The Vice Thread --- Whisk(e)y, other spirits, beer, wine, and cigars

[TheSanDiegan]

On 2/12/2024 at 5:27 PM, bitteraztec said:

Where do you typically buy your glassware?

What kind of glassware? For glencairns, I just buy them at TW. I've purchased all my good crystal tumblers and stemware at estate sales.

[Slapdad]

On 2/4/2024 at 10:54 PM, IanforHeisman said:

This is a level above whiskey and such, but it’s still a vice.. Tried a new drug combo called Calvin Klein, which is cocaine and ketamine. You get the cocaine high but the ketamine takes away the nervous anxiety feeling you can get and makes the comedown much better. I’m too old to dabble regularly in the hard stuff, but I do recommend this combination as long as a regent test kit is used and you understand how to safely consume.

Even with a reagent test, which has numerous limitations anyway, that's a pretty risky proposition. Ketamine, in particular, is pretty unpredictable and the fact that the two drugs act to counteract the effects of the other makes for a bad combination. Tread lightly there I4H. 

[bitteraztec]

On 2/12/2024 at 11:57 PM, TheSanDiegan said:

What kind of glassware? For glencairns, I just buy them at TW. I've purchased all my good crystal tumblers and stemware at estate sales.

Yeah, going to buy glencairns.  I found some at Crate and Barrel that look good.

[TheSanDiegan]

My wife and I took an older friend of hers out for Valentine's Day, her first since losing her husband last year. Over dinner, the conversation turned to alcohol and she mentioned her husband "loved whiskey," and without missing a beat said he "had really good stuff," and that I should come in and collect his bottles when we dropped her off after dinner.

I won't lie - I got an immediate secret chub. I selfishly couldn't wait for dinner to be over, my head filled with images of pulling down bottles of Pappy's and carrying them out to the car.

So we get over there and go inside. She walks with us into the kitchen and opens up the pantry door, telling me to "take them all." Which I did. I now am the proud owner of a slightly-used bottle of $15 Seagrams, a 3/4-full dusty of Jim Beam, and a 1/4-full dusty of Very Old Barton that's older than some of the posters on here. 

But as the saying goes, when life gives you lemons... so my buddy an I are going to side-by-side the JB dusty with a new bottle to see how different they are.

[tailingpermit]

On 2/16/2024 at 12:55 AM, TheSanDiegan said:

My wife and I took an older friend of hers out for Valentine's Day, her first since losing her husband last year. Over dinner, the conversation turned to alcohol and she mentioned her husband "loved whiskey," and without missing a beat said he "had really good stuff," and that I should come in and collect his bottles when we dropped her off after dinner.

I won't lie - I got an immediate secret chub. I selfishly couldn't wait for dinner to be over, my head filled with images of pulling down bottles of Pappy's and carrying them out to the car.

So we get over there and go inside.She walks with us into the kitchen and opens up the pantry door, telling me to "take them all." Which I did. I now am the proud owner of a slightly-used bottle of $15 Seagrams, a 3/4-full dusty of Jim Beam, and a 1/4-full dusty of Very Old Barton that's older than some of the posters on here. 

But as the saying goes, when life gives you lemons... so my buddy an I are going to side-by-side the JB dusty with a new bottle to see how different they are.

What does the VOB bottle look like? Bib?

[TheSanDiegan]

On 2/15/2024 at 10:32 PM, tailingpermit said:

What does the VOB bottle look like? Bib?

I'll take a picture of it in the daylight and post it if you like. It's a 1.75L bottle of their 86 proof, so no BiB. Tbh I never would have recognized the name if you hadn't recommended it a couple pages ago. 

[tailingpermit]

On 2/16/2024 at 2:13 AM, TheSanDiegan said:

I'll take a picture of it in the daylight and post it if you like. It's a 1.75L bottle of their 86 proof, so no BiB. Tbh I never would have recognized the name if you hadn't recommended it a couple pages ago. 

Haven’t tried the other bottles, but haven’t heard great things. We don’t get BiB here in Florida, just their shitty 90 proof.  

[TheSanDiegan]

While the world may continue to burn, at least my guests will not suffer from a paucity of choices when it comes to America's native spirit. I wanted to be able to offer a decent selection covering a range of proofs from some of our historic distilleries and their legacy products. 

There are a few more I would like to add to that menu: a barrel strength bottle of OF (and maybe the OF1924 as well), Stagg, Heaven Hill BiB, and Wild Turkey Rare Breed. And there will always be a few off the menu items, such as my RHF, W12, and Little Book Ch7.

If anyone has any suggestions for other possible adds, please let me know. The above additions add another distillery as well some additional proof offerings from BT and HH. And if I can purge a bottle's worth of space in our liquor cabinet, I might also add a bottle of Frey Ranch Uncut barrel strength after having tried it this last weekend for the first time. 

[TheSanDiegan]

So this is the flight my buddy and I tackled this last weekend, presented in the order (L-to-R) in which we drank them.

Jim Beam dusty v. modern

Holy shit the new mini was bad. Like objectionably and objectively bad. Smelled like dollar-store Cuervo Gold on the nose. And tasted just as bad. Just shit, shit, shit. As in, spit that shit out as fast as you can. I mean, if you like this, just go seek help. Like immediately. Just gross. By contrast, the old dusty was enjoyable - maybe heritage grains or something? Still didn't finish the pour, but didn't spit it out, either. It was remarkable just how different it was from the modern-day mini. 

Jack Daniels 12 Year

I had tried this once before, but word to the wise - if you first try their SBBP, it skullf*cks your palette and makes the 12YO seem DOA. So given their new release (Batch 2 of the 12 Year), I wanted to revisit this to see if it was an offering I wanted to add to the SBBP. I liked it - it was distinctive and thoroughly enjoyable, but not something I think I will be hunting for. 

Frey Ranch Single Grain Wheat 

I have never had a pure, 100% wheat whiskey before. It was smooth, had an oily, viscous mouthfeel - a lot for its 102 proof, and the sweet wheat notes the pure wheat grain bring are entirely enjoyable (and probably exactly as you're imagining). But it was also very single-note, and as much as both my buddy and I enjoyed it, we both missed the complexity you can get with a multi-grain mash bill. 

Frey Ranch Uncut Farm Strength

I had been looking forward to trying Frey Ranch after seeing it posted/recommended here. The Uncut Farm Strength was 120-something proof, and was rather remarkable to me in that I have never experienced a sense of terroir in a whiskey before. At least not like that. Regardless, this has it, and has it in spades. It really convinced me there is something to be said for the whole farm-to-bottle philosophy and process they embrace, as the whiskey truly had a sense of place - in my friend's words, he felt like he was "drinking the farm." Oily, complex, and very unique. I'm not going to pretend I'm qualified to score a whiskey, but he is, and he gave it an 8.3. He said he plans on always keeping a bottle of this in his cabinet now.

Old Forester Single Barrel Barrel Proof

This was a BevMo store pick, at a scorching 132.8 proof. And while it drank to its proof, it was not hot. To the contrary, it was rich, complex, oily, and every bit as enjoyable and memorable a whiskey drinking experience I have enjoyed since tasking my bourbon sherpa to help me connect with bourbon as much as I do with scotch. And the nose was just incredible - rich, oaky, smothered in both bright and dark fruits, layered with vanillin and caramel... After several tastes but while still in the middle of the pour, this is what I posted to the whiskey and spirits group I'm in: "Imagine if that Vietnamese monk who lit himself on fire was made out of Luxardo cherries, and instead of a saffron robe he was wearing a marshmallow, and after he lit himself on fire he crawled into an oak barrel." My buddy scored this a 9. Hands-down the consensus pick for best whiskey of the night.

[TheSanDiegan]

If you're able to find EHT SiB in your neck of the woods, at least one barrel used in the Feb 23 bottling from last year (as per the bottle's date code) is outrageously good. It took a week of breathing at the shoulders to open up a little, but holy f*cking shitballs it's delicious, every bit as worthy of the accolades. 

