Top Shelf Chick

[Rughi]

I tend to keep a spare bottle of the Willet pot still around. I refer to it as the "I dream of Jeannie" bottle.

Raymond Loewy did a series of Old Forester bottles in an "I dream of Jeannie" vein you might like.

[StraightBoston]

And of course, the original I Dream Of Jeannie bottle was a Jim Beam decanter...

[BFerguson]

To me, BH is a top shelfer ... that is in comparison to a few others I have had the pleasure (NOT!) of tasting. Pictures speak a thousand words ...

Hey! The chicken isn't that bad. Was one of my college favorites back not so long ago. Its good for what it is.

Plus, the bottle art is just nice to look at. Kind of like the old WT label compared to the new one. The new bird just isn't the same.

And of course, welcome to the board.

B

[Kyjd75]

Pappy is Pappy, you won't find many here that will complain about the product. PH is a good one as well, and I love the Blanton's that you show in picutre. WT Kentucky Spirit is around the same price point, and although the older releases are better, I like the newer as well. Even though I don't think they qualify as top shelf, I find the Beam Small Batch collection to be very under-appreciated as a group, probably because it comes from Beam. I'll take the Small Batch over Stagg, particularly at a third of the price.

Agreed. Although a relative newcomer to appreciating bourbon, I have made the most of the past 2 years trying to learn. Although I have tried virtually all of the "high end" bourbons, and have PVW and ORVW in quantity at my home, as well as RHF, Blantons, EWSB, etc., I happen to like the Beam small batch series very much. Knob Creek and Bakers are two of my favorites. Bookers is also a favorite, but it tends to knock me on my rear a little too much at times.

There is a lot of prejudice against Beam on these boards, but I don't see why. Most of their products are top notch and compete very well against other brands (at least it seems that way to me).

[Bmac]

I have learned many lessons about assuming a whiskey or liquor is goingnto be awesome based soley on price. I have a 90 dollar Rum that is 30 years old that pales in comparison to a 30 dollar 23 year Rum.

With bourbon there similar issues. Rebel Reserve is an agressively priced bourbon that isnt worth anywhere near it's price point. Then there is Charbay with it's 399 dollar bourbon that tastes like dirt and grass, like anscotch that had gone wrong. It's value is based soley on the fact that there are only 400 or so bottlesin existence.


With that said...i do love me some George T Stagg and have been searching hi and low for a bottle of that PHC wheated mashbill. I want to see how it stacks up with William Larue Weller!

Ah man...allthis typing has made me thirsty......

[birdman1099]

let me tell you about a rule I live by...

"Not all expensive Bourbon are good, (most are)..... Not all cheap Bourbons are bad, (most are)..."

To me, price is a "fair" benchmark to use in determining the quality of Bourbon...

[Hershmeister]

If you like BH you should try EH Taylor tornado

[Bmac]

let me tell you about a rule I live by...

"Not all expensive Bourbon are good, (most are)..... Not all cheap Bourbons are bad, (most are)..."

To me, price is a "fair" benchmark to use in determining the quality of Bourbon...

I like that. It's simple and too the point!

[cowdery]

I've always gotten satisfaction from finding values. Some people get satisfaction by paying top dollar. That's good for the economy, so no complaints. Though it might be more interesting if your faves had something in common other than their high price.

And the thing is, more expensive whiskey isn't necessarily better whiskey, it's just more expensive.

[Jono]

You have a very nice collection, the only one that disappoints me is BH but then I have not tried it recently so it may deserve another open bottle pour to see how it has changed since the last time. A spirits snob is one who insists that price, brand, type etc. "always" equals quality, whereas the truth is that price "can" indicate exclusivity, rarity or branding, but not always quality and lower price does not always equate to poor quality. Of course, price is as subjective as taste. Anyway, drink what you enjoy!