Good old days of bourbon

[Dave43]

I remember back in the day, 3 years ago, I could walk into a liquor store in Minnesota and get a good sipping bourbon for $10 (HH 8 yr being one) Now days the most affordable sipper has more then doubled. I can't imagine what bounty you old timers had 10 years ago.

I guess I can't complain as my former favorite libation, Rum, is hard to find a sipper for under$25.

[Harry in WashDC]

Well, even I looked better back then. OTOH, I don't recall the variety available today. We took it foregranted that what had been always would be - BIBs and their cheaper kin the 80s and 86s. Heck, when JD dropped its proof from 94, I thought my tastebuds had changed - it COULDN'T be JD because whiskey never changed. Then, along came Blanton's . . .

[BootsOnTheGround]

You still can walk in and buy an OHH 8 yr for $10.

[BourbonJoe]

I pity the people on this site that never had the opportunity to sample the bourbons of yesterday. They were, for the most part, far superior to what you can buy today IMO.

Joe :usflag:

[BootsOnTheGround]

And you still can sample the bourbons of yesterday.

This nothing more than a pity party. What's the point?

[Dave43]

And you still can sample the bourbons of yesterday.

This nothing more than a pity party. What's the point?

maybe a plea for cheap sipper recommendations?

[Harry in WashDC]

The Point

Ah, distinctly I recall

A bourbon first among them all.

On SB I'd push its fame

If I could think of its name.

It was June 1963 in the dunes of Rehobeth Beach. Anybody remember what we drank?

[fishnbowljoe]

Whiskey and Rye??

[mbroo5880i]

'63? It was probably a blended Canadian or Scotch.

[El Vino]

I pity the people on this site that never had the opportunity to sample the bourbons of yesterday. They were, for the most part, far superior to what you can buy today IMO.

Joe :usflag:

I'm curious about your observation. What's so different today than in the past? Is it the Water? Climate? Grain? Wood? Stills? Yeast? Rickhouse? Skill of the craftsmen making the spirit? I'm relatively new to his hobby and have not had the opportunity to taste the great old dustys. I keep rationalizing the incremental purchase today with the logic that I won't be able to get any more of a specific bottling in the future. But in reality, I expect that there will be a steady stream of great new bourbons as the distilleries catch up with demand in the future. Maybe I'm wrong. Will we conclude that bourbon 10 years from now be inferior to today's product?

[wmpevans]

Whiskey and Rye??

and they were singing....bye bye Ms. American Pie

[petrel800]

Sure some of the old stuff was superior to some of the new stuff, but to act like the "good ole days" are gone is a bit like every generation that says the new generation has gone to pot and the country is going to hell. We've got more options on the shelf now than ever before. Every major has a barrel strength option, some have 2 or 3. Private selections are available almost anywhere. Barrels are filling up faster in KY than ever before. Hard to act like the good times are gone.

[smokinjoe]

Sure some of the old stuff was superior to some of the new stuff, but to act like the "good ole days" are gone is a bit like every generation that says the new generation has gone to pot and the country is going to hell. We've got more options on the shelf now than ever before. Every major has a barrel strength option, some have 2 or 3. Private selections are available almost anywhere. Barrels are filling up faster in KY than ever before. Hard to act like the good times are gone.

Well said, Mark. We have it very good, right now. It ain't perfect , but there is some great whiskey being released today. And, the future looks good, as well.

[jmj_203]

Well said, Mark. We have it very good, right now. It ain't perfect , but there is some great whiskey being released today. And, the future looks good, as well.

As a 1 yr bourbon newb lover I'll concur, I can get what op is saying. You guys in the heartland dont get we don't have bourbon values like you likely did and still do. HH is a fav of mine, but the best in my state is EW single barrel its 29.99 a bottle. All the HH BiBs are discontinued. Many many states dont have the delicious value 15 dollar offerings close to Kentucky and we have less every day because of the boom. No old ezra 101, no HH6yrBiB, no old HHBiB, no EWBiB. That one sucks. We have decent to good bourbon but its a minimum 30 to 40 bucks to get quality, more to get rarer bottles. You can pretend the boom is not affecting you guys near Ky but its a time of the past for most of us. Just remember you guys will likely never see what we are because every state takes care of its close ones first. Come to Pa and see, and bring your wallet if you enjoy bourbon because the heyday is long past. My grandfather passed last year and I took some genuine oldies that floored and spoiled me.

