Is Marso dead? Int'l. whiskey rankings

Myself and a friend spent a night out drinking whiskey not so long ago (those of you on FB may have seen a picture) but I really couldn't distinguish between good and bad, or the various brands at all. And I ended up with a very sore head. I will stick to beer from now on.

^That's how I feel about mass market lagers... Can't touch most whiskeys these days, used to enjoy Scottish malts in my youth (not blends, bleugh!), but these days I'm happy with bourbons.

I mainly stick to spiced rums though, in the UK at least, Sailor Jerry with sarsaparella is something else. Abroad, beer it is.

I can hammer large steins of dunkel for 12 hours plus, wake up fresh as a daisy. 4 pints of fizzy piss in the UK? Bad head.

I've heard that about German beer. Something about the purity law maybe?

Sailor Jerry's is my favorite rum. I seem to prefer the vanilla undertones of it and The Krakken, which is my go to if I can't get Sailor Jerry's.

Here's another interesting chart on whiskey:



Looks like we've been had once again by big industry.

Aye, some of my favorites are on there.

The Macallan isn't, though.

Don't see Evan Williams, Wild Turkey, Black Velvet or George Dickel.

The reality is any brewer or distiller worth their salt conditions the water they use so water is a complete non-issue.

Look who owns Wild Turkey.

Who's the Campari Group? A big Italian conglomerate.

As for Black Velvet, let's just say they'll sell no booze before its time.

Oh, George Dickel? He's somebody's bitch, all right.

Evan Williams is still family owned, though. My favorite, Buffalo Trace, is owned by an American based company which has decided that bourbon is to be the focus of its business.

I always figured Marso just locked himself in his doom bunker and couldn't figure out how to unlock it. He's probably still down there slowly eating through his spam and cup of noodles.

Nah. They are not the same recipe. The percentage of corn and secondary grain (usually rye) will vary in order to give distinctive flavor profile's. Four Roses is particularly diverse in this way. But the best way to demonstrate that all bourbon is not the same is to taste a wheater side by side with a high rye bourbon. They are very different animals.

Marso, yet another Wordforger MIA.

And I know what you're thinking Fleshlight because the rest of us are thinking it too. "It's so unfair that good posters leave but we're still stuck with Fleshlight. If there is a god why hasn't he struck down Fleshlight by now?"

By law, Bourbon must be at least 51% Corn. The remainder is rye except in the case of "Wheated Ryes" which must be clearly labeled as such and are not Bourbons.

The FDA is quite specific about recipes and the like.

Yes, because the distillers want that, to ensure a consistent product across brands. Rye tastes very different than bourbon, depending upon how crops come in during a given year, one could be cheaper to produce than the other, and distillers don't want someone who's got a warehouse full of rye slapping a bourbon label on it because rye sales are in the toilet, while bourbon sales are through the roof, and potentially stealing sales from bourbon distillers or putting people off of bourbon because it tastes like rye. The rye distillers feel the same way.

FDA or TTB? Seems like a TTB thing more than FDA.

The question you should be asking, but obviously can't because you're shit-licking retard, is why so many people who used to be regular contributors to this site have up and disappeared.

BTW - anyone else a little tired of Storm gracing us with his presence for 2-3 posts and then disappearing again? How come he never sticks around?

Yes, bourbon must be AT LEAST 51% corn. That leaves 49% which can consist of additional corn, rye, wheat, or malted barley. Wheated bourbons are definitely bourbon. Pappy Van Winkle is a wheated bourbon as is Maker's Mark and W.L. Weller. An example of a bourbon that has an usually high rye content would be Bulleit. Even this is an oversimplification because the grain makeup is just describing the mashbill. The overall recipe consists of the mashbill plus the yeast strain. Add in barrel selection, location in the rack, the type of rack warehouse (single story vs multiple, etc . . . ), and time in the barrel and you can get some very distinct flavor profiles off of the same recipe. I'm pretty sure Blanton's, Rock Hill Farms, and Elmer T. Lee all use the same recipe, but these bourbons all have their own unique taste.

DIY instructions on how to make whiskey or bourbon. I may have a new hobby.

Just remember your new hobby involves several felonies. Sadly, no home distilling is legal.

I've been looking into this as well.