I'm gonna continue to rep bourbon even if no one reads it. Got all my bottles out to see what I had today and "re-arrange" the bottles my MIL has access to when she's coming to visit this week. Not my good shit bitch!

Contrary to popular belief, I only have a few drinks on the weekend. But I acquire bottles when I can because good bourbon bottles in AZ are scarce so when you get a chance to buy, you jump on it.

All of them
https://i.imgur.com/3830mlHl.jpg

The GOOD stuff. The Old Weller Antique is so very good. Hard access in AZ but easier to find in CA and great for $40 (buy yourself a bottle). That middle 4 roses was a private barrel pick and barrel strength.

https://i.imgur.com/9TInJVBl.jpg

Booker's in the back. The doublewood is a scotch.

https://i.imgur.com/BsF3OhHl.jpg

Elijah Craig is a great starter bourbon if you want something relatively inexpensive that's got a great bourbon taste. If you can find the 2005 Evan Williams Single Barrel it's a can't miss year. I use the Bulleit Rye for a lot of bourbon heavy cocktails as rye whiskey has more finish, which is a nice effect for many cocktails when you still want to taste the bourbon but don't plan on drinking it neat.

https://i.imgur.com/qzQlzIml.jpg

As you can see, I have some drinking to do!

Picked up some Angels Envy after it was recommended by a friend

Anyone had it?

Sucks. Very different, most people I know either love it or hate it.

Those 2 bottles of Weller’s are so underrated. So so so good!

Over-rated. I don't care much for it. Pretty simple complexity and much better options at the price point.

Some do love it though.

I'm a big woodford guy so I was hesitant to try it but we'll see

Some say the Special Reserve is better than the Weller 12 year? It's hard as hell to find Weller 12 here and I actually got the Special Reserve and Antique in CA, as they can't be found here unless you know someone here. The Old Well Antique is one of my favorite pours. It's soooo good.

**** thats beautiful

I personally love it. It's different. If you're going into it wanting a typical bourbon experience, you're not going to find it.

For my money, I like the WLW 7/SR more than the 12. The 12 is a beautiful and thoroughly enjoyable bourbon, but something about the 7 just hits all the right notes for me.

To be fair, I'm that way with a lot of whiskeys. I like some younger stuff because it has more of the character of that particular distillery. I'd take the Laphroaig 10 or QC over the 15/18 any day. Yes, they smooth out over time but sometimes I think they lose a little of their charm.

They’re all so good. Would be great buys at twice their price.

Amen.

Our defense are big bourbon drinkers on game days.

Especially at half-time. Pretty sure they see who can take the most shots before they have to go back on the field.

No Blanton's? That needs to be added to your collection ASAP. It will immediately top all of the other bottles you have, based on what I see in those pictures.

I head to Lexington on Friday morning. My wife and I, as well as some friends, are doing the Bourbon Trail this weekend as part of my 50th BD present. Looking forward to it.:)

Very nice. If possible, I'd enjoy reading about your experience in this thread. It's something my wife and I would like to do in the next couple of years.

Grab some Buffalo Trace bourbon cream. And have fun!

What can you bourbon guys tell me about this bottle? Is it good quality?

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...ded3600a6a.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...cb83657010.jpg

I did it a few years ago and really had a great time. Which distilleries are you hitting? (I am assuming not all of them since it would be over a dozen.)

I haven't had it, but it's supposed to be pretty good. They use a high rye mash bill so it will be on the spicier end of the bourbon spectrum. I'd love to hear your thoughts once you get into it.

Absolutely.

Probably 4 of them. Makers, Limestone Branch Distillery, Woodford and Four Roses

Have you had the chance to try Rowans Creek? I really like it and its priced so reasonable best finish ive had so far.

The Russels 10 looks like it took a pretty good hit, I like it also very well.

Everyone has their own preference and at the 60 dollar price range I find Blantons a bit boring. I have many bourbons inside 30 bucks I like better. Russels 10 and the Even Williams Vintage right in that Pic. The Wellers in that pic at slightly over 30 bucks I take over Blantons. But thats just me YMMV.

Have you got into the Bookers? I like it a lot but not its price hike to 70 dollars last year could be had inside of 40 and occasionally discounted to 36.

n00b question: what does "private barrel pick" and "barrel strength" mean? I know I've seen stores with the private barrel pick bottles, but how does it differentiate from the normal stock in regards to quality and price?

I've got an embarrassing amount of reward points at my neighborhood shop so I'm thinking of using them to pick up a couple bottles.

A private barrel pick means that a store/retailer/restaurant has purchased a whole barrel of unblended bourbon. This is special because most all small batch and mass produced bourbons are blends of many different barrels to achieve a specific flavor profile. Some private barrel picks are very, very good and some aren't.

Barrel strength means that when the bourbon is bottled, it's not diluted to a specific ABV.

Private barrel stock is just an individual can buy an individual barrel from a distribute or liquor store. A barrel gets roughly 200 bottles so many time a private individual will get a group together and pick a barrel and the bottle gets bottle number and barrel on bottle. Liquor stores buy barrels also and sell individually.

