what whisky is like the old west type?

[sydster21]

Never a whisky drinker before but I like old westerns and the way they're always drinking it makes me want to try out some. Hoping to find something like the old days. Thanks for the info in advance.

[DaveM]

Take a bottle of grain alcohol, water it down with strong tea for colour, add some pepper for bite, and there you have it.

Actually, (and seriously) you may want to try Early Times kentucky whisky (not bourbon) which is aged for a short time (comparatively) in reused barrels. Today's american whiskies are aged far to long to compare with their original counterparts.

[Tom]

i think Jack Daniels qualifies perfectly as a western/biker dram.

[Aidan]

Isn't Old Potrero whiskey a recreation of whiskey from yesteryear?

[lexkraai]

Old Potrero has two basic expressions: their '18th century style' is matured in toasted barrels for something like 2 years. Their '19th century style' in charred barrels for 3 years. Idea is that in the 18th century maturation would have been shorter (if it happened at all) and not in charred barrels as that didn't become practice until the 19th century.

Cheers, Lex

[Ed]

Take a bottle of grain alcohol, water it down with strong tea for colour, add some pepper for bite, and there you have it.

You forgot the rattlesnake heads...

Ed

[Oliver]

Hey, syd, I posted something but think it got lost in the shuffle somehow. Btw, I really enjoy Old Potrero -- a mini revolution in American Whiskey, and have given it an extensive review in the Dram of the Day on my blog <www.maltresistance.blogspot.com>
Check it out!

Old Potrero has two offerings which purport to imitate 19th and 19th century amreican whisky, respectively.

In the same vein, perhaps more of a gimmick, a bourbon called "Bulleit' 'the bourbon that tamed the west' is on shelves in the U.S.

Hope this helps!


Cheers!

Oliver
http://www.maltresistance.blogspot.com

[Paul A Jellis]

Wild Turkey tastes pretty rough to me, I guess they must have been something like that.

Paul

[Admiral]

Is it really likely any of today's bourbons or American whiskies would taste like that of the old west?

I can't imagine the pioneers taking time to get their mash perfectly balanced with just the right ratios of corn, rye, wheat and barley - which is a science unto itself in today's distilleries. I'm guessing they weren't using column stills either?

Also, it's my understanding that the early US whiskies were chiefly ryes, so the Potrero's mentioned above probably come closest.

Cheers,
Admiral

[Ed]

One thing to look for is a abv of about 50% which was the norm in those days. Wild Turkey 101 proof has some things to recommend it as a traditional bourbon. They still use cypress fermenting vats, and they use a low barrel entry proof, around 55%. This was the traditional practice as well. When the barrel is dumped and the whiskey is cut to 50.5% little water is needed so the barrel character isn't diluted much. Besides, Wild Turkey is a wonderful bourbon!

Oh, and the column still has been used for quite a long time in the bourbon industry, so long that it is considered the traditional still.

Anyone who wants to know more about the history of Bourbon should get Chuck Cowdery's book "Bourbon, Straight".
Ed

[bjorn]

"In the same vein, perhaps more of a gimmick, a bourbon called "Bulleit' 'the bourbon that tamed the west' is on shelves in the U.S. "

Have you tried "Bulleit"? Is it worth trying? I have to say I'm tempted, but my list is long and it isn't at the top...

-Bjorn