New bottles of Henry McKenna BIB

[suntour]

Hey guys,

Last time I went down to one of the better liquor stores in the next town over, I noticed they had a few bottles of the old Henry McKenna BIB (with the awesome kindergartener labels) and some bottles of the new stuff, same price. I have always loved the retro-fugliness of the bottle, but honestly, some samples I've tasted have not been so hot (well actually they have been extremely hot, and that's the problem).

Anyone tasted the newer bottlings? I have noticed some stuff from Heaven Hill being extremely good lately (I live in a university town so everything gets depleted and replaced about every week - we had DSP 1 Ritt months ago), particularly the Old Fitz 12 and EWBIB, both of which have not really hit the spot before. Is there any reason to think the new Henry McK BIB should be any better?

I'll probably just buy the old one for the bottle anyway, but if the juice is better now it might help me spare a few $$$

Cheers.

[GaryT]

As a single barrel, even the older stuff can be hit or miss (although I guess I've been lucky and had more hits than misses!) I've yet to see the newer bottling on the shelves.

[jburlowski]

Basically the same juice but with a new (even uglier, if that's possible ) label. I've always found it to be a solid, reliable pour. As noted, a single barrel so YMMV.

[393foureyedfox]

i doubt anything has changed, other than the label.

RITT BIB is a different story. while always a HH brand, its been made FOR them BY BF for a number of years, but now HH is back making their own, so I would expect it to be different even if unintentional. I just got one of the BF made ones yesterday, as Id always wanted to try Ritt BIB, and thought it the perfect time to try BOTH distillings, now that i can. Next time I go to buy some, itll likely be the HH made stuff on the shelf.

[p_elliott]

Just MHO but I thought the Henry McKenna BIB sucked.

[hn4bourbon]

Just MHO but I thought the Henry McKenna BIB sucked.

[cowdery]

It's a label change, nothing more. The new label is certainly less expensive. The old one must have been a nightmare. It's contemporary. I don't find it offensive.

I drank some earlier this week at Fountainhead, here in Chicago, but it's a barrel Aaron personally selected. I like it okay, but I like Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage better.

[suntour]

Thanks guys. Went ahead and got a bottle.

I tried to not read reviews or re-bump this thread before tasting it. To my tastebuds I got a good bottle. Plus, I had to get one of those bottles before they disappeared

[PaulO]

I picked up some of this (old label) in KY over the summer. I like it quite a bit. I'm saving one for the collection. I plan on grabbing some of the new label bottles when I see them. Given it's single barrel, they're all not going to be exactly alike. Other single barrel expressions, for example KCSB and FRSB, I've had bottles that were just ok, other bottles were excellent.

[Richnimrod]

I have found virtually no difference in the liquid within the newly-labeled bottles from the old style ones. Realizing there is some variability, being a single barrel offering, I find HMcKSB to be rather less variable than some other Single Barrel brands. I'll say HMcKSB is one of my 'go-to' BIB's and a Bourbon I always have on-hand. I'd also say (IMHO) it's a relative bargain in it's price range. It's very tasty neat, with a few drops of water, with a small cube, or even in an 'Old Fashioned', and it has a fine nose.