Red Stag by Jim Beam

If youve been reading along, and know anything about what i like, youd know i am pretty resistant to flavors corrupting my bourbon.

Maker’s/Ginger Ale….offensive.

Bulleit Coke…..fucking seriously?

Im from the school that is plain and simple….if you need a gimmick or need to add flavor to something to make it pallatable, then said something has issues. (Im talking to YOU lime infused beers.)

About three months ago i had starting hearing mumblings about a cherry infused Beam in the bourbon Twitterverse. (Believe it or not, ALOT of people that know their shit are on this) i got two completely different, immediate reactions.

Reaction 1, “Oh Jesus Christ, no, cough syrup, Southern Comfort, kill it with fire.”

The other reaction, the latter reaction was this: “Hmmm…this is a Beam. Fathers of Booker’s, Baker’s, Basil and Knob.” (Those 4 names together sound like a quartet of Disney characters…drunk, obviously). But these names also represent an amazing array of history, quality and taste.

Ok, Beam…ill bite.

I had to special order my bottle from CASK as apparently, im so fucking cutting edge with the bourbon, (ha) so i couldnt wait to try it out. The packaging is gorgeous…im kind of a sucker for good packaging, so this was an immediate win. I cracked it open, and IMMEDIATELY the smell of cherries and oak smacked me in the shnozz. It was beautiful…i found the smell to be anything BUT medicinal. Poured about one finger neat into a low-ball glass and took a sip, and ill tell ya…i was expecting Syrup City.

Not so much! It was clean….nothing coated my mouth, nor did i want a glass of milk. I will say this, it was a bit sweet. Now granted, im not used to sweet and whiskey. I dont do Jack and Cokes, i dont do Manhattans, though admittedly, i will reach for a Whiskey Sour on occasion. But this…the oakiness of bourbon killed alot of the sweet and left some of the tart of black cherry. I made another over rocks, and it was even better….the cold made the drink refreshing, and could hold up as a stand-alone.

Ill say this…it isnt something id reach for over my regular Jim Beam Black, but its definitely a WIN for the liquor cabinet. I can absolutely think of a million uses for this…a bourbon Manhattan for one. Im not really down with how sweet it is, but considering WHAT it is, its pretty respectable for a flavored bourbon. One thing to be careful of…because it is sweet, and smooth, its REAL easy to let this 80 proof booze get away from you.

My score – 84 out of 100

Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon

Living in the Bay Area, we are completely spoiled by the selection of great restaurants and bars. The choices are sometimes so vast, that its completely overwhelming. We pick away here and there, and last night, we hit A Cote in Oakland.

As a pretty seasoned bourbon drinker, (i mean that figuratively and literally) my eyes usually focus on the bar to the slight translucency of BROWN. And then i saw it across the bar.

The faceted bottle…the horse on the top…..Blanton’s. Like a butterscotch jewel from afar….

I became excited….like that rush you get when someone tells you “Pssst…i forgot to tell you, i have a house in Tuscany….and you can have it.” I knew it was rare for a bar, let alone a restaurant to have it, so i decided that after dinner, id knock it down.

Once our delicious dinner of flank steak, salmon and gnocci ended, i got my Blanton’s. It was served neat WITH an extra glass of ice on the side. Holy fuck, right?

I am coming from two camps on this one. I usually drink bourbon on the rocks….but admittedly, i regret having poured this one over rocks. It was definitely better neat….the legs, so viscous and thick….like a port wine.

The taste is like DisneyWorld in your mouth. Chaotic, colorful and hot. The initally sip is surprisingly smooth for it being 93 proof, with immediate caramel notes and the oakiness of Pop’s tobacco and his old leather sofa. At the next level, you get vanillas and creaminess which soften the next-to- follow minty spice finish. Am i eating Indian food, or drinking bourbon here? Its amazing.

And then after that first sip warms your belly, the second one is just as enjoyable.

I dont think this is a bourbon i would have all the time….this is the one you keep hidden from people.

Like me….hide your Blanton’s from me because i WILL steal it from you.

My score – 99 out of 100

Nothing’s perfect. But this is as close as it gets.

Booker’s 8 Year Bourbon

Jesus Ca-Ripes on 12 red wigs.

 

THIS is what bourbon is all about. Ive been a fan of Booker’s for a minute, but for some reason, i never really appreciated it until recently. I think my pallette matured or even got smart. Because daddy likey.

 

Alot.

 

Lets start with the initial aroma that can only be the same as Ivan Drago punching you in the fucking face with a handful of molten caramel. Such an intense INTENSE complexity, it is a bit surprising. The most intense smell i get is a smokey citrusey vanilla oakiness. Like if you were to set a stripper’s casket on fire.

 

Ooof….too much? Too intense? I told you…this is a badass bourbon.

 

Then there is the taste. 

 

Imagine the greatest grand marsala that has ever touched your lips with a meritage of a thousand spices and smells while 14 ninjas were hitting you in the face with throwing stars made out of cloves and set ablaze. This is the kid you graduated that disappeared for a year and came back with a Beard, knowing 9 different disciplines of martial arts. This is all that of the bourbon family.

 

Where do you begin with the flavors….think of what a burnt orange tastes like just moments after you eat a Werther’s original. 

 

Its a little hot on the lips at first, as it weighs in at a Leviathan sized 126 proof. And believe it or not, its amazing neat or on rocks. I even had it with just a little spritz of water. Anyway you slice it, this bourbon IS why people move to Kentucky.

 

That and horses. Big, badass horses.

 

My score – 98 out of 100. Best. Bourbon. Ever. So far…….

Maker’s Mark

Weve all been there…

 

On an elevator, in a club, wherever…someone walks by you, or stands next to you, and then it hits you.

 

The smell….this can either be a terrible moment (if they smell like a homeless person took a shit in a burning tire) or an incredible moment that youll never forget (like when that hot chick brushed her fingers through her hair and you felt realllly creepy for taking a whiff).

 

Maker’s Mark did that to me. The first time ive ever had it was in a dimly lit bar in Rhode Island. I pulled the glass slowly to my mouth and before wetting my lips, i took in the most lucious smells of butterscotch and oak. It just about knocked me on my ass, the way the smell of burnt marshmallows makes you feel 8 again.

 

See…its the quality of ingredients that enables Maker’s Mark to have such an amazing finish, smell (nose as the snobs will say) and texture. You may have heard this…”All bourbons are whiskeys, but not all whiskeys are bourbons”.  As a bourbon, Maker’s is made of ingredients ONLY indiginous to Bourbon County, KY.  Primarily, bourbons (and whiskeys) are made of 70% corn, and the rest a malted grain like barley. The corn is what lends whiskeys its sweetness.

 

To me, Maker’s is one of the sweetest, smoothest bourbons ive ever had. To be a 90 proof bourbon (45% alcohol) and finish so smooth is a feat in itself.

 

Plus, for whatever reason, Maker’s Mark doesnt make me fucking psychotic in large doses like SOME whiskeys ill mention later.

 

I highly recommend this neat or with rocks, but under NO circumstances should you mix this with anything.

 

It would be like using rare truffle oil to doctor a Big Mac. Fuck that.

 

Maker’s is the perfect compliment to the end of a meal, a day at the office or punching a clown.

 

Hey, its your day… you deserve it.

 

My score – 93