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No. No, it's not. Call me a purist if you want, but if it's not made in Kentucky, it's not bourbon.
Speaking of bourbon, I've discovered a new-to-me bourbon. I watch three or four bourbon channels on youtube and lately I've been hearing a lot about Larceny bourbon, and none of it was bad.
Larceny bourbon? Larceny? Hell, I was ready to go down and buy a bottle just because of the name alone.
Anyways, I did pick up a bottle of Larceny Small Batch 92 proof a month or so ago and oh dear Lord, that is some of the smoothest, tastiest bourbon I've ever sipped. I couldn't tell you what it tastes like mixed because there's no way in hell I would fuck it up by adding anything to it except maybe an ice cube, and I haven't tried that yet.
I'm not like a lot of the bourbon snobs I watch on youtube who can pick out all of the individual flavors from a sip, but I do get a distinct aftertaste of caramel and just a hint of oak on my tongue from this.
Larceny bourbon, small batch, 32 bucks a bottle in my area. Give it a shot - no pun intended.
A very old and departed friend of mine would at times put an ice cube in his bourbon. He would always say, "Put the cube in gently now, one does not want to bruise the bourbon." He was a professor of history. A very soft and gentleman but his knowledge of the Civil War was just amazing. A good guy, I miss his stories.
ReplyDeleteIce is the only thing I'll put in bourbon and usually the higher proof stuff because I don't like the bite of anything above 100 proof, and the ice does water it down to where it's drinkable for me.
DeleteI have used whiskey rocks though on lower proof bourbon, and they do a fine job of cooling the drink down.
In many of my good liquors, I add an ice cube and just a splash of water. I was watching a travel or food show and the guy was in Scotland, had a shot of scotch right from the tap and then one with a splash of spring water. He remarked that it cooled it down and released more aroma. I believe in the same thing.
DeleteSome folks will use a *little* touch of water, I prefer ice.
DeleteIt “cracks the whiskey“ opening up some flavors that drinking neat doesn’t reveal.
Lately I’ve been on an apple pie moonshine kick. Total Wine & More has 70 & 100 proof. I prefer the 100.
I made some shine that was 110 proof and it drank like 40 proof. It was quite dangerous. Commercial liquor will always have a little bite to it due to what is not thrown out.
DeleteWoah boy-E!! 100 proof.
DeleteReminds me of my teens and 151. That hurt😂
I’m a light weight now, beer , tequila shots or sippin makers mark is about it. And in know near the same quanties of yrs past.
I agree with both of your takes: Jack Daniels is not bourbon and isn't close -- it's Tennessee whiskey. Bourbon is involved in its manufacture -- they capture the piss from urinals in bourbon bars in Memphis and Nashville, use that piss to wash out the ashtrays in those bars, age it for 6 months in a charcoal grill and bottle that shit up.
ReplyDeleteAnd Larceny is damned good bourbon. Another you might try is Bibb & Tucker. Evan Williams is good. Belle Meade sherry cask is probably my favorite but it's a little pricey.
I've got a bottle of Evan Williams small batch, but every time I reach for it, I grab the Larceny.
DeleteI like that Evan Williams Small Batch, and the price is right.
DeleteBack in the mid-70s, my uncle gave me a small Mason Jar of white corn likker from the hill country of N Carolina. Had it for years, took a sip from time to time.
I finished it off in his honor when he passed in 2008.
RIP, Uncle Arch.
Jack Daniels is Tennessee whiskey, end of discussion. While I am a big fan of Woodford Reserve Double Oaked, it looks lime my local Total Wine has Larceny small batch in stock. Thanks for tip, Ken!
ReplyDeleteTry it, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
DeleteAlways appreciate a good recommendation!!
ReplyDeleteI agree, Jack Daniels is not Bourbon. I watched a documentary on Bourbon a month ago or so. I have seen a couple of them, and they are always fun, and entertaining.
ReplyDeleteI don't drink enough to bother to buy a bunch of different brands of Bourbon. I usually only try a different one if I am someplace where a friend has some, and gives me a shot. But in Michigan, I typically am carrying my firearm whenever I am out. And you cannot have any alcohol in your system if you are doing so. And so I have to be cautious about such things.
If I do want to buy my own, I will typically only buy a pint of Wild Turkey, which is decent and inexpensive. It is not the best I have ever tasted, but far from the worst by far.
I'll have a shot maybe once a week, and only one shot because I get wicked hangovers if I catch even the smallest buzz.
