re: Whiskey/Bourbon/Scotch appreciation thread Volume II

FPD

Happy Fathers Day baws

Looking good. How is the wheat harvest going? We have about 100 acres left so should get done tomorrow.

The official SMS first annual bourbon bracket has concluded. I will be providing the results over the next few days/week.

Let me remind everyone of the rules:
Each selection had to be bourbon <$100 aftermarket
Each selection was given a number ahead of the bracket. All I was given by Mrs. SMS was the 2 numbers that were competing. I didn't receive the names until the end.
Games were played head-to-head with the scoring below.

Taste: The intensity of the taste. 40 pts possible
Finish: The quality of the finish. 30 pts possible
Complexity: How complex was the flavor: 20 pts possible
Nose: Different aromas. 10 pts possible.

Things I learned along the way.

Without relying on a whiskeys reputation really allowed me to experience/judge each one individually.

I don't have a very good whiskey nose at all. I rarely smelled anything of interest and was basically only able to determine if I liked the nose or not. I even tried my glencairn glasses and although they helped, I was still bad at it.

I didn't provide enough differentiation. A 70 is way!! better than a 50.

I kinda knew what I liked going in and was right a large percentage of the time. There are some sleepers in the field.

So onto the results:
Here are the "teams" in the north bracket:


Yellowstone: 66
Pinhook: 60

Old Scout 7: 78
Noah's Hill: 54

Old Scout 10: 79
Michters Bourbon: 60 (this was a surprise)

Bowman Brothers: 61
B&E: 60

John J Bowman: 77
Old Forester: 63 (SMS Value Pick)

LA1: 35 (Absolutely terrible but not as terrible as the JB)
Jim Beam Quarter Cask: 16 (Utterly hideous)

Savannah: 68
Garrison Brothers: 39

Rowans Creek: 71
EHT Single Barrel: 60 (This was a surprise)

Stay tuned for more to follow.

Just starting to get into the finer spirits the past year or so. I really like aromatic and complex whiskeys. I'm on a college budget and need some recommendations.

Do you think we could get a separate thread for all this and then I can add a link in the OP of this thread so it doesn't get lost over time?

Is it Friday yet?

1PD: WLW '12

SMS Results Day 2.

The matchups were determined at random and by Mrs SMS (she gave each bottle a number). So as to keep the match-ups blind.


Let me remind everyone of the rules:
Each selection had to be bourbon <$100 aftermarket
Each selection was given a number ahead of the bracket. All I was given by Mrs. SMS was the 2 numbers that were competing. I didn't receive the names until the end.
Games were played head-to-head with the scoring below.

Taste: The intensity of the taste. 40 pts possible
Finish: The quality of the finish. 30 pts possible
Complexity: How complex was the flavor: 20 pts possible
Nose: Different aromas. 10 pts possible.



EHT Small Batch - 65
Colorado Gold - 53

Black Saddle - 51
Michters toasted - 72 (I knew I liked this one)

Jimmys - 42
Evan Williams Small Batch - 60

Eagle Rare - 75 (Value Pick)
Wild Turkey Single Barrel - 55

WLW Special Reserve - 49 (This was a surprise)
Woodford Reserve Double Oak - 54 (This was surprising. Thought I really like this)

Buffalo Trace - 53
Woodford Reserve - 61

Very Old Barton - 59
IW Harper - 52

Bib and Tucker - 46
IW Harper 15 - 72