TNFrank
12/10/03 06:01 AM
Finally got to try some Makers Mark.
Well, I did it. I picked up a small bottle of Makers Mark bourbon. Everyone's told me that "it's the best bourbon in the world". Well, it was OK but I'm not all that impressed. First off it's 90 proof, I like 80 proof better but that's not the only thing. It didn't have much flavor at all, no real taste that you could grab hold of. On a 1-10 scale I'd give it a 6, better then average but noting to write home about. Now if ya' want a very good bourbon give Rebel Yell a try. It's 80 proof, has a very nice flavor and is about $5 bucks cheaper then Makers Mark. For a good cheap bourbon Evan Williams "Green lable" (80 proof) is very drinkable and it's less then $9 bucks a 750ml. Very good with a very good price. Anyway, just thought I'd share some with ya'll. Talk to ya' later. TN.Frank
In God we trust, all others pay cash.
theholymackerel
12/10/03 09:57 AM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: TNFrank]
Basil Hayden is the best bourbon I ever tried bar-none.
TNFrank
12/11/03 12:17 PM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: theholymackerel]
Just to make sure I picked up a bottle of Rebel Yell last night(my brother got mairred so we were in the Harriman area, thought, what the heck.)and I gave it another try side by side with the Makers Mark. Yup, the Rebel Yell had a better taste. I'd say the taste was "fuller" if that makes any sence to ya'll. Makers just kind of tastes like alcohol, Rebel Yell has all the full vanillas and a mild charred taste. Kind of reminds me of carmel candy. For my money when I have to buy a bottle of good bourbon it'll be Rebel Yell, plus I like the name.LOL.
In God we trust, all others pay cash.
tater
12/11/03 12:36 PM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: TNFrank]
Give Cabin Still a try some time TN Frank I"ve allways thought it and rebel yell tasted a lot alike
theholymackerel
12/11/03 03:35 PM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: TNFrank]
It is a good name.
Yee-Haww!!!
Blanchy
12/11/03 08:18 PM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: theholymackerel]
I'll bet it was a dark day for TN Frank and theholymackerel when Dale Earnhardt died.
Chuck
Fourway
12/13/03 05:16 AM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: Blanchy]
hey now... no confederate baiting.
"Please don't drink and derive" -MADD Mathematicians Against Drunk Deriving
TNFrank
12/13/03 07:54 AM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: Fourway]
I have been thinking about giving some Irish Whiskies a try but they cost so dang much it's hard to spend the money on em'. Are there any cheap Irish Whiskies that are about the same price as what I'm buying($10-$15/750ml) that'd be worth drinking?
In God we trust, all others pay cash.
Blanchy
12/13/03 08:53 AM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: TNFrank]
I think Bushmills is worth a shot.
Chuck
theholymackerel
12/13/03 10:05 AM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: TNFrank]
Jameson is a good Irish whiskey.
refluxinator
12/17/03 09:45 AM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: TNFrank]
Howdy All, anyone ever try 'Ol Grandad? It seemed to get the job done when I was a younger man. You folks in TN are alright by me, hell, I like 'em so much that I married a Rebel, she's a beauty, and I'd say she puts up with my BS, but we all know that's not true. Gotta love the woman who took me to the Opry!
patience,patience,patience
Fourway
12/26/03 08:05 AM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: refluxinator]
Old Granddad is perfectly ok inexpensive Bourbon.
Most of the bottles you can get in the states for between $7 and $12, like Evan Williams, Old Granddad, Bourbon DeLuxe, Old Fitzgerald, Rebel Yell, Virginia Gentleman, Old Crow, Cabin Still (and the list goes on and on) don't get any respect in the US because they are so cheap... but in Europe and Asia people are paying serious money for these bottles. They are considered the representative bounty of American Whiskey.
All of them deserve your attention if you are interested at all in American Whiskey... and most of them taste more interesting and distinctive than slightly more pricey bottles that outsell them like Maker's Mark, Jim Beam and Jack Daniels which over time or by original design have been blandified so as to be unoffensive to the widest range of customers.
"I'm na drunk lang as I'n hold fast to blade a grass n keep me from sliding off the world."
-Grampa
Tony Ackland
02/02/04 12:52 AM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: TNFrank]
Makers is OK, but it leaves me with bit of a sore head the next morning. There must be a heap of cogeners still in there & not cut out.
I far prefer Bookers bourbon.
Tony
Fourway
02/02/04 09:51 AM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: Tony Ackland]
bookers comes with a price tag though.
Maybe in your part of the world it evens out a bit more but within a few thousand miles of kentucky Booker's is five times the price of the least expensive acceptable bourbon and twice the price of many bottles that could stand up to it for quality and flavor any time.
If I was really in the mood to spend the $50 is would cost me for a bottle of Booker's I'd be more inclined to go with a Black Maple Hill, Blanton's or VanWinkle issue.
"Wine is Sunlight, Held Together By Water". --Galileo Galilei
theholymackerel
02/02/04 09:43 PM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: Fourway]
Van Winkle is the best rye I ever tasted bar-none.
Fourway
02/03/04 02:14 AM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: theholymackerel]
have you tried a VanWinkle bourbon?
"Wine is Sunlight, Held Together By Water". --Galileo Galilei
theholymackerel
02/03/04 10:43 AM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: Fourway]
No, I haven't tried their Bourbon... should I?
Fourway
02/04/04 09:12 AM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: theholymackerel]
I suspect you'll like it better than Basil Hayden.
