NorCal dusties

[ggilbertva]

I'm curious about that Henry McKenna. I found a couple bottles of this in DC about a month ago. I left it on the shelf since I didn't have any info on it. If you open it, post some notes. Thanks.

Originally Posted by lohssanami

Here's a couple I found today.

1- The first pic is a Henry McKenna 750ml with Tax Stamp and a Glenmore 1 Quart with Tax Stamp.

2- Old Taylor 500ml (16.9 Oz.) with Tax Stamp.

3- Old Hickory 10 years - 1 pint with D90 12 65 on the bottom, but the tax stamp is gone. It was only $4 so I got it anyways.

[fishnbowljoe]

Tim, I second Greg's comments. If you open the McKenna, please post some tasting notes. I found some current bottles in Milwaukee, and some older ones at the store where I found my dusties. Curious thing was that the store in Milwaukee had it for $9.99, the other had it for $25.99. I almost picked one up in Milwaukee. Joe

[lohssanami]

I found some tasting notes from Bourbon Enthusiast that I think are for this bottle, but I'm not 100% sure. I hope it's ok to put the link here.

http://www.bourbonenthusiast.com/for...isplaybottling

I had planned on opening it, but I have a friend that has expressed interest. I'm hoping to find another so I don't have to make a tough decision.

$9.99 seems like a good price as mine was $19.99 plus tax.

[jinenjo]

Just to keep this meager thread kicking, I'll post a recent find (as in the last year, practically). I've had some other gems come my way, but that's for another post. This one was in a store within walking distance from where I lived in Oakland two years ago. How I never knew this store even existed simply points toward the mysterious charms of the game.

It was after seeing a movie, when I walked in and spotted several oldies: Cabin Still pints, Hill and Hill & Sunny Brooks fifths with metal caps, and then the rye. [How I took a picture of it without first tasting it is a surprise.]
The guy wouldn't sell it to me that night. The price tag had fallen off long, long ago.

I said, "I'll give you twenty bucks for it."
"Nah. That's too much!"
"Okay. Fifteen, then."
"You better come back tomorrow when the boss is here."

We went back and forth for another few minutes and I had to let it go for the night. Damn straight I returned the next morning when he said the owner would be there. When I walk in though, he tells me I just missed her.
We go around and around again--he won't sell it without a price tag.

Finally, he relents. "Alright," he says to me as he holds the bottle, thinking. Then he mumbles a price, "fourteen...uh, eighty-nine."

Needless to say I tried my hardest to get some others off him, with no further luck.

I'm not one for tasting notes, but at 80 proof it's some really good wickie. By comparison, the current Beam rye doesn't hold a candle to it. I've actually gotten a few new ones since and while I like it, the flavors are sharper and younger tasting. The depth and beauty of this rye is enchanting. Perhaps that guy was right. You can never put a price on it.

--------------------

I've been thinking more and more about oxidation, and changes in the bottle as it sits for decades (this Beam had '80 on the bottom). I suppose I'll have to get myself a new rye and hide it in the wall or in the back of my closet--someplace where I'll forget that I ever put it there. Twenty years on from now I'll see if opening it up will add a piece to the puzzle.

[Rughi]

Originally Posted by jinenjo

...This one was in a store within walking distance from where I lived in Oakland two years ago.

I got so sick of haggling with that old guy every time I stopped in there on my way to the movies only to have him get cold feet that I just gave up on it. Did you finally go in when the daughter was there? The only time I ever actually succeeded in buying something there, she had to assure him that it was okay to sell old bottles. Criminitely!

Roger

[jinenjo]

Never did see his daughter. But please, Roger, don't give me hope. I've put it past me and have moved on.

[tmckenzie]

Man, that rye should be something else. I have had it from that era, it is totally different from today's stuff. The current one does not even taste like rye to me.

[jinenjo]

Check this out. A genuine California straight bourbon. This one is nine years old, bottled in 1969. It seemed like a crap-shoot as to whether or not it would be any good. Roger initially thought it may have been from a brandy maker doing a one-off sort of thing, but upon further research it was from a true distiller. So true that they were sued for attempting to push out other distillers from infringing on their private label business--something to that effect.

At any rate, I brought it to our study group a few weeks back to give this spirit a try. For me it was quite surprisingly the highlight of the evening--and that was against Pappy, Four Roses, and who knows what else. Oh yeah, ORVW 114 23 (ok, this one was pretty damn good). Many times a modest whiskey, such as this is appeals to my preferences. It was creamy and butter, with some gentle sweet notes and a real even dose of vanilla throughout--from what I can recall. I can try and post better tasting notes when I return to it another day although it's not my strong suit.

Just as with any thing, my experience was subjective, but nonetheless it was a pleasure to find this rarity here in California, where it was made four decades ago.

(I had a tricky time trying to get the photos uploaded from my GF's Mac. For some reason it only accepted pdf. If any mod cares to fix this, please be my guest so the images show up without having to download. Thanks!)

[sku]

Interesting find jinenjo. Was it distilled in California or just Kentucky Bourbon bottled by a California company?

[jinenjo]

It's California made, aged, and bottled. DSP - Calif - 4, San Francisco. Almost hard to believe, but it's true. From what I gathered American Distilling Co. also owned some distilleries in Illinois.