OWA-NAS/new label

[cowdery]

That first one is the one I was referring to in Chuck's thread about his 110 proof version. I have one just like that but the domestic version and noted it didn't use the term Antique.

Huh? What do you mean "domestic version"?

[theDon]

Huh? What do you mean "domestic version"?

Obviously it was made here, but I think he was referring to the 760ml bottle being a foreign bottle right?

[doubleblank]

Christian correctly identified the Italian tax stamp. And they printed 760 ml on the label too.

Randy

[cowdery]

I mis-read. I thought the reference was to my bottle as non-domestic.

[funknik]

Oh, boy . . . this may be beating a dead horse, but I want to weigh in on this briefly.

Ox's breakdown on the quantity of OWA vs. WLW SR kind of surprised me, but I guess it is reassuring in some way. Still, I wonder why BT has decided to keep the age statement on the SR though . . . it's pretty cheap (around here at least) and I don't think that typical drinkers of this bourbon would be especially concerned about its age (not to mention us -- I doubt there be nearly as much of an uproar on SB.com if SR had gone NAS & OWA stayed at 7yr) -- I think it would be easier to assimilate this flavor with younger juice also, but what do I know. It seems pretty industry-standard (not to mention common-sensical) to drop the age statement on your least expensive product to me, so I wonder why they chose to go the way they did.

Also, to me age statement does not necessarily imply better juice -- I'd take WT101 NAS over RR10/90 any day.

Something that hasn't been touched upon that I can tell is of lesser importance, but still very dear to me and that is the label. I love the old OWA bottle/label . . . part of the draw when I got into bourbon was the aesthetic of the label looking, well, antique. It gave me a sense that the whiskey was well crafted and suggests a heritage that I found intoxicating at the time . . . I think the OWA & ORVW labels are some of the coolest out there. This new bottle & label is a nice facelift for the SR, but the OWA had so much character . . . oh, well . . . call me an old crank . . .

not as brief as I thought guys . . . sorry

[p_elliott]

Andy

According to BT they could either put the proof or the age statement on the OWA they thought the proof was bigger selling point. Take that for what it's worth.

Paul

[funknik]

Andy

According to BT they could either put the proof or the age statement on the OWA they thought the proof was bigger selling point. Take that for what it's worth.

Paul

I read that but don't buy it -- you can always make room on the label. Sounds like a cop-out.

[p_elliott]

I read that but don't buy it -- you can always make room on the label. Sounds like a cop-out.

I totally agree !!!!!! to make this 16 characters

[DeanSheen]

I just got 2 bottles of the new make yesterday and had a few pours of it. I have no problem with the juice and will happily continue to buy it as an excellent bargain @ $23 out the door.

Thankfully no nasty char overtones and bitterness that I got from 2 of the 4 bottles I had purchased in the old style bottle.

[bourbon-n00b]

Is there a reliable way to determine if a bottle was part of this first-run bottling? Right now, obviously anything on the shelf is, but in the future that won't be the case. It'd be nice to know that I was getting some of this highly-rated stuff vs whatever they end up deciding to release down the road.

[bourbon-n00b]

Is there a reliable way to determine if a bottle was part of this first-run bottling?

Not sure if this is significant or not, but along the bottom of the bottle there are 9 dots in a pattern like this

.. . . ... ..

might be a bottling year of 09?

[ILLfarmboy]

Not sure if this is significant or not, but along the bottom of the bottle there are 9 dots in a pattern like this

.. . . ... ..

might be a bottling year of 09?

I don't have any dots. I've got an "8" and a two digit number that's illegible on one bottle and "SG" ? and a "78" or "72" on another. Whatever it may mean, I can't make heads or tails of it. ?????

Edited to add. I found the dots. How often is Antique dumped? Once a year/ The old bottles had two digit numbers on the bottom that corresponded to a year

[bourbon-n00b]

I don't have any dots. I've got an "8" and a two digit number that's illegible on one bottle and "SG" ? and a "78" or "72" on another. Whatever it may mean, I can't make heads or tails of it. ?????

Edited to add. I found the dots. How often is Antique dumped? Once a year/ The old bottles had two digit numbers on the bottom that corresponded to a year

Yeah, I probably wasn't clear...so for anyone else, these are not on the bottom of the bottle, but on the front face near the bottom edge, just below the sticker.

I've got some notations on the bottom too but I can't figure out what they are. Very faint.

[funknik]

Okay, Grand-Dad doesn't either. I'm not sure about Old Crow, but the last time I had some it was a 36-monther, and that must be disclosed. The point isn't "prove Chuck wrong about something," though I know that's great sport. The point is that Beam is very committed to age statements.

I had to comment on this -- it really made me laugh . . . let's give Chuck a break, people!

