughts once they arrive.Decision made. The three I'm ordering are Four Roses small batch, Old Grand dad 114 , and Rip Van Winkle 10 year old. The latter 2 I'd already had on radar,
so was good when they were noted on here. I could not decide between Buffalo Trace and Woodfords so cleared that up by buying neither, the Four roses SB seems highly thought of so we will see as they say.
If these go well, then I can look at others, Elijah Craig, Elmer T Lee, etc etc.
I decided against Rock Hill Farms, basically because I'm against paying over £60 for any whisky, and worst of all, found its a <$50 whiskey stateside. I know things are dearer here owing to insane taxation, but you do get the feeling that when something morphs from £32 or so to £62, that someone, somewhere is lifting your leg.
Out of interest though, does anyone know how freely available Rock Hill Farms is in the US? Thinking out loud, my daughter is an exec with a big travel company so her bringing a bottle back when she is next in the US may be an option. Anyone?
Prices over here are silly, we tend to pay a similar amount or more in £ as they do in $.
Does your daughter visit anywhere in particular, I know there are some big chains like Binnys and the party store that will have a vast selection but it depends where she goes I guess, i'm sure there will be independents all over that will stock it though.
My specialist knowledge of bourbon, or any drink for that matter, is basically zero.
But I do know that I absolutely love Knob Creek (about £30/bottle)
http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-1164.aspx
But I do know that I absolutely love Knob Creek (about £30/bottle)
http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-1164.aspx
Cheese Mechanic said:
Cannot give you much to go on I'm afraid. I've had Bulleit, and if I recall correctly, quite liked it, I've also had Jim Beam, which cannot have been that bad as I cannot recall tipping it down the sink, unlike JD which I did.
By JD assume you mean Jack Daniels. JD is not a bourbon, and yes, it's crap.TwigtheWonderkid said:
Makers Mark. About £25-30 a bottle and the nicest bourbon you can get imho. Had far more expensive bourbons but they're not as good.
Rutter said:
a lot of people will suggest makers mark too
Someone was bound to suggest it!Its not a bad whiskey (I find it lacks any real depth) but if you like makers mark which is a high wheat content you should try other high wheat content bourbons like the van winkle that the OP has picked or W.L. Weller, the later being similar in price but offers much more.
And with regards to JD it is passable with coke but is a triumph of marketing, much like Makers Mark.
aizvara said:
I believe Jack Daniels could justifiably be described as a bourbon (within the regulations), but they've decided to call it Tennessee Whiskey.
No, it cannot be called bourbon. It's charcoal filtered, which adds color. Bourbon has to be: made in America; 51% corn; aged in new white oak barrels; cannot be artificially flavored. JD fails on the last.OP: if you want to spend a lot, Pappy Van Winkle 20 year is probably the best bourbon on the planet. Is about $100 a bottle here in the US, I expect it would be significantly more in the UK with import duty and tax though. More reasonable everyday drinking bourbons I'd recommend are Woodford Reserve and Buffalo Trace.
Dr JonboyG said:
No, it cannot be called bourbon. It's charcoal filtered, which adds color. Bourbon has to be: made in America; 51% corn; aged in new white oak barrels; cannot be artificially flavored. JD fails on the last.
OP: if you want to spend a lot, Pappy Van Winkle 20 year is probably the best bourbon on the planet. Is about $100 a bottle here in the US, I expect it would be significantly more in the UK with import duty and tax though. More reasonable everyday drinking bourbons I'd recommend are Woodford Reserve and Buffalo Trace.
I'd agree with Pappy but go for the 15 yo!OP: if you want to spend a lot, Pappy Van Winkle 20 year is probably the best bourbon on the planet. Is about $100 a bottle here in the US, I expect it would be significantly more in the UK with import duty and tax though. More reasonable everyday drinking bourbons I'd recommend are Woodford Reserve and Buffalo Trace.
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