BOTM, 10/07: VOB Bottled in Bond

This month we're looking a bit lower on the shelf, but not down in quality. The folks at Barton know good bourbon. The Very Old Barton line has for years been a consistently good whiskey, minus the flashy packaging, which probably accounts for its high QPR. Visitors to the distillery will tell you too that not a lot of money is spent on flashy/touristy displays that add to the price per bottle. In fact, the distillery is not open to the general public at all, except by appointment.

Rumor has it that VOB BIB is on the endangered species list, so we are taking this opportunity to explore this bourbon while it is still available. And though this particular bottling is not found far and wide, any bourbon lover paying attention during the festival should have picked up a bottle or two to take back home.

Let's raise our glasses in toast to Greg Davis, Ken Pierce and all of the other fine folks at Barton for giving us October's BOTM: VOB BIB

:893drillsergeant-thSound off:893drillsergeant-th

FWIW, Barton is set to open a new Visitor's Center in 2009.

When I visited Barton, Ken Pierce was nice enough to guide my tour. He is a very knowledgeable guy who is very down to earth. Most of the Barton family of workers have been at the distillery for multiple decades, includeing Sam Cecils son(bottling line). They don't put out many over aged products, 8 years is the oldest, which should keep their regular labels consistently flavored. No need to dumb down the age statement there. The barrel I was able to taste was 10 years old and ready to go into 1792.

I love the stuff. It is a darn shame that it isnt available where I live. I tend to prefer it over ice or in a manhattan. For the price, it is very hard to beat.

VOB BIB has been one of my go-to bourbons for close to 30 years. It's good and it's cheap, a combination that is hard to beat. As for the rumored demise of the BIB, it's possible they are considering removing the BIB designation but continuing a 100 proof expression, which is mostly what I care about. I won't worry about it until it happens.

For me, VOB BIB is what I grab when I just want to drink some bourbon, but I don't want to think about it. It's also what I grab for mixing. Funny, since I can't buy it here, but I'm in Kentucky often enough and always buy it in the 1.75 L, so I always have plenty on hand.

Another one I will not be able to obtain, but there's nothing unusual about that.

Tim

VOB Bib. Great stuff, especially for the price. I took two pints along on my last Costa Rican fishing trip. Nothing like VOB, huge Tarpon and the sound of Howler Monkeys at twilight.
Joe :usflag:

I was looking at the small bottle shelf today at Liquor Barn and saw 375s of Very Old Barton in 80, 90, and 100 proof. The 100 proof did not say "bottled in bond" anywhere on it, so there you go.

I've not seen it Dallas either.

I've (for no particular reason) generally passed over the Barton products. Based on this month's selection, I tracked down a bottle of VOB BIB. (Rather hard to find much of the BIB version around.)

I've having my first taste as lunch today as I type this (hey, it is Friday). Chuck is right, this is very good bourbon. Not outstanding, but quite a nice pour. Nicely balanced and rather mature-tasting for its six year age. It's great on its own as I having it now. I imagine it would also make a damn fine Manhattan.

And this is a phenomenal bargain at $11.99!! I'm going back to grab a few more bottles while I still can.

Thanks for the BOTM designation ---- it led me to discover an unknown (at least to me) treasure.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Martian

I've not seen it Dallas either.

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Martian,
Give a dusty bottle of Tom Moore a try. Chances are that it will taste very similar.