Yesterday was probably the best Thursday of the year to pour this, given the holiday today.... and I didn't end up opening it.

It's pretty damn good, get both the maple and coffee.

https://i.imgur.com/CvJnzrj.jpg

I wanted to pair the whiskey cola variant with something to bring out the flavors a bit more, as I didn't get much the first time (it was good, but not far off the normal BCS).

And I wanted to pair a few of the hard-to-find variants (well, impossible to find here) with the not-so-hard-to-find, for science (and to perhaps justify the price tag LMAO).

So, I'm thinking cherry wood with toasted barrel would be an interesting pairing, and then Blanton's with regular. Proprietor's and 14 seem to stand alone.... leaving these two.

Happy to say it's going very well! Definitely getting more of the whiskey cola vibe this time around.

The 150 is outstanding... bigger/bolder/thicker, hard to pin down exactly what it is, but definitely not the typical BCS. Vanilla maybe? It really jumps out, it's one to savor.

https://i.imgur.com/Bo6KCDE.jpg

Christmas Eve beer #1:

Parish Holy Ghost - a real hop bomb, not as fusel as most TIPAs. a winner! and I can taste it!

My Covid symptoms are quickly fading. A little gunk in my chest is just about all that remains. I did a 4 mile run today and my heartrate never went over 160. I'll update the beer list as needed!

:D

I'm figuring out I don't do this often enough.... sometimes I'll have a couple back to back and will notice something I hadn't noticed before, but don't often do side-by-sides or even drink a particular beer often enough to notice any changes over time/palates. And even when I have, I've never turned it into a habit that I'm sure would improve my palate.

This pairing definitely brings out the qualities of the whiskey cola. I feel like it's done the same for the 150, as it's really grown on me after the first sip or two.

<div class="tenor-gif-embed" data-postid="19002755" data-share-method="host" data-aspect-ratio="1" data-width="50%"><a href="https://tenor.com/view/i-dont-mean-to-brag-melissa-villasenor-saturday-night-live-bragging-show-off-gif-19002755">I Dont Mean To Brag Melissa Villasenor GIF</a>from <a href="https://tenor.com/search/i+dont+mean+to+brag-gifs">I Dont Mean To Brag GIFs</a></div> <script type="text/javascript" async src="https://tenor.com/embed.js"></script>

Ha! Not really. I keep really close track of my biometrics. I can tell by my resting heartrate if I'm sick or not. On the day of my worst symptoms, I couldn't get my resting heartrate below 88 while my normal resting heartrate is around 53-55.

Plus your flaccid penis. :D

Christmas Day beer #1:

BKS Counterculture DDH Citra

Straight fire. Tastes great.

Christmas Day beer #2:

BKS Double Double green label

Dank as hell. Way more Pacific northwest hop character here than the typical citra/mosaic orange julius vibe. Very tasty.

Wow,that sounds very good actually,i need to try it.

As for me,i had a Sam Adams winter seasonal in bottles.Decent,but i wouldnt highly recommend it or anything.

All of BKS' beers are worthy of consideration. Seriously all of them. KCUnited can vouch, so can TimBone.

Yep. KCUnited and Phisherman both know a shit ton more about BKS than me, but I can confirm BKS is ****ing legit.

I think the only complaint I've ever had about them is that one of their small batch Holstein milk stout variants was too sweet. Even then, it was still good. I don't recall a bad beer I've had from them.

Blanton's Barrel vs. Original

I think the original is a tad lower ABV than normal (14.4%), Blanton's is 15.4%.

I expected this one to be a less exciting comparison, but that's coming from someone who had a Bottle Logic Electric Eden for dessert last night, which is basically caramel apple pie in a bottle. :D

Original is pretty damn good this year. I remember years ago throwing a couple in the basement to forget about them for several months, but can't imagine you get the same significance in aging them these days, as they're already pretty damn smooth.

Much like 150, Blanton's is a bigger/thicker/bolder version of the regular stuff. It's not exactly opening up like 150 did, but more of a WYSIWYG... a high quality BCS. And you get a Crown Royal style bag and a Blanton's stopper, which are probably worth a little towards the apparent $40 MSRP.

That leaves Proprietor's, Fourteen, Cherry Wood, and the coveted Double Barrel Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel.


https://i.imgur.com/1RL7Kf2.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/3L6tJjR.jpg

I was grabbing for a Coors Light traveler and mistakenly grabbed a Steel Reserve. Just awful.