Yet another opinion needed.....

[ErichPryde]

I agree that you can't get saz to the same proof level, but the argument isn't bunk. Josh's point is that if it tastes the same at 90 proof, there's nothing more special about THH than the proof and therefore it doesn't warrant the high price tag.

[ChainWhip]

I think the proof and concentration is a major part of what makes THH what it is. I don't know of anybody who brings THH down to babySaz proof except to experiment and declare that it is the same and therefore no better. If we want THH at babySaz proof then we should just buy the Sazerac rye. Yes, it's the same mashbill/juice but to me, it's just not the same whiskey flavor profile out of the bottle.

Meanwhile, we should accept THH for what it is and if it doesn't taste good enough for us at that price point, then no big deal :-)

[CoMobourbon]

Stating the stupid-but-obvious here; if you are interested mostly in the higher proof and only incidentally in the rye status, then your options and price range widen substantially. For a higher proof bourbon at a lower cost, I'll give my standard plug for Old Grand Dad 114.

[Young Blacksmith]

Right. There are more high proof whiskey options than just Handy at $80. Noah's Mill, OGD 114, a few scotch options, etc. Not sure what your local shops carry though. If you want to try the Handy, and feel like $80 is an OK price, then do it. But if you are just looking to try something higher than 100 proof, you have options. Heck, even OWA at 107 is decently high proof.

[OscarV]

I think the proof and concentration is a major part of what makes THH what it is. I don't know of anybody who brings THH down to babySaz proof except to experiment and declare that it is the same and therefore no better. If we want THH at babySaz proof then we should just buy the Sazerac rye. Yes, it's the same mashbill/juice but to me, it's just not the same whiskey flavor profile out of the bottle.

Meanwhile, we should accept THH for what it is and if it doesn't taste good enough for us at that price point, then no big deal :-)

Aw c'mon Dude, we are bourbon geeks, it's what we do.

[ChainWhip]

Aw c'mon Dude, we are bourbon geeks, it's what we do.

I am sufficiently chided :-)

Don't mean to step on anybody's toes... Apologies to Josh, ErichPryde, & anybody else if I did so.

[darylld911]

I agree that you can't get saz to the same proof level, but the argument isn't bunk. Josh's point is that if it tastes the same at 90 proof, there's nothing more special about THH than the proof and therefore it doesn't warrant the high price tag.

Agree that if when diluted to the same proof they are quite similar, it shows their comparable make-up. But also agree that this isn't a factor in evaluating the price - unless you were looking to make Baby Saz from THH and trying to figure out if that would be cheaper. I would absolutely not try Baby Saz in order to determine if I might like THH, as they two may have the same juice from the start, but a very different flavor profile out of the bottle. Unless you intend to dilute it to 90 proof . . . then compare away!

[Josh]

Glad to get a discussion going on the topic!

My bottle was a 2010 too, I believe.

For me, it is a factor. I don't usually drink barrel proof whiskeys at barrel proof. I add water to them, almost always. At the high proofs the BTAC barrel proofers, I can't taste anything but alcohol. Cut down to the 90s or 100s, I can taste a lot more. Plus the massive, painful heartburn that follows makes me miserable for hours. So maybe this discussion says as much about how people drink their whiskey as it does about Saz Jr & Handy.

[OscarV]

As far as cutting the proof down in whiskies sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
Some whiskies just don't take the water well.
I don't mean a particular brand but individual barrels.
Stagg for example, some years it waters down good and "opens" it up but the 2012 didn't seem to bloom with water.

[Brisko]

I think the proof and concentration is a major part of what makes THH what it is. I don't know of anybody who brings THH down to babySaz proof except to experiment and declare that it is the same and therefore no better. If we want THH at babySaz proof then we should just buy the Sazerac rye. Yes, it's the same mashbill/juice but to me, it's just not the same whiskey flavor profile out of the bottle.

Meanwhile, we should accept THH for what it is and if it doesn't taste good enough for us at that price point, then no big deal :-)

I certainly don't bring Handy down to 90 proof regularly. I actually prefer it with one or two ice cubes. But that's not my point.

If THH is nothing more than Baby Saz at barrel proof, it ought to run about $50 or so, based on the way Baby Saz is priced. By pricing it where it is the unspoken implication is that it's not just uncut Baby Saz, that they're being more discriminating with barrel selection and so on. To my taste, that's not really the case.

The irony is that up until about a year ago, I could get THH more reliably than Baby Saz....