This is my first comment. I've been watching y'all for a good while now, and have enjoyed what I can learn just from watching. My wife loves rye whiskies. I have learned to like a lot, but some of the rye's I have tried have tasted like dill pickle. Daniel is the first person I have ever heard say the same thing I was thinking when tasting a rye.
This is without a doubt the most educational video you guys have done. I forget that you guys actually have real world jobs and skills. But back to whiskey, wouldn't Irish be more beginner friendly. I don't think I've had an aggressive one before.
Rex... we all know you mean mooching to be done. I am sure Daniel will gladly provide you with irish whiskeys to try, so you can "educate your troubled mind" ;)
Gotta love Rex's humblebrag, which was fairly well executed. Going from "This place BEGGED me to come..." to "Any sort of heavy hitter is inundated with people asking for favors" I see what you did there.
Pretty sure that's everyone's biggest mistake at all times. My current rotation has tripled since finding this channel, and my whiskey world is still so small.
I just watched episode 161 and left a comment that it's one of the most important videos because of the toast. 162 might be one of the most valuable due to the last four minutes of Rex dropping knowledge about business and the world in general. Cheers fam!
Have you ever used wine preserver for storing whiskey? Ralfy did an episode on it and I've read various articles saying that it works. I've never tried it myself though and always felt uneasy about spraying gas into an expensive single malt. I bought a case of 350ml bottles and I just decant into those when a bottle is getting low. It's easy, stress free, and works just fine. However, it doesn't work well if you want to display it in the original bottle. So, that's where I could see the gas coming in handy.
Outstanding show. I was getting the feeling that leaving a little bit (1/4) of whiskey in the bottle was a bad thing. Which lead me to (in a panic) run down the steps to grab what was low. A Colonel Taylor Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Basil Hayden's, and my trusted Four Roses Single barrel. My wife pregnant didn't even question me. I said they were going to go bad and better to compare them now... the way they are suppose to taste. My night stayed just this side of legal after my mooch friend stopped by to encourage me to include the macallan 12. Thank god I had the will to put it back. Thank you for clarifying that was unnecessary. Let's keep that between the on line group. But the answer leads me to another question . What if you moved a small amount of leftover whiskey to a smaller container with the cork (say 7.5oz) … Would that hold the taste better with it being a full container? The school is something I'm really thinking about doing so the information on that is always encouraging. I hope tomorrow's whiskey is great. I'm going in tonight to have my first child (a boy) tomorrow. I'm going to by a bottle of whatever it is and drink it with him whenever he that right moment comes up. Everything IS coming up Rex!!
Holy crap! Congratulations on the first kid! It's a damn fine adventure. yes, moving whisky to smaller bottles is a very good way of stopping the oxidation!
Great video. I love the experiments. I like the visual analogies between scotch and bourbon. And the quote of the video is "the fact that you're really, really chubbed up for this is bothersome."
HI guys! I tried some scotches and bourbons and learned to like the bourbon before the scotch (i believe i tried a glenlivet and wasnt appealied by it) . Wild turkey and bulleit worked for me. I then tried the jameson which is really smooth. I just tried Té Bheag and I am surprised to like it (you should review it)! Here, any Scotch is really expensive but it seems like a good value blended malt. Thank you guys for leading me to appreciate the world of whiskies Btw, I like to do some Old fashioned once in a while, I replace the sugar with a barspoon of maple syrup (I'm from Quebec). It's really enjoyable when it's cold outside. You should try!
Funny you mentioned a soapy note Daniel, I got that with Glen Moray Elgin Classic and it put me right off the whole brand. Still got some of it there unfortunately, but we did turn some of the rest of it into marmalade and it came out quite well there.
Daniel, rye definitely comes across as pickles. That's one of the notes I pick up on when I taste our products. One of the other notes I pick up on with rye is fresh brewed iced tea (unsweet).
Great episode especially the statement of one bad experience ruining scotch for people!! Being new to drinking scotch like a big boy !! All I can say is Johnnie walker red label premix cans !! You have a lot to answer for !! Loving whisky now keep up the great videos!
I wanna help with Rex's quest for rye. I should send you a bottle of Sudden Wisdom Rye from our local distillery up here in Missoula Montana. They are still quite young but the whiskey is good. They even have their first single malt being released this fall.
Wayne Gretzky just released a whiskey. There is almost no information on it (as most canadian whiskeys have) but apparently it is "A remarkable blend produced from locally sourced grains and finished in red wine casks" I know his wines are actually quite good so I'm interested to see what his whiskey is like. Just thought everyone should know.
Hey guys! Just recently started binge-watching your episodes this summer as a new side hobby before heading back to school. I find myself slowly differentiating between scotch and bourbon, as my quest for Speysides and mid-range bourbons continues. As a Chicago native, a local distillery named Koval popped up on my radar recently as a distribution truck passed me on the highway with their advertisement, so I looked into them a bit. If you guys could get your hands on some Koval bourbon or their four-grain option, that would be greatly appreciated. Your channel is inviting, intriguing, and witty which is truly enjoyable to watch in my down time. 😎👍🏻
Interesting, I have an inch of Weller 12 that has been sitting in a decanter for over 1 yr. Now that I have a new bottle, I will be comparing them soon.
New drinking game: every time there is a reference to "the unit" - drink up! And - how about Green Spot Chateau Leoville Barton? I to had my life changed by Green Spot and I'm now in love with her cousin...Ms. Barton...
