Ten High Straight Bourbon Whiskey

[trumpstylz]

Yeah, i think it gets a bad rap. It's not something you wanna swirl in a glencarin, but its great to have on hand at parties sitting next to some coke and a bucket of ice.

[squire]

$11.00 is outrageous, here it's closer to $8.39.

[unclebunk]

The regular Ten High is a Straight Bourbon here and a very good value that I wouldn't hesitate to use or serve to guests.

Agreed. When I put it in a decanter once just to see what people would think of it, my friends drank it straight away and were happy with it. Had I pulled out a bottle of it to serve, their reaction would have been different. Crazy!

82 would have been some of the last Ten High made in Peoria, IL, where the brand originated. After that, it was briefly a Heaven Hill product, but has for about 25 years been made at Barton. The Barton Ten High, which is all you're going to find in stores, the occasional dusty notwithstanding, is VOB at four years rather than six. The only thing is to make sure you get the straight bourbon version and not the bourbon blend, which depends on where you are. Here in Illinois, where Ten High began, it's still a straight bourbon, and still a great value at $11/750.

It really is an excellent value for $11 and sits comfortably next to VOB, though I still tend to go for the latter when given the choice.

But some of us prefer a woody

whiskey

You ain't mixing bourbon and Cialis again, are you Tommy?

[smokinjoe]

Back some years ago, there were a couple of Ten High minis waiting in the General Nelson room I checked into, prior to the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. Part of the GN's providing for some...um...ambiance...Well, after a 6ish hour drive from ATL to Bardstown, that Ten High sipped from the bathroom plastic cup was one of the best "whiskey tasing experiences" I've ever had. So yeah, it's alright by me.

:toast:

[jcg9779]

I think the Ten High Ten came out for a few years, then was dropped to the normal Ten High. There are some pics on here somewhere I've seen of the 10H10.

Here you go:

[unclebunk]

I grabbed four or five of those THT tins a few years back for $15 a piece or so and was really pleased with my find. Nice packaging too!

[p_elliott]

At one time Ten High was the best selling bourbon in Iowa as it was most used well bourbon in bars.

[Curtisc84]

I picked up a Ten High Straight after reading this thread. I really enjoyed the woody taste of it. I'd buy another after I finish if I can find it. I see mostly blended when I see Ten High on the shelf.

[MauiSon]

I saw a few bottles of the dusty Peoria, IL, version, but at $15 I passed and chose the lone Early Times tax stripped ($8).

[TheNovaMan]

Last time I checked, not so great. It's pretty much the cheapest KSBW money can buy, and while it's not absolutely undrinkable straight, I can't imagine doing anything with it other than putting it in Coke.

*And that's coming from me, the cheapest bourbon drinker in the world.

Hmm, it looks like SB.com may have a new cheapest bourbon drinker in the world. Read on...

The regular Ten High is a Straight Bourbon here and a very good value that I wouldn't hesitate to use or serve to guests.

Even if I weren't already a Ten High straight fan, this endorsement would be good enough for me to buy a bottle (if it were available where I live).

Here in Illinois, where Ten High began, it's still a straight bourbon, and still a great value at $11/750.

Agreed. When I put it in a decanter once just to see what people would think of it, my friends drank it straight away and were happy with it. Had I pulled out a bottle of it to serve, their reaction would have been different. Crazy!

It really is an excellent value for $11 and sits comfortably next to VOB, though I still tend to go for the latter when given the choice.

$11.00 is outrageous, here it's closer to $8.39.

It used to be a hair under $7.50 for a 750 of it in MI, and $17.48 for a handle (and I understand you can still get Ten High straight in many places in MI that aren't Kalamazoo). The next step down was Old Croak and Mattingly & Moore, neither of which are worth the spare lint in your pocket. The next step up was Ezra Brooks, which goes for $25 for a handle. Ten High straight was by far the best deal around if you wanted a decent bourbon for a great price.

Yeah, i think it gets a bad rap. It's not something you wanna swirl in a glencarin, but its great to have on hand at parties sitting next to some coke and a bucket of ice.

That was the strength of Ten High straight - there was nothing WRONG with it. Sure, it was a little young, had some rough edges, and wasn't very complex, but it was only $17.48 for a handle! I drank it in mixes, in cocktails, on ice, and even neat, and I was always pleased with the value......... until they turned it into a 'bourbon blend'. That was a sad day. :frown:

[tanstaafl2]

I still have a 3/4 full liter bottle somewhere in the back of the cabinet that is probably at least 20 years old and was my cocktail mixing bourbon at that time. I guess I need to pull it out, dust it off and see if it is still any good!

