1st Bourbon Tasting (Sept 17th, 2020)
This was our first tasting of Bourbon. There are many brands you can’t get in Canada. I was able to amass about 16-18 bottles of various well rated brands. I was sad i couldn’t get Blade and Bow or Angel Envy. I will be able to get them, once the border opens again. The alcohol content of bourbon is on average very high. I have to say the reviewers don’t seem to mind the burn, sadly I only learned that after buying a few, Wild Turkey Rare Breed comes to mind.
I enjoyed the bourbon tasting, I definitely learned a lot amassing the bourbons, and tasting them all. I tried to make the first tasting varied. Some aged ones, some single barrel, and some plain/basic ones.
| TT Label | Description | Proof | Rating | Price (CAD$) |
| E | Four Roses, Single Barrel | 100 | 7.6 | $55 |
| D | Woodford Reserve, Double Oaked | 91 | 7.2 | $70 |
| C | Elijah Craig, Small Batch | 94 | 6.7 | $45 |
| A | Ezra Brooks Black Label | 80 | 7.3 | $30 |
| B | Bakers, 7 year old | 107 | 6.9 | $75 |
| F | Bulleit, 10 year old | 91 | 8.6 | $50 |
| G | Buffalo Trace Bourbon Cream | 34 | 6.8 | $35 |
The Survey Results
We had 16 participants for this tasting, it was fall, a good time for Bourbon, the tasting was done blind, as per usual now with COVID, and done through Webex.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | |
| Frank M | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
| Neil | 7 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
| Marcia | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
| Cathy | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Maria | 8 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 10 |
| Chris B | 6 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 |
| Leslie | 7 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 1 |
| Chris T | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 8 |
| Jenn | 7 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 2 |
| Tara | 7 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 4 |
| Tim O | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| Kyleigh | 7 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 10 |
| Ben | 7 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 10 |
| Brad | 8 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 3 |
| Stacie | 9 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 0 |
| Wayne | 7 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 |
| Total | 116 | 111 | 107 | 115 | 121 | 138 | 108 |
| Average | 7.3 | 6.9 | 6.7 | 7.2 | 7.6 | 8.6 | 6.8 |
Bulleit 10 year won handily, it’s quite frequent that one stands out, at the time of voting. Literally all 8s, 9s, or 10s. It’s only $50 too, for a 10 year. The Bourbon cream was tasty, just some people don’t enjoy creams (ie Stacie, Jenn, Tara, Leslie and Brad). 2nd place was the Four Roses Single Barrel, at $55.
So the winner 138 out of a possible 160 (138/160 = 86%)
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