This is *TOTALLY* what I expected. I vape and have been a student of the hobby for 5 years. It is well known (to those who care to learn) that what we call “steeping” your eliquid dramatically changes it’s flavor profile. “Steeping” is simply allowing your eliquid to age and air-out. After vigorously shaking it, leaving the top off the bottle for about 12 hours allows the alcohols and the more perfumy flavoring additives to evaporate yielding a MUCH more rounded and enjoyable flavor profile when the eliquid is vaporized (vaped) the vast majority of the time....flavor and manufacturer dependent.
Just need to elaborate on the scotch v bourbon entry point. I entered into whiskey via scotch and expected to find my "happy" place in the lighter/friendlier end of the spectrum and was seriously surprised to find that my "happy" place is actually the other end of the spectrum. Laphroaig, Lagavulin, ect. Now to throw a question Dalmore 15 is my #1 all time favorite. I get such a black pepper finish that I just adore. I would love to find something else that finishes like that, well that might be a bit less expensive. Any thoughts? BTW love the videos!!!!!! Look forward to them every day and when I get to watch them, everything comes up Rex.
After watching this video I had come to my attention that you have not done Sazerac Rye yet! Rex this may be a Rye you like! I hate all things Anise and Black licorice and this Rye doesn't have those notes. If you or Daniel can find one(or if he has one in the vault) you should try it.
See I came it it from bourbons first, and my first bourbon ( other than Jack & Coke, which we won't count for several reasons) was Knob Creek. And I love that aggressiveness. Woodford and Blantons are delicious, but much too polite. To me they seem to stray close to Daniel's distrust of fruity drinks. "The Creek" ... makes you work for it a bit, and it's different sip by sip. Woodford I'll just toss back and "wake up chained to an oar." But then I started scotches... Dalwhinnie, Oban,Glenfiddich, recently Lagavulin, and they were so easy to explore.... not simple and kind like a soft bourbon, but not hard work either, with so much more to explore. I've lost track if that supports or refutes Rex's theory. Now I want a drink. Damnit.
After watching so many of your videos, my recommendations from UA-cam are full of other whiskey (and whiskey-adjacent) videos. One of them was one of those "Irish People Taste Test _________" setups, about bourbon, and I was amazed that everyone involved reacted like they were drinking molten lava. It was all over the top histrionics, performative gasping for air and popping eyeballs. I know Irish whiskey is smoother and "prettier", but the bourbon examples they used in their taste tests were nothing I'd ever consider extreme. Is the Irish palate really that dainty?
i try to keep him hidden beneath a soft moochy exterior. a bit slipped through the cracks this time. we talk about your toast in an upcoming episode by the way. good stuff 👍
I work in the special events industry and this rant is so true... I'm always looking at those circles from the outside ( Or backstage really) but a few episodes back you talked about hosting an event where the net worth was billions... And it's true... if you can get into those circles, it truly is a whole different world and just being seen chatting and shaking the right hands can make all the difference. It's a fun social experminet to watch once you know what you're looking for
Whiskey request, Four Roses Bourbon. I searched your videos and could not find where you had reviewed this yet. I've heard a lot of hype about it and wanted a "professional" review. Love the Channel!
Okay Dan and Rex, I am a superfan of Laphroaig, I have my square foot of Islay, but, wouldn't you say Bowmore 12 is a Laphroaig-lite with the mediciney first drink note missing? Smoother, being only 40%?
So I know Daniel has poked at the Norlan glasses before, however imo they open up the air so much on non-scotch whiskeys that they can smell aired out, like the Rye you're reviewing here. Everytime I enjoy Rye, I enjoy it most when it's neat in my Norlan Glasses Glencairn is still king though
I have had the same experience with bourbon. Punchy. But since it’s been soo. Hot in central Texas lately. I have added a large ice ball to say eagle rare. And it takes the punch out. Now I have to drink it fast to keep from watering down too much but you get the point. But I can drink ardbeg urideil neat. All night long. Weird right.
Holy shit, rex and daniel switched bodies there at the end. Rex went full nerdcore about marketing and daniel eventually had to interrupt. Im not even mad, that was amazing.
Will other whisk(e)y's do the same as the Russell' reserve and test smoother, or will they taste watered down in a bad way? I have a few nice whisky's on my shelf that I only drink now and then as they are special to me (mostly gifts and some expensive ones). This worries me as some of the bottles are less that a 4th full.
Perfect Simpsons reference. Poor Milhouse. I think this episode perfectly summarized why the "beginning, intermediate, and advanced" labels that have been going on for the last...lots of episodes have been bugging me. I think it makes much more sense to describe it from light to medium to heavy, particularly when peoples' whiskey tastes can vary so widely. Also, there are some distilleries up in Northern Michigan that have been putting out rye whiskey that I have to try, so now I'm going to go need to take care of that. Always looking for a good excuse, so I'll just blame you guys.
Yeah, the "intro do advanced" is so tough. I've met first timers that fall in love with Laphroaig, and old school whisky drinkers who can barely handle macallan 12.
It's so true. My first whisky ever was The Classic Laddie, which kicked my butt at the time. It actually turned me off to whisky for about 3 years. Eventually I tried another, still not knowing much, and found my way into it through the highlands with that lighter touch. Now the Laddie is one of my favorites. Took about 8 years for that circle to come together, though highlands still remain my favorite in general. Also just picked up a bottle of Aberlour 12. Zero complaints there.
i had Oban 14 at a bar over the weekend. i think the bottle had been open for a while. it wasnt nearly as flavorful as the Oban Little Bay that im used to drinking.