Cask strength is undiluted whiskey in barrel before its diluted with water. Its not the strongest as it gets less as it ages. Still strength is usually above 70%ABV cask 50 to 60% ABV.
Even cask strength can be diluted with water to meet state and fed laws.

Interesting. Thanks for the info.

Thanks for the info. It's not for me. My wife's sister is getting married in early November, and I can't make it due to work. I bought it for the Father of the bride to celebrate with his family.

I dont know a whole lot about bourbon, so I went into a good Houston spirits store looking for a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle (That's supposed to be quality stuff, right?). When they didn't have any Pappy, I had one of the employees recommend a bottle. The Bella Meade is what he sent me home with.

Blanton’s isn’t an easy find here but see my exact feelings below. At $65 it’s simply a pass, not because it’s not good, but there’s similar quality for half the cost.

My thoughts too. I love Weller. And that Russell’s 10 is about as good as you find at $30 price.

I’ve heard good things on it. Never had. How much that run you there?

That 4 roses bottle in the middle in my second picture is both. It was chosen by two members of our Arizona Bourbon Society group who went and tasted barrels. 4 roses bottled the barrel they chose and sold it to our group. It’s bottled at barrel strength and aged 9 years and 10 months. If you get guys who know how to taste bourbon, the private picks can be outstanding and much different from the taste of same generic bottles on the shelf.

Let me know if you need help choosing some bottles there! :D

That's good to know. My local shop is bourbon-centric, where I got the Birthday Bourbon, and they have private select bottles on occasion.

Is it safe to assume that most privately picked bourbons sold in stores are barrel strength, or do some have it diluted as well? Or are they labeled as both?

About $60, I believe.

You interested, Lew? I'm headed back to Houston tomorrow to drop the wife and kid off at the airport. I can snag you a bottle if they still have one.

Do any of you guys have access to Blanton's or Colonel EH Taylor Single Barrel?

Haven't seen it in STL for a while now, and the few bottles I've seen of Blanton's the asshole liquor store marked it up to $100 for the bottle.

If anyone has access and would be willing to ship, let me know.

I'll be at Spec's in Houston tomorrow. I'll give it a look see.

Thanks, man. Appreciate it.

The last time I mentioned this someone from KC said both were pretty easy access. Not sure what the goddamn holdup in STL is, but it's pissing me off.

If Timbone can’t get, let me know. The Colonel Single Barrel is a staple in my collection and would be happy to send you a bottle

We launched the biggest site in our agency's history today (came in at approx 1.9 million), and our CEO brought in a bottle of 23 year Reserve Pappy that he hadn't opened for 2 years. I felt guilty af drinking it, and I may sound insane here...but I didn't find it to be any better than some far cheaper high-end bourbons I'd typically splurge on. (and for far less than the $2900 price tag)

For the rest of you, if you see either bottle buy it. These are two of the best you can buy.

I had a friend ask if Blanton’s was good. He was heading to Mexico and it was $35 duty free in the ATL airport. Like an idiot, he passed.

No, they don't have to be barrel strength. It would be labeled as such. And barrel strength doesn't always mean better. I do however like the idea of barrel strength for many of the good bottles, as I can add water to dilute it myself (making it whatever proof I want).

That's such a tough call. Man.

But realistically, I need to drink what I have as you can tell. I will pass but very much appreciate it.



I would like to keep the lines of communication open in this thread for getting bottles tough. Places like AZ are a bourbon wasteland. I'd love to share samples with some of you and get some hard to find bottles from those living in other parts of the country that have better access. Similar to the awesome action in the beer thread.


Good to see so much activity in this thread boys. Let's keep it going! Bourbon ****ing rocks!

Most people who try the "unicorn" say the same thing. It's good, but not worth that price tag.


What high-end bourbons do you feel it compares with?

When we sold our business in August, my 2 Business Partners and I took down a Bottle of the Pappy 23 year Family Reserve.

I gotta tell ya, I thought it was pretty amazing.

Yeah, I've heard the same.

I dunno man. I feel like when you have that kind of expense tied to a brown bottle, your brain just builds itself up to expect something almost supernatural. I just found it to be...meh.

I had Blade & Bow's 22 about a year ago, and I'd put it above PVW, but that's just my personal taste. I think it's on-par with the likes Michter's 10...hell I've even got a bottle of Four Roses Limited Edition (12, 13, 15, 23 year blend) that I'd be willing to bet would score better to the average drinker in a blind taste.

I love the allure surrounding PVW...but, to quote my grandpa..."Sometimes the expensive shit is just worse."

Yeah that's awesome man. As you probably know, it's all about personal taste. Some of the guys (and girls) I sipped with today loved it. I just found it to be underwhelming.

I wasn’t actually expecting much. I was told by a friend of mine, who had tried it, that it was a bit underwhelming as well. I had low’ish expectations, but was really surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Part of that might be because I didn’t fork over the $3,000 to buy the bottle :D

HA! Totally true.

I was super appreciative to taste it, but I like what I like.

BTW, and I know this is a Bourbon thread, but the wife bought me a Balvenie 30 for an early birthday present a couple weeks ago and HOLY SHIT. I'm usually not a Balvenie guy but my God the 30 is good scotch.

