Whiskey Discussion

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

seper

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2010
Messages
2,178
Reaction score
1,267
Physician work is stressful. Whiskey has similar effect to Valium and is legal

Members don't see this ad.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
Members don't see this ad :)
You’re from Ohio aren’t you?

Ohio folks love their Blantons.

But yes, bourbon is the king whiskey.

And… yes Buffalo Trace is the king distiller of bourbon, but their **** is too hard to find these days. I remember “discovering” a mid/bottom shelf value whiskey call Eagle Rare on the grocery shelf for $24 a bottle 15 years ago. Could buy cases of it. I haven’t seen a bottle of it locally for years. I know it comes, but it’s gone in an hour. Not the BTAC stuff. Just the basic.

Ditto EH Taylor. I grabbed a few bottles of the barrel proof like 10 years ago from the grocery store right before the bourbon craze really hit hard. It was $65 and amazing. Damned if I’ve seen any Taylor on the shelf for the last 5.

So for now, it’s Elijah Craig Barrel Proof for a powerhouse and a pretty darned good California Bourbon called Redwood Empire as a more frequent sipper. Can never go wrong with Wild Turkey 101, though.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Not to start a bourbon debate, but I find Blanton's pretty boring. Personally a fan of most anything bottled in bond as it's always a little different. Just got an eh Taylor bottle from a local gi surgeon I'm looking forward to.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Not to start a bourbon debate, but I find Blanton's pretty boring. Personally a fan of most anything bottled in bond as it's always a little different. Just got an eh Taylor bottle from a local gi surgeon I'm looking forward to.
Agree.... I think a lot of it is just the story, the scarcity and collectability (the bottle toppers are pretty cool looking).

Went traveling internationally and found a big cache in duty free on the way back, as i sometimes have trouble finding it locally. Cashier mentioned how popular it is and they usually don't keep it in stock long. Picked up a few as Christmas gifts

Edit: please let me know @evilbooyaa @Neuronix if our bourbon banter is OT or needs a separate thread 😀
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
And… yes Buffalo Trace is the king distiller of bourbon, but their **** is too hard to find these days. I remember “discovering” a mid/bottom shelf value whiskey call Eagle Rare on the grocery shelf for $24 a bottle 15 years ago. Could buy cases of it. I haven’t seen a bottle of it locally for years. I know it comes, but it’s gone in an hour. Not the BTAC stuff. Just the basic.
Wait, really? I went the opposite direction of most Americans and basically stopped drinking when the pandemic hit, so I haven't paid attention.

What about the Elmer T Lee? That was hard to find when I got a bottle about 7 or 8 years ago, I thought it was pretty good.
 
Elmer T Lee is indeed another tough to find Buffalo Trace bourbon.

It’s a little light for my taste.

I saw an interview with him. He was a long-time quality control taster at BT and he preferred his whiskey at like 60 proof, so he’d water things down significantly before tasting them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
You’re from Ohio aren’t you?

Ohio folks love their Blantons.

But yes, bourbon is the king whiskey.

And… yes Buffalo Trace is the king distiller of bourbon, but their **** is too hard to find these days. I remember “discovering” a mid/bottom shelf value whiskey call Eagle Rare on the grocery shelf for $24 a bottle 15 years ago. Could buy cases of it. I haven’t seen a bottle of it locally for years. I know it comes, but it’s gone in an hour. Not the BTAC stuff. Just the basic.

Ditto EH Taylor. I grabbed a few bottles of the barrel proof like 10 years ago from the grocery store right before the bourbon craze really hit hard. It was $65 and amazing. Damned if I’ve seen any Taylor on the shelf for the last 5.

So for now, it’s Elijah Craig Barrel Proof for a powerhouse and a pretty darned good California Bourbon called Redwood Empire as a more frequent sipper. Can never go wrong with Wild Turkey 101, though.
Try out Smoke Wagon Uncut Unfiltered. Really good blended MGP stuff out of Vegas. Distribution varies depending on state, though.

