• The KillerFrogs

OT - Favorite/Specialty Bourbons

Endless Purple

Full Member
Angels Envy

Another vote for Angel's Envy.

For those that like mixed aging like the Angel's Envy, there is Tillamore Dew (Yes, Irish Whiskey which I rarely drink) aged in rum casks which is also fairly smooth compared to others.

I also have a bottle of Eagle Rare stored away. It is in the early collectors bottles shaped like an Eagle on a branch. Never been opened.
 

FBallFan123

Active Member
Go to the liquor store and buy a bottle of everything

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This is kinda what I did a few years ago (although not all at one time).

Decided to get into bourbon ... did a little reading online and then every few weeks I’d try a new bottle.

Just drank them neat.

I liked Buffalo Trace, which was probably my favorite.

Was surprisingly impressed by Evan Williams (based on the price).

Also liked Four Roses and Bulleit.

Jim Beam wasn’t bad.

Only one I didn’t like was Maker’s Mark ... which I hated.

I’ve since moved on more to Scotch and Irish Whiskey ... which I tend to like more.

Blended, not single malt.

Costco has some decent prices ... just go and see what they have ... love Johnnie Walker black and Jameson Black Barrel.

Just started a Dewar’s White Label, which I like as well.

Only one I haven’t liked yet is Johnnie Walker Red ... which I’ve read is more for mixing, which I don’t really do much anymore.
 

HFrog1999

Member
This is kinda what I did a few years ago (although not all at one time).

Decided to get into bourbon ... did a little reading online and then every few weeks I’d try a new bottle.

Just drank them neat.

I liked Buffalo Trace, which was probably my favorite.

Was surprisingly impressed by Evan Williams (based on the price).

Also liked Four Roses and Bulleit.

Jim Beam wasn’t bad.

Only one I didn’t like was Maker’s Mark ... which I hated.

I’ve since moved on more to Scotch and Irish Whiskey ... which I tend to like more.

Blended, not single malt.

Costco has some decent prices ... just go and see what they have ... love Johnnie Walker black and Jameson Black Barrel.

Just started a Dewar’s White Label, which I like as well.

Only one I haven’t liked yet is Johnnie Walker Red ... which I’ve read is more for mixing, which I don’t really do much anymore.


I did spend some time drinking Evan Williams

I settled on Jim Beam Black for my Best Daily Bourbon
 

Froglaw

Full Member
Pappy if I can find it.

Jefferson Ocean when its special at home.

Evan Williams or Makers Mark at the Deer Camp.

I just can't over indulge much any more so hangovers are not common.
 

Horny 4 Life

Active Member
I’m about to go on a trip and I always try to get a special bourbon for the occasion. Would love to hear some great bottles y’all love to broaden my horizons. Here are some of my favorites that are difficult to find:

Blantons
Eagle Rare
Weller 12
Buffalo Trace
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof
Russel Reserve Single Barrel
Elmer T Lee
Barrel Bourbon

Some bottles I have yet to try that I want to are:

I’ve had Pappy 12 but none of the other ones
Eagle Rare 17
George T Stagg
Old Fitzgerald 15

I know most people who have good sources of the good juice rarely reveal their secrets, but would love to hear some insight for those that have had success finding the good stuff (without just money whipping).

For those of you who like this kind of thing, the book Pappy Land by Wright Thompson is a fantastic read.

Bourbon is insane right now and not getting any better any time soon. The chances of finding one of those bottles just sitting on a Shelf for a reasonable price are astronomically low. Store owners who were not aware of the bourbon bubble got picked over and have nothing left on the Shelf and those who pay attention to the market have raised prices for any of those bottles that they may have in stock.

Just two days ago I walked into a nondescript store that appeared to cater to a low-income clientele and a saw a bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle and Old Fitzgerald 8 year on the Shelf. The Old Rip was $999 and the Old Fitzgerald was $899.

Your best bet for trying limited edition bourbons right now is to find a bar that has some for reasonable prices and buy a pour or two.

If you really want to pursue bottles of allocated bourbon here's how you do it... spend tons of money (probably tens of thousands of dollars) at small stores and develop a relationship with the owner(s) so that you get a call when those bottles come in or get lucky and win a lottery drawing for the right to purchase one of those bottles at something close to retail. Although sometimes even the lotteries require you to purchase large amounts of liquor beforehand. Either way there is likely to be a significant investment of time and money on your part. In the case of the Old Fitzgerald, you might also get lucky and get it at the distillery if you happen to be in Bardstown on the day of a release.

