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For the uneducated, what's a corn bowl? Sounds like a corn hole tournament? I'm down to my last bottle of ETL and can't bring myself to open it...yet. We've been going for the low fill bottles to clear some room. Went for this 22 EC18 last night. I really love the sweet oakiness of this stuff.

FRYL "freezer bottle" after making won ton for the family with the grandids. Life is great, eh?

ECBP #12 was great as always. Next I had a pour of C922, also excellent but not on the level as batch #12. I was feeling the HH vibes so now I am having a pour of Parker's Heritage #11, the 11 year single barrel release. I'll give the nose and finish to the PHC11 and the palate goes to ECBP 12. Nose: PHC11, ECBP 12, C922 Palate: ECBP 12, PHC11, C922 Finish: PHC11, ECBP 12, C922 Anyway you slice it, three excellent bottles. Glad to have any of these.

I saw in the “What Bottle Did You Open?” thread that @0895 opened a bottle of ETL. So, I shall join @0895 with a pour of ETL. Long but good day today. I helped out at our annual American Legion corn bowl today.

Yes! I had a bottle, bought it back in UT. Still have the empty bottle.

I reckon there's only been one actual hazmat ECBP and that's batch number 6. I've never tasted it.

Yes, good shit! HazMat, for sure. Very very close to Batch 10, definitely HazMat.

I'm having a pour of ECBP batch 12 and it's fantastic as always. Such richness in flavor that you just don't get in many bourbons. And it drinks below its 136 proof point. No pic, because I'm unable to attach files now for some reason.

I can't see it, but I trust you

This 2015 has only been sitting in my basement for about ten years. Figured it was long enough. It’s been awhile since I’ve had Elmer, and I usually don’t like to gratify these tater bottles…. but damn this is tasting really good tonight! No regrets on my bunker dive treasure.

Very good perspective, JVD. I also get suspicious in those same instances when some whiskey gets finished in some cask, and particularly when the finishing becomes the star.

Got a chance to buy a bottle of Weller Millennium at MSRP ($7500) today - too bad I already used up my monthly allowance for spirits on a bottle of 31yr Glendronach yesterday ($1500.00) Don't know if I want to spend that much "cheddar" on a partially wheat whiskey blend.

I'm only talking about cask finishing, for like a few months or a year, or whatever. Macallan was mentioned, but their core sherry oak lineup isn't cask finished, it's aged all 12 or 18 years in the sherry casks. Where I get suspicious is when there's a limited edition or one off bottling that's finished for a few months. That's the kind of technique I suspect is used to market and profit off of a sub-standard aged distillate that wasn't good enough (or missed the profile) to be bottled as it was originally intended, by trying to mask the imperfections. Peated scotch is its own animal. Peat is part of the fundamental distillation process, not something that's added years later like a cask finishing. On this topic, Diagio sometimes releases an unheated Caol Ila with its annual LEs and I've always been a big fan of these, thus showing at least anecdotally, that its underlying distillate is just fine whether peated or not

Hotel pour...ignore the flask...that's WTRB in the plastic cup

Tried 2 different ER10 store picks against ER12 last night. One of the ER10 was noticeably better than the other. The ER12 was noticeably better than that. Given that I wouldn't go much over msrp for it. The guy who bought it gave about 125 for it.

That brand was created for all the wrong reasons during the woke period. Will be interesting to follow this story.

Oopsie

I found a bottle of the Tokaji finish Rye from Penelope and I am not disappointed. Nice balanced rye spice but rich and funky fruit flavors from the Tokaji cask. A little on the sweeter side, but with the spice from the rye, it is nice and not too much. I enjoyed this rye. Rating 8.5/10

Interesting. I feel that way, not about finishes usually, but about peat. I feel some overly peated scotch's are covering up inferior whiskey. Finishes can hide some imperfections, and I am sure it happens sometimes with whiskey that is less than ideal, but in general, I do not think that is the case. Many good whiskey has finishes that enhance or at least differentiate the whiskey. I guess it depends. I would argue that Glendronach and Macallan are good scotch's that are enhanced by a sherry finish. I can think of many others, including some peated expressions (Springbank comes to mind). I find the cask finishes help balance the scotch and make it more enjoyable for me. There is no absolute and the Oban CS could have been a bad batch or a bad pairing in terms of finish and scotch. Maybe it wasn't a good or the right sherry for that scotch. I do agree that if it's not good to begin with, throwing a cask finish at it won't help. Part of the fun of it, these discussions and comparisons, and trying different things. Thank you or the feedback.

Love Campbeltown Scotch. Springbank, Longrow, and Hazelburn are all amazing. The latter being unpeated and the first two having the right amount and the Peat I like. Less medicinal than the Islay Scotch's in my opinion. More smokey and rich. They also have used some cool finishes in the past. Please let us know what you think of it.

I've tired of my emptying of low-fill bottles (actually I only have a couple that are much below half now). It became something of a duty, and seemed to limit my choices unnecessarily. Not really, I guess; but, I digress. I also have decided to take a break from draining the 'sample bottles' of "spectacular" pours from years gone by, though I still probably have 2-or-3-dozen remaining; maybe more, If I cared to search 'em out. Anyway, yesterday, I pulled down my last (a small tear fell just then) family sized jug of Old Forester Signature. I really liked this brand, and have been nearly universally disappointed by the several efforts by BF to replace it over the last few (what? 9) years. I'll have none left whenever I drain the last of this big bottle. I never "bunkered" much of it, and should have. I did grab a few 'extra' bottles at the end, before the brand disappeared from shelves; and I had snagged a few here and there whenever I was in a state that offered discount pricing (The Mitten State forbids that). It was always a very regular pour for me, and not building up a 'stock' was short-sighted, I now see. It was never a high-cost pour to begin with! I was a fool! There, I said it.

