fishnbowljoe Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 I really like ETL. I've never had a bad bottle. Needless to say, I've had at least a few in my time. I love the bourbon, I love the bottle, and I love the empties. The empties are great for my smaller vattings, and I also use them for decanting 'cause they fit so much better on my cabinet than a lot of bottles. Pic#1. Empty and full bottles. FWIW, I've had most of the empties for a while. I never throw them out in the recycle bin. I've also had a few empties that I've "shared" that had something other than ETL in them. I also have one bottle each of ETL, ETL 90th Birthday and ETL Commemorative in my "special" stash stored elsewhere. Pic#2. Me with the man himself at the KBF a number of years ago. He was a great guy. Easily approachable and very low key. FWIW, I also met him briefly one other time. So, as I'm finishing my pour of ETL, I say enjoy, have fun, and drink it how you see fit. Cheers! Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jshleffar Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 I really like ETL as well but I've never seen a bottle on a shelf for under 80 bucks near where I am. Saw one in Co at MSRPish but owner was holding for a regular which I can respect. I have to get mine for 11 bucks a pour half hour away, so I dont have it much. Definitely gets frustrating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonNit Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 Joe those are some fantastic pics. I'm also a big fan of the bottle, love the gin bottle style and the picture of Lee himself. I think what's inside even more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nate1892 Posted August 6, 2017 Share Posted August 6, 2017 On August 4, 2017 at 10:54 AM, HoustonNit said: Good number of bars in Houston will have ETL in the $8-$14 range. I've had some really good pours of this and some so so pours. Waitlist at Spec's does seem to actually work as I got a call for this a few weeks back $30. I was able to find it and try it out at a bar. It was very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clueby Posted August 6, 2017 Share Posted August 6, 2017 I opened a fresh bottle last night. It's probably my favorite under 100 proof pour. Either that or Barterhouse. I can really taste the family resemblance to Blanton's but I prefer ETL. It has more character to it. Blanton's can get "boring" in its characteristic smoothness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FacePlant Posted August 7, 2017 Share Posted August 7, 2017 Great pic of you and the legend Joe! Love the YouTube with Elmer at the tasting table-priceless. Just opened another a few days back with trepidation. My stash is getting low and I've not seen any on the shelves here in Memphis this year. The distributor decided to give it all to the bars, so if you're coming through you might hit up on some. One of my local watering holes has it for $10 a pour which is very fair by bar standards. (Whoops had it....some numbskull might have drained it all). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnbowljoe Posted August 7, 2017 Share Posted August 7, 2017 1 hour ago, FacePlant said: Great pic of you and the legend Joe! Love the YouTube with Elmer at the tasting table-priceless. Just opened another a few days back with trepidation. My stash is getting low and I've not seen any on the shelves here in Memphis this year. The distributor decided to give it all to the bars, so if you're coming through you might hit up on some. One of my local watering holes has it for $10 a pour which is very fair by bar standards. (Whoops had it....some numbskull might have drained it all). Thanks FP. That pic was from the 2009 KBF. It was only my second time going to the KBF as a member of StraightBourbon. I was in bourbon heaven 'cause I was still pretty new to all this, and I got to meet most of the Master Distillers, some past Master Distillers and a couple of Master Distiller Emeritus'. If I wasn't totally hooked on all this bourbon stuff before then, I sure was after. FWIW, I'm having a pour of ETL as I'm posting this. Cheers! Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hn4bourbon Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 I also like ETL a lot as well as the empties. I also use them for vatting and decanting other bottles into them for better organization and storage compactness. However, I've noticed that some of the empties if not used regularly, the cork tend to shrink rendering too loose to use. I'm down to one last unopened ETL in my stash:( have to find more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richnimrod Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 21 hours ago, hn4bourbon said: I also like ETL a lot as well as the empties. I also use them for vatting and decanting other bottles into them for better organization and storage compactness. However, I've noticed that some of the empties if not used regularly, the cork tend to shrink rendering too loose to use. I'm down to one last unopened ETL in my stash:( have to find more. Just a suggestion based upon my own experience.... I don't decant into 'cork-stopper' bottles. ...Due primarily to the problems you note. My solution is to use only screw-top bottles. Those screw tops never get dried out, shrink, or suffer from "cork-rot".... And, you can make 'em as tight as necessary by merely adding another partial twist... up until you actually break the tops, of course...So: not too tight. I know those Elmer bottles are great for tight-packing on shelves due to their square shape; but, for me it's screw tops only for long term storage, such as vatting/solera uses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRich Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 Just a suggestion based upon my own experience.... I don't decant into 'cork-stopper' bottles. ...Due primarily to the problems you note. My solution is to use only screw-top bottles. Those screw tops never get dried out, shrink, or suffer from "cork-rot".... And, you can make 'em as tight as necessary by merely adding another partial twist... up until you actually break the tops, of course...So: not too tight. I know those Elmer bottles are great for tight-packing on shelves due to their square shape; but, for me it's screw tops only for long term storage, such as vatting/solera uses.Yep. My favorite are old Rit BIB bottles. I keep a few of those on hand.