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Sure I can wait · Sips, Suds, & Smokes

• 0:00
  > Announcer>On the next episode of sips, suds and smokes.
• 0:03
  > Brent>This is our, uh, faraway, uh, series two show. We all look forward to these shows every year. Boy, we're happy about this one. So we're going to be tasting this year's Buffalo Trace antique collection. And here are the whiskeys we're going to be tasting new for the Buffalo Trace antique collection this year. The 2025 E. H. Taylor Bobbled and Bond Bourbon. The 2025 Thomas H. Handy Kentucky Straight Rye, the 2025 Sazerac 18 Year Old Kentucky Straight Rye, the 2025 Eagle Rare 17 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon, the 2025 William LaRue Weller Kentucky Straight Bourbon, and the 2025 George T. Stagg Kentucky straight bourbon. Boy, this sucks. It's just terrible.
• 0:50
  > Brent>Terrible.
• 0:51
  > Harm>Somebody's got to do it.
• 0:53
  > Announcer>We'll be right back after this break.
• 1:05
  > Justin>M.
• 1:17
  > Announcer>Brought to you almost live from the dude in the basement studios.
• 1:21
  > Harm>Why?
• 1:22
  > Announcer>Because that's where the good stuff is. Sips, suds and smokes with your smoking host, the good old boys. And now it's sippin time.
• 1:53
  > Justin>Foreign.
• 1:58
  > Brent>Hey.
• 1:59
  > Harm>Yes.
• 1:59
  > Brent>It's sipping time again. Welcome to this sips episode where everything good in life is worth discussing. This is our fall release show number two.
• 2:10
  > Justin>You dragged me into this, didn't you?
• 2:11
  > Brent>Oh, uh, well, somebody's got to. Yeah. So, yeah, we'll wait for this one all year. And this year we are very happy.
• 2:23
  > Justin>Happy.
• 2:24
  > Brent>Very happy.
• 2:25
  > Justin>How happy?
• 2:26
  > Brent>Well, we do six on a show, and every year we've done the Buffalo Trace antique collection, which was five, but this year they added one. So now it is six. So now we can do one whole show.
• 2:38
  > Justin>They did it just for our show. I'd like that.
• 2:40
  > Bob>That's very nice.
• 2:41
  > Justin>Very considerate.
• 2:42
  > Brent>They're great people, aren't they?
• 2:44
  > Justin>Very considerate.
• 2:44
  > Brent>Love, Harwin. He's. He's a heck of a guy. Well, this is made man Bob. And joining me today are made man Brent.
• 2:54
  > Justin>It's always a pleasure, especially days like today.
• 2:56
  > Brent>Yeah, good old boy Justin.
• 2:58
  > Bob>Couldn't be happier to be here.
• 3:00
  > Brent>Uh, good old boy Harm.
• 3:01
  > Harm>I could be happier.
• 3:03
  > Brent>I doubt it.
• 3:03
  > Harm>I mean, this is not a scotch show. But you gave me btac. I'm okay. I'll be here. That's fine. Thank you. I'm present.
• 3:10
  > Brent>He exists in a plane of misery that is just unknown to normal mortal man.
• 3:15
  > Harm>So, yeah, somebody described the other day Laphroaig as, uh, misery. Um, and burning tires.
• 3:22
  > Harm>Yeah, that's where I like to be.
• 3:23
  > Brent>Yeah, well, I get. I get the burning tire part, the misery part, I don't like so much.
• 3:28
  > Harm>It's a, it's a very Scottish thing.
• 3:29
  > Brent>Well, our sip segments are all about wine, distilled spirits, tea, coffee, anything else you can sip. And again, this is our uh, far release, uh, series two shows. Um, we all look forward to these shows every year. Um, and boy, we're happy about this one. So we're going to be tasting this year's Buffalo Trace Antique collection. And here are the whiskeys we're going to be tasting new for the Buffalo Trace Antique collection this year.
• 3:55
  > Brent>The 2025 E.H. taylor Bottled and Bond Bourbon. The 2025 Thomas H. Handy Kentucky Straight Rye, the 2025 Sazerac 18 Year Old Kentucky Straight Rye.
• 4:08
  > Brent>The 2025 Eagle Rare 17 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon, the 2025 William William LaRue Weller Kentucky Straight Bourbon and the 2025 George T.
• 4:18
  > Brent>Stagg Kentucky Straight Bourbon. Boy, this stocks just terrible. It's terrible.
• 4:26
  > Harm>Somebody's got to do it. I mean, uh, we, we do this for you. We, we throw ourselves on that grenade.
• 4:33
  > Brent>Well, honestly, we kind of do. You know, I've had people say, well, why taste the ones that nobody can get? I said, well, honest can get them is because of the show and they're kind enough to share them. A lot of times maybe you're going to pull the trigger and maybe scalp one somewhere.
• 4:48
  > Brent>Uh, but you can't afford to buy all of them. Well, if you can listen to this, you can sort of live vicariously through us and maybe from our tasting notes, pick which one you want and not get the wrong one.
• 4:59
  > Justin>So, you know, plus we have to drink arcane on some occasions.
• 5:04
  > Brent>Yes, yes.
• 5:04
  > Bob>Yeah, people balances.
• 5:06
  > Brent>People always forget. You know, sometimes, you know, sometimes you get the really good ones and sometimes, sometimes you get the really not good one. So, uh, it all balances out. It's karma.
• 5:12
  > Brent>There's a yin and yang to it.
• 5:14
  > Harm>So I seem to be more emotionally scarred than that one than you guys were.
• 5:18
  > Brent>Yeah, well, yeah, I'm sure that I know your mom, so. Yeah, well, so we're going to be tasting and rating these whiskeys with our signature sounds.
• 5:28
  > Brent>Let's have Justin give us one of them.
• 5:30
  > Bob>Oh, let's go with five.
• 5:32
  > Brent>Okay. We won't be hearing that today.
• 5:35
  > Justin>No, not at all. Why don't we hear two?
• 5:38
  > Harm>You do a sound we won't hear today. No, you do something. Do a sound we won't hear today. Okay.
• 5:44
  > Justin>Five sips.
• 5:45
  > Harm>That's, that's the sound we're gonna hear the most. Come on. Do what we're not gonna hear.
• 5:49
  > Bob>Oh, one, we're not going to hear.
• 5:51
  > Harm>All right.
• 5:52
  > Bob>Two.
• 5:54
  > Justin>Nice spot. What else do you have?
• 5:58
  > Brent>Isn't that nice?
• 5:59
  > Brent>That sounded a little Boris Karloffy to me. That mhm was. That was interesting.
• 6:03
  > Bob>So sneer Halloween.
• 6:04
  > Brent>Yeah. Okay, well, let's get started. We're going to have Brent tell us about our first whiskey.
• 6:10
  > Justin>Thanks, Bob. This first one is the EH Taylor Bottled and Bond Bourbon. It's 20, 25 release.
• 6:16
  > Justin>It's 100 proof, 50% ABV. So EH Taylor Bottle and Bond bourbon is the first new addition to the Buffalo Trace antique collection since the Thomas H. Hattie joined the portfolio back in 2006. This is aged 15 years and four months in the distillery's warehouses and hand bottled at 100 proof to meet the bottle and Bond standard. This bears Colonel E.H. taylor's signature just as every bottle under his watch did. The color on this. This is a nice copper, I'm gonna say like an 80s copper. 80s to 90s copper penny there. Um, on the nose I just get a huge, huge hit of cherry vanilla honey. And I know it's difficult to say this, but I actually like got creaminess on the nose. And that's not something you can like, you know, like smell. But you just, you can tell, you.
• 7:08
  > Harm>Can tell when something's creamy from the smell.
• 7:09
  > Harm>You can, There's a. Yeah, it's, it's just, it's a sensation that uh, it's, it's that, it's that lactic acid smell, I guess. You know, there's the, yeah, like the.
• 7:20
  > Justin>Creamy soda when you have one of those, you know.
• 7:22
  > Justin>But on the palate, um, I got big, bold baking spices right off the bat. Dark cherry, some oak tannins.
• 7:29
  > Harm>I don't get the cherry like you do, man.
• 7:31
  > Justin>I get more vanilla and.
• 7:33
  > Brent>Yeah.
• 7:33
  > Justin>And then it's. But, but this one here is very front forward on the palette to me. You know, on the front it doesn't quite reach the back. Even though when you, even when you do the whole Tennessee, uh, chew it, it just kind of doesn't follow all.
• 7:46
  > Harm>The flavors on the front.
• 7:47
  > Justin>Yeah, yeah, all the flavors on the front. It's.
• 7:49
  > Justin>And it's nice flavor. Uh, and it, and the night.
• 7:53
  > Justin>The one thing with about the finish. So it kind of finishes off like a little bit of a dusty. After everything kind of fades off a little bit. You get that dusty note from like a 70s dusty. Overall, I really enjoyed it.
• 8:04
  > Announcer>Harm.
• 8:05
  > Harm>I, I agree with you. Except I do not get the cherry on the nose, but on the palette, it is right there at the very front. I, uh, got more vanilla than you did, a little leather. I got some Jordan almond coming out on the nose. And, um, on the palate, it's a huge, big step up from the original. The regular ball and bond that, you know, we get on the. On the shelves. But there's a gorgeous oakiness to this, and I think that's maybe where your creaminess is coming. On the nose, it's like, it's got. It's just got this, um, the sensation. And on the palate, it's not. It's not that creaminess that you'd expect, but it's got beautiful wood, uh, oak grip to it, um, on the sides. But you're right. The flavor is mostly at the front, a little bit mid palate, but in the back, there's not much there.
• 8:53
  > Justin>Yeah, it just, it falls off. It skips the back of your palate for. For some reason, but it doesn't.
• 8:59
  > Justin>Doesn't take away from it at all.
• 9:00
  > Harm>The finish is kind of medium. I mean, I enjoyed it. Justin, what'd you think about it?
• 9:04
  > Bob>On the nose I got caramel, was, uh, light, a little vanilla. Pears and pralines. On the palate, I don't get pralines, man.
• 9:13
  > Harm>I'll give you vanilla and pearl.
• 9:15
  > Brent>He doesn't get pr. Do you get prawines?
• 9:19
  > Bob>The palette was rich, lush caramel, vanilla oak, classic bourbon palette. For me, um, the finish was mid palette. Fades off pretty quick, but it was very good.
• 9:34
  > Harm>Bobby. Bobby Joe.
• 9:35
  > Brent>Well, it's. It's funny when you have six killers like this in front of you, how you. You just, you know. Well, you know, this one, I mean.
• 9:42
  > Bob>If this was under the tree, who, who wouldn't be?
• 9:45
  > Brent>It's like the guy sitting at Hooters going, you know, she's the least attractive girl, right?
• 9:49
  > Brent>Hooters. It's like, you know, it's. It's. It's absolutely delicious. It's sweet honey, cherry and marshmallow. On the nose, the palate. Mhm. I got it more when we first opened it up, but it's got a little air and it's died down a bit. But I get cola.
