High Proof Bourbon May NOT Be YOUR Thing?

100 to 115. WHISKEY CHEERS 😎

100-110. I'm just going by what I actually drink the most of and re-buy the most: Makers 101 & Cask Strength, Early Times BIB, Jack Daniels Bonded lineup, Wild Turkey 101 (Rye & Bourbon), Knob Creek 9 & 12 year, Henry McKenna BiB.

110-120
Russell’s Reserve
Bardstown Discos

Scott, guess my "sweet spot" proof is about 110 +/- 10 (or 55 +/- 5% ABV). Both for bourbon and scotch. CHEERS!

100 - 110 I am a huge fan of WT 101. I find I enjoy the most within that range.

I never have the same pour on a night. Usually I start with a 105-115 then move to 115 -125 and if I am feeling froggy 125+ to end it.

110 usually best for me but every whiskey is different. Russel’s Reserve Single Barrel is the gold standard for me. Most 120 plus takes me a few sips to work through enthanol.

100-117

110-120 would be my best range. I like many higher proof whiskeys and plenty of 100-proofers. One of my go-to everyday is still OF1910, which is 93 proof. So I can be all over the place. Cheers!

Weekdays WT SB & handful of BIB's. Weekends 110-120 w/OCD5, Still Austin CS, Russell's private selec, Disco 11........

CAT 3. I wanted to choose one for the sake of giving you a straight answer. I mostly drink the M&J picks which tend to be CAT 4-5; and because of that, I mostly buy CAT 2-4 shelf bottles to fill in that range. I think CAT 2 is underrated - more than bourbon lives in this range. Rum, Scotch, and some Rye tend to be CAT 1-2 (not always but for what I buy, typically). Examples being Doorly's 14, Sagamore Double Oak, Craigellachie 13, Deanston 12. But CAT 3 hits a lot of spots - from all the bottles available that are BiB to Four Roses SB Select, Makers 101 and and sometimes the CS, WT101, Russell's Reserve picks, Baker's, Glenfarclas 107, Weller Antique. CAT 4 and CAT 3 mixed is my go to range... 105-115 and I always end up in CAT 5. The tricky thing with CAT 5 is the issue that you run into whiskey that's high proof for the sake of being high proof. The bottle would have been better at a lower release proof but marketing wants "Barrel Proof" or "Full Proof" on the bottle. I know, quick fix on our end to just add a little water, but to me that's like adding salt to your food when you get it from a chef... your food should be served to you with the correct level of seasoning, no salt or pepper or ketchup or ranch, etc. should be needed. With that same logic though, bottles can be too watered down. But at the CAT 5 proof, I tend to just blow out my palette after a full night of pours. So I prefer the slightly lower proof for the drinkability factor.

110ish for me.

100 to 118 for me

Officially cat 3

Category 2 at 90-100 is what I have the most. Knob Creek 9 is my favorite bourbon and I like bottled in bonds from Evan Williams and Old Forester. I also enjoy regular old Maker’s Mark and Elijah Craig and Evan Williams 1783 and Jim Beam Black. Anything higher than 100 is usually for a special occasion. Proof isn’t the biggest factor when I’m buying bourbon, I really look at flavor profiles and price and availability.
See you back here in a year. Cheers 🥃

Category 3. I'm straight up a 107 guy. I drink the most of those and plain enjoy it. Baker's, lotsa Baker's, and OWA. I do enjoy 110s as well, and for robust flavors, all the KCs at 120, Booker's across rhe 120s-130s are amazing. I enjoy many BIBs too, but 107 is my favorite spot. I have plenty of empties ready to recycle.

anything over 100...the higher the better. In fact, I probably will not buy anything under 100 ever again, EXCEPT anything that is double-oaked....I love those

I think that I am all over the place when it comes to proof. When I considered some whiskies in each bracket … the 115-120 proof seemed to be a bit more popular. 115-120 Holladay Soft Red Wheat Rickhouse Proof, Hard Truth Sweet Mash Rye, Red Breast Cask Strength, Knob Creek 9/120 Bourbon

I like 90-110 proof that's my wheelhouse. I really like BT and Eagle Rare at 90 proof I really like Jack Daniels Single Barrel Select at 94 proof love Makers Mark 46 at 94 proof. Love KC 9 Year at 100. Love Bakers 7 at 107 proof and Antique 107 at 107 proof. Last but not least love Russells Reserve Single Barrel at 110 proof. 🥃👍🏻

110 to 125 is what I enoy

This was a Great Concept!!

110-120

Cat 5: ECBP, Frey Ranch SBBS, OF picks (rye and bourbon). Cheers, brutha.

Cat 4 for me. I like that 110-120 range where most barrel proof bottles land. I have a lot of picks in my collection and those are what I gravitate towards most often. Barrel, Bookers, Driftless, KC, Makers, Starlight and Yellowstone to name a few. THere are some Cat 6 bottles that I really enjoy as well. Found North, JDSBBP, and Larceny are on that list. I really like the dark caramel, dark fruit, and creamy mouth feel that the higher proof bottles offer.

At this point I’d say category 4, I can do a bit hire but that’s after I’ve warmed up my pallet.

CAT 4/5.....most daily drinkers are in the 110-120 range but there are plenty of 120+ proof bottles that I love and have no problem drinking. Anything high proof, especially with some age, needs to rest in the glass for a bit first. OF blue labels are great, JD barrel strength store picks, and a few Willett purple tops in the 130 proof range. I think the best bottles might be 110-120 proof that drink a little hotter, i.e. a really good Russell's store pick, or specifically Four Gate Kelvin Sixty (which is 125 but drinks more like 130, to me). Thanks for the fun topic!

Distillery dependent
Michters at a low proof is award winning
Heaven hill at high proof, whiskey of the year
Cheers 🥃

Great idea, Scott! (Nice meeting you at the Blitz, btw!)
Cat 1 80-90: Jack Daniel’s Old #7. This is what I drank for 25+ years before discovering there were other whiskeys on the shelf. I'm slow...explains my nickname I suppose. I don't reach for this often anymore, but it is still my base whiskey.

Cat 2 90-100: Woodford Reserve Double Oak. Woodford's lower proof stuff is pretty good, but their double oak is consistently awesome. I find most double oaks do better at a sub-100 proof range. WRDO and OF 1910 are perfect.

Cat 3 100-110: Jack Daniel’s 12 year or OF King Ranch or Baker’s 7 year. This is more and more my preferred proof range, really up to 115 or so. So many good whiskeys in this range, I picked the three I like the best tho they are somewhat tricky to get. WT101 is great everyday whiskey.

Cat 4 110-120: Old Forester 1920. Old Ezra 7 year Rye or bourbon, Rare Breed Bourbon. Some great whiskey in this proof range as well!

Cat 5 120+: Jack Daniel’s Barrel Proof Bourbon, Old Forester SBBS rye or bourbon. I have found that proofs much over 130s are better watered down a bit for me. But JD and OF barrel proofs are great even at the 130s+, tho the sweet spot seems to be the upper 120s for me. Fortunately, they are getting easier to find.