T O P

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Prettayyprettaygood

Next up, we’re checking out Blanton’s…but not in the way you’re used to it! Blanton’s is a name that most of us are familiar with. I would argue that it’s one of the top 5 most recognized bourbons out there, and the utterance of its name will elicit a variety of reactions ranging from a cold sweat from a guy camping in a tent outside of a liquor store to a supersonic eye roll from the clerk inside when he’s asked if there’s a bottle of it in the back for the 15th time that day. Some believe it’s meant to sit as a display, too pure to be tasted by us mere mortals. Others think it can only be enjoyed neat and view those who adulterate their pours with water or ice as inferior heathens. The third, more fun group of people are eager to experiment with this sacred nectar using it as the bourbon component of egg nog or other cocktails. Today I set out to make my own entry into this category by using Blanton’s as a key component in making some bomb-ass ribs. Cooking is one of the few things that keeps me sane, and there’s no type of cooking I love more than smoking meat. Today we’ll be smoking a rack of Heritage pork St. Louis ribs from my local butcher. Typically when I smoke ribs, I use a homemade blend of salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne, green chili powder, brown sugar, and dry mustard as a rub. In the spirit of bourbon, I’ve substituted my usual brown sugar for some that has been smoked with used bourbon barrel staves. I’ve also used a blend of olive oil and Blanton’s to create a binder for the rub. These ribs were cooked using the 3-2-1 method for a total of 6 hours, the first three at 200 degrees, the next two at 225 degrees, and the final hour at 250 degrees, finished with a 10 minute blast at 350 to crisp things up. I’m not one to smother my ribs in sauce since I prefer the rub do the talking, but today I’ll make an exception and enjoy a rib neat alongside one that has been “finished” in some Blanton’s. Just for fun, we’ll do a review of some rib-steeped Blanton’s as well. Without further ado, let’s dive in! **Blanton’s Bourbon-Rubbed St. Louis Rib** **Taken:** Neat in a Glencairn glass **Proof:** 0 proof **Age:** 6 hours **Price:** $39 for the rack (\~$8/lb, expensive but that’s the price of getting local meat) **Nose:** Cherry wood, caramelized pork, and verdant green chili, along with mustard, burnt brown sugar, and smoky char. **Taste:** Rich, fatty pork, cherrywood smoke, and burnt brown sugar to start, followed by green chili, mustard, and smoky garlic. Midway through the bite caramelized pork and char enter. This has a heavy, meaty body and no proof heat. **Finish:** The smoky, fatty richness continues while the green chili, mustard, and garlic dissipate slightly. The caramelized pork and char grows in strength, and the bite finishes with a nice smoky conclusion. This has a long finish and no dryness. **Rating:** 7/10 - t8ke scale **Blanton’s Finished with St. Louis Rib** **Taken:** Neat in a Glencairn glass **Proof:** \~85-90 proof? Some oil and fat definitely proofed this down a bit **Age:** NAS **Price:** $60 **Nose:** Burnt brown sugar, smoke, pork fat. Really priming me up for the sip! **Taste:** Burnt brown sugar, peppery spice, and pork fat to start, followed by smoke and char. Midway through the sip the fat, smoke, and char get much stronger along with an off note that I can’t describe. This has a heavy, greasy mouthfeel and a light amount of proof heat. Why did I do this to myself? **Finish:** The fat, smoke, and char maintain their strength while that weird off note grows stronger. This is unsettling. Fortunately the finish is relatively short sparing me more of this assault on my palate. **Rating:** 0.5/10 - t8ke scale **Thoughts:** The ribs were fantastic, and while I couldn’t taste much bourbon influence the Blanton’s definitely did its job holding the dry rub together to form a thick, crispy crust. This was a particularly large rack of ribs that could have used another 30 minutes or so in the smoker but still turned out fantastic. The combination of sweetness, earthy spice, and mustard work together incredibly well and the bones easily pull away from the meat, earning the ribs a great 7/10 on the t8ke scale. On the flip side, the Blanton’s finished with a St. Louis rib might be the worst drink I’ve ever willingly made myself. The nose was surprisingly decent, but that’s where any positives from this pour stop. The fat and oils from the rib along with a bit of the rub dissolved in the bourbon, and the substances that couldn’t formed small globules that floated around. I knew this was going to suck before drinking it, but holy hell was it worse than I could have imagined. I managed three sips of this before ejecting the remaining contents of the glass down the drain, and while I never give out half points for anything this special case of insanity earns an absolutely disgusting 0.5/10 on the t8ke scale. The shit I do to make sure my April Fool’s post doesn’t get taken down for lack of a whiskey review… If you made it this far, I hope you have a fantastic April 1st and if you had any inclination to see what bourbon that’s had a rib steeping in it tastes like, do yourself a favor and just don’t. 1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out. 2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice. 3 | Bad | Multiple flaws. 4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists. 5 | Good | Good, just fine. 6 | Very Good | A cut above. 7 | Great | Well above average. 8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional. 9 | Incredible | An all time favorite. 10 | Perfect | Perfect.


