What are you sipping?: Easy to find and easy on the wallet (HHBiB 6yr)

[Guy Debord]

A few years ago I joined SB to learn more about bourbon and to expand my tasting. I thought the bourbon craze was at its height, but I was wrong. Since then, I've become very loyal to Heaven Hill and two of the standard easy to find Buffalo Trace lines. While everyone goes out searching for 25 year old this, 150 proof that, limited release blah blah, Pappy, birthday, and antiques to flip on facebook; what's everyone regularly sipping and loving that we all might get our hands on?

Last fall I found Heaven Hill BiB 6 yr. white label and I've managed to bunker a good amount and drink a fair amount. It's such a great bourbon and for the price I'd put it against so many in the stores. It's well balanced, thick, sweet, apple, sugar, and slight oak. Dare I say, it may be better than Elijah Craig 12, okay that may be a stretch.

Please share your best everyday tried and trues and if you love Heaven Hill as a distillery or this bourbon, high fives to ya! :cool:

Best,

[JvW]

I used to sip on Noah's Mill quite a bit, but lately I enjoy the FRSmB...

[squire]

Guy's experience has been much the same as mine. I believe the point here is you can find a good enough Bourbon (quality/price/availability) just about anywhere you live in this Country.

[Harry in WashDC]

Easy to find and easy on the wallet, to me, means OGD BIB with the orange cap instead of the new brown fake cork. Last weekend, I AGAIN confused the 80 proof with the new bonded bottle, complaining, sort of, to the store manager that he really ought to keep OGD bonded on the shelf. He bent down and pointed to the bondeds, six-wide and four deep, right next to the 80s, six wide and four deep. Makes me wonder how many stores I walked out of, thinking they didn't have OGD BIB when they did.

OTOH, I don't travel like I used to, so I'm a little disappointed that I can't find things like VOB bonded or, even less often HH 6yr, locally on a regular basis. They do show up sometimes, but they aren't always available, and I'm too lazy to just order them through my favorite stores because they carry other things I like. So, I have to be content with the other five favorites of mine or their cousins, the next ten or so that I can drink any time and then the ten after those 15 that I like once in awhile. After all, liking these means I have money left over for when I stumble on a limited I like.

[Guy Debord]

SB taught me that. At the advice of others, when I joined, I tried 80 different bourbons and a few stand out ryes on my own in about 9 months time. Because of the popularity of bourbon then and now, I was fortunate to try a lot of the unicorn stuff out at local bars in Chicago. You soon realize that you can't afford the expensive stuff and you'll never find the limited releases and even if you did you couldn't afford those either.

Here's to all the good things we can find with ease!

[Swoboda]

Best everyday stuff currently open at our house . . .

Evan Williams BIB

Four Roses Yellow Label

Buffalo Trace

OGDBIB

OGD114

All are readily available, easy on the wallet and sippable . . . . cheers!

[Flyfish]

OGD BIB and 114, just about any HH BIB, and not to be overlooked--WT101. BT and ER10 also fit. 4RSB is starting to push the wallet a little in OH. I stock up on VOB BIB and OWA when we travel. Which reminds me that Kirkland's is an outstanding value. Just not in OH. Easy enough to find in most of the rest of the country, though.

[skiwez2]

Not sure about where you are, but in my area ER10 is $40 for a 750. Not expensive, but I wouldn't considered it an everyday pour. Found some EC12 for $26 that is my goto. The problem for me is reasonable availability. Sometime have to settle for JD or EW black for an everyday pour

[Flyfish]

You're right about the ER10. Checked my records. The ER I'm drinking cost $27.49 in Jackson Hole. Other bottles from Costco in KY for less than $30. I still think of it as a good value. EC is also well worth the price--even in OH.

[DonutsNBourbon]

yikes, $40 for ER10 is quite steep. I've found it for $28 so I grabbed a bunch of bottles. EC12 was had for $23 as well, so I grabbed a bunch of those as well. I'd say both of those are good for sipping and easy to find. WT101 and Larceny can be had for $20, so that might be my picks for cheap sipping.

