Scotch Whiskey 101

“What kind of booze is that, Ewker?”

“It is a Bourbon Whiskey. It is in the so called Super Premium Bourbon Whiskey catergory

What Is Bourbon?

In 1964, during Bourbon-fancier Lyndon Johnson's administration, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution declaring Bourbon "…a distinct product of the United States."

No whiskey can call itself Bourbon unless it meets the following criteria:

Must be made in the United States
Distilled at less than 160 proof from fermented grain mash
The grain recipe must be at least 51% corn
The product must be stored in new, charred, white oak barrels at no more than 125 proof
Nothing can be added to the final product except pure water

Most Bourbons are aged for at least four years. At Woodford Reserve we pay no attention to the calendar. Because we have very exacting standards with regards to color, aroma and taste, it is up to the palate of our master distiller, Chris Morris, to tell us when a barrel is ready. Every barrel matures at a different rate.

Where is the Name From?

The name "Bourbon" comes from Bourbon County, Kentucky, which, in the 1700's, covered a large portion of Kentucky and was a point of departure for whiskey moving down the Ohio River to the West and New Orleans. The product name was later shortened from "Whiskey from Bourbon County" to "Bourbon Whiskey" as it gained international acclaim.”

“All that means "it is some goooood #&%!$"...”

“I thought down south they called it "corn squeezin's"?”

“Wow! Is it sold north of the Mason-Dixon line?

For a long time you couldn't get Wild Turkey in the North and I would bring it back from North Carolina when visiting my now-defunct, ex father-in-law. It started showing up in Pennsylvania first, I think.”

“Only if you wake up blind in the morning after drinking it.”

“bit, so true.

someone of this board got me drinking it. It might have been Currahee.

There was a discussion about bourbon whiskey, this and Knob Creek came up so I found Woodford first. Still haven't tried Knob Creek



I have heard it is some good #&%!$ also
last edited: 5/03/05 2:34:11 PM”

“check this link out. You may be able to order it

http://www.800spirits.com/intro.asp?pcategory=703”

“Knob Creek is also good. I bought a bottle once, and it is gone now, so...


Anyway, I can't remember exactly what it tastes like. I think it is less sweet than Maker's Mark, but I could be misremembering that.”

“Thanks, Ewker.

Doug”

“Ewker, Knob Creek is very good. Booker Noe (at about $50 a bottle) is even smoother....”

“An awesome recipe for a killer drink with Knob Creek. (Got this one at the Jim Beam Tasting room-- the little old lady doing the samples gave the recipe to me...)

Mix together the following in a blender with some ice:

Pineapple/Orange/Banana Juice
1 banana
Maraschino Cherries & the Juice.
Frozen Pink Lemonade
Frozen Orange Juice
Knob Creek

This stuff is killer! It tastes so good that you won't know the whiskey's in it until you try to stand up! :-)

I made a pitcher for my friends and we were sailing!!! It was so good that I ALMOST forgot the whiskey when making the 2nd pitcher (until my friend asked me why it didn't taste right! LOL!!!)”

“(oh, and I guess you can use the Orange passion fruit juice, too...)”

“Are little umbrellas optional? :)”

“My entire body just had an involuntary shudder at the thought of putting small-batch bourbon in a frou-frou drink.”

“got to drink this good stuff straight, why ruin it with all that other crap”

“this is a scotch thread. meant strictly for scotch drinkers of the highest class (and those who aspire to reach this lofty position). please don't litter it with trash bourbon. it is easy enough to start another thread if you feel the need to talk about such lowbrow beverages.

thank you.
last edited: 5/03/05 3:28:35 PM”

“Like Rat Shootin’ Libations thread?”

“"Ol' Gets Ya Drunk" is what I like for rat shootin'...”

“were just trying to move you up to a better drink”

“I've got a question. I am a newbie to this stuff, too. I find that I really like Makers Mark. (Nigal, it's what I'm bringing for our enjoyment this weekend.) Where does that fall in with all these others you mentioned? What kind is it? Is it what you call a smooth one? a peaty one? I'm trying to get a frame of reference here.”

