BTAC and Van Winkle nonsense

[LostBottle]

Nonsense indeed. That said, I managed to pick up 3 bottles of PVW15, one of which I will crack tonight. I am curious to see what the new stuff tastes like. First though, I need to get busy and sell the other 2 bottles on fleabay. In lieu of cash, my buy it now price will literally be 1 arm & 1 leg, or your firstborn:lol:

Actually, if there is another member on this board that is after some PVW15 let me know. I don't want to sell, but want do a little trading for some Sazerac 18 or GTS (2009 or 2010). I will enjoy the PVW for sure and it is probably the 2nd best pour I've had, but I have never had Saz 18 and the GTS is a just a tad more special for me.

[JFS61]

I remember about 6 years ago stopping in a little liquor store here in Central Texas and picking up 5 bottles of Lot B for $35.99 each and a bottle of 20 for $69.99, and left a fair number sitting on the shelf. If I had realized what was going to happen, I would have weighed down the car with the rest of their stock. Also wouldn't have given a bottle of the Lot B to a good friend as a Xmas present years ago, either (lol). Oh well. . .

[thezenone]

I was able to score a bottle of Pappy 20 because I walked into Bevmo the day that they put it on the shelf. I actually went in to get a $25 bottle, but could not resist grabbing the Pappy since I knew all 3 would be gone the next day. I started a small whiskey tasting club with my friends so I'm going to do a tasting with Pappy 15, Pappy 20, ORVW 107, and Weller Antique. Thought I would share with my friends instead of hoarding it for myself.

I was in Roseville, CA this weekend and Total Wine had multiple bottles of every BTAC release except the Sazerac 18, which is of course the one that I really wanted. I ended up not grabbing any of them. They also had multiple ORVW bottles in both proofs.

[B.B. Babington]

...had multiple bottles of every BTAC release except the Sazerac 18, which is of course the one that I really wanted. ...

Is Saz18 going to be the next "gold" to score? Wish I had more.

[autiger23]

Is Saz18 going to be the next "gold" to score? Wish I had more.

Must be me, but not a big fan of the 18 at all. Ive got one bottle from the 2010 that is halfway full and not one of my favorites.

[thezenone]

I'm a big fan of rye and love Baby Saz, so that was at the top of my want list in terms of BTAC. I really should have grabbed a bottle of the Handy, but I already had $100 worth of booze.

[speedbump47]

I was in Roseville, CA this weekend and Total Wine had multiple bottles of every BTAC release except the Sazerac 18, which is of course the one that I really wanted. I ended up not grabbing any of them. They also had multiple ORVW bottles in both proofs.

Oddly enough, the rep at the Total Wine I went to in SoCal told me "hey Roseville has some Stagg and WLW". Neither I nor the salesperson knew where that was, and upon checking Google Maps, to our dismay it was not within driving distance

[Hershmeister]

I'm not crazy about the saz 18 either. Too spicy for my tastes I guess. I have a line on a bottle if someone in the nashville area wants to work out a trade for some pappy (any) or willett 19 year.

[LostBottle]

Is Saz18 going to be the next "gold" to score? Wish I had more.

It seemed to be in muuuuch shorter supply than any PVW where I am at. In fact, I traded some PVW for some Saz18 to another board member who likes wheaters better because I simply had a hard time getting any. The good news is that rye seems to be an acquired taste and many people waiting for the Pappy were not really whiskey aficionados and were after name brand only - they had no idea what Saz 18 was.

[thezenone]

@speedbump47

We were up there visiting friends and the store happened to be very close to where they live. They had no less than 6 bottles of each BTAC (except the Saz 18 which was out), and if I remember correctly they had about 10 Wellers. Makes me wonder how long they were on the shelf and whether I need to make another trip to see our friends :grin:

[speedbump47]

@speedbump47

We were up there visiting friends and the store happened to be very close to where they live. They had no less than 6 bottles of each BTAC (except the Saz 18 which was out), and if I remember correctly they had about 10 Wellers. Makes me wonder how long they were on the shelf and whether I need to make another trip to see our friends :grin:

If you'd be going up from the LA area, I'd be more than happy to buy some extras off of you.

[LostBottle]

Dear Pappy,

You are an old friend, quite dependable, and you have impeccable taste. Truth be told though, your popularity has caused our friendship to waiver. Adding to the fact we will be spending less time together is the fact I have a new love I am pursuing. I met an 18 year old named Sazerac...so spicy and so lovely...I would raid my bunker for Saz.