• 10:11
  > Harm>Yeah.
• 10:12
  > Brent>Um, like a mix of, like, cola and a little bit of cherry cola. The oak is there, the char is there, and we were discussing it before you guys came in.
• 10:21
  > Brent>There's that dustiness on. On the finish for me that. It does it. Nobody asked.
• 10:25
  > Harm>A candy diamond.
• 10:26
  > Brent>It harkens back to Um, a dusty, you know, 70s whiskey kind of. Um, I'm getting about 80% palate cover. Just the very back is. It's missing on me.
• 10:36
  > Brent>Um, and again, splitting hairs. It's a fantastic whiskey. And if I could find one of these at retail, you bet I'd snap one up.
• 10:43
  > Harm>So, uh, you find any of these at retail?
• 10:46
  > Brent>Just get it, please.
• 10:47
  > Harm>Yeah, don't mess around.
• 10:49
  > Brent>Yeah, but we'll be back.
• 10:58
  > Justin>Hey.
• 10:59
  > Brent>And we're back. And we were just wrapping up our discussion on the Buffalo Trace antique E. H.
• 11:04
  > Brent>Taylor bottled and Bond 25 release. Anybody have anything else to say before we rate it?
• 11:10
  > Harm>There's nothing left to discuss. Let's do a rating, man. We got five other whiskeys to do.
• 11:13
  > Brent>We're gonna give the H. Taylor bottle to bond.
• 11:15
  > Brent>Well deserved. Four sips.
• 11:17
  > Harm>There you go.
• 11:20
  > Brent>That's gonna take us to our next whiskey, and we're gonna have Justin tell us about that one.
• 11:24
  > Bob>We're gonna talk about the 2025 Thomas H. Handy Kentucky Straight Rye. It's 64.9% alcohol by volume or 129. 0.8 proof. The Thomas H. Handy Sazerac straight rye whiskey takes its name from the New Orleans businessman and owner of the legendary Sazerac coffee house who first used rye whiskey in the classic Sazerac cocktail. This whiskey is 6 years, 3 months old at the time of bottling up from last year's, um, 127.2 proof. It was aged number four, Cheryls from Char.
• 12:04
  > Harm>Barrels 129. Yeah.
• 12:07
  > Bob>As I said in the beginning.
• 12:08
  > Harm>Did you. Yeah.
• 12:10
  > Bob>The number four.
• 12:10
  > Brent>Thanks for listening.
• 12:12
  > Bob>Are barrels from the Cumberland Cooperage in warehouses L, N, Double A and Double D, my favorite. On the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh floors. With 31% of the original whiskey lost to evaporation. Or they didn't see me that night when I got in the warehouse.
• 12:33
  > Harm>I see what you did there with the double D. I just want you.
• 12:35
  > Brent>To know that I.
• 12:36
  > Justin>He was. He was talking.
• 12:39
  > Bob>So the color was like a darker copper than the eh.
• 12:43
  > Bob>Taylor we just reviewed. Um, the nose is intense.
• 12:48
  > Bob>I got like, the smell of burning kerosene lamp.
• 12:51
  > Brent>What?
• 12:52
  > Bob>Uh, rye.
• 12:54
  > Harm>No, he's not wrong. He's not wrong. There's a sweet kerosene.
• 12:58
  > Brent>Oh, he's wrong all the time.
• 12:59
  > Harm>No, he's not. This, uh. Yes, he's wrong all the time. But there are times that sometimes, you know, like a broken clock. Twice a day. Twice a day.
• 13:07
  > Brent>He's a broken digital clock.
• 13:10
  > Announcer>Never.
• 13:10
  > Bob>Right.
• 13:10
  > Harm>Yeah. Those aren't actual numbers.
• 13:13
  > Justin>He just flashes. 12.
• 13:15
  > Harm>Yeah.
• 13:18
  > Brent>Like my dad's VCR.
• 13:19
  > Harm>Yeah.
• 13:20
  > Brent>Yeah.
• 13:21
  > Bob>After. After it aired for a while, I got, like, stronger wood note on the palate. It was, um, spicy oaky. I got, uh, raisins, rye oak. The finish was long and sweet. Huge rye. This is a huge whiskey. I loved it. What'd you think, Brent?
• 13:43
  > Justin>Yeah, I enjoyed every. Everything about this. Uh, this brings me back. I think Kahane kind of dropped off a little bit, you know, the last couple years where it was really good. But this just brought me back to some of the older. Some of the older bottlings. And it's. It's. It's vibrant.
• 14:01
  > Justin>It's. It's just. It just really. All those flavors just pop at you and, you know, just grab you, and I enjoy that. That's what I want. Uh, and, uh, you know, and I don't know why, but mine has little chunks floating around in it.
• 14:14
  > Bob>You know, I have the sediment, too.
• 14:15
  > Justin>Yeah, yeah, that's a good thing. I think that adds filter.
• 14:19
  > Bob>Is it non chill filtered? I don't know.
• 14:21
  > Justin>Yeah, just kind of like. I just kind of, like, adds to. For me, you know, just. Just seeing that little sediment, kind of like. Yeah, that's what I want, you know.
• 14:29
  > Brent>So I want you to basically just put your hand under it, filter the big chunks out. That's all I care about. You know, anything too big to go down the neck of the bottle when you fill it. Other than that, I don't care.
• 14:40
  > Justin>Right.
• 14:41
  > Bob>I'll just put those in the solo stove. It's going to smell great.
• 14:44
  > Harm>I don't care.
• 14:45
  > Justin>But, yeah, beautiful finish. It's just enjoyable all the way around.