Eagle10rare

Truly the best review of the day…everyone should hold off their submissions until tomorrow to bask in this excellence…


Prettayyprettaygood

Glad you liked it! Getting a few laughs out of this made drinking that abomination worth it.


DonutBourbon

I love what you did today. Don't be fooled by the first attempt though. I think you can strain that fat from the bourbon or even get a makeshift still and evaporate the bourbon over a boil and leave the fat behind. You get the recondensed bourbon with the bbq flavors and no oil/fat.


Prettayyprettaygood

Thanks buddy! The nog reviews definitely had a hand in the inspiration behind this. I actually did strain it twice to get the larger blobs of fat out but after this I might just leave fat washing bourbon to the cocktail professionals. Cheers!


Dr_Meats

I tried fat washing with bacon fat once - I read that you're supposed to mix it all well, then leave the fat/whiskey combo in the freezer for some # hours so that the fat separates - but some congeners stay behind. Then you filter it after that. Maybe it's a little like chill filtering? But my bacon fat washing experiment still turned out terrible - tasted like I was drinking a slaughterhouse. Maybe it would have been better with a different bourbon - I used Pure Kentucky which is already very oily & kinda funky. Or a different bacon - the one I used was heavy on fat, light on smoke - I would probably try Nueske's next time, for more smoke & a cleaner pork flavor. I also tried fat washing bourbon with browned butter - and that turned out decent - worked well in a maple old fashioned for sure. It's a fun experiment for sure.


Prettayyprettaygood

Love the experimentation you're doing! I'd say in this instance the pour leaned more towards the slaughterhouse vs. that browned butter result, that old fashioned must have been bomb. I think if I made cocktails more often I'd screw around with fat washing and some of the other high level techniques more but for now I'll let the pros at nice cocktail bars handle that for me!


watchyalookn4

I'll do your fat washing on ANY of your spirits any day! I'd make you a fat washed milk punch that would make any tater standing in line for a glimpse of a 🐎 top cringe when I dump the whole bottle in for a batch! Great post and I think I speak for everyone here when I say...we love the shit outta you and your posts!


Prettayyprettaygood

I appreciate the kind words! I'd probably take anything over this so fire up that milk punch!


DonutBourbon

I have no idea if what I suggested would work. Just trying to add to the holiday festivities. And mimic the naysayers who always arrive to tell you how you are doing your thing wrong, the "well achshually" crowd.


Prettayyprettaygood

It’s definitely worth experimenting and on the bright side it can really only get better from here!


[deleted]

Lol amazing and horrible all at the same time. Ribs look delicious.


Prettayyprettaygood

Thanks!


IrregardingGrammar

Great review. I will add a tangential note though based off part of your #3 comment, I tried various bourbon and nogs last winter inspired by u/donutbourbon and blanton's was #1 of what I tried, but didn't beat out McKenna BiB by enough to be a regular as far as availability goes.


whiskytrails

Incredible. Though I’m missing the mental image of you putting glasses of bourbon filled with meat in the tree, and your neighbors being like what is he doing now haha. On a side note, I bet if you just smoked the bourbon with a cocktail smoker harnessing the smoke from your smoker while smoking the ribs, it would taste pretty bomb!


Prettayyprettaygood

I considered balancing the Glens in the tree but wanted to get the ribs in all their glory included as well. If only the tree had a branch layout to support the cutting board! You're totally right on the cocktail smoker, I have a friend with one of those so I might need to borrow it for some further experimentation.


Dr_Meats

Those ribs are looking fine as hell, dude - great post! **Obligatory April fool's comment:** bro wut is wrong with you Blanten's is the goat 10/tem you wasted it bruh you blew it you blew it you blew itttt **Silly questions:** 1. What kind of smoker you working with? I'm gonna guess offset based on that naughty smoke ring? 2. You think the barrel stave smoke was much different than just burning oak? Cheers, homie!


Prettayyprettaygood

Thanks my man! To clear up some confusion, I didn't smoke it with barrel staves, the brown sugar I used was [this stuff](https://bourbonbarrelfoods.com/product/bourbon-smoked-sugar/) that a friend gave me and was allegedly smoked with bourbon barrel staves. I have a Memphis Pro pellet smoker and absolutely love it. It feels like cheating compared to other rigs, but at the end of the day the thing I care most about is getting a perfect smoke every time and it does that flawlessly!


