Comparable to Elmer T Lee?

[jd1585]

I was lucky enough to score a bottle of Elmer T Lee and didn't even wait for the weekend to give it a try. First thought....I really like it. The issue is, I will probably have to win a lottery to get another bottle. That said, what would you guys consider comparable and somewhat obtainable? 

 

Appreciate the help,

 

JD

[dcbt]

7 minutes ago, jd1585 said:

I was lucky enough to score a bottle of Elmer T Lee and didn't even wait for the weekend to give it a try. First thought....I really like it. The issue is, I will probably have to win a lottery to get another bottle. That said, what would you guys consider comparable and somewhat obtainable? 

 

Appreciate the help,

 

JD

If you can find it, Blantons is a close sibling (same mash bill, similar proof, just different warehouses).  ER10 has many of the same vanilla notes (but much more pronounced IMO) as well and is easier to find.

[Charlutz]

I agree with Bryce. The other whiskeys with the same mashbill are Blanton's ($55), Rock Hill Farms ($60 and my personal favorite) and Hancock's Presidential Reserve ($40 - I'm in the minority on the forum as I can't stand it and think it tastes nothing like it's siblings; could be a personal issue). Each of them can be a little hard to find but so is ETL as you know. Eagle Rare has more rye, but is a good recommendation too as it doesn't taste very rye-y. Usually much more available than the others but you may have to hunt a little bit to find it below $35. 

[Richnimrod]

1 hour ago, Charlutz said:

I agree with Bryce. The other whiskeys with the same mashbill are Blanton's ($55), Rock Hill Farms ($60 and my personal favorite) and Hancock's Presidential Reserve ($40 - I'm in the minority on the forum as I can't stand it and think it tastes nothing like it's siblings; could be a personal issue). Each of them can be a little hard to find but so is ETL as you know. Eagle Rare has more rye, but is a good recommendation too as it doesn't taste very rye-y. Usually much more available than the others but you may have to hunt a little bit to find it below $35. 

I'm not certain the statement about ER having 'more rye' is correct.    I always thought that BT only used two mashbills, and the ER was made using the lower rye (more corn) one.

Some of the folx here will know for certain.    Guys/Gals Have at it.

[dcbt]

4 minutes ago, Richnimrod said:

I'm not certain the statement about ER having 'more rye' is correct.    I always thought that BT only used two mashbills, and the ER was made using the lower rye (more corn) one.

Some of the folx here will know for certain.    Guys/Gals Have at it.

Yea, mash #1 is the low rye bill: Stagg, BT, ER, CEHT.  Mash 2 is the higher rye (but 'high' rye is relative, as their high rye is more in line with other 'normal' rye mash bills): RHF, Blantons, ETL.

[mbroo5880i]

A great reminder to newer folks to check out the Whiskey Tree at top of the general discussion page. It is a great resource for comparing mashbills and other useful information.  I would link it but I am on my cell.

[Charlutz]

39 minutes ago, Richnimrod said:

I'm not certain the statement about ER having 'more rye' is correct.    I always thought that BT only used two mashbills, and the ER was made using the lower rye (more corn) one.

Some of the folx here will know for certain.    Guys/Gals Have at it.

 

Thanks  for the correction. I always thought no. 2 was the lower rye mashbill. Oops. I guess that explains why my palate never got too much rye in ER or BT. 

Edited December 15, 2016 by Charlutz

[Enoch]

The problem is that ETL used to be the cheapest and most readily available of it siblings.

 

[JTaylor]

3 hours ago, jd1585 said:

I was lucky enough to score a bottle of Elmer T Lee and didn't even wait for the weekend to give it a try. First thought....I really like it. The issue is, I will probably have to win a lottery to get another bottle. That said, what would you guys consider comparable and somewhat obtainable? 

