In our March Madness-style format, by the time a bottle gets to the “finals”, there’s not much left to drink. Stopping at Total Wine to pick up his real whiskey entry into our competition, an employee urged Ace to add Wolcott to the event in addition to his other entry. At barely $20, Ace bought Wolcott on impulse and mostly forgot about it until about halfway through the weekend when it hadn’t yet been eliminated.

Wolcott was surprise win, even for the guy who brought it, Ace. Feel free to stop by my house and pickup a nearly full bottle of Woodford Double Oaked.ĭo you think you'll ever have a whiskey weekend again?Īnd what did you think about this year's winner, Wolcott?

I know there are plenty of people reading this who adore an oaky flavor profile. It was the first whiskey eliminated that year. After swallowing, the aftertaste made me wonder if there were still shards of barrel in my mouth.Īnd I wasn't alone. To my palate, it’s pungent, smokey and bitter. What a huge mistake. Double Oaked is not in my wheelhouse at all. When I purchased Woodford Double Oaked, I remember thinking, “Double! I’ll like it twice as much!” I put the Double Oaked into the competition without having actually tasted it myself-a mistake I'll never make again. I enjoy Woodford Reserve as a smooth, balanced whiskey I can serve to almost anyone. What's a brand that surprised you that stunk to high heavens? We play video games, board games, card games, and poker. We’re all gamers of various sorts. Our cabin comes with a pool table and foosball table. What do ten guys do when they’re not drinking? Who are the past winners? 2020: Wolcott Special Release (a Total Wine exclusive) 2019: Crown Royal “Bourbon Mash” 2018: Old Tom Horan 2017: McKenna BiB 2016: Redbreast 15 2015: High West Bourye 2014: Crown XO 2013: Balvenie Doublewood

It tasted like hobo ass and lost quickly. One year, someone put Peat Monster into the competition. Out of our ten guys, only two enjoy peaty scotches, so most years, there’s only one or two bottles of scotch, and they’re pretty mild. The average price point of our winning bottles is around $35.

It’s a winning strategy. And, often it doesn’t take much money to win Whiskey Weekend. Some of the ten guys are very serious about winning our tasting competition and they often choose “crowd pleasers”, like Crown XO, a very sweet Canadian that nobody will find offensive.

Fred minnick blind bourbon