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It's fun. My son (he was 22/23 at the time) got me into Whiskey. Since then we did a Kentucky trip and countless other distillery visits in WA, OR, WI, CO. We are looking forward to planning a Scotland / Ireland trip.
From hemoglobin to "Richter's" sour-mash to Thanksgiving side dish discussion, where else can you get these kinds of discussions on a bourbon blind video. Love it lol. Keep up the great content guys
Honeysuckle grows in a vine, used a lot for ground cover. Smells amazing, honeysuckle blossoms on a cool night is one of my favorite smells in the world.
It is a good thing that Kurt's spouse is receptive to his affliction for good Bourbon. Allowing for the Basement Bar and probably filling in as lead camera operator provides us all a great past time of keeping up with this dynamic family relationship. You are all saving me a lot of money when it comes to my Bourbon selection.
In the time I've been watching and listening to you guys, I'm so much happier with my bourbon experience, I no longer feel like I'm blindly guessing where to put my hard earned dollars when I want to expand my new picks, your honest approach will become the standard for bourbon review, the other reviewers out there have become a hyped up waste of time in my book. Keep up the solid work and making it fun!
Like sands thru the hour glass, and the different subjects that can be discussed at the SLB, these are the days of our lives! Nose cuts, gravy, casseroles, mom's perfume...
Big Maker's fan here. Weller 12 is my favorite of the Weller line up, BUT it makes me so happy that Maker's won. I'll have to do my own blind. Great video! Cheers!
I'm glad that you clarified that when we were reading "Richter's", it was implying Michter's. I was spun around there for a while. Great lineup! Great show, irregardless of the green bean casserole! Cheers!
I love the idea for this blind. It kind of confirms something I've been feeling for awhile which is that there are plenty of great shelf bottles and that 'hunting' isn't really worth the time and effort or $.
Great video guys! Love the blinds….I learn a lot from these and compare your reactions with what I think of each choice (or at least the one’s I have had).
I’ve despised every makers bottle I’ve ever had. Until my son bought me a MM 46 French Oaked cask strength for Father’s Day. I’m impressed. So much so that I went and found me a second bottle.
I can see that. I’m not a big Makers fan, but OF100 is one of my top shelfers. It consistently provides a fantastic pour for the money. BTW, I also really enjoy 90-100 proof bourbons.
I'd probably pick'em that order too -- Weller 12 tastes so woody to me & Makers is my go to pour (I always have that ready for my cigar time) Old Forester 100 feels like a sleeper but I dig it. Thanks for all the shenanigans in between sips too.
I tried Turkey 101 yrs ago, wasn't a big fan. A couple months ago I decided to give Rare Breed a try and it was terrible, reminded me of bland unseasoned food
"Is that IRON that I'm getting on the nose???" Anyways, I def enjoy these type of videos!! I try to learn as much as I can on how/what to do when sampling a Bourbon. This was awesome!! CHEERS family!!
That’s really funny. Me and a buddy just did a reg makers mark, 101, and cask strength and the most enjoyable (that night) for both of us was regular mm. Very cool show. Thanks!
I think the allocated Michters you saw for $100 was the Toasted Sour Mash, not the regular Sour Mash. The TSM is a Limited Edition and is about $100 msrp.
Any Michters at the proof they offer for the price point is generally scammie to me. Even the 10 year that’s almost $150 MSRP, being 92 proof is criminal at that price. I liked the Michter’s Toasted Rye but I’d never pay the type of money asked for it
I like seeing a hyped-up bourbon in a blind with others. I've had the opportunity to try a good number of them since bars in my area seem to have some success at keeping them in stock. In general, I find that they are good, but I don't get the sense that they are anything special when compared to others that are a lot more readily available. Not too long ago, I compared Blanton's to Four Roses single barrel, and I found that both were good, but Four Roses was the easy winner - I found greater complexity in Four Roses, and the flavor profile was more in line with my preferences. I've tried Weller 12-year and Van Winkle 12-year Lot B. In both cases, I thought they were good, but they were stylistically unremarkable. They weren't delivering anything special or unique. They were good quality, classic style bourbons - nothing more, and nothing less. It would be hard for me to justify paying more than $80 or so for either one since the typical 12-year 46%, non-chill filtered Scotch has more interesting and complex flavors, and those usually go for around $70. When I see them marked up to hundreds or thousands of dollars, I don't know whether to laugh or choke. The hype has been feeding off itself in a positive feedback loop, and it is absurdly unjustified. Fortunately, there are good alternatives. The Maker's Mark and Old Forester product lines are great options, and their core products are reasonably priced and easy to find. A bottle of Old Forester 1897 bottled in bond is sitting in my collection, and I'm getting plenty of enjoyment out of that bottle.
Great take other than the Four Roses ( just personally hate the stuff). So many great options out there that are easy to find and less than bank-breaking prices.
Gravy definitely is a food group! Great vid. One of my best friends lives by the Weller line, I personally am not a fan. I can think of 6 bottles I'd rather have. Glad they make something for every palate !
My and my daughter's palettes are very similar my everyday is Makers hers is 100 proof Forester. I was hunting a Weller 12 until she had a pour in a bar and was greatly disappointed. My favorite Weller is the Antique!