Sincerely,

Lost

[yountvillewjs]

They had no less than 6 bottles of each BTAC (except the Saz 18 which was out), and if I remember correctly they had about 10 Wellers.

I'm pretty sure a friend of mine cleaned that place out of Saz 18 about 2 weeks ago. He told me there were multiples of all the BTAC's, but only 3 of the Saz's -- of which he bought them all.

[LostBottle]

Seattle members - if you got shut out on PVW20, PVW23, or VWFRR pm me within the next 24 hours, I might be able to help you as I have a lead on a handful of bottles.

Just to clarify, I am not flipping anything here, just trying to garner some goodwill and help a local SB member or two who couldn't find what they wanted. I won't help flippers and price-gougers so you must be a SB member for a year with a few posts under your belt. That said, preference for those with Saz 18 or GTS('09,'10) to trade though;)

[yountvillewjs]

As if the Pappy thing couldn't get worse, it is my understanding that PVW is on the cover of the print edition of the latest Wine Spectator magazine. The biggest, most influencial wine rag in the game. Might be fun to watch eBay for the next week or two.

[dridge11]

We don't need more wine people to figure out this bourbon thing.

[Clavius]

We don't need more wine people to figure out this bourbon thing.

Amen, brother. Amen...

[JayMonster]

We don't need more wine people to figure out this bourbon thing.

Sure we do... *SOMEBODY* has to drink Red Stag!

[Tucker]

As if the Pappy thing couldn't get worse, it is my understanding that PVW is on the cover of the print edition of the latest Wine Spectator magazine. The biggest, most influencial wine rag in the game. Might be fun to watch eBay for the next week or two.

[LostBottle]

As if the Pappy thing couldn't get worse, it is my understanding that PVW is on the cover of the print edition of the latest Wine Spectator magazine. The biggest, most influencial wine rag in the game. Might be fun to watch eBay for the next week or two.

Good call. eBay prices for the PVW15 are topping $200...WTF? I would rather slowly sip on rotgut moonshine than $200 Pappy 15.

I just recently sold an extra bottle to another SB member who could not find any at the price I paid for it ($70). Looks like I left $130 on the table - oh well, it found a good home and karma will bring me a BMH23.

[MarkEdwards]

Good call. eBay prices for the PVW15 are topping $200...WTF? I would rather slowly sip on rotgut moonshine than $200 Pappy 15.

I just recently sold an extra bottle to another SB member who could not find any at the price I paid for it ($70). Looks like I left $130 on the table - oh well, it found a good home and karma will bring me a BMH23.

Bless you. You are a wonderful human being and will have a place in whiskey heaven. :bowdown:

[TheDude]

Do you think this may be because of marketing decisions to keep supply limited, or perhaps just an inability to find the resources, i.e. people, time, ingredients, etc., to meet demand?

If Scotland can meet the demand then why can't we? I have to believe that the BTAC and Van Winkle producers have known for years about the demand for their products and could have planned for ageing more whiskey to meet the increase...

[Old Lamplighter]

But then again, an ample supply would mean more sitting on the shelves, which really would lessen the "mystique" of the brand. So who knows....

[Bmac]

There might be some trickery. I discovered that in my area of Dallas TX, the liquor stores didn't receive any allotment of the 2011 version of WLW. I bought two bottles from two different stores and both were the 2010 release (based on proof). I asked the managers of both locations and they had just pulled them from the box. Further evidence was that the remaining brands that came with it (GTS, THHS, and ER17) were all 2011 releases.

So, does that m an BT held on to an allotment of 2010 WLW because they knew there wouldn't be enough 2011 to go around? Or did the distributors make the swap when Jim Murray announced that the 2011 WLW was one of the top whiskey of the world.

I have heard of this practice with the Pappy products.

[bourboncc]

I picked up this issue at the airport yesterday and was happy to see that the main article was written by Lew Bryson (not surprising, since Whisky Advocate, née Malt Advocate, is now a publication of M. Shanken). It's a good read, even for those of us who've been around bourbon for a while, and there's a nice review section.

Agreed. Read the article and reviews at a Barnes and Noble the other day, it would be an ideal introductory article for the budding bourbon lover.