Interesting Finds

[fishnbowljoe]

Had some running around to do after work. Decided to make it worth my while and hit one of the local liquor stores when I was done. Found a few interesting bottles, that weren't there on previous visits.

#1. Jacob's Well 750 ml, 84 proof

I did a little research, and found that this hasn't been made for quite a while. From what I gather, it's just an "okay" bourbon, similar to JB Black. It might be good to pick up a couple for trading.

#2 Heaven Hill Ultra Deluxe, 750 ml 80 proof, aged 36 months

Haven't found much on this at all, except it is one of the younger HH offerings.

#3 Evan Williams #10 Brand, 750 ml 86 proof

Same as the regular EW black label that it was sitting next to, except name and completely different bottle. ?

#4 Benchmark Premium Bourbon, 1 liter, 80 proof

Bottled By Old Benchmark, New Orleans

After reading some of the different posts here about Benchmark, especially lately, I'm completely confused.

So, what does everyone think?

All comments, recommendations, etc......, will be graciously accepted.:bs: Thanks, Joe

[wadewood]

Jacob's Well - probably close to Jim Beam Black. ? should be about $20. nice bourbon for the price.

Benchmark Premium - I would buy at least a bottle of this and give it a try.

[spun_cookie]

I would get the EW and the Benchmark as well.

Unless you like liquorish, skip the Jacob's Well.

[barturtle]

I think I need to pay more attention to the Ultra Deluxe that's on the shelves in KY, I don't recall it being a 3yo...kinda cool actually, you see almost no whiskies under 4yo on the shelves.

Personally, I would have left the EW, but the other two would have come home with me.

[ILLfarmboy]

Wasn't Jacob's Well some sort of mingling or re-barreling effort in some ways similar to glenfiddich's solera reserve?

[mozilla]

Had some running around to do after work. Decided to make it worth my while and hit one of the local liquor stores when I was done. Found a few interesting bottles, that weren't there on previous visits.

#1. Jacob's Well 750 ml, 84 proof

I did a little research, and found that this hasn't been made for quite a while. From what I gather, it's just an "okay" bourbon, similar to JB Black. It might be good to pick up a couple for trading.

#2 Heaven Hill Ultra Deluxe, 750 ml 80 proof, aged 36 months

Haven't found much on this at all, except it is one of the younger HH offerings.

#3 Evan Williams #10 Brand, 750 ml 86 proof

Same as the regular EW black label that it was sitting next to, except name and completely different bottle. ?

#4 Benchmark Premium Bourbon, 1 liter, 80 proof

Bottled By Old Benchmark, New Orleans

After reading some of the different posts here about Benchmark, especially lately, I'm completely confused.

So, what does everyone think?

All comments, recommendations, etc......, will be graciously accepted.:bs: Thanks, Joe

1-3, I would leave on the shelf....as for #4...I am not sure which version that is??? SB, 4yr, 8yr??? ...help me out on this one. What were the prices on these odd bottles?

1. Just not that powerful or impressive.

2. HH's 3yr bourbon...is not that good. Private Cellar is our 3yr from HH, in Texas.

3. Look for the 10yr not the #10, although the #10 is probably older than the regular black label.

4. Hard to say whether it is a keeper without more info.

Good luck!

[ThomasH]

Somewhere previously on this forum, it was mentioned that one of HH's reps stated that EW1783 lost a year of age along with its age statement. It in now approx. 9yo bourbon with no stated age!

Thomas

[mozilla]

I talked to HH at one point...they stated that the bottles were a mix of different years with some of the original year still mixed in. So, the black will still have some 7-8 yr and the #10 will have a few 10 year old barrels. Just not the whole batch, now. They are mixing in barrels from 4 yrs and up in the batches now.

[fishnbowljoe]

More finds today. While out looking for something for another SB member, I stopped at a local grocery store that has a pretty good selection of bourbons. Imagine my surprise when I found out they now carry Four Roses products. :woohoo: Yellow Label, Small Batch, and Single Barrel. Almost bought the Single Barrel. It was only $32.99. I'm holding out for my bottle from the distillery during KBF. Did buy a Rock The Vote bottle of MM for $20.99. The big surprise was while trying to find another store, (that I found out doesn't exist, longer story yet) in a small town north of where I live, I stumbled upon a different store that I was unaware of. They had the usual selection of bourbons you would expect from a mid-sized liquor store. Except for one bottle. A still in the box bottle of the BHC VSOF. Was going to take some notes and maybe go back sometime and get it. I thought better of it, and bought it. The owner said it had been there awhile. I thought the price was decent at $29.95. Looks like I got lucky again. Hope my lucky streak continues. KBF, here I come! Joe

[mozilla]

I think you will really enjoy the VSOF. Great find.

