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Moving Away From The High End


Gillman
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I wish I could find some RITT around my parts. The Woodford Seasoned Oak I've discovered to be readily available. I've have an open bottle at home and it's oh so tasty. I know of about 6 bottles around town I might have to slowly snatch over time.

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Well, I for one have been forced to abandon the high end stuff. A plant closure a couple of years ago had left me scrambling for a new job and having to settle for a 25% pay cut has impacted my scotch and bourbon buying habits.

When I first abandoned rye and moved to scotch a bottle of Lagavulin was $60 CDN, now its over $100. Not affordable even for special occasions.

When I first found the delights of bourbon , I was buying Blantons at $70 a bottle, now Im settling for Jim Beam Red Stag , and, Im happy.

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My father quite enjoys red stagg. Why, I couldn't tell you, he claims its his love of after dinner sweets combined with the taste and fell or enjoying bourbon. Obviously it's not just me, but red stagg tastes like an expired cherry cough syrup.

As stated above, can't be considered a bourbon either because it's infused with flavor. After tasting it, I truly understand why Kidd Rock is the sole sponsor/face of this beverage.

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I'm on this trend as well, a well appreciated glass of OGD bonded is sitting next to me as I type. Coming home from work, and drinking a couple of $10 to $20 glasses of Bourbon, seems to me to be a waste. During the hectic midweek days of our lives, you just can't appreciate the fine distinction between very good and great. But...

Last week I went on my annual buddy golf trip to Florida, and knowing the paucity of decent spirits available in Central Florida, I packed an older bottle of Pappy 20 in my suitcase. After 27 holes of grueling bad golf, worse jokes, and all around horsing around, there is nothing like kicking back in the evening and enjoying a good cigar, and a great glass of Bourbon. Even better was being able to turn on some Bourbon newbies to the amazing caramel goodness of a supremely aged glass of quality Bourbon.

I need both, the great stuff for the good times, and the good stuff for the rest of the time.

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I need both, the great stuff for the good times, and the good stuff for the rest of the time.

Well Said.

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This is a great thread, and I absolutely see the distinction between the "go-to" bourbon for everyday drinking, and the higher-priced special bottles.

I don't distinguish between occasions as much as I do for what kind of taste I'm in the mood for. I don't feel buyer's remorse for the $75+ bourbons in my bunker -- they are uniformly rare or unique in their profile -- and I'm exceedingly happy with my <$25 QPR value bottles. In-between is tough for me: for example, I've never bought RHF except at a bar or a tasting because I can't justify it as unique enough for the price delta. Makers 46 is just at that threshold (especially when I can find it closer to $30) -- Lot B fell to the wrong side after the last price increase.

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I was in LR the other day and found Benchmark #8 for $9/bottle. It said made by Buffalo Trace and the net shows a low rye formula. I thought it was quite good (surprisingly so) for the price. But I'm a sucker for a bottle I've never tried before.

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IMO, Benchmark is very good for the money. It's my top recomendation for mixer - along with AAA.

I agree. When I'm in the mood for a bourbon and ginger I usually reach for a bottle of current Benchmark or OC8.

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  • 1 month later...

Gary I find myself on a similar odyssey having migrated to younger whiskeys as I grow older. Just find I prefer a balanced 4 yr expression over a 15 yr+ woody product.

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...Just find I prefer a balanced 4 yr expression over a 15 yr+ woody product.

Just know, Squire, I've liked you for a long time!:grin:

I've had bourbon distilled in the 1800's; I've had bourbon aged as long as 33 years in the barrel; I've had bourbon costing multiple-hundred dollars; I've had bourbon multiple decades old. And, I like ALL of 'em!:cool:

Tonight, I'm drinking -- mixed with store-brand, generic, diet cola (caffeine-free, of course) -- some Rebel Yell, which I'm advised is shipped from distiller to bottler in containers which look like giant replicas of the half-pint milk cartons my second-graders drink milk from at lunch!

Doesn't matter, it goes pretty good with Cajun sausage and Zatarain's Jambalaya rice!

In one of Tom Fischer's videos, he shows a bartender noting that there is "good" bourbon, and there is "better". In other words, there is NO BAD BOURBON!

The fact that I generally can recognize the better from the good does NOT keep me from enjoying the simply good.

Tonight, Rebel Yell is good. Cheers, Squire. :toast:

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In one of Tom Fischer's videos, he shows a bartender noting that there is "good" bourbon, and there is "better". In other words, there is NO BAD BOURBON!

IIRC, that's John, one of the owners of Bourbon's Bistro.

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Back atcha Tim. Rebel Yell is a big deal around here among the die hard Ole Miss 'Rebels' athletic fans and a friend insists on gifting me a bottle every year at Christmas so I get to sample it often enough. A decent mixer but doesn't compare to the original expression which was six years old and 90 proof.

Regards,

Squire

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  • 4 months later...

Another thing about the high end bottles -- I think there are a lot of stores that stock them for simply for "prestige." There's a yuppie-ish store in town called Lush (they actually have 3 or 4 locations). While they stock a wide selection $10-20 wines, most of their wine and spirits are high-end. They have a small collection of bourbon, and it seems like they sit there for a while. They've still got the BT wine barrel-aged experimentals and a bunch of other relatively rare stuff. It looks impressive. Their lowest end bottle is probably AAA and they still charge something exorbitant for it -- a good $15 more than Binny's (!!!). It's absurd. They've got some things I can't find elsewhere locally, but there's just no way I'm gonna buy them because the prices are downright insulting.

I figure that their target consumer is some douchebag who just wants to buy something expensive to impress his douchebag friends. They're not going to appreciate/understand it, of course. Or the customer is a wine/beer drinker who wants to splurge on a special bottle and assumes that the more expensive it is, the better it is ...

But these people (and the stores that cater to them) are another probably reason for the upward price creep of premium bottles, and for the increasing disconnect between price/value.

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I do not think I am really moving away from the high end but I can rarely afford the really high end ones but do like to try many in the $50 range but my last order consisted of a handle or VOB that I had never tried or seen a handle of Bulliet (been quite a while since I had any and it was on sale) a handle of 1792 also on sale and have never tried it a bottle of Bulliet rye ($10 cheaper than WA) and an Angels Envy (not available in WA and the wife really likes the bottle and I have to admit I wanted it because of the significance? of this bourbon) the whole thing shipped was an average of about $22.75 a 750 which is not a bad price at all so I guess I too am looking for value in the 90 proof or higher category. I just do not want to buy 80 proof. I just drink the cheaper stuff during the week and the "good stuff" on the weekend

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