Excellent choices. Well bought.
If you like to step into the dark side, there are some really nice Rye's coming out of the US right now. Rye has slightly more bite and less sugar than a Kentucky style Bourbon.
If you see this available online give it a try. Just found it last week. Excellent...
It's difficult to compare briar to pine because of the differences of density and silica content. But I would say yes, straight grains are proven scientifically superior (just because it will make peoples head explode lol)
To add...
"The thermal conductivity of wood is relatively low because of the porosity of timber. Thermal conductivity declines as the density of the wood decreases. In the direction of the grain, the thermal conductivity of wood is about twice what it is perpendicular to the grain. For example...