Basil Hayden's | Rating 90

T

his spicy bourbon with a hint of honey flavor iand the right amount of oak is my new favorite 80 proof of all. BH is perfectly distilled and aged to drink with a little ice, no water needed. The first glass finishes as smooth as the tenth glass with little to no bite and a smooth after taste. The bottle will look as nice as any other bourbon on your shelf, if you need the look to go with your taste. This bourbon doesn't get the bar calls it deserves. From now on when Maker's, Knob, and BH are on the shelf, Basil Haydens is my choice everytime. 

Ag

e: 8 years
 

Proo

f: 80
 

Pric

e: gift, ? 

Rati

ng: Excellent (i.e. 90)

--Doc Jason

Phillips Union | Rating 40

It states on the bottle that its a blend of Canadian whiskey and Kentucky bourbon.  That's the biggest load of fickle matter I've ever heard.  They should have labeled it a woman's whiskey that captures the perfect blend of Malibu rum and (insert a flavored vodka here).  It was like I was drinking a white Russian all night long.  Needless to say I was very disappointed in it.  It does however go very well with coke as it has a very vanilla/hazelnut taste to it.  It goes down very smooth.  A good selection if you are wanting to break-in the old lady on the art of whiskey drinking, but never would I be caught dead with a bottle of this in my hands around  the boys.  Not a huge dent in the pocket book as it only cost $18.  Like I  said its a woman's whiskey.  I like women and whiskey all the same but never  at the same time, only one after the other.  Preferably the whiskey then the  woman because then you would be getting lucky at the end of the night, but  I'm sure we've all been there where a fifth of whiskey was needed to remove any memory of the woman that came before the bottle or had a figure that looked like the bottle. 

Rating

: I give Phillips Union whiskey a 40 on a scale of  100.  Its in that  category of "Only drink it if its free or if it will get 
you laid, anytime else is just not worth it."
--Matt

Corner Creek Reserve | Rating 74.5

After I dusted the bottle, twisted the cork and splashed, nice and neat, my first glass of this never seen before brown beauty into my glass, I gave her a sniff and then thought " I just wasted approximately 250 pesos. My first taste matched my first sniff. I stepped back and thought, this cannot be right. So I considered the fact that I had been on call for a week, which means no drinking, and took a look at the back of the bottle. The words "lightly filtered" for a "complex flavor" appear on their wine bottle Esq label. So I do, what so many consider sacrilegious, and give her a splash of bottled Texas spring water. There ya have it, the flavor goes from chewing on a Oak tree root to a very "complex" bourbon. Shortly there after I find myself 4 glasses in and smiling, thanks to this strong tasting oak juice with an almost spicy/cinnamon after taste. A little more edge to the flavor than my palate prefers, but for $24.97 a steal every time. If you can't get enough oak aging, this is for you. Dedicated to "Marvin and Sydney", I would have to say I would be dedicated to kicking Marvin's ass and giving Sydney (no matter what she looks like) the ol' Whiskey D after half a bottle of unique brown stuff. Give it a try.

  



Pric

e: Tag: 32.99, Paid: 24.97 (must of been on sale) for 750ml
  


Alcohol Content

: 88 proof
  


Ratin

g: 74.

5 
--Doc Jason

Knob Creek | Rating 90

Knob Creek- one good whiskey.  I had it with water and I must say that it is better served straight on the rocks.  The water masked the full flavor of  the whiskey and it tasted flat.  Knob is a smooth enough whiskey not to have  to mix it with anything to take off the edge.

This brings me to a important factor in drinking whiskey- the mix.  It is 
crucial that you have to have an experienced and knowledgeable bartender to  mix a fine whiskey with anything.  If the mixture is correct the full flavor  will brought out in the drink.  If you have a bartender that commonly mixes  other drinks in that the sole purpose is to see how much liquor can be added  to a mixture, the whiskey will turn out all wrong and the experience of a  good high end whiskey is ruined due to the inexperience of the bartender.  I believe that was a major part of the problem with my Knob and water  yesterday evening.

Even with the wrong mixtures, Knob is still a very fine whiskey and I would  recommend it to anyone looking to expand there whiskey experiences beyond  the Jim, Jack and SoCo standards at any bar you go to.  It is a step up in  quality so be prepared to take a step up in price both in the bar and at the  store.  The extra is well worth it in my opinion.

On this particular evening I was enjoying my Knob and water when the 
atmosphere was suddenly picked up when a couple of older gentlemen came  driving up to the bar- one in a completely refurbished 1962 Corvette and the  other in a refurbished 1957  Studebaker Golden Hawk with a rebuilt engine that would make the old Chevy 454 cry like a baby.  If the Knob and water  wasn't enough, the addition of two classic automobiles to the scene at the  bar was enough to make the evening a success in my book.  Its not everyday  that you get to enjoy a fine whiskey while checking out two classic cars.  
Turns out the two older gentlemen were also quite the comedians and kept the  bar going for quite some time with their material.  I feel obligated to  share one of the jokes with you at this time- Have you ever heard of a  carnival woman?  No, what is that.  (As he wipes off his face) the kind of  woman who sits on your face so you can guess her weight.

