[Joe Sr.]

Finished up my bottle of Wildcatter 8 Yr tonight. A darn nice glass as all the Frank-lin products tend to be. This one says Elite Brands, At 90 proof I found at best with a cube. I think the price point was something like $35.

Working on a binnys barrel select knob creek single barrel. It's tasty but at 120 proof it's warm. Rocks and water and there's still some heat and a ton of flavor.

[ethinson]

Went camping over the weekend with my wife's family and they are people of simple tastes (Coors Light, Miller Light etc).. so when my brother in law goes in to town for a nip, what does he bring back but a 1/5th of Jack Daniels Black Label. 

It ain't fancy, but man it's good.  I forget how good it is because I think I look down on it as a "bottom shelf" brand, but it's not bad.  Is is single malt scotch? Of course not, but it's not trying to be.  I didn't try it neat, but it mixed really well with Diet Coke.  Strong vanilla flavor from the oak, nice and smooth.  It goes down really well, which can be dangerous.  But, in a situation like camping where I'm not driving anywhere in 3 days, pour me another one! I think I have a bad habit of lumping it in with Evan Williams and Jim Beam, but it's light years better than those two (in my opinion).  Also, at 23$ a 750ml, it's pretty nice on the wallet too.

[coolman26]

Went camping over the weekend with my wife's family and they are people of simple tastes (Coors Light, Miller Light etc).. so when my brother in law goes in to town for a nip, what does he bring back but a 1/5th of Jack Daniels Black Label. 

It ain't fancy, but man it's good.  I forget how good it is because I think I look down on it as a "bottom shelf" brand, but it's not bad.  Is is single malt scotch? Of course not, but it's not trying to be.  I didn't try it neat, but it mixed really well with Diet Coke.  Strong vanilla flavor from the oak, nice and smooth.  It goes down really well, which can be dangerous.  But, in a situation like camping where I'm not driving anywhere in 3 days, pour me another one! I think I have a bad habit of lumping it in with Evan Williams and Jim Beam, but it's light years better than those two (in my opinion).  Also, at 23$ a 750ml, it's pretty nice on the wallet too.

I would agree with this. Evan is not good IMO. I'll do ET before either of those 2.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MDixon]

[JJeffers09]

MaCallan Double Cask 12 is really disappointing... I actually think its going to be a cocktail whiskey until its gone.

[barliman]

Have any of you done the whiskey tasting at Total Wine? I am considering attending one, but I'm not sure it will be worth $20 for the ticket. 

If any of you have attended one, what bourbons did you get to taste?

[MDixon]

I thought I was drinking Double Cask, but I haven't opened the bottle yet. It's Macallan Fine Oak 10 and I think it was 40 something.

[A-Walker]

Went camping over the weekend with my wife's family and they are people of simple tastes (Coors Light, Miller Light etc).. so when my brother in law goes in to town for a nip, what does he bring back but a 1/5th of Jack Daniels Black Label. 

It ain't fancy, but man it's good.  I forget how good it is because I think I look down on it as a "bottom shelf" brand, but it's not bad.  Is is single malt scotch? Of course not, but it's not trying to be.  I didn't try it neat, but it mixed really well with Diet Coke.  Strong vanilla flavor from the oak, nice and smooth.  It goes down really well, which can be dangerous.  But, in a situation like camping where I'm not driving anywhere in 3 days, pour me another one! I think I have a bad habit of lumping it in with Evan Williams and Jim Beam, but it's light years better than those two (in my opinion).  Also, at 23$ a 750ml, it's pretty nice on the wallet too.

Totally agree, about Jack, and in to some extent about "bottom shelf" brands. I lived in Tokyo for a few years and my go to whisky was Santory White, which is their basic one. But it was so smooth - went down really well - didn't try to be complex or anything, just good ol' booze.

[erockrph]

Went camping over the weekend with my wife's family and they are people of simple tastes (Coors Light, Miller Light etc).. so when my brother in law goes in to town for a nip, what does he bring back but a 1/5th of Jack Daniels Black Label. 

It ain't fancy, but man it's good.  I forget how good it is because I think I look down on it as a "bottom shelf" brand, but it's not bad.  Is is single malt scotch? Of course not, but it's not trying to be.  I didn't try it neat, but it mixed really well with Diet Coke.  Strong vanilla flavor from the oak, nice and smooth.  It goes down really well, which can be dangerous.  But, in a situation like camping where I'm not driving anywhere in 3 days, pour me another one! I think I have a bad habit of lumping it in with Evan Williams and Jim Beam, but it's light years better than those two (in my opinion).  Also, at 23$ a 750ml, it's pretty nice on the wallet too.