Based upon your list it seems that you enjoy products from the Buffalo Trace Distillery. Unfortunately, Buffalo Trace is probably the hottest distillery in the bourbon market, so it's difficult to get a lot of their offerings off of a shelf. I would recommend looking at A. Smith Bowman products. Bowman ships Buffalo Trace distillate to Virginia and distills it once more. There are still a lot of similarities between the products despite the extra distillation run. If you enjoy higher proof bourbon, they have a cask-strength offering that is pretty good.

Private Barrel selections, AKA store picks, are a good way to expand upon whiskey's that you already like or try quality bottles from other lines that you might not be familiar with. Unfortunately, these are also getting tougher to come by but at least they make it to a shelf. Of the brands you listed as already trying every one offers store picks except Weller 12 and Elmer T Lee. Blanton's is probably the hardest to find and Elijah Craig and Eagle Rare are probably the easiest to find.

My personal favorite bourbon is Four Roses. It's easy to find their core lineup on the shelves and their store picks, while increasingly popular, are not impossible to find on a shelf.

I find Bottled-in-Bond (BiB) bourbons to be the best value in whiskey, even though E.H. Taylor is BiB and it has jumped the shark. Henry McKenna, Heaven Hill, Evan Williams, Old Granddad, and Old Forester all have great BiB offerings that sit on the shelf. A lot of smaller distilleries also have BiB offerings that can be very good, although pricier than the ones above.
 

Horny 4 Life

Active Member
@Horny 4 Life needs to weigh in here. Mainly b/c he's got a brown water fettish and knows as much as anybody about how to find rare stuff, but also b/c I haven't seen him around here much lately and he needs to drop back in for a visit.

Life has been coming at me fast for awhile and free time to spend in front of a screen is extremely limited, but I always try to check in here once a week or so.
 

HToady

Full Member
I started out mixing it with Coke. Then less and less Coke. Now it's just bourbon and ice.

Guess my balls dropped. ;)
I saw this movie (i forget the name) staring Michael Douglas, where he played a degenerate college professor sleeping with his female students. He always drank bourbon and Diet Dr. Pepper. I thought hmm, I got to try that (not the sleeping with students part). It was pretty good! So occasionally I'll make a "Michael Douglas" before dinner....
 

HFrog1999

Member
Bourbon is insane right now and not getting any better any time soon. The chances of finding one of those bottles just sitting on a Shelf for a reasonable price are astronomically low. Store owners who were not aware of the bourbon bubble got picked over and have nothing left on the Shelf and those who pay attention to the market have raised prices for any of those bottles that they may have in stock.

Just two days ago I walked into a nondescript store that appeared to cater to a low-income clientele and a saw a bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle and Old Fitzgerald 8 year on the Shelf. The Old Rip was $999 and the Old Fitzgerald was $899.

Your best bet for trying limited edition bourbons right now is to find a bar that has some for reasonable prices and buy a pour or two.

If you really want to pursue bottles of allocated bourbon here's how you do it... spend tons of money (probably tens of thousands of dollars) at small stores and develop a relationship with the owner(s) so that you get a call when those bottles come in or get lucky and win a lottery drawing for the right to purchase one of those bottles at something close to retail. Although sometimes even the lotteries require you to purchase large amounts of liquor beforehand. Either way there is likely to be a significant investment of time and money on your part. In the case of the Old Fitzgerald, you might also get lucky and get it at the distillery if you happen to be in Bardstown on the day of a release.

Based upon your list it seems that you enjoy products from the Buffalo Trace Distillery. Unfortunately, Buffalo Trace is probably the hottest distillery in the bourbon market, so it's difficult to get a lot of their offerings off of a shelf. I would recommend looking at A. Smith Bowman products. Bowman ships Buffalo Trace distillate to Virginia and distills it once more. There are still a lot of similarities between the products despite the extra distillation run. If you enjoy higher proof bourbon, they have a cask-strength offering that is pretty good.

Private Barrel selections, AKA store picks, are a good way to expand upon whiskey's that you already like or try quality bottles from other lines that you might not be familiar with. Unfortunately, these are also getting tougher to come by but at least they make it to a shelf. Of the brands you listed as already trying every one offers store picks except Weller 12 and Elmer T Lee. Blanton's is probably the hardest to find and Elijah Craig and Eagle Rare are probably the easiest to find.

