How do you get them to stay clear, what’s the secret? I’ve tried, but failed miserably. Clear cubes definitely are the way to go

I did not know about this heaven on earth before reading about it in this thread (thank you pinside and @DBLM). Had a pleasure of checking this place out today, the line was long before the place even opened but what an experience. Tasty cocktails, excellent food, impeccable service and 200 pages of rare spirits to choose from. If you ever visit Seattle, this is the place to check out. We'll be back to enjoy this gem, and so should you.

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I really like clear ice, it makes drinks look better and imho improves the enjoyment. YouTube is full of videos on how to make clear ice, but I splurged and bought this from Amazon. Makes 2 balls in one go, and they can be stored in the freezer.

Crystal-Clear Ice Ball Maker, 2-Cavity Mold, Jumbo Ice Balls, Better Kitchen Products https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CRN678M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_Wb5ODbYM1XXCC

Most of these are hard to find, especially in PNW, and even if you could find them they'd be much more expensive. If I could grab Stagg for $250 I'd be all over it

Count me in, great idea!

Fred Minnick, the editor-in-chief of Bourbon+ Magazine, agrees. See the final episode of Pappy Van Winkle vs The Field where he blind tastes 23 year old Pappy against 5 other bourbons and Woodinville almost beats it. It's a long video, the first taste is just before 11 minute mark, 2nd taste around 1h:6m and he finally finds out that it's the woodinville one at around 1h:34m mark. Overall, quite an entertaining video albeit way way too long to watch (unless you have time to burn, and can join him in his blind tasting to compare notes)

I was going to wait until the weekend to try my secret Santa gift, but caved in encouraged by all the delicious posts today. In my wildest dreams I was hoping to get something that's not available here, and boy did the secret Santa deliver. I didn't even know Wisconsin had bourbon!

Quick initial thoughts on this;
Nose has nice chocolaty, creme brulee and toffee notes. The taste is soft spice and dried fruit mixed with nice caramel undertones and the burn is mellow and long. In short, delicious

Thank you secret Santa, you are the man!
Thank you Whysnow also for organizing, this was really great and now I have an awesome bourbon for the holidays (if I can control myself, it may last that long)

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Damn, only now saw this. I would have loved to jump on that Stagg too. Maybe next time, awfully kind of you to do this and

In addition ro the straight bourbon, Woodinville whisky company makes a few other varieties as well.

I really like this bourbon finished in port casks. The nose has notes of cherry and raisin among other fruits, and the taste is rich, deep, fruity and very sweet. The burn is long and suitably strong but mellow. Tasty!

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The top one wins, hands down, because it actually works the way needed to make the ice clear. The second maker results in cloudy, caused by the impurities and air bubbles that get pushed to the center of the cube as it freezes. To make clear ice, you need to avoid that. The top one does that by freezing the water from the top, pushing all the air bubbles to the bottom. The trick to clear ice is to take the ice out of the cooler before the cloudy part freezes, or to chip it off afterward. You don't need a fancy mold for that, a Styrofoam cooler box works too and you can make a block of clear ice as long as you don't let it freeze through.

And yes, clear ice makes bourbon taste better so clear ice FTW!

True that!

Woodinville whiskey company is celebrating its 10th anniversary this weekend. They had special events for that, and two special releases to commemorate it. So my Sunday started on the right foot at 9:30am by visiting the distillery and tasting these and tasty cocktails made out of the bourbon

They even offered an opportunity to sign a barrel and then get updates on its journey to maturity. Then 5-6 years down the road you can go and taste it, and if you like it you can bottle your own. Had to do that of course.

They had also a triple barrel whisky that had a hint of peaty in the nose and taste. I'm normally not into that but had to get it alongside the anniversary bourbon.

Now, what to do the rest if the day. I think I should have another glass of bourbon perhaps...

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I don't know, but would guess it's distillery only. They have other bourbons too that I've not seen in the wild, eg the port cast bourbon

I was running low on my favorite go to bourbon, Woodinville whisky company port cask finished bourbon so I stopped by at the distillery to get a bottle. To help out fight the virus they have pivoted to also manufacture hand sanitizer which they donate for free to health and government organizations on the frontline of this crisis. When you bought a bottle, they gave a bottle of the hand sanitizer also. Talk about win win, love this company and their bourbon

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I'm sure we can find a way to get you a bottle. Unfortunately I've not been able to find it anywhere else except at the distillery, where they sell at MSRP which for this is $70 so not cheap...

