Costco Bourbon?

[Askabutcher]

I never found the COLA but, yes, it could be an old label.

Here is the COLA .......

https://www.ttbonline.gov/colasonline/viewColaDetails.do?action=publicDisplaySearchBasic&ttbid=11005000000034

Bought some the other day, you can't beat it for the price!

[sailor22]

I bought a bottle a little over a week ago and have visited it a few times and we did a comparo with the Costo (Kirkland) Bourbon, Knob Creek, Knob Creek SB and JB Black.

It tastes to me like a vatting of JBB and a KC. It is a little sweeter than JBB and not as sweet or smokey or as rich as KC and KCsb.

I suppose it's a good value if your a JBB fan as it has a little more going on and is a little cheaper, but overall I was hoping for a lot more. I would rate it as a tasty good value mixer.

[cowdery]

Thanks for the COLA. I was having trouble finding it. The COLA was filed in December last and BT filed for the Clear Spring DBA on 3/14/11, so I guess that clears that up, except for why Beam let BT have the Clear Spring DBA.

This is also nice evidence for the next time some suit at Beam tells me they don't sell bulk whiskey.

[Askabutcher]

Thanks for the COLA. I was having trouble finding it.

[craigthom]

Thanks for the COLA. I was having trouble finding it. The COLA was filed in December last and BT filed for the Clear Spring DBA on 3/14/11, so I guess that clears that up, except for why Beam let BT have the Clear Spring DBA.

This is also nice evidence for the next time some suit at Beam tells me they don't sell bulk whiskey.

[cowdery]

A bulk sale that you bottle for the customer is a private label. What Beam and others claim when they say they don't do bulk sales is that all of their whiskey goes to 'their' brands, which would include OGD but not Costco. It's as I always say, no one does bulk sales except when they do.

[StraightNoChaser]

I haven't seen a bourbon. They have a fantastic scotch whisky they put out each year. It is a Macallan 18yr. Only difference is it is aged 15 yrs in Oak and three additional years in Sherry butts. The Macallan 18 yr is aged for 18 yrs in Sherry.

The Macallan 18 yr - $150.00

The Kirkland Macallan 18 yr - $59.99

[Brbnlvr]

I picked one up yesterday and I'll agree with the tasting notes stated earlier. It is spicy, but allowed to slightly mellow for a minute or two with a couple cubes; it's quite good. Not a bad value at all, but I'll stick to my fav's.

[proof and age]

Thanks for the COLA. I was having trouble finding it. The COLA was filed in December last and BT filed for the Clear Spring DBA on 3/14/11, so I guess that clears that up, except for why Beam let BT have the Clear Spring DBA.

This is also nice evidence for the next time some suit at Beam tells me they don't sell bulk whiskey.

Only the brand name for the pure grain 190 proof Clear Springs product was sold to Sazerac some months back, per my understanding. The Clear Springs name goes back to what is now Beam via the Beam and Hart Distillery siite in the vicinity of Nazareth, which is now owned by Heaven Hill. I am not sure how JB held onto that DBA, but it is still used by them in reference to their Clermont operations.

[Chuckles]

So I was at Costco yesterday, and there was an end display loaded with Kirkland Premium Small Batch, Straight Kentucky Bourbon, 7-y-o, 103 proof. I had not previously been aware of Kirkland bourbon (hadn't yet seen this thread), but have found other Kirkland-brand products to be of good quality. (Kirkland cashews and mixed nuts are excellent values, for example.) The clerk watching me study the bottle told me he'd been told by bourbon drinkers that it was excellent, and that it was made by Woodford. I told him I saw a lot of Beamishness: Clear Springs & Clermont/Frankfort on the label, a KC look to the bottle. Went to compare it to the WR and KC that Costco stocked this day (along with Marker's Mark and Maker's 46); clearly the Kirkland product is designed to appeal to both WR and KC customers. I bought a bottle.

I mostly agree with what few tasting notes there are on this long thread. I found my bottle to be quite good. Color a little lighter than KC, perhaps a bit more brown/less gold--at least in Costco light. Nose was agreeable, but mild--maybe subtle is a better word choice. Good legs and a full mouth. I'm partial to wheaters, but this had a nice, spicy rye flavor--with a bit of a bite--that I enjoyed. Finish was pleasant and lingered.

It's not as complex or sophisticated as a Beam small batch bourbon, but I think it's quite a bit better than the JBW and JBB of my most recent memories. If other batches match what's in my bottle, I'd say it's an excellent value at $20 a liter.