I know we have a lot of spirit drinkers in here, and some love the scotch or other brown waters, but for me it's all about the bourbon. Latest acquisitions, favorite distillery, etc all welcome here! Plus love good photos! For starters maybe let's go with what is your favorite brand, prefer low mid or high proof, and anything else you like about bourbon. I personally like a lot of the Heaven Hill and Buffalo Trace Brands, Weller top to bottom is a big favorite. My all time favorite as far as what I've had is EH Taylor Seasoned Wood and probably 2015 or 2016 William Larue Weller. Posting a few of my favorite things over the last few years.

That's it Chang? Come on brother! HA Sorry for the boastful posts, just some faves from the last few years. ALL of my bottles are open or will be open. I collect friends not sealed bottles, just need more of you to be able to come over and drink. I also wanted to add another topic, what are you looking forward to this year? For me I try hardest to get every EH Taylor release, so I am going to start laying the ground work for the 18 year Marriage. I also love store picks of Weller, Elijah Craig, Eagle Rare and Russel's Reserve, so always on the look out.

pepsijunky I'm with you on "wants" this year. Really looking for the EHT 18 year. Also, as every year, I will be on the hunt for a GTS and Michter's 10 year.

I'm really hoping to learn from you guys in this thread, I get into whiskeys, but bourbon's are a blindspot for me. I did a Pappy tasting with five different kinds and definitely enjoyed it, but want to learn more. So even if some of the info is noob-ish, share please. One of my client's owns several steakhouses in this area, it's Pappy on good days, on bad days we pound Buffalo Trace haha.

A few things I love about Bourbon; the regulation of the process, the variance in proof, and the history in Kentucky(mostly). Ed it sounds like you are already well connected, but the other big thing for me is drink what you like. There are so many idiots out there paying big dollars for bottles, who don't even drink it or can't even drink it. Try everything, enjoy it, hopefully we all can be cheers-ing soon!

Bourbon here for me as well @pepsijunky (you already be knowin' that). I'll try and upload some pics later on some stuff I have recently acquired. I'm a Buffalo Trace guy through and through since I've been drinking it since college. I love Elmer T Lee because I've drank it for so long and remember when I was 22 or 23 just cruising into crappy liquor stores and it was sitting on shelves. It was a weekly drinker for me. I don't scoff at plain old Jim Beam though, I like the sweetness. Probably why I like wheated bourbons so much (anything Weller is amazing). EHT is also some of the tastiest stuff out there and produced at such a high quality in my opinion. I toured Woodinville 4 or 5 years ago when they were first starting and it was an awesome experience. Still one of the top 3 100% Rye's I have ever had and it's nice to see their brand doing well because they are great people up there. New Riff is also doing some awesome stuff right now with their own juice and I'm excited as more of it ages to see how it comes out. Good value and their Rye is also very very good. I also am in it to open bottles, enjoy with friends or surprise people with hard to find stuff we can enjoy together. The "game" or "hunt" has just become too overwhelming and stressful and it's good when a community of homies like here come together and help each other out. I have too much to drink over here....someone come help!

Moni_SLO Good to have a extra around, helps for the quarantine!

pepsijunky All of the extra handles of Buff Trace, Weller Reserve, and Mckenna got me through the long 6-8 weeks stretch. Moni_SLO I second the New Riff. That is one barrel we could actually do our own Tees&Coins barrel pick from and they would ship out to most states if he had enough people get down. The most fun part would be designing the sticker!

Putterho I second the New Riff. That is one barrel we could actually do our own Tees&Coins barrel pick from and they would ship out to most states if he had enough people get down. The most fun part would be designing the sticker! @Putterho I am 100000000% down for this.....

Took some photos of what's currently in the lineup. Got lazy as I have multiples of some of these and other stuff was just too far back on the shelves to grab. I've got some Nikka from the Barrel and Old Carter batch 5 to pick up from one of my local spots when things open back up. Who's comin' over? 😉

Kentucky Straight Bourbon

PureStickGolf

titleistforged have you tried Stranahans sherry cask? It might be right up your alley.

titleistforged

PureStickGolf I have not... will look into it!