Edited August 2, 2014 by jmj_203

[393foureyedfox]

annual road trip!

[Restaurant man]

Well the low end stuff isn't getting any better soon. So the guys that insist in great quality and full proof bourbon available at $10 a bottle are going to have a lot to complain about in the coming years. It'd be cool if we could contain all the bellyaching to this one thread. But I know that's not going to happen. In general I much prefer today's situation to yesteryear. Not that I don't have a great affinity for bourbons past but I'd take today's bourbon and the Internet over yesterday's and no Internet. My 2 cents

[bmajazz]

For me, it's a little sad that so many of the "standard" labels, i.e. the ones that made the brands famous, are so mediocre today. I have sampled the standard bottlings of OGD, Old Taylor, Jim Beam, and even cats and dogs like Sunny Brook, and the "run of the mill" standard bottlings seem to have been tended to with more concern for the craft. My old 80's JB White was a lovely bourbon, but the new stuff.... And it's not just because most of my bottles are glut-era. I've had some that were much older, and it's the same.

I know this topic has been discussed to death!

It's nice to have the higher end single barrel, small batch etc. out there, but it took a quality product to make some of these main brands what they are today. I just wish they were giving better quality to their standard bottlings, though I'm sure it's not possible with the volume that they have to crank out.

[393foureyedfox]

I wasnt a participant in the 'old days', but I do enjoy todays trends of huge diversity, store selections, and high/barrel proof offerings. The only 'old days' bourbon ive tried was OGDBIB, and it does make me wonder how they could mess it up that badly. But, if those are the two tradeoffs, I still stick with the notion that today we have it better still.

[Restaurant man]

I wasnt a participant in the 'old days', but I do enjoy todays trends of huge diversity, store selections, and high/barrel proof offerings. The only 'old days' bourbon ive tried was OGDBIB, and it does make me wonder how they could mess it up that badly. But, if those are the two tradeoffs, I still stick with the notion that today we have it better still.

You just drink dickel though right? Or have you moved on?

[BFerguson]

You still can walk in and buy an OHH 8 yr for $10.

But not for much longer. It's been a d/c'd product now. I've bought it when I've seen it recently, but it will be gone forever soon.

B

[petrel800]

As a 1 yr bourbon newb lover I'll concur, I can get what op is saying. You guys in the heartland dont get we don't have bourbon values like you likely did and still do. HH is a fav of mine, but the best in my state is EW single barrel its 29.99 a bottle. All the HH BiBs are discontinued. Many many states dont have the delicious value 15 dollar offerings close to Kentucky and we have less every day because of the boom. No old ezra 101, no HH6yrBiB, no old HHBiB, no EWBiB. That one sucks. We have decent to good bourbon but its a minimum 30 to 40 bucks to get quality, more to get rarer bottles. You can pretend the boom is not affecting you guys near Ky but its a time of the past for most of us. Just remember you guys will likely never see what we are because every state takes care of its close ones first. Come to Pa and see, and bring your wallet if you enjoy bourbon because the heyday is long past. My grandfather passed last year and I took some genuine oldies that floored and spoiled me.

Sorry man, but the PA situation is a political and government issue, not a bourbon industry one. Get the state out the alcohol business and the market will drive the offerings as opposed to a bureacrat.

[393foureyedfox]

You just drink dickel though right? Or have you moved on?

You know me better than that! While Dickel 9 is my favorite, there are a lot of close runner-ups, particularly new WTRB, Booker's, and after last night's opening of a gifted McKenna BIB, add that to the list. Dickel 9 is my special treat, I regularly drink bourbons

[BootsOnTheGround]

Purchased today. Left two on the dusty ass shelf because I already have a case of it.

They threw the grime in for free on the old label WT, so that had to come home, too.

*edit* of course that uploaded sideways!

[BourbonJoe]

My last bourbon tasting was limited to bourbons from the 70's. Every member of our tasting group can say with assurance..."These old bourbons blow the doors off what is available today", and yes, that includes Van Winkle.

Joe :usflag:

[Vosgar]

One of the great things about our gatherings in Bardstown is the generosity of fellow SB'ers sharing some of their old bottles with the rest of us. I'm always on the lookout for those and make a point of trying them first. There's a richness in flavors with many of the older lower and mid-proof bourbons that just isn't there with their contemporaries, IMHO. Certainly not saying there aren't a lot of great whiskey's being made these days, we're very fortunate in what's been made available to us, but count me in as one who loves the oldies