[b1gcountry]

I just ordered the only er10 I could find in the area bc is the bourbon of the month and I would like to try it. Otherwise I wouldn't have paid $36+tax for it

[Smac]

HH6YR BIB is my daily sipper. I buy it by the case or 6 bottles at a time. In a normal week I glass 10-12 different pours from my cabinet and without question Heaven Hills products are in a majority of those pours. For the money I find this to be a good value...I think I will go pour another!

[ReadyAndAbe]

Henry McKenna 10 Year, Single Barrel, Bottled in Bond. I honestly think, at $29.99, that it is one of the best "bangs for the buck" in the bourbon world.

[Phil T]

HH BIB gets quite a bit of love here, and for good reason.

I love the fact that I can, on any given day, walk into any liquor store, and buy great bourbon, and not stand in line for it.

[Flyfish]

The flaw in the question is--well, it's the question. Geography is the major influence on both parts. "Easy to find" some places becomes "impossible to find" in others. "Easy on the wallet"? At my favorite FL liquor store, handles of WT101 were $28.99 last winter. So I bought three. The Scottsdale, AZ Costco had handles of KC for a dollar less than 750s in OH. So I got a couple of those. We shop for bourbon on road trips because of the restriction on both price and availability in OH. Some places, though, make us glad we live here. On our trip to AK, prices in Washington state and Canada made us choke.

[PaulO]

I am a big HH fan. Really, I like just about all bonded straight whiskey. The only one don't suggest is CEHT. I think it's ok, but way overpriced for what it is.

[jackthedog]

I'm a big fan of EW 1783 and EC12. Both great values and easy to find.

[Jazz Nut]

Unfortunately I don't think HH6YR BIB is available in Minnesota, but for a long time there was a Heaven Hill Bonded (assuming 4 years), and Old Heaven Hill 8 Year, which really introduced me to Heaven Hill. I enjoy Elijah Craig 12, and the Barrel Proof. But my go to right now is the Henry McKenna BIB, good proof, good age, and good taste! I would love to try the HH6YR BIB, because it sounds like a solid value pour, that is available in states where it is distributed.

[b1gcountry]

I don't think I've ever seen HH BIB around st Louis but I haven't sought it out either.

[Xevious]

I'm all about value. At this stage in my life I'm extremely frugal when it comes to my own hobbies/indulgences. I enjoy FRSB, Bookers, and some other top shelfers, but at $40 a bottle they become very rare purchases. Same with LEs, which are usually special occasions at a nice restaurant type thing. Even EC12 and FRsmB are pushing $30 here which is hard for me to swallow. So I'm more than happy drinking EWBIB for 12 bucks or OGD114 for 20. Right now I'm enjoying some OF Sig because I found a store selling bottles for $17. Used to drink a lot of Weller 12 when it was readily available and fairly inexpensive. Now I don't bother even if I do see it on the shelf.

When it comes down to it, I have to ask myself if I enjoy other stuff twice as much (or much much more in some cases) as the stuff I regularly drink. The answer is usually no.

Edited November 14, 2015 by Xevious

[Flyfish]

I'm all about value. At this stage in my life I'm extremely frugal when it comes to my own hobbies/indulgences. I enjoy FRSB, Bookers, and some other top shelfers, but at $40 a bottle they become very rare purchases.

I don't know where you are but, at $40, Booker's would be a much more frequent pour in this house. It goes for $20 more around here.

[ebo]

For me, I usually stick with OGD BiB. WT101 is in there as well, although, not as much anymore. It doesn't taste the same to me now. Maybe it's just me.

[mibourbonguy]

WT101, BT, OGD114, and ER10 are on rotation for nearly daily pours. Wt is the cheapest here at $20.

[Charlutz]

My value gotos here in Maryland are (regular sale prices):

ER10 <$22

EC12 <$21

KCSB120 $30

OGD114 $25

[Xevious]

I don't know where you are but, at $40, Booker's would be a much more frequent pour in this house. It goes for $20 more around here.

I'm in Texas. And I agree that it's a good price for what you're getting (all Beam products are), and I love that you get find it anywhere, but it's still an infrequent purchase for me.