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Whiskey vs. Bourbon


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1 hour ago, Ramblin Gambler said:

 

I did that once.  It was the durndest thing.  Every drink was better than the last.  I told the barkeep he shoulda started with the last one and saved me a lot of time!  This was at a distillery and I bought a bottle before I left, but i think he gave me the wrong bottle because it wasn't near as good the next night. 

 

I only like bourbon on ice, but I have recently discovered I'm a fan of rye whiskey. 

I tried to dedicate a friend of mine about Tequilas at a bar one night. I don’t remember much after the Don Julio. :lol:

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4 hours ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

I think it’s close to Maker’s Mark. Maybe just a tad below it. I enjoy Bulleit Rye too.

+1 to this. I think I actually like the Bulleit rye the better of the two.

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In bourbons, I drink Evan Williams black label (bottomest of bottom shelf) most of the time, other times I step up to a higher shelf. I find the Evan Williams Single Barrel quite smooth and tasty. When we travel, which isn't often, I try to find a local distillery to buy a bourbon from. Tried Neversweat Bourbon in Montana (there for a week and finished one bottle and bought another one to take home), Wyoming Whiskey from Kirby, Wyoming, which is quite good but a bit on the hot side, Two Bitch from Nevada (which I like a lot). My current favorite for these "imported" bourbons is Copper City, bottled in Tempe, Arizona. We brought a couple of bottles home from Winter Range but unfortunately I think they're either gone or almost gone. That is a very smooth and tasty bourbon!

 

We have several small distilleries here in Oregon that make a fine product out of locally sourced grains, but they tend more toward ryes than bourbons. Steins in Joseph produces a nice rye, smooth but a little one-dimensional. I don't remember the name of the distillery in Madras but they make a rye that let's you taste each of the grains that it's made from individually as it flows across your palate. I like it a lot but it's far enough away, and not sold locally, that I don't buy it often...

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Spirits in the USA are defined by class and type.  Whiskey is a class of spirits spirit made from grain and aged in a wooden barrel.  Bourbon is a type of whiskey made in the USA from a mash bill with no less than 51% corn, distilled to no more than 160 proof, barreled at no more than 125 proof, and aged in a new charred oak barrel.   
 

A whiskey that says made from bourbon mash usually is a way to say a mash bill that would fit the description of bourbon (more than 50% corn) was used, but it was aged in used barrels.  Corn whiskey which is a mash bill with more than 80% corn is the only whiskey that can be sold as white, if it’s aged it can be bourbon.  Most white “whiskey” is an unaged spirit that cant be called whiskey as it has not been aged in wood or is not more than 80% corn.  It is given a fanciful name and is technically a Distilled spirit specialty.  You can see this on the label because it says distilled from xxxxx.
 

Other types of whisky, scotch, rye, wheat, light, blended, and more. Scotch has to be made in Scotland and has its own set of rules.  Rye has to be more than 50% rye in the mash bill.   Bourbon style whiskeys can be made in other countries, they just can not be called bourbon.  Japan makes some good bourbon style whiskey. 
 

single malt has no legal definition in the USA and can be either all malted grains or all malt from a single distillery.   
 

Another thing to look for is produced by vs fermented or distilled by on the back of the label.  If it says produced by it could simply be bottled by whom has their name on the bottle.   It could actually be made by MGP in Indiana and simply bottled by they name on the label.   If it says fermented by or distilled by it is probably made by the name on the label.   Older labels will tend to say produced by so this is not 100%, but you can’t put distilled by or fermented by on the label if you didn’t make it. 
 

Taste wise, bourbon tends to be more bold/rough with a sweetness from the corn and more char from the barrel.   Scotch can vary greatly from a simple malted barley to heavy peat and smoke with hints of bandaids and rubber tire.   

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8 hours ago, Cat Brules said:

My understanding is that WHISKEY is bourbon and WHISKY is scotch.

No.  Whiskey is Irish.  Every other kind is whisky.  Period.

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12 minutes ago, MizPete said:

No.  Whiskey is Irish.  Every other kind is whisky.  Period.

