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No Nonsense Whisky

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By @NNWhisky @NNWhisky on 1st Mar 2017, show post

Replies: page 2/6

@OdysseusUnbound

@Ol_Jas Definitely agree. I don't correct anyone unless they ask me. I would never say "ACKSHUALLY, it's pronounced 'Oban' rhymes with 'open'". I was tempted to, simply because this particular server threw a ton of attitude at me when she said "oh-BAAAAN" (rhymes with Dan). The service was terrible, the whisky was terrible, and worst of all, my steak was horrible. I will never go back to that restaurant. As far as pronunciations, Brian Cox did a YouTube series on whisky pronunciation, and Ralfy reviews are always a good ressource. I can't be too snobby about pronunciation, since I spent years telling people how much I like "IZZ-lay" whiskies. flushed

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Robert99
Robert99 replied

@OdysseusUnbound When I read on the Box of the modest Te Bheag how I was supposed to pronounce it, I decided I would do my best but will be really easy on me when I am mistaking. Those name are fun to learn and should remain, like the whiskies they are naming, a source of fun and pleasure.

6 years ago 2Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound

@Robert99 Té Bheag is a very good whisky. Don't let the low price fool you. It's quite often found in my liquor cabinet.

6 years ago 0

@Robert99
Robert99 replied

@OdysseusUnbound I am not saying the opposite although there is a note I have problem with, I was simply saying that I would have nver guest the Te Bheag should be pronounced Ce Vek. Maybe I should try it again. Glenmorangie had, for a few years a note I disliked in all of there expressions, a note that was note there like 5 years ago abd seems to have disappeared from there recents expressions. Maybe I was not lucky with Te Bheag. I would certainly say that it has a lot of character for its price.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@NNWhisky
NNWhisky replied

Hi Folks, Seen as my last series on Japanese whisky went down well, I've decided to do another series. This time I'm taking a look at American whiskey. Here is the first episode where I take a look at the dram that was my turning point for bourbon, Four Roses Small Batch

6 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor replied

@NNWhisky, thanks for a very nicely done review. Your presenation style is very pleasant and engaging, and you show the warmth of your enthusiasm for the whiskey. I also like the very discreet piano music in the background.

A few other points: 1) STRAIGHT BOURBON can legally have no additives; Bourbon not labeled STRAIGHT can have small amounts of additives. The quality standards for straight bourbon in general are much much higher than for the general category of "bourbon", e.g. there is NO set minimum aging requirement in the barrel for the general category of "bourbon". Purists like me always want the bourbons I consume to be "straight", and don't want a whisk(e)y to contain any additives, 2) there is ALWAYS a "flavoring grain" in bourbon, which is almost always either rye (95% of the time) or wheat (5% of the time). Some distilleries sometimes play with using both wheat and rye, but those grains often clash with each other, and that experiment fails more often than succeeds, in my book. An American whiskey with 80+% corn content is by law supposed to be called "corn whiskey" and never bourbon...though George Dickel Tennessee whisky (yes, they choose to omit the "e" at Dickel, since before the Diageo-ownership days) sells their Tennessee whisky at about 84% corn content and still calls it Tennessee whisky, which is an amorphous term now really boiling down to a 'terroir' statement only, Malted barley in bourbon, usually 5-15% is always for the enzymes and really can never be tasted because the new oak flaovurs and rye (or wheat) flavours are so much stronger than are the flavours of both barley and corn, 3) while Kentucky makes by volume 95+% of the bourbon, don't get too hung up on Kentucky as the source of bourbon. Anywhere in the USA is OK for bourbon-making, and many fine ones are made in other states, including big producers like MGPI in Indiana, medium size distilleries like A. Smith Bowman in Virginia, and hundreds of microdistillers who have become active in the last 10 years, 4) hold off on calling US rye "bitter" until you have tried a few more and better of them. Rye should not be bitter. Spicy, yes; fruity, maybe. Bitter, possibly, but that is not the way it should be in my.book, nor the way it usually is in the US. Much more bitterness tends to be present in Canadian (genuine rye-grain) ryes. It could be the rye grain grown in Canada, and it could often also be overused used oak barrels that contribute the bitterness. Drink some Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Straight Rye whiskey to get the idea of the ideal taste of rye whiskey. There are other excellent rye prototypes availabe to try, like the Alberta Canadian distillate US straight ryes WhistlePig and Masterson's. Much more available in the UK should be Rittenhouse Rye and Knob Creek Rye as typical US straight ryes.