I am in Love Wild Turkeys "Russell's Reserve Single Barrel RyE" take the 6 year old and add a ton more flavor. NoN-Chill filtered goodness at a higher proof!
I recently read about a spirit co. Called Droptine Spirits. They have their main offering is a moonshine called Droptine Moonshine. Would you pleeeease do a review on this very interesting whiskey.
Hey gents, quick question... If you don't happen to have the preferred glencairn glass would any tulip style glass (for example red wine glass) suffice to get a similar experience?
Speaking of podcasts, are there any you guys recommend? Whiskey related (or otherwise, I'm not picky). I'm in the car for about 2hrs every day and need help maintaining my sanity :(
I've had half a dozen rye whiskeys now, and they all just taste exactly the same to me in a way other whiskey doesn't . Do you have any tips to get the nuance out of a rye, or any whiskey for that matter?
I have experienced the evaporation effect recently. It's weird. I of course drank all the whiskey anyway(blended most of it) cause Don't waste good whiskey.
No, definitely do it one glass at a time. Chuck Cowdery has a really helpful equation to figure out how much water to add to things. chuckcowdery.blogspot.com/ The formula is Wi * ((bP/dP)-1) = Wa Wi = amount of whiskey bP = bottle proof dP = desired proof Wa = amount of water to add to achieve desired proof
Disclaimer: I know you guys aren't arguing against the point I'm about to make but gosh darn it I spent 20 minutes getting riled up and wrote a huge wall of text decrying your "hot takes" on bourbon before I realized I had completely misinterpreted what was being said and deleted it all. Anyway, I've come this far so I'm going to make the point anyway, just much more nicely. I would say that while the range of 'delicate to extreme' may be smaller for bourbons than it is for scotch this doesn't mean that bourbons can't be as complex as scotch. You only need to watch a couple episodes from more bourbon-centric channels such as It's Bourbon Night or The Mash and Drum to see that some Bourbons can be just as complex and rich as any scotch, just in a different way.
On the question of bourbon vs scotch breadth of flavours, is this something inherent in a corn heavy spirit, or due to the warmer American climate? Is bourbon production too standardized? Does the American consumer even care? I'm wondering if bourbon makers can do something to expand the flavour palette of bourbons on the market (e.g. like Angel's Envy), or if it's fundamentally limited and can never approach the diversity seen in scotch.
There is a very simple reason why bourbon has a narrower taste profile than scotch: the definition of bourbon and the regulations for production that go with that are far more strict. Most particularly, the requirement that a charred, new oak barrel always be used to make bourbon imposes a broad similarity on all bourbon that doesn't exist with scotch because the scotch industry matures spirit in used barrels that vary in many ways, like previous content, number of times the barrel is re-used, size of barrel, etc. Also, scotch can be peated vs non-peated, and it can take the form of "grain whisky" instead of "malt whisky," and of course most scotch is actually a blend of malt whisky and grain whisky. Also, I think it is important to understand something that I have noticed that a lot of British people (I specify them because I read a lot of internet whisky comments from British people) don't understand: "bourbon" is not a blanket term for whisky made in America the way "scotch" is a term for any and all whisky made in Scotland. On UK websites I often see comments like "Bulleit Rye is my favourite bourbon." Bulleit Rye is an American whisky, so they think that makes it a form of bourbon. I am not saying that ALL British people have this misunderstanding. I am just saying I see this sort of comment often. If we put aside the terms "bourbon" and "scotch" and say instead "American whisky" and "Scottish whisky," then I would argue that American whisky is more diverse than Scottish whisky. It is because it legally can be: the American legal definition of "whisky" is looser than the Scottish definition of whisky, a reversal of the stricter definition for bourbon than for scotch. Thus in America completely un-aged "corn whisky" can be a real thing, while it could never exist in Scotland or anywhere else in the European Union, because both Scotland and the EU require whisky to be aged a minimum of three years. American distillers are also free to distill from any type of grain, so American craft distillers nowadays are not just making single malt whisky from 100% malted barley (like the Scots), they are also coming up with things like millet whisky and oat whisky and spelt whisky. Scottish distillers wouldn't even use rye, although in the distant past rye was sometimes used in scotch, according to the experts on scotch history.
i'm imagining a huge pirate ship sailing across heaving seas of whiskey. The Jolly Moocher, plundering the coffers of unsuspecting whiskey noobs. For profit... and science!
Thats why i hate having a scotch in my country...they would have opened bottles for more than a year....after having a dalmore at a bar went back home and tried MY dalmore and it was like miles away
That sucks. I occasionally have the same problem here, especially with more expensive scotches in a bar full of dozens of other options. If the bottle is more than half empty, i don't roll the dice... It's probably been sitting there for too long.
Rex thats a good advice, unfortunately sometimes you dont get to see the bottle, but i will ask to check it from now on. Dalmore is a expensensive scotch in Argentina, thats how bad we are doing hahaha
Your contents are awesome. I have learned a lot about whisky form you guys. But my only concern is well you have an awe inspiring whisky collection well what if you face an earthquake 😅😅😅
Rex An earthquake in Texas......don't see it happening........but now a tornado on the other hand...damn it see if you can insure whisk(e)y its important for your job so you might.