By the way, I’m enjoying some Four Roses Small Batch tonight while watching the Astro’s climb back into this game. It’s delish

Looks like you just brought them all the way back!

Your wife is an amazing woman.

You're right, but trust me – For every bottle of expensive bourbon or scotch in our house, there are easily 2 or 3 handbags, purses or pairs of some designer stilettos hidden away in a closet somewhere.

And no, they aren't mine.

ROFL

Do you smoke weed?

Wow, that’s a helluva gift. I’m not a scotch guy, but The Balvenie 12 yr Single Barrel is one of the only ones I will drink. I really dig it.

By the way, **** the Dodgers! 5-3 Stros

I share your thoughts on this.

But I also love Blanton's, as well. To me, it's worth the $60. Like Strongside said earlier, everyone has different tastes, so bourbons don't always play equally across the board.

It's supply/allotment issues that are holding it up. Common in the nice run that bourbon has seen over the last few years.

For example, at least in the KC area, a fifth of Eagle Rare has gone from $24 to $40+ in some stores. Some stores go months without Buffalo Trace, Blantons, etc. The store in Lawrence I typically shop at gets allocated 5 bottles of Blatons per month and it's gone in a couple of days.

I've got a few distributor clients and liquor stores, as well. Distilleries are making more bourbon than ever, but it will be years before the barrels are ready for bottling. Most expect that in 5-10 years, there will be so much supply (plus demand dying due to a new liquor like rum or tequila being the "hot" item) that you'll see the price of bourbon take a pretty dramatic dip. I can't wait for this, personally.

Do any of your local stores offer raffle/drawings for their higher end allotments, take Pappy for example? A few of our local stores do and they get their allotments around mid-to-late November. Hoping to get lucky, since they all sell at cost on these bottles to keep customers happy.

Sipping on a glass of an Elijah Craig 21 year single barrel. Jesus Christ is this stuff tasty

Where'd you find that bad boy?!?!

At my buddy’s house. :)

I’m watching the game at his house. He got it as a gift from one of his Vendor’s

One of my fishing buds brought a bottle of that up to Canada on our Lake of the Woods trip last summer. Man that is good stuff.

On a side note, this guy has probably 300+ bottles of bourbon in his collection. Multiple bottles of a various Pappy. He's the luckiest SOB at liquor store raffles/drawings that I've ever seen.

Thats a good buddy I like Elijah Craig never had or seen the 21 y/o but really like the 12.

If you can find it Eagle Rare 17 is about as good as it gets in my opinion. Also loving the Old Forester Birthday Bourbon.

People want Pappy because of it's name and limited runs. Not for the quality of the spirit.

Most people would pick a $20-$40 bottle over pappy in a blind taste test.

And this thread really sucks now that I can't drink anymore. :deevee:

Agree with this. Personally, I prefer Makers over Pappy for taste. As I mentioned below Eagle Rare is outstanding. ER 10 is my daily drinker and has a great depth of flavor. I like my bourbon a touch sweet so it is perfect for me.

I would take makers over pappy and wheated bourbons are low on my preference list.

Does anyone else get drunk off 3 Oz's of Wild Turkey?

Sure. A 110lb college freshman girl.

Did you recently become Mormon?

You pounded any lately?

Makers over Pappy, yet an Eagle Rare drinker? odd...

Popped my bourbon cherry with Eagle and Pappy...I thought Pappy was smoother than Eagle but have since achieved a palate to appreciate the sweetness and smoothness of both. Makers is ok, but not in this class...frankly Buffalo Trace's 'lowest' bourbon, Buffalo Trace is much better than Makers, Elijah or the Knob.

Wild Turkey 101 is great stuff but not lately. I do love it to make stiff cocktails though.

3oz is a normal pour for a cocktail drink for me.

Are you getting drunk on 3oz of 101?

apent three days in hospital with pancreatitis. My drinking days are over. :-(

Pancreatitis can be caused by alcoholism but..........

Forever no drinking? Like not even one drink on a weekend or something?


/Do you have bottles you'd like to sell me? :D

Both Maker's and Pappy are wheated bourbons.

Honestly though, if you prefer Maker's over any of the Pappy bottlings, I'd say you simply don't like your bourbon with heavy oak character, which Pappy will definitely have.

Pappy isn't the end all-be all of bourbons by any means, but it is certainly more complex and flavorful than Maker's. Any Pappy bottling has also spent a lot longer in the barrel than any bottling of Maker's.

Supposed to avoid it because once you have an attack it is easily triggered again by drinking. Multiple attacks can lead to Type 3 Diabetes so I am not going to risk it.

May just have to move to Colorado.

It's not bourbon but the girls at my office got me a bottle of 18 year Glenmorangie. Very tasty.

I'm trying to build my scotch repertoire. Got s few nice bottles thus far but my macallan rare cask is probably my highest thus far

I play golf with a guy that's a higher up in oreilly auto parts and had a 30 year macallan at the club. Bastard wouldn't share

Thoughts on Wild Turkey?

Get a 30 oz. tumbler, fill with ice, fill 3/4 full of 101, top off with water, and serve.