Bourbon Bargains !!!

[Barrel_Proof]

How about posting Bourbon Bargains you locate locally or on the net? I count within the category both (i) true price anomalies and (ii) hard-to-find or rare items at fair prices.

I'll kick it off with a couple of my own finds, one in each category. These two are locals, requiring in-store pick-ups:

Old Commonwealth (ORVW 10yo 107) $17.69, at City-Wide Liquors in South Bend and Mishawaka, Indiana (price anomaly category), http://www.citywideliquors.com/index2.htm ; and

2002 Old Forester Birthday Bourbon $36.99, at Cranberry Liquors in Westminster, Maryland (hard-to-find at fair price category), http://www.cranberry-liquors.com/Spirits.htm#whiskey .

Please post your finds!

[CL]

Good idea, BP!

[Blackkeno]

Great idea. It would be nice to comment if they ship out of state or not too.

[Black85L98]

I am getting off post a bit but, I have never had the Birthday Bourbon. It is at my local shop for about $37. I have not had Blantons, about $43, same shop. My question is if I am going to spend 37 should I kick in the extra bucks and get the Blantons?

[Barrel_Proof]

IMHO, you should buy two bottles of 2002 Birthday Bourbon. Blanton's is fine--no, very fine--bourbon, but the 2002 OFBB is the first of its kind and will never be seen again (the 2003 variant is due in Sept, though).

Enjoy one bottle of this Brown-Forman uber bourbon now and bunker the other so that you can share it with others years down the line and tell them the story of the fall of 2002 when the craft bourbon world changed forever. And while you're at it, put a Stagg in that bunker, too! Then you can tell (and taste) both bourbon stories of 2002 for years to come!

[Paradox]

I have to agree. Get a/some of the Birthday Bourbon while you still can. Blanton's is definately a very fine bourbon, but you will always have the chance to pick that up. If you're tastes are like more than 1/2 of ours on here, the OFBB will do you just fine.

[MurphyDawg]

Get the Bday bourbon now, as it won't be the same next year. That said, you should definately find the time and $$ to try Blanton's at length, it really is worth the money. . .

TomC

[ratcheer]

I have both Blanton's and OFBB. I must say that while Blanton's is a perennial contender, you have got to try the OFBB at least once. Once it is gone, the same bourbon will never be available, again. It is in my personal top three (but note that several of the other top bourbons are not available to me, e.g., George T. Stagg).

[bobbyc]

Since you don't have any , you'll have to take my word......... ( I may be the only one here who will go this far out on a limb) GTS does to OFBB what OFBB does to JimBeam White 4Year Old! Not meaning to disparage OFBB It's a number 2 or 3 with me.

[bluesbassdad]

Unfortunately, due to the patchwork quilt of liquor laws a find for one is not necessarily a find for all. Neither of the locations you cite will ship to California, for example.

However, prompted by your post I learned that Binny's lists Old Commnwealth at only a couple dollars more, still a good buy if it really is the same as ORVW 10/107, and they list something called "Old Forester 100th Anniversary Bourbon" for $37.99. I suppose I should have waited until the sun came up and called them before I ordered the latter -- I merely assumed that it is the legendary "Birthday Bourbon". While I was at it, I also ordered Van Winkle's Old Time Rye, which seems to have disappeared from the VW product line, for $27.99, and Baker's, which Binny's still sells for an amazing $23.99.

Here's another, less useful approach to the game. Where have you found the most outrageous prices? Here's my candidate. They are the outfit that the Woodford Reserve website links to. I can't believe that's good business on the part of L&G.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[jeff]

I think I disagree slightly with your assesment Bobby. While Stagg is the hands-down winner in a shootout, the BB is so good that it could never be a non-contender for the title. I only wish I could find more of the BB. I am about 3/4 through, I'm ashamed to say, my first bottle with only one bottle in reserve. If I had a couple more I would delve deeper into its virtues. Know where to find any in KY? Wish I had bought more when Shoppers Village has those two cases

[jeff]

Baker's for $23.99? I would load up for that price, but I live in communist KY and nobody ships here

[bluesbassdad]

Yep, that's their price. I bought my first bottle of Baker's from them a few months ago, not really expecting that they would deliver it at that price, but they did. Even if that had been the only bottle I bought on that order, with all the shipping cost added to a single bottle, it still would have been cheaper than buying locally. (Do you suppose that price is a mistake that has somehow escaped notice all this time?)

