Whiskey tasting – what to bring?

[Mithril]

Good morning,

A friend of mine is hosting a "whiskey" tasting in March. It is very non-specific as to types of whiskey, but I do know we are sampling the whiskeys plain. So far, the bottles I know will be there are:

Ardbeg (the very peaty one)

Glen Livet

Glen Fidditch

Ardbeg Alligator

But it isn't a Scotch theme, those are just the names that I remember - and I don't know the details other than the brands. Any thoughts of a not-too-expensive bottle that I could contribute that would be of interest? I have personally been trying out bourbon lately, but only Jim Beam...this might be a good chance to try out a nicer bourbon for myself.

I also volunteered to make some pulled pork for the get together, so something that might go well with the food would be good, if possible.

Thanks,

Mithril (who mostly drinks beer, gin, and homemade limoncello)

[Chris Amirault]

I would encourage you to bring a wheated bourbon (like Maker's Mark), a rye (RIttenhouse Bottled in Bond would do nicely, as would Wild Turkey), and, if you can find it, a white dog like Buffalo Trace. That will give three very different, affordable opportunities for tasting and comparing notes.

And be sure to review how to taste spirits -- a very different beastie than tasting beer or wine.

Have fun!

[FrogPrincesse]

This previous discussion has a lot of good suggestions for American whiskies.

Edited February 17, 2014 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[Hassouni]

Make sure you have decent glassware as well, and save the Ardbegs for last

[Adam George]

A hip flask to sneak away some Alligator.

[scubadoo97]

save the Ardbegs for last

Good advice.

I'm a Four Roses fan but after recently sampling the basic Yellow Label in a blind tasting of 24 Four Roses offereings I found it dull and uninteresting compared to the other samples.

Been awhile since I've sipped an 80 proof spirit. Like water. Their off the shelf singble barrel or small batch are quite good and worth a try

Other bourbons that I find good and interesting are from Beam, the Old Grand Dad selections. Love the 114 best and the BIB/Bottled in Bond 100 pf is next in line. These are some of the few Beam whiskeys I really like.

From Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, their Rowan's Creek I find interesting and tasty. It's a small batch bourbon so can vary depending on batch. I find some similarites to some of my Willett Family Estate bourbons and who know where the distillate from those came from but most all have been stellar.

My favorite off the shelf wheated bourbon is Old Weller Antique.

Edited February 18, 2014 by scubadoo97 (log)

[mgaretz]

Flying Delta a lot, I've become quite fond of Woodford's Private Reserve. I also like Knob Creek and Baker's.

[tanstaafl2]

Other bourbons that I find good and interesting are from Beam, the Old Grand Dad selections. Love the 114 best and the BIB/Bottled in Bond 100 pf is next in line. These are some of the few Beam whiskeys I really like.

Perhaps in part because the Old Grand-Dad is one of only two lines of bourbon that Beam makes with a different mashbill. They retained the mashbill (not sure about the yeast though) when they aquired OGD from National Distillers back in the 80's. Every other Beam bourbon is made with a single but different mashbill. The OGD mashbill is nearly twice as high in rye content than the standard Beam mashbill.

Interestingly the "old grand dad" in question is Basil Hayden, Sr., and the mashbill is higher in rye because that was what Basil Hayden was known for when he made his whiskey in the late 1700's.

And of course the only other bourbon using the Old Grand Dad mashbill is Beam's Basil Hayden's bourbon which was created shortly after Beam acquired OGD. Old Grand-Dad used to be 86, 100 and 114 proof but the 86 was recently lowered to 80, the same proof as the current Basil Hayden's bourbon, leading to speculaton that Old Grand-Dad 80 proof will disappear. The only difference is that OGD is typically around 6 years old while Basil is 8 years old. And costs more!

.

[Yojimbo]

If you're going for the greatest diversity, you could also look into Irish Whiskey, which is almost as popular as vodka at the moment -- Redbreast, Tyrconnell, or one of the older bottlings from the big distillers are all good options.

Japanese Single Malts are a whole world unto themselves: complex, refined, and unpeated, I don't know enough to make recommendations, but you probably can't go wrong with anything from Yamazaki or Suntory.

And for something completely different, there are two French single malts: Brenne and Armorik Breton; the first is almost like the love child of scotch and a fine cognac, the second I haven't tried.

It sounds like a blast, be sure to report back!

[Adam George]

Japanese Single Malts are a whole world unto themselves: but you probably can't go wrong with anything from Yamazaki or Suntory.

[Mithril]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I took the list and headed to the local liquor megamart (Chris Amirault, are you familiar with Julio's in Westborough, MA?).

While I was picking up a bottle of Rittenhouse Bottled in Bond and Buffalo Trace (which was not actually the white dog - oops), the owner of the store saw me and mentioned that a giant whiskey tasting was coming up this past weekend. And, there was a Scottish breakfast on Saturday, complete with blood pudding. And, there was a whiskey tasting at 7:00 that night where the local whiskey society was sampling pretty much one bourbon or scotch from every distillery that wasn't going to be included on whiskey weekend. And, there wasa potluck component to the weekly tasting, as well.

Wow.

I've now sampled a ton, and learned a good amount, too. At the Scotch breakfast seminar, the gentleman sitting next to me pulled up a map of Scotland with distilleries on a tablet, and we went over the different regions. Another gentleman told me all about how the casks work (I was confused, because there was a bottle of bourbon that had been finished in a Sam Adams cask - but they explained that it you can finish bourbon in other casks, as long as it first officially meets the bourbon criteria). I got a little notebook and am taking some tasting notes.

Blood pudding is not for me.

My new favorite is an Elmer Lee bourbon that was selected by and bottled for the whiskey group - they just picked a cask that they really liked. I wound up getting a bottle after the first tasting because it was in limited supply and I didn't want to have any regrets.

Edited February 24, 2014 by Mithril (log)

[Chris Amirault]

(Chris Amirault, are you familiar with Julio's in Westborough, MA?).

Nope -- thanks!

[nickrey]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I took the list and headed to the local liquor megamart (Chris Amirault, are you familiar with Julio's in Westborough, MA?).

While I was picking up a bottle of Rittenhouse Bottled in Bond and Buffalo Trace (which was not actually the white dog - oops), the owner of the store saw me and mentioned that a giant whiskey tasting was coming up this past weekend. And, there was a Scottish breakfast on Saturday, complete with blood pudding. And, there was a whiskey tasting at 7:00 that night where the local whiskey society was sampling pretty much one bourbon or scotch from every distillery that wasn't going to be included on whiskey weekend. And, there wasa potluck component to the weekly tasting, as well.

Wow.

I've now sampled a ton, and learned a good amount, too. At the Scotch breakfast seminar, the gentleman sitting next to me pulled up a map of Scotland with distilleries on a tablet, and we went over the different regions. Another gentleman told me all about how the casks work (I was confused, because there was a bottle of bourbon that had been finished in a Sam Adams cask - but they explained that it you can finish bourbon in other casks, as long as it first officially meets the bourbon criteria). I got a little notebook and am taking some tasting notes.

Blood pudding is not for me.

My new favorite is an Elmer Lee bourbon that was selected by and bottled for the whiskey group - they just picked a cask that they really liked. I wound up getting a bottle after the first tasting because it was in limited supply and I didn't want to have any regrets.

So did the scotch acolytes teach you the alternative spelling of "Whisky?"

Edited February 25, 2014 by nickrey (log)

[pragya1]

Thanks for your advice.