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Virgin Bourbon 7 y/o, 101 Proof


BourbonJoe
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Not too much said about this stuff for quite some time. I found some of this in the Alabama ABC stores. I know it's a Heaven Hill cat and dog but a 7 y/o 101 for $11.39 I thought why the hell not. The front end was sweet. At this point you knew it was a 101. Nothing offtaste in the middle. The finish was short, as expected. All in All not too bad. It makes one wonder why anybody would buy Evan Williams Black Label with this stuff sitting on the shelf.

Joe :usflag:

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It's Virgin Bourbon, not Virginia Bourbon but the Virginia stuff would be easier to find than a "virgin".

Joe :usflag:

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Pretty much my take, Joe, the couple of times I've purchased it while next door in Alabama. A decent whiskey for the money, which is what Heaven Hill specializes in. (I hope the Shapiras NEVER sell!)

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IMO Virgin is very under rated probably due to its price bracket and largely to its branding as well. But for a bottom shelf bourbon i would probably buy it before JB white anyday. Just my 5c.

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I pick up one of these every time I make it over to Bama. I'm a really big fan of it, and am convinced it is the same bourbon as what goes into the Old Ezra 7. You're right, great bang for the buck. Joe, instead of EW Black, I ask your question this way: With this stuff sitting on the shelf, why would anyone buy Wild Turkey 101?

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IMO Virgin is very under rated probably due to its price bracket and largely to its branding as well. But for a bottom shelf bourbon i would probably buy it before JB white anyday. Just my 5c.

It's price point here in Australia is probably why it's not so popular. There's plenty of stuff near or below the price point to consider for the average consumer.

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  • 2 months later...

We used to consume this brand as a football afternoon sort of thing and we liked it for the reasons mentioned above. Also a good bang for the buck.

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  • 6 years later...

I see this in NC, but don't recall it being age stated. If it is, I'm definitely picking up a bottle on my next trip to the ABC. I think you can get a handle of Virgin some months for about $19.

Edited by BDanner
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9 minutes ago, BDanner said:

I see this in NC, but don't recall it being age stated. If it is, I'm definitely picking up a bottle on my next trip to the ABC. I think you can get a handle of Virgin some months for about $19.

It is still age stated in NC and usually on sale for $12.99 for a 750.  I pick up a couple every time I'm there.  As mentioned above pretty much the same as Old Ezra 101.  Its a hell of a deal for a pretty good bourbon

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20 minutes ago, VAGentleman said:

It is still age stated in NC and usually on sale for $12.99 for a 750.  I pick up a couple every time I'm there.  As mentioned above pretty much the same as Old Ezra 101.  Its a hell of a deal for a pretty good bourbon

Yes...just looked it up on the state's ABC Brand locator. I'll definitely have to give it a try. I like most of Heaven Hills' juice.

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Just put it side by side with Evan Williams bonded.... Initially I was like ah crud shouldn't have bought a case. Opened up nicely though. Initially Evan was better and more complex but for my taste at this one moment right now Virgin wins

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47 minutes ago, bourbon4all said:

Just put it side by side with Evan Williams bonded.... Initially I was like ah crud shouldn't have bought a case. Opened up nicely though. Initially Evan was better and more complex but for my taste at this one moment right now Virgin wins

Agreed I think the 3 extra years of aging make a big difference

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3 hours ago, BDanner said:

I see this in NC, but don't recall it being age stated. If it is, I'm definitely picking up a bottle on my next trip to the ABC. I think you can get a handle of Virgin some months for about $19.

Only bad thing about the 1.75l size is that it is a PET bottle, while the 750ml is glass. Only bad thing about the contents is that it tasted 'piney' to me when when doing a SBS with EWW.

Edited by DeltaAlphaVictorEasy
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3 hours ago, bourbon4all said:

A little worried about the charcoal filtering. I hope it's good. (worried because I purchased a case)

Much of the Bourbon available for retail purchase is filtered.    Barrel proof offerings are usually not filtered.     The brands that aren't barrel proofers usually are chill filtered; but some are (or have been in the past) charcoal filtered (after being dumped from the barrel).

