New Colonel E.H. Taylor

[tommyj1986]

The following caught my eye in Shanken News Daily today.

Sazerac Co. is set to launch Colonel E. H. Taylor Jr. Barrel Proof Bourbon, an uncut, unfiltered rye-recipe Bourbon that’s at 134.5-proof and is aged seven years. Rolling out in June, it’s the fourth product in the E. H. Taylor Jr. Bourbon Collection, joining Old Fashioned Sour Mash Bourbon, Single Barrel Bourbon and Warehouse C. Tornado Surviving Bourbon. Like the previous three releases, Barrel Proof Bourbon will have limited availability and will be packaged in a vintage label and canister. Suggested retail price is $69.99 a 750-ml.

[Trey Manthey]

Nice...I wonder if they will ever have a regular release of this, or if will continue to be these limited edition releases.

[Tico]

color me excited for a barrel proof rye

[c2walker]

The following caught my eye in Shanken News Daily today.

Sazerac Co. is set to launch Colonel E. H. Taylor Jr. Barrel Proof Bourbon, an uncut, unfiltered rye-recipe Bourbon that’s at 134.5-proof and is aged seven years. Rolling out in June, it’s the fourth product in the E. H. Taylor Jr. Bourbon Collection, joining Old Fashioned Sour Mash Bourbon, Single Barrel Bourbon and Warehouse C. Tornado Surviving Bourbon. Like the previous three releases, Barrel Proof Bourbon will have limited availability and will be packaged in a vintage label and canister. Suggested retail price is $69.99 a 750-ml.

[c2walker]

color me excited for a barrel proof rye

[wadewood]

I have tried this and trust me it is good. I will be buying several.

[clingman71]

So its like paying the same amount as Stagg for half the age?

[Tucker]

So its like paying the same amount as Stagg for half the age?

[jburlowski]

I have tried this and trust me it is good. I will be buying several.

I agree with Wade... having tried it; I'll be buying it.

[Halifax]

I agree with Wade... having tried it; I'll be buying it.

What they said...:grin:

[bad_scientist]

I guess that would be this one. I'm kind of disappointed it's only going to be 7 years old. I suppose it's essentially barrel proof Buffalo Trace, which is something I'd like to try, but not for nearly 4 times the price of regular Buffalo Trace.

Next time you're at Jack Rose, try the Willett Matinee and French Connection. The Matinee is almost certainly BT. I can't tell about the French Connection but I believe it to be.

[Josh]

I'm sorry, but screw this. 7 y/o for $70? Really? It's basically a bourbon version of Handy which is already the worst bargain in American whiskey. I would much rather get a couple bottles of a good retailer bottling of Buffalo Trace or Eagle Rare than this.

"The rye recipe version of Van Winkle", my pale white ass! If anyone's keeping score, I'm back in the BT haters club.

[wadewood]

I'm sorry, but screw this.

I love you! Thanks for putting this all in perspective!

Still, I've tasted it and the proof is in the pudding. I'm a buyer.

[Josh]

I love you! Thanks for all in perspective!

You know I love you too, Wade. I may have been a bit tipsy when that mini-rant was posted. Still, 7 years old seems a little on the young side. Doesn't inspire confidence in me for the future of the this line. Of course, this is all without having tasted the stuff.

[Restaurant man]

I'm sorry, but screw this. 7 y/o for $70? Really? It's basically a bourbon version of Handy which is already the worst bargain in American whiskey. I would much rather get a couple bottles of a good retailer bottling of Buffalo Trace or Eagle Rare than this.

"The rye recipe version of Van Winkle", my pale white ass! If anyone's keeping score, I'm back in the BT haters club.

Any post that can be quoted "my pale white ass" has my interest. So much for honoring the "Bottled in bond" guy with a barrel strength release. We shall see. so far in my opinion they have had 2 hits with one miss. And the two hits have been overpriced by 8 bucks a bottle

[CaptainQ]

You know I love you too, Wade. I may have been a bit tipsy when that mini-rant was posted. Still, 7 years old seems a little on the young side. Doesn't inspire confidence in me for the future of the this line. Of course, this is all without having tasted the stuff.

