garbanzobean Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 I picked up a bottle that was being held for me today. One of the nice things about having friends who like bourbon but haven't made the effort to get cozy with the stores willing to hold the limited stuff for customers they like is that I can accept all kinds of stuff I don't really want and then happily pass it onto my friends. Everybody wins! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmajazz Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Reflecting on the notes others have posted, I have to agree on several points:1. The packaging is, in my opinion, superb. I love the ship's decanter bottle, the full cork, and the green ribbon in lieu of traditional tax strip. The sound of the cork popping out is, agreed, sublime. 2. The nose is the centerpiece of my drinking experience with this. Best nose on something that isn't 30+ years old.3. I am going to give this more time with the actual taste, since so many others, including some wine drinkers I shared this with, enjoy it so much.4. It's nice to see Brown Forman release a limited edition that is sub-$50.5. The proof is pretty good. Given the alcohol-forward taste, I can't imagine this at a higher proof.Since I am terrible at current releases, let alone limited editions, I consider myself blessed to have several bottles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanstaafl2 Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Picked one up in Atlanta this week so it has finally arrived. Hope to compare 2012,13 and 14 next week at our Wednesday tasting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amg Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Lowest price that I've seen for this in the Indy area is $65. It's cool that it's sub-$50 in some markets, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul W Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 For those of you finding it in California, are you finding it at BevMo or at regular liquor stores? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicktrav Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 For those of you finding it in California, are you finding it at BevMo or at regular liquor stores?Found mine at a smaller shop. Haven't seen any in BevMo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zillah Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Man I am just salivating right now! Can't wait till it hits shelves. OFBB is definitely my favorite annual release. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conquistador Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 BevMo had this online last Friday (10/24) at their main CA warehouse, as well as at their larger stores. Per a manager in San Diego, only the 3 largest BevMos in the county got this in-store. Their allocations were severely limited, to one 6-bottle case per each of those 3 stores. They were sold out at all locations (and at their main CA shipping center) in less than 48 hours. I was able to snag a bottle via their online ordering system at one of the 3 local stores that got a case.Found mine at a smaller shop. Haven't seen any in BevMo.For those of you finding it in California, are you finding it at BevMo or at regular liquor stores? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r.mx Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 BevMo had this online last Friday (10/24) at their main CA warehouse, as well as at their larger stores. Per a manager in San Diego, only the 3 largest BevMos in the county got this in-store. Their allocations were severely limited, to one 6-bottle case per each of those 3 stores. They were sold out at all locations (and at their main CA shipping center) in less than 48 hours. I was able to snag a bottle via their online ordering system at one of the 3 local stores that got a case.Can you share which BevMo's were considered the 3 biggest according to the SD guy? I got a different story from a BevMo guy, so I'm trying to deduce if there's any consistency in the stories being told. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HD 335 Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Can you share which BevMo's were considered the 3 biggest according to the SD guy? I got a different story from a BevMo guy, so I'm trying to deduce if there's any consistency in the stories being told.Bevmo employees give out inconsistent information and I got mine at a smaller Bevmo store. A buddy of mine also got his at Bevmo and I suspect that location is not a flagship store. There were at least four locations here in the Bay Area that received some for in store sale. I'm sure there are more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conquistador Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 The 3 biggest BevMo stores in SD County by sales volume, in no specific order, are: Carmel Mountain (northern part of the county), La Mesa (eastern part of the county), and Point Loma (central part of the county). I was able to order and pick up my bottle from the Point Loma store. After talking with the PL store's liquor manager who relayed the story about only 3 SD County stores getting a case each, I went home and got back online to check online store inventory at all of the BevMo stores in the county. By then (Saturday evening) PL had 2 left (but the store manager said that since it was "limit 1", he would not honor the purchase of anyone placing multiple orders), while CM and LM store websites had the "This Product Is No Longer In Stock At This Location" message, even though OFBB showed up under the dropdown selection list when you typed in "Old Forester" into the search box. When searching "Old Forester" on the other BevMo stores in SD County, I only got hits in the dropdown for the base brand of Old Forester. So that kind of corroborates what the PL liquor manager was saying (that their allocation was split between the 3 stores).Can you share which BevMo's were considered the 3 biggest according to the SD guy? I got a different story from a BevMo guy, so I'm trying to deduce if there's any consistency in the stories being told. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiggity Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Bevmo employees give out inconsistent information and I got mine at a smaller Bevmo store. A buddy of mine also got his at Bevmo and I suspect that location is not a flagship store. There were at least four locations here in the Bay Area that received some for in store sale. I'm sure there are more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conquistador Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Yeah, distribution can be a crazy thing. It may be that NorCal just got a larger proportion of BevMo's overall allocation of OFBB, for whatever reason (higher overall liquor sales, higher volume of Brown-Foreman products, etc.). But it sure seems like OFBB is really scarce in SoCal this year. Last year I could find the 2013 OFBB in all 5 of the BevMo stores between my house, my office, and my girlfriend's house (all within the central portion of the county), and it sat there for weeks. There are 14 BevMos in the county, overall (although the website only lists 13, there is a new one in San Marcos that for whatever reason is not on the list of stores).This sounds correct. The N.California flagship store is the Walnut Creek store, I found mine at a smaller store in San Jose. I got lucky I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HD 335 Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Yeah, distribution can be a crazy thing. It may be that NorCal just got a larger proportion of BevMo's overall allocation of OFBB, for whatever reason (higher overall liquor sales, higher volume of Brown-Foreman products, etc.). But it sure seems like OFBB is really scarce in SoCal this year. Last year I could find the 2013 OFBB in all 5 of the BevMo stores between my house, my office, and my girlfriend's house (all within the central portion of the county), and it sat there for weeks. There are 14 BevMos in the county, overall (although the website only lists 13, there is a new one in San Marcos that for whatever reason is not on the list of stores).Definitely a tremendous rise in demand. I remember in my early stages in learning bourbon a couple of years ago, I also saw these sitting on shelves acting like dust magnets. Along with having very little knowledge about bourbon, the bottle such a space hog on my shelf I hated it. Even now, I can't find room for this on my shelf and cleared out space in bunker to put these in there. It's taking up the space of 8 Willett bottles! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmajazz Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 For those of you finding it in California, are you finding it at BevMo or at regular liquor stores?Mine was at a bevmo. The case was stm lying on the floor, unopened. Guess I should have bought the whole thing, but that seemed greedy[emoji53] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul W Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Mine was at a bevmo. The case was stm lying on the floor, unopened. Guess I should have bought the whole thing, but that seemed greedy[emoji53]That is the same place I found the PHC8 -- on the floor in a box. There were only three, so I felt it would be hoggy to buy them all. And I am too cheap.Anyway, thanks for the tip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicktrav Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 That is the same place I found the PHC8 -- on the floor in a box. There were only three, so I felt it would be hoggy to buy them all. And I am too cheap.Anyway, thanks for the tip.Curious, when did you find the PHC8? I haven't seen it around just yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul W Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 For me the local Bevmo and a local liquor store got phc8 last Wednesday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWBadley Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 So, now that you all have found some of this, what are your thoughts? Yea or Nea? I had a very small sample last night and quite liked it, but didn't think it as complex as last year... but I would have to have a sit down at some point to evaluate further the differences between themCheers,RW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BonVivant84 Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 (edited) So I opened mine up last night and had 2 small pours. So far my incomplete notes on it would be - Nose: I got acetone and popcorn. Let it sit for about 15min and got the sameNeat - The spice was right up front like a peppery kick which I liked, I found it had a thin mouth feel, no real fruit notes or sweetness, light oak and some anise notes. The finish was some what short and I kind of got more acetone, although not as heavy as I got it on the nose.I plan to revisit in a few days after some air and maybe opening up my 13' for some comparison and maybe some ice / waterOn the bottle, I know it’s a space killer but I really like the way it displays and actually the way it pours from the bottle and fits in your hand. So far not a top fav, but I plan on sticking with it for a bit if only for it having a totally different profile then most of my others. Edited November 6, 2014 by BonVivant84 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicktrav Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 I really love this one. The nose is gigantic, and nearly all butterscotch to me. The palate isn't as big as you'd expect given the nose, but still plenty flavorful. There's some oak in it and a hint (but not that much) of that butterscotch that dominates the nose. I also get a strange seltzerish quality. Not quite sure how else to describe it. Finish is medium length with more of the butterscotch coming through. All in all, I think it's a fantastic bourbon. I didn't have last year's, so can't compare, but this one seems worth the hype to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TunnelTiger Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 Was limited to a two bottle purchase and for $69 this is just so good. For me the 2013 was better but this is still very good just wish my guy could have gotten a few more bottles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flahute Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 Was lucky to secure three bottles on Thursday and have only had one taste so far. I'm on the tail end of a head cold so I don't fully trust my first impression yet, but my first impression was very good.I did get the acetone on the nose, very much like last year's version, but found that it had dissipated by the time I was 2/3 of the way through the pour. With last year's, I sometimes couldn't shake the "glue" smell on the nose. This year's doesn't have the bananas foster thing going that I liked so much from last year, but it does have it's own kind of unique sweetness that I really like. My first impression was rich bubble gum (like that initial flavor burst you get upon the first chew) but will have to verify that on a clean palate. There was not much spice for me and not much burn. I super easy sipper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gusto16 Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 A good week of OFBB shopping for me - my order of two 2014's came through & I lucked upon a 2009 in the wild [emoji324][emoji322][emoji512][emoji322][emoji324] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dSculptor Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 An unexpected find ....scored a 2007 last night from a friend. Have not seen the 2014 around here yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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