Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout - The Original - Review and Tasting Notes

So, I decided to play the Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout game this year.

You know... frantically drive to every grocery or liquor store in the area Black Friday morning.  Cope with bottle limits.  Call ahead to ask if the stores farther from town had any stock left.

I made off with a grand total of four bottles after about 2 hours of work.

Yeah.  I know.

To my credit, I worked an overnight shift (yes, I worked overnight Thanksgiving into Black Friday...) and didn't get off until about 9:30 in the morning.  At least I had my priorities in order: beer over bed.

Bulleit Bourbon Review and Tasting Notes

The Story 

Remember that time I titled a website Scotch Dreams then proceeded to review mostly bourbons for the next several months?

Yeah.  Me too.

Whoops.

Don't worry.  I promise I'll get back to the scotch soon!

Anyway, here comes another bourbon review.  I've been on a little bit of a bourbon kick lately.  It's my father's favorite, and we've been spending a lot of time together.

Bulleit Bourbon is considered a solid American mid/lower tier bourbon.  It is known for its high rye content which the distiller reports provides it with an enhanced spicy character.

Buffalo Trace Straight Bourbon Review and Tasting Notes

The Story

The Buffalo Trace Distillery is classic American distiller.  It claims that it is the oldest continuously operating distillery in the US, with production dating back to 1775; to be entirely fair, this claim gets a little fuzzy in terms of how you define distillery, but either way, they've been around a long damn time.

The thing is, they've clearly learned something somewhere in those 200+ years, because they produce some damn good bourbon.  They've received a lengthy list of awards over the years, not least of which is the title of "Whisky Distiller of the Year 2014" by Whisky Magazine.

The Buffalo Trace Bourbon is the distiller's entry level bourbon.  It is batched from no more than 40 barrels at a time, and the distiller reports that it is aged on the middle floor of the warehouse where the whisky will experience the greatest possible temperature fluctuation.

Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon Review and Tasting Notes

The Story

The other weekend I was eating a burger at one of my favorite bars.  I cast my eye over the whiskies behind the bar and was immediately blown away.

To give a little background on this bar, however, you'll understand why trepidation struck me just after the awe did.

This place is expensive.  Very expensive.  In fact, I make a point to only dine there on the "burger deal" night, when the burger and draft beer are half off (even at 50% off, the burger is still $11!).

My curiosity got the better of me, however, so I asked the bartender for the booze menu.  I roamed down the list.  Macallan 18, a perennial leader on my "to-try" list for $30 dollars.  Several other favorites at similarly crazy costs.