"Wine is Sunlight, Held Together By Water". --Galileo Galilei
BamBam
02/19/04 07:50 AM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: Fourway]
Here in the Northwest you can get a 12 year old single batch bourbon from Elijah Craig that's very good. I'm a bartender by trade with a very nice bourbon list and I agree that Maker's is for the masses and not the connoisseur.
"Rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal labotomy"
Bam Bam
Schluckebier
02/19/04 12:24 PM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: BamBam]
God, how sad it is to read about all this bourbon. Poor friends, dont You have any decent whisky over there?
theholymackerel
02/19/04 05:58 PM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: Schluckebier]
A good burbon is a hell-uv-a whiskey!
I'll drink most any type of whiskey 'cept for the super peaty scotches, but burbon will allways be my favorite mass produced whiskey.
Schluckebier
02/20/04 01:24 AM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: theholymackerel]
Well, it makes a decent grog when mixed with coke.
theholymackerel
02/20/04 12:55 PM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: Schluckebier]
Yer feelin's about bourbon have been noted... now back to our previously scheduled burbon disscussion...
Fourway
03/03/04 01:07 PM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: theholymackerel]
I think it would be easy to make the mistake of thinking that Bourbon was not "decent whisky" if all you'd had the chance to try was the really hugely mass produced stuff like Jim Beam.
(also technically Bourbon is not whisky it is whiskey)
Similarly one might not think much of scotch if all they'd ever tried was Scoresby's or Dunlivet.
"Wine is Sunlight, Held Together By Water". --Galileo Galilei
mogogear
03/12/04 10:17 PM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: Fourway]
Or Cutty.........................
Usequebae for me
mogogear
03/12/04 10:21 PM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: BamBam]
Hey Bam Bam,
Where are you- I'm here in Portland- Have you tried any of the Clear Creek spirits? I just noticed them the other day here in Portland and don't know if they have a decent scotch or Whiskey? Also mister barman, how is Hood River Distillery's - " Pendelton roundup" any good for a "well" type distillery?
mo
Usequebae for me
unclejesse
(member)
03/21/04 12:50 PM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: TNFrank]
bourbons: woodford estates, basil hayden. makers mark doesnt use rye, they use red american wheat. i like it but it's not the top of the line.
scotch: springbank, glenfarclas, ardbeg, caol ila, port ellen
just some recommendations. i've tried hundreds of whiskies.
It was the whisky talkin', not me.
TonyModerator
03/22/04 12:17 AM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: Fourway]
"Comes with a price tag" .... ay, but thats the luxury of making your own. Because I'm no longer paying store prices for my regular spirits, it means that i can put that cash aside, and save up for these beauties. Got a nice stash of bourbon & single malts to now sample. I can now actually start to tell them apart, and know what i do and dont like, and what I'd like more of.
Sample the best, and give yourself something to aim for.
No point trying to make something like Rebel yell, when you've had something actually decent. Gees - how do Bookers do it ? That depth of flavour, so smooth, etc. Thats where this thread should be going ... not what have i tried lately, but more of ... here's how i got pretty close myself by doing XXX then YYY.
Personally, I'm still messing with something close to scotch - trying essence's i've made from smoked peat and different malt grains, touched up with honey, pepper corns and sherry. Still got a LONG way to go, but it is already quite tasty.
Tony
unclejesse
03/22/04 08:32 AM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: Tony]
personally, I'd never consider using a flavoring adjunct, so I can't speak to that method of making a spirit. I have never produced a neutral spirit, it just doesn't appeal to me. I can, however, make american whiskies which rival top-shelf commercial offerings by taking careful cuts, considering my grain bill and mash-in carefully, and selecting the right oak casks for aging.
you can too with a lot of practice.
It was the whisky talkin', not me.
Fourway
03/23/04 07:06 AM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: unclejesse]
scottish peat smoked malt is widely available.
there are at least two American micro distilleries making a scotch style single malt whiskey from scottish smoked malt.
Only one of them is shipping product but word is it isn't half bad.
I would think it would be quite a bit simpler to start with smoked malt, make up some proper peat reek and stick it on bourbon barrel chips for a while than trying to formulate the flavor of scotch after the fact using extracts and whatnot.
Though in a way I guess it's a matter of personal predilection. What I enjoy is traditional process and the preservation and development of what is essentially a folk craft. I can see how the things I appreciate would be less interesting to someone more taken with the science/chemistry aspect of it.
"Wine is Sunlight, Held Together By Water". --Galileo Galilei
Blanchy
03/23/04 08:29 AM
Re: Finally got to try some Makers Mark. [re: Fourway]
I'm of course all over the chemistry side of things, but only as it helps me to make traditional spirits. The old timers had a lot of knowledge which is generally fully explained by science. Hell, these guys made beer before they knew what yeast was. I don't feel like I am cheating if I make a Belgian beer and use yeast and bacteria as opposed to opening it up at night and allowing the influence of the moon to start the fermentation.
I'm curious about what people have noticed during Scotch aging. I have a batch that is aging in a used whiskey barrel. I'm getting very little color from the barrel and may add a few oak chips to pick it up. I have also noticed that it seems to age slower than whiskey does. Part of the problem may be that when a scotch distillery uses a old whiskey barrel, it has fully dried and any adsorbed feints have probably evaporated out. I don't have the luxury of taking barrels apart and putting them back together, so there are probably a lot of whiskey feints in my scotch. Something that I will probably handle by adding a bit of homemade charcoal.
Chuck