Senior Gun Nut Mement at the Liquior Store

[PegLeg45]

If you are ever planning to come to the Lexington or Louisville area, hit the internet and sign up for some of the tours the manufacturers give - often for a fee. The backstage tour at Buffalo Trace was awesome, real nitty gritty stuff. The Wild Turkey tour was, at best, "industrial", all computer controlled, etc. Beautiful location and all, but uninspiring.

That partially my fault (along with my drinking companions from the decade of my 20's). 
Austin Nichols had to mechanize to keep up with demand. 
We drank so much of the stuff in the 90's that Jimmy Russell sent us a Christmas card every year.

[TAB]

When I was a boomer(traveling for work)  we were in a bar when the wild turkey rep came in... One of the guys took a condom, cut it a certain way, and made a turkey call out of it... The rep order shots of wild turkey for every one.   I Don't remember anything  after that.  I remember the hang over, and how bad it hurt with the jack hammers running

[Big Frank]

A business associate gave me a bottle of Gentleman Jack, and I found it to be at least somewhat drinkable.

I know I risk alienating forum friends, but I think Jim Beam and Jack Daniels are rather poor excuses for alcohol.  A good bourbon like Maker's or Larceny is smoother with more and better flavor than any of the normally available Tennessee whiskey products.  There may be something out there in the Tennessee Whiskey family that doesn't doesn't taste like someone brewed it in a dirty bathtub.  I haven't tried them all.  There could be at least one.

That's just my opinion.  I know there are those with inferior tongues and a reduced appreciation for fine flavor that will disagree with me.  That gets to be their opinion.

FWIW

Crusader Rabbit

The last time I checked Jim Beam Black was the same price as Jack Daniel's old No.7. Jim Beam Black is extra-aged. It was aged 8 years IIRC but may have changed, while the plain white label original Jim Beam is aged 4 years. Jim Beam Black is officially the #1 rated bourbon in the world after winning the Bourbon Trophy, the highest awarded accolade in the bourbon category at the 2016 International Wine and Spirit Competition. If you haven't tried it you may want to. Jim Beam makes some high class bourbons too. I like mixed drinks and low grade bourbon like Rebel Yell is good enough to mix with Coke or Dr. Pepper, but I mostly bought Jim Beam.

[Big Frank]

From the land of bourbon - and the Bourbon Trail which I have traversed a good many times - here's what makes a bourbon. By law, no less, Federal definition and all that.

Must have a specific mix of grains - look it up, each manufacturer uses a different percent of corn, rye, etc.

Must be a specific proof range - varies by label not just manufacturer. FYI, companies like Buffalo Trace make many (like 17 in BT's case) different bourbons, even Makers makes Makers, 46 and private label stuff

Must be aged in NEW oak casks that are fire charred on the inside, cannot reuse barrels for bourbon. Used barrels around here go for $150 and up, people use them for decorating, especially the ends which have the manufacturer's name, logos, and production info printed on them.

Does NOT have to be made in KY to be bourbon, but it helps, something about the limestone-infused waters our distillers draw from.

So, no, Jack and Beam are not bourbons, they are whiskey. Jack drips moonshine, not bourbon, through charcoal but also uses ageing casks.

If you are ever planning to come to the Lexington or Louisville area, hit the internet and sign up for some of the tours the manufacturers give - often for a fee. The backstage tour at Buffalo Trace was awesome, real nitty gritty stuff. The Wild Turkey tour was, at best, "industrial", all computer controlled, etc. Beautiful location and all, but uninspiring.

Makers, Woodford and some of the others are in absolutely idyllic locations in the country. Town Branch is made here in Lexington along with Kentucky bourbon barrel ale - yes, they found a way to reuse the barrels in making ale! Not to mention the really small batch distillers that seem to pop up every few months or so, like Hartfield & Co. in Paris, Bourbon County, KY. As an aside, Hartfield is the first bourbon distiller in over a century in Bourbon County, KY.

Not only is Jim Beam bourbon, but as of 2017 it's the best selling bourbon in the whole world. It's also the second best selling whiskey of any kind in the whole world. What makes you think that Jim Beam isn't bourbon? I'm not talking about the stuff they add flavors to like Red Stag, because that's no longer bourbon. I mean all the whiskey they make that's labelled as bourbon.

[fatbaldguy]

If, and I do mean IF I still partook of the nectar, it would be Woodford Reserve.  Certainly not for everyone. But for those with a refined palate and thick wallet, yes.

[Sponsor]

[Timothy]

There are so many great bourbons that are arguably better than most already mentioned here.

It’s like scotch, wine and women!  It’s all a matter of taste and expense...

[Big Frank]

In 2014 someone paid $28,050 at an auction for first bottle of Boundary Oak Bourbon. It was scheduled to be ready in 2016 or 2017, but I don't know when it actually was. It was the first bourbon distilled and bottled in Hardin County in 124 years. I'd rather save my money and drink the cheap stuff.

[Timothy]

And, drinking any whiskey with soda or mixers that’s top shelf is a waste of good whiskey!

Unless you’re making a Manhattan or similar highball, staying with the lesser brand is the way to go.

After decades of study of the nuance of the different whiskeys of the world, good booze should be mixed with nothing but air!!!

Fine single malts of scotch, a dash of water can bring out the subtle aromas and tastes..

IMHO

[PegLeg45]

Not only is Jim Beam bourbon, but as of 2017 it's the best selling bourbon in the whole world. It's also the second best selling whiskey of any kind in the whole world. What makes you think that Jim Beam isn't bourbon? I'm not talking about the stuff they add flavors to like Red Stag, because that's no longer bourbon. I mean all the whiskey they make that's labelled as bourbon.

Correct.
Jack Daniels also qualifies legally as a straight bourbon. Many folks get confused about it because the company chooses to label and market it as simply a Tennessee Whiskey.

[Big Frank]

Jack Daniel's whiskey would be bourbon if it wasn't charcoal filtered. Bourbon can't contain any added flavoring, coloring, or other additives. Charcoal filtering changes the flavor or they wouldn't do it. I think it changes the color too. The only thing that can legally be added to bourbon is water, to get the proof they want to put in the bottles.

But after a lot of looking on the internet, it looks like after NAFTA passed there's a requirement that Tennessee whiskey be "a straight Bourbon Whiskey authorized to be produced only in the State of Tennessee." That's from Wikipedia. So it sounds like Tennessee whiskey is bourbon, but bourbon isn't Tennessee whiskey, unless it's bourbon made in Tennessee. Calling it Tennessee whiskey must just be a marketing tool and nothing more.

Then in 2013, Tennessee governor Bill Haslam signed a bill requiring the Lincoln County process (which involves maple charcoal filtering) to be used for products produced in the state labeling themselves as "Tennessee Whiskey" A specific exception was made for Benjamin Prichard's, which doesn't use the Lincoln County process. So in Tennessee all whiskeys have to be made the same way to be called Tennessee whiskey, except that one brand.

I'm still waiting to hear how or why the best selling bourbon in the whole world isn't bourbon.

P.S. I only had a Manhattan once and really enjoyed it. It still had a bourbon flavor to it, but not strong like straight whiskey.