My favorite bourbon is Bookers. It's cask strength, usually over 120 proof, but a surprisingly easy sipper with a deep flavor. Expensive, and I'm not sure if you can get it in the UK.My go to's if I'm in a regular liquor store:Wild Turkey 101 (totally underrated but pretty great for one of the best known bourbons)Knob CreekBuffalo TraceBulleitNot a huge rye fan, but I can usually role with a bourbon with rye overtones. Maker's Mark is totally overrated and I pretty much go for it if it's the only option over swill. I'm not generally a fan of anything less than 90 proof, and most of my favorites are 100+ proof.

Woodford kind of sucks, as far as I'm concerned - at least, it's nowhere near justifying the premium price. It doesn't have enough backbone for an old fashioned, for rocks, or for soda water. I'd rather drink something cheaper with some bite to it.

This stuff is great, around $90/750ml. Estate grown organic rye and corn, everything happens at the farm. From Dave Pickerell. Everything in the current release is btw 4-20 years old and about 40%+ rye.http://hillrockdistillery.com/Team.html

I the other day was came into a handful of fingers of Knob Creek single barrel 120. It was a store pick, not sure of the batch number. It was very sweet and complex and it blew me away. I don't really drink whiskey anymore but this experience inspired me to go grab a pint of something, which ended up being Elijah Craig small batch (NAS) which I'm more than underwhelmed with and will probably just save in case I ever have company.

Yeah I have noticed I really prefer barrel proof or high proof bourbon.

It's been tough for me to get away from 1792 Full Proof.It can be a little harsh on its own but just a tiny bit of water and it is really nice. Mid range as far as price.

After the memory of that really exquisite Knob store-pick faded, this EC small batch is tasting just fine.Does anyone have an opinion to offer on Old Grandad 114?

fedaykin13 wrote:It's been tough for me to get away from 1792 Full Proof.It can be a little harsh on its own but just a tiny bit of water and it is really nice. Mid range as far as price.ouchie: https://www.courier-journal.com/story/n ... 762389002/Yeah, I too find that the slightest bit of water makes the high proof stuff much better. The alcohol smell as the glass comes to yer drink hole overwhelms your taste abilities unless you cut it with a bit of branch.

crustandcrumb wrote:Does anyone have an opinion to offer on Old Grandad 114?Absolutely great stuff, an idiotically good deal. It really needs an ice cube or two, but nothing wrong with that.

I grabbed a bottle of the OGD 114 before the minimum jumps a few dollars at the end of the month. It's a great value at $30. In some markets it can be had for $20, pushing it into hoarding territory. Up front it's surprisingly subdued, but mid palate there's a really interesting chocolate flavor I've never experienced in whiskey. There's just enough sweetness and vanilla that in tandem w/ said chocolate note, I keep tasting chocolate covered marshmallows. It's not super complex. It's a 114 proof bourbon for twenty or thirty dollars. Be reasonable.