Just for my own personal take on AE, I never quite warmed up to it. It was never a sought-after pour for me, though whenever I did pour it, I wasn't disappointed. Their 'finish' was always among the better approaches to that category IMO. ...Not overwhelming; but, identifiable and pleasant, though finished Bourbons aren't really my thing. Also my "Scottish" genes (rather few, I grant) always made it hard for me to justify a purchase when other brands stood on nearby shelves at lower asking prices, and frequently offered the likelihood of greater (or at least as great) satisfaction. I do occasionally pour it for it's easy drinkability, and reliably consistent profile. Not sure I'll replace the open bottle I have; but, I may.

That’s juicy. Sounds like the bank moved to receivership instead of letting the distillery declare bankruptcy or reorganize. I guess that’s what that post from Fawn meant? You would think they’ve been negotiating throughout the year. If those allegations are true that’s going to be very hard to overcome. We’ve all talked about how the whiskey economics are very different today versus 2017 when they launched their business. Those barrels valued at x but sold at lower values multiplied by millions. I hope they got some good use out of the MV home.

https://mcobserver.news/news/nearest-green-distillery-faces-100m-lawsuit/?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwL7AldleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHiWWsAnhOv2Qk4ytvxNsuh7XkFbGiMiNdGHAcF2XXoJtiyXjNN5udcrm6-gQ_aem_DSLJ_nLsxJ_mgL95PyUqzA

To be a bourbon, a whiskey can spend its pre-bottling life only in new charred oak barrels. This is much more restrictive than essentially all other forms of non-American whiskey, which are often aged in various used barrels from other spirits and wines (and I guess anything else people can think of). Accordingly, finished bourbons are a more recent fad (if not invention) as distillers looked for ways to innovate during the American whiskey boom of the last two decades or so. The first major brand to dip its toe into finished bourbon was Jim Beam, which released its first Distiller’s Masterpiece expression in 1999 for the, at the time, absolutely outrageous price of $250. It was 18-years old and consisted of bourbon finished in barrels that had previously held cognac (French brandy). The following year they released a second version of 20-year old; bourbon finished in barrels that formerly held port (Portuguese fortified wine) this time. It is worth noting that because these are technically no longer bourbons, the age statement may be the combined time in the new charred oak barrel and the finishing barrel. I’m not completely sure if the age statements for these are the original barrel time or combined time. These releases languished on shelves, mostly due to the extremely high price for the time, but finished bourbons were also unfamiliar to the American consumer. Later NAS versions of Distiller’s Masterpiece finished in PX sherry barrels followed in 2013 and 2014. Now turning to Angel’s Envy, Lincoln Henderson (Bourbon Hall of Fame Class of 2001) retired in 2004 as master distiller at Old Forester and Woodford Reserve. He is credited with the development of Woodford Reserve and Gentleman Jack and was already an industry giant. But I guess the allure of the whiskey business was too strong to stay retired, so in 2010 he founded Angel’s Envy with his son Wes Henderson (Bourbon Hall of Fame Class of 2019). Lincoln passed away in 2013 and, while Angel’s Envy was acquired by Bacardi in 2015, Wes stayed until his retirement from Angel’s Envy in 2022. Wes’ four sons continued their involvement with Angel’s Envy as a third generation takes hold. Wes himself is now involved with a new bourbon and rye brand named True Story (see: truestorywhiskey.com). The Angel’s Envy distillery in downtown Louisville opened in 2016 and I would assume most of the distillate in Angel’s Envy bourbon comes from this facility, but the last I saw of the bottle, it does not identify any particular source for its Kentucky straight bourbon that then goes into port barrels. This suggests that they are still combining bourbon from other Kentucky distilleries with their own. Early reports also indicated that they combined unfinished bourbon with port finished bourbon to create the final product, further diluting the port influence. But again, it is unclear if that practice continues today. The Basics Distillery: one or more unidentified Kentucky distilleries Brand Owner: Bacardi Mash Bill: 72% corn / 18% rye / 10% malted barley (see: angelsenvy.com/us/en/guide/whiskey-content/the-story-behind-bourbons-traditional-mash-bill/) [the same mash bill used at Old Forester and Woodford Reserve, where Lincoln previously worked] Proof: 86.6 Age: NAS MSRP: $50 Expression introduced: 2010 Last time as BotM: October, 2011 Distillery Tasting Notes Aroma/Nose: Subtle vanilla, raisins, maple syrup and toasted nuts Taste/Palate: Vanilla, ripe fruit, maple syrup, toast and bitter chocolate Finish: Clean and lingering sweetness with a hint of Madeira that slowly fades My Thoughts Even I have to admit that the first section of this post was a bit long, so I’ll keep my additional thoughts short. Angel’s Envy is a fairly traditional and mild bourbon with an extra kick of sweetness in the finish from the port barrels. It is an easy drinker and seems to do well with newer whiskey drinkers, but I also know of experienced whiskey enthusiasts who turn to it often as an old favorite. For me personally, finished whiskeys are not my favorite and this one does not break the mold enough to overcome that (although I guess they kind of created the mold in the first place). So, Straight Bourbon, what do you have to say about Angel’s Envy bourbon?