• 14:50
  > Harm>All right. So on. When this first was poured and we let it. Let it breathe a little bit, I got violet candies on the nose. Very subtle. And then it went to the fruit and spice and oak. After that, as you swirl it, that violets. The violets go.
• 15:04
  > Justin>Yeah. The first note that you get was that violet.
• 15:07
  > Harm>The floral violet note went away, and. And now I'm getting more like orchard fruit. And, um, on the.
• 15:17
  > Harm>The nose is a little bit. Not as interesting to me as it used to be. I thought that. I didn't. I didn't think the nose was interesting. I thought that violet was more interesting. The nose, it smells like an okay rye, but then you taste it.
• 15:28
  > Brent>Boom.
• 15:28
  > Harm>And that's where everything just changes. To me, I thought the nose is lacking. The palette is where everything is. All the excitement they use. Brent used the word vibrant again. He's. He's. I appreciate that. Because that's the exact right word to use. This is vibrant. This is just it. It makes you feel alive. The spice is absolutely gorgeous and balanced. The fruit is subtle. Um, that note, I forgot Justin's, um, kerosene note.
• 15:59
  > Harm>From far away. Kerosene lamp. Just put your nose a little bit further away. He's absolutely right.
• 16:05
  > Harm>But it's subtle and the finish is pretty damn long. This is really good. This is, uh. This is a big step up from last year's Handy. I'm very happy.
• 16:15
  > Brent>If this doesn't make you happy, there's something broken in your. Oh, never mind. I forgot who I'm talking to.
• 16:19
  > Harm>Yeah, but I prefer scotch still. Bob, what do you think?
• 16:23
  > Brent>This is fantastic. This is. This, like Brent said, this is. This is the handy of old. This is the stuff that they first came out with.
• 16:30
  > Harm>Yeah.
• 16:30
  > Brent>And this was always the one you could find. Mm.
• 16:33
  > Brent>You would find a random bottle with this. All the other Btex you wouldn't find on the shelf, but you would occasionally find this one just sitting there. And the snobs wouldn't buy it. And I'm like, you guys are idiots. You're missing out on water.
• 16:45
  > Harm>I'm putting water in my handy. Although there's.
• 16:47
  > Harm>There's no. There's nothing left in the glass. I'm just rinsing.
• 16:49
  > Brent>Just.
• 16:49
  > Harm>I'm just rinsing the glass and drinking the rinse.
• 16:53
  > Brent>This one is just fantastic. I mean, honestly, there's. The only thing could make it better is if they shipped us a case. Um, this candy apple, bright fruit, the violets are there when it first came in. They've blown off a little bit now. Huge, bold, right in your face. Just grabs you and shakes you and just let you know that it's there.
• 17:14
  > Brent>How they get this out of a six year, three month old whiskey blows my mind.
• 17:20
  > Harm>How good this one double D wearer has.
• 17:23
  > Brent>Um, it is absolutely fantastic. It's.
• 17:27
  > Harm>I am very aroused.
• 17:29
  > Justin>Um.
• 17:30
  > Brent>Yeah. This is all day long. The 2025 Thomas H.
• 17:34
  > Brent>Handy Kentucky Straight Rye. Five sips.
• 17:36
  > Brent>Oh, my goodness.
• 17:41
  > Brent>So let's have Harm tell us about our next whiskey.
• 17:44
  > Harm>So our next Whiskey is the 2025 Sazerac 18 year old Kentucky Straight Rye, 45 ABV, 90 proof. The collection of rye whiskeys was barreled in spring 2006 and 2007. The barrels were new white oak, number four char from Independent Stave Cooperage and aged 18 years and five months on floors two, three of floors two and three of warehouses. Okay.
• 18:09
  > Harm>And L, with 77% of the original whiskey lost to evaporation.
• 18:13
  > Justin>That's a lot.
• 18:15
  > Harm>70, uh, 2% lost last year. Uh, in last year's.
• 18:19
  > Brent>In last year's.
• 18:19
  > Harm>Last year's release, yes. The color. Who cares?
• 18:23
  > Harm>It's brown. Drinking down. It's. It's. It's a beautiful. It's a beautiful, shiny copper. Uh, the nose on this. Now, this is the handy's older, elegant sister.
• 18:36
  > Brent>Yeah. Different. She's completely different.
• 18:38
  > Harm>Mature. She's subtle.
• 18:42
  > Brent>Layered.
• 18:43
  > Harm>Layered. She's got a beautiful shape. And his young friends all lust for her, but they will never have her. This is so good. This is complex.
• 18:55
  > Harm>Uh, on the nose, it's a little bit of dill, orange oil, oak. Uh, there's, uh, an herbal note. Besides the dill, I'm getting, like, a little bit of menthol, uh, and some other green herbs on the palate. Like I said, mature. This is layers of oak and spice. And, um, there's a floral note to it.
• 19:23
  > Harm>It's gripping, like white flowers. And there's a good oak grip. Um, the finish is long. The spices, and, um, they have caraway seed on their note, and I have to agree with that. It's kind of that if you've ever had gilka kumo or a good anise. But we have a commercial coming up, so I'm keep talking.
• 19:47
  > Harm>And we're back. Uh, the auto commercial may or may not hit me. Whatever. So the nose I was talking about, it's. It's got a beautiful caraway finish.
• 19:56
  > Harm>Uh, it's long, but not, like, infinite. It's just.
• 20:01
  > Harm>I love this whiskey. It may be. It's. It's. It's hard to judge this one right after the handy. But anyway. Justin, what do you think?
