Similar Modern Taste Profile to OWA Gold Thread

[ATXWhiskey]

I was lucky enough (thanks to the help of a fellow SB member) to find an OWA 7 year with gold threads at a store recently. It has a "96" on the bottom of the bottle and is marked as produced in Louisville so I assume it was produced at Stitzel-Weller around '89. (If I'm wrong about that, maybe you shouldn't tell me. I like believing it, even if it isn't true.) Anyway, I cracked it open and its some excellent stuff. Not totally dissimilar to current OWA offerings (the base flavors seem similar) but it has a lot of baking spice sort of flavors on top. When I had my first taste of it, it reminded me faintly of pecan pie.

Anyway, I let one of my coworkers have a glass yesterday afternoon and now he's enamored with my bottle. He's convinced its the best thing he's ever had. I would like to convert him into a bourbon nerd and was trying to think of a modern offering that might mimic some of the flavors in this bottle. Surely there's something on the market today (even if its higher priced but excluding Pappy/BTAC and others that are generally unavailable on the market) that has a similar flavor profile that I could point him to. I've tried just about every major bottling on the market, but its really hard to remember specific flavor profiles.

My initial answer was that I recalled ETL having some similar elements (along with just being a quality bourbon) but I didn't know if y'all might have something to suggest.

So -- suggest away. I'll probably go out later this evening or tomorrow and pick up a bottle of whatever you suggest so that my friend and I can have a glass and compare.

Thanks guys!

[smknjoe]

It's called OWA NAS. Seriously, that's about as close as you are going to get without experimenting with blending other wheaters. The current stuff is not that far off, but it is hotter and less complex (not that the S-W was very complex in the first place.)

[Old Dusty]

I'll be the first of many, but look to the SB blend. Weller 12 combined in some ratio with Old Weller Antique 107. Try 1:1 to start but many prefer higher amounts of 107 to the 90 proof 12yr.

[ATXWhiskey]

I'll be the first of many, but look to the SB blend. Weller 12 combined in some ratio with Old Weller Antique 107. Try 1:1 to start but many prefer higher amounts of 107 to the 90 proof 12yr.

[smknjoe]

I really don't think the OWA/W12 blend is even close but if you like it great. You could try some Larceny or even Old Fitz BIB. Weller 12 is way different than any OWA I've ever had.

[Old Dusty]

I really don't think the OWA/W12 blend is even close but if you like it great. You could try some Larceny or even Old Fitz BIB. Weller 12 is way different than any OWA I've ever had.

Not going to argue with your 1000 post count and OWA avatar:grin: Thought the W12 might lend some of the sweeter notes he was trying to replicate. Larceny may be a good call. Or Weller Centennial!

[smknjoe]

It's all good Dusty. Just giving my opinion...everyone has one. That doesn't mean mine is right or your's is wrong.

[Old Dusty]

Agreed, not taking offense and truly congrats on the millennium post.

[ChainWhip]

Congrats Joe! Opine away! :-)

[T Comp]

Every gold veined OWA I've tasted is in the top tier of my wheater world and close to some of the storied Pappy made VVOF. Thank you Mr. Foote. And ATX...I wouldn't doubt your '96 might even have a distilling year older than '89.

[tmckenzie]

I have plenty of it still in the barrel waiting on a label approval.

[AaronWF]

Nobody makes wheated bourbon as rich and textured as S-W did, period. You might find single barrels out there that approach the depth of flavor, but you won't find anything on the shelf to compare, IMO.

You'll just have to turn your co-worker into a dusty hunter. That's a great in for bourbon nerdery.