Van Winkle Bourbon & Rye

[El Ron de Cuba]

Hi everyone,

Just asking for some tips since I am mostly an aged-rum drinker. I'm getting into bourbon a little more now, though, especially since I have a weak point for manhattans...passed on from my dad, of course!

However, I do like the stuff straight, too...I suppose now my fav is Makers' Mark just because it is easy to find and so smooth. However, Van Winkle intrigues me...what is their best blend, in your opinion? Their 12 year Special Reserve got very good marks, but I am familiar with 15 year (story below.)

My grandfather received a case of Rip Van Winkle 15 year from his daughter in law's family back in the 70's...they were tied into Kentucky "high society" and so I guess this was a common gift...in any case, there are two bottles of it left (both read "Bottled Expressly for (my grandad)"...how cool is that? And man, is it the best stuff!

Anyhow, don't be shy...opinions needed!

Bruce

[KatieLoeb]

Bruce:

You're a lucky man! The Pappy Van Winkle bourbons are a treat and pretty hard to find, at least here in PA. I believe the 15 yr. old was the one I'd tried and it was stellar. Very smooth and caramel-y. Yum!

The other small batch bourbons I'm fond of are the Eagle Rare and the A.H. Hirsch line. The Eagle Rare makes a ten year old that's very affordable and delicious. And of course there's the Distiller's Masterpiece, but that's the bourbon equivalent of Louis XIII Cognac and is equally out of my reach.

[alphaiii]

I believe he's talking about the Old Rip Van Winkle Bourbon, although the Pappy Van Winkle bourbons are supposed to be very good too. I'm not much of a bourbon drinker, but I've been tossing around the idea of getting the Rip Van Winkle 12 yr Special Reserve since it's gets such good reviews and is actually affordable.

I think the reason I'm not a bourbon drinker is the fact I've only tried Old Grand Dad, Evan Williams Black Label, and Wild Turkey 101 - all bourbons I would say are in the budget category, although not bottom shelf trash. So at some point I'd like to try a good quality bourbon.

Edited October 18, 2004 by alphaiii (log)

[slkinsey]

Van Winkle rye is also outstanding.

[bvus]

A search on "bourbon" on this site might get you some more detailed information and opinions.

See the threads below as a start:

Bourbon thread 1

Bourbon thread 2

Manhattan thread

Edited October 18, 2004 by bvus (log)

[davidbdesilva]

Happened upon a bottle of this liquid gold in my Pennsylvania state controlled wine and spirits store and snapped up a bottle. At $35 a bottle I consider this an incredible value and an incredible bourbon. Potent at 107 proof, it is loaded with vanilla and caramel and warm on the palate. It is scored higher than its 20 year old sibling and at half the price, is well worth getting if you are a bourbon lover. I also bought bottle of Michter's straight rye whiskey, which though pricey ($50) is also quite lovely. Both go very very well with a fine cigar!

[the queneau]

On a similar note, my beloved house-mate bought me bottle of Pappy van Winkle's 13yr Old Family Reserve Rye. This may be relatively common in some parts, but good rye is a bugger to find in the UK.

Here's me:

Vanilla - check

Wee bit of menthol - check

Chocolate Goodness - check

Oaky balance - Check

Sour finish - yum.

God Bless Pappy.

[davidbdesilva]

God bless Pappy indeed. I have found, to my pleasure, that Rye seems to be making a comeback. I have been seeing it more often, ranging from expensive small batch stuff (Michter's at $50 a bottle) to inexpensive stuff (one of my bargain favs, Old Olverholt at about $12 a bottle). Being a relative newby to Rye, I find it falls somewhere between Scotch and Bourbon. Not as intense and complex as single malt scotch and not as sweet as bourbon, but very good nonetheless. Cheers!

[rl1856]

My moto is life's to short to drink bad licquor !

Yes Pappy is my favorite as well. If I were to rank them:

Pappy Van Winkle 15yr old

Bookers

Woodford Reserve

Knob Creek

Baker's Blantons (tie)

I was introduced to Pappy by a friend and was amazed at the complexity, with strong vanilla and caramel overtones. I have since consumed several bottles....

Booker's starts very strong due to the proof, but finshes very smooth, without harshness. Just a nice blend of oak, spice, smoke and caramel. Because of the proof, it doesn't mellow in the glass as much as some of the others. Good bourbon flavor until the end of the glass !

Woodford Reserve is now my standard house bourbon. I have introduced several people to it and all are surprised at it's wonderfull balance of taste and cost. As a premium bourbon, I consider it in the same category as Pappy and Bookers, yet it is 50-60% cheaper. On the other side, even though it is slightly more expensive than Maker's Mark and similar, once you taste Woodford, it is hard to not to justify the extra cost over the MM category. It is smooth, with a nice balanced taste- hints of spice and oak, but not much charcoal or smoke.

Knob Creek is smooth, with hints of spice and vanilla. Nothing offensive and I have found it appeals to non whiskey drinkers. I have also found that Knob appeals more to women than the other premium brands.

Blanton's/Bakers I put these at the same level because to me the virtually indistinguishable. Nice "Bourbon" flavor, moderate proof and it mellows nicely while in the glass with ice.

I do not care for Basil Hayden at all; too spicy and has a burned aftertaste. To me Basil Hayden has a very distinctive taste- so much so that I was able to pick it out of a blind bourbon tasteing I partcipated in.

As far as cheaper bourbons, I like Henry McKenna and Old Forrester. Both offer a better taste than Jack and Jim, but are comparably priced.

As a Yankee transplant in the deep south, I was introduced to bourbon when I was a fraternity pledge way back when. The "house" brand was Heaven Hill, or Heaven Heave as we called it ($5 a quart...). In fact, it was quite a while after my freshman year before I could stomach bourbon again. What brought me back into the fold was a licquor store closeout of Jim Beam and Cola in a can. We bought out their stock and our net price was something like $.25/can ! It was the perfect beverage for watching flag football games. From there I progressed through Jack Daniels (black) and then onward and upward.

Now, there is nothing quite like the sence of relaxation and contentment that comes from a highball glass of good bourbon, a few ice cubes and a dash of water !

Best,

Ross

[eje]

Van Winkle rye is also outstanding.

←

Just discovered this thread. Am a big fan of Van Winkle's Bourbons and Rye.

A friend recently informed me they are sold out of the Rye. They have some more in the pipeline; but, it won't be ready for 6 more years or so.

:-(

[slkinsey]

Van Winkle rye is also outstanding.

Just discovered this thread. Am a big fan of Van Winkle's Bourbons and Rye.

A friend recently informed me they are sold out of the Rye. They have some more in the pipeline; but, it won't be ready for 6 more years or so.

:-(

What?! I'll have to look into this.