Maker's Mark or Knob Creek?

Cafe Society
1

So, I am planning to buy a bottle of bourbon before I fly to Texas (due to the fact that I just found out I can carry alcohol in my carry-ons and because it’s freaking expensive where I’m going), and I am trying to choose between Knob Creek, a drink I am very familiar and fond of, and Maker’s Mark, which I can get for about $10 less. My room mate used to be fond of Maker’s Mark, but I’ve never had it. How does it compare to the Knob?

Drunkification values for the drinks are not that important to me (I’m a cheap date), so I’m more interested in things like flavor and gag factor (you know how some kinds of hard alcohol just make you want to puke when you first drink it, such as Jack Daniels?)

2

Both are excellent bourbons. As a matter of fact, I have a glass of Knob Creek in front of me as I type. For what purpose is this beverage to be utilized? Relaxer? Date loosener? Some context would be helpful.

I have bottles of both in the cabinet, but it is usually Maker’s Mark in the travel flask.

3

Well, variety of stuff. Heading to Texas to visit some friends for the weekend (and to attend AggieCon, which all who can afford to do so should attend, cause we’ve got Captain Apollo as a guest), and I hope to do some socializing while I’m there. Also, it’s been a while since I bought a bottle of bourbon (Knob Creek the last time), and I figure I wouldn’t mind having something around to drink while kicking back on a Friday night.

Also, as far as “Date Loosener” goes, one of my female friends, a sort of on-again-off-again thing, has given me the “Green light” to take advantage of her, should the opportunity present, and she has expressed alcohol as a legitimate method of doing this. We’re both single, and I don’t see this arrangement changing in the next two weeks, so no real concerns there.

4

Maker’s Mark, then. The wheat in the mash gives it a smoother palate, without the bite at the end that Knob Creek has. You can get more for your dollar as well. Good luck, in every way possible! :smiley:

5

By the way, you can only carry 3 ounces in your carry-on, so just wait until you get to Aggie-Con to buy the hooch.

6

You can? The TSA’s items list seems to rule out anything other than duty-free items and the duty-free page clarifies that

Can you buy anything from duty-free shops if you’re traveling within the country? Or is there another discount liquor place in your airport?

Oh, and I’d go for the Maker’s Mark personally.

7

Well, I can pack alcohol in my checked baggage, according to AA.com. I actually LIKE flying, so I don’t expect to need to be drunk while on the plane. If I wait till AggieCon to buy the hooch, it goes from $18 a bottle to something like $40 a bottle (College Station seems to be a huge market for alcohol in proportion to the number of liquor stores)

D’Oh, reading obviously did not make my typing English good. I meant to say checked baggage in the OP, not carry-ons.

Why can’t you people just read what I mean, and not what I type? :smack:

8

You’re very brave to put liquor in your luggage - especially in a glass bottle.
I pack liquor in a plastic bottle (Jim Beam) and wrap it in two ziplock bags and two garbage bags when I travel, but I wouldn’t attempt this with glass…

9

You may write me off as an anachronistic throwback, but I strongly prefer Wild Turkey (101) to either of the above.

10

Same here. 101 is my everyday pour. I’d place Booker’s a notch above and Knob Creek a notch below, though all three are superb. I didn’t care all that much for Maker’s Mark, but then I seem to have a taste for stronger hooch.

Raguleader, just about any liquor store I’ve ever been to stocks miniatures of both Knob Creek and Maker’s Mark. Why not just pick up a miniature of each and test 'em for yourself?

11

I just thought I should add that, according to my personal experience, getting shitfaced on an American-controlled plane is illegal. So, be careful with that booze!

12

Well, like I said, I don’t plan to get drunk on the plane (oh goodness, I would HATE to be the person strapped into a seat next to a drunkenly babbling me), and even if I did plan to do so, I have a 4 hour drive coming up after that (due to rather poor travel planning on my part), so sober is the way to go for me.

Any tips on how to pack a glass bottle of bourbon in a suitcase? I was thinking of just packing socks around it, but might a box with packing peanuts be more in order?

13

Knob Creek, if only because the beefy, stout, squarish bottle stuffs better into a travel bag. And it’s good stuff. Isn’t the Makers bottle some kind of obloid trapezong or somethnig?

14

Agree, baggage gorillas can make the best packed luggage shred - and your clothes (and all the luggage around yours) will smell of burbon.

Move it to plastic (a shame with either bottle, both come in rather nice bottles), and then still wrap in it enough bubble wrap and put it in a ziploc

15

I think they’re both considered good (not by me, but hey…I’m just not a bourbon kind of gal). I think Knob Creek is very popular these days, but you can’t argue with the big-ass rep of Maker’s.

16

Cast my vote for Maker’s Mark. Knob Creek is decent, but for some reason those 100-proof bourbons just rub my gut the wrong way.

17

I’ve just wrapped my wine or spirits in clothes (tee-shirts and sweaters) and have never had any problems with them breaking open. I’ve done this on at least a dozen occassions. As long as your suitcase is somewhat tightly packed, it would be rather difficult to break a bottle within.

18

You’ve been lucky, I had a perfume bottle break in my luggage - arriving at a destination with clothes that smell like they’ve been washed in perfume isn’t good.

19

That’s impressive, considering perfume bottles are generally pretty solid. I don’t even know how I’d go about trying to break a bottle that packed in the middle of my suitcase. I still think chances are well against you getting a bottle broken if you pack it right.

20

Anyhow, to answer the OP, I would pick the Knob Creek myself, although it’s close to a toss-up. Also, while you’re in that price range, you might want to consider Woodford Reserve.