My personal favorite bourbon is Four Roses. It's easy to find their core lineup on the shelves and their store picks, while increasingly popular, are not impossible to find on a shelf.

I find Bottled-in-Bond (BiB) bourbons to be the best value in whiskey, even though E.H. Taylor is BiB and it has jumped the shark. Henry McKenna, Heaven Hill, Evan Williams, Old Granddad, and Old Forester all have great BiB offerings that sit on the shelf. A lot of smaller distilleries also have BiB offerings that can be very good, although pricier than the ones above.


I second the Four Roses recommendation. I haven’t seen it on the shelf much before this year. However, I’ve been finding it at Specs and really like it. My wife even likes it.
 

Purp

Active Member
Bourbon is insane right now and not getting any better any time soon. The chances of finding one of those bottles just sitting on a Shelf for a reasonable price are astronomically low. Store owners who were not aware of the bourbon bubble got picked over and have nothing left on the Shelf and those who pay attention to the market have raised prices for any of those bottles that they may have in stock.

Just two days ago I walked into a nondescript store that appeared to cater to a low-income clientele and a saw a bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle and Old Fitzgerald 8 year on the Shelf. The Old Rip was $999 and the Old Fitzgerald was $899.

Your best bet for trying limited edition bourbons right now is to find a bar that has some for reasonable prices and buy a pour or two.

If you really want to pursue bottles of allocated bourbon here's how you do it... spend tons of money (probably tens of thousands of dollars) at small stores and develop a relationship with the owner(s) so that you get a call when those bottles come in or get lucky and win a lottery drawing for the right to purchase one of those bottles at something close to retail. Although sometimes even the lotteries require you to purchase large amounts of liquor beforehand. Either way there is likely to be a significant investment of time and money on your part. In the case of the Old Fitzgerald, you might also get lucky and get it at the distillery if you happen to be in Bardstown on the day of a release.

Based upon your list it seems that you enjoy products from the Buffalo Trace Distillery. Unfortunately, Buffalo Trace is probably the hottest distillery in the bourbon market, so it's difficult to get a lot of their offerings off of a shelf. I would recommend looking at A. Smith Bowman products. Bowman ships Buffalo Trace distillate to Virginia and distills it once more. There are still a lot of similarities between the products despite the extra distillation run. If you enjoy higher proof bourbon, they have a cask-strength offering that is pretty good.

Private Barrel selections, AKA store picks, are a good way to expand upon whiskey's that you already like or try quality bottles from other lines that you might not be familiar with. Unfortunately, these are also getting tougher to come by but at least they make it to a shelf. Of the brands you listed as already trying every one offers store picks except Weller 12 and Elmer T Lee. Blanton's is probably the hardest to find and Elijah Craig and Eagle Rare are probably the easiest to find.

My personal favorite bourbon is Four Roses. It's easy to find their core lineup on the shelves and their store picks, while increasingly popular, are not impossible to find on a shelf.

I find Bottled-in-Bond (BiB) bourbons to be the best value in whiskey, even though E.H. Taylor is BiB and it has jumped the shark. Henry McKenna, Heaven Hill, Evan Williams, Old Granddad, and Old Forester all have great BiB offerings that sit on the shelf. A lot of smaller distilleries also have BiB offerings that can be very good, although pricier than the ones above.
Nerd
 

Purp

Active Member
I’ll third. The Four Roses Single Barrel is a really good value.
@Horny 4 Life gave me my first tip on this one. It's my most common purchase and I routinely laud it as the best value in bourbon. I'm not as big a fan of their other mash bills, but that one speaks to me softly. Interestingly, I think I remember from the tour at their rick houses that they have 8 different single barrel mash bills available in barrel picks. I've had 2. One was amazing and the other was just alright. IIRC, one of those was with Horny4Life when I met him half way between Fort Knox and Lexington for dinner and drinks near Heaven Hill. Naturally, my memory isn't as sharp of that night as it is of most nights.
 

Purp

Active Member
Maybe but he’s my favorite whiskey nerd ever. I hope to meet him next time he makes it to town.
He brought me some of his soy sauce aged in a bourbon barrel at a tailgate a few years ago. If he ever stops by again I'll let you know.
 
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