“Maker's Mark is a Bourbon whiskey. Very smooth, or at least I think so. I don't think there is an American whiskey that is made from grain roasted over a peat fire, so I don't think any of them will come off as "peaty".

If you like peat though, Laphroaig is the Scotch for you.”

“Makers Mark is bourbon. Bourbons are made from corn, barley and either rye or wheat. Rye bourbons are usually considered 'spicy', while wheated bourbons are considered 'smooth'. Makers Mark, W.L. Weller, Old Fitzgerald, Rebel Yell and Old Rip Van Winkle are wheated bourbons. IMO Old Rip Van Winkle is the best bourbon, rye or wheat.

In my book, Highland Park and Lagavulin are tops in Single Malt Scotch...Balvenie is good too. For loads of peat, Ardbeg is hard to beat.”

“If you like the smokiness of peaty single malts, you might enjoy Tennessee Whiskey more than bourbon. Leaching the whiskey through sugar maple charcoal gives it a slight smokiness, though it tastes nothing like single malt. Skip JD Old No. 7 and go directly to JD Single Barrel or George Dickel No. 12.

Also, if you like tequila...try a good mezcal. Mezcal has a smoky edge because they roast the agave over an open pit fire unlike tequila, which is typically steam-cooked in a hornos (oven).”

“LOL... no paper umbrellas....

Hey, I like my Knob Creek Straight-up or on the rocks, too!

But put it in a frozen fruit drink and you'll drink the whole bottle before you remember it....


Booker Noe-- now that was some smOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOth whiskey. :-)

Don't know much about the different types of whiskeys, but I used to drink Seagrams VO in my younger days.....”

““I've got a question. I am a newbie to this stuff, too. I find that I really like Makers Mark. (Nigal, it's what I'm bringing for our enjoyment this weekend.) Where does that fall in with all these others you mentioned? What kind is it? Is it what you call a smooth one? a peaty one? I'm trying to get a frame of reference here.”

Sweet. Tell ya what, I'll bring the Chavis and you bring the Maker's Mark, We'll each drink half, trade and drink the other half and wait for Gem to stick her face on our crotches. Sounds like a plan!”

“ROTFLMAO!!!!!!! In order for that to happen, I think we better get Gem to share some of our drink first.”

“See, this why I never got laid in high school...”

“Nige, you have to get the girl drunk...”

“Sorry, but CMB is unavailable for the time being... ;) I'd hate to wake him as he is sleeping in his dungeon right now after a tough day of..uh...abuse. Maybe later I'll let him post ;)”

“I believe this is a Scotch thread.

The bourbon thread is here

And I agree with Bitpusher, Nigal, get the cheaper of the two. And anyway, you'll end up buying and trying the other after the first one is drank.”

“I wish they would bring Back Johnny Walker Blue. Expensive, but worth every damn drop.”

“damn it I want some makers mark!”

“You guys will get a kick out of this. I went to the liquor store last night to buy some scotch and I settled on a bottle of 12 year old Chivas Regal. As I neared the counter the box comes open and the bottle flies out, smashing on the floor soaking my pants as well as the guy’s shoe standing in line. As tears began streaming down my face the guy behind the counter asked if I was hurt. I said, “Hell yeah! Didn’t you see that $30 bottle of booze go to waste? Doesn’t this make you sad? Have you no feelings at all!!??”. OK, that last part was made up but I was embarrassed beyond belief. So I had to go into work smelling like an old wine-o.”

“I did have one question: How much should I take for a weekend hike? I don’t want to take too much and possibly over drink. I was thinking a 16 oz. Nalgene. Mind you I’m not looking to get drunk; just go to bed happy.

I had thought of making Sass my keeper around the campfire to keep me from over drinking. LOL!”