While the Knob and water was not the best I had ever had the rest of the 
evening made up for it and all is well that goes down as smooth as a good 
whiskey.  I give Knob Creek a 90 on a 100 point scale.  It is a must have in  my regular rotation.

100 Proof



--Matt

1792 Ridgewood Reserve | Rating 80

Brought to you by the Barton distilling company in Kentucky, 1792 Ridgewood Reserve is one whiskey that state should be proud of.  There are two reasons people drink whiskey: 1) They love the taste and enjoy the explosion of flavor on their tongue with every sip.  2) They just want to get drunk so they think they are a whole lot cooler than they are when they are sober.  

If you don't like the taste of whiskey and you just want to get bombed, buy a bottle of whiskey that comes in a plastic bottle with a screw top lid (See my fellow bourbon boy, Marc's, reviews).  However, if you do enjoy the taste of a good whiskey, try 1792 out.  As I am more of a purist when it comes to whiskey, I always give the distilled liquid a chance by itself on the rocks.  I was not disappointed as I poured a healthy portion of this whiskey on top of 3 chunks of ice and started sipping.  This Kentucky whiskey is so velvety if it were socially acceptable I would drape myself in it.  A seriously smooth flavor, you'll be surprised as you are starting to pour your third glass and tell yourself, "Self, watch it or you are going to finish off the liter tonight."





I did try a splash of water with a glass, but I would not recommend it.  Sometimes a splash of water can bring out flavor, but I felt like it just diluted the taste of this one.  If anything, just letting your ice melt a bit should soften it up enough for you.  It comes in a pretty basic bottle with a neat tag on the back that tells you how long it was aged (this whiskey is aged 8 years) and who inspected it before it was put in the bottle.  Not that it really matter if someone actually inspected it, but its nice to think there is a little bit of a personal touch that goes into each bottle.  I guess that "personal touch" as well as the wonderful flavor make this whiskey a little pricey.  It runs about $60 per liter.



I would normally encourage people to indulge in as much good whiskey as they want, such as polishing off a bottle in an evening.  However, we are the boys of bourbon not the men of fancy whiskey who wipe their butts with Benjamin Franklins.  Therefore, at $60 a bottle, I recommend sipping on a few glasses nice and slow and enjoy the flavor.  After a few glasses, you can switch over to the "rotgut" brands and you probably won't be able to tell the difference.  By that time you'll be telling girls that you are a producer and if they let you touch them on the thigh, you'll make them a star.  Point is, enjoy 1792 down to the last drop

.

  

On a scale from one to ten, I will give it an 8.  It gets points for its smoothness and general good taste, but it damn sure better be good for that much money.  Bottoms

up.



Proof:

93.7

--Eric

Bulleit Bourbon Frontier Whiskey | Rating 44

Since I had never heard of it and the bottle looks like something right out of the 19th century, I had to try it. Apparently invented by Augustus Bulleit, so it's got that going for it, which is nice. However, it seems this particular brand has been around only since 1987. And I think the proof is in the taste. I know I don't have to qualify this every time, but it doesn't taste "bad." It just has a distinct hint of dust or something...perhaps what frontier bourbon might have actually tasted like. At $20 I have to give this one a thumbs down for taste, but a thumbs up for authenticity. Of course, that is only one man's opinion. This whiskey won the gold medal at the 2004 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, so it obviously tickles the palate for some people (i.e. gays). Maybe worth a shot for you, pun intended. Thank you thank you I will be here all week. I will still savor every last drop until the next bottle finds its way into my liquor cabinet.

FYI

: 90 Proof. Just like on the frontier.
--Marc

Jack Daniel's No. 7 | Rating 82

I'll admit up front that I am partial to the Jack Daniel's line of whiskeys, especially the black label. It was the whiskey that I cut my whiskey drinking teeth on. I love the fact that it is somewhere in the middle of the road as far as not being too sweet and not being too dry for my taste. It can be mixed with jut about anything and it still tastes good. Plus it drinks really well by itself. Its my utility infield if you will. It can adapt to just about any situation--on the rocks, or with water in a formal setting, or mixed with coke or sweet and sour mix at a backyard BBQ. not many other whiskeys can do that.

The Taste

: As mentioned earlier its a middle of the spectrum taste wit ha slight lean towards the dry side. It doesn't have the sting that other whiskeys have which I like.

The Bottle

: What can you say, it might be the most recognizable liquor bottle ever. The No. 7 label is like none other. Or should I say the others are nothing like the old No. 7. Its an American icon. Enough said.

The Price

: Its in a good price range. $30-$40 at the store and a reasonable price at the bar. Not too cheap that its a regular on the 25 cent night circuit and not too expensive that it blows the budget with a couple of rounds.

The Hangover

: Its a high enough end whiskey that the hangovers are usually mild. When dealing with a dark liquor its key in the hangover department to find something that's not going to beat you to death the next morning. I've drank the better part of a 750 ml in a relatively short time period and woke up the next morning feeling like one million dollars.

Overall

: I give Jack Daniel's Black Label two thumbs up. The taste is good, it has a coolness factor like no other whiskey and its a quality affordable selection that doesn't stay with you the next morning. Its one of my favorites.
--Matt