Got some Eagle Rare 10 year and smoking some vanilla black cavendish. Not necessarily for JDC, but he'll be remembered.

About to pour some Jeffersons Aged at Sea. RIP JDC.

How is jeffersons oceanic?

Makers Mark Cast Strength

Here.

I had some EH Taylor Small Batch. Quite good and now need to hide my single barrel to keep from opening

It's really damn good. Now to be fair, my father in law bought it for me. I have a buddy who found it for about $60 at Goody Goody in Dallas, but my father in law bought it at Specs for $80. I don't generally spend that much but I'll say it's very flavorful and incredibly smooth. If you find a bottle at a reasonable price, I'd highly recommend.

I thought it was overpriced personally. It was smooth but not much to write home about IMO

Anyone tried the Jefferson's Reserve Groth Cask Finish? Local store got a couple in, but i passed... wondering if i should go back.

Went to the Garrison Bros. tasting dinner at Federal Grill last night. Had the Spring 2014, Fall 2014, and the Specs SB. They were all better than the oaky stuff he was putting out in his early releases. The complexity and flavors are improving. They're starting to barrel in 30 gal barrels instead of 15 gal barrels, so the product is gonna get better and better as time goes by. Had a great time meeting Dan and his staff.

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Went to the Garrison Bros. tasting dinner at Federal Grill last night. Had the Spring 2014, Fall 2014, and the Specs SB. They were all better than the oaky stuff he was putting out in his early releases. The complexity and flavors are improving. They're starting to barrel in 30 gal barrels instead of 15 gal barrels, so the product is gonna get better and better as time goes by. Had a great time meeting Dan and his staff.

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I saw that on FB yesterday, was wondering what your review was going to be given the relative raw and raging disdain and hate you typically have for Garrison Brothers. Glad to see they are smoothing out their product.

I still have never tried it and keep passing up bottles, but always think that I'll eventually have to pick one up just because one of these days.

I got 1 bottle of Garrison as a gift and it either had a bad cork or the worst case of "beam funk" ever. I found it entirely undrinkable the nose and taste were moldesque. It makes me sad because I will never buy a bottle of GB now and i'd like to try the SiB - just cant risk it for the price. Glad they are getting better.

Tried a cask strength or something similar at a friend's. Tasted strangely like corn.

Glad to see they're getting better.

^^^^^That was my impression of GB as well. Strong corn. Hope it gets better.

I passed on EC cask strength yesterday. Hope I don't regret it. They wanted $65.

Live your life with no regrets. AC.

Put it behind you and move on.

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I passed on EC cask strength yesterday. Hope I don't regret it. They wanted $65.

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Was it the 140 proof?

Yes

Help me fill my new 1 liter oak barrels from Oak Barrels, Ltd! Got three of them for Father's Day. I'll rinse and soak them this week and fill them next weekend.

I think one of them is getting a "Poor Man's Pappy" mix. My other options include:

• Larceny
• Evan Williams Single Barrel
• Old Weller Antique
• Buffalo Trace
• Weller 12 Year Old
• Four Roses Single Barrel
• Woodford Reserve
• Henry McKenna 10 Year BiB
• Old Granddad 114
• Bowman Brothers
• Bulleit

Those are my "baseline" bourbons on hand. I also have some TX Blended Whiskey and Crown Royal at my disposal. I'm also open to other mixtures like the "Poor Man's Pappy"...

I emptied my Manhattan mix about 10 days ago and my W12/OWA mix today after 2 months on barrel. They were my first batches. The Weller mix was much darker and had nice vanilla tones. My next set will have one barrel of FR yellow label and in not sure what I will do in the other. Maybe another Manhattan mix. I wouldn't do anything that I think is already a decent pour.

Any chance this thread has a lead or hookup in the industry for a bottle of George T Stagg? I can never seem to work my way high enough up the list at my local shops ... no matter how much I offer in bribe ...

If you're on Facebook check out the group Bourbon Secondary Market. They have anything you'd like to buy or trade for

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Any chance this thread has a lead or hookup in the industry for a bottle of George T Stagg? I can never seem to work my way high enough up the list at my local shops ... no matter how much I offer in bribe ...

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No but it was delicious

2014 GTS is stellar.

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2014 GTS is stellar.

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Heard this '15 release is going to be even better. Unfortunately just rumors until it hits the palate ...

Just keep hunting. Secondary market will be your best bet but you will pay a pretty steep price.

I finally got my bottle but had to track it down through a foodservice connection.

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Help me fill my new 1 liter oak barrels from Oak Barrels, Ltd! Got three of them for Father's Day. I'll rinse and soak them this week and fill them next weekend.

