I think I’d read that somewhere. My last bottle of OGD Bottled in Bond is long gone… but I did get some Wild Turkey 101 instead, and discovered I like it almost as much.
FWIW, those two punch well above their weight in terms of flavor for the price.
Mine’s Jim Beam Rye. Back in college, my roommate and I were on a sort of whiskey exploration stretch, and we discovered that we liked rye, it was cheaper than bourbon at the time, and that people assumed for some reason that it was the raunchiest of rotgut whiskies. I preferred (and still do) the Jim Beam Rye; Old Overholt has a dryness/funk to it that I don’t enjoy.
“When we are referring to a ‘neck pour’ in the bourbon or whiskey world, we’re actually talking about two things,” Brian explains. Firstly, it is the initial pour from an unopened bottle, he says…
The second aspect of neck pours is much less literal and concerns the flavor of those first few ounces. Drinkers should not expect the “most robust” or “full” experience because whiskey needs time and oxygen to open up, he says. Brian adds that, when sharing the first dram of a bottle with someone who “knows” bourbon, he will always note: “By the way, it’s the neck pour.” This way, he communicates that they shouldn’t judge the whiskey wholly based on that sip…
… In social media groups, online forums, and on whiskey podcasts, drinkers debate if and why the first pour is somehow inferior to the rest of the bottle.
(In 2018, Wade Woodard, author of the Tater-Talk blog, published among the most conclusive findings as to whether bourbon changes in the bottle. The results? It doesn’t.)
I have a hard time believing this. There are certainly some spirits that seem to change more as the bottle empties.
I need to drink more so I can try all the suggestions. My parents are partial to Maker’s Mark, but it doesn’t thrill me. Had some tasty Bulleit Rye, but haven’t bought any yet. Need to make space in the liquor cabinet.
General recommendation from distillers I trust is to kill the bottle once it gets down to about 250 ml left. With that amount of air exposed to the booze, it can change if left for a period of time. So check your liquor cabinet and drink those bottles you were saving the last of!
My neighbors offered whisky after a meeting. They opened their cupboard, which had about 6-7 bottle of single malt. Each of them was open, and a few of them were a bit low.
We avoid the problem by usually only having 1-2 bottles of whisky/rye/bourbon open, so that we can make sure they get drunk fast enough.
Have heard of all of them. Have tried 1792, Eagle Rare, and Larceny. Eagle Rare doesn’t sit on shelves here at all, I don’t know I’d say it’s underrated. Larceny and 1792 are fine, but nothing special, IMO.
I just spent too much on a bottle of Octomore. Will give a review when I crack it.
If oxygen’s the issue, that can be solved by flushing the bottle with inert gas, not that most people have that capability at home. But I’ve heard of people doing it for vermouth.
I wonder more about loss of volatiles. They’re going to equilibrate with the headspace, which will exchange with air when opened and poured. Some bottles are sealed poorly. I have an old bottle of mezcal that was essentially sitting open because it came with a crumbly cork stopper.
The first bourbon I ever tried was Woodford Reserve: my father-in-law gave me a glass of it after visiting relatives in Kentucky. I had no idea that hard liquor could be delicious.
Since then, I’ve tried a handful of other bourbons. They’re fine, but nothing comes close to the caramel-and-vanilla-sundae aroma of Woodford Reserve. On a cold winter day, I can sit with a snifter of it and just sip it and breathe the aroma for an hour or so and be perfectly cozy.
I’ve had all of those. Old Grand Dad BiB is in steady rotation around here. Nothing “under-rated” about it. Ditto the Old Forester. Their regular bottlings are meh at best, but the BiB and “Birthday” bourbons are superb.
Eagle Rare underrated? Ha! I was fortunate to share a bottle with a friend last Friday. $100 and the last one in the store. It was quite tasty with a couple good cigars.
1792 and OGD BIB are solid for the price. Larceny has been one of my go-to’s lately. It’s a wheated bourbon so if that’s not your thing probably not a good choice. For my $ it’s a good everyday bottle for OFs.
Two other bottles that haven’t been mentioned that can be found in most stores that are a little pricier but I enjoy a lot are Wild Turkey Rare Breed and Angels Envy.
$100 for Eagle Rare is outrageous. It’s a good buy for $40, but not much more than that.
Very much agree on Rare Breed. I thought for sure I mentioned it here, but must have been one of the other recent whiskey threads. If you like that I’d recommend the Knob Creek 9 year and Old Forrester 1920. All 3 high proof, oily mouth feel, and lots of flavor.
