We’re at a whisky bar West of Cleveland. My son in law is a collector and wanted to try a couple of kinds he’s been unable to find.

The list of available offerings runs 23 pages. I’ve never heard of most of them but Jeff knows.

Got any favorites?

The list.

A lot of those multiple releases by a single distillery are slight "variations on the theme." They might be aged a little longer or blended slightly differently. There are hundreds of variants; it would be hard to know what to order if it's not well described.

But I’m only familiar with Scotch. Maybe it’s different with other kinds.

We have a bottle of the Yamazaki, pretty sure it’s one of the ones I like. I tend to like the less expensive stuff, one of my favorites is Bulleit Rye.

Are you still there? 15 hours later...

If so, it really doesn't matter... drink whatever they put in front of you.

I hear Sazerac rye is good, but I've never had it. I'm sure like any rye, you have to really really like rye to like a good rye.


I have to consider where they are (adjacent to Bourbon country) and probably their target clientele, but their selection of Scotch is pretty thin.

I ended up with a flight that included Weller, on Greg’s recommendation, and Blanton, which my SIL has been searching for for a long time. There were two others I did not find memorable. I tried each neat and with an ice cube, which was fun.

I enjoyed them both and was glad I got to try them. I thought the flight was reasonably priced compared to bottle prices.

We’ll be back. The food looked good too.

I didn't respond to this thread because the menu was extremely slow to load (that is, didn't load for as long as I was willing to wait). Today, it finally completed a download.

First of all, I'd like to qualify my opinions. I'm a bourbon drinker, but I don't have exceptional tasting abilities. My brother-in-law became quite a oenophile after a visit to us in Australia and a tasting trip through the Hunter Valley. I almost always enjoyed the wines he offered me afterwards, but I didn't have the discrimination that marks a real connoisseur.

With that qualification in mind, here are my comments:

For years, my regular bar bourbon has been Evan Williams. It used to be a great value becuause it was labeled as 8 years old, but didn't cost much more than other ordinary bourbons. After the rise in bourbon popularity, the "8 years old" disappeared from the label, probably because they were selling newer barrels to meet the rising demand. I still usually have a bottle in my bar stock.

For many years, Old Overholt was the only readily available rye whisky, at least in PA. I like it for Manhattans and other mixed whiskey drinks.

My father-in-law liked Jack Daniels Black Label over a single ice cube and I drank it with some regularity, but eventually I developed a preference for George Dickel if I was in the mood for a Tennessee whiskey. Dickel also markets a rye these days.

I enjoy a a variety of premium bourbons. One regular favorite is Eliza Craig small batch. I enjoy sipping this regularly. Right now, I'm drinking some Redemption High Rye bourbon. The state liquor stores near me have lately enlarged their bourbon sections and i get e-mails from them regularly regarding limited releases.

To me, the most surprising thing has been the resurgence of rye whiskeys. As I mentioned before, Old Overholt was the only rye whiskey available for a long time in our stores. Now, almost every major brand has a rye in their line-up. One that I have really appreciated is the Old Forrester 100 Proof Rye.

As I said before, I don't think I have a particularly sophisticated taste and I'm reluctant to buy very high priced bottles for my home drinking experience. I'll speculate on a premium whiskey that seems interesting, but given the conditions for the last year or so, I haven't been able to do any tasting of ultra-premium whiskeys. I'm glad to hear that Steve and son-in-law were able to sample some whiskeys they enjoyed.

Big Al

Jeff had the Elijah Craig small batch and pronounced it excellent! I’ve just discovered ryes and have not yet formed an opinion.

It’s fun to try the expensive stuff without spending a lot!