At the Crossroads of Smoking and Whiskey - Bourbonites Unite!

[smokingreg]

 
Some great research. I would love to visit the Jack Daniel's distillery. Being from Calif it probably won't be for awhile!!

wiki for the win.

 

[bvbull200]

Currently have a Boston butt on that was injected with a mix of bourbon and apple cider. I also opened and marinated Thai hot peppers in the mix prior to injection. Gonna be an all nighter. Will let you know how it turns out. I used some wild turkey 101 in the injection. Kinda low end but couldn't bring myself to use my buffalo trace or larceny on this test run.

Also have a Cincinnati chili fatty, brisket, and another butt on. Gonna be a meat fest at my house tomorrow!

Drink the better stuff and squirt that little piggy with something a little less expensive.  Nothing wrong with that, in my opinion.  I look at it similar to cooking wine vs. good, drinking wine.

Let us know how the butt turns out!

 
I am sorry. I have never understood the attraction to bourbon. If you want to cook with a nice whiskey flavour, I prefer rye (you call it Canadian whiskey). For cooking, Canadian Club or 5 Crown. For sipping, Alberta Springs.

Another great whiskey for cooking is Irish. It has the smooth taste of Scotch without the peaty taste, For cooking, Bushmills or Jamesons. For sipping, Red Breast or Jameson 18 Year Old.

Disco

Bourbon has a flavor that is very appealing to some, myself included.  It would seem to lend itself well to smoking meat, too.  Bourbon is always aged in oak barrels, so, depending how prominent that is in your selection, you can be adding that flavor.  Many bourbons have a sweet, almost caramel-like flavor to them, not too dissimilar to the maple, honey, or brown sugar that is often added to rubs.

For what it is worth, I don't consider Canadian whiskey and rye whiskey to be one and the same.   Canadian rye whiskey only requires it to have some rye in it.  In many blends, the rye component can be pretty low.  In American rye whiskey, it has to contain at least 51% rye.  I really enjoy rye whiskey and will probably sneak some of it in to an injection at some point, but I see the appeal of bourbon, too.

I rarely drink Irish whiskey anymore.  I have a tough time picking it over bourbon or rye, which I normally drink, or picking it over a good scotch when the occasion permits.  18 year Jameson is really good, though.  Only had it twice, but enjoyed it.

 
That's the way I drink it! Maybe a couple of ice cubes, but that's it. Why buy the good stuff if you're going to mix it?

When I need just a slight chill, I drop in a couple of whiskey rocks.  They don't cool as much as ice cubes, but that is because they aren't melting in to the drink.  

You are spot on, though!  Good whiskey deserves your full, undivided attention ;)

 

[mneeley490]

 
Some great research. I would love to visit the Jack Daniel's distillery. Being from Calif it probably won't be for awhile!!

You might be disappointed. My folks went there a couple years ago, and toured the distillery and gift shops. But the distillery itself is in a "dry" county. You can't taste or buy any JD at all.

 

[palladini]

 
You might be disappointed. My folks went there a couple years ago, and toured the distillery and gift shops. But the distillery itself is in a "dry" county. You can't taste or buy any JD at all.

I went there myself, and your correct, it is in dry county, they cannot sell any liquor at the store or distillery.

               

                

 

[aeroforce100]

Yes, you can!  JD has a special tasting tour , now.  Check their website, look under tours.  Also, their gift shop in the White Rabbit Saloon has been selling commerative bottles for years.

 

[kranders]

You might be disappointed. My folks went there a couple years ago, and toured the distillery and gift shops. But the distillery itself is in a "dry" county. You can't taste or buy any JD at all.

That would be OK. I am just really interested in their process and would enjoy the atmosphere. I have been all around their websites and find it fascinating. The process and the history!

 

[bgosnell151]

This thread has really got me craving bourbon. Just got a bottle of Buffalo Trace and 4 pack of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale. Curious the cost difference of bourbon in the southeast vs here inNew England. I just paid $30 for a 750 of Buffalo Trace.

 

[smokingreg]

This thread has really got me craving bourbon. Just got a bottle of Buffalo Trace and 4 pack of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale. Curious the cost difference of bourbon in the southeast vs here inNew England. I just paid $30 for a 750 of Buffalo Trace.

That's pretty steep.  It's around ~$25 in Nashville.  Hard to justify when I can get Evan 1793 for $13 and I think it tastes better.

 

[bgosnell151]

That's pretty steep.  It's around ~$25 in Nashville.  Hard to justify when I can get Evan 1793 for $13 and I think it tastes better.

Anything around here that costs $13 comes in a flimsy plastic bottle... I admit to never trying any of them but generally follow the rule of not buying liquor in a plastic bottle. Shocked at how close the costs of BT are though.

 

[smokingreg]

Anything around here that costs $13 comes in a flimsy plastic bottle... I admit to never trying any of them but generally follow the rule of not buying liquor in a plastic bottle. Shocked at how close the costs of BT are though.

$25 is probably on the high end here.  In all honestly, it may be close to $20, but I never buy it.

