AH Hirsch 16yo question?

[nysquire]

I just recently got a bottle of AH Hirsch 16yo. Was this bottled at Buffalo Trcae? Same bottles as all of the Pappy's. The bottle says distilled in the spring of 1974. Is this for real?
Looking for any info that I can get....Also $74.99 for this, is that the going rate? Real nice bourbon...

Thanks JIM

[Virus_Of_Life]

Others on this board can offer much more specific info, but what I know if I can recall everything correctly is Yes it was distilled in '74 at now defunct Michters in Pa. which closed in the late '80s, IIRC, aged 16 years then dumped into stainless steel to stop the aging. At that point I believe it was bottled once (I do not know where) with the blue wax top. It apparently continued to sit in the stainless steel for a number of years and was bottled two more times gold wax then gold foil - this being the last of it.

There is varying opinions on whether or not all those years in SS affected the taste...

$75 seems to be about the going rate, I (before knowing any better) paid $87 for one a couple of years ago and enjoyed it quite immensely. I now have a blue wax that I paid a considerable amount less for that will remain unopened until I either find another one, or some very special occasion. All that said I believe last time I checked their site Binnys was selling it (gold foil of course) for $50, which is a very good price.

[Gillman]

You've got it all right. Some people think the relatively low price for the gold foil reflects its lower quality (as they perceive it) in relation to the gold wax and blue wax bottlings. Anyway, since you have a blue wax, you have what many feel is the best one. The gold wax certainly was very good, and even the gold foil is. Michter's specialised in a mash bill of 50% corn, 38% rye and the rest barley malt, being a proprietary form of straight whiskey. Some have wondered if what was bottled as Hirsch 16 is that whiskey (i.e., what was sold at 6 years old in decanters in the 70's when Michters was still operating), and perhaps the 1% difference was not felt or is not legally material from the point of view of calling it bourbon. Or maybe this '74 distillate really is a true bourbon since Michter's apparently made different kinds of whiskey for different markets (some bulk). Anyway, it's fine whiskey and a good idea (whatever mash bill it is) of what Michter's was all about albeit a more aged version. Just last night I vatted (Tim Sousley has done this too) some 70's Michters I got by trade from Randy with some gold wax 16, 50/50, in the glass. As Tim has noted earlier on the board, that is really good.

Gary

[OscarV]

I was just looking at SamsWines.com and I see the A H Hirsch 16 year old is now $99.99. It seems like I paid around $70.00 a year ago. Their price for Pappy 20 year old is "only" $91.99.
The word must be out that the well is about to run dry.
Has anyone heard when they think no more will be available?

A 20 yo Hirsch went for $520.00 plus $30.00 shipping on eBay a couple of weeks ago.
Will we see a $200.00 or more bottle of the 16yo in the future?

[cowdery]

The marketer is Preiss Imports. When I talked to them about two months ago, they had about 500 cases left and said they would periodically raise the price as that supply dwindled down to nothing. So, while it's possible retailers are raising it on their own, they may also be raising it as they buy more and have to spend more to do so.

[jburlowski]

It's been priced at $90-100 around Northern KY for some time.

[wskybnt]

Just bought a bottle today. It will be my first time to try it. I plan on opening it later.

By the way, I paid 89.99 plus tax........may or may not be worth it, but I have wanted to try it for some time...

[ThomasH]

I bought a bottle of Hirsch 16 in Feb. 05 from Binnys. It had originally been 49.99 but was on sale for 39.99. I drink this only occasionally as it is getting more expensive and rare all the time!

Thomas

[Vange]

I bought a case (12 bottles) about a year ago at the price of $49.99 a bottle, but the case discount brought it closer to $46 a bottle. It sits in my closet as one of my favorite bourbons.

On another note, I still see it on a lot of shelves.

[OscarV]

I just checked Binny's web site and the 16yo Hirsch is now $69.99.
Thats 30 bucks cheaper than Sam's, to bad Binny's doesn't ship to MI.