Bourbon and rock n roll


Any bourbon aficciandos out there? My bartender/musician/audio enthusiast buddy and I had a recent sampling of 3 bourbons. Four roses single barrel, makers, and old heaven hill. Price points 30, 20, and 10. Four roses is a big, bold, assertive bourbon with a prenounced spicy mid pallete, and a long finish. I liked this better than my friend did. It has an old school " frontier" profile but in a very refined manner. Makers was by far the sweetest, most caramel Apple flavour of the bunch with good smokey accents. However, it did lack the big spice profile of 4 roses, although it was smoother with a shorter finish. On the budget end, OHH retained the smooth qualities of MM, but it too lacked the spice componet. The nose was drier than MM, but still retained a nice smokey wood aroma. It was much closer to MM in composition, and for 10 bones one is getting a quality 8 yr bourbon for a great price. I preferred the Roses overall, with MM and OHH going kneck to kneck, with a mid 80s, B grade rating. Any other favorites? Turn up the Allman Brothers and rock my friends
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I love Bourbon more than any other alcoholic drink on this planet. Prefer it on the rocks. I'll drink most anything but really like Maker's Mark. Recently I picked up some of the Costco house brand bourbon for $20/liter and find it quite nice. I won't talk about its nose or its spice, but I will tell you that it tastes good. I'm drinking it right now in fact. Listening to Neil Young Decade on vinyl right now, too, which works for me.
Hirsch 16 year.

Most Pappy Van Winkle's, especially the 20 and 23 years (I think those are the years - too much bourbon years ago pickled the brain).
Evan Williams Green. I notice that it has a nice, lingering "gets you ____ed up" profile with hints of grain and alcohol.
You and I are kindred spirits. I recently picked up a 1.5 liter oak barrel off of EBay for $30. I kept sherry in it for 6 weeks- turning the barrel once a week. I now am making a giant batch of Manhattans. I used Evan Williams Green, Carpano Arturia vermouth, and Angostura bitters. I am going to age them for 6 weeks and am hoping the cocktails will pick up on the oak and sherry. I got the idea from an article in the NYT last Summer. Rather than pay $14 for a designer Manhattan at the St. Regis, I am going to make them at home. As far as accompaning tunes for the libations, I recommend the Allman Brothers Live From Jazzfest 2010 cd, Chuck Leavell's new blues disc, and Kevn Kinney's latest.
I'm a fan of Black Maple Hill, and Hudson Baby Bourbon. They are a little hard to find in bars/restaurants but not too rare in stores. Blantons too, which is easier to come by.