A Bourbon Dollar

[bobbyc]

If anyone cares to do this exercise, here goes. How much are we spending on bourbon and who is getting our money? The dollar amount is irrelevant , as that is a personal matter and as such is no ones business but our own respectively . I would like to see this represented as a percentage of One Dollar, And who is getting what percent.

My own looks like this ;

Brown-Forman 78%

Buffalo Trace 12%

Heaven Hill 10%

This is nessesarily incomplete to some degree because I have bought a huge percentage of BF due to the Birthday Bourbon and I didn't go back very far because I haven't bought a lot in the last 5 or 6 months and have basically forgot who what when Etc.

I don't know if this accomplishes much because at some time or another they all relieve me of some of my cash . What caused me to think along these lines was reading the article in Cigar Afficianado about Old Forester and they stated that the brand peaked in 1972 and has been in decline since. Hard to believe isn't it? That is a fine brand , A fine Product and rich heritage. I'm doing what I can Mr. Brown! Old Forester 86 proof can be had in Ky for 19.99 a 1.75L. Cheaper than________(Most brands), better than______________(Nearly all of them).

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

Post deleted by Linn

[MurphyDawg]

Here's Mine (in pennies on the dollar)

$0.324 - Buffalo Trace

$0.175 - Heaven Hill

$0.141 - Other **

$0.104 - David Sherman Co. (I know its not an actual distillery but it deserves its own category).

$0.094 - Brown Forman

$0.083 - Wild Turkey

$0.077 - Jim Beam

** Other Includes Four Roses, Barton, Maker's Mark, A. Smith Bowman & Van Winkle Products. . . . . .

Well, there you have it !

TomC

[cornsqueezins]

My percentages run something like this:

Buffalo Trace - 44%

Jim Beam - 22%

Heaven Hill - 22%

Barton - 11%

Wow, so far it looks like Buffalo Trace is the overall leader among us. I can't really say much since Wild Turkey isn't even present at this time in my cabinet but I'm surprised WT isn't higher on the other lists.

[Aahzz]

Currently...

Heaven Hill - 50%

Jim Beam - 25%

Brown Forman - 12.5%

Wild Turkey - 12.5%

[MurphyDawg]

I figure it is because they dont have that many different bottlings as compared to Buffalo Trace or Heaven Hill or the others. They have 4 that most will buy on here (WT 101, Russells Reserve, Rare Breed & Kentucky Spirit) but thats about it unless you stumble upon WT 12 year. . . . . .I have 3 of the four bottlings in possesion at the moment, but it still doesnt add up to much. . . .

Tom (WT Enthusiast) C

[pepcycle]

Volume and dollars very different.

By Dollar its

Van Winkle 29%

Buffalo Trace (Weller included) 14%

Heaven Hill 12%

Hirsch 8%

Wild Turkey 7%

Beam 7%

Make's Mark 7%

Brown Forman 5%

Barton 4%

Four Roses 2%

Misc Ryes, Bourbons and TN Whisky 5%

I think that covers it

Ed

[MurphyDawg]

why??

Tom (Curiosity killed the. . . . . .I know, I know. . . .) C

[cowdery]

Actually, the highest percentage of your bourbon dollar is going to various taxing authorities: federal, state and local.

[jeff]

My cabinet is a little thin at the moment but here goes:

Beam - 20%

HH - 20%

BT - 20%

Mclain and Kyne - 20%

MM - 20%

Wow, pretty even. These are listed by volume, not dollars.

[kgiammarco]

Wild Turkey - 7.5%

Heaven Hill - 10%

Jim Beam - 10%

Brown Forman - 12.5%

Van Winkle - 30%

Buffalo Trace 30%

These figures are for what i have spent in the last year... I find myself buying multiple bottles of Van Winkle and BT products because they are all 'limited' and i am afraid i won't be able to get anymore when they 'run out'... (next major purchase will be Stagg (if we can get it))

(Also, i have ignored the 'collectible' makers mark bottles that i have, since they are not as much a 'bourbon' purchase as a diaplay thing... I know Linn would disapprove of the idea of buying bourbon for display, but at least it is a bourbon that he doesn't seem to have a taste for )

-Chris

[cornsqueezins]

Yeah, you're probably right on that. I wasn't really thinking about the entire variety of bourbon that Buffalo Trace offers.

And what can you say about Wild Turkey....who offers a better "limited" variety than they do?!? Great stuff!

-Troy

[bobbyc]

It looks like we have it going here. Thanks for the interest. I calculated the Bourbo-Bunker and came up with these numbers.

Heaven Hill 24%

Buffalo Trace 18.5 % ( I included VanWinkle Here)

Jim Beam Brands 17.5%

Brown-Forman 9%

David Sherman 9%

Wild Turkey 6%

Others 6%

Makers Mark 5%

Barton 4 %

Four Roses 1%

Someone has correctly observed that the percentages for the number of bottles is one value while a cost comparison is another ie 1 bottle of Pappy 23 = 10 of Beam 1 distillers masterpiece = 20 of AA or Barton's still this gives a good indication of who tickles our fancy in Bourbon.

[MurphyDawg]

If you are gonna do one thing, you might as well do it right!

BLEEE!

TomC

[MurphyDawg]

Ah......Chuck ,

Damn "The Man" for harshing my buzz once again. !!!!

Tom (Raging Against The Machine) C

[boone]

Nobody said that I could not join in .....

Heaven Hill 100%

Ohhhhhhhhh Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Bettye Jo

P.S. Hey-------what did you expect?

[MurphyDawg]

Now, there's a shock! !

Tom (Quite Suprised, . . . . . . . .Honest) C

[bobbyc]

BettyeJo , I can appreciate that , Do you limit what you drink to only HH products? Or will you drink other products?

