Anyone want to come to the NWI INGO Clubhouse on Thursday for a Bourbon comparison test? Probably about noon?
Sadclownwp and I are going to be there. He is bringing Angel's Envy and I am bringing Beer Barrel. Both are unique in that after traditional aging in charred white oak casks, both are re-casked. The Angels Envy is re-casked in barrels from Port wine and the Beer Barrel is re-casked in barrels that formerly held Dragon's Milk Beer.
Lonehoosier is going to show up too! He's bringing a bottle too.
Bring something if you come.
melensdad said:OK just my take on these 4 bourbons...
RIDGEMONT RESERVE 1792 is a really nice, really smooth bourbon. The aroma picks up some oak and maybe some vanilla and is sweet. It has plenty of aroma too. The color is a rich amber, bordering on a brown amber. There is a definite tingle all through the mouth but its not a harsh tingle and there is no burn at all in the mouth, and no burn going down either. You notice a little bit of heat at the bottom, but not enough that I'd call it a burn.
The GENTLEMAN JACK, in comparison to the R.R.1792 has very little aroma in the glass, I had Sadclownwp take a couple deep inhales and he agreed that the aroma is very light. The color is also a bit lighter than the R.R.1792 as well, its more of a golden amber. In the mouth the JACK is harsher, it has a light tingle but it stays with you, especially on the back end of your mouth and has a mild burn on the way down. Even a minute after swallowing the drink your mouth is still feeling some of the tingle.
ANGLES ENVY and BEER BARREL are similar in that both are smoother and mildly sweeter. I prefer the BEER BARREL both neat and over ice, when compared to the ANGLES ENVY, but that is not to say that the ANGLES ENVY is not good. Its very good, very smooth, hints of sweetness and no burn.
Thought I'd give a bit more complete follow up on these bourbons.
There were 7 INGO members today (Snap Dragon, IL Caveman, BradMedic, Lonehoosier, Andy219, Sadclownwp & myself) plus we had some of the "regulars" who stepped up and took one for the team, just to help us out.
First off I'll say that the Gentleman Jack was favored by Andy219 and Snap Dragon. Its very different from the other 3 and given how different it is, I think it lends itself to strong opinions, either FOR or AGAINST. With any Jack Daniels product I've ever tried, I either really like it, or I don't. So it is with this one. The people who liked it, thought it the best. The people who didn't like it, ranked it at the bottom. And it hits you with a full force of flavor and plenty of alcohol tingle in your mouth, spices of some sort, and even after the finish it lingers with you in the mouth. There is some burn on the way down but not an objectionable amount, it goes down smoother than you'd guess based on the sensation in your mouth. I liked this much better with cube of ice, mostly melted into it. It seemed to mellow out the flavors, reduce the mouth tingle and generally make it a more pleasant drink. That said, me, I'm just not a big fan of this one.
The RIDGEMONT RESERVE 1792 is a bargain for what it brings to the table. Under $30 for the bottle it was the cheapest bottle at this showdown but it was smooth and tasty with a nice aroma and a sweet finish. I can easily see why people would like this bourbon, its easy to drink, either neat or with a cube of ice. The bit of burn I noted above in my earlier observations vanished when adding an ice cube and letting it melt into the drink. Nobody picked this one as the winner, but also nobody found it objectionable.
But I think its fair to say that the two stars of the show, and probably were a reasonable "TIE" were ANGLES ENVY and BEER BARREL. Most everyone liked BOTH of these two bourbons. Some liked one a bit better than the other, but I don't think either of them stood out as clearly superior over the other.
Both are similar in the way they are made, both are aged in the traditional charred oak casks, but then after the aging process, both are re-casked. In the case of the ANGELS ENVY the second aging is done in Port Wine barrels. Port wines are known to a hearty dark red wine that is generally sweet and often served as a dessert wine. There is no indication of how long its aged in the wine barrels, but I'd suspect its casked for a few months. With the BEER BARREL bourbon the process is the same, but the second casking is aged in beer barrels from New Holland Brewing's DRAGONS MILK beer and is aged for 3 to 4 months in those beer barrels. Each of these two bourbons picks up hints of the flavors and is simultaneously mellowed a bit by the second cask aging process and those characteristics seemed to add to the bourbon rather than covering up or overwhelming the traditional bourbon flavor.
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