Rant/Rave: Bourbon

[cardsfansince82]

I'm gonna put this here b/c it's not thread-worthy, but if it were you could call it "Rant: Drinking in LA."

I just spent a week there. Everything was way too damn sweet. I went to this place last night, the Melrose Umbrella Company. The menu is on a clipboard, and the first page is like 5 paragraphs that reads like a PR release telling you how the place is all about housemade tinctures, tonics and fresh juices and stuff, how they replicate the speakeasy culture of pre-Prohibition, with the bios of the two guys who opened the place telling you how awesome they are. Had three drinks, every one of them way out of balance and entirely too sweet. I had the "Patterson's Nap" which was Buffalo Trace, couple fruit juices, some bitters, and it tasted like a glass of juice. The bourbon was non-existent to the taste. It's the damn base spirit, it should shine and the other stuff should highlight it, but instead any taste of bourbon was removed by the sugary fruit juice. Had an aperitif cocktail, way out of balance and too sweet. Had a drink with pisco, rosé, creme de peche, and I swear the creme de peche must have been the base because it tasted like a peach with 5oz of sugar poured in and a little bit of carbonation. They garnished it with a gummy Life Saver. All of these were gross. This is what passes for cocktails in LA, fruit juice and overly sweet. I went to a couple other places and it was about the same, though this place was the worst. In short, F the LA cocktail "culture" where you get a page-long manifesto about how awesome they are on the menu and then order and the drinks all suck dong.

That's been my experience with most "warm weather year round" type places. Everything is fruity and sweet and meant to be consumed outside by a pool. It really takes the soul crushing depression of winter to inspire people to create and consume boozier cocktails indoors.

[Swirls]

Swirls, those are all very very good. You can't miss with any. Maybe go in and ask for the buyer, see if (s)he is around and ask what is in stock and recommended as a splurge gift. If you can find anything from the Orphan Barrel project, those are pretty awesome. The latest one is Forged Oak, it's 15 years, came out of the Stitzl-Weller rickhouse, and runs about $60-70. The Barterhouse 20 year is about $10 more, also a good pickup.

The best way to gift bourbon is an if-you-can-afford it approach of proactivity. See Weller Antique, Weller 12 Year, OlFo Birthday Bourbon, Stagg, Eagle Rare, others that you have heard are great and hard to get, pick it up and stash it for gift giving later.

Great idea, thanks! He said the Birthday Bourbon usually sells out within a day everywhere in town. "Blogging bourbon snobs know the exact date it will arrive and they line up outside the doors to get it as soon as we open, and we're out by lunchtime or early afternoon."

The guy said at my price point, the two best he recommended were the Jefferson's Reserve and the Booker Noe 7 Year. He said the Woodford Reserve was really good, but had a heavy oaken flavor so if the guy wasn't a ginormous bourbon snob he may be overwhelmed. I ended up getting the Booker Noe instead of Jefferson's because it comes in a wooden crate, so it will definitely help a bit when it comes time to ship the bottle. He said personally he liked the Jefferson's a little better than the Booker, but he said it was more for the exclusivity and very limited production of it - although they get a ton because apparently they have a fantastic working relationship with Jefferson's.

He said that the Booker Noe and Jefferson's Reserve were the absolute best they had at the moment around my price point. Next best was a Jefferson's Reserve Oceanside (sp?) which was like $90, and then a special Wild Turkey that was $130.

[Michael]

Bookers will put hair on your friend's chest. You're expected to splash a bit of water in it. A fun/interesting bourbon for sure.

Blanton's is another good gift bourbon in your price range. It's a quality bourbon and not terribly difficult to find. It often comes in a cloth bag and has a fun stopper design. Solid packaging and design can really sell a gift.

Not a fan of west coast cocktail style either.

[thrill]

Blanton's is another good gift bourbon in that price range. It's a quality bourbon and not terribly difficult to find. It often comes in a cloth bag and has a fun stopper design. Solid packaging and design can really sell a gift.

I was going to suggest this. It's a great bourbon and comes in a really cool bottle that looks great on your shelf. It's legit enough to please any bourbon snob and accessible enough that you can get it anywhere.

"Blogging bourbon snobs know the exact date it will arrive and they line up outside the doors to get it as soon as we open, and we're out by lunchtime or early afternoon."

I covered two cities and 5 stores to end up with 6 bottles of Weller 12 and one Weller Antique. I am definitely part of the problem.

[ghostrunner]

Saw this on a friend's Facebook feed, seemed relevant.

http://fredminnick.com/best-bourbon-the ... rits-2015/

[33anda3rd]

Cue the Great Knob Creek Shortage Of 2016.

[thrill]

Cue the Great Knob Creek Shortage Of 2016.

I've never had it because it always looked like gimmicky packaging and mass produced.

Is it that good?

[TimeForGuinness]

Cue the Great Knob Creek Shortage Of 2016.

I've never had it because it always looked like gimmicky packaging and mass produced.

Is it that good?

I like it, but it isn't my favorite.

FYI, You can get the BIG bottles of it at Costco

[33anda3rd]

Cue the Great Knob Creek Shortage Of 2016.

I've never had it because it always looked like gimmicky packaging and mass produced.

Is it that good?

It's fine. I don't buy it either personally or for the restaurant, but I don't turn up my nose at it. If I'm at a wedding at a Marriott or whatever in the suburbs and they have Knob Creek, I'm quite glad it's there.

[JackofDiamonds]

I don't turn up my nose at it
If I'm at a wedding at a Marriott or whatever in the suburbs

I mean, those seem like mutually exclusive statements.