BourbonEnthusiast.com

Jack (#7) vs Jonnie (red) vs Jim. Guessing I'll lean toward Jonnie or Jim (I've "soured" on Jack, but it has been a while). Will most likely kick things off tomorrow. My first week is about the basics. Went out, and bought a bottle of each. Sure Jonnie black is better then red, but as I said, starting at basics, then will consider age. I'm jumping the gun a bit, as I really should do the taste test first, but looking for thoughts on what next weeks bottle should be. I'm thinking Wild Turkey (or George Dickel). I've never had either. For the states, WT really is whiskey 101, so it is the most likely next.

The plan is once a week, to sip on three different shots of whiskey. Every week, I'll buy 1 new bottle, then compare it to others I have in my inventory, until I deside what my drink of choice is. I'll be chosing from the following general groups:

KY bourbon
TN wiskey
Irish wiskey
Scotch wisky
Canadian wisky
Rye wiskey
Wheat wiskey

Will also consider the following non-wiskey

Cognac
Brandy

Thank you in advance on your thoughts.

This really depends upon other factors such as budget and availability. I would suggest if you can find and afford them, try Jack Daniel single barrel and Jim Beam Black label, just show the variety in flavor in the same whiskey. You may then want to try some Sazerac rye and Wild Turkey rye just to see a variety of flavor in ryes. Then you should probably look at the reviews ands and try something that sounds good to you.

I will suggest some bourbons for you as you move through your Journey. Wild Turkey 101 is a must. As Mike mentioned, it really depends on your budget but I will give you some relatively inexpensive bourbons with very different taste profiles. I would definitely go to Old Grandad BIB or 114 and Old Weller antique 107. Old Grandad is a bourbon that offers a very high rye concentration while OWA 107 is a wheated bourbon. IMHO, OWA 107 is superior to Benheim and is much more affordable.

I am looking forward to you journey. Good luck and keep us updated.

Limited Budget ATM.

Results.

Poor planing on my part. Over the years, thought I may not have tried it all (as in the basics), cheap whiskey is cheap whiskey. For me it was Jonnie , Jim, than Jack. While I learned something I really already knew, I did not learn what I wanted.

As I was sipping of each, I could only think of several other versions of whiskey I have in my inventory that is aged 7 or more years that I would rather be drinking. Maybe I've never had Wild Turkey 101, but most likely I would rather have a Jim Beam black over a Wild Turkey 101. Then again, I might be wrong.

I need to give this plan a few more weeks, but as for week one, fail.

Wanted to close this up by just stating, since Saturday, I gave each another try. I may have been slightly under the weather on Saturday. The last few days, later into the evening, I've been sipping. The Jim is half empty. Johnnie red is ok. The Jack is far fuller than the others.

In the following weeks, I need to try George Dickel and maybe something like Gentleman Jack. This would take TN whiskeys off the list. St. Patrick's Day is soon to arrive, so Bushmills vs Jameson is more likely.

After that, I think my top three are Wild Turkey, Evan Williams, and then George Dickel.

What I learned.

I just can't spell Johnnie correctly in a consistent manner.

This has been the first time I've ever purchased red, and overall, it is not that bad. I'm a regular with Johnnie black. Love the black. It has been around two years since I've had Dewar's White. I think I prefer Dewar's white more than Johnnie red. I may never buy a bottle or red again, however, I think red has one redeeming quality, it has a way of perfectly preparing my palate for bourbon.

So I'm marking Johnnie red off list for now (I may return to it when I go to compare other scotches). Don't get me wrong about Johnnie, the black version will most likely always have a place in my inventory. The other item off the list is Jack #7, however I can't say it will be the last purchase of Jack I will make. Other people like it, making it an almost must have at any party, and I find it makes a great sour.

Jim was the clear winner.