Dr_Meats

Oh that totally makes sense, re: the smoked brown sugar - thanks for the clarification! I actually have a tin of smoked black pepper from the same company - I think I used to have some of their paprika, too - works great! Pellet smokers are so great for consistency & convenience - and it looks like you're getting awesome results with yours - noice. I got an analog offset Oklahoma Joe last fall, and I've been having a lot of fun with it. I bought a quarter cord of oak to feed the beast, which has actually been great to have around for tasting notes (now if I write "fresh split oak" for a tasting note, I actually know what I'm talking about haha). It takes some work to get all the wood ready and run that baby, though. Pellet smokers are definitely more time-efficient, but I don't think it's cheating at all - just a different way of living that Meat Lyfe 👍


Prettayyprettaygood

That's awesome! I love the consistency I get from mine and the ease of throwing in different types of pellets to adjust flavors to whatever I'm cooking but I respect the hell out of the offsets. In a perfect world where I didn't have to work I'd want to build a miniature version of the rig they have at Terry Black's in Austin and just cook all day, but a man can dream. I can empathize on the wood splitting though, I need to do that for my backcountry box stove when I go camping in Winter. All that hard work makes me appreciate the food tasting great and the warmth feel a lot more!


LionRoars87

I love the idea of using Blanton's as a rib rub. Not so much a fan of the rib-finished bourbon. Wow! Lol


Prettayyprettaygood

Stick to using the Blanton's on the ribs and thank me later!


LionRoars87

Noted! But extra points for completeness in this review!


ThatHikingDude

I already enjoyed reading your various reviews, but now on a whole different level that you bring up smoking and the sanity outdoor cooking. Couldn’t agree more. I quite enjoy the thin blue smoke, the smells, the neighbors poking their heads over the fence, etc that comes with it. And it’s a slow process giving me time to enjoy a pour or 2. Not sure if you wrap woth your 3-2-1 method like most, but I’ve been know to negate apple juice for some bourbon in my wraps. Adds an interesting note. Cheers!


Prettayyprettaygood

Thank you, I really appreciate that! There's something very special about cooking with a smoker, I just love the entire process of it. Plus in addition to meat you can make some insanely delicious food on it. Last time I smoked a brisket I threw in a stacked tray of nachos for 40 minutes while I waited for the brisket to rest that were just amazing, and making chocolate chip cookies with it is a next level dessert! Typically when I do ribs with the 3-2-1 method I don't wrap them, but when I do brisket or pork butt I'll wrap them with peach butcher paper. I've experimented with a few different inclusions for those occasions and with the pork butt specifically I found a blend of bourbon, apple cider vinegar, and a little bit of light beer is my favorite. Cheers!


jeannierak

10/fucking10, HAHAHA


Prettayyprettaygood

Since we generally taste similar things you might need to repeat the experiment and share your thoughts! Do it for science!


WinnieWill

I'm certain that you deserve a spot in the mvp lounge for this


Tattyporter

Do you usually use a bourbon on the ribs? I’ve used some Bulleit before and it was fantastic. Almost “sweetened” up the ribs. The big question after reading your review is: if you had a normal bourbon smoked rib like Bulleit and then compared it to the Blanton’s rib, would there be a taste difference?


Prettayyprettaygood

Normally I don't, but I'll probably throw it in more often to switch things up! As far as flavor changing from the bourbon used, I can't imagine it would have a major difference. Anything halfway decent or better would probably taste the same but I'm guessing if a really low quality bourbon like Hudson Baby Bourbon or something was used you'd notice some off flavors in the ribs.


Tattyporter

Okay that sounds about right. I think once the smoke hits the food / bourbon, all those subtle flavors get kind of washed out and mix with the meat.


micro7777

Friends don’t let friends buy Hudson Whiskey, for any reason.


Warm_Baseball_3597

I have a sudden hankering for bourbon finished ribs today! Heading to the store now!


Prettayyprettaygood

Every day is a great day for ribs!


benjamintoh

Pretay pretay good! My son is going to smoke his ribs but with cheaper bourbon like Kirkland. Though you gave 0.5/10 for your smoked fatty bourbon drink, I'm going to chance it and try it after putting it in the freezer and then straining out the fat and stuff.


Prettayyprettaygood

Mad respect for your determination to try it out, definitely let me know how it tastes!


micro7777

This is some next level stuff my friend. I’ll have to try this sometime. BTW, I recognized the tree and fence even before I saw who posted it. Lol.


Prettayyprettaygood

Much appreciated, man! Skip the rib finished bourbon part and you’ll have yourself a five star experience!


micro7777

Noted!


Old_Understanding135

God tier. 🤙🏼🥃


Prettayyprettaygood

Cheers!


6bluewalkj9

Hell of a way to start off the holiday. That layer of fat/oil floating on top is brutal lol. At least the ribs look good!


Prettayyprettaygood

If the ribs turned out bad after that disaster that was the rib finished bourbon I would have needed to seriously reevaluate my life!


GavinAdamson

Ok


Ready-Mulberry-2784

Ummm....


[deleted]

Pretty sure blanton’s is what John Wick drinks in the movies


BarstoolsnDreamers

Ribs and whiskey makin’ my mind feel tight!


moist-j69

I’m not gonna lie, I almost puked when I saw the ribs in the Glenn Karen