Blanton's, Booker's, E.H. Taylor Jr & Stagg Barrel Proof Bourbons Reviewed
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- Опубліковано 13 чер 2013
- It's June 14th and that means it's "National Bourbon Day!" To honor America's Spirit, I sit down with four of the biggest uncut/unfiltered bourbons. We start with Booker's (at 126.6 proof), then Blanton's "Straight From The Barrel" (at 132.5 proof), then work up to E.H. Taylor Jr's "Barrel Proof" (at 134.5 proof) and end with the amazingly potent George T. Stagg (at a stagg-ering 141.4 proof). I know that was horrible.
As of 6-14-13, my current bottle count stands at 1078 total bottles. I have 685 different ones in the bar & another 393 in back stock. I've now been actively collecting for the last 19 years and what started as a small basic bar has transformed (with the help & understanding of my wonderful wife) into what I think is a pretty nice collection. Thank you for watching and sharing in my hobby.
Cheers! - Навчання та стиль
Hey LiquorHound, due to this review i have bought myself the E.H. Taylor small batch and the Booker's bourbon!
I wish Bourbon was a bit more populair in The Netherlands, because these bottles are really expensive ! But they are fantastic !!!!
I can watch your reviews all day long, they are awesome! Thanks for all the nice reviews! Keep up the good work!
Greetings from the Netherlands!
+Danny V - Thank you and cheers!
This is a fantastic review. Thank you for sharing your insight. I'm off to go shopping now. Cheers!
This guy's collection is UNBELIEVABLE ! I'd kill to have 1/10 of his stuff. Did you guys see the tour video of his collection? He's a true collector, and connisour. A great resource of bourbon knowledge.
+Cliff Berry - Thank you! You are obviously very knowledgable since you recognized the special bottles. Here's the video you referenced: ua-cam.com/video/ZfU4TndzcDk/v-deo.html Cheers!
Thanks! I haven't had the chance to revisit the Col. E.H.Taylor but the next time I do, I'll add more water.
Cheers!
Thank you for taking the time and doing a review, I am new to Bourbons and learning and collecting a few for myself and friends testing , just small 10-20 or so. Wish Canada or at least my area of Nova Scotia could get these in but hard to come by. Maybe they drop the Cross Border shipping some day would help the industry for sure.
Hey Baron, transplanted Nova Scotian here in Ontario and have also discovered a love of Bourbon (fortunately for my liver now and not 20 years ago).
Ontario has a decent selection of Bourbon but the special stuff is usually a one off deal and when their gone their gone. I feel your pain as I recently took a day to literally get the last available bottles of Elmer T Lee, W L Weller as well as the remaining few bottles of Bookers and Rock Hill Farms. Can you get Stagg jr or Four Roses single barrel in NS?
Liquorhounds rare Bourbon collection is staggering. I cannot even get half this stuff in Buffalo.
Cheers
Hey Peter, I added you to my group, as for Stagg Jr. Or Roses , non in Nova Scotia, love to get Elmer T Lee and W.L Weller or Rock Hill as not carried here. I am on Face Book also. Keep in touch.
Great video. I have listed over the blantons barrel proof, and you are absolutely correct in regards to the E.H. Taylor, it is almost non-existent here in the NW. I find it very interesting to watch the way you taste, I watch a lot of people that frankly look like they know they are being watched while they taste.
Very good review,thank you very much!
great review love blanton's my all time favorite!
Have really enjoyed my most recent bottle.. And I'm not much of a bourbon drinker that this is sort of giving me motivation
You definitely know your bourbon. That's Taylor's will knock your socks off whew! Strong!
LH How do you get your hands on the FULL line of all the different Blanton's bottles? There are so many different color labels. Do you have a video doing a taste test of any of the other very hard to find colored labels and types of Blanton's? Keep these videos coming of all the new yummy releases. Your the man!! Cheers!
Matthew Pillsbury master of malt, Nichols and perks(sp?), Potomac wines, bestofwhisky, etc...
Love your videos man!!!!
Blanton's is my all time Favorite. Made right here in my state KY!
All of these are made in your home state
That stuff is so hard to find down in Houston unless you get lucky or want to shell out 150 plus!!! My buddy brought me a little taste yesterday at work, great bourbon and crazy smell. A lot going on, I truly enjoyed it!!!!