DeleteOne shot, stretched out over an hour or so, and only at night after I've called it a day.
I have a twin brother, and a few other family members, who are alcoholics. I must be super cautious. I used to smoke, but quite cold turkey in 2014. I know if I smoke just 1 cigarette, I will be hooked. So I have to really watch my addictive personality on everything.
DeleteThe smallest distillers usually make the best end-product. In my state, they dropped the annual distillery license fee from $30,000 down to $1,000. Suddenly there's an abundance of good spirits. No pun.
ReplyDeleteIt all starts out as moonshine.
Larceny is put out by Heaven Hill, along with several other great bourbons.
DeleteJack is not bourbon. I have never really cared for it. I did keep a bottle of Gentleman Jack in my bar for my father-in-law. It was OK. My brother-in-law bought a barrel of Evan Williams back in the early 90's and paid extra to have it aged to 15 years. He still has 4 or 5 cases of it. It is very good for bourbon. I like Irish wiskey. It has more complex flavors and esters.
ReplyDeleteI've got a bottle of Jack. I bought it for Lisa so when her daughter came out to visit, they could have a drink together. It hasn't been touched since Chrissy left, and that was a couple years ago.
DeleteI was always of the thought Jake Daniels sour mash was a whiskey. Not a bourbon.
ReplyDeleteDamn sent before I was done. I think all bourbon is whiskey but not all whiskey is bourbon. Jack Daniels is the latter. Not a bourbon.
ReplyDeleteClyde May's Alabama Style Whisky doesn't even pretend to be Bourbon. Proud Alabama. He adds apples to the grain for a smooth touch. Distinctive. Lately it has been my whisky of first choice. Straight up.
ReplyDelete-Rurik
Tried to like Jack. Can’t get into it. I like Russell’s and Woodfords. I am going to find myself some Larceny
ReplyDeletePaul J
It's not hard to find.
DeleteBourbon is defined by the recipe, needing to be made from specific ingredients in the right quantities and being made in America. Bourbon is an American whiskey and even made with the right ingredients and in the correct proportions, if it made in anywhere other in America it cannot be called bourbon.
ReplyDeleteTennessee Whiskey is legally recognized as separate from Bourbon by act of Congress.
ReplyDeleteThat should be enough to know that it is wrong. Kentucky reuses their barrels. Tennessee has to use newly charred barrels. KY can actually use our waste to make their crap. Ask the interweb what the #1 selling bourbon is.
DeleteAnon@9:07 - you got it bass ackwards, partner. Kentucky bourbon has to go into new charred barrels. Once they're emptied, they're shipped to Scotland for them to use in their whiskey. It's Tennessee whiskeys that reuse their barrels.
DeleteDo your research.
I took your challenge and asked the interweb -- it's Buffalo Trace. See?
https://www.caskers.com/top-10-bourbon/
It's funny. This guy goes through all the federal requirements for bourbon, and then leaves out the most important federal determination. In March, 1941, the Department of the Treasury looked at Jack Daniel's claim that it was distinct. They noted:
ReplyDelete"The Bureau Laboratory has analyzed the samples submitted and has given careful consideration to the description of your manufacturing process. In view of the nature of this process and the results of the analyses, it has been concluded that the whiskey in question has neither the characteristics of bourbon or rye whiskey but rather is a distinctive product which may be labeled whiskey. Accordingly, no objection will be interposed to the contuned use of the brand label which was the subject of the Bureau's letter of January 28, 1941 (signed) Stewart Berkshire, Deputy Commissioner.?
So, if you are going to drone on about federal determinations, you should be complete, including the federal determination that it is a distinct whiskey.
Tennis shoes whiskey....I guess whiskey for washing tennis shoes?
ReplyDeleteElijah Craig and Bulleit are very good, affordable Bourbons. Both make an excellent Rye as well. For a few dollars more, Willett makes an awesome Bourbon. No ice, no mixers, just sipped neat.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't want to put ice in a good bourbon then put the bottle in the freezer until it's as cold as you'd like it. Works perfectly!
ReplyDeleteFrom here:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bourboncountry.com/all-about-bourbon/what-is-bourbon/
A bourbon is also distinct from a whiskey in other ways:
The bourbon leaves the still at no higher than 80% alcohol by volume.
The bourbon enters new charred white oak casks for aging at no higher than 62.5% abv.
The bourbon is bottled at no less than 40% abv.
