George T. Stagg

Boy, so where to begin? I really love this stuff. I use it to erase a bad day at work or a fight with the old lady. It’s unfiltered and there’s charcoal sediment floating at the bottom of the bottle. The perticular bottle I have is from 2006 (Hazmat III – read more about this here) it’s a whopping 140.6 proof/70.3% ABV! (NOT the one pictured below.) It is rugged to say the least.

When I first tried it I poured a tiny bit in my sniffy glass and let it sit for a few. I came by to swig it and the smell was crazy, had me coughing and stuff. It really is warming, and it’s sort of sweet/cinnamon-ish tasting before I was bombarded with oaky oakness (YUM!). The whole experience is very syrupy. It’s very dark and I’d like to believe it’s thicker, I dunno it’s just very darth vader “don’t play around” drink.

My brother came over and I showed him the bottle and he wanted to take a shot, cuz he likes to believe he’s a bad ass. I was like “ohhhhh-kay,” and I figured fuggit, no need to let the boy suffer on his own and I went ahead and poured myself one. I knew I shouldn’t have but I went ahead and did anyway.

We shot them back and instantly lost our breath after drinking it because you couldn’t inhale!!! Once I got my breath back, I tried to regain my eyesight which was blurry because my eyes had begun to water. I sort of hobbled over to the kitchen and got us some water because we were both about to die. Once we were breathing normal and could speak in full sentences again (like ten minutes after initial brutal shot) we spent the next twenty minutes clearing our throats. I felt like I drank sandpaper, I know I have said that before but this trumps that raspy batch if single barrel JD by far. I knew it was retarded but I didn’t want the lil bro to have to get throat raped by whiskey all by himself really.

But yeah it’s great with a little water to take that edge off. Really tastes good and forgets them worries for you. This is the type of liquor you drink if you have a broken foot and need to walk three miles on it, you wont feel shit.

George T. Stagg

The ol’ 23 Year Old

Here is the elusive 23 year old Van Winkle bottle before it was clobbered in a way containing little to no dignity. Poor thing went out like a regular bottle of piss whiskey. I won’t lie there is still a little nectar left in the bottle, I  dip into it every friday. It is so good it’s just wrong. The strangest of it all being that after having my try at all ages of the Van Winkle bottles I still think the 12 year old is the better of them all. Maybe because it’s easier on my wallet? I don’t know but it brings me just as much joy as any of the other bottles. Obviously the 23 year old is the piff but we can’t always be drinkin out the $250 bottles.

Pappy Van Winkle 23

Latest tastings

I found the Sazerac rye whiskey to be quite tasty. I found a liquor store that has it for pretty cheap. I don’t know what it is but something about this whiskey tastes so like what I imagine a whiskey tasted like in the cowboy days. It is a mid shelf whiskey with a good price and a good sweet flavor.

I also picked up a few other bottles. I got a Pappy Van Winkle 15 year old and a Elijah Craig 12 year old. The Van Winkle is of course a tasty treat and lives up to the high standard it has set in the world of whiskey. Coming in at 107 proof it’s a bit warmer than the 20 year old and packs a similar rich flavor. To me the Van Winkle bottles all taste like wood (in a good way) it’s a really sweet flavor. I usually have a glass after a nice meal, it is complete dessert bourbon. Sometimes I swear I can smell hints of vanilla.

The Elijah Craig is a goodie as well. It is right up there with the Elmer T Lee and the Buffalo Trace. I will always have a bottle of this stuff around as it has a good price and some nice flavor.

Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year Old Bourbon!

Elijah Craig 12 Year Old Bourbon

My next goal is to find a bottle of 23 year old Van Winkle bottle, I can currently only find them online for the ludicrous price of $400.00!! I will get one soon.

This weekends liver crush

Friday night I went out to Poway to hang out at the cousins pad. We brought a bottle of Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage from 97. It packed a very earthy flavor, almost resembled… leather (?). After devouring the better part of the bottle we unleashed the fury of Guitar Hero, which for me was the first time. All I can say is that it kicked major ass. It was the most fun I’ve had in a while.

Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage + Guitar Hero = Good Times!!

Today I rushed a few liquor spots and picked up a few bottles. I picked up some more of the Elmer T. Lee single barrel mash (a favorite of mine). I had to restock as my bottle was barely there. Usually I’ve been trying new bottles every week to try and get an idea of what flavors I dig on most. This task has been made easier by all the knowledgeable folks at straightbourbon.com. So I picked up a bottle of Sazerac Rye which is pretty stank, it is a very straight forward whiskey and it has helped me identify the rye element I taste in other whiskeys. Overall I wouldn’t call it something I can swig on every night but it may grow on me.

Sazerac Rye

Along with the Sazerac I picked up  some Willett bourbon. I did this pretty much because it came in a bottle shaped like a still. Flavor wise it reminds me Russel’s Reserve. It has an oaky flavor with hints of corn. I’ve been tasting corn often in certain bottles (not so much in all the Buffalo Trace products I like so much)

Willett Single Barrel

Here’s the Evan Williams weekend maker…

Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage

Buffalo Trace

My lord is it tasty. I <3 BevMo!! I also picked up a bottle of some Ron del Barrilito, it is a Puerto Rican rum my pops used to be all ape shit about. He had nothing but good things to say about it so I figured I would give it a go… worst case scenario I give it to Gas if I don’t like it.

