My bourbon of preference, of late, has been Bulleit.
I've read a couple of impassioned condemnations of the brand because it's not some small batch artisanal made from individually hand grown kernels of corn.
Personally, my bar for "is it good?" is "do I like it?"
I do.
It's souless and mass produced and I don't care.
It's also shat out by Four-Roses whom I generally like anyway.
Confession time. I can't tell you the difference between bourbon, whisky, and whiskey. They all taste good over ice.
ReplyDeleteI can taste the difference between brands and specific types.
DeleteI doubt I could identify what was what except for really peaty scotch.
I like Bulleit, but I'm generally not spending that much. After trying every 'bottom shelf' Bourbon, my choice, for the money, is McAfee's Benchmark Old No. 8. Is it the best, no. But I'd bet most people would have trouble picking it in a lineup out of a number of Bourbons that cost twice as much. It comes off the same stills as and uses the same mask bill as Buffalo Trace which is over twice the price. The difference being length of aging and 'barrel selection'. There are a few others in the same general price range I like including Old Crow and Old Grand-Dad. Wild Turkey and Maker's Mark are good too, but more pricey.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite scotch is Famous Grouse Black, its a BLEND! It also lacks the seaweed and dead bodies flavor so favored by booze snobs.
ReplyDeleteIt's also like $25 for 750ml.
My upper limit on Scotch is in the $100 per 750ml, but those are for special. Oban and Balvenie Caribbean Cask being the two spendy scotches I like.
Scotch snobs will hate me, but if I'm making a "Saul Goodman" (aka Rusty Nail), I use what he did on the show (beginning of first episode). Dewar's and a generous squirt of lemon from a squeezie.
DeleteI've tasted quite a number of spendy scotches that I've liked. I have also tried some that while I recognize they are well regarded are not to my taste. Mostly those that are so peaty that they taste like a shovel full of dirt or so smoky that they taste like I'm sucking on a charcoal briquette. A hint of peat and smoke is good, but too much is not for me. Like the seaweed and charnel essences, some people live for them though.
Hard liquor is a taste I have avoided cultivating. With my family history, I'm sure you can understand just why.
ReplyDeleteWillard feels much the same. He's completely teetotal.
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