The three bottles I've seen locally - my two and a friend's - were all sourced from different drops at different places at different times but all have the same date (and vary in time stamp by less than two hours), so I'm presuming/hoping my other bottle is also from the same barrel. 

[tailingpermit]

Picked up two of these the other day, will report back and am happy to send out samples.  

[crixus]

[TheSanDiegan]

On 2/23/2024 at 2:58 PM, tailingpermit said:

Picked up two of these the other day, will report back and am happy to send out samples.  

My friend just picked up a TW store pick of this. Can't wait to try it.

[TheSanDiegan]

On 2/24/2024 at 4:07 PM, crixus said:

Don't know this, but I see they also have a 12-year blended a la Johnny Walker Black. 

[Slapdad]

On 2/19/2024 at 4:10 PM, TheSanDiegan said:

So this is the flight my buddy and I tackled this last weekend, presented in the order (L-to-R) in which we drank them.

Jim Beam dusty v. modern

Holy shit the new mini was bad. Like objectionably and objectively bad. Smelled like dollar-store Cuervo Gold on the nose. And tasted just as bad. Just shit, shit, shit. As in, spit that shit out as fast as you can. I mean, if you like this, just go seek help. Like immediately. Just gross. By contrast, the old dusty was enjoyable - maybe heritage grains or something? Still didn't finish the pour, but didn't spit it out, either. It was remarkable just how different it was from the modern-day mini. 

Jack Daniels 12 Year

I had tried this once before, but word to the wise - if you first try their SBBP, it skullf*cks your palette and makes the 12YO seem DOA. So given their new release (Batch 2 of the 12 Year), I wanted to revisit this to see if it was an offering I wanted to add to the SBBP. I liked it - it was distinctive and thoroughly enjoyable, but not something I think I will be hunting for. 

Frey Ranch Single Grain Wheat 

I have never had a pure, 100% wheat whiskey before. It was smooth, had an oily, viscous mouthfeel - a lot for its 102 proof, and the sweet wheat notes the pure wheat grain bring are entirely enjoyable (and probably exactly as you're imagining). But it was also very single-note, and as much as both my buddy and I enjoyed it, we both missed the complexity you can get with a multi-grain mash bill. 

Frey Ranch Uncut Farm Strength

I had been looking forward to trying Frey Ranch after seeing it posted/recommended here. The Uncut Farm Strength was 120-something proof, and was rather remarkable to me in that I have never experienced a sense of terroir in a whiskey before. At least not like that. Regardless, this has it, and has it in spades. It really convinced me there is something to be said for the whole farm-to-bottle philosophy and process they embrace, as the whiskey truly had a sense of place - in my friend's words, he felt like he was "drinking the farm." Oily, complex, and very unique. I'm not going to pretend I'm qualified to score a whiskey, but he is, and he gave it an 8.3. He said he plans on always keeping a bottle of this in his cabinet now.

Old Forester Single Barrel Barrel Proof

This was a BevMo store pick, at a scorching 132.8 proof. And while it drank to its proof, it was not hot. To the contrary, it was rich, complex, oily, and every bit as enjoyable and memorable a whiskey drinking experience I have enjoyed since tasking my bourbon sherpa to help me connect with bourbon as much as I do with scotch. And the nose was just incredible - rich, oaky, smothered in both bright and dark fruits, layered with vanillin and caramel... After several tastes but while still in the middle of the pour, this is what I posted to the whiskey and spirits group I'm in: "Imagine if that Vietnamese monk who lit himself on fire was made out of Luxardo cherries, and instead of a saffron robe he was wearing a marshmallow, and after he lit himself on fire he crawled into an oak barrel." My buddy scored this a 9. Hands-down the consensus pick for best whiskey of the night.

The uncut Frey Ranch was the third from Frey Ranch that I added and it's the best I've tried from them. I'm looking forward to seeing what comes from Frey Ranch down the road....I think they're rolling now. 

I picked up a new bottle of Blanton's the other day (it had been rather hard to find the past year or so and is just starting to show up in smaller stores again) and they had a bottle of A Midsummer Night's Dram for $240. I didn't pick it up, but may grab one next time. Have you tried it? I haven't had it before, but have heard some good things about it. 