Around my neck of the woods Eagle Rare availability has exploded over the last 3 months. Guy that runs my neighborhood liquor store says that Buffalo Trace is releasing a ton as an experiment to see how much it takes to kill the secondary market for Eagle Rare. I find the market dynamics of bourbon sales quite interesting.

If there are enough bourbon fans in this thread, we should get a group together and swap around some samples!
 
  • Love
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Never seen Smoke Wagon in these parts.

MGP makes the best NDPs though. I’m sure I’d love it. Keeping an eye out.
 
You’re from Ohio aren’t you?

Ohio folks love their Blantons.

But yes, bourbon is the king whiskey.

And… yes Buffalo Trace is the king distiller of bourbon, but their **** is too hard to find these days. I remember “discovering” a mid/bottom shelf value whiskey call Eagle Rare on the grocery shelf for $24 a bottle 15 years ago. Could buy cases of it. I haven’t seen a bottle of it locally for years. I know it comes, but it’s gone in an hour. Not the BTAC stuff. Just the basic.

Ditto EH Taylor. I grabbed a few bottles of the barrel proof like 10 years ago from the grocery store right before the bourbon craze really hit hard. It was $65 and amazing. Damned if I’ve seen any Taylor on the shelf for the last 5.

So for now, it’s Elijah Craig Barrel Proof for a powerhouse and a pretty darned good California Bourbon called Redwood Empire as a more frequent sipper. Can never go wrong with Wild Turkey 101, though.
Not at all. My first sip of Bourbon was Blanton's from my bro-in-law, so more nostalgia for me. We could walk 2 blocks down to the liquor store in South Loop and get it easily in 2016. Now, different story. Agree with you though. Plenty of great bourbon that is widely available and cheap.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
In the interest of separating a negative connotation to whiskey/Bourbon to its own thread, I have moved things to the current thread for discussion separate from the fate of Dr. Dattoli.

Carry on.

Blanton's is good. As is eagle rare. Elijah Craig small barrel is good, but is better as a mixing bourbon. Four roses small batch is very good for straight. As is Widow Jane and Basil Hayden.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Members don't see this ad :)
For our 2021 graduating resident, before they moved across the country, some of the other staff and I were able to source some Alberta Premium Cask strength for him as a going away/graduation present. Sadly, that was the only bottle I was able to find at the time, months after it had already sold out, so I didn’t get to try it myself before he left. I’m still happy he was able to enjoy the ”World’s best whisky”.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Ah, I just noticed this was about whiskey and not bourbon. I'm a fan of bourbon most of all, but also love the strong weirdness of Lagavulin Scotch.
happy ron swanson GIF
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Most Japanese Whiskeys I've had have had the smoky scotch character. I must say, I'm not a fan of that myself.
 
+1 for Basil Hayden. Also Straight Edge is darn good.
 
Japanese Whiskey is tough to get. Can barely find anything with an age statement where i live. I do have family that lived in japan and weirdly got into chasing whiskey even though he does not particularly enjoy drinking it. I benefited from this. A lot of the good american bourbon actually goes to japan too.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
japanese whiskey the new biryani?

ive got it by me! wouldn't pick a job without access. smooth as a baby RVU.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Ah, I just noticed this was about whiskey and not bourbon. I'm a fan of bourbon most of all, but also love the strong weirdness of Lagavulin Scotch.

The decision to make the thread about whiskey rather than specifically bourbon was a purposeful one on my end. No reason to have a Bourbon, a Scotch, and a Japanese Whiskey thread.

In terms of Japanese Whiskey, I have not had the pleasure of having more than Yamazaki and Hibiki straight but they are both very good.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
The decision to make the thread about whiskey rather than specifically bourbon was a purposeful one on my end. No reason to have a Bourbon, a Scotch, and a Japanese Whiskey thread.

In terms of Japanese Whiskey, I have not had the pleasure of having more than Yamazaki and Hibiki straight but they are both very good.
Y'all are getting too fancy for me -

What's the optimum temperature I should chill my Zima to?
 
  • Haha
  • Like
  • Inappropriate
Reactions: 4 users
1) wow wait, Jolly Ranchers in Zima is a thing? I literally feel my body asking for Metformin after just reading this.