6 years ago 2Who liked this?

@NNWhisky
NNWhisky replied

@Victor thanks for that! Bourbon is a bit of minefield for newbies with the vast amount of regs involved. But I consider my whisky education to be just beginning so happy to get info. Hopefully this little series of mine will nudge me bit further down the line as I have genuinely never tried some of the samples on offer

6 years ago 0

@OdysseusUnbound

Perhaps I'm just not picky enough, but I haven't met a bourbon I didn't like yet. I like some better than others, but they're all fairly decent. But then, I admit to not paying as much attention to bourbon as I do to scotch.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@NNWhisky
NNWhisky replied

@OdysseusUnbound there's a couple of the basic ones I'm not keen on but, like you say, don't dislike them.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

@OdysseusUnbound

There are three kinds of whiskies. Exceptional ones that make you take notice, good ones that may or may not be forgettable, and really awful ones (JW Red, Lambertus, Turv Exloo, and in my opinion, CRNHR).

I have had a few exceptional bourbons (BTAC, Booker's, OGD 114, etc...) and a few good ones, but I've never had a bourbon that made me gag...

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@NNWhisky
NNWhisky replied

Hi All, seen as this new series of mine is a touch longer than others I am attempting to get out two videos a week for the next month or so. Episode 2 of my American whiskey series is Basil Hayden's bourbon

6 years ago 0

@Pete1969
Pete1969 replied

@NNWhisky I would probably branched out a little more Vin and gone for Bakers or Bookers as a major step up in quality. The Basil Hayden is one of the weaker Beam products and would put Knob Creek as a preference over it and is a few quid less normally.

Online shops are my go to for bourbon in U.K but Asda and Tesco are starting to stock a wider range. My local Asda in Lancashire has an ever increasing selection and now stocks a variety of Beam products mostly the crappy flavoured stuff but they do have Knob Creek, double oak, white label and rye. I would only recommend the White label as a mixer and have yet to try the rye but enjoy both the others.

Hope the channel becomes a success.

6 years ago 0

@NNWhisky
NNWhisky replied

@Pete1969 cheers for the feedback Pete. This little mini series is more a 'stuff I have' series than a wish list of Bourbon. I'll be getting on to the stuff you mentioned as soon as possible but sadly not in this series. Keep watching, I've got some class stuff coming up :D

6 years ago 0

@NNWhisky
NNWhisky replied

Episode 3 is FEW Rye. I call it a touch expensive for what it is, but it's much smoother than some ryes I've tried recently.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@NNWhisky
NNWhisky replied

This one is a right monster. Probably the highest abv I've tried in a whisky at 69.05%. The George T Stagg 2014 from the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection

6 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

@NNWhisky I tried this a few months after it was released in Ontario when we had a BTAC party and pooled the three CS bottles we scored. It was excellent, but my absolute favourite of the (I think) 3 that I've tried was the 2010 release.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@NNWhisky
NNWhisky replied

@Nozinan Nice! I was a bit late to the game with bourbon having only really explored it in the last year or so. I consider myself quite lucky to have tried the ones from the BTAC range that I have already!

6 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor replied

N.B. Bourbonr has a nice chart for the Buffalo Trace mash bills. To the best of my information, this chart is correct:

bourbonr.com/blog/…

As you can see George T. Stagg is from Buffalo Trace Mash Bill # 1, which is actually a very low rye-content mash bill. Stagg gets almost all of its flavours from the new oak aging, including an enormous amount of spice. Since both new oak aging and rye grain are until recently alien to UK whisky culture it is worth noting that both new oak and rye generate a lot of spices, particularly when the whiskey has been aged a long period of time, say, more than 10 years. There are subtle differences in those spices. I am sure you can find wood spices in your William Larue Weller, as you would in any Van Winkle bourbon, both of which contain no rye grain.