[TheSanDiegan]

On 2/25/2024 at 9:26 PM, Slapdad said:

The uncut Frey Ranch was the third from Frey Ranch that I added and it's the best I've tried from them. I'm looking forward to seeing what comes from Frey Ranch down the road....I think they're rolling now. 

I picked up a new bottle of Blanton's the other day (it had been rather hard to find the past year or so and is just starting to show up in smaller stores again) and they had a bottle of A Midsummer Night's Dram for $240. I didn't pick it up, but may grab one next time. Have you tried it? I haven't had it before, but have heard some good things about it. 

I haven't had Midwinter Night's Dram. Not a huge rye guy (subject to change) and been too focused on legacy distilleries to check out too many smaller Indies. I wish I had the space/bandwidth for all the interesting and well-received whiskies that have been hitting the market, but I still want to add another seven bottles at a minimum (up from four a week ago lol), and tbh I don't know where I'm going to put them. 

So I doubt I'll be picking up the MWND, tho I do have a friend who said he's looking for a bottle so I took this photo a couple weeks ago when I saw a bottle:

 

[Jackrabbit]

On 2/19/2024 at 2:31 PM, TheSanDiegan said:

While the world may continue to burn, at least my guests will not suffer from a paucity of choices when it comes to America's native spirit. I wanted to be able to offer a decent selection covering a range of proofs from some of our historic distilleries and their legacy products. 

There are a few more I would like to add to that menu: a barrel strength bottle of OF (and maybe the OF1924 as well), Stagg, Heaven Hill BiB, and Wild Turkey Rare Breed. And there will always be a few off the menu items, such as my RHF, W12, and Little Book Ch7.

If anyone has any suggestions for other possible adds, please let me know. The above additions add another distillery as well some additional proof offerings from BT and HH. And if I can purge a bottle's worth of space in our liquor cabinet, I might also add a bottle of Frey Ranch Uncut barrel strength after having tried it this last weekend for the first time. 

Excellent list....I like many of these.  Been on a kick lately to find the best  less than $50 whisky.   Latest finds..Wild Turkey Rare Breed,  Basil Hayden, and BH Rye all VG lots of flavor.

[TheSanDiegan]

On 2/26/2024 at 4:14 PM, Jackrabbit said:

Excellent list....I like many of these.  Been on a kick lately to find the best  less than $50 whisky.   Latest finds..Wild Turkey Rare Breed,  Basil Hayden, and BH Rye all VG lots of flavor.

I definitely plan on adding at east one bottle of WT (RB). I also had WT Kentucky Spirit SiB for the first time the other night. A thoroughly enjoyable pour proofed down to their trademark 101.

Also learned a protip - as all the single barrel bottling have their rickhouse identified on the label, look for the "CNF" designation, which stands for their Camp Nelson F, the warehouse that's home to their unicorn Russell's Reserve expression.

[TheSanDiegan]

Question for @tailingpermit, @Mano, @Slapdad, @happycamper, et al - 

Any idea when this was produced? Got this some years ago when an elderly neighbor moved and he invited me to come help myself to the liquor behind his bar. Can't find a matching bottle online, which tells me it's probably not as common as other "vintage" expressions, but any help you guys can provide regarding what vintage would be much appreciated - my buddy picked up a bottle of OF1924 for me today and I'm curious what the trade value might be...

[tailingpermit]

On 2/28/2024 at 6:49 PM, TheSanDiegan said:

Question for @tailingpermit, @Mano, @Slapdad, @happycamper, et al - 

Any idea when this was produced? Got this some years ago when an elderly neighbor moved and he invited me to come help myself to the liquor behind his bar. Can't find a matching bottle online, which tells me it's probably not as common as other "vintage" expressions, but any help you guys can provide regarding what vintage would be much appreciated - my buddy picked up a bottle of OF1924 for me today and I'm curious what the trade value might be...

Could be the liter version, just no charcoal filter wording.