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Lets talk about overpriced for a bit


oke&coke
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I actually just saw my first bottle on the shelf. Great place, the manager told me they were asking $3,500 for it, but he could get it to me for $3,000. We shared a glance and then we both started laughing. Crazy price indeed. Parts of this story are a clear shill job on behalf of Michter's (I especially love the line about rock stars who "can't get enough of the stuff"), but towards the end there's some decent analysis of perspectives and motivations of collectors, which just makes the hocking that much worse, IMO.

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For only 273 bottles to be made, I can see the price getting ridiculous. To me, I refuse to pay multiples of MSRP for PPVW. Even if it is 23 yrs old - it's still just bourbon, right? But until the bubble bursts, I think we'll see more of these ultra-premium bottlings hit the market. These aren't made for folks like us (or most of us?) who enjoy drinking it (because I can guarandamntee that there isn't a whiskey out there I would taste and say "Damn - I'd pay anything for a bottle of that! More than $3k? Sure!")

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For only 273 bottles to be made, I can see the price getting ridiculous. To me, I refuse to pay multiples of MSRP for PPVW. Even if it is 23 yrs old - it's still just bourbon, right? But until the bubble bursts, I think we'll see more of these ultra-premium bottlings hit the market. These aren't made for folks like us )

Very solid points Gary. I'm sure there are a few of us here who have more money then God, but based on what I've seen of our members at the Gazebo, a bottling of this type would not appeal to any of them.

I also think that ultra premium probably means "ultra expensive", and not "the best bourbon you will ever drink"

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Economist Robert Shiller, who won a Nobel prize for his work on bubbles, has a good list (it uses the same methodology as is used to diagnose mental illness) that can be used to gauge bubbles. Let's look at the bourbon market and the frenzy and irrationality displayed in the chase to obtain some bottles by any means possible and the accompanying justifications for worth.

- Sharp increase in price? Check. The secondary market values of many bourbons have seen very rapid price increases. Buying one of these bottles and reselling can instantly net a windfall profit. People fall over themselves to pay double what they would have last year. The retail-level increases are here too (e.g. Michter's Sour Mash) as they manufacturers don't want to be left out. Supply and demand? Yeah, I heard the same thing about real estate and the fact they aren't making more land.

- Public excitement about the price increases? Check. Whole social media groups exist for no reason but this. I still remember the day when a secretary told me to buy investment property because I could get rich like her.

- Stories of people earning money and those feeling envious or left out? Check. Social media and internet forums are abuzz with stories talking about that big haul and the money to be made from flipping, while others talk about how they cannot find anything. Competition is fierce, a la 2007 houses - multiple offers on Pappy are commonplace.

- Growing interest from the general public? Check. There are people who have never even tasted bourbon that are chasing bottles like Pappy now.

- Accompanying Media Frenzy? Check. Article after article about bourbons that even billionaires can't buy. Marketers talking about how a Lamborghini is more obtainable that a bottle of their bourbon. Whisky investment articles are the best and are probably written by the same fools who said to buy investment property when it was at peak.

- "New Era" theories to justify said price increases? Check. Popularity has exploded and we are in a different time for bourbon seems to be a common theme. Prices can only go up seems to be another. Ahh, reminds me of 2007 real estate.

We are definitely in a bubble period. How long will this last? I wish I knew, it could very well go for quite some time; the real estate bubble lasted for longer than I thought it would. In the interim, people told me how wrong and stupid I was - funny because when it popped, smart investments yielded me a large amount of money while some of these same people lost their entire life savings...I look forward to buying some stills for the scrap copper and some inexpensive fancy bourbon to mix with my Coke.

Edited by LostBottle
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My favorite comment on the article - "Does it actually taste 3,975 dollars better than my Canadian Club? And mines 1.75 liters." I wanted to comment and say my VOB BIB I am drinking right now ($15) is much better tasting than CC of any size.

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I would rather drink my make or 10 dollar gold HH. Funny how they operate. I doubt the paper made this up, they are expanding their Distilling capacity, currently they make most of their whiskey at another distillery. That still they have, might make a quart a day. If they even run it. My must so many of these ndp's try so hard to dupe their customers. I cease to be amazed.

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My must so many of these ndp's try so hard to dupe their customers.

They have to try hard because it's so obvious their full of it :) But I'm on you're side, I don't understand why they do it.

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I restate my assertion that VERY few bourbons or whiskies are worth over $50, and then, only due to the fact that a distillery had to pay taxes on 50+ gallons for 2+ decades, only to get 15 or so gallons back out of it. Since I don't like much beyond 10 year aged whiskey, I stick to the $50 rule. However, there are a lot of good $20 whiskies out there, that I'd argue are just as good as someone else's 'I paid for the label' bourbon.

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I restate my assertion that in Kentucky VERY few bourbons or whiskies are worth over $50...

fixed it for you.

Where I am $50 doesn't buy much (OGD 80proof sells for $35).

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I restate my assertion that VERY few bourbons or whiskies are worth over $50, ...
but if you were a rock star?

value of anything is what you want and what it means. I don't mind dropping $100 at the drop of a hat to try something I've an interest in. There's whiskeys out there I'd give $300 for, and only blink once. Now if I had the income of a rock star, I wouldn't blink to give $1000 for that same bottle.

Edited by B.B. Babington
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