2) I love that @Gfunk6 "reacted" to my Zima post with the "Inappropriate" reaction, I always assumed that would like, immediately report to SDN admin or something.

Consider this my formal apology if this thread goes to SDN Jail.
 
  • Haha
  • Care
Reactions: 3 users
1) wow wait, Jolly Ranchers in Zima is a thing? I literally feel my body asking for Metformin after just reading this.

2) I love that @Gfunk6 "reacted" to my Zima post with the "Inappropriate" reaction, I always assumed that would like, immediately report to SDN admin or something.

Consider this my formal apology if this thread goes to SDN Jail.
You’re likely too young to have underage drank Zima, or at least purchase it for the cute girl in your trig class.
 
For the “cute”

I like the use of “cute” as a noun. Stealing that.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: 1 user
You’re likely too young to have underage drank Zima, or at least purchase it for the cute girl in your trig class.
Ok, first, you just made me go to the Wikipedia "Zima" page so...thanks?

It came out in 1993 and peak sales were in 1994, which is WAY older than I thought. You're correct, that was before my time in terms of trying score points in math class (I think it was a geography class for me, actually). But Zima was sold all the way to 2008, which is crazy to think about. I'm old enough to remember Zima being advertised EVERYWHERE (during Home Improvement commercial breaks), but I honestly thought it was discontinued far before that. Zima and the iPhone coexisted.

But, talking about sugary drinks in a whiskey thread - I assume everyone who has posted here already knew this, but for future lurkers who don't know, Mountain Dew was originally developed in Tennessee in the 1940s as a whiskey mixer, which is a favorite factoid of mine.

So my question: is it technically a misdemeanor in several states if I were to mix Glenfiddich 18 directly into an aluminum can of Diet Mountain Dew?

1640049274131.png
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Ok, first, you just made me go to the Wikipedia "Zima" page so...thanks?

It came out in 1993 and peak sales were in 1994, which is WAY older than I thought. You're correct, that was before my time in terms of trying score points in math class (I think it was a geography class for me, actually). But Zima was sold all the way to 2008, which is crazy to think about. I'm old enough to remember Zima being advertised EVERYWHERE (during Home Improvement commercial breaks), but I honestly thought it was discontinued far before that. Zima and the iPhone coexisted.

But, talking about sugary drinks in a whiskey thread - I assume everyone who has posted here already knew this, but for future lurkers who don't know, Mountain Dew was originally developed in Tennessee in the 1940s as a whiskey mixer, which is a favorite factoid of mine.

So my question: is it technically a misdemeanor in several states if I were to mix Glenfiddich 18 directly into an aluminum can of Diet Mountain Dew?

View attachment 347046
I heard they are going to make alcoholic dew with sam Adams. Pepsi may also be dabbling in Mary Jane soon as well


 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
i too share the love of Japanese Whiskey. I prefer neat. Have about 5 bottles currently. I drink it as a digestif after my tortured goat biryani.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Used to love Whisky but as I got older my body betrayed me. Most hard liquor now = unprocessed vomit. I envy you all.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: 1 user
Blanton's is good. As is eagle rare. Elijah Craig small barrel is good, but is better as a mixing bourbon. Four roses small batch is very good for straight. As is Widow Jane and Basil Hayden.
evil, I normally agree with a lot of what you say, but I cannot get behind Basil Hayden. That is as close to a polished turd of a bottle as I've seen.
 
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: 2 users
Agree. Basil Hayden is not bad, but is kind of watered down and overpriced. If you like Basil Hayden - you should try old grand dad. Cheaper and stronger.

At the end of the day, I try to not be to snooty. Drink (or don't drink) what you like. I went through a full circle when it came to craft beer and now prefer high life or PBR instead of the barrel aged pastry stout or quadruple IPA.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Agree. Basil Hayden is not bad, but is kind of watered down and overpriced. If you like Basil Hayden - you should try old grand dad. Cheaper and stronger.

