What bourbon did you purchase today? - Winter 2012/2013

[petrel800]

Picked up a Johnny Drum Private Stock read some good things and wanted to give it a try.

[jeffrey r]

Picked up a Johnny Drum Private Stock read some good things and wanted to give it a try.

As did I, along with an Old Ezra 7/101, and a Willett 4/110 rye. Took a little visit to Astor after work yesterday. Looking forward to trying the Johnny Drum PS.

[z327]

Did you get the $130 one or the $200 one?

Let me know where to get them for $130 and I will. Retail on the 25 was $190. With the release being 3,000 bottles I expect they would be $200+ today. A steal compared to Pappy 23 pricing and most any 25 year old Scotch. I have not tried the 25 or 21 yet. Really enjoying the 23 I have open.

[Yeti]

Let me know where to get them for $130 and I will. Retail on the 25 was $190. With the release being 3,000 bottles I expect they would be $200+ today. A steal compared to Pappy 23 pricing and most any 25 year old Scotch. I have not tried the 25 or 21 yet. Really enjoying the 23 I have open.

The Ritt25 I went back for was $180. Not exactly "affordable" but as a scotch buyer I found it to be a pretty easy pill to swallow. I went back and forth on the HW21 all day, but thought the Ritt25 was a better and more interesting option, with the higher proof and extra age.

[CaptainQ]

I went with the higher proof and extra age.

Not always ​the best bet. Taste is what matters.

[squire]

Yeti I believe you chose the better and more interesting bottle.

[Wryguy]

Yeti I believe you chose the better and more interesting bottle.

I agree with both of you, and the idea of an old rye right now. Rittenhouse 25 it is.

Squire, I'm a bit surprised that you chose the Rittenhouse as that HW21 is Barton-produced rye.

[Yeti]

Not always ​the best bet. Taste is what matters.

Certainly, I also considered the extremely favorable Whiskey Advocate review of Ritt25 (aware that it will have single barrel differences), my affection for the current Ritt BIB product, and the "straight" designation, or rather, the lack thereof with the High West. I felt like, while both were rare expressions, the full quarter century in new oak appealed to me more than the used cooperage the Barton distillate was aged in.

With that said, HW21 will probably be the #1 thing on my shopping list when I head back to TPS later this year.

[squire]

Wryguy the way I see it an outfit like High West is limited in the amount of 21 year old whisky they can source/afford and that's the end of the run. They also have to bottle it all and they don't get to choose the honey barrels from their supplier.

Heaven Hill has many, many, many barrels aging (over 50 million gallons) and they have the luxury of picking and choosing only the best barrels for their high end bottlings. This easily makes Rittenhouse 25 the better choice.

[Wryguy]

Wryguy the way I see it an outfit like High West is limited in the amount of 21 year old whisky they can source/afford and that's the end of the run. They also have to bottle it all and they don't get to choose the honey barrels from their supplier.

Heaven Hill has many, many, many barrels aging (over 50 million gallons) and they have the luxury of picking and choosing only the best barrels for their high end bottlings. This easily makes Rittenhouse 25 the better choice.

Sounds good to me, I prefer the Rittenhouse 25 anyway, though the HW21 is plenty interesting and they're both pretty scarce at this point. I thought I read somewhere that the older Rittenhouse ryes were produced under contract by Heaven Hill for a private party who later didn't pick up the barrels. I don't know if barrels from that order were just dumped into the vatting of the standard BiB because they weren't fit for bottling under the high end offerings. It was a one-off though, right? My understanding is that a new batch of Rittenhouse this old is at least a decade away from fruition. Please tell me I'm wrong and I'll stop obsessively bunkering the stuff.

I purchased a VOB 90 proof today, no BiB around here. An attempt to keep this thread on topic.