The bourbon is flavored by nothing other than water—this means the Jack Daniel’s is not a bourbon!
The bourbon must state its age on the label if the maturation time is less than four years.
Note the 4th point.
I must confess I drank Jack waaay back in the day because like the scotch Chivas Regal, one was supposed to be cool drinking it or having a bottle of it. But I am older and wiser now and first agree Jack is not a bourbon, nor like Chivas my drink of choice. Jack is an all out assault on my palate and I am not paying for that. While I bam going to look into Larceny, might I also suggest a whiskey, Triple Smoke, which I find smooth and pleasant.
ReplyDeleteThat's the only reason I drank Jack when I was a youngster.
DeleteAgreed. If you spy a bourbon (few versions) from 'Spirits of French Lick' out of Indiana, I would recommend any. Lots'o great booze out there, but distilled at only a handful of locations.
DeleteMy favorite was always WL Weller special reserve (white label),
ReplyDeletebut try finding any of that these days !
Anyhow, not so much into whisky or spirits at all as I used to be, and
the dozen or so bottles still on my liquor shelf are probably an inch deep in dust.
Still enjoy a good beer and smoking enough rope to kill normal folks.
and, oh yeah, medicinal card strength edibles.
they're doing amazing things with that stuff lately...
Aint life grand
All this talk about fine Kentucky bourbon but nobody's mentioned Old Crow Reserve?
ReplyDeleteWe're discussing good bourbon here, partner.
Delete:-)
I wouldn't be too hard on Old Crow; it could serve as a good disinfectant.
ReplyDeleteI keep a small bottle of Jack handy in case of snakebite. Never bitten by a snake (yet) but I have used it as on occasion as an antiseptic. Seemed to work OK.
ReplyDeleteI read recently that Ballistol https://ballistol.com/uses/other-uses/ can be used as an antiseptic, also can be taken internally to treat various maladies.
I read somewhere years ago that it is not because it is distilled at the wrong proof to be Bourbon. That said the real problem with JD is the maple charcoal filter. The maple would ruin the taste of any good Whiskey. Jim Beam black label is so much better.
ReplyDeleteI never have cared for Jim Beam, or any other big name bourbons for that matter. Again, it's too rough for my taste.
DeleteBourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon.
ReplyDeleteAll whiskey is defined by it's recipe and grain components, and for a whiskey to be called "Bourbon" its recipe and process must follow certain guidelines. Bourbon whiskey is an exclusively American product and is highly regulated by the federal government. In order to legally be labeled bourbon, the whiskey has to follow certain defined *legal* guidelines.
First, its primary grain component must be at least 51% corn.
Second, coming directly out of the still it must be no more than 160 proof.
Going into the barrel it must be no more than 125 proof. (Distilleries generally cut the distillate with water to meet this requirement.)
Bourbon must be aged in "charred, new, oak containers". Mostly, that means barrels, but not necessarily. (A charred oak bucket would meet the requirement) They can never reuse the barrels for bourbon. (However, used bourbon barrels are used for Scotch, Sherry, wine, tequila etc.)
After aging, bourbon must be bottled at 80 proof or greater.
Lastly, there can be no other additive to the distillate except water. No flavorings or color additives are allowed. (I think this would probably disqualify Jack Daniels because of the charcoal filtering they use.)
Now - note that although most bourbon is indeed distilled in Kentucky, it is *not* a requirement. However, in order to be labeled "Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey" it is required that it be distilled in Kentucky.
As for what is the best bourbon? The best bourbon is whatever *you* like. Drink up, and be happy.
Roy - Who has not only worked in the bourbon industry, and whose ancestors go way back in the bourbon industry, he also lives within 50 miles of half the bourbon distilleries in the world.
Well, while it may not be a requirement to be distilled in Kentucky, it is for me to drink it.
DeleteA man has to take a stand, ya know.
PS: My current bourbon tipple is Barton's 1792. It's a good tasting bourbon and it doesn't require a second mortgage for a bottle. It's distilled in Bardstown, KY about 15 miles from where I live. I like Weller's better, but it is mostly unobtainium.
ReplyDeleteI have not tried Larceny yet, but I will.
PPS: I also like single malt Scotch and Pussers rum. (Embrace the power of "and".)
1792's on my shopping list. It's one of those I just never got around to trying.
DeleteYes, I have a shopping list of bourbons I carry around in my wallet.
Do you pay for "Larceny Bourbon" or just steal it?
ReplyDelete