 

Appreciate the help,

 

JD

Dude... yes, ETL is wonderful, as is Blanton's, RHF, ER10, et al... but don't limit yourself. There is a whole great big bourbon world out there! My small to medium-ish sized bunker contains 80-some bottles, 50-some different bourbons and I am FAR from done!! TRY THEM ALL!!  Yes I have a few questionable higher shelf pours, but I have some delicious mid-lower shelvers too... that's all part of the adventure! There is a lot of good info on this forum, browse A LOT. When I was starting out I'd see something on the shelf that looked interesting and I'd go straight to the SBOTM and see if it had been picked (it usually had been) and read ALL the tasting notes. The info on here has helped me pass on a high dollar shelf turd more than once, but I've also ignored pretty much everybody on here a couple times just because I wanted to taste for myself what "over-oaked" or "cut grass" meant to me. There are a lot of good bourbons out there that taste NOTHING like ETL so while we all have our favorites, don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. There are delicious ryes like THH that are real eye openers as well. My first Rye was Bulleit and it put me off rye for years and if I had stopped there I never would have bought the THH which I find just amazing. Explore, indulge once in a while, and most of all HAVE FUN! 

 

Cheers!

JT

[Flyfish]

2 hours ago, Enoch said:

The problem is that ETL used to be the cheapest and most readily available of it siblings.

 

That's it exactly. ETL was always $20 less than Blanton's and/or RHF--both of which I like a lot--so I can't wrap my head around the concept of paying $20 more for bourbon that is a substitute for ETL. It has always been the other way around for me; i.e., ETL was a reasonable alternative to the high priced spread.

[ratcheer]

I agree completely. ETL was to get the good stuff at a significantly lower price. If it now costs as much as RHF and Blanton's, I will always opt for those, if I can find them.

 

BTW, everyone around the country always says they could get RHF for less than Blanton's. In my ABC state, it has always been the opposite. Both are expensive, though.

 

Tim

[Limegoldconvertible68]

In the past in my part of Illinois RHF has always been $10 more a bottle than Blantons. Now I only see RFH once or twice a year and while Blantons is usually available it's only a few dollar off the RHF. 

[Hop]

I suggest Bowman Brothers - same mashbill - same proof as I recall - not the same exact taste but a good bourbon and the price point is around $30 or a little less

[VAGentleman]

1 hour ago, Hop said:

I suggest Bowman Brothers - same mashbill - same proof as I recall - not the same exact taste but a good bourbon and the price point is around $30 or a little less

Actually Bowman is mash bill #1

[Paddy]

Don't forget the Ancient Age of the BT #2 mash! 

 

For many years the 10 year AAA was my go to in the #2 line.  I preferred it over ETL.

 

Unfortunately, like many others, it has gone the way of the dodo bird.   

[Hop]

2 hours ago, VAGentleman said:

Actually Bowman is mash bill #1

did a little more digging and found this

 

This is the response I got from BT “It varies, as the Abraham line is sort of like BT’s experimental line, meaning it’s different every time. We’ve used both mash bills for it before, depending on the product, so I really can’t give you a definitive answer on that”

[tanstaafl2]

1 hour ago, Hop said:

did a little more digging and found this

 

This is the response I got from BT “It varies, as the Abraham line is sort of like BT’s experimental line, meaning it’s different every time. We’ve used both mash bills for it before, depending on the product, so I really can’t give you a definitive answer on that”

 

It is indeed highly variable. After all there has been a wheated bourbon under the AB label as well. As I recall the distillery noted that particular mashbill was "specific" to the distillery so presumably that means it isn't the Weller mashbill. Or does the fact that they redistill mean they can call it specific to the distillery even if it came from BT? So then is everything specific to the distillery since they typically redistill what they get from BT? Or it is it sourced from somebody else? Or are they occasionally producing their own whiskey from start to finish for some of these smaller AB releases?

 

I certainly don't know the answer and as far as I know neither BT or Bowman is saying.

[VAGentleman]

Bowman is starting to distill their own distillate for future Abrahams but it will be awhile as the new still has been in place for a little over a year.  The regular Bowman Brothers ans John J are mash bill 1 (according to MD Brian Prewitt) the wheated and High Rye Abrahams are supposedly different from any other BT mashbill.  Its definitley possible that other Abrahams have been Mashbill 2 but no one is saying

[tanstaafl2]

1 minute ago, VAGentleman said:

Bowman is starting to distill their own distillate for future Abrahams but it will be awhile as the new still has been in place for a little over a year.  The regular Bowman Brothers ans John J are mash bill 1 (according to MD Brian Prewitt) the wheated and High Rye Abrahams are supposedly different from any other BT mashbill.  Its definitley possible that other Abrahams have been Mashbill 2 but no one is saying

 

Thanks! The wheated bourbon was from all of about 10 barrels as I recall. Would that have been possible on Mary, the older still? She had some decent size to her as I recall! Or have they never done their own distillate from start to finish until the new still was in place?