At the end of the day, I try to not be to snooty. Drink (or don't drink) what you like. I went through a full circle when it came to craft beer and now prefer high life or PBR instead of the barrel aged pastry stout or quadruple IPA.
see i'm a bit of a weakling, so I don't necessarily want it stronger :lol:
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
At the end of the day, I try to not be to snooty. Drink (or don't drink) what you like. I went through a full circle when it came to craft beer and now prefer high life or PBR instead of the barrel aged pastry stout or quadruple IPA.
Absolutely. I went through this beer thing. Barrel aged triple milkshake fruited sour dry hopped new england IPA beer nonsense.

I don't want to be challenged by a beer anymore. I want it to taste good and quench my thirst for "a beer". Back to lagers and fairly basic pale ales.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Agree. Basil Hayden is not bad, but is kind of watered down and overpriced. If you like Basil Hayden - you should try old grand dad. Cheaper and stronger.

At the end of the day, I try to not be to snooty. Drink (or don't drink) what you like. I went through a full circle when it came to craft beer and now prefer high life or PBR instead of the barrel aged pastry stout or quadruple IPA.
Best thing about high life...40s are still only a couple of bucks and available at pretty much any gas station in America.

Funny how things change. I was all about lager's when I was younger. Then was really into heavy porters and stouts. Now I prefer a strong IPA to all of them. I still like all of them. There are very few beers I dislike enough that I won't drink them in a pinch. If anyone ever tried a Red Dog way back when you probably understand why it was so short lived.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: 1 user
For bourbon, I definitely enjoy barrel proofed offerings. Elijah Craig being my favorite (fairly) easy to find one. And it's a great value. Stagg Jr. and most years George T Stagg are great if you can find them. Also like 1792 Full Proof, The Representative (and the rye version, The Senator), and Rough Rider. The 1920 Prohibition Style Old Forrester is also great.

I don't love the Maker's cask strength, and don't prefer wheated in general. I have some Weller and it's fine, but not really special IMO. I found a cheap $22 wheated at Total Wine called Macfarlane's Reserve that is actually a reasonable approximation. Of course Pappy is good, but the older years are WAY overrated IMO.
 
Agree. Basil Hayden is not bad, but is kind of watered down and overpriced. If you like Basil Hayden - you should try old grand dad. Cheaper and stronger.

At the end of the day, I try to not be to snooty. Drink (or don't drink) what you like. I went through a full circle when it came to craft beer and now prefer high life or PBR instead of the barrel aged pastry stout or quadruple IPA.
This sounds like an indirect admission that you were one of the first through the doors on January 6th.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: 1 user
Finally, another High Life aficionado. It is after all, the Champagne of Beers.
 
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: 2 users
High life and nasty light are 2 beers i have zero interest in. Gotta watch the cals these days so it's Sam Adams/amstel light for me. Tried kona light recently and that was pretty good too
 
Last edited:
Should I even mention my affection for Four Loko (circa 2005-6) or Skol vodka?

I can’t afford the good good stuff. I’m junior faculty at an academic shop making sub-25th %ile MGMA.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: 1 user
High life and nasty light are 2 beers i have zero interest in. Gotta watch the cals these days so it's Sam Adams/amstel light for me. Tried kona light recently and that was pretty good too
There are critical developmental periods by which a behavior must be learned or it will be forever lost. I have to admit, acquiring a taste for high life is probably one of those things. I suspect very few people, if we are being really honest, actually said to themselves “god, this is amazing” after trying their first drink of highlife. Necessity and availability are undeniably powerful forces.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Y'all are getting too fancy for me -

What's the optimum temperature I should chill my Zima to?

Boy you about to get cancelled. Start spending that attending paycheck!
Agree. Basil Hayden is not bad, but is kind of watered down and overpriced. If you like Basil Hayden - you should try old grand dad. Cheaper and stronger.

At the end of the day, I try to not be to snooty. Drink (or don't drink) what you like. I went through a full circle when it came to craft beer and now prefer high life or PBR instead of the barrel aged pastry stout or quadruple IPA.

evil, I normally agree with a lot of what you say, but I cannot get behind Basil Hayden. That is as close to a polished turd of a bottle as I've seen.
That's the beauty of whisk(e)y - there can be multiple opinions, and (nearly) none are wrong.