Oh Man!! Kurt you’re so right, gravy is the nectar, I don’t know how I’ll be able to trust Trenton’s taste buds from now on 😆. Keep up the great work guys ✌️🖖
Last week I did a blind with Buffalo Trace, Blantons, Eagle Rare, and EH Taylor, bottled in bond. At the end they threw in a Benchmark full proof. Nobody knew what we were tasting except for me. Interestingly, EHT came out number one for everyone. Blantons came in third or last. When I threw in the benchmark, everyone put that as number two. Interesting when hype does not influence your taste buds. By the way, your banter is getting goofier all the time. Reminds me of me and my son.
Funny. I had a sample of Weller 12 a few years ago and it blew my socks off. I have been trying to find a bottle ever since. I was at a bourbon bar with a friend 2 days ago, and they had a bottle of Weller 12 and I got a pour. It was nice, it was okay, but overall I was greatly disappointed. I guess it shows in part how I have grown in my experience with bourbon and of course tastes can change. Needless to say, the quest for a bottle of Weller 12 has come to an end. Thanks for reinforcing my recent experience with this video.
Reminds me of my old pop (RIP). He would take a pork chop or chicken fried steak and pile mashed potatoes on it, smother the whole thing with gravy and top it off with cream style corn. He thought it was the food of the gods! Also, love me some Old Forester 100, great stuff!
You can't drink the label, the advertising budget, or the price tag. Diminishing returns and individual tastes are real. Be yourself and drink what you like that fits your budget. Thanks for the entertaining and informative videos.
As someone else commented, I'll take a 12 year old Scotch for $50 - $70 over a 12 year bourbon at crazy prices all day, every day and not miss a thing.
And there is NOTHING wrong with liking Makers Mark. It's what I cut my teeth on, when I got a "real job'. Back in the day, if you had a bottle of Makers Mark...you were class! Basic Makers Mark isn't my jam any longer but Maker's Cask Strength and even the 101 are really quite good. Maker's is also very CONSISTENT. That matters.
I've moved on from regular Maker's Mark, which is brighter and more metallic than I like these days, but the 46 is good (I've not had any of their other expressions). It's not for everyone, but it's *not* bad bourbon. 🙂
How I wish I could train my taste buds and palate to adapt to samples of ANYTHING without clearing them in some way, often using a bread product or crackers. It takes talent to do that! I'm the kind who needs to re-boot my taste buds and palate between samples something--especially similar products. If you're tasting samples of "Cheeses," it wouldn't be necessary with a variety. It would be if you're sampling a collection of Bries, or Muensters. Hard for me to pick up subtleties and undertones with distilled spirits without a sensory reset. Nice job, you two!
I like Weller SR because I can find it occasionally at retail. It's decent at retail. Not falling for the hype of 12. I have a bottle and it's....ok. OF100 is solid and I like MMark. Not a big "Richter" fan either. 😄
IMO I think of “low proof” as 40-43%, mid proof more like 45-50% and high proof as 57-60+%. Personally I feel mid proof is a nice sweet spot. Lots of flavor and approachable for many.
Great episode guys, love me some Makers 46, it is my go-to when I am out and about. Readily available and has great flavors. Thinking about picking up a Makers Cask Strength at some point..
It's rare that I prefer allocated bottles over ones I can purchase every day on the shelf. Especially since for most people "allocated" just means something Buffalo Trace. There are a few exceptions, but there is just SO much really good whiskey that you can buy anywhere any day that I'm always baffled when I see people camping out or waiting in long lines for a bottle. I guess the exception would be some single barrel releases, especially those from Old Forester. I think the one bottle that I hunted and hunted because long ago it was far and away my favorite, but now that I've finally gotten one I was really disappointed in was Elijah Craig 18. Don't get me wrong, it's good, but the Barrel Proof releases are so much better, and less expensive, I wouldn't do it again. Fortunately I didn't pay over retail, but it was still an expensive bottle. Great show as always guys!
Allocated is allocated for a reason buddy. You just need to know what you are looking for and your flavor preferences. You can be burned by buying something at any price that doesn't sit with your pallet.
Great video Gents!!! To me Weller 12 has been very lackluster. I know peeps want it but there are better out there for a lot less cost at best W12 is a $50 bottle.
I remember that it was the breakout bourbon for me that got me off highballs and into 'neat' tastings. Then, it got real expensive. It's ok for $40 but I've moved on from 12
What is nice is that the only bourbon easily available here is the Maker's Mark. I have seen the Michter's but not close to the price mentioned (though being in Canada you can add 30% for exchange)
I recently got into bourbon starting out with Maker's Mark. I keep trying different budget bourbons to see what else is out there and very few I've liked as much as Maker's. I keep seeing so much hate for it so it keeps wondering if I'm missing out on something so much better out there.
I guess I’m a Brown-Forman fan boy. OF 100, 1910, and WRDO are always on my shelf. For the money, OF 100 is the Swiss Army knife of bourbons. Cuts through in cocktails, sweetens and smooths out with a splash or cube, drinks softer than 100 proof neat. Weller 12 used to be my favorite but the last few bottles haven’t been up to the old standard.
I keep getting distracted by the Austin Nichols Wild Turkeys sitting on the shelf behind you guys. That was my regular purchase all through college unless there was a big sale on the Eagle Rare 101. Even though the Austin Nichols name is gone Wild Turkey is still my go to. Cheers to your channel.
I want to start doing some blind tastings but I'm worried I'll be totally clueless. Just ordered a box of sample bottles so I can put aside samples and pick one and see what I get. I love watching you work your way through some blind flights.
Makers can vary so much bottle to bottle. I've dumped it out of my glass from one bottle at my house then gone to my buddy's house a week later and had an awesome, awesome pour, a week later. We don't even shop at different liquor stores.