Be careful in your description around 1:20 of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection whiskeys. 1) only 3 of the 5 are 'uncut', with the other two at 45% abv, 2) it would be good to affirm that Thomas H. Handy is a rye whiskey because true noobies will not necessarily know that the word Sazerac after Thomas H. Handy connotes a rye whiskey, and 3) the Eagle Rare included is the 17 year old, which might generate confusion in a true noobie, because the Eagle Rare 10 yo is still available for purchase, including in the UK.

My best suggestion to you to obtain more George T. Stagg to drink is to find UK residents who own a bottle and offer them a sample swap of some equally rare or expensive stuff of your own. I'll bet many who would not give up a bottle would trade a sample for something that they would like to experience.

I've tasted all of the Staggs starting with 2010, and reviewed most of those. 2010 is my top favourite among those. My own bottle of 2010 release George T. Stagg is long gone now, but my sister still has about 150 ml remaining of hers. That was the one about which Jim Murray commented in his Jim Murray's Whisky Bible that he spent 4 hours compiling tasting notes. All of the releases are wonderful, though 2013 was clearly a much lesser year than average. Even the 2013, though, became fabulous after it took a lot of air time.

I almost never put water in my whiskey, but I can tell you that I sometimes make an exception for George T. Stagg. Fabulous flavours evolve with just 2 drops of water. In some cases, e.g. with the 2011 release, I preferred the effect with a little water. 2012 is great with or without water. If you want some more George T. Stagg badly enough I expect that you will eventually obtain some.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@NNWhisky
NNWhisky replied

@Victor Thanks for that Victor. I try to make it clear that I'm no expert on most of my videos as I'm bound to get the odd thing wrong. I've never tried the THH, SR or ER from the BTAC range so genuinely had no idea 2 were reduced abv. I'm really enjoying my new exploration of bourbons and I enjoy getting lots of information from folk like yourself who are watching the videos. Cheers

6 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor replied

@NNWhisky, my sympathies are completely with you. Your reputation as a blogger is attached to the accuracy of what you write. We all start out with limited knowledge. I point these things out to you mostly because I am painfully aware of a few mistakes I made in some of my own earlier reviews. I wish I could take them back and correct them, but the internet is forever. It is easier to do more grunt work up front and make sure about the accuracy of each and every one of the items of information which you report within each review...than it is to regret, repeatedly over many years, "I wish I had never written that." Keep on truckin'!

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

@Victor It's not like he was whining about the media covfefe....

(with respect to the internet being forever...)

By the way, I've had to edit this quickly written post 5 times, so some things are not forever...

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Victor
Victor replied

@newreverie, yep, my Balcones True Blue review was the low point of misinformation for me. It would have helped, of course, if Balcones had said anything on the bottle about aging. They did not.

6 years ago 0

@newreverie
newreverie replied

@Victor It has only been recently that they've built up their inventory to the point of releasing Age stated Straight Bourbons and whiskey. 2 years is a long time in the Texas heat.

6 years ago 0

@NNWhisky
NNWhisky replied

Everyone's heard of this one right?

6 years ago 0

@NNWhisky
NNWhisky replied

Here's one I doubt many of you will have heard of, let alone tried. The TX Blended Whiskey is made by Texas craft distillery Firestone & Robertson and has a smooth, vanilla, easy to drink profile. Definitely one for your radars!

6 years ago 0

@NNWhisky
NNWhisky replied

This was my first experience of a Balcones expression and I shall certainly be on the look out for more. I'm not sure what difference blue corn actually makes but it's certainly an interesting dram

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@BlueNote
BlueNote replied

Nice music, but just a wee bit too loud to be background. Otherwise, nice short, snappy reviews. Cheers

6 years ago 0

@NNWhisky
NNWhisky replied

@BlueNote thanks for the the feedback. I think I may have forgotten to up the volume on my vocal track this time around.

6 years ago 0

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