[sutton]

I confess to being a bit confused by the branding here. When it appeared that they were going to try to replicate the original sour mash recipe, this made sense and was intriguing since it was attempting to re-produce a bit of bourbon history.

Then there was a single barrel that was just the rye-recipe bourbon, perhaps some very good barrels hand-selected, but something different from the original.

Then the "tornado" release - seemed a bit of a gimic; not sure how it related to the Colonel's legacy.

Now this .... other than using his name, exactly what is this brand supposed to be? Just any very-good to great barrels they happen to come across that don't fit neatly into any of the other brands?

[Brisko]

Sounds exactly like that, Sutton. A place to dump their really good stuff that doesn't hit their other profiles, while at the same time raising their visibility.

The pricing is ridiculous, though. Sounds like they won't have any trouble selling it, though.

[clingman71]

Sounds exactly like that, Sutton. A place to dump their really good stuff that doesn't hit their other profiles, while at the same time raising their visibility.

The pricing is ridiculous, though. Sounds like they won't have any trouble selling it, though.

[Brisko]

Ridiculous yes. It seems as though it should be in the $40-50 range between BT/ER and the BTAC.

[Young Blacksmith]

What makes this rye-recipe bourbon so special? They produce rye-recipe bourbon all the time for their other products. I enjoyed the Sour Mash quite a bit, but after the Single Barrel I decided to not purchase another, even after the rave reviews on the Tornado.

I guess I've already made up my mind, and prefer chasing 4R products. My thoughts about bourbon are changing, and I'm narrowing down to a few products to focus on, stock at the house, and leave chasing the rest behind.

[clingman71]

Well, Booker's is probably the closest analog to this particular release and it's right in that $40-50 price range. And I always though Beam was a few bucks overpriced for the most part.

I said pretty much the same thing about the Tornado. $70 for a 10 year old BiB? A lot of people responded, "But it's really, really good." Well, okay, but that's a departure from the way bourbon has been priced in the past, thank goodness. Otherwise we'd be paying $50 for VOB, Dickel, and OWA.

On a different point, the "rye-recipe Van Winkle" notion is pure BS as far as I can see. The Van Winkles, love them or hate them, have developed a solid brand based on excellent product, consistent profiles, and brilliant marketing. The EHT releases, while good, don't do anything to build a coherent brand. And even the Van Winkles won't price a 10 year old bourbon over $40:rolleyes:.

[sku]

I've actually never tasted anything from the EH Taylor series, but I tend to think that anytime a new barrel strength bourbon comes out, it's a good thing. There just aren't that many of them, particularly from the distilleries (as opposed to, say, Willetts, which offers a lot of them).

[AaronWF]

The CEHT line is a tool for BT to use to raise prices on bourbon across the board; considering it their rye-recipe equivalent to the VW line gives them away. It seems pretty clear to me that their priority with the brand has been to create a slot in their portfolio that is expensive. The bourbon has come after the price and branding.

I think I'd be less accusatory if they hadn't released the Single Barrel as part of the line: my bottle was so empty of charm.

I appreciate that the line is BiB, but I see bourbon prices all going up before the juice used in the brand becomes deserving of what $70 can buy you today.

That said, I'll still spring for the next release. At least a bottle.

[Brisko]

I've actually never tasted anything from the EH Taylor series, but I tend to think that anytime a new barrel strength bourbon comes out, it's a good thing. There just aren't that many of them, particularly from the distilleries (as opposed to, say, Willetts, which offers a lot of them).

Speaking of Willetts, I note merely for comparison that TPS has a 7 year old, barrel proof (presumably) Willett for $44.99.

/yes I am a cheap bastard, why do you ask?