I can't say enough about trying cheaper bourbon.  While there is some you'd never want to drink straight up, it is amazing how good some of the cheap stuff is.  Granted, our selection in the southeast is large, but plain old black label Evan Williams is some seriously cheap and solid bourbon.

 

[bgosnell151]

Yeah, when I look at most of it, it says, "made in Vermont" or "made in Maine"... no thx on that one.

 

[smokingreg]

no thanks.  stick to KY and TN.

 

[donttread]

My 2-2-1 foil pack consists of birddog peach whiskey, yellow mustard, honey, and apple juice. The ribs taste awesome...and so do the drinks waiting for the food to finish :)

 

[mneeley490]

For some reason, I see a lot of this Hudson Bourbon around here. It's made in NYC. Always makes me think about that old Pace salsa commercial.

"New York City?!?"

"Get a rope."

640x480px-LL-677a85f4_SamElliot.jpg

• mneeley490
• Sep 18, 2013

 

[kranders]

This thread has really got me craving bourbon. Just got a bottle of Buffalo Trace and 4 pack of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale. Curious the cost difference of bourbon in the southeast vs here inNew England. I just paid $30 for a 750 of Buffalo Trace.

$21 here in California.

 

[bvbull200]

I might be heading up to the liquor store this weekend.  I'll price a bottle of Buffalo Trace.  Good stuff, but I never really buy it.  I've had enough gifted to me or brought over by party attendees, that I haven't had to.

 

[smokingreg]

This is such a fantastic thread.  I hereby declare this the late-night and early morning drinking and bbq'ing thread.

It's been a little while since I fired up the egg due to my wife having a baby a couple weeks ago.  Any recommendations?  I'm leaning toward spares or a chucky.  I've got a couple butts in the freezer, but don't have time to thaw them out.  Plus, I've got 7 cooked lbs in the freezer.

 

[pgsmoker64]

Hi Guys,

I have obviously been on hiatus the past few weeks!  Work has me hoping all over the country right now.

I saw that our host (bvbull200) mentioned Eagle Rare!  Love it...one of my first sippin' whiskeys...Eagle Rare 101.  I can attribute a few hangovers to getting slightly carried away...

I also saw a comment about finishing sauces with a question about if that was the right time to add bourbon..."could be" is my answer.  I use Makers Mark in my PGSmoker's BDSE as you guys know already, but I'm thinking that you could probably add a cup or two of bourbon to my PGSmoker's Finishing Sauce and come out with some pretty good que!   The BDSE and finishing sauce ARE on the same thread guys, check 'em out.

IMHO there is a fine line between overpowering your que with bourbon and complimenting the flavor and only you and your guests can make that determination.

Good luck, happy smokin' and happy sippin',

Bill

 

[bvbull200]

 
This is such a fantastic thread.  I hereby declare this the late-night and early morning drinking and bbq'ing thread.

It's been a little while since I fired up the egg due to my wife having a baby a couple weeks ago.  Any recommendations?  I'm leaning toward spares or a chucky.  I've got a couple butts in the freezer, but don't have time to thaw them out.  Plus, I've got 7 cooked lbs in the freezer.

That's the idea!  You and everyone else in this thread have shown that there is a pretty solid group of smoke/bbq & whiskey fans.

And dude...congratulations on the baby!  We had our first one just over 3 months ago.  Your first?  

 
Hi Guys,

I have obviously been on hiatus the past few weeks!  Work has me hoping all over the country right now.

I saw that our host (bvbull200) mentioned Eagle Rare!  Love it...one of my first sippin' whiskeys...Eagle Rare 101.  I can attribute a few hangovers to getting slightly carried away...

I also saw a comment about finishing sauces with a question about if that was the right time to add bourbon..."could be" is my answer.  I use Makers Mark in my PGSmoker's BDSE as you guys know already, but I'm thinking that you could probably add a cup or two of bourbon to my PGSmoker's Finishing Sauce and come out with some pretty good que!   The BDSE and finishing sauce ARE on the same thread guys, check 'em out.

IMHO there is a fine line between overpowering your que with bourbon and complimenting the flavor and only you and your guests can make that determination.

Good luck, happy smokin' and happy sippin',

Bill

I'll check out both of your recipes for my next smoke.  I'll probably do two butts so I can try your recipe and one other experiment.  I have made 5 butts so far and thought they all tasted great (relative to what I know), but I'm still looking for the "one" go-to recipe.  Figure that could take a really long time, but you have to start somewhere!

I agree that the complimenting flavor should be the goal, though.  I wouldn't want the bourbon to be a leading flavor, but if there is a hint of it, you could have something.

 

[smokingreg]

 
That's the idea!  You and everyone else in this thread have shown that there is a pretty solid group of smoke/bbq & whiskey fans.

And dude...congratulations on the baby!  We had our first one just over 3 months ago.  Your first?  

Yup. Our first. Congrats to you, too.

He's keeping us up at night, but other than that, he's pretty awesome.