DiscConnected: BOURBON ADVENT CALENDAR (CONTINUED)

Continuing our enjoyment of the Bourbon Advent calendar.....

Day Four-I think I said this in the earlier post, but I am still new to rye whiskey-I'd had one from a local distillery in Seattle over the summer, and that was my first exposure and I did not like it a lot.

During one of my sampling nights at a local whiskey bar (The Cabin in Glendale AZ) I was accidentally given a shot of rye when I'd ordered the same distillery's bourbon, and said "what the heck" and drank it-I liked that better.

This Cherrywood Rye was tasty, and not quite as spicy as the other ryes I have had. The Michter's was quite good-so far I have enjoyed every Michter's shot I have tasted.

A little off-topic, but there is an Irish whiskey called Dead Rabbit that I thought was quite like a rye and is worth a taste if you see it on the shelf.

Day Five-The pure Kentucky was quite good-a little strong on the aftertaste but that may have been the higher proof. I have read in some reviews of barrel strength whiskeys where people add water to them and I do not quite get the point of that, but to each their own. I don't like mixing my whiskey into cocktails, either, but my wife does and I'm sure as heck not going to tell her not to-I just ask her not to use the pricey stuff for that.

But onto my favorite of the calendar (so far)-when I told Jeannie that the shot was called "Burnt Ends" she made a face, but when I took a sip, I FREAKIN' LOVED IT! It had a strong barbeque flavor that complements the bourbon flavor, not quite as overpowering as the cinnamon in Fireball, but certainly more than just a flavor from the finishing cask.

I immediately went online to see where I could score a bottle, but so far I do not see it available in the US-from what I can tell this is a UK whiskey despite the spelling (usually the UK spells whiskey as 'whisky")

Day Six - Today, both selections were from Four Roses, a brand I am already familiar with. The bottle to the right seemed to be the same as a shot I had recently had on a night out at our local sports bar, and did not disappoint.

The bottle on the left was a single barrel selection at 100 proof, and while the aftertaste was a little powerful (again, I assume from the higher proof) it was also quite nice, although I am not sure it would warrant a significant cash outlay over the basic offering.

Day Seven- Today the first selection went back to Illinois' Few Spirits distillery and their bourbon offering, which seemed to have a little of the spiciness of rye and was quite good.

The Daddy Rack was also good although this brand seems to be hard to find.

Day Eight-today's selections were two bourbon whiskies that both went down well. I would be hard pressed to say which one I liked better, although it may have been the James Cree by a little bit.

Both seem hard to come by if you want to purchase a bottle, which is the one frustration of the alcohol laws in the US-we should be allowed to buy bottles directly from distilleries and have them mailed to us.

Tell your congressman (or congresswoman)!

Day Nine- I thought that based on the name, I was going to like 'Charcoal & Cornmeal & Rickhouses & a Decade' as much as the Burn Ends offering from Day 5.

Now don't get me wrong-I liked it, and the flavor was quite interesting, interesting enough for me to see if I could score a bottle (I can't seem to find it) but so far that Burn Ends whiskey was the best-I'd buy another calendar if they would just stock it with the Burn Ends.

This was my first time sampling a Michter's Rye product, and the brand does not disappoint. I'd learned of Michter's in a book '101 Whiskies To Try Before You Die' and so far everything I have tasted from that brand lives up to the book's hype.