Hmmm… similar concept to the little tequila barrels you see everywhere when driving through Jalisco. You can buy the little barrels, and some cheap tequila to fill them with. In a year, you’ll have a pretty good tequila. It’s not going to turn a rot-gut into a Don Julio, but it will turn a reasonably inexpensive blanco into a Correlejo.
I’m not wild about most bourbons, I understand the hate, but Knob Creek and Maker’s Mark are the ones I love. Surprising that one of them kicked off this thread.
My go to is various Irish whiskeys. I’d tried Knob Greek and Maker’s Mark and they just didn’t trip my trigger as it were.
Then, in my travels I wound up in a restaurant where an Old Fashioned with Bulleit was their signature drink. Figured what the hell, I don’t really dislike bourbon, and ordered one. I now have a new favorite mixed drink. Still don’t care for it neat though.
Horatio Hellpop- Knob Creek and Maker’s Mark? That’s kind of a wide gamut; Knob Creek is one of the Jim Beam family, which are on the high side in terms of rye content, and Maker’s is a wheated bourbon (i.e. wheat instead of rye).
What they both are is non rotgut whiskies. You might try some other non-bottom shelf whiskies- maybe Blanton’s, Woodford Reserve or Buffalo Trace might be options.
Projammer- what sort of Old Fashioned was it? The kind with the muddled fruit, or the truly old fashioned kind, that was just whiskey, sugar, ice, and bitters?
The muddled kind is sort of the state drink in Wisconsin. My dad loved to make them, I think because they took some work (“Stand back, kids, I’m muddlin’ here.”), so I’ve probably had a couple hundred of them. You need good brandy or bourbon, and I’ve tried them every which way. Our pastor made me one with Templeton’s Rye, so it was getting close to a Manhattan.
At the last couple of weddings I’ve been to, the bride and groom have each chosen a signature drink (sometimes to the exclusion of other mixed drinks, to simplify things). Three times, the groom has chosen an Old Fashioned or something close. Twice with Bulliett, once with Maker’s Mark… we had some guests who “just don’t like bourbon”, but loved those.