This is probably my favorite event to do. How it works is I pour the drinks in another room and warn everyone of the ABV, and that’s it. The group is expected to score as normal and provide a dollar value that, if they were the store owner, they feel would be reasonable for someone to pay for the whiskey.
The reason this is my favorite even is that it illustrates what I believe to be the most important factor in choosing a great whiskey. It answers the question, “What is this worth to you?”
Why Does This Matter? Shut Up And Tell Me If The Whiskey Is Good!
There is a huge difference between good whiskey and bad whiskey. There is a marginal difference between pretty good whiskey and the best whiskey. That difference can be several hundred dollars and you might not even notice the difference. If you can have as good of an experience for $13 as you can for $60 or even $200, shouldn’t you just pay $13?
My philosophy is that value is made by satisfying your pallet at a price you can afford. If you spend an extra $20 and you really can’t tell the difference or something else would have made you more happy, you wasted $20. That’s why I started this meeting with Benchmark.
Benchmark makes whiskey drinkers mad when they don’t know someone gave it to them. The cap is plastic, and if you buy a handle the whole thing is plastic. It looks like some cheap crap from Canada. Don’t let appearances fool you!
Mcafee's Benchmark old No. 8 Brand
Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfurt, KY
Overall
6 / 10
Burn
4.14 / 10
Specs
Age: N/A (estimated less than 4 years)
ABV: 40% or 80 proof
Price (Oregon State): 750 ML $12.95
(Value) Our club average value placed on this bottle was $28.57
(Flavors) Cola, apples, cherry*, sweet****, velvety, smooth, maple
(Notes) This isn’t the best whiskey. In fact, most people aren’t going to argue with you if you say it’s not a good whiskey. The fact is though, that it’s probably as good or better than what most people pay $30 for. Turn your nose up if you will, but don’t disparage Benchmark. For what it is, it’s a great value. If the price goes up don’t buy it, but for now it’s a steal of a deal.
Links:
Last featured tasting (click here)
Distiller’s website (click here)
Bird Dog Select Stock
Western Spirits, Bowling Green, KY
Overall
5.43 / 10
Burn
5.86 / 10
Specs
Age: N/A
ABV: 40% or 80 proof
Price: (Oregon State): 750 ML $28.95
(Value) Our club average value placed on this bottle was $29.29
(Flavors) vanilla, baking spice, honey, brown sugar, red licorice, maple, marshmallows, peaty**, grassy, peanut, toffee, rosemary, basil, thyme; very bitter aftertaste
(Notes) This is far from our first bottle from the line of Bird Dog whiskeys. Our first experience with the green labeled bottle was such a positive experience, we keep going back and hoping for another surprise. This was another disappointing experience. All of the reviews started with, “Wow, this smells great and tastes wonderful.” and ended with, “What happened? Is this the same whiskey?” It’s weird for a whiskey to get worse as you drink it, but this is the exception. Something about the aftertaste and the follow-on flavors just doesn’t hold up.
Links:
Last featured tasting (click here)
Distiller’s website (click here)
David Nicholson 1843
Lux Row Distillers, Bardstown, KY
Overall
6.29 / 10
Burn
6.43 / 10
Specs
Age: N/A
ABV: 50% or 100 proof
Price (Oregon State): 750 ML $54.95
(Value) Our club average value placed on this bottle was $36.43
(Flavors) sharp vanilla*, oak, bitter, maple syrup*, brown sugar*, smokey, sweet, brown sugar, buttery maple, peanut, sweet,
(Notes) David Nicholson 1843 is a decent whiskey considering the proof. It’s easy to drink, surprisingly smooth, and is on the sweet side. All of this is a bit odd for a whiskey with this much kick to it. Most of the notes that were more on the negative side were about it being too sweet, neutral, and simple. Don’t expect bold flavor or much complexity from this one, it just isn’t there. It’s a really balanced burn though, and we all enjoyed that.
Links:
Last featured tasting (click here)
Distiller’s website (click here)
Breckenridge High-Proof Blended Bourbon
Breckenridge Distillery, Breckenridge, CO
Overall
7.0 / 10
Burn
5.17 / 10
Specs
Age: N/A
ABV: 52.5% or 100 proof
Price (Oregon State): 750 ML $54.95
(Value) Our club average value placed on this bottle was $43.67
(Flavors) maple, blueberry, brown sugar***, oak, spice, pumpkin, orange, lemon, all spice, tobacco, deep charred oak, tea leaves
(Notes) Typically, we don’t go too crazy for blended whiskeys. This was a huge shock. Breckenridge High Proof Blend had the everything we look for in a good bourbon. We were able to identify some consistent and familiar flavors and it was easy to drink. For the proof, it’s smooth but it still packs a punch. This whiskey goes on our list as highly recommended to try.
Links:
Last featured tasting (click here)
Distiller’s website (click here)
Wathen’s Single-Barrel Straight Bourbon
Medly Family, sourced whiskey (location N/A)
Overall
5.14 / 10
Burn
6.71 / 10
Specs
Age: N/A
ABV: 47% or 94 proof
Price (Oregon State): 750 ML $36.95
(Value) Our club average value placed on this bottle was $30.71
(Flavors) sugary, maple*, charcoal, candied walnuts, pecan, over-ripened strawberry, daiquiri
(Notes) I usually link the headline of each whiskey to the related website, but it appears Wathen’s doesn’t have one. Unfortunately, there’s just not a lot of information available about this whiskey. Our experience was unremarkable. It’s not bad, but it’s not particularly good. This might be a decent whiskey to get started with if you’re new to it. It’s a bit sharp and the flavor is very neutral. Overall, we feel like there is a lot of other good whiskey at this price that you should try before this one.
Links:
Last featured tasting (click here)
Distiller’s website (UNK)