I think I bought about five assorted bottlings at that time, making the shipping cost per bottle around $4.

Baker's isn't one of my must-have bourbons, even though it's probably my ffavorite Beam Small Batch bottling, but at that price I will continue to order a bottle each time I deal with Binny's. If I ever find myself having to pay the normal price, the mid-to-upper thirties, I'll probably pass and go with RHF or KS instead.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[Paradox]

There's a Navy base in Virginia that EVERY time I go has Bakers for $29 minus a 30% discount. And since there's no tax on the base, I always end up buying a bottle! When I was there last year they had the old bottles, but now they are even discounting the new bottles as well. Go figure...

[robbyvirus]

Van Winkle's Old Time Rye for $27.99 is a good buy! I found an old, dusty bottle for $36 a month or so ago in San Francisco...it was hidden away on a bottom shelf and looked forgotten. But it's REALLY GOOD! I'm now looking for the Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye to do a head-to-head taste.

[Black85L98]

Gentlemen I took your sage advice and purchased the OFBB tonight after work. I only bought one bottle as I have a tight Bourbon budget and just bought a bottle of WT and EW Bottled in Bond Thursday. They have four more bottles so I can get more if needed. I like the birthday bourbon. I would like to compare it to OF 100 and see what the difference is. From what I can remember the nose is a bit more powerful on the BB and the finish is crisper. Lots of the same flavors but I am judging from memory. I enjoyed mine neat tonight but will try some with crushed ice in the future. I have one store in my market that has a decent selection but they do not have Stagg or Buffalo Trace. My wish list now consists of Blanton’s, Jefferson’s, Stagg and BT. I will have to go out of state to get the Stagg and BT.

[MurphyDawg]

Nope, B'day Bourbon is still better than Stagg (so are Kentucky Spirit and Russells Reserve), though all are of about the same quality. We are lucky to have such good stuff to drink!!

TomC

[bobbyc]

I guess nothing can dampen my enthusiam for Stagg and by the same token there seems little that can kindle yours, Everyone here knows how I feel about it.On the bright side , we are drinking some fine barrel squeezins!

[CL]

Then go you must! (Out of state that is). If I had to live on BT as my everyday drink and GTS as my special occasion drink the rest of my life, I would be a very happy man.

BTW, I can't get either in my state of NC, so I have to stock up when I go to my parents in WV....Ok, I stock up on BT. I am already well stocked with GTS from prior trips.

[MurphyDawg]

Oh please dont get me wrong, Stagg is some damn good shit! (pardon zee french, please!! ). Its just that it doesnt make me forget that there isnt many other EXCEPTIONAL bourbons out there. I think it says more to me about how great the selection of premium bourbons we have is, as opposed to that I am down on ole Georgy. I bet I think just as higly about Stagg as you do, I just think there is a short list of bourbons that are up there with him.

TomC

[MurphyDawg]

I have picked up and put down a bottle of Buffalo Trace the last THREE times I have been shopping out of state, partially because of your endorsement, I am sure that won't happen a fourth time !

TomC

[CL]

I've been living off two 1.75 liters from a trip in early January. The darn things are almost gone already.

[bluesbassdad]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />

...you have got to try the OFBB at least once.

[boone]

Your best buy Cliff?...

This is the best bargain that I could find for ya

Just a tad bit old I wanted to let some of the folks see what WHISKY costs a long time ago...Old Tub is the most expensive...I wish I knew the year that this was advertised...

Old Tub is Beam and Hart...(Jim Beam)...F.G. Walker was another of Jim Beam and Joseph L. Beam (my great-grandfather) bourbon whiskey product...There are partnership papers (F.G. Walker) that date Jan. 1917 ...

Wouldn't ya know it...The propietor is a Beam also...Hmmmmmmm if they were not makin it they were selling it

Bettye Jo

[swash1]

In Pennsylvannia, the Liquor Control Board controls pricing across the entire state, including sales prices. They've recently taken to listing their sales on-line at http://www.lcb.state.pa.us/Retail/storesales/currentsale.asp. There are still a few days left on this months bargains, including

Knob Creek: 22.99

WT Rare Breed: 26.99