When it comes to bottles that are beginning to dwindle I do two different things. For bottles that I don't drink as often and are getting beyond a third empty and any peaty whisk(e)y the moment I open them, I use spray preservative that is compressed canned Nitrogen(N2), Carbon Dioxide(CO2) and Argon(Ar). The theory is that the heavier CO2 lies down on top of the bottles contents forming an inert blanket so that oxygen and other electron stealing elements and compounds cannot effect the whisk(e)y. This is widely used in the wine world and is quite effective. Once the bottle reaches half full I transfer the contents to a 375ml bottle and then into a 250ml bottle. Here are the links to this stuff. brewhaus.com/flavoring-aging/liquor-bottles/ www.amazon.com/Private-Preserve-Wine-Preservation-System/dp/B00GO9C478/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1502212413&sr=8-2&keywords=private+reserve+wine+preserver I have found that the spray does a remarkable job of preserving the rather ephemeral potency of smoke in peaty whiskey.
Nice write up Katie! I had just asked how successful wine preserver was at storing whiskey. I always heard good things but never tried it myself. I always transfer into 375ml bottles too. Simple, yet effective. Might try the wine preserver for some of my nicer bottles I want to keep for display purposes. But again, those are the ones I'm most nervous about using it on. I'll prob just try it with some cheaper ones first and see how it goes first.
Trust me, I used it on my $1100 bottle of MacAllan 18y/o Gran Reserva,(which took me 2 years to drink). It works great and has zero effect on the whisk(e)y.
I'm so glad there's 500 episodes of this to fill my days with joy
I stumbled into Rye recently. So far, PiggyBack and Sagamore are among the favorites I’ve tried. Didn’t love Sazerac.
This is my first comment. I've been watching y'all for a good while now, and have enjoyed what I can learn just from watching. My wife loves rye whiskies. I have learned to like a lot, but some of the rye's I have tried have tasted like dill pickle. Daniel is the first person I have ever heard say the same thing I was thinking when tasting a rye.
This is without a doubt the most educational video you guys have done. I forget that you guys actually have real world jobs and skills. But back to whiskey, wouldn't Irish be more beginner friendly. I don't think I've had an aggressive one before.
I agree with Irish.
i wonder what the most "aggressive" Irish whiskey is... Me thinks there's research to be done.
Rex... we all know you mean mooching to be done. I am sure Daniel will gladly provide you with irish whiskeys to try, so you can "educate your troubled mind" ;)
Gotta love Rex's humblebrag, which was fairly well executed. Going from "This place BEGGED me to come..." to "Any sort of heavy hitter is inundated with people asking for favors"
I see what you did there.
their biggest mistake? too little whiskey.
Pretty sure that's everyone's biggest mistake at all times. My current rotation has tripled since finding this channel, and my whiskey world is still so small.
I just watched episode 161 and left a comment that it's one of the most important videos because of the toast.
162 might be one of the most valuable due to the last four minutes of Rex dropping knowledge about business and the world in general.
Cheers fam!
Have you ever used wine preserver for storing whiskey? Ralfy did an episode on it and I've read various articles saying that it works. I've never tried it myself though and always felt uneasy about spraying gas into an expensive single malt. I bought a case of 350ml bottles and I just decant into those when a bottle is getting low. It's easy, stress free, and works just fine. However, it doesn't work well if you want to display it in the original bottle. So, that's where I could see the gas coming in handy.
Katie just did a writeup on this! Scroll down. Lot's of good things to say!
Whiskey Vault Well gosh darn. Looks like I fished my wish! Thanks.
Outstanding show.
I was getting the feeling that leaving a little bit (1/4) of whiskey in the bottle was a bad thing.
Which lead me to (in a panic) run down the steps to grab what was low. A Colonel Taylor Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Basil Hayden's, and my trusted Four Roses Single barrel. My wife pregnant didn't even question me. I said they were going to go bad and better to compare them now... the way they are suppose to taste.
My night stayed just this side of legal after my mooch friend stopped by to encourage me to include the macallan 12. Thank god I had the will to put it back.
Thank you for clarifying that was unnecessary. Let's keep that between the on line group. But the answer leads me to another question . What if you moved a small amount of leftover whiskey to a smaller container with the cork (say 7.5oz) … Would that hold the taste better with it being a full container?
The school is something I'm really thinking about doing so the information on that is always encouraging.
I hope tomorrow's whiskey is great.
I'm going in tonight to have my first child (a boy) tomorrow. I'm going to by a bottle of whatever it is and drink it with him whenever he that right moment comes up.
Everything IS coming up Rex!!
Holy crap! Congratulations on the first kid! It's a damn fine adventure.
yes, moving whisky to smaller bottles is a very good way of stopping the oxidation!
Great video. I love the experiments. I like the visual analogies between scotch and bourbon. And the quote of the video is "the fact that you're really, really chubbed up for this is bothersome."
I just watched an older vid and rex had the best toast ever "my u return if u enjoy the reach around" lol classy rex...classy
darrell hood, just using the gifts God gave me 😜
Rex: "Let the expert talk!" - love it!
HI guys! I tried some scotches and bourbons and learned to like the bourbon before the scotch (i believe i tried a glenlivet and wasnt appealied by it) . Wild turkey and bulleit worked for me. I then tried the jameson which is really smooth. I just tried Té Bheag and I am surprised to like it (you should review it)! Here, any Scotch is really expensive but it seems like a good value blended malt.
Thank you guys for leading me to appreciate the world of whiskies
Btw, I like to do some Old fashioned once in a while, I replace the sugar with a barspoon of maple syrup (I'm from Quebec). It's really enjoyable when it's cold outside. You should try!