Oh yeah? ;)

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Definitely a taste that only some people like.  The best Scotch style whiskey I made was very peaty.  The wort tasted like licking a log in a campfire.  My wife who like peaty scotch loved it and others couldn’t stand it noting the burnt tire taste. 
 

Personally I like the taste of bourbon over scotch, the better half loves a peaty scotch.

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5 minutes ago, Birdgun Quail, SASS #63663 said:

Oh, I just can't pass this one up....again....

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So they're promoting the drinking of liquor?

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16 hours ago, Charlie MacNeil, SASS #48580 said:

+1 to this. I think I actually like the Bulleit rye the better of the two.

 

I'll have to try bulleit rye.  I like the name.  Is that a top shelf liquor or a bottom shelf likker? 

 

The first rye I tried was called leadslingers and it had a picture of a soldier carrying an M1 Garand.  It was surprisingly good, I thought I was just getting a neat bottle.  Then I tried one from a local distiller and it was even better. 

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3 hours ago, Ramblin Gambler said:

 

I'll have to try bulleit rye.  I like the name.  Is that a top shelf liquor or a bottom shelf likker? 

 

The first rye I tried was called leadslingers and it had a picture of a soldier carrying an M1 Garand.  It was surprisingly good, I thought I was just getting a neat bottle.  Then I tried one from a local distiller and it was even better. 

There are different grades. 
Bulleit Rye $20-26

Bulleit Rye 12 year About $50

Bullet Rye 95 $30

 

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On 5/9/2020 at 9:35 AM, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

If you don’t like Maker’s Mark you will not like Jim Beam. Maker’s Mark tastes much better than Jim Beam. 
 

Smoothness Levels

Maker’s Mark - higher

Jack Daniel’s - high

Jim Beam - medium

 

Knob Creek - higher - higher

 

My handle JD Daily says it all.  For years I always sipped JD neat.  Others introduced me to Marker's Mark & Knob Creek which my order of preference is JD, Makers Mark & Knob Creek.  I just can't justify the price premium for Markers Mark or Knob Creek for daily 2 shot consumption.  After trying Bullet bourbon & rye whiskeys I have settled on Bullet rye whiskey.  For all but Thanksgiving or Christmas treat which is Knob Creek.  I have had shots of single malt scotches; however, I prefer the taste of agave cactus vs. peat moss.

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20 hours ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said:

Whiskey is Irish and American.

Nooooooooooo

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I'm surprised that no one mentioned that Scotch is aged in used Bourbon barrels.  Since Bourbon by law has to be aged in new oak barrels they can't be re-used for Bourbon, many distillers feel that the barrels have a lot of life left and will buy the used barrels.

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41 minutes ago, Tequila Shooter said:

I'm surprised that no one mentioned that Scotch is aged in used Bourbon barrels.  Since Bourbon by law has to be aged in new oak barrels they can't be re-used for Bourbon, many distillers feel that the barrels have a lot of life left and will buy the used barrels.

Some, not all, scotch is aged in used bourbon barrels.

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Some is also aged in used wine casks. Some of them are aged for a while in one cask, and then transferred to a different cast which had held a different type of wine. They not only pick up flavor from the wood, but from the wine residual that is in the wood.

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51 minutes ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said:

Some, not all, scotch is aged in used bourbon barrels.

 

Oh I thought it was all scotch, but I guess it would make sense that some are aged in different barrels.

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For sherry finished scotches they actually have to make sherry just to flavor the barrel.  People simply don’t use enough sherry now to have enough empty barrels. 
 

btw does anyone know how sherry and port are different?   Both are fortified wines, but one is fortified mid fermentation and the other is fortified post fermentation.  

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Thank you pards, I learned a lot, and probably bourbon is not my drink. I will look for the small bottles and try one. BUT..... I also learned where the knowledge and interest lies here. BOOZE. Appropriate for the saloon.

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1 hour ago, Still hand Bill said:

btw does anyone know how sherry and port are different?  

Yes. Port is better. :lol:

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