bourbonv wrote:Michael,
How did the tasting go?
Mike...the tasting went quite well.....Those attending were not experienced bourbon drinkers and came with little bourbon knowledge so the tasting was kind of a "Bourbon 101" tasting/education. Everyone just wanted to know more and more about bourbon.
The selection of bourbons were really limited to what is available here in California. Altho I did have some Buffalo Trace I brought from KY. The available bourbons included, among others: Weller 12 year old, (for wheat) Old Grand Dad and Bulliet (for high rye), Pappy VanWinkle 20 year old, George T Stagg 141 proof. I had a total of 10 bourbons. I know that 10 is a lot for a tasting...but those who wanted, had a small sample of each...I just wanted to make available a good range.
Your suggestion of Georgia Moon "whilte dog" was perfect for this group as a couple of them didnt even know that bourbon started out clear and got its color from the barrel! I even included a standard bottle of Jim Beam white label as a starter just to demonstrate how flavorless bourbon can be at 80 proof and only 4 years away from whitedog.
After the Beam I felt I had to include, (only for "instructional" purposes tho!) Basil Haydens. This was only to illustrate that flavor comes from both proof and barrel. So the BH was an 80 proof but twice as old. This seemed to strike an understanding chord with everyone as we progressed upward in both proof and age. Ending with the Stagg.
I also pointed everyone toward BE.com if they REALLY wanted to get more educated about bourbon!
I had both young and old there, and the common thread was wanting to learn more and taste something really different apart from the Scotch, Vodka and mixers.
We had everything neat with a drop or two of water with the Stagg proofed down to about 100 proof after the first full-proof taste. All were served in Glenciarn glasses. I'll try and post some pics here.
I sure envy what can be gotten in KY and not here, but overall I had a pretty good selection for the group.
OPEN INVITATION: Anyone, if you get to California, come by and have a pour! I can't single-handly make wine country, bourbon country!
Thanks again to everyone for the whitedog info.