Funny you mentioned a soapy note Daniel, I got that with Glen Moray Elgin Classic and it put me right off the whole brand. Still got some of it there unfortunately, but we did turn some of the rest of it into marmalade and it came out quite well there.
My new joy....I get a glass of whatever....find your review and listen to you nuts review as I sip with you! Cheers.
I clicked for the hairy belly, I stayed for the whisky!
like a moth to a flame.
You just kinda want to slap it until it's pink, don't you?
ChrisC bahahahaha yes!!
Daniel, rye definitely comes across as pickles. That's one of the notes I pick up on when I taste our products. One of the other notes I pick up on with rye is fresh brewed iced tea (unsweet).
YES! Especially sun tea that tends to be a little more briny
Exactly! And bitter and dry! I told our master blender what I thought and he placated me a bit. Said, I guess I could see that.
Great episode especially the statement of one bad experience ruining scotch for people!! Being new to drinking scotch like a big boy !! All I can say is Johnnie walker red label premix cans !! You have a lot to answer for !!
Loving whisky now keep up the great videos!
Glad you've joined the whisky tribe!
Whiskey Vault I am currently drinking the Ardmore and loving every sip
Geez! i'm just drinking JW Red Label with coca-cola, and it' undrinkable! Neat, or mixed, never, ever again.
I wanna help with Rex's quest for rye. I should send you a bottle of Sudden Wisdom Rye from our local distillery up here in Missoula Montana. They are still quite young but the whiskey is good. They even have their first single malt being released this fall.
Send away, my friend.
I'm curious. Dare i say... intrigued.
Wayne Gretzky just released a whiskey. There is almost no information on it (as most canadian whiskeys have) but apparently it is "A remarkable blend produced from locally sourced grains and finished in red wine casks" I know his wines are actually quite good so I'm interested to see what his whiskey is like. Just thought everyone should know.
haven't seen it in the states, but yah - im eager to try it.
Hey guys! Just recently started binge-watching your episodes this summer as a new side hobby before heading back to school. I find myself slowly differentiating between scotch and bourbon, as my quest for Speysides and mid-range bourbons continues. As a Chicago native, a local distillery named Koval popped up on my radar recently as a distribution truck passed me on the highway with their advertisement, so I looked into them a bit. If you guys could get your hands on some Koval bourbon or their four-grain option, that would be greatly appreciated. Your channel is inviting, intriguing, and witty which is truly enjoyable to watch in my down time. 😎👍🏻
We'll see if we can!
Interesting, I have an inch of Weller 12 that has been sitting in a decanter for over 1 yr. Now that I have a new bottle, I will be comparing them soon.
New drinking game: every time there is a reference to "the unit" - drink up! And - how about Green Spot Chateau Leoville Barton? I to had my life changed by Green Spot and I'm now in love with her cousin...Ms. Barton...
Green Spot? Welcome home, friend... Welcome home.
This is *TOTALLY* what I expected. I vape and have been a student of the hobby for 5 years. It is well known (to those who care to learn) that what we call “steeping” your eliquid dramatically changes it’s flavor profile. “Steeping” is simply allowing your eliquid to age and air-out. After vigorously shaking it, leaving the top off the bottle for about 12 hours allows the alcohols and the more perfumy flavoring additives to evaporate yielding a MUCH more rounded and enjoyable flavor profile when the eliquid is vaporized (vaped) the vast majority of the time....flavor and manufacturer dependent.
Good informational video. Thanks both of you.
It appears that no reviewer on youtube has ever done an English vlog on OB Bunnahabhain 25. This one's meant for you guys. Keep rocking.
Challenge accepted
I actually have that with most of my bourbons. They are just nice and smooth after a while in comparison to a newly opened bottle.
Just need to elaborate on the scotch v bourbon entry point. I entered into whiskey via scotch and expected to find my "happy" place in the lighter/friendlier end of the spectrum and was seriously surprised to find that my "happy" place is actually the other end of the spectrum. Laphroaig, Lagavulin, ect. Now to throw a question Dalmore 15 is my #1 all time favorite. I get such a black pepper finish that I just adore. I would love to find something else that finishes like that, well that might be a bit less expensive. Any thoughts? BTW love the videos!!!!!! Look forward to them every day and when I get to watch them, everything comes up Rex.
The vanilla version of Dalmore is Glencadam 15. If you like the Dalmore but want a bit more butterscotch, Longmorn 16
Whiskey good, air bad. Soapy??? Yes a chemical reaction with the air. I had a friend that had and addiction to soap. But he is clean now.
damn it. i stumbled right in to that one...
After watching this video I had come to my attention that you have not done Sazerac Rye yet! Rex this may be a Rye you like! I hate all things Anise and Black licorice and this Rye doesn't have those notes. If you or Daniel can find one(or if he has one in the vault) you should try it.
We have it! I'll add it.
Andrew Bogani, I'm in. Looking forward to it.
The George Dickel 95% rye is 100% dill pickles. Thank God you said that about a rye, I thought I was nuts.
See I came it it from bourbons first, and my first bourbon ( other than Jack & Coke, which we won't count for several reasons) was Knob Creek. And I love that aggressiveness. Woodford and Blantons are delicious, but much too polite. To me they seem to stray close to Daniel's distrust of fruity drinks. "The Creek" ... makes you work for it a bit, and it's different sip by sip. Woodford I'll just toss back and "wake up chained to an oar." But then I started scotches... Dalwhinnie, Oban,Glenfiddich, recently Lagavulin, and they were so easy to explore.... not simple and kind like a soft bourbon, but not hard work either, with so much more to explore.
