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Ive decided to take the plunge and buy a bottle of Makers Mark 46. I know theres a fair few drinkers in thus place so I'm hoping to tap that experience. So do I throw the bottle in yhe freezer? Keep it room temp? Do I need specialty glasses to drink it? Spell it out for me in crayon if need be, my ears are open

Room temp. You can always add some ice. Remember three cubes are what the Chairman of the Board used.

I think of Maker's Mark more of a whiskey then a bourbon, but its still good.

A nice bourbon glass is needed for cool factor but not anything else.

Bourbon should be had straight, over some ice, or occasionally with water. Some people defile good bourbon with coke or other items. These people are first up against the wall when the revolution comes,

Good bourbon should not be taken and slammed as a shot, but sipped, like a manly man who's pondering how utterly awesome the world is because he's in it.

Keep it room temperature, you can add ice if you like, but some people believe that weakens the whiskey.

A whiskey glass is called a tumbler, it's a shorter glass than normal.


But hey, it's your drink, you can drink it ice cold from a wine glass if you wanted. And depending from person to person it will be different.

Yup. feel the same with Macallans as well (single malt whiskey in cherry casket).

I like Maker's 46. Good stuff.

Personally, room temp storage, and I like it with an ice cube or two.

Sip, don't chug...

Special glass? Not really needed. Wife bought me some expensive waterford crystal glasses,



and my dumb self proceeded to break one while washing it (there went over $65...)

I replaced it with the below because I like it, and because it is cheap enough that when I screw up and break it I don't feel too badly.









Here is my Derby edition Maker's (not 46 though) from last year.









Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Frazzled wrote:


I think of Maker's Mark more of a whiskey then a bourbon, but its still good.

Maker's is definitely a bourbon.

I said I think of it more as a whiskey. It reminds me more of a good whiskey.

EDIT:
Excuse to list some of the bourbons I like!
My good hootch:
*Four Roses Single Barrel
*Knob Creek
*Maker's Mark (of some type, my boy bought me some for Christmas)
*Dickels #12 Tennessee sipping whiskey

An evening watching tv and giving a fat wiener dog a belly rub:
Bulleitt Bourbon
TX Bourbon - because its Texan!

While on the topic:
*Tulamore Dew 12 year Irish whiskey
*Pyrat Rum and Appleton Estates
*Kraken rum
*Deep Eddy Vodka - Texan Hurr!
*E&J Brandy (XO)

I had a lovely pair of crystal whisky glasses and a decanter given to me as my leaving present when I left my regiment. Sadly, one of the glasses shattered going through the dishwasher.

I drink Jura and Glenlivet whisky mainly and one thing I have for that are granite cubes. You put them in the freezer as oer a normal ice cube but obviously, they don't melt and water down your drink like ice.

Do not put expensive glass or crystalware in the dishwasher. Hand wash it. Carefully. It's picky stuff. Unforgiving in many ways, including the wallet.

Frazzled's list looks a lot like mine. I am a big fan of Four Roses Single and Bulleit for cheaper drinks.

If you are in the area, try this: http://neworleansbourbonfestival.com/main.html

Anyone tried Bushmills Red Bush? Irish whiskey from bourbon casks. Wonder how that turns out....

Ha! I knew you drunkards would come through for me! Theres plenty of good advice in here so thanks for that. Ive read youre supposed to inhale the drink first and then take a few sips, its suppose to enhance the flavors I guess. Something to experiment with. Cool Ill give this a try tonigjt and see how it works out for me.

Im not a big drinker but I have always enjoyed enjoying a beverage and a random guy at the bowling alley made a comment about being an adult and drinking lile an adult and for some reason that nust made sense and Ive thought about getting into bourbon. Cheers

Well if you are looking to inhale give the glass a light shake a few times to get the bourbon exposure to the air.


Then yes, sip it slowly.

Or gulp it if you are depressed.

Firstly, this is only meant for members over 21 and of legal age to imbibe. Remember, drink responsibly always. Secondly, spell "Bourbon" properly, especially if it's in your post's title. Okay, now that's sorted.

Bourbon should be served neat, in a rocks glass. No ice. M-a-y-b-e one cube per personal taste and preference, maybe. Never with water. A splash of water is advised with SM Scotch, but not Bourbon. Have a water back with Bourbon, but not poured into the elixir itself.

Now, for my personal preferences...

For entry, I would recommend Woodford Reserve for availability and quality for price.
Blanton's
Jefferson's Ocean
Angel's Envy
Michters Small Batch
Elijah Craig Small Batch - My go to choice.

Finally, Bourbon is a strong drink. Take it slow.

I’m currently working on a bottle of Woodford Reserve. It’s another solid mid-shelf bourbon. I’ve had most of the ones here. Both my Dad and brother are major bourbon junkies, so when I go back down to Kentucky to visit, I drink a lot, including some top shelf stuff. I can tell that the Pappy’s is better then the run of the mill stuff, but it’s mostly wasted on me.

One thing to consider is the mash build. Bourbon must be over 50% corn, but what else is in there can vary. Wheat and rye are the two big ones I’m aware of and can distinguish on a good day. Experiment, and see what you like.

On mixed drinks: Mint Juleps are a hideous creation and should be purged from the earth. On the other hand, Old Fashioneds are not that bad. I prefer my bourbon more pure, with just an ice cube, but my Dad’s been drinking them, so I go along. Don’t waste the good stuff on mixed drinks though.

