New take on the SB.Com Blend

[Kyjd75]

About a month ago I was two-thirds of the way through a 750 of VSOF (current) that had proven to be an outstanding bottle. I decided to blend the rest with an equal amount of OWA and then let it set until today. Just tried a sample to see how it was, and it was fantastic! So, if you can't find any W12, try substituting some VSOF and see for yourself. It is a worthy competitor IMHO.

[Phil T]

About a month ago I was two-thirds of the way through a 750 of VSOF (current) that had proven to be an outstanding bottle. I decided to blend the rest with an equal amount of OWA and then let it set until today. Just tried a sample to see how it was, and it was fantastic! So, if you can't find any W12, try substituting some VSOF and see for yourself. It is a worthy competitor IMHO.

Just curious, if you thought the VSOF was outstanding, why did you blend it?

[squire]

For the same reason a pretty girl puts on makeup.

[Kyjd75]

Just curious, if you thought the VSOF was outstanding, why did you blend it?

Well, mainly just out of curiosity. SB.Com Blend is something I do regularly (fortunate to have a good stash of W12 and OWA in the "bunker"). Thought it would be interesting to try it with VSOF, which I have had before and felt was good but not great. This particular bottle was really good, so I thought "why not?" If W12 scarcity continues in Ky, VSOF may be a reasonable alternative, albeit more expensive.

[GaryT]

I never see VSOF around Atlanta, but sounds like a good blend! I like experimenting with mingles mainly because I think there are those gems where the result exceeds the sum of its parts (SB Blend being the most infamous example).

[suntour]

I also have a delightful bottle of modern VSOF right now. I keep coming back to it. I've been pestering people who have been doing the Larceny/OWA blend to do so with these two instead, glad to see it turned out well. I have both, and have mingled them, but only on the fly out of curiosity.

Is yours the newest style, with the wax on the bottle, or "older" VSOF with the neck label?

Now, I must find a good bottle of W12 to do a side-by-side with. Got one through the mail recently that is a tar-bomb.

[JPBoston]

Now, I must find a good bottle of W12 to do a side-by-side with. Got one through the mail recently that is a tar-bomb.

Seems to be a fairly common complaint regarding W12 over the last year or two. My two bottles at around Christmas and February were both very musty, with bitter wood.... which I imagine is the same thing as the 'tar-bomb' you mentioned.

[MyOldKyDram]

Sooty is the word I see thrown around re the current W12s and that seems to fit better than anything. Still a good value, still

great for the SB blend, still hope they work that note out in future bottlings.

[T Comp]

.

Sooty...still hope they work that note out in future bottlings.

It is and I do hope so too! And that is why I prefer the SB blend, with newer bottlings, at a 1/3 W-12 to 2/3 OWA.

And nice suggestion Kyjd75. The bottom line is the better the bottles the better the Blend. Tonight I did a 1/1 of an outstanding '07 Weller 12 and an outstanding single barrel OWA, and just like Squire says, the pretty girls became that much prettier :grin:. This was as good as PVW 15 or PHC.

[sutton]

I wonder if this desire to blend W12 and OWA says something about what is missing in both brands. As the demand goes up and BT may be struggling to find enough barrels to fit the W12 profile, they might be better served dumping the "sootier" barrels into the OWA and making more of and a better NAS OWA, since another major theme on the boards here is the drop in OWA quality when it lost its age statement. I know this would make W12 less available and more expensive, but it might be better positioning for the brand than a "sooty" 12 year old at a great price.

[Smithford]

At the same time, they should retire Lot B and repatriate all those honey barrels back into the Weller line. Then the world would be a perfect place.

Sadly, there's not much chance of that happening either.

[squire]

We're ironing out the deficiencies that have crept into the marque.

[hn4bourbon]

I am fine with the deficiencies in both if they continue to be affordable and available. I am content that we all have the options to blend them at whatever ratio we like best.

[Kyjd75]

I also have a delightful bottle of modern VSOF right now. I keep coming back to it. I've been pestering people who have been doing the Larceny/OWA blend to do so with these two instead, glad to see it turned out well. I have both, and have mingled them, but only on the fly out of curiosity.

Is yours the newest style, with the wax on the bottle, or "older" VSOF with the neck label?

Now, I must find a good bottle of W12 to do a side-by-side with. Got one through the mail recently that is a tar-bomb.

Believe it is the older VSOF with neck label. Here is a photo:

[suntour]

That looks like my bottle as well.

There is a high turnover at the store I frequent and seem to sell a lot of Heaven Hill products (swiftly as well). We had DSP-1 Rittenhouse months ago.

Unfortunately I went back to buy another bottle to bunker, and it was out of stock. I wonder if we will soon have the "new" bottles. Not too happy to see it out of stock either, especially as you can't get Weller 12 here.