The Bourbonators

Poker points updated

2012-01-29T15:01:00.001-06:00

Finally. I got all of the poker points entered. Enjoy. How many points are we playing for? You guys are rocking it this time. Holy crap.

Experimental Buffalo Trace

2012-01-25T10:10:00.001-06:00

Anyone else see this in the Apollo Liquor newsletter?

Special Purchase - Buffalo Trace 2011 Experimental Collection

BUFFALO TRACE DISTILLERY RELEASES LAST EXPERIMENTAL COLLECTION OF 2011

Bourbon made with Rice and Oats Are the Latest Two Experiments

Those creative distillers have been up to it again at Buffalo Trace Distillery. The latest round of whiskies in the Experimental Collection are two bourbons - one made with rice and one made with oats. And like their breakfast-sounding names, both provide a hearty mouthful without being over powerful.

Details are as follows:

Rice Bourbon Whiskey - These barrels were filled on April 30, 2002, and aged on the 7th floor of Warehouse I for 9 years and 5 months. Corn, malt and rice are the ingredients used in the recipe, resulting in a very clean aroma with the barrel notes of caramel and spice. A crisp flavor on the tongue is noticed, without any heaviness or oiliness whatsoever. A slight dryness near the end provides a quick finish. It is a very delicate whiskey.

Oat Bourbon Whiskey - These barrels have the same fill date, aging location and aging time as the Rice Bourbon. Corn, malt and oats are the ingredients used in this recipe, resulting in a pleasantly smoky nose with a rich aroma of toasted oats that offers a nice complexity. On the palette, the smokiness intrigues as hints of dried fig and stone fruit come through, and eventually give way to an earthy finish.

The Experimental Collection will be packaged in 375ml bottles. Each label will include all the pertinent information unique to that barrel of whiskey. These whiskeys will retail for approximately $46.35 each. They are 45% alcohol by volume. Each experiment is very rare and very limited. For more information on the Experimental Collection or the other products of Buffalo Trace Distillery, please contact Kris

Thoughts? Damn, our queue is getting longer. Anyone thinking two meetings a month? Don't tell the Mrs. I suggested that...

Auchentoshan for the win

2012-01-20T22:46:00.001-06:00

Thanks to Bammer for suggesting the Auchentoshan. The group was quite happy with this one. Very smooth, nice balance of flavors. Excellent choice for the price. It was $40 + tax in these parts. Treat of the night was quite possibly this peanut butter / chocolate chip ball with apples or graham crackers. I was partial to the apples.

As for poker, ugh. Get in ahead and...well. You know.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

January Meeting

2012-01-19T20:48:00.000-06:00

I stopped over to Apollo yesterday at lunch. Picked up two bottles for whiskey club. The one on the right is ~$50. The one on the left, well, I'd very much like to try it.

According to the calendar, we will probably only have enough people for the bottle on the left.

When will be able to try the bottle on the right? Can we say February? March? 2012? Private tasting in my basement cuz I got thirsty?

Darrin, I'm putting you in charge of adding a page for the whiskeys we want to try.

See you all tomorrow night!!!!

2012-01-19T10:21:00.002-06:00

These all sound interesting: http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2012/01/thats-the-spirit-3-american-whiskeys-you-should-know-corsair-balcones-stranahans-review.html

Scotch in a can?

2012-01-02T22:04:00.002-06:00

I can definitely see situations where this could be a useful product...

http://reason.com/blog/2012/01/02/will-scotch-in-a-can-get-the-four-loko-t

Finally - Templeton Rye!

2011-12-16T19:19:00.001-06:00

The December spirit is our long sought after Templeton Rye. Look it up and be jealous.

September - Scapa 16 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky Review

2011-11-08T17:49:00.002-06:00

The selection for September was the 16 year old Scapa. After a minor uncorking incident, resulting in some creative use of a cork and strainer, we were able to sample this scotch.

It has a delicate nose of fruit and with a hint of honey. The honey carries over with the taste, accompanied by oak caramel and vanilla with a nice peppery burn. Finishing with caramel and spice.

Overall, a very enjoyable scotch.

Poker points updates through October

2011-11-07T10:19:00.001-06:00

Not sure I'm a huge fan of how this spreadsheet is working, but the poker points are somewhat updated. Behind the scenes is a spreadsheet with all of the details by month. Should make it easier to do entry but this aggregate screen, well, it is what it is right now. If anyone is a whiz at Google Docs, let me know. Maybe you could help me get this looking a little nicer. Be sure to check your inbox as the next meeting date has been chosen. November 18. Hope to see you all there. If you didn't get an invite, let me know and I'll make sure you get it.

Whiskey purchased for tonight's meeting

2011-10-14T12:55:00.003-05:00

With a smile on my face, I can check off one todo item for today: buy booze. Here's a glimpse. Apollo Northwest Liqours set us up with a very good price too.