I've lost track if that supports or refutes Rex's theory. Now I want a drink. Damnit.
After watching so many of your videos, my recommendations from UA-cam are full of other whiskey (and whiskey-adjacent) videos. One of them was one of those "Irish People Taste Test _________" setups, about bourbon, and I was amazed that everyone involved reacted like they were drinking molten lava. It was all over the top histrionics, performative gasping for air and popping eyeballs. I know Irish whiskey is smoother and "prettier", but the bourbon examples they used in their taste tests were nothing I'd ever consider extreme. Is the Irish palate really that dainty?
Yeah, videos with drama are a little more interesting than reality. That's all there is to it.
Big "reactions" get more views... even if the reactions are exaggerated.
Is the Whiskey Vault putting on a Burn's Supper with Scotch pairings this January? If not, why not?
That is such a good idea. I'll work on it.
Rex, your "Gate Keeper" rant at the end, made too much sense. TOO MUCH!
Your serious/intellectual side is starting to show through the Mooch.
That side is an ugly side.
i try to keep him hidden beneath a soft moochy exterior. a bit slipped through the cracks this time. we talk about your toast in an upcoming episode by the way. good stuff 👍
You watch this channel to.
I work in the special events industry and this rant is so true... I'm always looking at those circles from the outside ( Or backstage really) but a few episodes back you talked about hosting an event where the net worth was billions... And it's true... if you can get into those circles, it truly is a whole different world and just being seen chatting and shaking the right hands can make all the difference. It's a fun social experminet to watch once you know what you're looking for
HA I thought the same.
Turns out that little talk revealed a lot about how these two ended up teaming up though :) I like!
There once was a street called Chuck Norris, but the name was changed for public safety because nobody crosses Chuck Norris and lives.
Whiskey request, Four Roses Bourbon. I searched your videos and could not find where you had reviewed this yet. I've heard a lot of hype about it and wanted a "professional" review. Love the Channel!
It's on the list!
Wow. I got here first. I have had this, not a rye fan but I liked it. The less structures these reviews are the more entertaining the episode is.
Okay Dan and Rex, I am a superfan of Laphroaig, I have my square foot of Islay, but, wouldn't you say Bowmore 12 is a Laphroaig-lite with the mediciney first drink note missing? Smoother, being only 40%?
I found Bowmore 12 to be more hefty actually. But the Bowmore small batch is the smoothest Islay I've ever tasted.
Oh yea, in the Bourbon Casks...nice!
Super funny seeing Rex share compelling knowledge and talk about his business experience, adds balance to his dolphin fart sound effects
So I know Daniel has poked at the Norlan glasses before, however imo they open up the air so much on non-scotch whiskeys that they can smell aired out, like the Rye you're reviewing here. Everytime I enjoy Rye, I enjoy it most when it's neat in my Norlan Glasses
Glencairn is still king though
I have had the same experience with bourbon. Punchy. But since it’s been soo. Hot in central Texas lately. I have added a large ice ball to say eagle rare. And it takes the punch out. Now I have to drink it fast to keep from watering down too much but you get the point. But I can drink ardbeg urideil neat. All night long. Weird right.
Any thoughts on kavalan? Really excited to try that at the impending and previously mentioned festival.
Love Kavalan! We're working on some videos for them shortly.
Holy shit, rex and daniel switched bodies there at the end. Rex went full nerdcore about marketing and daniel eventually had to interrupt. Im not even mad, that was amazing.
Will other whisk(e)y's do the same as the Russell' reserve and test smoother, or will they taste watered down in a bad way? I have a few nice whisky's on my shelf that I only drink now and then as they are special to me (mostly gifts and some expensive ones). This worries me as some of the bottles are less that a 4th full.
Yeah, most whisky will. My recommendation would be to go online, buy some smaller bottles and move them into those to keep the air volume low.
Just snatched up the 6 year rye and 10 year bourbon, let's hope the cask influence gods are in my favor. Cheers! 🥃
Victory is mine!!
Perfect Simpsons reference. Poor Milhouse.
I think this episode perfectly summarized why the "beginning, intermediate, and advanced" labels that have been going on for the last...lots of episodes have been bugging me. I think it makes much more sense to describe it from light to medium to heavy, particularly when peoples' whiskey tastes can vary so widely.
Also, there are some distilleries up in Northern Michigan that have been putting out rye whiskey that I have to try, so now I'm going to go need to take care of that. Always looking for a good excuse, so I'll just blame you guys.
Yeah, the "intro do advanced" is so tough. I've met first timers that fall in love with Laphroaig, and old school whisky drinkers who can barely handle macallan 12.
It's so true. My first whisky ever was The Classic Laddie, which kicked my butt at the time. It actually turned me off to whisky for about 3 years. Eventually I tried another, still not knowing much, and found my way into it through the highlands with that lighter touch. Now the Laddie is one of my favorites. Took about 8 years for that circle to come together, though highlands still remain my favorite in general.
Also just picked up a bottle of Aberlour 12. Zero complaints there.
i had Oban 14 at a bar over the weekend. i think the bottle had been open for a while. it wasnt nearly as flavorful as the Oban Little Bay that im used to drinking.
Yeah, likely opened.
Whiskey Vault I think they knew about it because they discounted it $5 from the menu price.