Moni_SLO I've had this before as well. I liked it! Not a big American whisky drinker myself (despite the title of this thread). I love the Asian stuff, like Kavalan especially and select Japanese ones. I usually do Scotch as the main.

Moni_SLO

titleistforged Basil Hayden Dark Rye.....I'm not a huge fan of wine finished whiskey but honestly, I can drink the shit out of the BH Dark Rye as a nightcap after a tasty meal. So good! I might need to re-up soon actually....

mljones99

So what would be an easily accessible, easy to start with bourbon for someone wanting to broaden their horizons from their normal jack and coke?

Disclaimer and it may trigger some but I will be drinking it with a little bit of ice. I can't drink room temp or hot drinks... my drinks have to be cold or chilled.

DaHOF

mljones99 Easy to obtain and something I would recommend to anyone trying to venture to straight bourbon on ice: Makers Mark (easy enough and sweet); Angels Envy (a little nicer than Makers); Eagle Rare (for the more discerning bourbon drinker yet easy to handle). Those three should get you started down the right path I would think.

titleistforged

mljones99 There's this bourbon called Legent - it is very affordable (38 at my local Costco). It is basically a collaboration between Jim Bean bourbon and the famous Japanese Suntory "master blender". Or, as I read online, 'bourbon if made by a Japanese distiller' lol.

BirdiesandBourbon

mljones99 four roses small batch, Woodford reserve, and buffalo trace. If you can't fins buffalo trace then look for Elijah Craig small batch

PureStickGolf

DaHOF 💯 on the eagle rare..... Although depending on where you are located it can be hard to find. Which blows my mind.....

mljones99

DaHOF Easy to obtain and something I would recommend to anyone trying to venture to straight bourbon on ice: Makers Mark (easy enough and sweet); Angels Envy (a little nicer than Makers); Eagle Rare (for the more discerning bourbon drinker yet easy to handle). Those three should get you started down the right path I would think

Makers I'm familiar with (have a couple unique dipped bottles) but more so for bourbon and coke. Will definitely look into the others.

DaHOF

PureStickGolf It's amazing depending on where you are in the country for a lot of these (for example, I never see Blantons on the shelf in my area). I send Eagle Rare's to buddies on the East Coast as many of them can't get it but I can run down to my local grocery store any time and snag it. Gotta love the world of Bourbon.

Moni_SLO

titleistforged This is a good one for sure. Interesting taste. Straight up Buffalo Trace for me is always my go to for cocktails when I'm at the casa or out at a restaurant. It's a solid entry bourbon that is good over ice and wont bite you in the ass. If you like something with a bit more Rye spice in it (and depending where you are) New Riff Rye and Woodinville 100% Rye are both amazing Rye whiskey's you can drink over ice. Not hard to come by for me but I have zero idea how the rest of the country looks for those 2.

BirdiesandBourbon

titleistforged Get your yippee before its gone!! RIP

titleistforged

BirdiesandBourbon I know, I'm drinking mine sparingly. It's my 3rd bottle or so, so I'm familiar enough with it. Personally, I like the Midwinter more.

Putterho

@mljones99 Don’t fall down the rabbit hole!!!!!

DaHOF

Putterho No truer words have ever been spoken.

mljones99

Putterho Don’t fall down the rabbit hole!!!!

But I wanna!

DaHOF

mljones99 don't say @Putterho didn't warn you when you are looking at $70 MSRP bottles going for $450 secondary and thinking to yourself "That's a great price, give me 3".

bvan303

DaHOF so true!!

Moni_SLO

DaHOF What is this MSRP sorcery you speak of???? 😆

CLTGamecock

Does anyone have a recommendation for a bottle in the $150-$200 range that is fairly easy to acquire?

DaHOF

CLTGamecock Typically if you are talking a $150-200 bottle at MSRP, that is going to be a bottle not easily attainable on the market (as it is likely selling for 2-3 x that on the secondary market). With that being said, MAYBE you can find yourself an EC18 or Michter's 10 depending on your area and your ability to check a bunch of random liquor stores. Those both would fall in that price range and are solid bourbons.

BirdiesandBourbon

CLTGamecock You should be able to find something from the wild turkey masters keep collection in that price range