[boone]

Only Heaven Hill

Iffin ya come ta my house that's what you will get.....I have-----Evan Williams 7 yr. 86----Old Whiskey River----Burnetts Gin----Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage 1990------Master Distiller's Select----Elijah Craig 18 yr single barrel---Henry McKenna Barrel--------and in the fridge I always KEEP MY BUD !!!!!!!!!

At Christmas there will be a few "STRAYS" around.....such as Wild Turkey-----only because there were given to Pat as a gift-----

Remember when we had that live tasting and everyone was going to get a bottle of Knob Creek????????--------- Not me------- JUST AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN ---

None of my bourbon dollars will be spent on any other product other than Heaven Hill.....Hell man.........It keeps me working!!!!

You know my opinion on this......Now.......... answer this for me if you will (Kind Sir or whoever wants to comment)......Would you buy another brand if you worked at a distillery? Be really, really, really, honest about it......If you did my job..... you would pass up EW SINGLE BARREl for another single barrel bottling?

Bettye Jo

[bobbyc]

I think it's good that you can look at it that way. It appears that you know which side your toast is buttered on! I think with that attitude toward it , it is good that you work at HH the other distillery that would be good to be loyal to would be Buffalo Trace. Because of the diversity of brands. My son worked for a national grocery chain and when he was there we only bought from them. He doesn't any longer so I can go where I please. As far as Bourbon goes I wouldn't want to limit myself to only one distiller, there is a lot of good things on the market right now.

[bluesbassdad]

Bettye Jo,

When I worked for Hughes Aircraft/Electronics, we made the finest air-to-air missiles available, but I still had to sneak around and buy one from Raytheon now and then, just for the sake of variety.

No, seriously, if I worked for a consumer product company and I didn't like their products, I probably wouldn't stay there very long. I guess that means that I'd eventually gravitate to one where I could say the same thing you said about Heaven Hill.

Of course from the Company viewpoint, if I were in charge I would make sure that employees got good deals on all of our brands of bourbon and sneak peaks at all of the products of the future -- all in hopes of creating just the kind of loyalty that you already have. (When GM took over Hughes, they did the same sort of thing by adding all of us to their Employee Vehicle Purchase Program. I never would have bought my trusty Geo Prizm LSI otherwise.)

While I have your attention, I can't figure out how to get into the Bardstown Bourbon Society. Just today I stopped by Hi-Times, looking for a Heaven Hill product that carried the secret code. The only boxed product I found was Henry McKenna Single Barrel, but it wasn't a gift box, and therefore it didn't have the magic password.

Do I have to wait until the Christmas stock is on the shelves? If so, I think I'll put off replacing my almost-empty bottle of EWSB for a another month or two.

BTW, what's this "Master Distiller's Select" that you mention having? I've never heard of it. Also, do you really mean to say that you have no EC12 at your house?

Regarding your last question, I've heard that the EWSB varies somewhat year to year, because, as Mr. Beam allegedly put it, "We're getting better at selecting the barrels". Have you tried any of the years since 1990? Can you tell a difference? (I ask because my one and only bottle is from 1992.)

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[jeff]

Dave,

In my gift-boxed EWSB I found a little pamphlet with a return-mail card that you send to Heaven Hill. It says that in 4-6 weeks I will receive my membership information. It also contains some nice information on EC 18yo and Henry McKenna SB, Both of witch I look forward to trying as soon as possible.

[MurphyDawg]

I work in the Meijer grocery dept up here and do not shop elsewhere, especially direct competitors, unless absolutely necessary. i wouldnt even shop at the Kroger in Bardstown because of it. So no, I probably wouldnt, even though I love bourbon so much, Job security is #1!

Tom (wants to know more about the McKenna SB) C

[boone]

Now Dave, don't ya know that squirrel season opened in August? I thought that everbody knew that one! ...Ain't nobody in Kentucky, gonna have Elijah Craig 12 year in the pantry during or after squirrel season...Matter of fact...Seems to be the same way during Deer, Quail, Rabbit, Turkey, Opposum and like I said before when it's late at the camp site they even hunt BIG FOOT !!!!!

This is the Master Distiller's Select.......

The Bardstown Bourbon Society address is;

Bardstown Bourbon Society

P.O. Box 817

Bardstown, KY 40004-9971

Bettye Jo

[bluesbassdad]

Bettye Jo,

From my experience I can't imagine how a little thing like squirrel hunting could have a major impact on the production (or is it the consumption? ) of EC12. (Bragging to follow. )

When I was a kid, my Grandpa would take me out to the woods before sunup. We'd sit against a tree and eat our breakfast as the squirrel would start their daily routine, gathering food, playing, sometimes leaping from tree to tree, and chattering all the while.

"Pop", as I always called him, would point out young (i.e., tender and tasty) ones, which we would shoot at intervals of five minutes, or so. As long as we didn't move, the sound of a gunshot only briefly alarmed the remaining squirrel population. His 20 gauge caused a longer interruption than my .22, but he didn't miss as many shots as I did. (In fact he almost never missed, and that goes for quail, too, but that's another story.)

As each squirrel fell, we would carefully note its location. When we had our limits, or when the activity subsided, we would gather our kill and head back to town, arriving just as most folks were starting their day.

****

The jug of Master Distiller's Select is almost too handsome. I'm always drawn to such appealing packaging, but when it's empty, I never know what to do with it. It's too fine to discard, but I'm not one to collect such odds and ends, either.

Can you describe the bourbon as compared to other HH products?

***

Thanks for the address. Will they let me join if I don't have the official invitation, but I say "Bettye Jo sent me", speakeasy style?

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield