Ten High is now a blend, at least in New York.

[sotnsipper]

I find myself looking at the Ten High label every time I go to the liquor/grocery store...

I know. I did actually run across a place where they actually had NO blend, just the KSBW. I have never tried it but even at ~$8 a bottle, I still did not pick it up. Now I am afraid I will like it, and it is going away.

[smokinjoe]

I've had Ten High before, but it had been at least a couple of years, so I couldn't honestly remember what it tasted like. So, I took the $9 plunge, and picked up a bottle. Now, I remember why I can't remember it. There simply isn't much there. It's not off-putting. It's not offensive. It's not bad. It's just a plain 'ol, $9, 80 proof ,Ten High. If you're in dire need of a bland $9 bourbon, there will remain forty-eleven bottles for you to choose from when Ten High bourbon is completely gone from the shelves in 2053. OK, they might not be $9 then, but you get my point.

This is not meant to be critical, it's just opinion. That being said, I AM distressed that this bourbon, or any bourbon, gets dumbed-down to a blend.

[gblick]

There's tons of Ten High everywhere here in Houston, but I've yet to see the new blend. I guess the stores are not going to restock until they run out or get really low.

[mozilla]

Though I don't buy Ten High as a regular pour...I do buy other Barton products as mixers and sippers.

I find Ten High to be consistent with other 80 proof Barton labels(Barclays, Col. Lee, Tom Moore, Ky. Tavern, Ky Gentleman, Ten High, Walkers Deluxe, Very Old Barton).

For example: Kentucky Tavern goes onsale for $11.25 a 1.75ltr...I use it frequently as a house bourbon. To me...it taste identical to TenHigh and other Barton labels.

[cowdery]

The guy who tipped me to this originally, whose opinion I value, says it is very different. Ten High has long been his everyday bourbon. He says the new blend is awful, choke-worthy.

I became a Ten High fan years ago, when the whiskey glut was still in force and they were using older and better whiskey in it. As stocks have tightened, it has gone downhill but still tastes like what it is, which is a well-made but barely 4-year-old bourbon. I still like it from time to time. People who don't like it mainly just don't like young bourbons. I don't care for a steady diet of them, but sometimes it's just the thing.

[Route 66]

This is an interesting thread. I just picked up some 10 High two days ago (4/16) in the southwest suburbs of Chicago. It's still KSBW thank goodness. I even looked at the label when I bought it just to make sure it was labeled as real bourbon because the price was so cheap, despite NOT knowing that they're starting to roll out blended stuff.

I haven't opened it yet but just as I don't buy a lot of stuff I used to since I've noticed a lot of stuff getting really harsh to the point that makes it harder to discern the flavors. Some exapmples of this are EW black label, Rittenhouse BIB and Weller Antique and Reserve.

I did buy the 10 High simply for mixing but if it's still good enough I'll use it as a inexpensive straight pour. And if it still passes the test of still being a solid product... I'll soon be stocking up.

[Waiahi]

I just want to give a heads up...it now seems like every liquor and grocery store I go to here in Hawaii now no longer has 10 High the KSBW stocked. It has been completely replaced by the blend.

Of course this may not be true everywhere, but I suspect that you will be seeing this eventually everywhere.

If you like 10 high the KSBW, I would suggest stocking up on it before you can no longer find it.

[callmeox]

FWIW, during our tour of Tom Moore on Friday we asked if the bourbon was going away in lieu of the blend and we were told no.

IIRC, all of the Ten High 1.75 that were flying down the line and in the boxes were KSBW and not the blended variety.

[ILLfarmboy]

I checked the Ten High bottles in the store today when I picked up a fifth of Weller 12. Its still KSBW here. Since no one has seen the blend up in Chicago and I haven't seen it down here, I wonder, in light of ox's post, if it will stay a bourbon here in ILL/the midwest since I was also over on the Iowa side and it is still KSBW there to.

[B3Nut]

Still KSBW up here in Cheesecurdistan, too, Woodmans and Steve's Liquor still have it.

[p_elliott]

I peeked at it in Maryville MO the other day and it looked like it was still a straight Bourbon there as well.

[Josh]

FWIW, during our tour of Tom Moore on Friday we asked if the bourbon was going away in lieu of the blend and we were told no.

IIRC, all of the Ten High 1.75 that were flying down the line and in the boxes were KSBW and not the blended variety.

How strange! Why would they have both? Maybe the blend was just a temporary release to tide them over to when they had enough sb ready? Or was the blend release halted when Tom Moore was sold to Saz?

[cowdery]

Unfortunately, due to the impending sale, I'm not sure who to ask who would be in a position to give us an informed answer.

[pausted]

Here in McAllen in South Texas we have two retailers that account for most of the business in the area. Both have multiple locations. One has only the Ten High blend and the other has KSBW. I assume that the one with the blend has received a recent shipment and the other is working on stock from his warehouse. I expect that eventually it will all be the blend. To add to the confusion, the stores with the KSBW carry several Barton whiskeys...The High, Tom Moore BIB and 80, etc. The stores with the blend carry only Ten High from Barton. Probably has no significance but its interesting.

As a funny aside, the other day I was in the store that had only the blend and pointed out the change to the clerk. Of course, he didn't even know it till I called it to his attention. He said "I have a customer who buys Ten High all the time. He hasn't even mentioned the change." I thought to myself...he probably dumps it in coke or 7 up and hasn't noticed a difference.