Bourbon folks - whats a a good regular bottle? - Page 4

Originally Posted by Flambeur

can you compare and contrast it to woodford?

Originally Posted by King Francis

Yes, the ones you mention as well as Pappy Van Winkle 15, 20, and 23-year-old; and the Antique Collection from Buffalo Trace. Each fall, the distillery issues a limited release of five special whiskies: Eagle Rare 17-year-old single-barrel bourbon, William Larue Weller 11-year-old wheated bourbon (125.3 proof), Sazerac 18-year-old rye, Thomas H. Handy Sazerac rye (just over six years old and bottled this year at 127.5 proof), and George T. Stagg 15-year-old bourbon (very complex and woody, bottled this year at a killer 141.8 proof). And while you should be able to find all five for around $65 a bottle, it's their scarcity more than the initial selling price that causes me to mention them. Three excellent cask-strength bourbons that you can't find for eleven months out of the year. Also, I've seen past expressions of these bottles go for $100 and more on eBay. Also there's Noah's Mill 15-year-old, which is hard to find although it sells for only $45-50. I've never sampled this one but supposedly their whiskey source is the same as that of the now almost impossible to find Black Maple Hill offerings. If we direct our gaze upward from there, we can discuss bottlings such as Willett Family Reserve 23 and 25-year-old and Parker's Heritage Collection 27-year-old, all of which fetch prices of $200 or more. The latter was recently voted 2008 American Whiskey of the Year by Malt Advocate. And that is not even getting into truly rare bourbons such as James E. Pepper, from the 1950's. Those hunters who have been fortunate enough to uncover a bottle or receive a sample from a friend have spoken highly of it. Though I can't say whether the actual drinking experience justifies searching it out -- unless you're a collector (which I'm not). The PHC 27-year-old: