I have also heard that about a lot o "standard" bourbon with rye. Notice that the Van Winkle and Weller hooch that are aged a long time are wheated bourbon. One thing about bourbon is that unlike Scotch, the use of newly charred barrels may allow bourbon to get to drinkable age a bit faster.I recently got a few friends together for a blind bourbon tasting (which turned into more of a whiskey drinking as the night went on, but I digress...)
I brought Elmer T. Lee (a commemorative single barrel offering from Buffalo Trace, I recommend it if you can find it), my buddies brought over Larceny, Bulleit Bourbon, and Woodford Reserve.
I've always been more of a high-rye-kinda-guy, and the ETL, Bulleit, and Larceny all fit that description. Past memories of Woodford were always a little sweet for me. Nothing here was the really top-shelf, wheated, age-for-beyond-15-year kind of stuff, but we're recent graduates and I'm fine with that.
Anyway, tasting blind, only one of the whiskeys really stood far apart from the others (and not in a good way.) The Larceny stood at 94 proof, whereas everything else was 90, so I thought it might be that. Wrong. With a distinctly medicinal note, slight astringency, and the only rating of "I just don't like this" of the four, was Woodford. I know that's probably a polarizing opinion, especially with all the "double oaked" fans in this thread. I just don't like the stuff. I could buy a bottle of Wild Turkey 101 for half the price and be twice as happy.
The Larceny and the Bulleit, in my opinion, were almost indistinguishable, despite the 2% alcohol difference. Maybe it's just the fact that all that alcohol burns out my tongueI am better at flavor picking beer than whiskey. They were both nicely warm from the rye, and I could easily see myself drinking more than a few. Just hot enough to keep you interested without making you regret a sip. If you're gonna buy Bulleit, by the way, I say save yourself the money and buy their regular offerings instead of the 10/15 year. You'll hardly notice a difference except in the priceeven their founder says that the high-rye whiskeys like his don't benefit very much beyond an 8-year aging.
The ETL was close in profile to the last two, and it also features a high-rye mash. It was my favorite bottle going into the tasting, but it's pretty hard to pick blind. It was slightly sweeter, and slightly more mild than the other two. But its finish was a little astringent for me, I guess. If you get to know the bottle, it's beautiful stuff. Lined up shot-for-shot, however, and the no-nonsense of the Bulleit and Larceny pulled a slight lead for me.
The Woodford and the ETL are both single barrel offerings, though, so they might have a little variation from bottle to bottle. I highly recommend the experiment of blind testing a few glasses to see how your expectations match reality. If you can't afford it yourself, hopefully you can find a couple friends.
I recently got a few friends together for a blind bourbon tasting (which turned into more of a whiskey drinking as the night went on, but I digress...)
I brought Elmer T. Lee (a commemorative single barrel offering from Buffalo Trace, I recommend it if you can find it), my buddies brought over Larceny, Bulleit Bourbon, and Woodford Reserve.
I've always been more of a high-rye-kinda-guy, and the ETL, Bulleit, and Larceny all fit that description. Past memories of Woodford were always a little sweet for me. Nothing here was the really top-shelf, wheated, age-for-beyond-15-year kind of stuff, but we're recent graduates and I'm fine with that.
Anyway, tasting blind, only one of the whiskeys really stood far apart from the others (and not in a good way.) The Larceny stood at 94 proof, whereas everything else was 90, so I thought it might be that. Wrong. With a distinctly medicinal note, slight astringency, and the only rating of "I just don't like this" of the four, was Woodford. I know that's probably a polarizing opinion, especially with all the "double oaked" fans in this thread. I just don't like the stuff. I could buy a bottle of Wild Turkey 101 for half the price and be twice as happy.
The Larceny and the Bulleit, in my opinion, were almost indistinguishable, despite the 2% alcohol difference. Maybe it's just the fact that all that alcohol burns out my tongue—I am better at flavor picking beer than whiskey. They were both nicely warm from the rye, and I could easily see myself drinking more than a few. Just hot enough to keep you interested without making you regret a sip. If you're gonna buy Bulleit, by the way, I say save yourself the money and buy their regular offerings instead of the 10/15 year. You'll hardly notice a difference except in the price—even their founder says that the high-rye whiskeys like his don't benefit very much beyond an 8-year aging.
The ETL was close in profile to the last two, and it also features a high-rye mash. It was my favorite bottle going into the tasting, but it's pretty hard to pick blind. It was slightly sweeter, and slightly more mild than the other two. But its finish was a little astringent for me, I guess. If you get to know the bottle, it's beautiful stuff. Lined up shot-for-shot, however, and the no-nonsense of the Bulleit and Larceny pulled a slight lead for me.
The Woodford and the ETL are both single barrel offerings, though, so they might have a little variation from bottle to bottle. I highly recommend the experiment of blind testing a few glasses to see how your expectations match reality. If you can't afford it yourself, hopefully you can find a couple friends.
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