I am in Love Wild Turkeys "Russell's Reserve Single Barrel RyE" take the 6 year old and add a ton more flavor. NoN-Chill filtered goodness at a higher proof!
very instructive
Are you guys planning on doing Canadian Club? It’s not fancy...at all. But I’d be curious to hear your opinion
I recently read about a spirit co. Called Droptine Spirits. They have their main offering is a moonshine called Droptine Moonshine. Would you pleeeease do a review on this very interesting whiskey.
If we can find it, yes!
Whiskey Vault I believe currently it is easiest to buy direct from Droptine.com
Most coherent one whisky episode ever👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Knob, smooth wood, and chubs omg you guys are on a roll.
just keepin' it classy
Great channel guys!
Karlos Alvarado, thanks for being here 👍
Rex keep on doing it, I have learnt a lot, thanks
Hey gents, quick question... If you don't happen to have the preferred glencairn glass would any tulip style glass (for example red wine glass) suffice to get a similar experience?
If the glass is small enough, yes!
Hey Fellas, How about a review of Loch Dhu Black Whisky...I've heard alot of mixed opinions on that.
Haven't heard of it! Will try to find it.
Speaking of podcasts, are there any you guys recommend? Whiskey related (or otherwise, I'm not picky). I'm in the car for about 2hrs every day and need help maintaining my sanity :(
Can you guys do a sweet bourbon list.
I've had half a dozen rye whiskeys now, and they all just taste exactly the same to me in a way other whiskey doesn't . Do you have any tips to get the nuance out of a rye, or any whiskey for that matter?
I have the identical experience with most rye as well. I'm still working on a way to differentiate.
I have experienced the evaporation effect recently. It's weird. I of course drank all the whiskey anyway(blended most of it) cause Don't waste good whiskey.
Question about adding water to the Russle 16. Should I add water to the whole bottle? And how much if so?
No, definitely do it one glass at a time. Chuck Cowdery has a really helpful equation to figure out how much water to add to things. chuckcowdery.blogspot.com/
The formula is Wi * ((bP/dP)-1) = Wa
Wi = amount of whiskey
bP = bottle proof
dP = desired proof
Wa = amount of water to add to achieve desired proof
Is there a reason for not adding it to the bottle?
Rex " I'm getting some nice wood."
Me "Huh, huh, huh, huh,huh. He said wood"
😋
Old video, but if I could afford to come to your school, I would happily pay for a class for the experience to plan events like what you talk about.
Disclaimer: I know you guys aren't arguing against the point I'm about to make but gosh darn it I spent 20 minutes getting riled up and wrote a huge wall of text decrying your "hot takes" on bourbon before I realized I had completely misinterpreted what was being said and deleted it all. Anyway, I've come this far so I'm going to make the point anyway, just much more nicely.
I would say that while the range of 'delicate to extreme' may be smaller for bourbons than it is for scotch this doesn't mean that bourbons can't be as complex as scotch. You only need to watch a couple episodes from more bourbon-centric channels such as It's Bourbon Night or The Mash and Drum to see that some Bourbons can be just as complex and rich as any scotch, just in a different way.
Because science!
Daniel, you have beautifully friendly eyes.
Non-tasting question...Which Whisk(e)y has your favorite display box or bottle?
So many good ones. I like the series that Arran has been doing with smuggler's books.
Wait a minute, have you reviewed Glenlivet 12, 15, 18?
Just cameos
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride....like Rex.
Whiskey Vault the 12 I have open right now and I found it good with coke or Pepsi on ice
bridesmaids drink for free.
Touché!
In the little bottle "for science" one of my favorite sayings that you guys don't use enough anymore haha. Have a awesome day guys.
Rex, Daniel,
I'm starting to dream about whisky. I blame yall.
On the question of bourbon vs scotch breadth of flavours, is this something inherent in a corn heavy spirit, or due to the warmer American climate? Is bourbon production too standardized? Does the American consumer even care? I'm wondering if bourbon makers can do something to expand the flavour palette of bourbons on the market (e.g. like Angel's Envy), or if it's fundamentally limited and can never approach the diversity seen in scotch.
I think the hotter climate, new wood requirement and heavy corn results in a smaller bandwidth. But the craft distillers are breaking this wide open.
There is a very simple reason why bourbon has a narrower taste profile than scotch: the definition of bourbon and the regulations for production that go with that are far more strict. Most particularly, the requirement that a charred, new oak barrel always be used to make bourbon imposes a broad similarity on all bourbon that doesn't exist with scotch because the scotch industry matures spirit in used barrels that vary in many ways, like previous content, number of times the barrel is re-used, size of barrel, etc. Also, scotch can be peated vs non-peated, and it can take the form of "grain whisky" instead of "malt whisky," and of course most scotch is actually a blend of malt whisky and grain whisky.
Also, I think it is important to understand something that I have noticed that a lot of British people (I specify them because I read a lot of internet whisky comments from British people) don't understand: "bourbon" is not a blanket term for whisky made in America the way "scotch" is a term for any and all whisky made in Scotland. On UK websites I often see comments like "Bulleit Rye is my favourite bourbon." Bulleit Rye is an American whisky, so they think that makes it a form of bourbon. I am not saying that ALL British people have this misunderstanding. I am just saying I see this sort of comment often. If we put aside the terms "bourbon" and "scotch" and say instead "American whisky" and "Scottish whisky," then I would argue that American whisky is more diverse than Scottish whisky. It is because it legally can be: the American legal definition of "whisky" is looser than the Scottish definition of whisky, a reversal of the stricter definition for bourbon than for scotch. Thus in America completely un-aged "corn whisky" can be a real thing, while it could never exist in Scotland or anywhere else in the European Union, because both Scotland and the EU require whisky to be aged a minimum of three years. American distillers are also free to distill from any type of grain, so American craft distillers nowadays are not just making single malt whisky from 100% malted barley (like the Scots), they are also coming up with things like millet whisky and oat whisky and spelt whisky. Scottish distillers wouldn't even use rye, although in the distant past rye was sometimes used in scotch, according to the experts on scotch history.
