Help....I think....

[WarlKicken]

Hullo there from ol' London Town!

...the weather is utterly lovely, before you ask..

I posted some months back, asking for advice, guidance and a general direction to head in with regard to a new love that I'd found. It started with Maker's Mark in a blues bar behind Hamley's toy store, off Regents st. "Ain't nothing but.....the Blues" to give it it's name. Those that read my tale will remember that a big ol' American chap, helping me prop a bar up whilst waiting on friends to finish work, noticed me drinking gin n' tonic whilst a local band were laying some toe-tapping tunes in the background. After giving me a quite deserved telling off (in jest I might add) for, essentially, being very English (GnT in a blues bar), he ordered two Maker's on the rocks....and the bourbon love was born.

I had PM's and thread posts lavishing names, labels, years and strengths on me as a good starting point to get my bottle collection rocking. Well, I like to think I've come a few baby steps since then. Learning that because something is pricey, doesn't necessarily make it better, is the best lesson I've taken. I've bought expensive, I've bought cheaper and all the suggestions have been mightily appreciated.

Now I want expansion. I have a few bottles now. I think last time I posted I had a bottle of MakersMark, Makers46 and probably a bottle of Jeffersons Reserve (random purchase, bloody lovely).

My collection is now, as follows:

W.L Weller 107

Makers Mark

Noah's Mill (wow)

Jefferson's Reserve

Jefferson's Presidential 18 (holy great Gods of the North is this stuff amazing)

Old Fitzgerald

Four Roses Single Barrel

Elijah Craig 12

Angel's Envy

I believe that is them all.

I have the utter privilege of living on the doorstep (albeit about 8 tube stops) on BoroughMarket, which as you might know houses the superbly stocked and educated WhiskeyExchange. They have everything. I see a lot of stuff I'd like to buy but wondered if there is anything delicious in there you'd suggest again. I have to add, on another note, that I love a bottle, the actual bottle. As ridiculous as that might sound I bloody love something old school. They have some "old" 70s/ 80s Four Roses at the moment, just the standard stuff but the bottles are cracking.

Any suggestions again are welcome. I have money burning a pocket, but don't go mad :-D

Thankyou all again and I do appreciate all the help

Edited October 8, 2013 by WarlKicken

[Yeti]

Please don't buy any older Four Roses unless you really want to look at the bottle. I imagine they are rather expensive, and the actual (blended) whiskey was very lackluster prior to the last 10 years. If you do a little Googling you can find how Seagram's purchased the company during the War and then turned the delicious straight bourbon product into export only for Japan - replacing it with a "rotgut" blended whiskey that stayed around until the Four Roses rebirth in the 2000s.

Looking at their website I would recommend trying Eagle Rare 10 year, Evan Williams Single Barrel, and while they are currently sold out, they usually stock Blanton's Straight From The Barrel, which is an export only bottle we cannot get here in the states. It is highly regarded, and while expensive, would be a very nice bourbon to experience.

[393foureyedfox]

Learning that because something is pricey, doesn't necessarily make it better, is the best lesson I've taken.

[393foureyedfox]

I agree with Yeti.....if I could get my hands on a Blanton's Straight from the Barrel.....i would not hesitate

[hn4bourbon]

The Blanton's recommendation is a good one. While I've never tried it, I don't think I've heard a bad thing said about it yet.

From looking at their website, the following could be of interest to you:

1. Weller 12 Year. This is good by itself and also good for SB blend of different variations of ratios. You already have the other component, the OWA107.

2. Buffalo Trace should be a good one to try. Many are fans of it.

3. Wild Turkey 101 if you haven't tried. You should be able to buy the sampler or airplane sizes to try this one. They are readily available.

The others that you should probably try and could probably also get the sampler or airplane sizes in are the Fighting Cock, Knob Creek, Woodford Reserve, Old Grand Dad. There's also been a lot of praise for the Balcones products recently and I see that the TheWhiskyExchange carries the Baby Blue and True Blue. Those might be good ones to try.

[tanstaafl2]

Have made a few purchases from the Whisky Exchange myself but from this side of the pond I am usually looking for Scotch or oddities from Europe I can't get here.Don't typically look at the bourbon and American whiskey offerings. But based on your likes and what you have you might consider some of these.

WL Weller 12yo - If you like wheated whiskey as it would appear you do (MM, JPS 18, OWA, Old Fitz) then this might prove enjoyable. Would also allow you to experiment with the "world famous" SB blend!

Larceny - Heaven Hills "other" wheater, although it seems a bit pricey even though it is a litre.

Mellow Corn - If you want to try something a bit different but in the same arena consider this one!

If you want to check out some other rye based bourbons some options of good quality consider:

Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage - 10 yo whiskey from Heaven Hill at a good price. I foind it a bit different from EC12. I thought the 2003 and 2002 were both good. Not sure what year(s) they have.

Eagle Rare Single Barrel - Another 10 yo but this time from Buffalo Trace.

For rye whiskey I think the HW Rendezvous is a nice option.

None of those will completely break the bank!

As for the older bottlings you just have to decide how you want to spend your money. Nothing jumps out at me considering what they cost. the old bottle of 4R presumed to be from the '80s looks to be kind of in poor shape. I see they have AH Hirsch back on the website for £499. Having tried it I know that while it is good it wouldn't be worth that much to me.

[tanstaafl2]

Please don't buy any older Four Roses unless you really want to look at the bottle. I imagine they are rather expensive, and the actual (blended) whiskey was very lackluster prior to the last 10 years. If you do a little Googling you can find how Seagram's purchased the company during the War and then turned the delicious straight bourbon product into export only for Japan - replacing it with a "rotgut" blended whiskey that stayed around until the Four Roses rebirth in the 2000s.

The picture of the bottle suggests it was a true export straight 6yo bourbon and not the blend. Whether it is any good or not is of course another story!

[Yeti]

Ah! Very good then, drink up.

[squire]

I would burn the money on a plane ticket to Bardstown for the Sampler next Spring.

[393foureyedfox]

I would burn the money on a plane ticket to Bardstown for the Sampler next Spring.

[PaulO]

I seem to recall that Europe and Japan get some versions of Wild Turkey that are not available in the U.S., such as 8, 12, and 13 year old. Also worth noting, Bourbon matures faster than Scotch due to the extreme changes in temperature throughout the year in Kentucky.

[WarlKicken]

... they usually stock Blanton's Straight From The Barrel, which is an export only bottle we cannot get here in the states. It is highly regarded, and while expensive, would be a very nice bourbon to experience.