Yes, yes they are.
Could be that my tastebuds are less sensitive/sophisticated. I’m a heavy smoker, so anything in the same ballpark will taste pretty much the same to me.
Eh? So Jack Daniel’s is not a Bourbon, but does it taste like one? If I thought JD was among the most nasty things I have ever tasted, is there any point in looking for a real bourbon? Are fish scales and vanilla natural flavours that a bourbon can have?
Hmm, fish scales no…vanilla YES! Caramel and dark chocolate too.
Where do you live? In the sates or elsewhere? If elsewhere grab a bottle of Makers Mark,* if you live in the states try Knob Creek, Buffalo Trace, or Woodford Reserve to start off.
If you want to go a bit cheeper, Wild Turkey 101 is a very good bourbon that is only looked down upon by snobs. Jim Beam Black Lable and Old Forester are the same. They aren’t as good as the above, but they are much less expensive.
Put a 1/8 teaspoon (one regular sized strawfull is how I messure) of distilled water into about 1.5 oz of the drink served in a rocks glass or brandy snifter. Sip and enjoy at room temperature.
(*I can not believe I just suggested Makers, but I will forgive myself, because it’s for a good cause. And I am fairly sure Makers is available everywhere.)
Bourbon, no. Ice cream, yes.
For those who insist upon calling JD a bourbon, I have a standing offer of $50 cash to the first person to show me the word ‘bourbon’ on the Jack Daniel’s label.
Hang on…I’ve got a Magic Marker around here somewhere…
I’ll go you one better: Jack Daniel’s isn’t even drinkable!
Drink the best bourbon in the world, Booker’s.
Just don’t go to the same store as I do to get it.
I’ve had what I was assured was very good bourbon. Hate it. Love scotch. If you like something, enjoy it at will. If not, don’t worry about it.
**Euth **- now, I happen to agree with you that Booker’s is truly wonderful and a higher-quality spirit vs. Jack, but surely as a guitarist you have some love for The Official Booze of Rock n’ Roll - which is how many of my bandmates and I have regarded Jack over the years…
Let’s not forget that these spirits were derived from times when all men were heavy smokers, and usually of cigars no less. I love things like Wild Turkey 101 and Habenero hot sauce and all sorts of other things that can cut right through cigarette breath and let me taste them because they’re brutally flavored.
It’s kind of the point, those old timers wanted something that you could still taste after the 10th cigar of the day.
Some of us just don’t care about whiskey. I don’t think I should be expected to know the trivialities of handgun trivia either; I don’t enjoy them and don’t use them. How is this different?
Hrmmmmm. I don’t like Jack Daniel’s and I’m not positive that I’ve had real bourbon (although I haven’t met a whiskey I liked yet). What kind of bourbon goes well here? Should I march down to the bar right now and order a Knob Creek in ginger ale just to see?
Because handguns are not one of the few uniquly american products. Besides, this isn’t trvia, it’s basic knowledge. Like knowing Chardonay is a white wine while Merlot is a red. It’s all just rotten grape juice, but it’s something that rounds out your knowledge of the world.
Ehh, I wouldn’t use Knob Creek. If you go down to the bar and they have ginger ale, get it with Jim Beam. Old Forester is my favorite for this drink actually, but I don’t think it’s likely that your local bar will have it. Your local supermarket probably will though. If you want to piss the bartender off and spend more money than you should, get it with Makers. You will probably have the best shot of liking it if you use Makers. Anyway, when I am in the mood for a mixer I like a Boutbon and ginger a lot. Gives the ginger ale a slightly sweeter buttery flavor. Best with a good sharp ginger ale.
Bourbon/Tennessee and *COKE?
*
Bourbon/Tennessee and GINGER ALE???
Ackkkkkk. Ackk, ackk, ackkkkk.
Damn, treat it like Scotch, or any other grown-up drink. A touch of seltzer only, if you MUST.
Hey man, don’t throw your snobbery around here. I am as big a fan of taking your drink neat as anyone, but many other beverages are imporved by the addition of a little Bourbon or Tenessee whiskey. Lemonaid too BTW.
Not to mention coffee and hot chocolate on those cold winter evenings.
Don’t think of it as harming the whiskey. Think of it as helping the mixer.
ETA: HD, Ukelele Ike’s reaction is likely to be the same as your bartender’s if you try to order a whiskey and ginger with anything other than a well whiskey. Don’t listen to them. Better whiskey makes the drink better, though at a certain point you will be paying for a difference you can no longer taste. Don’t get anything more expensive than Makers and mix it.
Gah. I get so sick of booze snobs who claim you’re polluting the drink if you add any mixers to it. I don’t LIKE the nasty-ass taste of most liquor, and the coke or whatever hides that quite well. I put sugar in my coffee, too. Lots of it. In fact there isn’t a single drink other than water that I like that isn’t sweet. This does not make me an unsophisticated yokel, or “not adult” or any other such bullshit. It just means my taste is different from yours.
I don’t talk down to people who don’t like Thai/Mexican/Indian food so hot it instantly empties your sinuses, for example, because even though I enjoy extremely hot food, I know other people don’t. It doesn’t make me better than them.*
Edited to respond to NAF1138’s ETA: I agree completely. I can tell the difference between a crap liquor+Coke and something like Makers+Coke. Better drink, for sure.
*it’s all the other stuff that makes me better than them, like my x-ray vision and my super strength, and my psychic powers and stuff.
I like that attitude: ginger ale doesn’t water down the bourbon, the bourbon improves the ginger ale. I like ginger ale by itself–it’s primarily a drink in its own right, not a mixer, for me; but I don’t like whiskey straight.
Not because I’m some sort of liquor simpleton, mind you; I have expensive taste in rum and vodka and enjoy them straight.
Clearly, you haven’t met my local bartender.
I think I’ll try Maker’s, just to see if it’s possible for me to like whiskey. That sounds like a good litmus test. If it’s the first and last whiskey drink I ever pay for, it won’t seem like much money.
Now that depends. If I’m up on stage, I’ll drink Jack (you know, just to keep the facade going), but if I’m down in the crowd, I’ll accuse the rest of you of being barbarians while I toss my shot of Booker’s back with pinky raised, if for no other reason than it makes most bands (including any that I’ve been a part of) sound better faster.
'sall I needed to hear, my friend.
Nothing like turnin’ around and finding a shot of Jack on your speaker cab left there by somebody who appreciates your music…
This thread is making me crave a Jack-n-Coke.
Alas, all I have is Jim Beam and no Coke.