I like Basil Hayden because it's not such a punch in the face like some of the stronger bourbons are. I am not a fan of most Rye expressions for exactly this reason. Same reason I'm not a big fan of most IPAs. My goal is to enjoy what I'm drinking, not consider it a challenge to get the firewater down. I remember the days of Bacardi 151 and I'm glad I'm past them.

In terms of pricing, I'll be the first admit I *still* don't know what's a good bang for buck in terms of being overpriced... except for Eagle Rare (at market price) and standard Buffalo Trace seem to be good prices to me, and Macallan (especially anything over 12 years) is overpriced for scotch (IMO) compared to other flavors

Ok, first, you just made me go to the Wikipedia "Zima" page so...thanks?

It came out in 1993 and peak sales were in 1994, which is WAY older than I thought. You're correct, that was before my time in terms of trying score points in math class (I think it was a geography class for me, actually). But Zima was sold all the way to 2008, which is crazy to think about. I'm old enough to remember Zima being advertised EVERYWHERE (during Home Improvement commercial breaks), but I honestly thought it was discontinued far before that. Zima and the iPhone coexisted.

But, talking about sugary drinks in a whiskey thread - I assume everyone who has posted here already knew this, but for future lurkers who don't know, Mountain Dew was originally developed in Tennessee in the 1940s as a whiskey mixer, which is a favorite factoid of mine.

So my question: is it technically a misdemeanor in several states if I were to mix Glenfiddich 18 directly into an aluminum can of Diet Mountain Dew?
Don't t hink I've ever had a Zima. Think my life has turned out OK despite that.

In regards to the last line - will likely get you shot in Scotland, will likely get you some very strange looks in other parts of the world, and will 100% make sure you are never invited to my home ever again (at least not for scotch).
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: 1 users
Boy you about to get cancelled. Start spending that attending paycheck!



That's the beauty of whisk(e)y - there can be multiple opinions, and (nearly) none are wrong.

I like Basil Hayden because it's not such a punch in the face like some of the stronger bourbons are. I am not a fan of most Rye expressions for exactly this reason. Same reason I'm not a big fan of most IPAs. My goal is to enjoy what I'm drinking, not consider it a challenge to get the firewater down. I remember the days of Bacardi 151 and I'm glad I'm past them.

In terms of pricing, I'll be the first admit I *still* don't know what's a good bang for buck in terms of being overpriced... except for Eagle Rare (at market price) and standard Buffalo Trace seem to be good prices to me, and Macallan (especially anything over 12 years) is overpriced for scotch (IMO) compared to other flavors


Don't t hink I've ever had a Zima. Think my life has turned out OK despite that.

In regards to the last line - will likely get you shot in Scotland, will likely get you some very strange looks in other parts of the world, and will 100% make sure you are never invited to my home ever again (at least not for scotch).
Terrible to see people mix scotch with anything except a couple of cubes or maybe some club soda. That's what Jack and Jim are for
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Boy you about to get cancelled. Start spending that attending paycheck!



That's the beauty of whisk(e)y - there can be multiple opinions, and (nearly) none are wrong.

I like Basil Hayden because it's not such a punch in the face like some of the stronger bourbons are. I am not a fan of most Rye expressions for exactly this reason. Same reason I'm not a big fan of most IPAs. My goal is to enjoy what I'm drinking, not consider it a challenge to get the firewater down. I remember the days of Bacardi 151 and I'm glad I'm past them.

In terms of pricing, I'll be the first admit I *still* don't know what's a good bang for buck in terms of being overpriced... except for Eagle Rare (at market price) and standard Buffalo Trace seem to be good prices to me, and Macallan (especially anything over 12 years) is overpriced for scotch (IMO) compared to other flavors


Don't t hink I've ever had a Zima. Think my life has turned out OK despite that.

In regards to the last line - will likely get you shot in Scotland, will likely get you some very strange looks in other parts of the world, and will 100% make sure you are never invited to my home ever again (at least not for scotch).
This is the most elaborate engagement I've seen from you with a topic that isn't a nuanced point about lymph nodes or the ground truth HU values in a patient presenting with crepitus.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Top