Myke Mac here in Australia Blantons starts at around $60 for the green, $80 original, $120 gold and $150 straight from the barrel. Mind you these are all in AUD which is about 60cents USD. Crazy that it’s cheaper and more readily available half way across the world.
George T Stagg is by far the best bourbon I have ever had. I think the bottle I tried was 71.something % ABV. I was blown away how smooth it was. You can drink it neat without water, and that's saying something for a 70%+ ABV spirit. But the finish is why its the best. WOW. Unreal finish, lasts forever. Ill be hunting for a bottle this fall for sure. If you want to know what Stagg smells like, get the Stagg Jr, almost the same nose, but the finish is just not there, not even close. Bookers and Blantions are solid mid range bourbons; have not tried the EH Taylor yet. Great review as always Hound.
Another great review. I love blantons and bookers and I'm on the hunt for george t stagg. I live in canada so george t is a hard find
Wish you could have replaced EHTBP with Elijah Craig BP! I love your videos but have yet to find a review on the ECBP... I've watched you review all the ECs as far as ages (12, 18, etc.) but please tell me if I missed a review of the barrel proof. I believe it would be the best of the lot on this video or at least at the top with Blanton's. Thanks
Lucky man! I'm wait to buy the George T Stagg by more one year... I'll take the 2013 edition just available (hope!)
Bookers is fantastic!
Bookers is from Suntory Beam, a great bourbon distillery.
Love your reviews. I just subscribed:) I am going to be reviewing booker's soon on my channel....it's pretty amazing how many notes you can get on it for a bourbon. Cheers!
Great review, you lucky bastard.
just got it. so good!
Also, why add water before initial tasting?
Carmel is a place in California! Watched a few Bourbon reviews tonight and have to say you Americans can not pronounce CarAmel. LOL.....us a "K"....KarAmel. Great review BTW. Love the Blanton;s and EH Taylor myself....Thanks for posting.......Picky Canadian Guy.....LOL
+LiquorHound can you do a video on the next whiskies to start looking out for in terms of collecting.
basically any Buffalo Trace Antique...
These are all very good bourbons. Personally i would be happy drinking any of these i am especially fond of bookers. Unfortunately these are getting harder to aquire every year.i see this is older video even bookers is not easy to get anymore atleast in my area.
Have you tried any of the other varieties of blantons? They also make a bottle specifically for the Japanese market its a black label and super smooth much smoother then the beige label. Gold is the best out of the family though imo. higher proof then most yet super smooth as well and easy to sip for a prolonged period of time.
Just snatched up a bottle of Bookers.
Add a little more water to the Taylor and I think the flavors will come out a bit more for you. They do for me.
Blantons is one of my go to.
I have yet to try bourbon. Picked a bottle of this up the other day and grabbed a bottle of Bear Crick, Rustle Naptha, Red Deacon, Willow Seeds and Misty Deep 12 year old. Can't wait to try them this winter on an extra cold night.
I have been sober since I was forty(ten years ago) but am looking to get back into it but only sipping. Not looking to get hammered anymore. Bourbon is something that has been on my bucket list for centons so I think this winter I may cave and give a few of them a go.
Thanks for the comment! It's probably a good idea to invest in some "Wee Glencairn Glasses" for that bourbon. I love my set and they really help keep the pours small, and still give a nice aromatic presentation. Cheers!
man, you made this video right before the bourbon EXPLOSION. after this bottles became more rare to find on the shelf, and the bottles you have there go for alot on secondary. how do you feel about this?
Yep and it is what it is. More people got into it, expanded their knowledge, built communities and friendships around it and that’s all been great! Is it harder to find these bottles now? Of course, but I’m happy to have experienced and shared them over the years. As for secondary, it’s good and bad (kinda like ticket scalpers), but if you REALLY want something it can be found. Cheers!
I know this is an older video. If you remember. Just curious how long each bottle was open for before this review? And do you think the air time helped any of them?
Yeah that's hard for me to remember, but by the looks of them I'd say they were all opened 1-3 months prior. Cheers!
Great review. Are you much of Scotch drinker? Or mostly just Bourbon? My go to is Blanton's or Basil Hayden in the bourbon department.
+Jack Sock - I enjoy them both equally. My favorite Scotch distilleries (within reasonable pricing) are Glendronach, Glenburgie and Longmorn. Cheers!
Are most of you’re bottle collection open? How long can they last sitting on the shelf before they start very bad/too different?
Most of my bottles are opened, but argon gassed. If you don't do anything to an open bottle you'll probably get 6 months to a year without losing noticeable flavor. I have an argon tank that I use to fill/replace the oxygen trapped in my open bottles after every time I pour from them. For smaller home bars you can just use a wine preserver spray (like "Private Preserve"). You can buy them from Amazon for about $10 and they say you can get 120 uses out of one. They recommend a 1 sec. spray followed by 3-4 small bursts, but when I was using them I sprayed them heavy (2 seconds long and 3-4 short bursts), so I only got 70-80 good seals per can. The key to using gas is that you do not disturb/move the bottle once it's gassed (which will disrupt the gas layer). Here's an old video of mine where I talked about oxidation and the spray (starts at the 4:22 mark): ua-cam.com/video/VWYYGS4wStQ/v-deo.html . To see the larger argon tank that I use, here's a video that shows my setup (starts at the 10:18 mark): ua-cam.com/video/vGic-_cI5FM/v-deo.html . Cheers!
Love it! Another guy that drinks high end bourbon and still owns a large stack of cd's! Me to!
Back in the day when things were cool. Lol! Cheers!
You seemed a little down on the E H Taylor yet it made your top 10 Bourbon's of all time (Oct 2014). Can I assume this opened up after 1 year or was the top 10 version a different batch?
Cheers
peter white people love it but I've gotten harshness from all the Taylor's I've tried with minimal flavor.
Hey L. Hound. This Troy Brown the collector that bought the orphan barrel lost prophet and glenfiddich snow Phoenix. I also ask you about the Booker's little book. They also came out with the 2018 little book. Have you had a chance to try either one? If you had a chance to buy George T stagg years 2004,05,06,07,08,09,11 or 2012 what two would you buy and what do you know about glenfiddich winter storm. I I found Elijah Craig 23 and 21 for a good price should I buy it? What do you know about the balvenie tun and what are the best ones to buy. Thank you so much for your time, and can't wait for you to start doing your whiskey reviews again on the regular. I always learn something new and I always enjoy your review.! Thanks and cheers!
I personally didn’t find either Littlebook tasty enough for me to buy. They’re unique in a blend-o-whiskies kind of way, but I’m not looking for that.
GT Stagg’s are mostly all above average. Depending on price, the older is usually slightly better. BUT I wouldn’t spend hundreds more just to get a ‘04 over an ‘09 or ‘12. Even newer ones have been solid. They have lost a bit of the heavy leather/tobacco that the older ones had, but there’s some still in there.
As for Tuns, the 1401 batches are the best (Batch 3 being the best of those).
Cheers!
Just stumbled across your site here and enjoyed it very much. As for my All-Time
Favorite it has to be the E.H.Taylor barrel select bonded. It has no equal so far although the Eagle Rare 10 comes very,very close. I'm a cigar smoker so the E.H Talyor is right up my alley. Perfect.
i love drinking bookers and i also love jack daniels single barrel barrel proof both i think are my favorite any options
Leroy Knudson jack daniel's is not a bourbon because it is charcoal filtered
Does the "nose" description of an aroma assume you used those actual ingredients? I heard some people mention chemicals which makes me assume there is both figurative, metaphorical and literal descriptions when describing the nose.
Anybody ?
+Mesa3077Boogie - The nose descriptors that I and most people use are just scents reminiscent of those items we mention. For the most part they're not actually used in the distillation process (unless I'm describing grains coming through in whiskies or juniper, cardamom, citrus peels etc... in gins - since they are used in the creation of those spirits). As for "chemicals", you're correct we use it as a figurative, metaphorical and literal description. Those notes can come though as acetone, plastics or other bad alcohols, but unless you can pinpoint it, most just say "chemical" and use that as an negative descriptor. Cheers!
Mark V
Finally found a bottle of the E.H. Taylor Barrel Proof at my local B&M for $80. Seeing that it's quite hard to find, I'm going to hold onto it. What do you think of the Small Batch?
+Daniel Feldman - The EHT Small Batch is nice, but with $40 (and under) competition like Elijah Craig 12, Smooth Ambler, Knob Creek Single Barrel, Weller 12, Weller Antique and Elmer T (when you can find it), it may be one I add toward the end of that list. Cheers!
***** Thanks for the reply! Keep up the good work with your videos! Enjoy them a lot.
+LiquorHound I love all of your vids and have learned a TON about how to appreciate the different aspects of bourbon. Have you considered doing a review of Smooth Ambler 7 and Henry McKenna 10? They are currently my favorite go to bourbons for the money and would love to hear your thoughts. Especially the McKenna at 10 years, BIB, and 100 for $26 in NC, its a STEAL.
Unique ending would be to add whats left in glass of all four into one glass and give a comment on that creation
Yes that would be interesting. A bit curious about how that would be myself?
Base Blanton's called Blanton's Single Barrel @ 93 Proof vs. Blanton's Straight from the Barrel 127 Proof or higher can be confusing and misleading to first time buyers. I can buy the first one for around $70 but the Barrel Proof version I'm finding at $250 and higher here in the states. How do you compare the lower proof one to this one you have tasted here ?
The “Straight From The Barrel” bottle is big and bold (some single barrels of them can be “hot”). You pay more, but you get that unadulterated full strength bourbon experience The regular Blanton’s is easy and tame in comparison, but remember that they’re all single barrels, so there can be greatness or underachievers in both lines. Cheers!
@@LiquorHound Thank you much for the quick response!.......cheers!
That Stagg bourbon sounds like a rolls royce drinking experience...
How much is a bottle of that setting you back?
sofakingdrunk66 - Well if you can get them at retail, it's a good deal at about $100-$125. But unfortunately even some small retailers have started price gouging. I've seen some selling GTS for $400-$600 when they come out in the fall. Cheers!
***** Quality aint cheap..
I read that the EH Taylor Single Barrel scored a 97 at The Ultimate Spirits Competition, 2 points higher than the Pappy 23.
+Matt S - That's possible. My only concern with competitions like that, is whether or not the bottles being judged are off store shelves, or are they being provided by the distillery (from a honey barrel/special batch)? That said, we know that Pappy & EHT are both from Buffalo Trace, and I know they don't want EHT to be beating up on Pappy 23. But since the EHT single barrel bottles are not given a barrel number, they/you can't tell which specific barrel it's bottled from. So, like all single barrel bottlings, some bottles may be from extraordinary barrels, and that may have been one of those. Cheers!
LiquorHound - I didn't expect any less of a detailed response from you. You're Very knowledgeable on the subject. I didn't even consider that fact. I've never had a Pappy expression before but I just bought a bottle of EHT Small Batch (blindly). It's very good and unlike any Bourbon I've tried before. It doesn't taste it's proof and I'm a Neat drinker (even w/ Bookers)
Hey guys, there's that bottle of Blanton's you can't find.
Don't know how you were ever able to leave that table. Man, Stagg .. so wish I could find it. I've had the rest, Bookers being one of my faves, Taylor not doing much for me.
hes drinking Blantons Barrel proof, thats rarer than Stagg and insanely good.
It's Blantons SFTB, it's just an international offering. No way as rare as Stagg
Fail, my mistake the E H Taylor in your top 10 was WH C Survivor.
Good God... 141.
Blanton's is pretty good
thats not just Blantons, it's Blantons Barrel Proof.
have you ever smelled a fresh tobacco leaf?
I don't know how people drink Bookers, fire water. Stagg jr so much better. Wanna try Stagg sr.
liquorhound is best !
Water? Before you have even tasted them in their natural state?
Pretty sure he's had them all without water and just knows ahead of time at this point to put a little water in...especially when you are drinking 4 of them at once.
Man , that stuff is dark .
George T stagg is not the same level compare to others.
Time for some Scotch reviews!
Why did you add water???
You just tainted what its supposed to taste. Review its original taste and dont change it that way it's a review of what you actually bought. I was excited to see this review until you said you added water. Smh.