So, what's the verdict? Btw, that's a manly pour (or an optical illusion)

Has anyone tried Booker’s “Granny’s batch 2020-1” yet? Looks pretty strong at 126 proof, so wondering if it’s any good/smooth

The experts say it’s the exact opposite of garbage, https://gearpatrol.com/2020/04/30/best-booze-april-2020/

I’m glad you liked it, I’ve drank gallons of it. WWC has a new bourbon I haven’t tried yet, and a barrel strength one. Their whisky is awesome also, haven’t tried the rye yet. I’m really happy that they are 10mins from where I live

Tonight it's the battle of the bourbons. In the left corner, Kentucky owl confiscated. In the right corner, orphan barrel foragers keep. May the best bourbon win (I'll win either way)!

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And the results are in, foragers keep FTW. Unfortunately it may have to be disqualified, all this time I’ve been drinking it thinking it’s a bourbon but in fact after a closer look of the bottle it’s in fact a single malt whiskey (first for orphan barrel). After further study I learn it’s a 26 year old speyside whiskey, pretty rare as the distillery was closed down in 1993. Despite not being a bourbon here’s the verdict on it.

In short, smooth and silky with a lingering mellow burn. With few more words the color is a bit light but the nose is filled with fruits and sweets, banana, pear, citrus and a hint of spice. The taste has some maple syrup, caramel, vanilla and honey in it but it’s definitely balanced and begs for a second sip. The burn is soft but lingering, nice flavors of creme brûlée and other slightly sweet flavors. I’ll forgive it for fooling me to think it was a bourbon, but hey it was delicious nevertheless!

I was eyeing the same, but didn't pull the trigger. How is it?

Little lunch bourbon never hurt anyone...

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How do you think this compares to the WWC port cask finished bourbon, which one do you like more?

You never know what you'll find at Costco, I was tempted for a moment but then I looked at the price tag. Is this stuff even decent?

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Despite the ridiculously high taxes, if my calculations are correct (30 cases and barrel holding about 200 bottles) that’s like $15 per bottle. What does the 1792 12 year old go for?

I’d probably need a long straw also for the barrel...

I couldn't find anything on this, it must be a pretty recent release, but decided to take one for the team here. Does anyone know if it's any good, the reviews on previous batches are a bit mixed. I'll post my tasting notes as soon as I get to crack this open

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Ok, finally got to crack the cream of Kentucky batch 4 open so here are my first thoughts

Nose: green apple, grass, perhaps a hint of mint and finally ever so slight undertones of caramel. Very unique, unlike any bourbon I've had but like it a lot
Palate: first hit is spice, cinnamon, apple again and a bit of vanilla and caramel. Definitely not sweet as many bourbons I like are, not as deep either. Almost easy drinking and light, I like my bourbon with a little ice which seems to amplify this as it opens up
Burn/ finish; at first it swirled around but got weaker as the ice melted a bit, continues what the palate was indicating
Verdict; very unique nose, which I liked a lot. The palate and burn did not meet the expectations, but it is a nice easy drinking bourbon for those evenings where you want something lighter and easier. If it was half the price I'd recommend this but with the price tag it carries I'd stay away unless you don't mind burning some cash. Still, the nose was so unique (to me) that if you have a chance give it a try. I agree with @chisox's assessment of an earlier batch, there are better bourbons for the money

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It’s great! I always buy Blanton’s if I find it, it has happened a whopping one time so that should say something about it

My Costco has really expanded on their bourbon selection, picked this up today. Has anyone tried it?

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I see a lot of you giving high praise to Peerless, so I’m itching to give it a try. Unfortunately I can’t find it anywhere, only the rye. Is the rye worth it, it’s not cheap around here...

Well well, look what the cat dragged in (total wine now does home deliveries, thanks to covid). Thanks to all the positive thoughts on this I decided to pull the trigger. It was $115 plus the outrageous 20% liquor tax but based on first impressions I'm very happy I bought it. It's definitely a tasty rye, minty vanilla oak explosion but smooth. Thanks for the recommendation!

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We don't have state tax in WA, so they use that as an excuse to ding you royally on booze - bad news for bourbon fans

So what’s the difference between EC batches (A, B, C)? I’ve seen A and B, but can’t say I get the difference since they all seem to be barrel proof

Thanks, that makes total Sense and I guess all the batches of the same year are not materially different from one another. Guess I’ll pick up a A120 next time I do grocery shopping

Thanks, one of these days I may ask you to return the favor but I’m happy with the rye for now. Btw, I think I saw Woodinville releasing something new. I’ll try to visit them soon to see if that’s the case

It seems that smoke wagon is now another unicorn, it's not sold in state of WA so I was looking for it online and couldn't find the small batch (or anything else, except the basic one) anywhere. Guess you guys who have it were right, it must be awesome

Quick question, fellow bourbonheads. I'd like to try out Old Forester, and luckily the total wine near me has quite a few OF options available.
With that, how would you rank 1870, 1897, 1920 and Statesman -what's the best bang for the buck? I know it's subjective, but any feedback is appreciated

Friday, and also payday, so while doing grocery shopping I grabbed one of these. Quite unique flavor profile, can't quite put my finger on it but first impression is not too shabby. Has anyone had this before?