:slappin: :slappin: :slappin:

On a serious note, though, if OGD was NAS when Beam acquired it, why bother stating an age now? I think it's also pretty clear from the flavor that at least the OGD114 is very well aged -- wood abounds in the finish.

Also, getting over the initial shock of this OWA NAS thing, I'm with Chuck, Joe & the others -- as long as the juice stays good, why get persnickity over the age statement? I doubt BT would really want to dumb down this label, not to mention that there are very few (if any) low quality whiskies in their lineup and all of the wheaters are pretty great.

[Uilliam Uallas]

Just finished the last of a case of Old Weller Antique that I bought about a year ago. Went to get another case from the only store that sells OWA here in my neck of Colorado and found they had changed bottles. Weller Antique use to have the best looking bourbon bottle in Kentucky, now it looks like a bottle for a tangerine wine cooler marketed to sorority girls. I must say I took it personally when I found BT had changed my everyday drink for the past 25 years. The quality still seems to be there but I doubt it will much longer without the 7 year label. And I wouldn't want to be seen carying that bottle across the parking lot.

[Uilliam Uallas]

Just finished the last of a case of Old Weller Antique that I bought about a year ago. Went to get another case from the only store that sells OWA here in my neck of Colorado and found they had changed bottles. Weller Antique use to have the best looking bourbon bottle in Kentucky, now it looks like a bottle for a tangerine wine cooler marketed to sorority girls. I must say I took it personally when I found BT had changed my everyday drink for the past 25 years. The quality still seems to be there but I doubt it will much longer without the 7 year label. And I wouldn't want to be seen carying that bottle across the parking lot.

[Special Reserve]

Just finished the last of a case of Old Weller Antique that I bought about a year ago. Went to get another case from the only store that sells OWA here in my neck of Colorado and found they had changed bottles. Weller Antique use to have the best looking bourbon bottle in Kentucky, now it looks like a bottle for a tangerine wine cooler marketed to sorority girls. I must say I took it personally when I found BT had changed my everyday drink for the past 25 years. The quality still seems to be there but I doubt it will much longer without the 7 year label. And I wouldn't want to be seen carying that bottle across the parking lot.

You should not judge a book by its cover. The bourbon inside is excellent!

[SMOWK]

You should not judge a book by its cover. The bourbon inside is excellent!

Let us hope that it stays that way. I too was a bit scared when they dropped the age statement. But, so far so good.

Now that I think about it, it is kind of a wussy wine coolery bottle.

[Josh]

where are the complaints about the Weller 12 bottle? That's basically what the new OWA bottle is, right? And WSR is in the same one now too.

[Gillman]

Just want to pick up on something Robert said about some of the OWA seeming too aged in the former bottle. I wonder if that is because it was 9-10 years old in its last bottlings. I suspect the bourbon in the new bottle was made at Buffalo Trace. The bourbon in the older bottles would have been made, at least for many years after the brand name was purchased (because bourbon came with it), by UDV. Or so I always inferred.

Anyway I like the new juice too, the bottle not so much, but the bourbon is fine. I know they took off the 7 years statement but I thought I read somewhere it is still 7 years old.

Gary

[DeanSheen]

Yeah Gary, I definitely like it better now than some of the last run bottles I had. I've been through at least 6 of the new OWA and they have all been consistently good and sourced from 3 different states.

[ILLfarmboy]

I must be the only person who likes the new bottle design.

The juice inside is excellent. I just hope with the lack of an age statement witch makes it easier to allow quality to slip, it stays that way.

[BourbonJoe]

The juice inside is excellent. I just hope with the lack of an age statement witch makes it easier to allow quality to slip, it stays that way.

I agree with ya Brad.

Joe :usflag:

[silverfish]

I must be the only person who likes the new bottle design.

I had some of the NAS OWA tonight and as I was pouring it

into a glass, I thought "Boy, this looks nice." I wasn't so hot

for the new bottle but after cracking a few open and tasting,

I've found that it is becomming one of my favorite pours. The

"see through" label really shows off the color and makes for an

impressive looking bourbon. Between this and the Weller SR,

I think I'm hooked.

[Uilliam Uallas]

Since I have been drinking Weller (mid 80's) you knew what to expect when you bought it. A fine bourbon at a fair price. The same every time. That's the way it should be. Now since the BT bottle/label change last year, who knows what you get. Obviously BT changed the bottle to save a few cents by using a generic bottle from another line. The only reason to drop the 7 year label is to save a few more cents on the juice sometime in the future. 6 year? 5 year? Who knows. The new bottle I have now although damn ugly is good stuff, but I doubt it will stay that way much longer. This is an assult on a fine old Bourbon by BT in an attempt to make a little extra money.