• 20:08
  > Bob>So when I first smelled this, um, I got, like, a Kohl's menthol cigarette thing that completely blew off, and now it's replaced by lemon pledge.
• 20:19
  > Bob>And then I got vanilla and toffee notes. They're prominent.
• 20:22
  > Harm>Okay, so twice a year. He's right.
• 20:25
  > Bob>And, uh, palette, I got spice cake and cedar. And the finish.
• 20:33
  > Harm>Yeah, well, you know, that's just like, uh, your opinion, man.
• 20:39
  > Bob>The finish, I got, like, um, fruit basket and spice and, like, a warm.
• 20:47
  > Harm>So you're talking about eating the wicker basket itself.
• 20:50
  > Bob>Fruit in it.
• 20:50
  > Harm>Oh, the food, too.
• 20:51
  > Brent>He used to. That's a fair question, too. So remember who you.
• 20:54
  > Bob>That's a fair question.
• 20:55
  > Brent>What'd you think, Brett?
• 20:57
  > Justin>Yeah. Um, you know, once these get up to 18 years and stuff, you expect it to be woody a little bit.
• 21:03
  > Justin>You know, you have those oak tannins and stuff.
• 21:05
  > Justin>And this one delivers with it. This one really kind of.
• 21:07
  > Harm>But it's not overly. No, no, no.
• 21:09
  > Justin>But it delivers. It still delivers. It's not over, but it, you know, you, you, you can appreciate it.
• 21:14
  > Justin>It's like, yes, that's what I want in this. And this is what I'm getting. And you can tell it's those lower.
• 21:20
  > Harm>Cooler floors that's been aged, uh, on.
• 21:21
  > Justin>Right, exactly. You get that, that, you know, the oak tannins, that leather, those spices that. And you've mentioned the white flowers. Yeah, yeah.
• 21:29
  > Justin>That came after you mentioned it. I was like, you know, I didn't quite know what to say was because it was like, uh, I didn't know what kind of fl.
• 21:37
  > Justin>You know, some kind of herb there that I just couldn't pick up, you know, and it was nice.
• 21:42
  > Harm>Reminds me of white flowers. I don't know what. I, uh, can't think of the name because I'm not a botanist, but you know, daisies, carnations.
• 21:51
  > Justin>It's more like mum's the word.
• 21:53
  > Harm>Maybe magnolia or gardenia.
• 21:56
  > Justin>I don't know. Yeah. But it's, it is as that note to it that you can, that you can pick up and overall, another one. This is. Gosh, they, they know what they're doing here, you know, and this is why they're. This is why they, this is why they put these out. They're. They're special.
• 22:13
  > Brent>That's what your mom used to say.
• 22:14
  > Justin>About you always said about me. And that's why I rode the special bus, the short one. They made that bus just for you. It's short.
• 22:21
  > Bob>The tinted windows.
• 22:22
  > Brent>Yep. Yeah, they all have tinted windows that don't roll down. Yeah. Keep them from falling out. Um, what more can I say? It is a lovely, beautiful, layered, nuanced whiskey that has done nothing but get better since we've opened it, as far as I'm concerned. And the complexity of this is just, it's as it sits there, it's just evolving in the glass. Um, a fantastic whiskey. We're going to be giving the 20, uh, 25 Sazerac 18 year old Kentucky straight rye. Five sips.
• 22:57
  > Brent>Oh my goodness. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 23:02
  > Brent>So that takes us to Brent and our next whiskey.
• 23:05
  > Justin>Thanks, Bob. This is the 20, 25 eagle rare 17 year old Kentucky straight bourbon is 50.5% ABV or 101 proof. And the barrels for this year's release of The Eagle Rare 17 were filled in the spring of 2007 and the barrels were new white oak, number 4 char from Independent Stave. They were aged 18 years and 4 months on floors 1, 2, and 3 of warehouses L, Q, K and P with 89% of the original whiskey lost to evaporation. Geez, I know. Last year was 86%, but, gosh, you just think about that, you know. The, um. The Eagle Rare 17 is bottled at 101 proof in tribute to the original Eagle Rare brand launched in 1975. This one's got a nice bold at an 80s, copper color, bright brightness to it. The, uh.
• 24:00
  > Brent>Um.
• 24:00
  > Justin>On the nose, I get pepper, the leather, cherry tobacco. It's just. Fills your nose. It's.
• 24:07
  > Harm>That's white pepper, right? White pepper, yeah.
• 24:11
  > Justin>Yes. Um, but, oh, then on the palate, I get. First off, on the palate I get caramel. Then cherry kind of pops through that and I get a. You know, some tobacco, some old leather. Um, just a beautiful palette. It's a great mouth feel. Um, finish. The finish on this one just doesn't end. It just. It just keeps going and going.
• 24:32
  > Harm>At 101 proof, this is surprising because it had.
• 24:35
  > Harm>It had the longest finish of all these whiskies.
• 24:37
  > Harm>All six in front of us, right?
• 24:38
  > Justin>It had a super, super long finish to it, you know, and you get that vanilla on that finish. It just kind of. Just kind of lingers off with vanilla.
• 24:45
  > Justin>And it, uh, doesn't stop. I mean, uh, there's nothing bad to say about this, about this whiskey here.
• 24:52
  > Brent>What's bad is our sample bottle is empty. That's what's.
• 24:54
  > Harm>Yeah, that's the worst. Oh, my God, look, I love you guys at, uh, Buffalo Trace. Harlan, you're the best, but those sample bottles are way too small, man. They're way too small.
• 25:05
  > Brent>A gallon would be nice.
• 25:10
  > Justin>Gallon jugs, you know that every year.