[G-Rat]

wait...sorry to derail things but...I live in St. Louis right on the border with Illinois. I like Barton Juice a lot. So the question is...

Ten High is not a blend but a straight whiskey in Illinois? True or false...cuz if it is i'm headed east to check some out.

[squire]

I've been in stores where it was both so read the label carefully.

[bllygthrd]

I've been in stores where it was both so read the label carefully.

Same here in WV ... I find both here, although the "blend" is much more prevalent.

[cowdery]

I believe it's supposed to be straight bourbon in Illinois, and Missouri distributors can't legally sell to Illinois retailers, but shit happens. Always check the labels.

Sazerac seems to really be burying Ten High. They're either getting ready to sell it or degrade it further.

[squire]

That would be a shame really. I would rather see the brand discontinued over debasement.

[mark fleetwood]

On his blog today Chuck notes that Sazerac does not show Ten High on its redesigned website, a little more fuel to the idea that they're planning to get rid of it one way or the other.

Would anyone WANT to buy a bottom shelf brand?

If they are planning to shutter it, I'm not taking it sitting down. A great old name deserves better. I'm going to start a Ten High Ambassadors program, eventually rallying 13 drunks outside BT's Frankfort offices chanting "we shall overcome."

Nothing is over until we decide it is!

(Trying to figure out a way to use Liam Neeson's "I will look for you. I will find you and I will kill you" Taken line but then this all starts to seem a little ridiculous since no one in their right mind can seriously imagine 13 drunk SB members sauntering across the Kentucky bluegrass looking for, finding, and harming anyone but themselves, not to mention whomever from BT plays Marco from Tropoja in this farce.)

[cowdery]

I don't know what's up with Ten High. I could ask, but where would be the fun in that?

Ten High was once a huge brand and I thought it still had a pretty good following, even though they're obviously all cheap ass m***erf***ers, but maybe they all finally died off or switched to Imperial, which was Ten High's blended whiskey counterpart historically.

[squire]

Nah, just switched to grand mothers.

[mark fleetwood]

I don't know what's up with Ten High. I could ask, but where would be the fun in that?

Ten High was once a huge brand and I thought it still had a pretty good following, even though they're obviously all cheap ass m***erf***ers, but maybe they all finally died off or switched to Imperial, which was Ten High's blended whiskey counterpart historically.

[TheNovaMan]

Mark, I'll come with you.

Col. Cowdery, there was a reason us "cheap ass m***erf***ers" (no offense taken) paid the extra $3.49 for a handle of Ten High straight over a handle of Imperial: taste, believe it or not. Now we're left wondering what to drink, because blends suck, and it was the only acceptable bourbon in its price bracket. The next best deal in MI seems to be Ezra Brooks 90 proof, but at $24.99/1.75L, that's 43% more than we were used to paying for budget bourbon.

Ten High may not be on the GreatBourbon.com site anymore, but it's still on Sazerac.com. I've also seen a couple COLAs of new labels that look nothing like any previous Ten High label.

[cowdery]

Col. Cowdery, there was a reason us "cheap ass m***erf***ers" (no offense taken) ...

None intended.

Both Imperial and Ten High were Hiram Walker brands. Ten High was made exclusively at the Hiram Walker Distillery in Peoria, Illinois. Imperial was made there, as an American blend, and at Walkerville as a Canadian blend. The whiskey portion of the American Imperial would have been Ten High. That's the connection.

[PaulO]

In the movie Ed Wood, Johnny Depp drinks Imperial as his regular pour.

[mark fleetwood]

In the movie Ed Wood, Johnny Depp drinks Imperial as his regular pour.

I'm not familiar with the movie Ed Wood, but if it has a singular memorable line please tailor it for our March on Frankfort, and invite Johnny if you want to.

Hoping the new label means survival for Ten High, coincidence that its possible near-resurrection occurs near Easter? Just saying.

Edited April 5, 2013 by mark fleetwood

[cowdery]

I got a note from Mark Brown indicating that they're revisiting the Great Bourbon list to see if Ten High should be on it or not. No talk about the brand's departure or demise.

If you want to start a movement, start one to bring it back to Illinois.