Me, my dog, the Old Grand Dads, and Old Mr. Fitzgerald

[Mike]

What a nice day to have a five way conversation. On hand is me, a 64 YO bullshiter; my dog, part bloodhound who can talk, read, write, cypher, and is also full of shit; Old Grand Dad Bottled in Bond; Old Grand Dad 114; and the illustrious Old Mr Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond.

Barleycorn (the dog) added it up and our expenditure for these wonderful bourbons was under $50. Me and Barleycorn are both cheap bastards, I mean we are both cheap and we are both bastards!

I agree with MikeK in his reviews on the granddads that the OGD 114 is a bit smoother and a little classier in spite of the extra proof (that is what you said, ain't it Mike?), while to me the OGD BIB has a bit more rye bite. The Old Fitz hums his own tune and won't yield a thing to either of the grandparents.

What more could a man want than to be sipping bourbon with his faithful dog, his Granddads, and the distinguished Mr Fitzgerald for company.

Ah, Bourbon! Improves my self-esteem every time I go near it! Yep, I am staying ratcheer for a spell!!

Summertime........ the living is easy, the fish are biting, and the cotton is high. I got cotton in the bottom land, its up and growing and I got a good stand, got 8 kids and their all mine.......gonna get 'um fat come pickin time, gonna get 'um fat come pickin time!!

[MikeK]

I agree with MikeK in his reviews on the granddads that the OGD 114 is a bit smoother and a little classier in spite of the extra proof (that is what you said, ain't it Mike?), while to me the OGD BIB has a bit more rye bite.

My thoughts exactly, Mike. (And how could anyone by that name be wrong?) Although I do think the Hirsch 16yo you sent me was better than WT-12. Tough call though, they're both champs.

Mike

[Mike]

Funny you should bring that up about the WT 12 YO, Mike. I just got out the WT 12 for a taste and was wondering how I could write a post about 'balance' in bourbon. I happen to think that WT 12 is a perfect example of balance in bourbon.

But then, I thought about Four Roses SB...........where the rye overbalances the bourbon with great flair. What makes a great bourbon? I think I know it when I encounter it, but is it just my opinion? I go back to an argument I made many months ago, I think there are great bourbons and I think we rely on the experienced and knowledgeable bourbons drinkers to help us gain concensus on that.

There will never be total consensus on what is a great bourbon, rightly so, since we are talking about human taste here. But, bourbon drinking is like any other human endeavor, we will have differences of opinion, but a kind of consensus will form around a relatively small number of 'exceptional' examples. I agree with you on the Hirsch 16 YO........I could never say anything bad about that bourbon, it is a beaut....................but that said, it is not, in my humble opinion, as rich or balanced as WT 12!

[MikeK]

There will never be total consensus on what is a great bourbon, rightly so, since we are talking about human taste here. But, bourbon drinking is like any other human endeavor, we will have differences of opinion, but a kind of consensus will form around a relatively small number of 'exceptional' examples. I agree with you on the Hirsch 16 YO........I could never say anything bad about that bourbon, it is a beaut....................but that said, it is not, in my humble opinion, as rich or balanced as WT 12!

You make some excellent points. I agree, the WT-12 is much richer. It is hard to pick the "best" out of a group such as WT-12, Hirsch-16 and Four Roses SB. They are all magnificent, but I think they live on different branches of the Bourbon tree. This makes them difficult to directly compare.

For me, a "Great Bourbon" is like an Oscar winning performance. There is no subtlety or doubt. It just blows you away and there is no question about what you just experienced.

Mike

[bunghole]

For me, a "Great Bourbon" is like an Oscar winning performance. There is no subtlety or doubt. It just blows you away and there is no question about what you just experienced.

Mike

ima concurs completely, and couldn't have said it better.

[Mike]

You make some excellent points. I agree, the WT-12 is much richer. It is hard to pick the "best" out of a group such as WT-12, Hirsch-16 and Four Roses SB. They are all magnificent, but I think they live on different branches of the Bourbon tree. This makes them difficult to directly compare.

Mike

At this point, it is probably, as you are suggesting, not fruitful to do comparisons.................beyond noting a personal preference. But that is all it is in this case, a personal preference.......and, like assholes, we all have them.

[fitzharry]

We don't get much Old Fitzgerald down here in Houston (other than Old Fitzgerald Prime), but I have to agree most fervently with the Old Grand-Dad BIB 100 and Old Grand-Dad 114. These were the Bourbons that got me started on the whiskey trail, as it were, and remain particular favorites of mine to the point of my hoarding the same.

Every liquor store I enter I immediately look for the orange label and screw-on cap of the BIB. If it's not there, I tend to not hang around much. I figure if they can't even carry Old Grand-Dad BIB, what types of whiskey are they foisting on the public?