Don't forget to sign up for the Whisky Tasting!

2011-10-01T23:58:00.000-05:00

Don't forget to sign up for the Apollo Scotch Whisky tasting to be held Wednesday October 26th at The Oakwood Broadway Hotel. This time, we will be sampling the Arran Malts. Cost is $25 and the event is limit to 40 people. You can sign up by heading down to the Apollo by Best Buy north.

Oh...and who can host this month?

September's Whisky: Tobermory 10 year

2011-09-09T21:18:00.002-05:00

This unchillfiltered 10 year old whisky from the Isle of Mull is the spirit of the month. Early reviews are positive for the peaty whisky lovers. The new guys aren't big fans. I'm sure there will be more to after they get done cracking my pocket aces. Friggin' 4 card flushes.

August - Bakers Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey Review

2011-09-07T17:45:00.002-05:00

Once again this months meeting is rolling around without my review from last month. So, I guess it's time to post.

I've been putting this off, not because I didn't like the whiskey, but I failed to take any notes.

We selected Baker's 7 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. I'm surprised, but I think this is one bourbon that I had not tried before, and I don't know why. It's surprisingly smooth for the proof, however, if you let your palette get to clean, the next sip will catch you off guard. As I don't have any notes, I didn't take a detailed profile. However, I don't think I really needed one, as when I think of bourbon this is exactly what it should taste like.

$200,000 for a Blended Scotch?

2011-09-07T17:38:00.002-05:00

Chivas will release 21 bottles of a 45 year blended scotch: The Honours of Scotland, Tribute To Honours
The empty bottle might even give you some ROI, with it's 413 diamonds and 22 carats of other gemstones inlaid in gold and silver.

August - Bakers Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey

2011-08-20T01:47:00.000-05:00

Boys, the poker points have been updated. Next month, we will have a winner...provided DeeBakes, British Tony and myself show up. Any one of us could easily make it. 16 points is all Tony needs and since I made up for missing a month due to a faulty spinal column, it's anyone's game. Check out the points...

This month we sampled the Baker's Kentucky Bourbon. Aged only 7 years and coming in at 107 proof, all things were destined for a short trip through crazy town.

I'd tell you what an awesome night I had playing poker. Ya. Good times. Unlike last month, I rarely saw a hand and when I did, I couldn't hold on to a dominating lead. When 99 < 77, you know you run not so good. PokerFool made an appearance...he schooled us in the finer points of poker. 30 points in a single night. Crazy.

So, how was the Baker's? I'll be perfectly honest. It was $40 with tax and really quite good. When I pulled the cork, we immediately noticed the fruity aroma. Not sickeningly sweet, but very nice. 107 proof it said on the label but going down, it was very smooth. Much smoother than whiskeys far less strong. I think pretty much everyone was happy with this one. An excellent bourbon at a very reasonable price.

All in all, it was an fun night. Hope you all have a great weekend!

August - Ridge Distillery's Iowa Bourbon Review

2011-08-19T15:00:00.003-05:00

Since the August meeting commences in a few hours, I think it's time to put my review in for July.

I went home to visit my family and celebrate my dad's and sister's birthday. We stopped at Hy-Vee to pickup a cake, and while there I decided to check out their whiskey selection (since you can actually by liqueur at a grocery store in Iowa), and see if the latest batch of Templeten Rye was out yet. Well it wasn't, but I found Cedar Ridge Distillery's Iowa Bourbon instead. Always on the lookout for something new, and supporting Iowa business, I picked it up.

Since I hadn't seen let alone heard of it before, I didn't know what to expect. The nose is distincly bourbon, with hints of nut and apricot. The taste is mildly fruity with overtones of vanilla and hints of marshmallow. Reminiscent of Jim Beam's Basil Hayden's. The finish is clean and quick.

Well worth the $35 price tag. I'm looking forward to trying their Single Malt Whiskey when it is released later this year.

Revised: Poker Points Adjusted

2011-07-25T19:13:00.000-05:00

While for several days, I enjoyed watching the race for the king of poker points look like it was going to be a close one, as it turns out, I can't add. I carried the one when I shouldn't have. With that, DeeBakes retains the top spot. A tight race for sure. Although, I'd like to point out that if we repeat the points this time from last, I think I end up the champion...it could happen.

With that in mind, I should be sending the email out tonight regarding the location and date for the August meeting of Bourbonators. Who's hosting and when???

I'm getting thirsty!

July meeting is in the books - Cedar Ridge Iowa Bourbon

2011-07-18T22:54:00.000-05:00

The July meeting has come and gone. Thank you to Colin for hosting. Kinda wish I had time to throw down for some heads up Rock-m-Sock-m-Robots but alas, I was too busy playing cards. If you are curious, poker points have been updated.