Chill filtering is a process that allows a clearer finished product (a selling point way back when, almost anything may have been floating around in there).    Chill filtering removes most or all of what is often referred to as 'frost haze'.     Someone with a better understanding of this can do much better explaining what is removed, and how it's accomplished; but, I'll give you what I've been told...

Lighter alcohols, fatty acids, and esters will be much easier to filter out when cold water is added, so cold water is used to bring the distillate down to bottling proof, when chilled thus, these substances are effectively removed with physical filtration.

I don't know if charcoal filtering involves adding cold water; but I believe not.

I hope a member with the chemistry background to explain these two methods will better explain this for you.    That's how it was told to me, if memory serves... which is not a guranteed thing at my age.

 

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1 hour ago, Richnimrod said:

Much of the Bourbon available for retail purchase is filtered.    Barrel proof offerings are usually not filtered.     The brands that aren't barrel proofers usually are chill filtered; but some are (or have been in the past) charcoal filtered (after being dumped from the barrel).

Chill filtering is a process that allows a clearer finished product (a selling point way back when, almost anything may have been floating around in there).    Chill filtering removes most or all of what is often referred to as 'frost haze'.     Someone with a better understanding of this can do much better explaining what is removed, and how it's accomplished; but, I'll give you what I've been told...

Lighter alcohols, fatty acids, and esters will be much easier to filter out when cold water is added, so cold water is used to bring the distillate down to bottling proof, when chilled thus, these substances are effectively removed with physical filtration.

I don't know if charcoal filtering involves adding cold water; but I believe not.

I hope a member with the chemistry background to explain these two methods will better explain this for you.    That's how it was told to me, if memory serves... which is not a guranteed thing at my age.

 

I believe this is the first I've had that is charcoal filtered (after barrel). It definitely changes the flavor but it's good. And spice of life right?

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Yeah, this is good stuff for the price.  Now I'm gonna have to grab one or two next time I drive through NC since I haven't had it in a while.

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9 hours ago, bourbon4all said:

Is this still made?

 

Prevalent in Alabama.  Perfectly decent for the price, and proof that you can get a decent sipping whiskey for a dozen dollars. 

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21 hours ago, bourbon4all said:

 

I believe this is the first I've had that is charcoal filtered (after barrel). It definitely changes the flavor but it's good. And spice of life right?

I don't think this is filtered after barreling.  

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Pretty much everything is filtered when it comes out of the barrel even if it is as simple as a mesh sieve to get bits of char and whatever else might be floating in it. More than a few, indeed most bourbons, likely get a pass through activated charcoal once they come out of the barrel and before they hit the bottling line. But unlike the "Lincoln County" process of Dickel and Daniels (which is filtered through maple charcoal before barreling) this isn't thought to have any impact on the flavor of the whiskey itself.

 

Chill filtering as best I recall can be done by simply chilling the whiskey (you don't have to add cold water) and passing it through a very fine mesh filter or paper filter (a bit like a coffee filter I suppose) to get rid of those tasty esters and fatty acids that make whiskey appear cloudy when it gets cold. Purely cosmetic and there is nothing good that comes from it as far as I am concerned! 

Edited by tanstaafl2
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I really like Virgin Bourbon. It's one of my favorites from the bottom shelf category and I always grab a bottle when I see it on trips to NC. I have actually seen it in VA rarely. It's not even in the VA ABC online catalog, but a few stores carry it.

 

I recently did a blind SBS tasting of Virgin 101, JTS Brown BIB, EWBIB, HH6 BIB, and AA90. The Virgin 101 was my favorite of the group. It's great stuff, especially for the price. I hope it continues to be available for the long term.

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I live in SC but often make it to NC on business.  Over the years I have picked up a few bottles of Virgin 101.  As someone who loves almost all HH juice, this one just doesn't do it for me.  In my opinion, it is strictly a mixer.  I have to say that for the price, it is a pretty decent mixer just not something I would care to have in my regular rotation.

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