Anybody else finding Elijah Craig 20 to be a rip off?

[humchan2k]

Yo SB,

I was mourning the loss of EC 18 the other month and broke down and bought a bottle of the 20 year......and for $120/bottle, I really expected a LOT more. It's 90 proof, smooth, decent, but really......just not even as good as EC18. Anyone else out there had a bottle that's great? I've even let a glass sit out for an hour+ to see if it would get intriguing after aerating....and it's still just.....bourbon, if that makes sense.

Anyone having similar experiences?

[Lazer]

just bourbon? wow. You would think for $120 it would come with a nice engraved glencairn glass or a decanter or hip flask or something. Maybe some tickets to see skyfall and a coupon for free popcorn and a coke. That'll teach you to pay $120 for something and get.... just bourbon.

[humchan2k]

Yeah, it has nothing special about it whatsoever. It's actually $140 at the store around the corner from my crib, which is even more insane. Needless to say, no more EC20 will be coming into my possession.

[Vosgar]

I had my first taste at the Binny's get together last weekend. Underwhelming is what comes to mind. Not bad, just not worth the price IMHO

[Lazer]

My bottle of EC12 played freebird the other night.

[Tucker]

just bourbon? wow. You would think for $120 it would come with a nice engraved glencairn glass or a decanter or hip flask or something.

[SMOWK]

Any bottle of whiskey at $120 is a rip off. Unless you can afford it, then it's priced to sell.

[humchan2k]

What's crazy is that it was given the title of "North American Whiskey of the Year," and it's really not special....especially when I compare it to how incredible the Parker's is this year.

SMOWK, you're 90% correct, I'd say. I'd gladly pay $120 all day for PV20....but it's $200 now, which is TOTALLY insane.

[SMOWK]

Any bottle of whiskey at $120 is a rip off. Unless you can afford it, then it's priced to sell.

Partially spoken tongue in cheek. I have spent a lot more than $120 for a bottle of whiskey. Though; I passed on a bunch of Pappy 20s at $110 this year. If there weren't a bunch of them in the bunker, I probably would have gone ahead and picked a few up. So there's a lot more that goes into high-priced whiskey buying reasoning than price alone.

Edited November 16, 2012 by SMOWK

[HighHorse]

They just let the EC18 labels sell off the shelf. When they stopped bottling it .. I'm guessing the 18 which was available from $40 to $50 .. suddenly became 20 and $120-$140! At the gift shop a few weeks back I was also able to grab a taste of the up and coming 22. It was available at the gift shop but I don't remember how much. They did have barrel proof 12 year old at the gift shop.

[HighInTheMtns]

They just let the EC18 labels sell off the shelf. When they stopped bottling it .. I'm guessing the 18 which was available from $40 to $50 .. suddenly became 20 and $120-$140! At the gift shop a few weeks back I was also able to grab a taste of the up and coming 22. It was available at the gift shop but I don't remember how much. They did have barrel proof 12 year old at the gift shop.

Off topic but do you remember how much for the BP EC12? Wish they'd offer that label as private barrels for retailers.

[HighHorse]

Off topic but do you remember how much for the BP EC12? Wish they'd offer that label as private barrels for retailers.

$75 .. gift shop price. We picked a dual barrel back in April ... but got it at 90 proof. Good ... but it was great at barrel proof.

[Kyjd75]

The barrel proof EC12 is great stuff, to be sure. Agree it is a shame that this is only available at HH in Bardstown.

[Dolph Lundgren]

$75 .. gift shop price. We picked a dual barrel back in April ... but got it at 90 proof. Good ... but it was great at barrel proof.

As an aside, the gift shop prices at HH are absolutely ludicrous.

[Kyjd75]

Most of the gift shop prices are deliberately set high so as to not compete with local liquor stores for local business. Makers Mark even has posted notices stating this in their gift shop.

[callmeox]

They have a number of exclusives there and charge accordingly. As far as generally available bottlings at a distillery, you are paying the equivalent of convenience store pricing as they don't want to compete with standard liquor retailers.

[OscarV]

No,....in answer to he thread's question.

[compliance]

I wish I could find some EC18 dusties. I'd buy them all. I couldn't believe how fast they disappeared from shelves. Thought I'd have more time. Oh well. It's not worth $130 though.

[spinningrecords]

I think people forget or simply don't know that Heaven Hill had a massive fire in 1996 which destroyed the distillery and claimed 90,000 barrels across several rickhouses. That was 16 years ago and the label in question is an 18-year offering. They purchased the Bernheim distillery three years later in 1999. It may be convenient to suggest that EC20 is simply EC18 with two more years in the barrel and a bigger price tag. I'm sure there is some truth to that claim as any business would attempt to benefit from higher prices when demand is exceeding supply. It's economics 101 and this is exactly what is happen with mature bourbon in the 14-20 year range. However, keep in mind that Heaven Hill also experienced a severe loss of stock and a significant production issue. I'll add that every pour of EC20 I've had has been superior to the EC18 I've had. I've been a modest consumer of this label but in my limited experience I've found EC20 a better whiskey.

[spinningrecords]

I wish I could find some EC18 dusties. I'd buy them all. I couldn't believe how fast they disappeared from shelves.

I feel the same way. An 18-year single barrel for $49 looks like a steal in retrospect. Two years ago it was everywhere. Now I can't find it anywhere.

[SMOWK]

Weren't the last few "batches" of EC18 actually 20 years old anyway?

[Dolph Lundgren]

Most of the gift shop prices are deliberately set high so as to not compete with local liquor stores for local business. Makers Mark even has posted notices stating this in their gift shop.

Four Roses, Wild Turkey, and Willett didn't price gouge visitors.

[spinningrecords]

I saw a story which indicated there were about 20 barrels chosen this year to launch EC20 and those barrels yielded 1300 bottles. That's on average 65 bottles or about 12-13 gallons a barrel. Since the retail price is $130, then let's assume that Heaven Hill gets a little over half that amount or around $70 and the rest goes to the distributor and the retailer. 1300 bottles at $70 each yields $91,000. That's just the revenue and doesn't factor costs. I don't know the costs of producing a barrel of whiskey, storing it for 20 years, tasting it, creating a label, dumping it, bottling it and distributing it. However, I can't figure how they make a material amount of money if any solely on this line. The benefit must be prestige that works in favor of their EC12 line which I imaging has far greater production.

[boneuphtoner]

Weren't the last few "batches" of EC18 actually 20 years old anyway?

The very first bottle of EC18 I purchased earlier this year went in the wood in 1990, so I would say at least for this batch, the answer is yes!

[White Dog]

I saw a story which indicated there were about 20 barrels chosen this year to launch EC20 and those barrels yielded 1300 bottles. That's on average 65 bottles or about 12-13 gallons a barrel. Since the retail price is $130, then let's assume that Heaven Hill gets a little over half that amount or around $70 and the rest goes to the distributor and the retailer. 1300 bottles at $70 each yields $91,000. That's just the revenue and doesn't factor costs. I don't know the costs of producing a barrel of whiskey, storing it for 20 years, tasting it, creating a label, dumping it, bottling it and distributing it. However, I can't figure how they make a material amount of money if any solely on this line. The benefit must be prestige that works in favor of their EC12 line which I imaging has far greater production.

Of course they sell more EC12, but they really make their money off of EW Black, Burnett's Vodka, Hpnotiq, Admiral Nelson Rum... EC20 is just icing on the cake.