We have a modest cocktail bar at the Weekly World Headquarters–some tequila, mezcal, wines, vodka and bourbon. Everyone is free to drink anything, with one rule: if it's not opened, you can't open it until I do. I have some bottles kept for sentimental reasons, reasons I quickly forget after about a week, upon which time I crack open the bottle.
It's a generally kept rule, save for the bourbon pirate earlier this year who opened a bottle without my permission and slowly drank its contents, mocking me all the way. YOU BASTARD!!!
I left a cryptic note on the empty bottle promising Masonic torture if I ever discovered their identity, which must've worked somewhat: while the bourbon pirate finished off the bottle of Elmer T. Lee (I still keep that empty bottle, as a reminder of the depravity of mankind), they left the bottle of Eagle Rare Single Barrel bourbon alone–and thank God for that, as it's a great Kentucky juice.
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It has a clean, strong scent, and the texture is thin, not the thicker makeup of Maker's or Woodford Reserve. But Eagle Rare settles on your palate perfectly–peppery, a bit of toastiness from sitting for 10 years in charred oak barrels, not as sweet as it competitors because it's leans toward bourbon's fiery side.
The bottle recommends it for sipping purposes, but this Eagle Rare would make a killer Manhattan with its sharp edge and ability to cut clear through the vermouth and ice. Now I know why the office Bourbon Pirate didn't plunder this bottle: it's a man's bourbon, and that scoundrel was a LOSER…
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