On 2010-08-11, Doug Freyburger > wrote:

> You have a lower opinion of Jim Beam and a higher opinion of Wild Turkey
> than I do but that's how tastes work.

Apparently.

I think ANYTHING coming from the Jim Beam steamroller is absolutely
NASTY, including the high-end stuff like Basil Hayden, Booker's,
Knob's Creek, etc. And I realized I didn't like those pricey JB
Bourbons before I knew they were JB brands. Not sure what it is, but
I don't like anything even remotely related to JB.

As for actual Jim Beam Bourbon, that stuffs is beyond bad. It's
priced like cheap rotgut and tastes like cheap rotgut. I had a Jim
Beam on the plane (Bourbon and Seven) and almost upchucked on the
spot. Gag a maggot!

I guess Wild Turkey suits my taste buds. Besides, why pay good money
for 80 proof when 100 proof is more cost effective. Their single
barrel REALLY is good.

> Wild Turkey Rye is very hard to
> find but it is far better than the easier to find Jim Beam yellow label
> Rye. So our tastes are parallel in that.

> To me "the" American whiskey is rye. Rye is currently still falling in
> popularity having peaked a couple of generations ago. That puts me way
> in the minority in whiskey tastes.

I guess I have to agree about it once being "the" American whiskey.
In my favorite movie, The Big Sleep, Bogie tells a hot young Dorothy
Malone he has a half a bottle of rye in his pocket. I started paying
attention and began noticing, in a lot of old movies, rye was the
whiskey mentioned. I want to try some WT green label (rye) but, as
you say, very hard to find. I didn't even know JB yellow was rye.
Seems I read somewhere that Canadian blended whiskies are more like
the US ryes of old. If so, I can see the reason for its past
popularity. I love a good Canadian whisky like VO or Crown Royal.

nb