Pappy Van Winkle

It has been a while since I posted something so I thought I would put up a short bourbon review. The poll ended with a majority of votes for bourbon and scotch, so I think those will be the whiskeys I review the most. This review will be about the best bourbon on the market. I don't think it is the best for price, but the best tasting. This mysterious bourbon goes by the name Pappy Van Winkle.

Most people I know have never heard of Pappy or even the Rip Van Winkle name. I can understand this seeing as it costs about $70-$100 depending on the age. This is expensive for bourbon just in case you were wondering. Last time I checked Van Winkle products are distilled in the Buffalo trace distillery, but the bourbon is nothing like Buffalo trace and shouldn't even be considered an affiliate. Pappy Van Winkle is the smoothest, richest bourbon on the market and offers the age and flavor that other bourbons just don't have. Before trying Pappy Van Winkle 20yr and 15yr I didn't think bourbons were capable of achieving the complexities of Scotch. I thought they were all harsh, hard hitting whiskeys that were only there to get you hammered(something like how I view Canadian whiskey now). I can now safely say I was wrong and Pappy Van Winkle is what changed my mind. The !5, 20, and 23 year models all offer a wood like taste that only comes from aging in a barrel for close to two decades. (I have never had the 23 myself, but can assume it gets better as it ages) Other bourbons don't usually age this long so it is common to think that only Scotch has the sophisticated aged flavor :D This mentality will be changed after the first glass of Pappy Van Winkle.

You will also notice that Pappy keeps all of the things you like most about bourbon so it won't be too big of a jump. It will keep the spicy, kick in the pants flavors while still going down smooth. Or to put it another way, it will taste nice without giving you whiskey face. Oh, did I mention how sweet it is, because it has the perfect amount of sweetness too? It's not an artificial sweet like with Ten High and other cheap bourbons, but more of a natural sweetness from the grains. All of these flavors combined makes Pappy Van Winkle one of the best whiskeys on the market, not just bourbons, but whiskeys. It can easily stand its own against high priced Scotches, but diverges from that peaty soft taste to give you the powerful bourbon flavor. This is why I think it is so good. It is the only bourbon in it's class, so it is the only great whiskey that can compete with the aged scotches. If you are looking for the perfect bourbon and are not worried about price, you can't lose with Pappy Van Winkle 15, 20, or 23. Once you try this bourbon, you will never find a bourbon anywhere near as good.

I would like to apologize in advance for this being poorly written, it's late and I don't really have the time to look it over.

Christmas Whiskeys

With the holiday season approaching I though I would make a post about some of the whisk(e)ys that make good gifts. The first on my list is the phenomenal Pappy Van Winkle 15yr and 20yr. This is probably the most high class bourbon you can purchase and it is well worth the price. It's unbelievably smooth and has a great sweet taste along with a strong wood flavor. I would assume the wood taste comes from sitting in oak barrels for 15 or 20 years and it is well worth the wait because this bourbon receives my highest ranking. I think it is the one bourbon worth the hefty price tag. If you get this for a whiskey aficionado, they will not be disappointed, I will personally guarentee it. If they don't like it, I will buy the rest of the bottle from them. 

The other bourbon I recommend with a cheaper price tag is Woodford  reserve. This is actually one of the best bourbons for a moderate price. I know people that actually consider this the best bourbon around, period. I would be inclined to agree, but I am a sucker for the oak barrel taste that Pappy brings to the table. That being said you can pick up a 12yr Van Winkle for a little more than Woodford and still get the premium Van Winkle taste; however, if you are really looking to save and want a fantastic bourbon, you can't go wrong with Woodford.

For those of you that have friends hooked on Islay malt scotch, I would recommend Ardbeg nam beist. It is one of the peatiest malt scotches I have ever had and it goes down, oh, so smooth. Laphroaig and Glenlivet scotches are also good, but chances are a person who loves peaty scotches has already had these. Ardbeg comes in a few different year varients that differ significantly in price. The nam beist (16y) fetches about $70a bottle, and the normal Ardbeg(10y) comes in at about $50. I have only had the older one and I can safely say it is well worth the money. I know some others who have had the younger one and say that it is comparable to Laphroaig, which makes it a good whiskey as well, but not quite as good as its older brother.

Well those are the best gifts I can think of at the moment, feel free to comment on any you would recommend.

Where's Whiskey

I have hidden a handle of Ten High in this Where's Waldo picture. Can you find it? Plus two points if you can find Waldo.


Hint: It's really small

Cheap Alternatives

I have been reading a lot of comments about people looking for cheaper alternatives to the go-to popular whiskeys. So I decided to make a post about a few of the ones that I recommend to most people. I know that I already spoke of the huge savings you get when switching to Ten High, but this post is going to be about cheap bourbons that you can drink straight, not ones that are cheap mixing whiskeys. The whiskeys I am talking about replacing are going to be the popular bourbons, there are alternatives to popular brands of other whisk(e)ys, but I will save this task for other posts. Right now I will focus on replacing bourbons like Jack Daniels, Wild Turkey, and Jim Beam. These are the whiskeys you hear advertised everywhere and sang about in songs. All of this coverage has made them them synonymous with the word whiskey itself. Kind of like Kleenex for tissue paper. Just because people say pick me up a bottle of Jack instead of a bottle of whiskey doesn't really mean that you should be going out and buying a bottle of Jack Daniels. There are some people who really do enjoy the unique tastes of these specific  bourbons, but for the most part a lot of people wouldn't really care if the taste of their whiskey changed slightly. If it was about producing the same exact taste for a lesser price, then these whiskeys might not compare; however, most people aren't so picky that they won't drink anything without that trademark charred flavor that Jack Daniels has. I personally love this flavor, but it isn't enough to warrant me spending the extra $10 per bottle. There are other unique tastes in other whiskeys that are fantastic and cost a fraction of the price.

The first replacement whiskey that comes to mind is Fighting Cock. It is about $18 a bottle and has a flavor that will immediately remind you of Wild Turkey. It will have the same nice kick from the 103 proof and the nice spicy notes as well. Switching from Wild Turkey to this should be seamless, I know I was able to do this and Wild Turkey was my favorite/go-to whiskey for a while. The Replacement I would recommend for something like Jack Daniels is Old Forester. The first thing I would like to bring up is that these whiskeys do not have the same taste. Jack is a Tennessee with a charred taste and Old Forester is just a plain bourbon. If you're not attached to Jack's signature flavor though, this is an option that can save you some money and still taste fantastic. It's only slightly cheaper at about $20 a bottle, but the savings will buy you another bottle after four purchases. I can't really explain how great this bourbon is for the price, all I can say is that you will be pleasantly surprised that a bourbon this cheap tastes just as good as any mid to top shelf bourbon. Ezra Books is also another cheap bourbon that could replace your current popular brand. It is also the cheapest of the ones I have suggested. I haven't checked in a while, but I believe you could get a handle of Ezra for the price of a bottle of Jack. It is definitely worth checking out considering it has a decent flavor, worthy of sipping, and is a fraction of the price.

I know I listed Jim Beam in this post, but as you already know it is pretty cheap. I just listed it because people seem to think that it's the only cheap alternative. So even though you won't save a lot switching from Jim Beam to one of these whiskeys you can at least get a different flavor. I hope this post helped some of you looking to save a little money on your whiskey purchases. I will probably do one on mixing whiskeys soon.

Poll is up

Hey guys, I put up a poll about favorite whiskeys/whiskies. Vote, so I can know what to review next and feel free to explain your vote here in the comments section.