• 25:12
  > Brent>When this box arrives, I grab it and run back in my office, and my secretary laughs at me. She goes, you look like Gollum in his ring. I'm like, you don't understand.
• 25:22
  > Harm>What don't you understand?
• 25:23
  > Brent>You know, there's this one in the King of Kentucky and the Four Roses boxes that come in, and every year I'm like, you know, hoarding them. Don't touch my precious. I mean, this is a fantastic whiskey. Absolutely fantastic. It's just the caramel, the soft leather, the cherry on it just.
• 25:41
  > Justin>Wow.
• 25:42
  > Brent>And it just. It stays with you and stays with you and stays with you and stays with you. This.
• 25:46
  > Harm>This. This is the one that proves it's not all about proof. No, definitely. I mean, 101, but it's still stunning.
• 25:53
  > Brent>Well, when that long ago, they boosted it to 101, remember?
• 25:56
  > Harm>Yeah. So used to be 90 back in the day.
• 25:58
  > Brent>And I think, I think 101 is their sweet spot on this one because this one is absolutely fantastic.
• 26:04
  > Brent>Justin, you got anything to add?
• 26:05
  > Bob>Oh, yeah, I get um, like 1988 El Dorado leather. I get a nice Connecticut cigar.
• 26:15
  > Harm>I thought it's Corinthian. Is it Corinthian?
• 26:17
  > Brent>Rich Corinthian. I got the chair Cordoba.
• 26:22
  > Bob>This has an amazing mouth feel to it. This is like you spend a life driving a Ford Escort and then you finally get that like Lex flagship to drive.
• 26:34
  > Bob>It's just first class all the way.
• 26:36
  > Brent>You get the Aston Martin, I think.
• 26:38
  > Harm>Yeah, first class, I think. I like, I like his Lexus analogy because it's got that soft, supple ride. He just likes driving on a cloud.
• 26:47
  > Brent>He just likes Lexus because it's the name of his favorite stripper.
• 26:52
  > Bob>Tipper. Well, don't be cheap.
• 26:54
  > Harm>Yeah.
• 26:54
  > Brent>So we're going to be giving the 2025 eagle rare 17 year old container Kentucky straight bourbon a well deserved five sips.
• 27:02
  > Brent>Oh my goodness. Yes, yes, yes.
• 27:07
  > Harm>I'm still tasting. I had my little sip a while ago. It's just still going. Cherries and vanilla.
• 27:13
  > Brent>Let's have Justin tell us about our next whiskey.
• 27:17
  > Bob>Oh my God, I'm so lucky. 2025 William LaRue Weller Kentucky Straight bourbon. It's 64 and a half percent alcohol. By volume it's 129 gorgeous proof. This year's offering of the weeded classic was distilled in December 2010, January 2011 and January 2013. The barrels were new white oak, number 4 char independent stave and were filled at 114 proof. The whiskey was 12 years and 7 months old at bottling aged on floors 3 and 4 of warehouses D, Q, N, P and I Bingo. For those with the uh, bingo cards. I29, I29 and 55% of the original whiskey was lost to evaporation. So on the nose I got um, beautiful vanilla maple syrup, a little bit of cedar to round it out. The nose was subtle, I have to say. Subtle in a good way, but subtle. The palette was like vanilla, oat oak and wheat chex. Um, the finish was super long and it had like nice fruit notes with the oak and vanilla. This is like a warm hug that will keep you going all winter long. What did you think, Brent?
• 28:53
  > Brent>Wait, wait. Warm hug? I met your parents. You don't know what a hug is.
• 28:58
  > Bob>I didn't get it from them.
• 29:00
  > Brent>Oh, wait, I'm talking to Harm.
• 29:01
  > Justin>I know what a hug is. Yeah, yeah. The. The hug on this one is your entire mouth. I mean, this, coach, your entire mouth. This is.
• 29:11
  > Harm>If you're older than six years old, you don't need a hug.
• 29:15
  > Bob>That's what she told you.
• 29:16
  > Justin>Yeah. She was tired of giving you hugs.
• 29:19
  > Brent>She also told you you're under 6 years old and you don't need one either, but, you know. Yeah.
• 29:24
  > Justin>And then on the nose of this one I did. The first thing I picked up was maple. And then I got it followed by vanilla. Um, and, uh, we'll. Ah.
• 29:32
  > Harm>And it was followed by a commercial.
• 29:34
  > Brent>Come back.
• 29:34
  > Harm>Followed by a commercial. Hey.
• 29:41
  > Brent>And we're back. Brent, you were waxing poetic on the William LaRue Weller.
• 29:46
  > Justin>Yeah, well, I was enjoying the nose. You know, I had that. Really, uh, Enjoying it very much enjoying it. Uh, then on the palate, the one thing right off the bat is it just. You get this. The whole entire mouth is just encoded.
• 30:00
  > Harm>You know, this was the one with the best mouth feel today.
• 30:03
  > Justin>Oh, for sure.
• 30:03
  > Brent>You know what she said?
• 30:05
  > Justin>Yeah. You have this. You got that vanilla in there, that little bit of a spice on there. Um, just a little bit of light oak on there. I mean, this is. It's an amazing. It's just an amazing drink here.
• 30:19
  > Harm>You can't tell it's 129 proof.
• 30:21
  > Justin>No, there's no way in the heck if you would. If you had a guess, I would be guessing, you know, like 105, 110 maybe. You know?
• 30:28
  > Harm>Exactly. To me, it feels like it's right around 1, 105, like you said.
• 30:32
  > Justin>Yeah.
• 30:33
  > Harm>It's not high proof. It's not low proof. It's just good.
