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Bourbon hype?

CigarStone

CigarStone

For once, knowledge is making me poor!
Joined
Mar 7, 2007
Messages
11,763
As a rookie in the world of bourbon/whiskey, I am curious what I should look for when I have an opportunity to try the bourbons that people covet? Having just bought a couple bottles of Buffalo Trace, and yet to taste it, I am curious what the hype is. And with other coveted things like Blantons.

Is it smoother?

Is it a more rewarding flavor?

How much of it is hype?

For example, with vodka, you will hear people rant and rave over thier high end vodka but if you do a blind tastes test, most will choose Smirnoff as often as the stuff that is double or triple the price.
 
Welcome to the world of Whiskey. There is a lot to cover there in your question. First there are five ways to drink whiskey. 1) Mixed Drinks 2) On the Rocks 3) With Water 4) Neat 5) There’s only one correct way to drink whiskey. ( HOW EVER YOU ENJOY IT !! ) I can get into specifics and how that all works if you would like. Now as far as what defines bourbon if you are interested in knowing that i will be more then happy to explain that as well. Now to your posts question is the hunted bourbon worth the hype? That’s a yes/no answer. Some of the hunted bottles of juice are well worth the hype for special and/or specific personal reasons. Such as for special occasions or just want to have cool collections etc. As a proffesional whiskey consultant I can tell you that most of the hunted bottles actual liquid gold inside can and is usually not as good as some bottles of much much less costs. Most of the hunted bottles are usually of the same mash bills as a lot of the distillery’s other whiskeys sold. It just comes down to what barrels and where they’re located in the Rick house that the different nectars are picked from and how long they age. What influences the weather and sun and materials used in the Rick house. All those factors change the flavor profiles. In the end the flavors that YOU enjoy. You being the key is what makes it a great bottle. A lot of whiskey sold today are just labels placed on a bottle that’s distilled by another large company. Lower proof whiskeys will tend to usually have less defined flavor and nose profiles due to the whiskeys being diluted to drop the proof down. The higher or barrel proof whiskeys will have a lot more complex tasting and nose notes. The longer you drink the easier it is to notice those profiles. In the same sense as cigars. Going from Maduro wrapped sticks for a long period of time and then switching to a lighter shaded Connecticut wrapper you will notice a lot more flavors in the cigar. Weird but factual info there lol. Same principle applies to whiskeys. You may enjoy a rye whiskey or perhaps you like a sweeter bottle which would lend you towards a wheated bourbon. Or maybe you like a mixture of the sweet with the spice of a rye and you choose one with a little higher rye count in the mash bill. The strains of yeast used with the fermentation process can also change flavor profiles. It’s not just a science it’s an art form just like cigars. I hope that this helps answer your questions. If you want anything more specifically answered please let me know. I’m happy to share knowledge and learn from others that is what the fun of whiskey and cigars is truly about, slowing time to enjoy life and learn from others.
 
It's no different than cigars. Some hyped bourbons are worth it, most aren't. They're are plenty of very good, always avaliable, top notch bourbon that don't require waiting in stupid lines, entering raffles, and paying insane prices.

If you enjoy the "chase" go for it. If you just want good solid bourbon to drink, no reason to hunt unicorns.

Oh.. and Blantons.... I have no idea why the hype outside of the bottle topper (and it's John Wick's drink of choice )
 
