Been a lot of years since I tasted it, but Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 was always my favorite.
At the risk of being ridiculed by the masses, I quite enjoy Jim Beam Red Stag.
The black cherry hint is so smooth - absolutely delicious.
Well, I have mass (lots and lots of mass), so
Ha-ha!
But obviously Jim Beam decided to muscle in on the “cough syrup alcoholic” demographic.
So, with the input from here and review sites, I went to the store and got myself a single barrel Knob Creek, aged 9 years. At 59.5% alcohol, I’ll be sipping it.
It definitely has taste to it and some burning too.
Does whiskey change taste a lot when you let it sit or after opening the bottle? If so, how can that be helped?
What could be it well mixed with?
You’re going to get some more input on mixing something like Knob Creek with anything at all. My personal preference for any kind of quality bourbon (and Knob Creek is one) is to simply enjoy it straight. It is, as you wrote, perfect for sipping. Some might put one or two ice cubes in it, or maybe a little water (although that’s more common with Scotch whisky). To me, making a cocktail with something along the lines of Knob Creek is kind of like making a Scotch and soda, or a Rusty Nail, with a single malt Scotch – sure, it’ll taste good, but it’s a waste of a quality whisk(e)y.
For any mixed drink with bourbon, I usually use Jim Beam – it’s a decent whiskey and I enjoy it straight as well, but it’s much cheaper and more appropriate, I think, for a cocktail.
I’ve had Manhattans made with Knob Creek that were absolutely fantastic, but they weren’t so fantastic that I didn’t wish I’d had the Knob Creek straight.
Let me be clear, though: you’re welcome to mix it with whatever you like, of course: it’s your bourbon, it’s your preference.
Age in the bottle, even after opening, has very little effect on whisky, especially if you keep it in a cool (or at least constant) temperature and out of the light.
What I enjoy:
Scotch: Macallen 12 year old and up. They’re all good. Bruichladdich, Bowmore, and despite the stupid names any of the Glenmorangie line.
Irish: My go to is Bushmills, especially the single malt if you can find it. I also really like jameson’s 12.
Rye: Bulliett, Tangle Ridge and Gibson’s Finest 18 y.o.
Bourbon: Knob creek and I still like JD.
As far as altering the flavours they don’t decant like wine, AFAIK. Nor do they age more once they are bottled.
For mix, as noted above adding mix to a single malt is just a waste of money and good whiskey. If I add anything, it’s normally a dash of cool to cold water or a single ice cube.
The exception to this is the cheaper ryes, where I’ll occasionally add ginger ale or a bit of Coke. That is very seldom nowadays as i can afford better quality than Canadian Club or well rye <shudder>.
Try both Jameson’s and the Glenlivet neat, then try adding a bit of water to open them up. I think you’ll be surprised at the change in the flavour and smell you detect.
It’s really a matter of figuring out how you like it best - 120 proof is quite strong, you might experiment with adding water a few drops or so at a time and see if you prefer it diluted down a bit (you can try ice too.)
Knob Creek is just right with a splash of water to open up the nose and bring down the proof a bit.
Whiskey will not change much in the bottle. It won’t get better in any case. But when the bottle is 2/3 gone or so, it’s time to have some friends help you kill it and buy another, because letting the booze sit in that empty a bottle starts to raise oxidation issues.
Wouldn’t have thought so but bourbon is pretty fucking good with pizza.
Mine is MacAlbert, not Macalleun or uan.
The wife and I got a deal on entry to a skeet + barbecue + whiskey-tasting event.
Unfortunately, the meal was after the day of shooting, so we were famished and fatigued quite early and it affected our accuracy. Quite fortunately, the whiskey-tasting was last, otherwise it would have affected a lot of people’s accuracy (especially on empty stomachs!).
The event was partly sponsored by Bushmills so, naturally, the spokesmodels were serving Bushmills to the tasters. I found the 1608 to be absolutely delicious – but, then again, it ain’t cheap. [Was that the year of casking? We were drinking 400-year-old booze?] I also happened to find their new Honey Whiskey to be quite tasty. I’ve noticed several other brands have started offering Honey Whiskeys since then, too, but nothing has compared favorably to the Bushmills.
YMMV, of course.
–G!
Oh, and over Xmas one year we diluted an astoundingly rich thick hand-crafted eggnog from some dairy near Denver by adding splashes of Bushmills’ 1608. It seemed sacrilegious at the time, but the taste was heavenly anyway.
I have a bottle of that here. I prefer it with just a splash of water to dilute it and make it not quite so hot. I’ve used Knob Creek to make my sister-in-law an old fashioned, but I wouldn’t do that with the single barrel stuff.
The Bushmills 1608 was a commemorative bottling celebrating Bushmill’s 400th “official” birthday. Good stuff, and worth the price.
With apologies to Silenus, I stand corrected. In scotch I prefer 12 yo and up The Macallan. Now pour me another dram and let’s get on with this.
My favorite Irish Whiskey is Tullamore Dew.
For straight up smooth whiskey, I’ve always been very happy with Gentleman Jack
Saying “Recommend a Whiskey” is like saying “Recommend a Soda”. There are some pretty distinct subcategories within “Whiskey” that taste nothing like each other, scotch and bourbon being the 2 main ones.
With that said I don’t love scotch and particularly dislike the peaty, smokey ones. Absolutely gnarly.
Bourbon I really enjoy though. My favorite liqour store style bourbon is Knob Creek by far. The reserve is even better as it’s a higher proof and actually has more flavor IMHO. It’s good straight but I actually prefer to mix it, which purists don’t do. Knob is a great mixer IMHO because the flavor of the bourbon really cuts through whatever mixer you’re using.
Jim Beam sucks ballz.
My favorite.
You’re going to get alot of folks pummeling me for suggesting this travesty but I really like mixing the 120 proof Knob with a little Coke.
That shit’s expensive though.