• 30:36
  > Justin>But you're deceived by the. Yeah.
• 30:40
  > Brent>Yeah.
• 30:40
  > Harm>Oh, my God.
• 30:41
  > Justin>Yep. And the. And those fruits don't come along until the. Till you're like, to the finish. That is when I start picking up those fruits.
• 30:47
  > Harm>I didn't even really get the fruit notes, Brian.
• 30:50
  > Harm>I'm getting. You said maple first. Yeah, that's exactly what I got. Maple, then the vanilla. But the mouth feel is what changes everything. The mouth feel is so amazing. All I'm, um. To me, it's all about the vanilla and the oak and the baking spices that come in. I really don't get the fruit.
• 31:07
  > Harm>I mean, what. What, Justin, do you get the fruit on this one?
• 31:13
  > Justin>Um, on your finish, it comes maple syrup.
• 31:16
  > Bob>That's as close as I get the fruit. But it's not really fruit. That's kind of.
• 31:20
  > Harm>I don't know what that. The mic is here.
• 31:21
  > Bob>I don't know what that is, but it's not fruit.
• 31:25
  > Bob>It's diabetes in a bottle.
• 31:28
  > Brent>He's confused by this.
• 31:28
  > Harm>Microsoft M. There's no residual sugar. There's no residual sugar in maple syrup, in this, in the whiskey.
• 31:33
  > Bob>Yeah, I know.
• 31:34
  > Justin>That's why I.
• 31:35
  > Harm>It tastes like diabetes because. Yeah, because no sugar, but it tastes like diabetes. It's not that sweet, but you know, weeders are like that.
• 31:42
  > Harm>They're. They tend to be softer and sweeter than the rye. I usually prefer rye whiskeys, but this is just one of my favorites.
• 31:49
  > Justin>This is just gorgeous.
• 31:51
  > Harm>Bob, uh, what do you think?
• 31:52
  > Brent>Did.
• 31:52
  > Harm>What, did you get the fruit too or not?
• 31:53
  > Brent>They are softer and sweeter, but they also, as a rule that I've noticed, take longer to mature.
• 31:59
  > Harm>They definitely take longer to mature.
• 32:00
  > Brent>Weeders, they need more time.
• 32:01
  > Harm>That's why you can get a 23 year old pappy.
• 32:03
  > Brent>Yeah.
• 32:03
  > Harm>Which is why usually 23, they're over the hill.
• 32:06
  > Brent>Which is why this, which is a mix of 15, 14 and 12 year old whiskey. Uh, you know, this is why this one's so damn good. It's just. Oh man, I want waffles every time I smell it.
• 32:18
  > Harm>We didn't mention that it was a blend of different ages. They. They're required by law to put the youngest. So 12 years, seven months.
• 32:25
  > Brent>He mentioned it when he did the reading. Thanks for joining the show. Good for you.
• 32:32
  > Brent>All right, just say the right thing.
• 32:34
  > Harm>Say the thing I want you to say. I'm experiencing whiskey. I'm not listening to him too.
• 32:38
  > Brent>We're experiencing something. I don't know what, but I. This is, this is always one of the best whiskeys of the year. And this year is absolutely no exception. This is. Where does it say absolutely fantastic. Dear Lord. Here, please, please, please. We're going to give the William Rulu Weller Kentucky straight bourbon 2025 BTEC release a well deserved five, six.
• 33:06
  > Brent>Oh my goodness.
• 33:09
  > Justin>Very well deserved.
• 33:11
  > Brent>And that takes us to our last whiskey of the day.
• 33:15
  > Brent>Executive privilege. This is the one that you review every year.
• 33:20
  > Harm>The moment the world has waited for.
• 33:22
  > Brent>Yes. So this is the 2025 George T. Stagg Kentucky Straight Bourbon. My Death Row whiskey. 71.054% ABV. 142.8.
• 33:36
  > Justin>142.
• 33:39
  > Brent>Yeah.
• 33:40
  > Harm>Or as Randy says, so 144 is hazmat.
• 33:45
  > Bob>140.
• 33:45
  > Justin>40.
• 33:46
  > Harm>So this is hazmat.
• 33:47
  > Justin>It is, yeah.
• 33:48
  > Bob>So, so don't bring it on the plane.
• 33:51
  > Brent>Beautiful.
• 33:51
  > Bob>In the airport before you go.
• 33:53
  > Brent>Dark bronze color. Oh, uh, this thing, when it grabs your nose, it just shakes your whole head.
• 33:59
  > Brent>Just the oak on this, there's a deep dark vanilla, dark, dark molasses and brown sugar.
• 34:12
  > Harm>Oh dear Lord.
• 34:14
  > Brent>And let's, let's take a sip and see what it says.
• 34:23
  > Brent>Absolutely mind blowingly good. Um, last year was a little bit down, I think.
• 34:30
  > Justin>Yes.
• 34:30
  > Brent>I mean it was still great. Don't get me wrong.
• 34:32
  > Harm>Last year was, was not up to par compared to the previous one.
• 34:35
  > Brent>This year.
• 34:36
  > Harm>Oh God.
• 34:39
  > Brent>This is like stag from you know, 07 earlier. This is just.
• 34:48
  > Harm>Yeah.
• 34:48
  > Brent>Mind blowing. Vanilla, uh, tobacco, cherry, molasses. It's that brick to the face, that brick to the teeth that I love so much. It does not disappoint whatsoever. Hold on, I'm just gonna commiserate. Boy, that escalated quickly. Mhm. I mean that really got out of hand fast. Yeah. So what do you think, Brent?