For those of you that missed it, we sampled Cedar Ridge Distillery's Iowa Bourbon. Don't worry if you've never heard of them. Colin found them while exploring in Iowa looking for something different. He might have been checking into some Templeton Rye. We could only hope to finally get some of that.

It's been a while since had a non-scotch I really liked. This Cedar Ridge was a nice surprise for me.

As other reviews have stated, this bourbon is extremely smooth with a bit of sweet for the lips. After sipping it neat for a while, enjoying its slight caramel tones, I added a sliver of ice as the other reviewer had recommended. This did loosen it up even more. Really quite enjoyable.

For a $35 bottle, it was an exceptional find. Who knew Iowa could be the home of a very good bourbon?

So guys, what do you think?

Scottish Whisky Tasting

2011-06-29T19:19:00.002-05:00

Cam, Colin, DeeBakes, Chris and I are attending a Scotch whisky tasting put on by Apollo Liquor this evening at the Kahler. So far my favorite is the Deanston 30 year. Go figure I like the second most expensive spirit of the night.

Mobile browsing Bourbonators.com

2011-06-10T12:00:00.000-05:00

Blogger rolled out mobile templates recently. I took the liberty of checking "Yes" to use the mobile theme on this site. Next time you browse it with your mobile device, it should format better. I checked it out and it sure made looking through the whiskey list easier. Any of you geniuses now how to get http://bourbornators.com to work? I got http://www.bourbonators.com working. I'm sure there's something in the host file I need to do.

Enjoy! See you tonight!

The late May meeting post

2011-06-09T22:44:00.005-05:00

Because the Captain is preemptively posting for tomorrow's meeting, I better get the update in for last month.

Let me start off by saying, I am not the biggest whiskey connoisseur of the group. Hell, I don't even know if there is an "e" in whiskey or not. Being the late game fill in for the ailing wannabe host, I went out to the liquor store and simply wandered the aisles, which in of itself can be fun. Unlike the Captain, I asked some young punk working there for some advice. I also wasn't sure about the number of attendees, so I wanted something on the less expensive side. What I ended up with was this $35 bottle (well within the budget so the kitty is growing):

From the tag which appears to not have an "e" in whisky, who'd have thunk?

Pendleton Whisky was specifically created to celebrate the bold spirit of independence and hard-work ethic of the American cowboy and cowgirl. It’s borne of the rich tradition of the 100-year-old Pendleton Round-Up, one of the most prestigious rodeos in the world.

Pendleton Whisky has been a proud sponsor of the Pendleton Round Up since the brand’s inception and we are honored to be a part of an event that has such a long standing history in Oregon.

Each Pendleton Whisky bottle prominently features the rodeo’s famous bucking horse symbol and Let’er Buck slogan. A portion of proceeds from every bottle sold is donated back to the Pendleton Round-Up.

I actually liked this one, although it was not overly unique. A smooth drink, not a rough finish (which I dislike) and well received by all who attended. Although I don't think it really made that big of an impression overall. Another person who attended brought some Jack Daniels Honey, which made for a nice sampling night.

As far as the poker went, game 1 went oversees to the Dutchman and game 2 was a LONG heads up battle that I eventually took down.

Happy now Captain?

June Meeting - The Tasty Beverages

2011-06-09T22:00:00.001-05:00

I went to Apollo Northwest Liquors tonight on the quest for something tasty. The manager was working again, they guy that hooked us up with the Lagavulin.

Lately, I've had the Balvenie on the brain, so the quest was on to find another double casked. As it turns out, Glenmorangie has two different double casked spirits. One is a port and the other a sherry.

Since the Balvenie was on my brain, I chose the sherry.

He also suggested a beer, Brothers Reserve Barrel Aged Bourbon beer. Um, BOURBON BEER. While I'm quite sure this will never be allowed as an official drink at whiskey club, um BOURBON BEER! This beer was cask aged in bourbon casks.

So tomorrow night, my house!

Poker points have been updated

2011-05-23T19:50:00.000-05:00

I've updated the poker points, and even though I wasn't there, I still seem to be in the top 3 :)

DeeBakes is our new leader with British Tony now holding down second place. Were there 3 new guys? We have one more sheet in the official poker points note pad. Anyone got a spare? Could I continue to ask stupid questions until the next scheduled rapture?

I believe I could.

Something cool to start your day

2011-05-23T09:27:00.000-05:00

Saw this on Twitter today...Buffalo Trace has a distillery webcam page. Kinda cool actually. (Hat tip to Mattazuma)

First Tastes - Laphroaig

2011-05-19T08:37:00.000-05:00

John shared this on the Bourbonators Facebook page. Too good not share with everyone, everywhere! Next time we have, let's bring the making of S'mores.

Enjoy!