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Official PCF Whisk(e)y Thread (72 Viewers)

Whiskey is my guilty hobby. I've loved the smell of Tennessee whiskey and bourbon ever since my first whiffs. And they taste great too. But whiskey is consumed, and empty bottles are pretty worthless.

My other two hobbies are board games and poker chips. Those are easier on the wallet, because with smart purchasing, you are renting everything you own and getting your money back or more when you're done.
 
mattross1313 said:
I keep reading this thread and figure it is high time I made post in it! Seems like folks know what they are talking about here!

I've only tried whiskey a few times, but I think they were very 'peaty' and I found them quite harsh. I recently tried Monkey Shoulder too but again wasn't a huge fan. I see there are Bourbons, Rye, Single Malt etc etc. Is there a more 'beginner' whiskey I can start with, or maybe just something no so peaty.

Or should I just stick to other drinks as I'm clearly not man enough for whiskey? :LOL: :laugh:
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I think it is really hard to define a "beginner's" whisky. The reason I say that is that I've seen people getting into Scotch Single Malts through several different ways. Some of my friends had Lagavulin 16 as their first Single Malt and love it. Some had a Glendronach 15 (sherried) and loved it. Some started with the traditional Glenfidich 12 and like it also. But for every love/like with those bottles, I had "nah, not for me" as well.

One of the mistakes (imo only) some people make is to point to lighter, less flavorful Single Malts as an entry point. The issue with that is there is no palpable flavor for the drinker to focus on. Whereas with a peated or sherried whiskies, that hook is there.

For Bourbon drinkers, I ALWAYS recommend something bold as they are used to that flavor punch. That is not your case, I know. So I would keep trying different styles if you really want to start enjoying whiskies.

I think more than a bottle to recommend, I would recommend changing the way you're drinking. Try taking smaller sips and keeping the whisky in your mouth for maybe 10+ seconds before swallowing. Pay attention not only to the taste of the whisky while in your mouth but also after you swallow it. The taste it leaves in your mouth and see if that is pleasant to you.

I've been drinking Scotch/Bourbon since my young years but it wasn't until maybe 10 years ago it really hit me as a passion. I couldn't believe in years of drinking I had never paid attention to any of the actually flavors.

Anyways, I hope that helps.
 
Okay this is going to sound bad and odd. My journey began with the SoCo lime shots, then to Irish whisky. I think I have this correct that the first one I truly enjoyed was Stranahans. Then one random late night at a bar someone was waxing poetic about this bottle and how amazing it was. I asked the bartender to pour me a half pour to try, as the other guys had bought the remainder of the bottle, so he did then the bartender chugged the last drops out of the bottle. I would later become familiar with said bottle through this thread. Then @jbutler started this thread and I studied the thread (I studied every thread back then and read every post) my curiosity was piqued and I studied more on my own. Still haven’t really jumped into the scotch side of things but have tried a few.
 
joeyshin said:
im cheezin so hard right now!!
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Two are yours and on their way.

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kmccormick100 said:
Well, bit of a trek, but maybe you can make it over for a meetup one of these days, we've been known to crack some good bottles haha
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Lol! True but my brother and sister live in Berkeley and Davis respectively so pre Covid I was in those areas a lot. Plus I have some craft beer with ties to the N. Cali breweries not too far from Concord. All to say making a game and drinking bourbon should not be to hard.
 
Going to try not to spam the thread. But, I took about 20 pictures at the liquor store of new bourbon, or bourbon that I think is new. My goal is to identify the good stuff without having to buy every bottle and try it myself. Online reviews are pretty useless. Anybody know *anything* about *any* of these?
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FDLmold said:
Going to try not to spam the thread. But, I took about 20 pictures at the liquor store of new bourbon, or bourbon that I think is new. My goal is to identify the good stuff without having to buy every bottle and try it myself. Online reviews are pretty useless. Anybody know *anything* about *any* of these?
View attachment 544595View attachment 544596View attachment 544597View attachment 544598View attachment 544599View attachment 544600View attachment 544601View attachment 544602
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Tried a couple of the Balcones and they’re not that great. Side by side with comparably priced whiskey they’re just a bit too rough.
 
Darson said:
Tried a couple of the Balcones and they’re not that great. Side by side with comparably priced whiskey they’re just a bit too rough.
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That's my default opinion on all the "new in the last 5 years" bourbons, until I hear otherwise from people I trust. That's why I posted here. I figure good taste in poker chips is going to correlate a fair amount to good taste in whiskey.

It is inevitable that bourbon is going to see a glut of below average new releases. In the last 10-15 years, anybody watching bourbon has seen it explode, but you can't enter the market immediately. You gotta invest, then mash, ferment, distill, and *age*. You make zero dollars. For a long time. And it doesn't matter how good your stuff is, you have to release it when it's ready so you can get some $$ back. The financial pressure, from banks or investors, has got to be significant for a lot of these startups.

But, I'm hopeful that one of these noobies catches some lightning in a bottle. And I hope I or somebody here notices it. And that I can get a bottle or two onto my shelf before some high roller drives into town and buys it all.
 
FDLmold said:
Going to try not to spam the thread. But, I took about 20 pictures at the liquor store of new bourbon, or bourbon that I think is new. My goal is to identify the good stuff without having to buy every bottle and try it myself. Online reviews are pretty useless. Anybody know *anything* about *any* of these?
View attachment 544595View attachment 544596View attachment 544597View attachment 544598View attachment 544599View attachment 544600View attachment 544601View attachment 544602
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I have not tried any of those but I will say that of all the new distillers I have tried, none have been remarkable. That’s not to say you shouldn’t try them though.
 
So I vegged out tonight, did a bunch of research. Looks like these three are certainly worth trying.

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FDLmold said:
So I vegged out tonight, did a bunch of research. Looks like these three are certainly worth trying.

View attachment 544761
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I like the Balcones "1", but it is a Single Malt, so very different from Bourbons. Not cheap either, around $75 I believe. The RH is okay to me but pricey. The Rossville Rye is good and it is an MGP own bottling. They were supposed to be better than the ones just sourced from MGP but are just on par.

Now, you mentioned Bourbons but the three options you listed are Single Malt, Sherry Finished Bourbons and a Rye. Not one Bourbon. Which is totally fine btw.

New Riff has been putting out some good Bourbon and it is a new distillery. Not cheap. It is hard for new producers to come up with inexpensive alternatives due to several reasons, not the least of them, lack of scale.
 
ChaosRock said:
Now, you mentioned Bourbons but the three options you listed are Single Malt, Sherry Finished Bourbons and a Rye. Not one Bourbon. Which is totally fine btw.
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I have to branch out! My liquor store put all of these in the “bourbon” section, but the Jack has always been in that section too, so that ship has sailed. The “good” pure bourbons get hoovered up before I can get to them. The ones I showed are $50 or so, except the Rabbit which was $75. I’d love to try Angel’s Envy rye, but at $100, oof, I have to save up.
 
Do you have a Total Wine near you? Mine has a little tasting station where you can try a little nip of many varieties. Best to go after work :)
 
New Riff was also on the shelf. I hadn’t got to researching that one yet. I can choose the bourbon, the rye, or the single barrel-barrel proof rye at my store. About $50 for each.
 

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