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My pick today, a single barrel special release handpicked by the lead distiller, https://www.woodinvillewhiskeyco.com/journal/bretts-pick/

I can hardly wait to give it a try tonight...

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Haha, no but I think I'll do a tasting of these tonight

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Wow, what a pick! Wish I could find even one here...

Well, it's interesting to me that a single barrel can have a unique and different flavor profile than the rest and I have to say Brett picked a good one.
It has lot of the same flavors as the regular bourbon, but I'd say they are more pronounced and 'deep'. The nose has a lot of caramel, vanilla and green apple in it and the palate amplifies these. Additionally you get some oak, a little bit of pepper and I think some cherry as well. The palate is quite deep and comprehensive, strong even, but if you use too much ice it'll water down too much imho. Finish is long and lingers on with some leathery tones in addition to what was in the palate. In short, I like it. If you'd like, I can see if I can send you a sample

List:
1 Whysnow (Hilton)
2 DBLM (Matt)
3 Fulltilt (Otis)
4 KcZ (Kacey)
5 djreddog (Chad)
6 knockerlover (Matt)
7 Pinbackpacker (Chris)
8 PinDeLaPin (Bill)
9 Bowz (Steve)
10 Bmore-Pinball (Bill)
11 kkuoppamaki (Karri)
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

That’s awesome, how is it?

Thanks to Bill I had an opportunity to sample three new to me bourbons tonight; Weller antique, smoke wagon and Stagg jr batch 12. Found the all quite different, smoke wagon perhaps being between the other two. Liked them all, don’t think you can go wrong with any of them, but if I had to based on the tasting tonight I’d put Weller on top of the list. Will have to have another go though to confirm the initial feeling. Love trying new bourbons, thanks PinDeLaPin for making my Friday night!

It was not lighter in color, but it was I’d say sweeter in palate. It had more cherry, molasses, vanilla and caramel flavors than Stagg Jr and Smoke wagon. Guess I like those types of bourbons more

Stopped by at Costco today and lo and behold they had these two on the shelf, score! Got the last little book, it's the newest chapter 4, and I've never seen peerless bourbon here before. They had Kentucky owl batch 9 also but at $320 it was a little too expensive for my taste

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Had to crack this bad boy open, and initial thoughts are positive for sure. The nose is surprisingly thin, weak even, but has hints of green apple, marshmallow and perhaps cherry in it. The palate is quite the opposite, quite strong but smooth. There’s definitely sweet flavors like caramel and vanilla in it. The burn is long and smooth lingering in my mouth quite some time. Like it a lot, great find!

If you can’t find it, I can send you a sample

Nice, I think you are going to like it.

It's thirsty Thursday, so I'm having a little bourbon for lunch...

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Nothing, I repeat nothing, beats the Lunch of the Legends! That's one good thing about working from home thanks to COVID

Love good coffee, and it's fun to try different beans (current favorite is from a micro roastery nearby, cafe lusso). Fresh beans are the key, I never buy beans that don’t have the roasting date as they start to decay after about a month or so. I bought the Breville oracle a few years back, best purchase I’ve made that’s not bourbon related as it makes awesome lattes and cappuccinos.

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Working late is more fun with a little 'pick me up' bourbon

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They were being sold at TPF maybe 3-4 years ago, they had several different ones, but not sure what happened since I've never seen them since.
I had AFM also, but unfortunately broke it so only have these 3 left

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I’ve been eyeing that turkey, any good?

Thanks for the endorsement, it definitely is tasty and has a very full flavor and long finish

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How did you like it? It's quite oily, but very tasty IMHO

I hoped this would be good, but have to say I'm disappointed. But hey, it's bourbon and Sunday football game was another underwear ruiner (if you root for the hawks)

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Thanks for the review. I think I saw that at our Costco, guess I’ll have to get a bottle if they still have it

Quick question to fellow bourbon heads that have access to OWA, what's a reasonable price for it? There's no way I can find it in PNW, so I'm at the mercy of trying to find it online at amplified prices. So trying to understand what's a reasonable premium for that (if any), thank you in advance

I wonder what this nice looking package might contain, thank you secret Santa!

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Big shout out to my man Green-Machine who did me a big favor by helping me get a bottle of OWA which is a total unobtainium here. Thank you Aaron, I'll crack this bad boy open tonight!

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Wow, that’s a man size bottle for sure. Just cracked mine open and it’s mmm, mmmm, mmmmm, good. Thanks again Aaron!

Another one bites the dust!

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Pool and bourbon night tonight!

