I am going to try a few things later tonight. Got to spend some family time right now.

An average proof of 115.08. Sweet!

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What about that place on Michigan ave in Dearborn. I forget the name but have got some good craft beer there. About a mile east of telegraph

Bourbon + Door Dash. Scary combination.
And it's only 9 o'clock....

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Here’s to whiskey Wednesday and new game day!

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Oh my!!!! Buffalo wings.... you guys are killing me!

Happy new pin!!! I’ve been hankering for a new pin. Looking for a TOTAN but not interested in spending a million dollars for one.

This Iron Man is a mean mother. I find myself gravitating to brutally hard games (IM, Tron, Alice Cooper, early SS), on the lookout for Shadow and Flash Gordon.

Congrats on the new pin, @chisox!

I am bored and have 4 bottles that I have not tried. Going to do a blind testing and you guys can play along at home. Since most of you are music guys, I am going to use lyrics to describe my thoughts on these guys.

Here are thr nominees for tonight

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I’m sipping Willett right now

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Time to begin!

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Inquiring minds want to know

First Sample: Has a little of a medicinal smell and a little bite at the beginning. Has a good mouthfeel and tastes good in the mouth. A little bit of a burn at the end, but not bad at all. Good, but not a standout in any sense.

Song lyric description: Here I am stuck in the middle with you. Stuck in the middle with you- Steelers Wheel

Second Sample: Has a little bit of a sweet smell. Feels a little sweet on the front of your tongue, but has a little of an oily mouthfeel. Burns a bit going down. Not horrible, but not great.

Song lyric: I said my, my, my, I'm once bitten twice, shy babe. Great White

You’ve got a friend. (James Taylor)

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Third sample: This is my favorite so far. Pleasant nose on the front, very smooth taste on the tip of the tongue. Very good mouthfeel. Detect some cinnamon hints. Slight warmth on the way down. Not super strong, but very smooth.

Lyric description: If we show up, we gon' show out Smoother than a fresh jar of skippy. Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars

Fourth Sample: little bit of a bourbon smell to it. Has a strong flavor on the front, smooth on the swallow. A very warm bourbon, can tell it is one of the higher proofs. Did not like the first swallow, really enjoyed the second swallow. Even afterwards, my lips feel a little warm. Very unique. I am trying to decide if I like it or hate it, but leaning towards liking it.

Lyric description: Well, you made me weep and you made me moan When you caused me to leave, child, my happy home. Electric Worry by Clutch.

Ok, so this is tough. 3 is my clear favorite, and 2 is my least favorite. I keep going back on 1 and 4 to see which one I like better. 1 was middle of the road, but 4 had a bigger swing from bad to good.

Let’s go with 3, 4, 1, 2

And here is my line up from left to right, good to bad. I have to admit I am shocked by what I thought I would like and what I actually did. Now that I know which one is which, I have to go try them again. It was really hard between the Pinhook and Peerless, and I could see those switching. Never expected the Willet to be my fave, but that is what the blind test said.

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Nice! Love doing the blind tastings!

Enjoyed that Matt!

And I just did a tasting of all 4, from my worst to my best and I stand by my rankings, although the Pinhook and Peerless are close.

My observations:

I poured standard jiggers (1.5 ounces) for both sessions. That is a lot of bourbon in about an hour.

All of the bourbons are good, but nothing that makes me want to say this is in my top 5 or so.

For me, I love the Peerless Rye. The bourbon was middle of the road. I know the Rye is almost twice as much, but I did like it more than twice the better. For me, it is far superior.

The Pinhook is a love or hate bourbon. I thought it had more upside and enjoyment compared to the Peerless, but it did make me gag a bit. Tough call on this, and I had it close to the end on both rounds.

Willet is a conundrum. I know a lot of people think it is middle of the road, but I liked it more compared to the rest. I did not think that going in based upon reputation, but that is why blind tastings are good.

I bought Woodenville and Bowman on Saturday and drunk those with Don and Bill. I liked both of those better than anything I had tonight. Not saying any were bad, as they were not, but I did like them better.

Thanks for playing along.

Glad you did, Aaron! Thanks for playing along at home!

Interesting notes. Not a fan of Willett bourbon or Pinhook but I’ve never had them in a blind. I love I Dream Of Jeanie and wanted to love Willett but ....Just did a flight of the 4 Russell’s Reserve store picks I grabbed (which is essentially a blind because the barrel numbers mean nothing on first pour) and two were special, one was good, and one was unfortunately ....balls. One of the reason I love these RR single barrel store picks is that some of them side by side don’t even taste like the same whiskey. And one of these picks can hang with the Masters Keep bottles and I will be clearing the Binny’s shelves after this weekend, gotta let everyone else try them before I start hoarding.

Hey, if you love them go buy them. I was telling Bill today I am not the biggest Turkey fan but if you find something and you like it, go balls deep. You are being gentlemanly in giving others the opportunity but with the tater mindset they will probably not do the same courtesy. Go get them and enjoy.

One of my shops just got their barrel pick in of the Russell's. Hard to justify the price though of the barrel pick over the regular off the shelf stuff. So I can grab Russell's from Sam's for like $31 a bottle and the store pick single barrel is $68. Not sure how mind blowing it can be for over twice the money of the regular stuff.

Scott sure thought so

Hell yes! $108 out the door.

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Ahhh Man! I can’t get my hands on Stagg jr. 128 proof that’s a hot one

Nice score! Haven't had the Weller Antique yet but that Stagg Jr is tasty

1st time in months i've seen either one of them.

You have some solid bottles in your collection i'm surprised you don't have the Antique.

Still isn’t one bottle Stagg Jr. on a shelf in Ohio

So that Stagg is Batch 14, I presume?

Nope still batch 13 from the fall of 2019. Batch 14 still says delayed it was supposed to have come out in April of this year. Not sure what is going on with stuff.

Hey Aaron if I come across another bottle consider it allocated for you buddy

Hey Whysnow we haven't heard anymore on that machine you helped build a few weeks back. Whats the status of it, have you put it through its paces?

Oh wow! Surgery is no good hope all is well. Pinball can wait for sure

Are you talking about Merchant's Fine Wine? I haven't been there in years, but yeah, they used to (and probably still do) have a great selection of craft beer.

(I don't really live in Dearborn, even though my profile says that I do. Pinside f*cked that up one day, and I was too annoyed to fix it.)

Not all of it, no.

Thank you my friend! You Rock!

Any day works for me. I've been a hermit and plan to stay that way. But like others said, earlier in the evening is usually better for me.

I got all the Stagg Jr in the world, you are just going to have to pay a premium for it if you really want it.

You know what time it is!!! Thirsty thursday is kicking off now so pour em tall!

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yeah Merchant's. would think they would have a good bourbon selection too. I know there is a place in Sterling Heights that has a killer selection but I don't feel like driving an hour to see what they have.