I think one of them is getting a "Poor Man's Pappy" mix. My other options include:

• Larceny
• Evan Williams Single Barrel
• Old Weller Antique
• Buffalo Trace
• Weller 12 Year Old
• Four Roses Single Barrel
• Woodford Reserve
• Henry McKenna 10 Year BiB
• Old Granddad 114
• Bowman Brothers
• Bulleit

Those are my "baseline" bourbons on hand. I also have some TX Blended Whiskey and Crown Royal at my disposal. I'm also open to other mixtures like the "Poor Man's Pappy"...

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I think the OGD114 would be a fantastic candidate for extra aging. High proof, packed with flavor, and relatively young. That would be my choice.

Watching Texas Rising sipping on the last of my MM Cask Strength. I'm not a huge fan of MM or 46 but I enjoy the cask strength.

Larceny, OWA, Weller 12, OGD114, Bulliet. I wouldn't touch the others with a small barrel as they simply don't need it.

Look on the small barrel thread, lots of info there.

Wanted to put FR Yellow in the barrel but the store didn't have any. Ended with a big handle of Larceny. Next time it sees the light of day will be in October.

My barrel shipped today from Pearland so hopefully will have it here in Cypress tomorrow. I'm almost giddy about aging some bourbon

You will like the Larceny. It takes the extra aging very well IMO.

Hope you kept a few drams of the original to compare when you dump your barrel. It is fun.

OK, here's what I decided to try:

Barrel 1
60% Bulleit
30% Bulleit 10 Year
10% Bulleit Rye

Mixed it in glass before hand to give it a whirl. It's actually a really nice blend!

Barrel 2
60% Old Weller Antique
40% WL Weller 12

I have a mix that I bottled a while back so I can compare.

Barrel 3
20% WL Weller 12
80% Buffalo Trace

Since these are brand new 1 liter barrels, I will check them in two weeks. Can't wait to taste these!

Had to come to Houston for a funeral and hit up a Specs while I was here and picked up a bottle of Booker's small batch bourbon. Super excited to try it.

Heading to the Frankfort side of the Bourbon Trail in a couple of weeks. The plan is to hit up Buffalo Trace, Woodford and Four Roses.

What I am wondering if you all had any recommendations on great bars/restaurants where my buddies and I could get flights of bourbon for sampling and any Liquor stores in the area or towards Louisville that carry a great selection of bourbon? (consider it a honey-hole)

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Heading to the Frankfort side of the Bourbon Trail in a couple of weeks. The plan is to hit up Buffalo Trace, Woodford and Four Roses.

What I am wondering if you all had any recommendations on great bars/restaurants where my buddies and I could get flights of bourbon for sampling and any Liquor stores in the area or towards Louisville that carry a great selection of bourbon? (consider it a honey-hole)

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I'd recommend staying in Lexington. Woodford, Buffalo Trace, and Lawrencburg (which has both Four Roses and Wild Turkey) are all within a half hour or so of Lexington, and the bar/restaurant/hotel scene is waaaaaaaaay better in Lexington than either Frankfort or Lawrenceburg.

Unfortunately my two favorite bourbon bars/restaurants in Lexington (Jonathan's at Gratz Park, and Da Sha's/Horse & Barrel) have both closed since I left. There's a very good Italian restaurant downtown called Portofino that carries a great selection of high end bourbons, usually including BTAC, PVWs, and a bunch of private select type bottles. Also, Pazzos Pizza is right by UK, and does great pizza by the slice at lunch time (huge slices). They have an extensive craft beer list, and quite a few bourbons at very reasonable prices, not as much of the super high-end stuff like BTAC that you'll find at Portofino, but most everything you would expect to find in the bourbon isle at a store like Specs, and most all of them for under $10/pour.

Try to time lunch for when you're in Frankfort and hit up Staxx BBQ, it's different than Texas style bbq, but it's pretty darn good, and it's fast and easy to get in and out, and on your way to the next distillery, almost fast-food esque. Plus there's nothing better in the middle of a long day of bourbon tasting than a big old pile of juicy pulled pork with a selection of sauces right there on your table to mix and match to your tastes.

As for the stores, the best selection in Lexington is going to be at Liquor Barn, I don't know about Louisville. You're not going to find a bunch of rare bottles sitting around on selves at MSRP. If anything they're even harder to find in Kentucky than elsewhere. I did run into a Van Winkle 10 and 12 in a mom and pop shop in Lexington last month, and the guy wanted $350 for the 10, and $750 for the 12. And those weren't even Pappy's.