This is going to be a blog about my journey with Bourbon and I'm going to try every kind I can get my hands on the next year and review them. Don't judge me you prick, I don't judge you when you're sitting around playing with yourself on your W.O.W. escapades. I tried to do a blog a few years ago about parenting and I got about 3 stories in and stopped. I entertained a few of my friends with some of my nightmare nights with my children and probably made my wife furious with some derogatory remarks about her, but it went nowhere. It was self involved and pretty much drove me to drink. So why the fuck am I doing this one?
Well, I have become a little bit obsessed with Maker's Mark. My cousin brought me my first bottle this past spring and have been a Maker's fan since... almost obsessed. I have been wondering if there are other bourbons out there that can trap my taste buds as well as Maker's has. I thought it might be fun to try and find out for myself what all the hubbub is about bourbon and document that journey. If I had the time I'd film the god damned thing, but I don't so back off.
This is not only for myself, but consider me the guinea pig to all the other innocent victims out there to bourbon's grasp. I'm going to go through the learning process of what is shitty bourbon and what's actually good. Bottom line... every stupid website I read reviewing bourbon is confusing. I want to know 3 things.
- Does it taste good.
- Should I buy an expensive ass bottle or is a cheaper bottle as good as that one I dropped a shit ton of money on and
- Should I purchase it again.
This whole experience might just go into the shitter along with my parenting blog, but at least I'll be having fun along the way.
Let's get started with this thing. I'm going to do quick reviews and keep this fucking short and sweet. I'm only going to review it the 3 ways I outlined above. Taste, Price, and Purchase Again. I want to be able to keep this thing going and not be tempted to shut it down. I've got a bunch up front I need to get out of the way that I've tried this past summer.
I'm going to get started with:
Maker's Mark:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maker's_Mark
I've been drinking it this past year and haven't been disappointed. This bad boy has vanilla and caramel notes, but doesn't stay on the palate too long. It has a great nose and doesn't have a very harsh smell, but can be a little biting on the way down. It's a good bite though and one that I enjoy. Good stand-by drink that needs to be in your booze cabinet. Drop some ice into your rocks glass and enjoy it with a little twist of lemon or even straight is nice.
Taste: Good
Price: $32-$35
Purchase Again: Yes
Maker's Mark 46:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maker's_Mark
Maker's 46 is Maker's newer offering and what sets it apart is that they add charred oak boards to the barrels during the curing. This is a lot smoother than the original Maker's Mark. It's more complex with its taste. It's got more of a spicy taste to it, cinnamon and clove. This is definitely a good one, but it's a little more than I want to spend and if you're drinking Maker's Mark, the original is amazing enough for the price you pay for 46.
Taste: Good
Price: $46-$50
Purchase Again: No. If on sale though... Why not.
Jim Beam :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Beam
This one I am only reviewing as I was out with my wife during the annual trip to her mother's place over the summer for Corn Capital Days in Olivia, MN. This was the only bourbon available to me while we were bar hopping. If you're ever stuck listening to a lame ass country cover band in a small town, you're going to need something to kill the pain. All in all, it's ok. I wouldn't go so far as to call it pure shit, but it's not something I'm going to put in my cabinet and drink. I might serve it to some asshole though. Maybe throw a bottle in your cabinet for the asshole. Not nearly as intense of a flavor as others and very average. I actually dulled down the harsh taste with coke and ended up with a headache later on that night. I think this should also be a part of my review process as well. Did it make me run to the medicine cabinet to get 20 aspirin. I am interested in trying Jim Beam's Red Stag and Jim Beam choice though. I'm not going to fully throw Jim Beam under the bus until I've tried those.
Taste: Harsh, biting and burns.
Price: $16-$25
Purchase Again: No.. Maybe for a personal joke on the asshole...
Rowan's Creek:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowan's_Creek
Ok, this one I picked up today as it was on sale at my local liquor store. I didn't read anything about it and this is how I want to roll with this whole journey. Impulse buys, gifts, whatever. Drink and review the damn thing. This is a really good bourbon. The smell is kind of biting and I was expecting to get some heart burn when I first sipped it. Totally opposite of the smell. It's very complex, the after taste has a very amazing caramel and vanilla appetence to it which begs to be added to with another pull from the glass. I would consider this a complex bourbon that fits my tastes, but is not something I would recommend buying unless you want to try something different. I'm just beginning to review these suckers and might have to re-cant my review at some point, but right now, if you're stuck in a booze store and Rowan's and Maker's is on a shelf, I'd grab the Maker's.
Taste: Complex
Price: $45 -$50
Purchase Again: No
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