“I'm a Laphroig and Talisker for an Islay feel and a Glan Kinchie for something a little less spicy.”

“Speaking of spicey, does Scotch tend to cause acid reflux flare ups?”

“Hmmm, I don't remember having heartburn after Scotch...

...and don't ever trust those boxes the booze comes in.

As far as amounts, will you be sharing? 16oz is a lot of whiskey to drink by yourself, even if you split it up over two nights. That's like 5 shots a night. I'd be pretty blitzed if I drank that much, but of course I'm a lightweight.”

“I had wondered how many shots that would be but didn’t know how many oz a shot was. 5 shots is a bit much even for a big guy like me. I’m also taking a a couple cans of Sapporo just to loosen up a little before trying the scotch. I’ll probably still take the 16 oz. And share some.”

“So did they charge you for the bottle you dropped?”

“No, thank heaven. the guy working there was a hired lacky. Had the owner been there who knows?”

“Lucky you. Private store, eh?

Here in the wonderful state of Alabammy, the state is in the liquor biz. It used to be that the only place you could buy liquor or wine for home consumption was at the ABC (Alabama Beverage Control) store. Then, they relaxed the liquor laws, and we could buy wine and beer at the grocery store. Then they relaxed the laws some more, and people could open private liquor stores. But here's the catch: the liquor store owners have to buy all their booze from the state, and by law, they may not sell their liquor for less than the state sells theirs at the state store.

Alabama: It's nuts, but it's home.”

“I think that's the way it is here. We have state stores and some private ones and we also have a state minimum. It's not surprising for Ohio. I hear they are trying to push a "methane tax" now that would tax our farts. Somtething of a brown law I guess. LOL!”

“This state is crazy when it comes to liquor laws, because of the bible-thumpers. I think it was just last year, or maybe the year before, that Sunday sales of alcohol were allowed here in Huntsville.

When I was a kid, in "lounges" (what most people call a "bar") they could not serve a mixed drink already mixed. All alcohol was sold in miniatures, and taken to the patron's table, with the mixer, and the patron mixed it up themselves. That changed in the 70's sometime, I'm pretty sure.

Like I mentioned before, liquor taxes are pretty high here. So high, that it's worth it to go to another state and make all your liquor purchases, unless you absolutely have to have something immediately. If the state would just lower the taxes some, I bet they would see increased revenue because it wouldn't be worth it to drive to Tennessee or Georgia anymore. Oh, but we couldn't do that, could we? After all, them sinners got to PAY for their demon rum!”

“Booze and tobacco are Ohio’s old stand by when they need to raise some money. I never understood the dang blue laws. We can’t hunt on Sunday, we can’t buy liquor on Sunday. Well, nothing’ fun to do at home, guess I’ll go church. Right!”

“Well, I tried the Chavis Regal on my hike this weekend. I didn’t much care for it. The alcohol taste was very strong and it felt like reverse acid reflux going down. I refuse to give up though and will try it on the rocks as the scotch was room temp. Maybe I need to try a better scotch too?”

“Some people do prefer it on the rocks. It would be best if you find a way to enjoy a blend like Chivas before you pony up the cash for a bottle of single-malt Scotch. Try cutting it with a little water, too.”

“Yeah, I thought I'd try just one drink in a restraunt bar or something of the good stuff rather than buy a whole bottle.

I did try some good rasberry vodka this weekend. I know it's too foofoo but it rocked.”

“One thing that just occurred to me is that Chivas, like most blends, has a little peat to it. You may not like peat much, thus the reason you don't like Chivas. My fave, the Macallan, doesn't have much peat, but they rarely carry it at bars.

Hey Geo, is Glenfiddich peaty? I've never had it.”

“There is a whiskey called Old Smugglers. It taste a lot like Chivas at about 1/2 the cost. It also does not have that alcohol or peat taste. Most bars don't have it but most stores do. If all else fails an 8oz glass of Jack Daniels straight up and a cheap cigar gets my day going.”