 

The CEHT Seasoned Wood was also a wheater and perhaps from the same general time (Not that Sazerac is saying of course although the BT website says it is a "unique" mashbill). No idea if it used a Weller mashbill or something truly unique. And the past BTEC one offs and CEHT Rye is suggestive that they might have some unique mashbills floating around.

 

Not that it really matters much in the end I suppose!

[VAGentleman]

30 minutes ago, tanstaafl2 said:

 

Thanks! The wheated bourbon was from all of about 10 barrels as I recall. Would that have been possible on Mary, the older still? She had some decent size to her as I recall! Or have they never done their own distillate from start to finish until the new still was in place?

 

The CEHT Seasoned Wood was also a wheater and perhaps from the same general time (Not that Sazerac is saying of course although the BT website says it is a "unique" mashbill). No idea if it used a Weller mashbill or something truly unique. And the past BTEC one offs and CEHT Rye is suggestive that they might have some unique mashbills floating around.

 

Not that it really matters much in the end I suppose!

Yes, Mary is a 2000 gallon still.  George the new still (500 gallons) is the only one they've done from Mash to distilling themselves since around 1988 when they moved to Fredericksburg

[BourbonDrinkingSailor]

Ancient Ancient Age 10 Star (not the regular ancient age) Is to my palate closer to ETL than it's other siblings as far as flavor profile goes. The hancock reserve with its lower proof seems a little light on the tongue compared to the ETL. 

[kevinbrink]

This is the craziest buy people make marked up to me, I bought a bottle a couple months ago for $40 and have to say I find it pretty lackluster, it's not bad but at my local Total Wine I can buy RHF much more easily for right around the same price and I enjoy both Blanton's and RHF more. People in my area regularly buy ETL for between $80 & $100 it's just crazy.

[Louisiana]

23 minutes ago, kevinbrink said:

This is the craziest buy people make marked up to me, I bought a bottle a couple months ago for $40 and have to say I find it pretty lackluster, it's not bad but at my local Total Wine I can buy RHF much more easily for right around the same price and I enjoy both Blanton's and RHF more. People in my area regularly buy ETL for between $80 & $100 it's just crazy.

 

ETL is really good, but definitely not worth those prices. These are single barrels. I bought a good bit 2-3 years ago from a barrel that hit me just right. I had the chance to buy a case about 3 months ago, but passed after trying a bottle. It could have been that barrel or the overall quality. I don't know. ETL was my gateway Bourbon.

 

 

[jeffrey r]

41 minutes ago, kevinbrink said:

This is the craziest buy people make marked up to me, I bought a bottle a couple months ago for $40 and have to say I find it pretty lackluster, it's not bad but at my local Total Wine I can buy RHF much more easily for right around the same price and I enjoy both Blanton's and RHF more. People in my area regularly buy ETL for between $80 & $100 it's just crazy.

 

Ha, RHF is probably about the only thing Total Wine in NJ is good for in the bourbon arena these days.  Those $42.99 bottles go right quick, and as I am fully stocked on RHF right now, I leave them for everybody else when I see them (seems to drop a few times per year).  And the ETL situation is downright horrible in NJ right now--virtually non-existent, and ridiculously priced when it is in.  Fortunately I am decently stocked on ETL from the "good old days" of a few years ago, but I feel bad for anyone who wants to pick up a bottle of ETL these days.

[dSculptor]

On ‎12‎/‎16‎/‎2016 at 11:32 AM, Paddy said:

Don't forget the Ancient Age of the BT #2 mash! 

 

For many years the 10 year AAA was my go to in the #2 line.  I preferred it over ETL.

 

Unfortunately, like many others, it has gone the way of the dodo bird.   

You mean these beauties? The last of a case I bought a few years back, really good stuff, the case didn't last long, I had to put these out of my mind for awhile, been getting the urge to crack one again.