Woodford Reserve VIP

I saw this on a list of bourbons available at a larger liquor store chain in KY. Has anyone seen/tried this? What makes it VIP? Is this just a vanity label thing like the Maker's Mark?

Cheers,
Bushido

Bushido,
I read about this bourbon somewhere (I'm still trying to remember), but I think it is a vanity bottling. I'll keep looking for the reference, and post it ASAP.

Regards,

Jim Butler
StraightBourbon.com

Jim,
I got a reply from the original person who told me about this. From what I could glean from his response, I think it is a single-barrel bottling of Woodford Reserve, as opposed to a label thing like the MMVIP.

Cheers,
Bushido

Actually, it is just a personalized bottle of Woodford. It's been out for a few weeks. The up-charge is about $1,00 over normal retail. Each liquor store who sells it has the softwear to create a personalized (little) label that they stick on the bottle for the customer. Very similar to what Maker's offers. I've got a similar package of my 10-year Old Rip VW, but the label is hand-lettered in calligraphy, and applied to the bottle.
Julian

Where I've seen it (the Party Source in Bellview, KY) it's about $10.00 over the regular price, but it comes in nice little wooden case. Whether the nice little wooden case is worth an additional nine bucks is a personal judgement call, of course, but it does make a pretty impressive-looking gift.

-John Lipman-
http://w3.one.net/~jeffelle/whiskey

Thanks Julian. As I was curious only for my own consumption, I think I'll pass. I'd rather pay for what's inside the bottle, not the part that's destined for recycling. Here's the reply that I got that piqued my interest that it might be a single barrel: "The label indicated that it came from cask VIP-#, I'm not sure how the VIP casks were selected though...."

Cheers,
Bushido

Bushido,
I'm going to see Bill Creason tonight(head of Woodford Reserve). I'll ask him about the single barrel. I know they only bottle a few barrels at a time. I think the "Cask VIP#" is a little extra marketing only.
John Lipman was right about the price-about $10.00 more per bottle over the regular Woodford.
Julian

Hard to say what is in that bottle. None of the bourbon being produced at the beautifully renovated Labrot & Graham distillery will be ready until 2002 or so. So for right now, the stuff floating around in that Woodford Reserve bottle comes from somewhere else in the Brown-Forman extensive collection of warehouses. I tried to make out the name of the distillery on the barrel when I was on the tour their a few weeks ago, but not surprisingly, it had very effectively been blacked out. It was Old something...

I enjoy the Woodford Reserve, however, I really can't wait to try the product they are producing at Labrot & Graham. It's triple distilled like a Scotch in those beautiful copper pot stills, and comes off the third still at very near the high limit of proof legally allowed for bourbon. They cut it before barrelling, and because they have relatively small warehouses, they seem to be cycling the bourbon at a much greater rate than other producers out there right now.

Should be an unusual product when it finally comes out, anybody ever had a triple distilled bourbon?

Tim

Tim wrote: "I enjoy the Woodford Reserve, however, I really can't wait to try the product they are producing at Labrot & Graham. It's triple distilled like a Scotch in those beautiful copper pot stills, and comes off the third still at very near the high limit of proof legally allowed for bourbon."

It is an unfortunate personality defect that I just can't let some things slide. Tim, I think you mean it is triple distilled like Irish Whiskey (excepting Cooley). With very few exceptions, most Scotch is double distilled. Yes, the whiskey currently in the Woodord Reserve bottle is not from L&G. Jim Murray suggests that it is from the Early Times distllery using the Old Forester recipe and matured for at least part of the time at L&G's warehouse.

Cheers,
Bushido

You wrote: "Jim Murray suggests that it is from the Early Times distllery using the Old Forester recipe and matured for at least part of the time at L&G's warehouse."

That is my understanding. It has been intimated that B-F bought some bourbon from another distiller, which I find unlikely. All I can say for sure is that whatever it is, it is damn good.

--Chuck Cowdery