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I can't make it to the secret Santa zoom session tomorrow so I opened up mine today. And what a nice surprise it was, I was hoping to get something that's not readily available here and this definitely fits that description as I've never seen this before.
First impressions are super positive, nose has strong toffee and caramel flavors, taste is sweet but balanced with more toffee, a bit of cherry and dark chocolate and some spicy rye notes, the burn is smooth with a slight after kick and nice linger
Thank you secret santa, love it and learned a bit about the history of Texas as an added bonus!

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Since it is December, I felt the need for heat and picked this up. Never heard of it, but at 15 years and a bit higher proof I took a gamble it would fit the bill. I've had just a few sips so far and there's definitely kick here and a long finish, but it seems to open up nicely and mellow down a bit with ice. I'll have to drink more before drawing any conclusions and to get a better feel on the taste profile. Has anyone had this, or other batches?

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2/3 gone in one day - respect!

Well well well, getting some groceries resulted in this. Apparently it was just released, and boy it packs some Heat with a capital H. At 127.3 proof it definitely needs to open up a bit and some ice mellows it down and releases the flavors underneath it. First impression positive, but will update once it's opened up a bit and I've had a few more

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Ok, here's my thoughts after a few pours (lunch bourbon FTW!). It's definitely hot, so I added a few drops of water to mellow it down. This makes it IMHO different from drinking neat, so keep that in mind.

Nose: Despite the high proof, the smell of ethanol is in check and almost nonexistent. It has notes of peanut, crisp green apple and maybe toffee or caramel. The nose is quite subtle, which is surprising again considering the proof

Palate: As neat it's too hot for me, but with ice/water the flavors start to come through. It's nutty (peanut or PB), there's some citrus and definitely oak, maybe baking spices and nice sweet vanilla tones.

Burn: It's loooong, nice warmth in the throat area slowly making its way down. The residue of the palate lingers around a long time slowly getting fainter and fainter allowing to taste the undertones of of the flavors

Overall: I like it, it's strong so definitely not for three finger pours but every sip seems to reveal new nuances of the flavors. I'm not sure I'd drink it neat either, and it feels like it would be wasted in cocktails. I paid $75 for it, and I think it's worth the money especially considering that it'll likely be hard to find and quick to sell out

Fun fact: It seems that the actual 3rd release did not meet the quality expectations and was replaced with this, which was supposed to be the 4th batch of the year so only three batches of bookers this year

So if you see this and like Bookers I'd grab it, I think you can spend your hard earned money easily on worse bourbon

2020-03

What's tolerable margin over MSRP in FL? I've never seen one in the wild, but would be willing to pay a premium over MSRP for sure

Looking for a recommendation/opinion - EH small batch or whistle pig 10 year old rye. Two very different bourbons I’m sure, but I can only pick one. TIA!

Inspired by posts tonight, I also felt it was time for some COK and it was good...

Score! Woodinville whiskey company posted yesterday that they have a small special release of their bourbon that's spent an additional 6 months either on syrah, chardonnay or Madeira cask. I stopped by at the distillery today sure that they had all gone, but they had a few each left. There even was an option to taste, which of course I had to do. They were all very tasty but in the end I couldn't decide between the syrah and Madeira finish so I grabbed both. I may have to do a side by side (or two) again tonight to declare my favorite

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I did a little side by side between the three tonight. The port cask finished is my favorite and go to Woodinville, but it pales in comparison to these two I think. The flavor profiles have similarities, all on the sweeter side, but there’s much more depth and amplified flavors in the limited two. I think this is probably because of the higher proof, but maybe the wood used in casks also just gives more but who knows. I’m still a big fan of the port cask finished bourbon but I’ll have a sad face when these two bad boys are done. Btw, between the Chardonnay and Madeira cask finish, if I had to choose a winner (and it’s hard) it would be the Madeira cask finish. Others seem to agree as it was all sold out today, less than 24h after the release.

Santa delivered big time, age your own bourbon set. I've been wanting to get one for a long time so what a nice surprise. In about 3-4 months I can start to take a small sample everyday and when it's fully to my liking I'll get to bottle it, sweeeeet. Merry Xmas fellow bourbon heads, hopefully Santa fulfills your wishes as well

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I’ve done it several years now, but not always successfully. I’ll try again, but I’m not sure it’s the wisest thing to do during the pandemic. Oh well, if I fail I have something to blame

Let the aging process begin!

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That’s awesome, perhaps we need a pinball and wine thread also. What are some of your favorite west coast red wines?

The world of wine definitely is broader and perhaps more complex than world of bourbon, but some wine areas, wineries and winemakers consistently produce fantastic wines and become the high-end names. I also keep an eye on expert reviews and recommendations, James Suckling is my favorite. What’s great is that you can find fantastic wines in all price ranges, from few tens of bucks to thousands (not that I’ve ever had a four figure wine, but maybe one day). Wine is like bourbon though, before you know it you have more bottles you know what to do with...

Thanks, I’ve had many on your list and agree with those. A few new ones to hunt down and try, which is always appreciated