Favorite Bourbons?

Updated...

What I'd buy again....  Eagle Rare.  Blantons.  Old Forrester Prohibition Style.  Very Old Barton 86 proof.  Elijah Craig Barrel Proof.  Elijah Craig Toasted.  Knob Creek Single Barrel.  Knob Creek 12 Year.  Knob Creek Single Barrel Peanut Brittle.  Col EH Taylor Small batch and especially Single Barrel.  McKenna 10 Year.  Michters 10 Year.  Woodford Reserve Oaked.  Weller Antique.  Clover 10 Year.  Pappy Van Winkle.  12 Point Drop Tine.  Calumet Farms 12 Year Black.

Sit the fence on....  New Riff Single Barrel.  Michters.  Jefferson's Ocean (depends on Voyage).  Angel's Envy.  Willet Pot Still Reserve.  Knob Creek.  Noah's Mill.  Stagg Jr (price).  Garrison Brothers Barrel Proof.  Remus Reserve.

Would not buy again....  Buffalo Trace.  Elijah Craig.  Driftless Glen.  Parker Hayes.  Old Granddad 114.  Weller Special Reserve (cost).  Burning Chair.  Garrison Brothers Balmorhea (cost).  Makers Mark.  Makers Mark Cask Strength.  Calumet Farms that is not 12 Year Black.

What I need to try....  Old Forrester (everything but Prohibition).   Non-Oaked Woodford Reserve.  Dickel.  4 Roses (all of them).

Easy to find, easy on the wallet.  Knob Creek Single Barrel.  Very Old Barton 86 proof.  Woodford Reserve Double Oaked.  12 Point Droptine.

Elijah Craig Barrel proof dropped the A124 bottles recently.  $72 in the Valley.  $93 around Milwaukee.
Happy I loaded up when I was in the Valley.
I saw some good stuff out on the shelves up there.  
Got a bottle of John J Bowman Single barrel for $70 (Been forever and a day since I've seen that thing).  And I'm excited for that one, because to me it tastes like Blanton's Gold.
Saw and left a lot of McKenna 10 year on the shelf at $55/bottle.
Saw and left a lot of EC Toasted at $52/bottle on the shelves.
Managed to score an Old Forrester Single Barrell at $70.
Saw a lot of Knob Creek 12 year for $74.  Got one bottle.  Left quite a few.
It was good hunting, but not around Milwaukee.
And still I've not found Penelope Rio.  ​Check that, I did, but it was $200.  Heck no.

I haven't seen prices come down too much, but I suppose when your start price is 2X the secondary market, cutting it in half looks like a sale.  My guess is that some of these smaller retailers got these bottles and sold them for crazy prices for a year or two.  Now that has cooled so those obscene prices will come down to just crazy prices.

A few months ago, I noted that bourbon prices seem to be settling down.  Starting to see bottles that were previously all hidden "behind the counter" out on the shelf.  Liquor store by my house was selling Blanton's small batch for $299 a bottle last year.  Now they are advertising it at $130.  They always have allocated stuff but the prices were outrageous.  Now they are emailing sale prices that are a third of what they were.  Am I on the right track here?

Never had it but for 11 bucks nice buy. It is up there in price. 

Scored a bottle of Horse Soldier for $11 at Walmart yesterday. Couldn’t pass that up. It’s pretty dang good! From what I googled it looks like a $50 bottle more/less.

Bottle kill Saturday, I had a few bottles with one drink in them.  I made three WI oldies. First was Old Forester 100 then Four Roses small batch, and finished with Buffalo Trace. ​

John Wick drank Blantons.

There have been some recent product placements I have seen on TV that I found interesting- and maybe a bit concerning.  Yellowstone showed the Duttons drinking Weller a couple times.  The ranch hands went for Buffalo Trace at the election party.  Last week Mark and Digger were pouring Angels' Envy on Moonshiners and the recent Blue Bloods had a union official and Frank having Blanton's.  Just what we need...   smh

Well, a friend of mine gave me a sample of Round One, finished in amburana barrels.  
Happy I didn't spend money on that bottle.  It's sweet, but the initial taste is kerosene.  Just terrible.
Easily the worst amburana finish that I've had out of Round One, Red Line and Starlight Cigar Blend.

Also?  Picked up two Woodford Reserve Masters Collection Batch Proof bottles.  I had one, but it is disappearing quickly.  Happy to have backups to that bottle!  

Stopped at a few distilleries around Louisville on the way to Florida.  Elijah Craig Toasted was my favorite. 

Thanks Vegas. Think I’ll stick to Dramboui or Countreau for after dinner drinks. But would definitely try some you mentioned…

Glimmertwin,

I do like the Ballotin Bourbon, specifically Bourbon Ball.  This is a desert whiskey, low in proof, lots of sweet.  60 proof.
These other bottles like Starlight Cigar Blend and Red Line Elements Amburana are high proof, like 110 proof.
It's crazy how sweet these amburana barrels can make bourbon.

I feel like Starlight Cigar Blend was around $80-$85.
Red Line Elements was like $75.

I like my bourbon on the sweeter side.  But even these were too sweet for me.  Sip or Two?  Maybe even on small pour?  You bet.  But....if I want multiple pours in an evening, man, that's just too much sweet.

Vegas, “milk offa cinnamon toast crunch”amazing analogy.  Told me be toute sweet for me.  Intriguing, I , like I bet most others here, had never heard  of those dessert whiskies. 
Bet they would go down great as “shooters” especially after a big meal. Next time I get to s fancy place for dinner, (sadly rare here in Central Wi.) will try one. 
Dare I ask what you paid for these bottles?

So I went a little crazy with the Amburama bourbons.
I bought Starlight Cigar Blend.  Really liked it.
Heard about Red Line Elements finished in Amburama barrels.  So I got two of them.
I had both this weekend.

If you are going down that rabbit hole of bourbon, here's a review for you.  Both are very sweet.  Like dessert sweet.  A little bit goes a long way with both.

Starlight Cigar Blend has more overall flavor.  It is very forward with sweet vanilla cookie and cinnamon.  But, right after that initial taste is deep tobacco flavor.  It mellows out the sweet quite a bit.  I had some neat, and I really liked it.  I put it over ice?  And it got sweeter.  I do not recommend this one with ice, at least to start.

Red Line Elements, well, I head read that it was better than Starlight Cigar Blend.  I disagree.  It is kind of crazy how sweet it is with cinnamon first, then vanilla cookie.  Graham Cracker.  And?  Nothing else.  Even a neat pour was very sweet and it was only amplified when put over ice.  It is like drinking the ​milk after cinnamon toast crunch cereal....only amplified with sweet.

If you want sweet bourbon for a dessert bottle?  Grab one.  But if you want to sit down and enjoy multiple pours, those are tough bottles.

I heard that Round One has an amburama finish...but I haven't found it yet.  I will try it, when I see it.

And I've had a pour on Penelope Rio.  That is some amazing stuff.  Sweet, but also tropical with hints of rum, pineapple, coconut....etc. Very different from a regular bourbon.

Yup.  Covid was when bourbon prices really exploded.
Regarding frost on the balls, usually a good pair of thermals takes care of that.
But if not?  I found the molds work well and create clear ice balls, when I use bottled water or reverse osmosis water.  Tap water always turns out cloudy.  You just can't trust public entities with your balls.

BMR, Vegas, thanks for the info. I might have to get me some ice balls. This little place had ER for 26.00, but then it started moving up. Then it was gone. Covid buyers killed the price. Oh well. Thanks again.