He loves smooth wood!
Whiskey request, Teachers. Still loving the show guys 😆
thanks, man. I've been looking forward to Teachers.
whats that "Ryemageddon" on the shelf???
From Corsair distillery in Nashville.
Whiskey Vault gonna do a review?
Ahhhh, Nashville....my favorite city in the world!
Damn Rex, I so want to mooch a job from you now. Haha. Together we could do amazing things. I am the Patron Saint of Whiskey after all. ;)
i'm imagining a huge pirate ship sailing across heaving seas of whiskey. The Jolly Moocher, plundering the coffers of unsuspecting whiskey noobs. For profit... and science!
Rex It would be glorious!
In a dress.
Finally, I've been waiting for this :D:D:D:D
I started with scotch and moved to bourbon. But I was never a fan of the greasy, smoked rotten meet flavor of the islay and lowlands
Rex, you caught me off guard... I didn’t expect you to know things (great episode though!)
Man Rex is all in on the wood.
Thats why i hate having a scotch in my country...they would have opened bottles for more than a year....after having a dalmore at a bar went back home and tried MY dalmore and it was like miles away
That sucks. I occasionally have the same problem here, especially with more expensive scotches in a bar full of dozens of other options. If the bottle is more than half empty, i don't roll the dice... It's probably been sitting there for too long.
Rex thats a good advice, unfortunately sometimes you dont get to see the bottle, but i will ask to check it from now on. Dalmore is a expensensive scotch in Argentina, thats how bad we are doing hahaha
10k subs party on livestream? yes? please?
This is a great idea!
U guys should try mixing vodka with holy water it's called...the holy spirit
love it.
10:45
Says Rex, who has a thing for smooth wood.
6:40
"nice wood"... LOL so many jokes
Mix your Russell's with Jack Daniel's and you get a Jack Russell!
Okay....bought some Russell's Reserve 6yro...even with water I am no fan. I get tasting notes of dirty dish water....no fan.
speaking of Bushmills, have you reviewed it, and why the fuck not?
Just waiting!
Whiskey Vault wow, i love how fast you answer. You guys are so lovable. Have a nice one
Comment
nailed it.
pithy reply
I hate the taste of black liquorice so I tend not to drink rye.
yup, its incredibly common in rye. plenty of other whiskeys to enjoy though 👍
Hey Toast guy... My liver thanks you.
I hope that's his actual name.
Hine
What a day everything is coming up Rex!!! Haha what a great day
Knob Creek Rye please. Knob Creek Rye please. Please, knob Creek Rye....
i'm going to go out on a limb here... but i think you may like knob creek rye.
Rex Who, Me?
Your contents are awesome. I have learned a lot about whisky form you guys. But my only concern is well you have an awe inspiring whisky collection well what if you face an earthquake 😅😅😅
i actually mentioned that exact same concern to daniel a few months ago. long story short... if it happens, we're screwed! 😲
Rex An earthquake in Texas......don't see it happening........but now a tornado on the other hand...damn it see if you can insure whisk(e)y its important for your job so you might.
U guys have mentioned bulliet several times....Review it damn it. 😡😡😡😡
darrell hood, I'm "reviewing" it at my house, right now.
Rex I'd give 2 thumbs up if I could
When it comes to bottles that are beginning to dwindle I do two different things. For bottles that I don't drink as often and are getting beyond a third empty and any peaty whisk(e)y the moment I open them, I use spray preservative that is compressed canned Nitrogen(N2), Carbon Dioxide(CO2) and Argon(Ar). The theory is that the heavier CO2 lies down on top of the bottles contents forming an inert blanket so that oxygen and other electron stealing elements and compounds cannot effect the whisk(e)y. This is widely used in the wine world and is quite effective. Once the bottle reaches half full I transfer the contents to a 375ml bottle and then into a 250ml bottle. Here are the links to this stuff.
brewhaus.com/flavoring-aging/liquor-bottles/
www.amazon.com/Private-Preserve-Wine-Preservation-System/dp/B00GO9C478/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1502212413&sr=8-2&keywords=private+reserve+wine+preserver
I have found that the spray does a remarkable job of preserving the rather ephemeral potency of smoke in peaty whiskey.
These are great ideas. I fully endorse them. Even though I mostly just drink everything when it gets too low.
Nice write up Katie! I had just asked how successful wine preserver was at storing whiskey. I always heard good things but never tried it myself. I always transfer into 375ml bottles too. Simple, yet effective. Might try the wine preserver for some of my nicer bottles I want to keep for display purposes. But again, those are the ones I'm most nervous about using it on. I'll prob just try it with some cheaper ones first and see how it goes first.
Trust me, I used it on my $1100 bottle of MacAllan 18y/o Gran Reserva,(which took me 2 years to drink). It works great and has zero effect on the whisk(e)y.
meh early enough
"meh" is the new "thirst"