Bourbon is still a value

[dmarkle]

It is still a good value, for sure, but it's sure been depressing me these days.  I wish I could do an apples-to-apples on what bourbon is available now, what used to be available 5 years ago, and then talk about the price, but I can't.

 

In a world where one of the best values out there was EC12 which is now NAS...  In a world, like joe said, where we used to drink Lot B all of the time and now have to hunt for it at 2 and 3 times the price.  In a world where you can't even HUNT!  Around here, it all seems to be allocated by lottery which only serves to boost the exorbitant secondary market... 

 

In that world, I'm getting a bit depressed and starting to feel like bourbon is a hobby I have to lay off of.  I actually LIKED the hunt.  I actually LIKED finding something rare and tasting it because it was new to me, different, and quality, not because I could resell it or tell everyone who watches Justified that I'd drank it the night before.  That was a big part of the hobby of it for me and a lot of it is gone now.  I would say I don't hunt dusties but now since EC12 and $60 Bookers are dusties, I guess I'd better get on it.

[Thig]

I have said this before also, I think the length of time it takes to consume the bottle has a bearing on its value. I find it much easier to pay $50 for a bottle of bourbon that will last 2 weeks even if you drink from it daily than a $50 bottle of wine that is gone at one meal.

[garbanzobean]

1 hour ago, Thig said:

I have said this before also, I think the length of time it takes to consume the bottle has a bearing on its value. I find it much easier to pay $50 for a bottle of bourbon that will last 2 weeks even if you drink from it daily than a $50 bottle of wine that is gone at one meal.

Great point.  Others have mentioned comparing cost per serving of bourbon to the cost per serving of beer.  For instance, let us pretend a serving of 2 ounces of bourbon satisfies a given drinker (probably not an SB.com poster) in one session, whereas said drinker would otherwise consume 2-3 craft beers in the same session.  One could even compare the caloric difference between these theoretical sessions to decide on "value."  These are slightly different measures of value to scotch/rum/tequila.  Basically, "what would it cost me to enjoy myself with mixed drinks, beer, or wine."

 

So far we have a number of different comparisons of value for bourbon.  The ones I'm tracking from this discussion are:

 

Cost of bourbon now compared to various times in the past

Cost of bourbon relative to other semi-comparable spirits

Cost of consumption bourbon per session vs other alcoholic alternatives

The "Do my taste buds tell me I got a good deal?" test

 

In what other ways do we decide if bourbon is a good value or not?

 

[Thig]

In what other ways do we decide if bourbon is a good value or not?
 

At the risk of sounding like a flipper which I am NOT, you could use the potential to resale on the open market at a profit as a deciding factor also.

[VT Mike]

19 hours ago, Charlutz said:

 

I applaud the effort in running the numbers and agree that bourbon is a good value, but I don't think inflation is the best benchmark of how to define "good value," which is admittedly a subjective term. I think it's best to measure bourbon against other whiskeys or forms of alcohol because there is still a choice for the consumer to purchase something else if they don't like bourbon prices. If for instance, OFSig went for $50 and all other bourbon rose proportionately, it would still be a fair value against the 1947-72 prices. If that happened and prices of other whiskeys and alcohol held where they are, bourbon would not be a good value against those other products. The "good value" definition measured against other whiskeys resonates better with me, but YMMV. 

 

Good point, there are certainly many different contexts under which you measure the value of Bourbon. It would be interesting to go back and dig through some of those old newspaper ads to see how Scotch prices compared at the time. It would also be interesting to chart out average household income in the US (inflation adjusted, of course) and see how the bottle prices measure up through the year as a percentage of those numbers.