Buffalo trace vs Elmer T Lee

[trumpstylz]

Does anyone have a preference? Has anyone tried these side by side? Also, has anyone had the binny's version of both of these?

Any thoughts?

[ratcheer]

Personally, I prefer Elmer T. Lee for its rye spiciness.

Tim

[cowdery]

Although they are both Buffalo Trace, they are made from different mash bills, so they really aren't the same whiskey. I'm fond of both and don't really have a preference.

[hectic1]

I've had both ETL and BT from Binny's and as Chuck stated they are different mash bills so they're pretty different. Binny's has done mulitple different ETL and BT selections in the past and they were all pretty different. I really liked the 2009 bottling of ETL that Binny's did while the 2010 didn't really do anything for me. The 2009 was sweet on entry and it faded into a nice spice that was very drinkable.

The 2009 BT that Binny's did was IMO similar to the standard BT that's out there. I found the 2010 to be much richer and complex then the 2009. The problem is that Binny's doens't differentiate the bottlings so it's hard to know what you're getting unless you can see the secret code on the bottle!

[bad_scientist]

That last post was much more informative than mine, but I thought I'd add my two cents since I'm having some BT right this minute. To me, regular BT tastes like malt + sugar, like powdered malt to put in milk. Delicious but simple, and a bit thin to me, though it has a nice long aftertaste.

Elmer is much more complex, with the rye coming in the middle and end to spruce up the sweetness. Sometimes it tastes like a root beer float with homemade root beer, other times a dessert bourbon with a rye kick that wipes all that sugar off the palate to let me take another sip.

[T Comp]

Neither one would I take as my stranded on an island bourbon but Gary had an off the shelf bottle of BT, but from a shelf in Frankfort, that was quite rich and balanced. There was no thinness or must that does seem to pop up in BT.

[White Dog]

As far as standard bottlings go, ETL in a heartbeat.

[Bourbon Boiler]

Love the ETL, BT is ok. I'll take Blanton's over either.

[OscarV]

Yep, ETL over BT, no contest.

[bgageus]

I have a bottle of BT around, its a great multi use bourbon for mixing, coctails and neat. The ETL, I have had 3 bottles, the first one was so bad I mixed it with coke to finish it off. I gave it a second chance in a bar. The Bar had a half shot left in the bottle, so they poured me two glasses and I was able to do a side by side. The end of the bottle was amazing and the new bottle was horrible, like the one I mixed with coke. Maybe it was the oxygen that improved it, or maybe its the luck of the draw with the Single Barrel. I have now bought another bottle and plan to open it and taste is and then let it sit to see if it improves.

[troyce]

Love both of them . For the money the Buffalo Trace is hard to beat, now that some of the inconsistencies of a few years ago are gone.

[spy247]

I have put both of these head to head many times. ETL comes out on top in tasting sessions. However for a drinking session its BT.

Both are great drinks.

[StraightNoChaser]

Can't say I'm a fan of either. Most BT products taste like cheap corn to me. That includes ETL, ER, BT, Blanton's, etc. I've had a private barrel select ER that was fantastic and one that was even worse than the standard bottling. Also tried a private barrel of ETL and it wasn't special at all.

[White Dog]

Can't say I'm a fan of either. Most BT products taste like cheap corn to me. That includes ETL, ER, BT, Blanton's, etc. I've had a private barrel select ER that was fantastic and one that was even worse than the standard bottling. Also tried a private barrel of ETL and it wasn't special at all.

Out of curiosity, do you feel the same about their wheaters?

[smokinjoe]

I really like the ETL. Priced very nicely, too. But, the last several bottles of BT that I've had have been totally in my wheelhouse. A stupendous whiskey. Easily, one of my current Top 5 Bourbons.

[chefnash51]

While I like BT, it find myself forgetting it's even there in my bar. I have probably gone through 4 or 5 bottles of ETL since I purchased my last BT bottle. Didn't help much that I came across a lost stock of ETL 90th Bday bottling. Tasty!:grin:

[StraightNoChaser]

Out of curiosity, do you feel the same about their wheaters?

My love for Weller comes and goes. Some days it tastes great and some days I just taste the corn.

Weller Centennial and VSOF really ruined BT wheaters for me :skep:

[BourbonKiller]

I like them both. I would rank ETL ahead of BT. But handles of BT are a good value pour. I say stock them both... at least thats what I do. You can never have too much Bourbon in stock, can you?

[StraightNoChaser]

Depends on how much room you have.

[trumpstylz]

I like them both. I would rank ETL ahead of BT. But handles of BT are a good value pour. I say stock them both... at least thats what I do. You can never have too much Bourbon in stock, can you?

Yeah, around here the BT fifths cost 25 and the handle is 50, so that doesn't leave much incentive to go with the handle.

My friend ended up getting the bt 375 ml of the buffalo trace binnys hand picked and we're waiting for the elmer t lee hand picked to appear again on the shelves. I don't know yet about their elmer t lee hand picked barrels, but the binny's buffalo trace bottlings are solid.

[Flyfish]

Had both BT and ETL on hand so did a side-by-side comparison. As it turns out, though I really like BT, there is no comparison. ETL all the way.

[wku88]

ETL all day, every day, and twice on Sunday over BT.

[Mike Early]

I cannot believe how good Elmer T Lee is. Very few stores around here carry it.

[White Dog]

I cannot believe how good Elmer T Lee is. Very few stores around here carry it.

Where is "around here?":skep: