I just noticed it’s the second year in a row for this, so all I can say to Bill Hancock’s bosses is that if you deliberately planned for the college football season to end the night before the next season of Justified starts, I appreciate your timing. Anything that takes a little sting out of the most depressing day of the year helps.
I might even have to raise a glass of Woodford in your honor tonight.
Get The Picture 
Senator, could you come up with a game that might entertain us and keep us engaged this off season?
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Senator, you tried Buffalo Trace? I just got turned on to it.
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I have. Enjoy it.
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That’s an outstanding call. It has notes of vanilla in it. Tastes great neat.
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If your taste runs in that direction, you might want to give Angels’ Envy a try.
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Good Call! Angel’s Envy or Blanton’s is my Justified libation
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Raylon returns…….thank god.
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Bourbon family tree. You’re welcome. http://www.gq.com/life/food/201311/bourbon-whiskey-family-tree
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Thanks for that. I’ll have to give Weller a try.
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Weller 12 actually shares a good bit in common with Buffalo Trace (and you can see why). The wheat makes it a little smoother, in my opinion.
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I tried Weller 12 when I first saw this list. Good stuff though I think Buffalo Trace is just as good. I’ll happily drink either.
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The manager at the liquor store where I commonly trade says that he can’t get enough Weller–it just flies off the shelf. Underpriced for the quality of the liquor. It’s wheat based like Makers Mark.
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For years Weller was a premium brand and priced about $10 higher than it currently is now. About two years ago they decided to drop to semi-premium pricing to boost volume. And boy did they ever. I have a very hard time getting the 1.75Ls in. Usually they bill out.
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And yes, you’re exactly right. It’s a “wheated bourbon” with less corn and more wheat on the mashbill.
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Fascinating chart/article. I’m not much of a drinker anymore, but when I do it’s generally maker’s mark. Given where maker’s mark sits on the chart, I’d probably enjoy Weller also.
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Thanks for another great year, Senator.
I could fill the comment with Bourbon recommendations, but I’ll throw out one small nugget. Big Bottom is a bourbon whiskey out of Oregon and has a huge following in the NW. We’re lucky in Georgia to be one of only 8 states where it is distributed. If you can get your hands on the Port Cask Finish, you’re in luck. However, their small batch straight bourbon whiskey( 91 proof) is solid and is usually a good value ($27-$30) due to smaller demand for “Oregon Bourbon.” Others at a little higher price point that are pretty darn good but that don’t kill you looking for a bottle like Pappy…Pritchard’s Double Barrel Bourbon or Col. EH Taylor Single Barrel.
Also…small nugget of Georgia and Bourbon history…if you are into either…Four Roses brand got its start in Atlanta(Vinings, really) by Rufus Rose after the Civil War. The Rose house is still standing on Peachtree St across from Crawford Long (Midtown)(and he is entombed at Oakland)…I always keep a bottle in the house as a tribute to the great Georgia bourbon maker [don’t let the fact that it is own by a Japanese corporation distract you from its origins!].
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My wife thought she would try and get me a bottle of pappy for Christmas, said it was like trying to find a unicorn. I could have told her this, but it was funny hearing her take and experience with it. Consolation prize: the EH Taylor Single Barrel – I don’t think she had that much trouble finding it, either.
I’ll have to check out Big Bottom.
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Thanks for all that.
I can tell I’ve got some Bourbon shopping to do. 😉
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I just was given a bottle of Breckenridge from Colorado that’s pretty smooth.
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We always drank Four Roses in college when we were broke. I was surprised when I first went to Europe and saw it was considered top shelf there. Thanks for the history on it.
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I think the Japanese own Martin guitars too and aren’t Fenders made somewhere in South America.
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Martin = All American although our Shinto brethren love them some vintage boxes. Doubled my money on a ’63 OOO-18 by selling in Japan once.
Fenders are built in the US (Custom & Deluxe), Meheeco (Standards), occasionally Japan (one-offs) and all over the Asian world (Korea, Indonesia and China for Squiers and lower). Most of the Asian factories build Epiphones, Fenders, Samicks, Johnsons, Alvarez, fake Gibsons, Recording Kings ad nauseam side by side on the same machines.
As for the hooch, Sazerac Rye Whiskey is not bad on a cold winter’s eve either. My gameday swill of choice the past couple of years has been Early Times 354. It’s an unpretentious naive vintage that won’t fuck up the flavor of your stadium cup coke.
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I am tired.
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You look tired.
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Remember it’s rated MALV: Mayhem Appalachia Likker Violence (I stole that from Spencer Hall).
The best thing about Justified is that Chief Art Mullens keeps me in line during the Offseason, lol.
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Angels Envy is legit it’s the house bourbon, well, in my house.
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I’m excited about Justified starting back but after the football season we just went through I’m half expecting Raylan to get shot and killed in the first episode.
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Seriously? This happened?
http://deadspin.com/brent-musburger-welcome-everybody-im-kirk-herbstrei-1495942057
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Yes it did. I had to LOL.
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Since this has kind of turned into a Bourbon thread, I thought I’d throw my 2 cents. FWIW, I work in the booze biz. Angel’s Envy is pretty spectacular. My all-time fav is Old Pogue, followed closely by Wathen’s. Buffalo Trace, as y’all have mentioned, is a great one, too. Especially for the price. And the beauty of the W.L. Weller is that it is so inexpensive for the pretty damn good quality. My everyday brand is Benchmark, which is made by Buffalo Trace. It shares a fairly similar mashbill to their flagship brand.
There’s one more I have to mention. Stagg just did a limited release of what they are calling Stagg Jr. It is comprised of much of what you would find with the regular Stagg, but this one is actually available. Easily one of the best Bourbons that is currently out there. It was released on allocation, so it’s pretty hard to find.
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Stagg Jr. is on my list…can’t find it.
If you live in Atlanta (or like to visit on occasion)…Local Three is my Bourbon spot.
http://www.localthree.com/drink/brownliquor.html
My only lament is that it is tucked away in what is basically an office building rather than…oh…say attached to a hotel where I could nap between drinks.
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I’ve got kitchen reservations for Saturday. I’m pretty pumped.
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I’ve got at least one bottle of Stagg Jr. put away. We’re in Covington, GA if you’re interested.
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Went to a Christmas party and some guy brought a bottle of Apple Pie … Said it was made with pure grain alcohol … Also said he gave a neighb a bottle and he woke up in his flower bed in the front yard … I tried and thought of Mag’s apple pie shine … was really tasty and could see how you could get sideways in a hurry with it
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That is funny!! Still laughing!
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Too bad we don’t have Pappy’s to sip.
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