Is Marso dead? Int'l. whiskey rankings

Beam Distillery does indeed own the Makers Mark brand, but it's made at a completely different distillery than Jim Beam.

The fact that Beam owns Makers Mark doesn't mean much.

Anheuser-Busch InBev owns Budweiser (which is complete shite) but they also own a bunch of other breweries (like Stella Artois) that make half-decent beer.

It's important to know your booze.

Makers Mark is good, but overrated IMHO. I got a bottle for my birthday a few years back and was eager to try it because I'd heard people raving about it.

It's all right, but nothing special.

And, yeah, Southern Comfort is awful stuff.

George Dickel White Label FTW.

There's actually a mixed-barrel bourbon out of either Washington or Oregon that's supposed to be pretty good. Can't remember the name of it at the moment.

As I'd said in my earlier post, it's a good go-to bourbon if you're at a bar with minimal selection. I'd agree that it's a bit overpriced.

I'm doing my part.

Bulliet Rye, ftw.

I've heard a lot of people talk about Elijah Craig as well.

I highly recommend the podcast dedicated to the finest form of alcohol known to man Whiskycast. One of his comments about a whisky has always stuck with me, "Wow! That's breakfast in a bottle!"

Both Maker's Mark and Knob Creek are owned by Jim Beam and just got bought by Suntory.

Holy shit! I did not know that.

Elijah Craig 12 is my daily bourbon. Others I like include: four roses small batch, four roses single barrel, elmer t lee, w.l. weller 12, old weller antique, and buffalo trace. So many good options in the 20 to 35 dollar range.

Bulleit

Now that's a proper ice cube!

One and done.

Seeings how this is the second page of whiskey talk, and it hasn't lured him out, I'd have to go with "yes".

He's been gone from the board for two years now. Guess he jusy got tired of the place.

He died in a fire (whiskey burns).

He stopped responding to texts as well. Hope everything is alright.

I didn't really intend this to be a what happened to Marso thread, but I recall Tamar saying that he asked her to lock his account. I always thought he had some kind of tough personal issues going on, no doubt he wanted to focus more on that and needed to simplify his life from the kind of distractions this place represents.

I'm a Bourbon guy. I've been to the distilleries in Kentucky. I've done the tastings. I've seen the works. I've been in the aging houses. I've heard the length and breadth of regulatory hurdles. Until it goes in a cask it's all. the. same. The only differences in Bourbons are where they are kept in the aging house and how long they stay in the barrels before being blended. That's it.

Now, those two things can make a very big difference, agreed. But, outside of those two factors, being snobby about Bourbon is being snobby just for the sake of being snobby. That said, I'm distressed about a Japanese company buying Jim Beam (and it's brands). But, we'll just have to wait and see.

That solves it. Garage still is in my future.

Oh, gimme a break. It's not about being snobby; it's about good taste and enjoying the finer things in life among friends.

My buddies and I will often go out to bars and try different microbrews and/or whiskies that aren't necessarily available in mass quantities or at the local store. It's about exploring new tastes. Anyone can go to the grocery or liquor store and buy Budweiser or Jack Daniels or other mass-produced crap.

You may like Budweiser or Jack Daniels or Jim Bean but at least have the honesty and decency to admit they're not very good. Let me put it this way: would you say a McDonald's hamburger is comparable to a nicely-grilled steak?

You're also wrong about bourbon. The basic ingredients themselves may be the same, but little things like mineral content in the local water can make a huge difference.

Snobby.

All of the distilleries are either in Bourbon County or within 30 air miles of Bourbon County. They're all in the same geographic and climatic region. They all use the same aquifer. I've been there. I've seen it. Have you? Not trying to be a dick, but I've done my homework too.

That's essentially what it is. There's a couple of different names for it, but the "High Wine" that comes out of the still is plain old-fashioned moonshine. The fire, barrels, and age are what turns it into Bourbon.

Well, that an the FDA's regulations...

Don't want to turn this into a pissing match, but you're mostly correct. I appreciate you live in the general geographic area. I have been to Lexington, although it's been a while. Many distilleries are within a 30-40 minute drive east, north or west of Lexington. But some of the distilleries I visited were in Jefferson County, which (if I recall correctly) is about a two hour drive west of Bourbon County. The ones in Bourbon County probably use the same aquifer but the same can't be said for some of the other counties.

If it's anything like beer, water is over-rated. They will have a chemical analysis of Bourbon County water, and the ability to make water from any source indistinguishable. With beer, the water from Burton-on-Trent is replicated, no big deal.

Doesn't matter, just like how most countries treat sparkling wine from a particular region in France different than sparkling wine from various places on the globe, the idea that Bourbon can only come from KY will be enshrined in lore.

No harm on my end. What I'm getting at is they're all the same when they're new. A three year old Four Roses will taste almost identical to a three year old Jim Beam. Point being. Of course a 12+ year old bottle is better than a 3 year old bottle. Duh. But, it doesn't mean that the 3 year old stuff is bad.