I like to think of JD and Jim Beam as "middle shelf". They're passable for a shot, and are great mixers. There's a reason it's called "Jack and Coke" and not just "Whiskey and Coke". I always have a bottle of one (or both) on hand.

[A-Walker]

Btw, what do you guys think about carrying whisky in a flask? Does it work, or hurts the flavor? And also, like would you say it's fine for bottom or middle shelf but a shame for top? I have a couple of flasks, one is made of stainless steel, the other one a classier, pewter flask - is there a difference between the two types as far as friendliness for whisky, material wise? This is half personal half professional curiosity... I have this site called Flaskaholic - http://www.flaskaholic.com/ - obviously about hip flasks for men and women, and I want to be able to give practical information, like in this case, whether it's ok to carry different types of liquor and for how long. Thanks!

[MDixon]

It simply cannot hurt the flavor unless you keep it in there partially filled for a long time. Seems like a good idea to me when you don't want to carry the full bottle somewhere. It should still be poured in a glass for consumption unless you are mixing with something.

[tumarkin]

I use a stainless steel flask for single malt with no problem (though I usually don't leave it in there for long).

I'd personally not want to use a pewter flask. Pewter is a mix of tin and several other metals, such as copper or antimony, but can include lead - though today that is most common in low grade pewter. These other metals are used to harden the tin. Although lead isn't used as much here, I'd guess it'd be more common in China. And I'd also guess many (most?) inexpensive flasks would be of Chinese origin. Obviously your call, but I'd stick to stainless steel myself.

[A-Walker]

It simply cannot hurt the flavor unless you keep it in there partially filled for a long time. Seems like a good idea to me when you don't want to carry the full bottle somewhere. It should still be poured in a glass for consumption unless you are mixing with something.

Cheers - good point on the "partially filled"!

[A-Walker]

I use a stainless steel flask for single malt with no problem (though I usually don't leave it in there for long).

I'd personally not want to use a pewter flask. Pewter is a mix of tin and several other metals, such as copper or antimony, but can include lead - though today that is most common in low grade pewter. These other metals are used to harden the tin. Although lead isn't used as much here, I'd guess it'd be more common in China. And I'd also guess many (most?) inexpensive flasks would be of Chinese origin. Obviously your call, but I'd stick to stainless steel myself.

Yes, most definitely many most inexpensive hip flasks are made in China. There are of course the high end manufacturers, in the US and UK, that are making stuff you can count on, but the vast majority, as any other vast majority is Made in China.

Thanks for the intel regarding the pewter - ironic, the classier, more pricey one is less effective in its single purpose - containing liquor.

[ethinson]

I like to think of JD and Jim Beam as "middle shelf". They're passable for a shot, and are great mixers. There's a reason it's called "Jack and Coke" and not just "Whiskey and Coke". I always have a bottle of one (or both) on hand.

We got a bottle of Jack last time we were at the store, and I tried some on it's own and yes, it's not bad, but it's much better mixed, which is fine.  That's what we got it for. 

I use a stainless steel flask for single malt with no problem (though I usually don't leave it in there for long).

I'd personally not want to use a pewter flask. Pewter is a mix of tin and several other metals, such as copper or antimony, but can include lead - though today that is most common in low grade pewter. These other metals are used to harden the tin. Although lead isn't used as much here, I'd guess it'd be more common in China. And I'd also guess many (most?) inexpensive flasks would be of Chinese origin. Obviously your call, but I'd stick to stainless steel myself.

Yes, most definitely many most inexpensive hip flasks are made in China. There are of course the high end manufacturers, in the US and UK, that are making stuff you can count on, but the vast majority, as any other vast majority is Made in China.

Thanks for the intel regarding the pewter - ironic, the classier, more pricey one is less effective in its single purpose - containing liquor.

I would certainly stick with Stainless for any food contact surface if you can.  Just out of curiosity, was the pewter one more expensive because it was old, perhaps antique and collectible or was it new? I can't imagine why the pewter one would be more expensive unless it was very small batch and highly decorated (carved/molded vs just flat). 

If my wife and I take a flask somewhere it usually means we're outdoors somewhere like a hike or campground or corn maze/festival etc.  Typically we'll bring something with enough flavor to drink straight from the flask which also tends to end up being something cheaper.  Fireball and Evan Williams Cherry are a couple flask go-to's.