Well the hype on Blantons comes from the original use and release of it. The origin of Blantons was that Col. Blanton was actually a great self taught chef. He loves to have extravagant dinners with influential and political figures. He would go into the Rick house H and hand pick what he believed to be the “ Honey Barrels” he would have each barrel then put into single batches for each barrel. Thus becoming the first single barrel whiskey that was recorded at least. He would use those special bottles for his dinner parties to shall we say grease the wheels of the politicians and dignitaries at his dinner parties. In 1994 Elmer T. Lee was set to bring out something special for the whiskey world that was still trying to recover from the younger generation whom preferred white spirits like vodka and rum etc. This release was the first special and “ High End” whiskey to ever hit shelf’s. It soon became a go too whiskey that the anybody and everybody who wanted to be a who’s who would purchase. Thus beginning this new trend we see today. By the 2000’s we got MySpace and then Facebook. We then got special groups on these platforms and everybody was on them. We then started to see Whiskey and especially Bourbon begin to be popular and people started making whiskey groups. From there people would say they can’t find this or that and others would say I have that and then sell the bottles for more money. It became a trend and people would raid the shelves thus making things become scarce. It also wasn’t something the distilleries weren’t planning for so there was limited supplies. No matter what has been tried you just can’t cheat time to age. This hype and rush to raid shelves ans sell for more money started what we call the secondary market. I can go more in depth on that if anyone wants to know. So in short lmao Blantons was the original high end special single barrel release and well that bottle is bad ass. The fancy cork topper then developed in the fancy marketing trick of placing the letters to spell out Blantons thus making it a Easter egg hunters game. All of this contributes and constructed the hype and drama that surrounds Blanton’s. Is the juice worth the price ? In short No at least not for me. If I find a bottle at reasonable price. Bet your ass I’ll buy it for the fun of it.
 
Yeah, most bourbon has an interesting, albeit largely fabricated, backstory.

Blantons is a $30 whiskey, in a $60 bottle, that places try to charge $150+ for it.

I don't get in to packaging, Easter eggs, fake rarity, etc. Give me solid bourbon, at a good price, that I can find most any time I want a bottle. I.e. Rare Breed, 4 Roses Small Batch Select, Russell SiB, ECBP, etc
 
I was introduced to bourbon at age 15 but really didn't consume it much until I was nearly 16.
During my Jr. & Sr. years in high school we would go down the road from our school every morning to the 7-11, we would each purchase a large ICEE, lop off the top, pour in as much Wild Turkey 101 as we could get in there, and drink the whole thing before 1st hour class.
They didn't call it 'high' school for nuthin.
Now days I'm content with Makers Mark; that's all I need, in a decent quality bourbon.
 
Makers Mark has and will always be my favorite wheated bourbon. They have special selections as well as standard and cask strength and other special bottles always available everywhere and always at a consistently low price in comparison to the quality of the bourbon!! Elijah Craig is another top notch quality bourbon albeit some of the barrel proof batches can be worth a lot more then others. I mean I had a bottle worth only $60 last month and week later another bottle proof that’s batch number was worth $249. Yes it’s overpriced a bit but was way way better then the last batch and I would have paid $120 for it all day long. Eagle Rare another $30 bottle but costs $100-120 these days or higher. Is it a great daily drink? Yes. Worth the $100-120 price. Not to me but hey if you haven’t had it or collect ans it’s worth that price to you then go for it.
 
Scap said:
Spec's carries it in Houston.
Click to expand...
I think I’m gonna pass on that drive lol. Made a lot of money over the years in Houston but I still ain’t a fan of the place lol. I’ll see if the supplier can get it in here to try it out
 
Anyone else have any other suggestions? I’m always interested to hear what other people are liking these days. It’s the fun part of my job.
 
I live for the peat reak. Ardbeg an oa has been a go to for me. Laphroaig Quarter Cask or if I'm looking for less Islay. Oban 14yr, Glenmorangie quinta ruban.
 
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Glenlivet, Balvenie, Cardhu, are all very good and relatively easy to find scotches. JD Single Barrel, MM 46 are very good and easy to find, Have fun and enjoy your searching. And I know those are not bourbons
 
All good whiskeys. And the MM 46 is actually a bourbon by all legal definitions it is a wheated bourbon due to its Mash bill but still a bourbon and one that always is in my cabinet. All the scotches mentioned are all great as well. I find myself more towards the Islay scotches as they’re more note forward and robust flavor profiles but that’s due to the fact I’m more of a higher proof bourbon guy. For work however I have to suggest many options to clients.
 
Have you had the Bruichladdich Octomore? Very complex and intense. I purchased the 10.1 and it was very heavy peat, iodine and salt spray.
 
No sir but that is on the order already lol. But I love the history of the Bruicladdich distillery. It’s scotches are all great to my palate anyways
 
Cotton Hollow and Belle Meade have been past favorites, too.
 
A few others worth mentioning. Angels Envy, Smoke Wagon, Heaven Hill Bib, Basil Hayden
 
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