16 great whiskeys for a sip of holiday cheer

cantonrep ^ | 12/16/2020 | craig laban

[mylife]

I can only speak for myself, but after the historic awfulness of 2020, I’d appreciate a gift of great whiskey wrapped up in a bow. I suspect I’m not alone. So I made sure my annual tradition of suggesting several bottles for the holidays was undertaken this year with extra rigor and, of course, adhering to stringent social distancing guidelines for my team of tasters to sniff, sip, and banter our way through the 30-plus candidates to land on this final list of 16.

As always, there’s a range of styles, prices and origins, from Europe to Asia, Kentucky, Philly, and Mexico (yes, for El Whisky). Each has their own virtues. But shared with a special person in your bubble, each can offer a taste to traverse the world, transcend the moment, and warm the mood with a sip of cheer.

BOURBON, TENNESSEE WHISKEYS, AND LOCAL STARS

Old Forester Straight Bourbon. Old Forester has been distilled continuously since 1870 and was the first American whiskey sold by the bottle. There are more complex editions of the brand, but the 86-proof standard remains a great value. This 72% corn-based spirit has bourbon’s classic profile of praline sweetness, fruit and grain, with a back note of tobacco. It’s also about as close to drinking a chocolate-cherry cordial as it gets. 86 proof, $21.99, (PLCB item #3290)

[griffin]

Bottoms up!

[BipolarBob]

Rittenhouse Rye 101 Bottled in Bond.
Wild Turkey 101
I left JD when they started watering it down but may try their small batch cask strength if I can remember to look for it.

[Twotone]

We got to visit Oban on our first trip to Scotland. Neat little town & distillery & excellent whisky!

[T. Rustin Noone]

I would never insist, but highly recommend. )))

[Tucsonican]

Flaviar has a great selection and, on the whole, their pricing is pretty good. Some of the “Vault” stuff is a little optimistically priced but most of the regular fare is at or near local pricing for me.

[voicereason]

I’ll give you a little hint. When you are in the nursing home, breathing your last, your biggest regret won’t be spending $13 more for the good stuff.

It isn't $13 or even $20 more that makes me stop for a second; it's when it's over $100/bottle more that I stop and think. On the bright side though, it gives me a reason to try out new brands and offerings.

[EQAndyBuzz]

I’m simple. I drink Gentleman Jack. Two ice cubes and three fingers and I am good to go. My other go to is Garrison Brothers.

[utford]

I was able to do my holiday Bourbon shopping at Buffalo Trace Distillery in October - 2 bottles of Blanton’s and 4 of EH Taylor Small Batch. Very difficult to find any BT products in North Carolina.

[Boomer One]

Spent hours this summer waiting for the ABC store to open after stocking the new shipment in hopes of finding some Blanton’s or Stagg Jr. Because we were rarely successful we decided to try many of the mid to low priced bourbons. From our tastes: Best bourbon for the money was Eagle Rare. Big surprise in lower priced bourbon was Jim Beam Extra Aged. Again, just our taste.

[Stentor]

Glad I bought 6 bottles of it when I did at Wine and More, because it is next to impossible to find at a decent price point (I bought it at $32/bottle a few years back).

Blame Fred Minnick.

[Stentor]

Have you tried Eagle Rare???

< wink >It's terrible.< /wink >

[Stentor]

I had some Eagle Rare a while back before it got hyped on the whisky channels. Now it's really expensive for a bourbon. Some day I'll treat myself again.

$29.99 in PA. You have to be fast.

[mylife]

Amazingly the durn stuff holds..

[Man from Oz]

My go to liquor store sells it for $50....when it is available.

[Garvin]

They sell on the base near where I live. I’ll have to check the price next time I’m there.

[hercuroc]

Anybody try the single malt from Costco?

I’ve been eyeing that up for 70 bucks a bottle.

[masadaman]

Bushmill’s is from Northern Ireland, not the Middleton facility in Cork. Middleton produces excellent whiskeys including Jameson’s, Powers’ Three Swallows and Red Breast. They co-pack for many of the dozens of new brands on the market although at last count there are over two dozen new distilleries in some form of development. Middleton née Irish Distillers is owned by the French major Pernod Ricard

Bushmill’s is a much smaller operation but was purchased by the Beckmann Group from Mexico which we know as Cuervo. It is distributed by their subsidiary Proximo which also owns and distributes Shanahan’s Whiskey, distilled in Colorado.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Did you know that Buffalo Trace is made by the same distillery as Pappy Van Winkle?

[Man from Oz]

No. I didn’t . Do you recommend? I know they make Eagle Rare.

[Old Yeller]

Nana Pelosi likes them all. Daily.