Whiskey - what's your current favorite?


 
Jim...
The Angels Envy Rye finished in the Rum barrels was my favorite.

Yeah, it is really sweet and smooth (even though it is rye) and yummy. Almost like an after dinner drink.
 
Jim C nailed it on the wheat in the mash bill for makers. We drink a whole lot of Weller in this house. I was also blown away by the value of wild turkey rare breed rye. If my bar wasn't such a mess right now I'd post some photos.
 
I like a lot of different types. I like all of Jack daniels (regular, fire, honey). I have recently tried makers mark and I thought that was really good and not terribly expensive. And our local brewery (Southern Tier) has recently gotten into the liquor game and there stuff is fantastic in my opinion.
 
Jeff Boudman said:
Have you tried the Makers 101 or Cask Strength? Same mash bill but different proofs. They’re both really good!
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Jeff, I love the cask strength! When we toured the distillery they were test marketing it and we bought 2 bottles and I have been hooked ever since! I keep two or three in stock in case of emergencies! 😂 Seriously, if you buy cask strength drink it at home! It will sneak up on you!
 
Jim C in Denver said:
The distinctive thing about Makers isn't the amount of corn. It is that they use wheat rather than rye as the bourbon's so-called "flavoring grain". Hence, Makers is a "wheater." Smooth and sweet. The most famous and expensive bourbon around is Pappy Van Winkle -- which is a wheater like Makers. If you are interested, more details below.

Maker's mash bill is 70% corn, 14% barley and 16% winter wheat. Wild Turkey 101's recipe (more standard for bourbon) is 75% corn, 14% barley and 13% rye. Even though WT101 uses more corn than Makers, it is a slap in the face to drink. Rye gives bourbon its spicy bite (think rye bread). Use enough rye and eventually you cross over the line from bourbon into rye whiskey. Barley, fyi, has no effect on taste. It just makes the chemical process work.

Wheat is actually a bland blank taste (white bread). So the smooth sweetness you get from Makers is from the absence of the rye spice/bite, and from having the sweet flavors coming from the barrel aging fill up the empty space. The reason why Pappy is so prized and crazy expensive is that it is aged a looong time -- 12, 15, 20, 23 years. All that time lets the vanilla and caramel barrel flavors really develop strongly.

I haven't tried the Makers 101. I really like the Makers 46, which is only a couple of bucks more than the regular. Slightly higher proof, and they do some extra wood aging to amp up the barrel taste. It is my sipping bourbon, with WT being for Manhattans.
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Jim, outstanding summary! Thanks! You should try their cask strength. It has a tendency to slap you in a different way than the rye’s you mentioned. I have been fortunate enough to have some Pappy and didn’t even include that is this discussion since it is so tough to find. I will never forget the first time I tasted Pappy 12 yo. The strong caramel and vanilla still hangs with me. I didn’t believe everything I heard about it until I put my nose over the glass!!!
 
Jim C in Denver said:
The distinctive thing about Makers isn't the amount of corn. It is that they use wheat rather than rye as the bourbon's so-called "flavoring grain". Hence, Makers is a "wheater." Smooth and sweet. The most famous and expensive bourbon around is Pappy Van Winkle -- which is a wheater like Makers. If you are interested, more details below.

Maker's mash bill is 70% corn, 14% barley and 16% winter wheat. Wild Turkey 101's recipe (more standard for bourbon) is 75% corn, 14% barley and 13% rye. Even though WT101 uses more corn than Makers, it is a slap in the face to drink. Rye gives bourbon its spicy bite (think rye bread). Use enough rye and eventually you cross over the line from bourbon into rye whiskey. Barley, fyi, has no effect on taste. It just makes the chemical process work.

Wheat is actually a bland blank taste (white bread). So the smooth sweetness you get from Makers is from the absence of the rye spice/bite, and from having the sweet flavors coming from the barrel aging fill up the empty space. The reason why Pappy is so prized and crazy expensive is that it is aged a looong time -- 12, 15, 20, 23 years. All that time lets the vanilla and caramel barrel flavors really develop strongly.

I haven't tried the Makers 101. I really like the Makers 46, which is only a couple of bucks more than the regular. Slightly higher proof, and they do some extra wood aging to amp up the barrel taste. It is my sipping bourbon, with WT being for Manhattans.
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Nice write up Jim - I've learned what I like by drinking.... now I know what I like and why, and what rye does in terms of flavor! Thank you. Lots of Makers fans here for good reason - it's a really nice bourbon. WT101 is good, but I only like it poured over a ton of ice.
 
I enjoy angels envy bourbon for sipping neat or on ice.

My summer drink of choice is Johnnie walker black with ice water. Basically a double shot in a 14 Oz beer glass full of ice topped with water. It's almost like unsweetened ice tea.
 

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I’ve been enjoying Glenfiddich fire and cane. Nice smokiness.

For drinking, I like Woodford Reserve. For mixing, I’ll use Jim Beam.
 
I enjoy a glass of Powers Irish Whiskey.

My daughter works at local liquor store - guy came in and asked for a particular scotch that was priced at $600 a bottle. He bought 3 of them.
 
I like a lot of the different expressions from the different makers. My current favorites are:
Beam - OGD114
WT - RR10 or RR SiB. Haven’t seen RR13 yet to try
4R - ANYTHING
Dont see much from BT or HH by me locally though currently enjoying Sazerac Rye.
 
That's a loaded question. We have at least 75 bottles in our bunker, so it depends on our mood.

I'm a bourbon & rye guy, with the occasional drink of Scotch. The Missus likes rye whiskey.

Sometimes Islay peat bombs, (Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Lagavulin, sometimes not, (Balblair, Cragganmore)

There are just too many to choose from.

My desert-island whiskey would be Wild Turkey 101.
 
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