Bourbon.

[Krish the Fish]

Thanks! Me too. It was a little more than I wanted to spend, and captain hindsight in me is kicking me for not buying them when they were $900-1100 instead of the price I ended paying. But I got one in the end. Curiously the guy that responded to my original ISO with an outrageous price ended up listing it on his own at a price halfway between my price and his response so i went ahead and BIN'd it before anyone else could take it.

I also thought it was funny that no one noticed what I had on top of the bottle out of focus when I posted it to the group

 

[WatchMeSpend]

Hello darkness my old friend...

Rare as hen's teeth around my parts my friend.^^

Just bought some Bakers. It was pretty good. So far my pinnacle is Booker's. It is rather transcendent. Bakers costs the same as Blanton's but it doesn't seem to offer the complexity, so it will not join the list.

 

[Newcomer]

Wait how much are those going for now?

 

[JohnGalt]



Wait how much are those going for now?

He mentioned he's been having trouble sitting down.

 

[Krish the Fish]



Wait how much are those going for now?

They're not cheap. Let's just say they make Pappy Van Winkle look like a verifiable bargain

 

[Newcomer]

Jeez I still pick them up yearly for about a hundred, hundred and fifty around these parts. We are not quite as cultured though.

 

[Stillmaticbeat]

HOW is old grand dad ?

 

[Krish the Fish]



Jeez I still pick them up yearly for about a hundred, hundred and fifty around these parts. We are not quite as cultured though.

Yeah I can get WLW each year down near school as long as I wait at the store the morning of. But this one is the 2000 release of Weller 19, which is insanely uncommon to find, and supposedly Stitzel Weller distillate. Which is the good stuff. Some people pooh-pooh the 90 proof and would prefer the 2006 WLW (also rumored to be SW distillate) because it's barrel proof, but Weller 19 is the best whiskey I've ever had. So when a bottle of the 2000, which I've been looking for for a while, popped up, I had to grab it.

 

[venividivicibj]

Don't have much experience with bourbon. Have been reading up on 'quality' cheaper bourbons

So far looking at -
Elijah Craig Small Batch
Four Roses Single Barrel
Eagle Rare 10 Year
Jefferson's Reserve Very Old

Does anyone have any strong feelings one way or the other about which I should start my journey with? (or if there is one they prefer that I haven't listed)

 

[WatchMeSpend]

I have them all.

Elijah Craig Small batch sits in the barrel for a while. It has a strong complex woody/spicy flavour and has a bite with its alcohol content. I would not serve that to a beginner. For it's complexity and age, it is a good value.

Four Roses Single Barrel is less complex than the Elijah but has lush dark cherry and raspberry notes, whereas a lot of the bourbons seem to end up having toasted oak, burnt toffee, caramel etc notes. It is thicker than the average bourbon. Not sure I would give it as a first for a beginner, but It would be the next step.

Eagle Rare 10 year is even less complex. Why? Because apparently they make it different now than they did when it was getting all the praise. I won't be buying another bottle of this because I can get better for less.

Jefferson's Reserve Very Old. Probably the biggest disappointment in the stable. Lacks any intensity and is just a good sipper. For what I paid for it, I could get two Four Roses Single Barrel.

My first time out, I would grab a Four Roses Yellow Label ( wonderful caramel taste, good sipper). My next step up in price and intensity, would get me a Bulleit Frontier Bourbon (hints of pecan and a more intense sipper). Next I would get 1792. Complex and still a good sipper at slightly more than the Bulleit. Then the next level up I would take a Blanton's for it's even further complexity but even with an ABV as high as it is, it still can be sipped. My final stop is Bookers. I have Bakers which is watered down Bookers. I'll water it down myself (no I won't!).

The bottles I listed are around $10 to advance to each next level.

 

[Krish the Fish]

If you can get it, pick up a bottle of Weller 107 (with the red label). Should be under $30 for one of the best regularly available bourbons on the market. Wheated, so it'll have some sweet notes to it, but nothing like the sugar-fest that is Maker's Mark. Also 107 proof so has a little kick, if you aren't used to higher proof stuff water it down a bit so you're tasting more than just the burn.

I generally drink Blanton's whenever I'm at a bar that doesn't have anything rarer that I would prefer. It's a good bourbon, a little more expensive than it should be but readily available and isn't going to let you down. Bulleit is pretty good too.

I find the older Elijah Craig releases (21, 23, etc) to be lackluster. Maybe I just haven't found one I like yet, but for the price I'll pass either way.

 

[venividivicibj]

Damn, neither the KL nor the total wine or Hi Time have the Weller 107.

Costco has the Bulleit though..

 

[WatchMeSpend]

Don't remind me of Bulleit at Costco in the USA. It's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay cheaper than it is in Canada. I think they have Woodford Reserve in some of the Costcos as well.

 

[gnatty8]

The Yellowstone that is readily available (at least here) at $49.99 is one of the best bourbons I have tasted in a very long while. I've tired somewhat of the bourbon game, as the flippers, speculators, and bourgeoisie have sucked all the fun out of drinking for me. I still have a pretty respectable bunker what I will drink, not sell, over the coming years, but no grail purchases for me at inflated prices since the value to me of a fifth bottle of Pappy Van Winkle 20 yo is about 10% its current going price. Some others I have found to be great drinkers and very easy to find are:

- Bakers (to me, the Glenlivet of the bourbon world in that it is inoffensive yet easily enjoyable)
- Belle Meade (they also make some barrel finished bourbons that are very good)
- Slaughterhouse Whiskey. Interesting flavor.
- Widow Jane. I was skeptical at first, but have since picked up another bottle to replace the one that emptied pretty quickly after opening
- George Dickel Single Barrel. Especially if your local place does a good job at picking barrels. Not a bourbon in the legal sense of the word, but who gives a ****. It's close enough and better than Jack as far as TN Whiskey goes. Sorry George, Whisky

Honorable Mentions

- Bookers. Excellent whiskey, ****** price. At current prices, makes for a special occasion whiskey. I might buy 1 or 2 bottles a year
- Forty Creek Confederation Oak. Not a bourbon, but a great summertime whiskey. I never drink this one any way but neat

 

[Gibonius]

I've tired somewhat of the bourbon game, as the flippers, speculators, and bourgeoisie have sucked all the fun out of drinking for me.

There's really something to that. Anything "limited" gets bought out pretty much immediately these days, and I don't have the energy to chase this stuff. I can't even get stuff like the Four Roses Limited Editions anymore. Elmer T Lee of all things is on a lottery around here.


Baker's is solid. One of my mainstays, and they've barely raised their price with the boom. I like EH Taylor and Rowan's Creek for other stuff that's easy to find.