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"Remember When" prices


Vosgar
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About 2005/2006 I would buy PVW 15 for $50/bottle.  At first I thought it was crazy to pay that much for a bottle of bourbon.  After a bit I got to buying a bottle a month.  Now I wonder why I only bought a bottle a month and know just how crazy that was.  My how times have changed.

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21 minutes ago, Special Reserve said:

About 2005/2006 I would buy PVW 15 for $50/bottle.  At first I thought it was crazy to pay that much for a bottle of bourbon.  After a bit I got to buying a bottle a month.  Now I wonder why I only bought a bottle a month and know just how crazy that was.  My how times have changed.

I have so often thought I should bought everything I could.

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Not many of my bottles still have the original price tags, but I found this dusty gem in the back of my closet. I remember the distributor messed up the allocation that year (we only found this out later on) and my local store got cases of OFBB. They put a 2 bottle/person limit on it but the spirits buyer said I could come back the next day and buy two more if I wanted. Of course I was stupid and never took him up on that.
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Not really anything too great (as I wasn't bunkering back then), but I do still have this Dickel No. 12 from when I went to the distillery back in 2007.

At the time, I was new to the hobby, uneducated, and only bought my whiskey from supermarkets.  Dickel, I had not seen anywhere in Missouri at the time.  Price hasn't changed much, but I'm sure the nas juice inside would be drastically different from a bottle purchased today. :)

 

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Here's another I found while going through bottles this weekend.

I kind of consider it a "remember when" , as it no longer goes on the shelf and is priced closer to $100 now.... If you can even find it at all.

 

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Ahhhh the good 'ole days. Great bourbon at reasonable prices. I'm into my eleventh year in my bourbon journey. A lot has changed in the bourbon world during that time. One thing that hasn't is the friendship and camaraderie of many of the members here. I've been able to taste and/or acquire a lot of bottles over the years because of the kindness, generosity, help and guidance of many fellow members. I've thanked these folks before, but I'd still like to say thank you again. Thanks and cheers to y'all. :D

 

I'm posting a few pictures of some of the great bourbons I've had over the years, and what their prices were, or what I remember them being. FWIW, I'm posting here not to be bragging, but in the sprit of this thread. Most of what is in my pictures is long gone now. I drank my fair share, but I also learned my lesson from others. Many of the bottles in my pictures have been shared with others here on sb in one way or another. 

 

Pic #1. Weller Centennial. A number of these I acquired with the help of other members. I also found a store with a bunch of BHC stuff on their shelves. I shared the location of this store with others, but whenever I went back, the stuff was still there. They had a bunch of Centennial, and a few bottles VSOF and Old Charter Propriors Reserve. All were priced at $34.99. I ended up buying pretty much all of them over a two or three year period.

 

Pic #2. Ritt 23. I stumbled on these on one of my first trips to Florida to stay with some friends. I'm not much for ryes, but I couldn't pass these up. The store got a boatload, and had them priced at $69.99, $100.00 off the suggested price of $169.99. I bought a bunch of these over three visits. I admit that I only drank a couple. The others found their way to new homes. ;)

 

Pic#3. Eagle Rare. Most of the 10/101's I acquired with the help of other members. The price was $20.00 for some of the 750's to $35.00 for the 1.75. The decanters I found myself. They cost my a whopping $25.00. :o The regular ER 10's were some I found on sale for $19.99.

 

Pics #4 & 5.  BTAC. I found all these myself. I thought that $59.99-$79.99 was a lot back then. 

 

Pic #6. WT 10/101. The one pictured was a lone bottle I found on the shelf at an out of the way mom and pop store. The price was $28.99. I also was fortunate to get a few of these with the help of other members.

 

Pics #7 & 8. Weller! One of my favorites. Many of the Weller 12's were from Binny's. To this day, Weller 12 is still the only bourbon I've ever bought a case of. Two as a matter of fact. :wacko: The price of $22.99 would be considered a helluva bargain today. I have to say that I did find one a year ago on my way home from vacation. I paid $21.99 for it at a little nondescript mom and pop store out in the boonies. I sure wish they had more than one. :mellow: The Weller SR's were mostly private selections priced from $16.99 for the 750's to $23.99 for the handle. I covered the other Weller's in this pic previously. 

 

These are just a few bargains from not all that long ago. As most of you know, there were many others.  (Sighhhhh) :huh:

 

Cheers! Joe

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Joe,

 

I enjoyed reading your post and I'm thankful for the memories it rekindled.

 

Will

 

PS. I long for old day when you could go into a new store and there would sit a half dozen Weller Centennial bottles.  The store clerk was always surprised when you wanted to buy all of them.

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24 minutes ago, emr454 said:

Do any current bottlings even come close to Weller Centennial? The reviews I've read online sound amazing.

If you mean the Frankfort (BT) version then yes the current Old Rip 10/107 is in that wheelhouse as are some of the single barrel OWA bottlings that are in the 9 year range.

 

If the reviews you saw were of the Louisville bottlings then you'd need Lawrenceburg bottled Rip 10/107 or other Stitzel-Weller of similar proof and age.  So really nothing current to rival those.

 

It's a different mashbill and distillery, but the recent Rebel Yell 10 single barrels are of that general profile-wheated and 10/100. 

 

Of course you could always give the good old SB.com blend a run out. It was concocted to fill in for the Weller Cent after BT discontinued it. 

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10 hours ago, Old Dusty said:

If you mean the Frankfort (BT) version then yes the current Old Rip 10/107 is in that wheelhouse as are some of the single barrel OWA bottlings that are in the 9 year range.