[cowdery]

It sounds like I need to drive up to Rockford, if the rain ever stops.

I probably would have been most excited about the Jacob's Well, not because it's the best of the lot, but because it's the rarest.

The old bottling of VSOF is well worth $30, so that's a good pick too.

The rest are iterations and oddities that might be of interest to some.

[MJL]

Joe, I have been on a bit of a jag picking up stragglers and extra bottles from local purveyors of spirited beverages. This is actually quite fun but has quickly drained my extra money! It looks like you had a good day and a great haul home.

[fishnbowljoe]

Picked up a glass 1.75 of Old Forester BIB today. It appears from the numbers on the bottom of the bottle that it is from 1991. Check out the pics for all pertinent info. Have I stumbled on something really good? I left two more at the store. I'm not sure if I should open this now or wait. What say ye all? Thanks, Joe

[mozilla]

If you open it and drink some...you will be at that store to get the rest asap. So, with one comes the other.

Was the price about$25?

[fishnbowljoe]

Thanks for the reply Jeff. You were almost dead on with the price. It was $25.99. I didn't see these last time at the store because I was caught off guard by all the BHC stuff they had. Joe

[mozilla]

if you liked that repeal bourbon...this will be fatter and sweeter.

[Buffalo Bill]

Picked up a glass 1.75 of Old Forester BIB today. It appears from the numbers on the bottom of the bottle that it is from 1991. Check out the pics for all pertinent info. Have I stumbled on something really good? I left two more at the store. I'm not sure if I should open this now or wait. What say ye all? Thanks, Joe

If i had seen this on the shelf? I would have dove into it head-first like Moss going for a touchdown!

talk about lucky...

BB

[ggilbertva]

That's a good whiskey. The BIB from the early 90's is better than the standard 86 proof. I was a knucklehead and left some BIB's on the shelf a month ago that were '83....those are a couple steps better than the '91. I've said it before, the older you get with the Forester, the better.

[fishnbowljoe]

Stopped at a store on the way home from work today. I haven't stopped at this one in a while. They still have the two bottle of Jacob's Well and two bottles of that 91 Benchmark that I posted about some months back. Today I spotted some Walkers Deluxe Bourbon. I must say I didn't pay close enough attention to this bottle. I didn't check out the proof, age, or if it was from Peoria or not. It did say distilled by Hiram Walker and Son's, and had a white label. Does Walker's have a current/semi-current bottling of bourbon?

I also stopped at a store on the way home from the bowling alley tonight. They had a couple of new ones on the shelf. The first was Fighting Cock. I almost bought a bottle. The second was Heaven Hill Blended Whiskey. First time I'd ever seen this one. This time I paid a bit more attention. It is 80 proof, and is made from, and I quote, "20% straight whiskey not less than 36 months old, and 80% GNS". This reminded me of some of the recent threads about what to hoard, and what labels might be changing or dropped all together. I'm not sure what to think. I don't want to come across like I've turned into a bourbon snob. I guess I've just become accustomed and satisfied with mostly straight bourbons. Any thoughts on this one? Joe

[Rughi]

...the older you get with the Forester, the better.

414>354

Roger...

[fishnbowljoe]

I was at it again yesterday. This time I found (didn't buy) a bottle of RHF with a BIB label around the neck. The bottle was shaped ever so slightly different than the current one. The label, or lack of front label was completely different. Etching was there, but no gold horse. The stopper was weird too. Turned it upside down to look at the numbers on the bottom, and the bourbon flowed into the stopper.:skep: The man at the counter said that he could get a lot of those, but the one's that look like a current bottle (with gold horse) he said was a limited editon/Xmas bottle or something. I really don't think he knew what he was talking about. Oh, they also had Hancock's Reserve at $52.00 a bottle. I passed. I thanked him and left. Joe

[squire]

Jacob's Well is ok and unusual enough to give as a gift. I bought a case when it first came out but decided the mingling rebarreling experiment didn't produce a real difference and it was not the equal of the 8 yr 90 proof Beam black label.

[fishnbowljoe]

Here's a couple of picks of a 1/10 pint of Boots And Saddle that my wife found for me at an antique place a couple weeks ago. Joe

[TroyM]

Found a stash of Hirsch 16 Year Old Goil Foil for $80 Aus each (roughly $55 USD). Cant complain with the price and I love the stuff.

[Special Reserve]

I found a stash of three where the store was willing to sell me all three for $450 USD.

I think you should be seeing a buy signal.