I’ve heard that my sister in law drinks "Kentucky Mules” which I’m informed are bourbon and ginger beer. I’m mildly intrigued, as I’m a big fan of Dark and Sormies.

There's something called whiskey stones.
There like cubes of stone, sometimes granite that you cool in a freezer.

Then they cool thr drink without watering it down, because well there stone.

 jhe90 wrote:
There's something called whiskey stones.
There like cubes of stone, sometimes granite that you cool in a freezer.

Then they cool thr drink without watering it down, because well there stone.

I have some (shaped like d20s) but am not a fan. I prefer a big ice sphere. They chill for a long time, but do to the efficient volume to surface area, don’t dilute things that bad. Plus you can get molds to make them look like Death Stars. The stones never really did as much for the temp as I’d have liked.

Riedel (a German drinkwear company) make some very nice single-malt glasses.


You won't need anything like that with Bourbon because you typically won't get a single-malt (also... wouldn't that then just be whiskey?)

As others have said, the typical way of drinking is neat (no ice), on the rocks (with ice),... OR there are proper bourbon cocktails, such as the Old Fashioned or Manhattan which may use Bourbon if certain other whiskies are unavailable.

Jack Daniels goes with Coke... a proper Bourbon/whisky does not And, as others have said... enjoy it!!! Typically, especially a first taste, I won't even get enough to swallow in my mouth. Let it sit in there, it should sort of melt from the tongue giving you the full body of Bourbon flavor. But beyond those true taster type sips, you should still be in the "sipping" zone, rather than shooting/chugging it.

Bourbon? Eww. Americans and their fascination with making everything from corn.

You drink it like all people drink booze, from the bottle and with gulps at a time.

Use it for cleaning permanent marker off the whiteboards.

Drink a single malt instead, preferably one old enough that if it were human, it could legally drink in the US.

 chromedog wrote:
Use it for cleaning permanent marker off the whiteboards.

Surely Vodka is the better for cleaning whiteboards? Then you can do a shot for the whiteboard, a shot for yourself Bourbon is just what happens to your left over corn fields

Well I gave it a go last night and found it fairly enjoyable until I swallowed it. Then it was less enjoyable, I think I had too much in my mouth. I woke up still having the taste in my mouth dispite it being all night and after brushing in the morning and that after taste left me wanting to try again. So Ill sip less and try a few tips on here tonight and see how it goes

 KingCracker wrote:
Well I gave it a go last night and found it fairly enjoyable until I swallowed it. Then it was less enjoyable, I think I had too much in my mouth. I woke up still having the taste in my mouth dispite it being all night and after brushing in the morning and that after taste left me wanting to try again. So Ill sip less and try a few tips on here tonight and see how it goes

?
That should not occur unless you have a particular sensitivity or it was really bad booze (and I would say that about any booze).

Again, don't chug it. And of course people have different tastes. If bourbon doesn't suit you thats ok.

Yeah, I like a whisky (and whiskey) in general, but there are a lot of 'em that I don't like. Some people don't like Scotches, but do like Irish whiskeys. Some people like water with it, some ice, some nothing. Some people don't like whisky/ey at all. Human tastes vary widely.

Bartending, I learned the most important think is to find something you like (even if it is coconut rum and coke). Drinking to impress others is just sad.

But if someone gives you a whisky that would be old enough to drink and you put a sugary drink in it, don't expect another

I wonder how many people pick up bourbon and just start liking the taste.

I imagine most people who like bourbon do so because as crazy kids they'd just buy cheap bottles to get wasted and after a while their tastes became more refined.

If you're new to drinking straight spirits, maybe try an Irish whiskey and a Scotch and see how you like them.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
I wonder how many people pick up bourbon and just start liking the taste.

I imagine most people who like bourbon do so because as crazy kids they'd just buy cheap bottles to get wasted and after a while their tastes became more refined.

If you're new to drinking straight spirits, maybe try an Irish whiskey and a Scotch and see how you like them.

Good point. I thought I hated whisky until I had some good scotch. Turns out I hated Jim Beam.

Dark rum led me to it.

Naw the burning aftertaste I know is from not being a drinker at all. I actually dug everything upto that point. When I started drinking beer I had the same reaction, my brother told me to drink swill till I got drunk and Id like beer after that and that worked. So Ive got the rest of this bottle to slowly introduce my taste buds to it.

Keep an eye on the proof. Not all bourbons are equal. If you get something “barrel strength” there is no shame in adding a little water to it. It helps round out and open up the flavors, and takes some of the burn out.

1. Good bourbon should be nowhere near a carbonated beverage. If you have to cover the taste with Coke it isn't worth buying.

2. Start with one ice cube to take the edge off and work your way up to taste. This will take some experimentation.

3. Get a good full bodied cigar to go with it.

4. Repel the womenfolk with your old man drink/cigar breath. This works well for us married guys. Not so great for the single man on the prowl.

Learn from my mistake!

No matter how many friends urge you to do so.. DO NOT Gargle with Bourbon.

A. Insulting to the Bourbon
B. Goes RIGHT up the ol Sinus cavity and feels all stingy up there.

-P

Why on Earth would you gargle with bourbon?

Vodka maybe, but that's just..... Bad.