Upon digging a bit into the Buffalo Trace website I realized that all the tasty whiskeys I’ve had as of late are somehow related to the Buffalo Trace distillery. So go BT you got my love.

Buffalo Trace

The Barrilito is stellar! Once I popped the bottle I smelled a rich aroma of maple, it was very sweet with a touch of cinnamon (?) the whole thing smelt of french toast and pan cakes to me. Upon pouring a little into my face I realized it is muuuuuch smoother than any bourbon I have had the pleasure of pouring into my face. Barrilito gets two thumbs up with two thumbs on each thumb pointing up. Simply delicious, score 1 Puerto Rico!

Ron del Barrilito

If the river was whiskey

…and I was a duck, I’d dive to the bottom and I’d never come up. What you know about Charlie Poole?

I have been lurking around straightbourbon.com forums and have been taking names and really they know their stuff. I went to bevmo today and bought a bottle of Elmer T. Lee and Eagle Rare both are single barrel bottles. I prefer the Elmer T. Lee though, it is simply delicious. I have also purchased a 20 year old bottle of Pappy Van Winkle and another bottle of the 12 year old Special Reserve, Lot B. I think Elmer T. Lee and the Special Reserve are tied for my favorite after work sippers.

The 20 year old is awesome but the fact that it’s a $100 a bottle has me rarely drinking it unless it’s a special occasion… like friday or days I mourn the loss of my father (the 12 of every month) or something else (the day I quit my job and go somewhere where they actually pay me at least half of what my time is worth). It’s only been around for a few weeks but every now and then a special day will come up and I will pug a few fingers.

And now for photos from other peoples sites:

Elmer T. Lee

Eagle Rare

12 year old

20 year old label

Mo Garga

As I figured a picture of the awesome full size Globby has surfaced! This guy will be available at Tentacles, Horns, and Scales at Apr. 19th Thrash Out in Tokyo. Yet another cool ass figure I will not be getting 🙁

Globby!

I suppose I will have to be happy with my minis.

Now to speak of things I actually can acquire. Today after consulting with a client in Coronado I decided to head to the liquor store a few stores down looking for a bourbon bottle I’ve yet to find here in Dago Town. They indeed had the bottle of Pappy Van Winkles 20 year Bourbon, I was ready to drop $70 on it but it was a cool $99.99, since I’m a cheap bastard I decided I should go with the Van Winkle Special Reserve 12 year old that was only $44.95.

I raced home to have a pour and my lord was it tasty. This the type of whiskey you break out for your grand dad who drinks so he can say “Damn boy that is some good bourbon!” The flavor was subtle but present, not just some warm burning sensation. At first I tasted a somewhat moldy flavor (?) but it soon morphed into a sweet almost fruity taste that was very subtle.

I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been drinking the poop spectrum of bourbon’s lately or what but it is so good. I swore by the old Woodford but I don’t know anymore. I also bought a bottle of Bulleit Frontier Whiskey upon a recommendation from Dr. Burrito himself and I soon realized why he is Dr.Burrito and not Dr. Bourbon. I can only describe it as the flavor of a liquid penny. It is now the whiskey my old lady can mix with her cola 🙂

This post started sad and ended happily, I will now retire to some foods and more sips of the sauce.

Adventures in whiskey

Recently after paying thirty two bucks for a bottle of Single Barrel I just could not get myself to cough up fifty for a bottle that will more than likely be gone in two or three days. A good friend also recommended I try Woodford bourbon whiskey (now that I drink everybody has a recommendation ha ha) so when my last bottle of single barrel was empty on Saturday I figured it was a good time to try out that Woodford. So I went to a nearby liquor store and tried to pick it up, unfortunately it was seventy five dollars for a 750 ml bottle. At that point I shit and walked out of the store… empty handed.

I decided I would try Vons for some Single Barrel since I did not want to go home empty handed. Vons had none, but they did however have Gentleman’s Jack which is like regular jack just filtered through the charcoal twice. It was yellow like pee and was only 80 proof, which after drinking five bottles of the Single Barrel was noticeably less “potent” and much less flavorful. I had to drink twice as much to feel good and ran out in a hurry.

woodford juice

Today I stopped by mom’s house to pick up a package and mow the lawn (which to my surprise was already mowed?.. and me package wasn’t there) The package did not arrive so I decided I would stop by the liquor store by my mom’s house. I walked in and looked for the Woodford which was for sale at the amazing price of $25.99!!! I damn near shit again, and bought a bottle as I was unsure as to why it was sooooo cheap. I came home started sippin’ and it’s damn good. Better than the Single Barrel? I don’t know… I really grew to love the flavor of the Single Barrel. This Woodford is also 94 proof and does have my head spinning so I guess it’s all good. Odds are I will buy more as it’s way too cheap to pass up. My mission: to buy every bottle at the liquor store by my mom’s house.

So Woodford gets a twisted two thumbs up. Will write a more in depth review of it when I’m a little less sauced. Drink responsibly folks.