• 35:15
  > Justin>Yeah, this one, last year's like you said, was a little bit, a little bit down. It was still, still good. But this year came back with a vengeance. I mean really came back. And this, uh. And I don't know if it's because of the proof, but the, you know, or the non chill filtering because this one also has the. A uh, little bit of um, sediment in it and stuff which I, which I do enjoy.
• 35:37
  > Harm>You know, I think he's just, you know, putting stuff in your glass.
• 35:40
  > Justin>That's okay. I don't mind.
• 35:41
  > Harm>There's nothing in my glass.
• 35:42
  > Justin>I don't mind.
• 35:43
  > Brent>My glass is clean all. Don't worry about it.
• 35:46
  > Justin>Yeah. You got something else to drink, that's all.
• 35:48
  > Harm>Yeah. Make sure. You gotta wait. You gotta wait for the pills to dissolve. Yeah. Fully.
• 35:53
  > Brent>Yeah. Swirl it around a little bit and you won't see that anymore.
• 35:56
  > Justin>But um, yeah, the mouthfeel on this one really gives you a punch. The uh, again, this one covers your entire palate. You know, that's.
• 36:06
  > Brent>This covers your palate, this covers your throat, this covers your soul.
• 36:09
  > Justin>This is. Yeah, yeah. This one goes down, you know, at 142. You just wouldn't think something would be.
• 36:16
  > Brent>You know.
• 36:19
  > Justin>So powerful and yet so smooth at the same time.
• 36:23
  > Justin>It's, you know, if it's uh, if, if that's the way to do it. Justin, what are you thinking?
• 36:28
  > Bob>I'm thinking this is best stag I've had in 10 years. I think that um, it's got that beautiful smell after I've made A couple of pounds of pat.
• 36:40
  > Bob>Uh, brownies. You know, like Costco brownies have that nice smell with oak and the vanilla, too.
• 36:48
  > Brent>There's oak and brownies.
• 36:51
  > Harm>I told you about the time my wife made, um, brownies on her birthday with my birthday bourbon.
• 36:55
  > Justin>Yeah.
• 36:55
  > Harm>Yeah.
• 36:56
  > Bob>And I got a green tomato note along with the classic bourbon flavors. Um, and the proof. I'm sorry the finish doesn't end. I think I've been drinking, folks, but it's so amazing.
• 37:08
  > Harm>So I. You, uh, guys should have, uh. We should have cameras on this show. You should have seen Brent's face when I put water in this. I just put some water in it because, hey, it's 142 proof. I said, is water gonna hurt it?
• 37:20
  > Justin>Yes.
• 37:21
  > Harm>No.
• 37:21
  > Brent>Yes, yes.
• 37:22
  > Justin>Yes.
• 37:23
  > Harm>The nose.
• 37:23
  > Justin>Yes.
• 37:24
  > Harm>The nose is more oaky with the water.
• 37:26
  > Brent>No.
• 37:27
  > Justin>Yes.
• 37:27
  > Brent>No.
• 37:29
  > Harm>The palate is still gorgeous. It did not need a drop of water. Just doing 142 doesn't it doesn't need it didn't help.
• 37:37
  > Justin>See?
• 37:39
  > Brent>Waste of time, waste of effort, waste of water.
• 37:41
  > Brent>Wasted whiskey. Well, we're going to be rating the 2025 George T. Stag, uh, Kentucky straight bourbon, 26 sips. Um, no, we'll give it five.
• 37:51
  > Brent>Oh, my goodness. Yes, yes, yes.
• 37:56
  > Harm>You are biased, my friend.
• 37:58
  > Brent>These go to 11. Yeah, that goes to 11. Well, that's all the time we have for today. Yeah, I can be biased. I'm running a soundboard.
• 38:05
  > Harm>That's true. So somebody take his button for the joy.
• 38:09
  > Brent>Want to thank everybody for joining us today.
• 38:11
  > Brent>Yeah. Thank you, Brent.
• 38:13
  > Justin>It was nice being dragged in today.
• 38:15
  > Harm>Yeah.
• 38:15
  > Brent>Thank you for making the sacrifice.
• 38:17
  > Justin>Sacrifice.
• 38:18
  > Brent>And ah, thank you, Justin.
• 38:20
  > Bob>Can't thank you enough. This was an amazing experience.
• 38:22
  > Brent>Thank me. Thank the lovely folks at Sazeracs for sending us the samples every year.
• 38:26
  > Bob>Thank you, Sazerac.
• 38:27
  > Brent>Yep.
• 38:28
  > Harm>Wow.
• 38:28
  > Brent>And thank you, Harm Prom.
• 38:31
  > Harm>I often say thank you, but I rarely mean it.
• 38:35
  > Harm>Today, I mean it. Thank you.
• 38:37
  > Brent>That's about it.
• 38:38
  > Justin>I don't know.
• 38:39
  > Brent>I'm hearing this on the sound cue, so. Well, this, uh, this is, uh, made Man Bob for sip suds and smokes. Thanks for joining us. Remember, life's too short to drink bad.
• 38:47
  > Bob>Whiskey, and we didn't today.
• 38:50
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• 38:59
  > Justin>Give it a little taffy.
• 39:01
  > Brent>Tap, tap, taparoo.
• 39:02
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• 39:30
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• 39:35
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• 39:45
  > Announcer>Come back, join us for another episode and keep on sipping.
• 40:05
  > Announcer>This has been a one tan hand production of Sips, Suds, uh and Smokes, a program devoted to the appreciation of some of the finer slices of life from the dude in the Basement Studios, your hosts, the Good Old Boys. We'll see you all next time.