 

If the reviews you saw were of the Louisville bottlings then you'd need Lawrenceburg bottled Rip 10/107 or other Stitzel-Weller of similar proof and age.  So really nothing current to rival those.

 

It's a different mashbill and distillery, but the recent Rebel Yell 10 single barrels are of that general profile-wheated and 10/100. 

 

Of course you could always give the good old SB.com blend a run out. It was concocted to fill in for the Weller Cent after BT discontinued it. 

Thanks for the info Old Dusty. Unfortunately, the only Weller product I can find locally is WSR at $35, but I'll keep hunting!

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Joe, seeing all those bottles of Weller 12 just about makes me want to cry.  I've just recently become a bourbonite and after my first drink of WSR I became a Weller fan.  I've been trying to chase down a bottle of 12 for the last few weeks.  Went to a store on Wednesday and they had sold the only bottle they had on Tuesday.  I guess I will just have to look at pictures of yours until I can find my own.

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Went to Japan 3 years ago and found these Willetts sitting on the shelf. The 17 years were 13,000 yen per bottle which was about $115 back in those days. Definitely pricey for a NDP bottle but after having a sample in the store I had to grab a few to take home. As a bonus I also picked up a Willett 24/110 rye for $150. I cracked a bottle of the 17 year Willett at a GBS meetup a couple years ago and I remember it being pretty well received. I am thankful for these bottles as there's no way I would pay current Willett gift shop prices.

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Years ago used to buy many ORVW15 for ~$35. I still have one bunker since that was my start of my obsession and one of my favorite.

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The only problem with "good old days" prices is that in the good old days everyone here would have earned a lot less money than today.

That is to say, we can't just reminisce about prices 10/15/20 years ago without the context of what we could afford to buy at the time.

 

Sure, prices may have been much lower 20 years ago, BUT no way I would have been able to "collect" whiskey when I had just signed up for a new mortgage, had 3 kids under the age of 4, earned less than half of what I do today, and had zero disposable income!

 

everything is relative when it comes to prices, time, and inflation 

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3 hours ago, portwood said:

The only problem with "good old days" prices is that in the good old days everyone here would have earned a lot less money than today.

That is to say, we can't just reminisce about prices 10/15/20 years ago without the context of what we could afford to buy at the time.

 

Sure, prices may have been much lower 20 years ago, BUT no way I would have been able to "collect" whiskey when I had just signed up for a new mortgage, had 3 kids under the age of 4, earned less than half of what I do today, and had zero disposable income!

 

everything is relative when it comes to prices, time, and inflation 

I think we are talking more like 4-5 years ago. Sadly, prices have changed drastically in just that short period of time.

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36 minutes ago, Bourbonmakesmepoop said:

I think we are talking more like 4-5 years ago. Sadly, prices have changed drastically in just that short period of time.

Not sure where you get the idea that Vosgar's question was limited to only 4-5 years back.  He even referenced his own experience going back 8-9 years.  

 

I remember buying my first Stagg 's in 2004 for $33.  Although that was certainly a very low price considering the quality of the whiskey , I still find it amazing that MSRP today is only ~$100 over that.  For the King of Whiskies, no less!

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14 minutes ago, smokinjoe said:

Not sure where you get the idea that Vosgar's question was limited to only 4-5 years back.  He even referenced his own experience going back 8-9 years.  

 

I remember buying my first Stagg 's in 2004 for $33.  Although that was certainly a very low price considering the quality of the whiskey , I still find it amazing that MSRP today is only ~$100 over that.  For the King of Whiskies, no less!

Sorry, didn't read that far up the thread, I just noticed many others talking about prices from as recently as 2013 and '14.

Portwood does make a good point.

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17 minutes ago, Bourbonmakesmepoop said:

Sorry, didn't read that far up the thread, I just noticed many others talking about prices from as recently as 2013 and '14.

Portwood does make a good point.

Well, I certainly acknowledge your point on how the escalation in pricing on many brands has hit overdrive these last couple of years.  As does my wallet !  :lol:

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Eagle Rare 10 year 101 was introduced in 1976. Ad copy from Texas Monthly magazine in April 1976 puts its price "around $10". That is $42.62 in 2016 dollars. This period was a bit pre glut though and prices probably didn't escalate from their till 2013 or so. 

 

https://books.google.com/books?id=tywEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA70&lpg=PA70&dq=eagle+rare+ad+in+texas+monthly+magazine&source=bl&ots=4jdTLR0BBN&sig=l0TcmqQCzBHa7d6oo9R0PC-DMyw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjv08eKmJvSAhUr_IMKHfHrDjoQ6AEILjAD#v=onepage&q=eagle rare ad in texas monthly magazine&f=true

 

 

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Since I started this thread, I'll clarify what was going through my pea brain at the time. The "remember when" was a slightly sarcastic remark regarding how much I've seen some bourbons and ryes increase in price since I got into whiskey. While that's only been 8 or 9 years, some of those changes have been rather dramatic, especially once the "boom" got into full swing.

 

I never intended this to be about whiskey from decades ago as I'm the first to realize the effects of inflation. As I stated in my thread about prices shown in the 1952 Kentucky Beverage Journal: "At first glance the prices seem absurdly cheap, but you have to remember that those are 1952 prices. According to http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/  $1.00 back then is equivalent to $9.12 today. That $7.24 bottle of OGD BIB would be over $60 today. Yes, we are living in good times". While there are plenty of prices out there that make me shake my head in disbelief, we're very fortunate that the vast majority are still great bargains.

 

Sorry for any confusion I created by not being more concise. Let's all have another pour and enjoy ourselves!

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