Bourbon Miniatures Collector from Poland

Hello Everybody,
My name is Lukasz and I am from Cracow, Poland. I am a miniature bottle collector. My webside is www.czajkus.friko.pl. I have about 1150 miniature bottles. I like very much bourbon and canadian whisky miniature bottles
http://www.czajkus.friko.pl/Bourbon%20Nowe/Bourbon.htm
I try ad a description to every photo:)

I am collecting bourbon miniatures only in glass bottles and I have almost 100 of this bottles. I live far far away from Kentucky and Tennessee and I have problems with finding new bottles but I try

I still don't have same miniature bottles like:
- Bourbon Heritage Collection Miniature Set
- Old Portrero
- Old St. Nick
- Old Bardstawn
- Wild Turkey Rye - new bottle
- Gibson's Finest 18 y.o.
- Seagram's VO

I would like to find in this forum other miniature collectors or people who can help me looking for miniature bottle (I have paypal and uncle in New York - my lovely mail box)

oh sorry for my english :(

my email is czajkus@interia.pl

Best Regards
Lukasz

Welcome to the board. There aren't a lot of miniature collectors here but there are a lot of very nice folks with access to bourbon minis who I'm sure will be able to help you out. Looks like you have a tremendous collection and a great website.

Best.

-Mike

Welcome Lukasz, ebay is your best bet.

Look forward to your future posts

Some time ago on this board we talked about Starka, which is not available in North America.

Apparently it is distilled at a low proof to leave in the grain taste, from rye, and aged for various periods in ex-sherry barrels, some for 20 years or more.

Some have speculated here that it might taste like some of the older American straight ryes. If you have any experience with Starka and American rye, I'd be interested in any observations you have. (If you don't that's fine and don't go to any trouble, I was just wondering). Putting it a different way, I'm wondering if Starka is more like American whiskey than vodka.

Gary

Hi
First of all thanks for warm welcame,

Yes, I am buying minis on ebay, but I's harder and harder find some interesting me bottels in normal price. In last week BHC minis set was sold for about 60$ (at USA shop it cost 10$ but it's difficult to find)

I haven't drank Starka yet, but I am going to buy one and taste it. Starka don't taste like vodka (but we have rye vodka calls "Extra Żytnia Vodka"). In Poland we don't have rye whiskey from USA, so I can't compare. In my opinion Starka taste like rye american whiskey, the production proces is the same. Nowadays Starka is produced only in Polmos Szczecin, but a few year's ago Polmos Crakow was producing Starka Krakowska in special high speed maturing process (with oak sawdasts ang high teperature :))
http://www.polmos.szczecin.pl/index_en.html - in english, webside about Starka.
50 y.o. Starka cost about 2500$ :) but normal 10 y.o. cost 10$

Regards
Lukasz

Thanks very much for your comments on Starka. Some people think that when rye whiskey was first distilled in America (1700's), it might have been because of immigrants from Central Europe who were familiar with distilling rye. So maybe there is a link still between American rye and a European, low-distillation proof rye spirit like Starka. Thanks again.

Gary

No Problem, I have just read long article about Starka, here are same facts:
- Starka is produced in Poland since 1600 year, it was noble beverage, when children was born father placed barrel with fresh rye spirit in sand ground and when child get married they drink Starka at wedding,
- in english Starka means old vodka, "old" means "stary" in polish language,
- Starka has a 100 Proof alcohol in bottle, it's made from low-distilled proof alcohol? (from "nierektyfikowany spirytus" - means not very very strong alcohol, not 95% rather 70% alcohol),
- Starka is matured in oak barrels - I don't know mayby after white wine mayby new, but I am sure not from sherry etc, in underground, brick cellar (even 50 meter below ground level, conditions are constant), for minimum 10 years and after maturing proces Starka is blended,
- Starka from barrel it's calls "surówka" means "raw", "harsh",
- they write that Starka is similar to whisky (they don't write similar to scoth whisky),

Lukasz

Interesting. It sounds like 70% alcohol means it comes out of the still at that strength. This is similar to American straight rye (and bourbon), which legally must be distilled at under 80% alcohol and in practice is distilled at around 70% just like for Starka. (The reference to 95% is a reference to the distillation level of neutral spirits, vodka if you will, which mostly has no taste due to the very high degree of alcohol purity). American rye is aged by law in new charred oak barrels. I would think the Starka is aged in barrels that have been used before for wine of some kind as you say but possibly some new barrels are used, maybe even charred ones. The aging underground is interesting, this is not done in America as far as I know. While it appears there are differences in both products, it sounds like there may well be some taste similarities and the two drinks are sort of cousins you might say. Thanks again for the information you have given.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lukasz

when children was born father placed barrel with fresh rye spirit in sand ground and when child get married they drink Starka at wedding,

---

Cool custom. In my case that would have been some really old Starka!

Hello,
Can somebody help me with buying this minibottles? I know that this bottle is only in Mount Vernon Museum :)
http://img61.imageshack.us/my.php?im...etsmallut9.jpg

Lukasz