KCRag Forum

Whiskey is awesome!

I love a good whiskey discussion. It's funny how my tastes have changed over the past five years (seeing my post earlier in the thread).

It has been especially gratifying to see some local distilleries doing excellent work. I always have Rieger's around for sipping. I also have the Dark Horse Bourbon and the Dark Horse Barrel Strength Rye - they're both kind of spendy, but worth it.

As Bobby mentioned, the High West stuff has all been good (and they have a great selection of Bourbon and Rye's).

I do like having cheaper whiskey and rye around as well. I enjoy Manhattan's and Whiskey Smash's quite a bit. While it is a "bottom shelf" product, I go through a TON of Old Overholt Rye. And If I have a lower-level bourbon, it's almost always the regular Four Roses. The Four Roses Small Batch is excellent and affordable, BTW.

As far a liquor stores go, Gomers used to be a lot better about having unique things on the shelf, but I think the latest whiskey craze has ended that for most shops. I'd love to hear about some other places, but Gomers Midtown still has the best selection I can find. I have found Sazerac Rye on their shelf before, but that was several years ago. If you ever see Sazerac Rye in bottles on a liquor store shelf - definitely get it. And then message me and let me know where!

Old Overholt is the goto for mixed drinks. I'll sometimes opt for Weller for a heartier flavor. Both are great values. Otherwise I usually have a bottle of Rieger and another rotating sampler of something new. Last one was ri, which I had previously avoided due to "quirky name syndrome", but was actually pretty tasty and in the markdown section at my local place.

Underdog on 55th by aixios has an interesting selection of whiskeys, but they know it and are priced accordingly.

Pappy is made from selected Weller barrels. The difference between Weller 12 and Old Rip is indistinguishable to 99% of whiskey drinkers. The older Van Winkles, 15 and 23 year are inconsistent with the nature of the spirit in my opinion. if you need your throat buttered, drink a Speyside. Bourbon is supposed to be young. 7 years is the golden age for me. There is almost no reason to spend more than $50 on a bottle of bourbon except to say you did it. The best bourbon distilleries have been around for ages, make a lot of whiskey, have very little overhead, spend relatively little on marketting, and have the operations down.

The newer "craft" bourbons are almost uniformly sub-par, or worse, are often really just packaging/bottling/marketting companies.

To that end my normal bourbons in rotation are:

Beam Black Label
Eagle Rare Single Barrel
Elijah Craig 12 Year Cask Strength
Elmer T. Lee Single Barrel
Basil Hayden

There is one Elmer T Lee at the Village West Discount liquor store. I left the other behind for good karma and to avoid being part of the hoarding problem. Might give them a ring beforehand, but it was on the top shelf for regular price ($35). I'm still on the lookout for anyone that randomly has the Weller 12 sitting around a black hole of liquor knowledge.

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pash wrote:Good Bourbon might be the only enthusiast spirit that's wasted on me. I'm a rye and Scotch drinker, preferring the spicy stuff (in the case of rye) and the smoke-and-iodine stuff (in the case of Scotch), who happens to know some big Bourbon drinkers. I've been fed the latest craze and the Pappy 23-year-old, and I just don't get it. It all tastes like sweet-corn plonk to me.

That said, if anyone wants to derail this thread to talk about more interesting whiskeys, let's do it.

+1

pash wrote:Good Bourbon might be the only enthusiast spirit that's wasted on me. I'm a rye and Scotch drinker, preferring the spicy stuff (in the case of rye) and the smoke-and-iodine stuff (in the case of Scotch), who happens to know some big Bourbon drinkers. I've been fed the latest craze and the Pappy 23-year-old, and I just don't get it. It all tastes like sweet-corn plonk to me.

That said, if anyone wants to derail this thread to talk about more interesting whiskeys, let's do it.

I like rye and bourbon equally - for different reasons and occasions. I have never been able to get on board with the peaty scotch taste.

I do agree that the cache around Pappy is largely marketing - the few times I've had it (the 15 year, not the 23), I haven't been that impressed.

With that said, Thanksgiving officially kicks off Whiskey Punch season at my house. I will leave the recipe below for consideration.... what is everyone else mixing for the holidays?

2 oz bourbon whiskey
3 oz half-and-half
1 tsp superfine sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tspgrated nutmeg

In a shaker half-filled with ice cubes, combine the bourbon, half-and-half, sugar, and vanilla extract. Shake well. Strain into a highball glass and garnish with the nutmeg.

Thanks for the recipe! I may have to try that out.

So, what would be the ryes of choice? I like a lot of varieties of whiskey for different reasons, but can't really get into Canadian (or haven't been exposed to any good Canadian). For Irish whiskey, I recently had Redbreast 15, which I thought was really nice, but probably not something I'd go for frequently at that price (just had a glass at a bar). If you like all of the above like me, High West's Campfire is really nice (blend of rye, bourbon, and scotch). For scotch, the most recent new-ish one to me that I keep revisiting is Kilchoman, since Yamazaki 12 blew up in popularity and is harder to find. Gomers always having the Balvenie Doublewood on sale is also a standard purchase if I'm buying scotch. For rye, I like Bourye, but was really impressed with Angel's Envy Rye. Templeton is also great in its availability and price. I'm also enjoying Armagnac lately, though it is difficult to find a good selection, and I've only tried a few since visiting France this summer. It is a great thing to serve before or after a meal as a very slow sipper and has all the complexity of a great whiskey, though usually even a bit more for the price.

Total sidebar, where is the best sake selection in KC? So far, Gomers midtown is it from what I can tell, but there are only 4 or 5 Junmai Ginjo/Daiginjo options. Any Asian markets with a good selection?

We just had a get together where I got to play bartender.

Boulevardier:

3 oz rye
1/2 oz aperol
1/2 oz sweet vermouth

stirred not shaken
garnish with 2 cherries from Tillen Farms

My favorite Ryes -

Sazerac (impossible to find)
High West Rendevous
High West Double Rye
Bulleit
Russels Reserve 6 year
Old Overholt
Rieger (I think they call it a Rye, but it's more sweet like straight bourbon. Assuming the sherry they add in does that).

One of the advantages I find for Ryes is that they can support a higher level of alcohol - the spiciness seems to lend itself to that. You can always go with Rittenhouse 100 - or look for other barrel strength Ryes (Dark Horse, Michters, Redemption ($$$))

WSPanic wrote:My favorite Ryes -

Sazerac (impossible to find)
High West Rendevous
High West Double Rye
Bulleit
Russels Reserve 6 year
Old Overholt
Rieger (I think they call it a Rye, but it's more sweet like straight bourbon. Assuming the sherry they add in does that).

One of the advantages I find for Ryes is that they can support a higher level of alcohol - the spiciness seems to lend itself to that. You can always go with Rittenhouse 100 - or look for other barrel strength Ryes (Dark Horse, Michters, Redemption ($$$))

If you can find me a Weller 12 around msrp, I'll bring back a Sazerac Rye from Portland. They are all over the place there.

It is illegal to transport alcohol across state lines.

Myself, I try to break at least one law per day.

bobbyhawks wrote:

WSPanic wrote:My favorite Ryes -

Sazerac (impossible to find)
High West Rendevous
High West Double Rye
Bulleit
Russels Reserve 6 year
Old Overholt
Rieger (I think they call it a Rye, but it's more sweet like straight bourbon. Assuming the sherry they add in does that).

One of the advantages I find for Ryes is that they can support a higher level of alcohol - the spiciness seems to lend itself to that. You can always go with Rittenhouse 100 - or look for other barrel strength Ryes (Dark Horse, Michters, Redemption ($$$))

If you can find me a Weller 12 around msrp, I'll bring back a Sazerac Rye from Portland. They are all over the place there.

I will definitely look around and let you know.

love to try new bourbons and ryes when out, but at home we just stick with four roses. solid and a good value for the price. we make a sort of riff on an old fashioned that is easy and good for home sipping: maple syrup, bitters, bourbon, orange/lemon slice, splash of soda.

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