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hn4bourbon Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 2 hours ago, Richnimrod said: Just a suggestion based upon my own experience.... I don't decant into 'cork-stopper' bottles. ...Due primarily to the problems you note. My solution is to use only screw-top bottles. Those screw tops never get dried out, shrink, or suffer from "cork-rot".... And, you can make 'em as tight as necessary by merely adding another partial twist... up until you actually break the tops, of course...So: not too tight. I know those Elmer bottles are great for tight-packing on shelves due to their square shape; but, for me it's screw tops only for long term storage, such as vatting/solera uses. Rich, thanks for your suggestions. Which bottles do you like for the screw tops? i don't have many experience with screw tops other than the various Wellers, HMKBIB, VOBs, Ritt, or OGDBIB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hn4bourbon Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 1 hour ago, BigRich said: Yep. My favorite are old Rit BIB bottles. I keep a few of those on hand. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I have a bottle of Ritt opened right now. I'll try to save the bottle after I empty this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRich Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 Rich, thanks for your suggestions. Which bottles do you like for the screw tops? i don't have many experience with screw tops other than the various Wellers, HMKBIB, VOBs, Ritt, or OGDBIB. IMHO the "best" are the ones used for Japanese whiskies like yamazaki 12 or Nikka. Westland here in the US is using a similar closure. However, given the price of Japanese whisky and Westland, that Ritt bottle should do just fine.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beasled Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 On 8/5/2017 at 1:36 AM, fishnbowljoe said: I really like ETL. I've never had a bad bottle. Needless to say, I've had at least a few in my time. I love the bourbon, I love the bottle, and I love the empties. The empties are great for my smaller vattings, and I also use them for decanting 'cause they fit so much better on my cabinet than a lot of bottles. Pic#1. Empty and full bottles. FWIW, I've had most of the empties for a while. I never throw them out in the recycle bin. I've also had a few empties that I've "shared" that had something other than ETL in them. I also have one bottle each of ETL, ETL 90th Birthday and ETL Commemorative in my "special" stash stored elsewhere. Pic#2. Me with the man himself at the KBF a number of years ago. He was a great guy. Easily approachable and very low key. FWIW, I also met him briefly one other time. So, as I'm finishing my pour of ETL, I say enjoy, have fun, and drink it how you see fit. Cheers! Joe Great pics Joe. ETL was one of the first bourbons I tried that I really fell in love with and I still have a soft spot for it. My wedding day flask a couple of years ago was filled with Commemorative and I've got a spare that I'll crack on an anniversary occasion. Also still holding onto a couple of wax top signed bottles which I will open once my standard supply runs out, seeing as it's not distributed in the UK at the moment (and hasn't for a couple of years now..) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richnimrod Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 7 hours ago, hn4bourbon said: Rich, thanks for your suggestions. Which bottles do you like for the screw tops? i don't have many experience with screw tops other than the various Wellers, HMKBIB, VOBs, Ritt, or OGDBIB. I have about 15-bottles of various ilks/brands (OGD BIB, JW Dant, JTS Brown, Rebel Yell, Old Rip, Evan Williams Black Label, Weller Sp. Res., etc.) many with distillate inside (vattings mostly, but also decanted stuff for one reason or another), plus a few solera-type things in larger bottles (1.75's). Those big ones are Old Fitz BIB, Old Forester Signature, and Jim Beam White Label (I had my bro-in-law save me that from the tavern business he once owned). One of my soleras is in a bottle received as gift from my daughter. It has a ceramic/rubber pressure sealed stopper on top, and is a liter bottle. Come to think of it some of the others ones are liters as well... a bit more room to play with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hn4bourbon Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 15 hours ago, Richnimrod said: I have about 15-bottles of various ilks/brands (OGD BIB, JW Dant, JTS Brown, Rebel Yell, Old Rip, Evan Williams Black Label, Weller Sp. Res., etc.) many with distillate inside (vattings mostly, but also decanted stuff for one reason or another), plus a few solera-type things in larger bottles (1.75's). Those big ones are Old Fitz BIB, Old Forester Signature, and Jim Beam White Label (I had my bro-in-law save me that from the tavern business he once owned). One of my soleras is in a bottle received as gift from my daughter. It has a ceramic/rubber pressure sealed stopper on top, and is a liter bottle. Come to think of it some of the others ones are liters as well... a bit more room to play with. Thanks Rich, I have JW Dant, OF Sig, OGD BIB, Old Rip, and older WSR bottle currently opened. I'll be sure to keep these bottles for future use. I like the Old Rip and WSR bottle heights better than the other taller bottles because they fit in my cabinets better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richnimrod Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 2 hours ago, hn4bourbon said: I like the Old Rip and WSR bottle heights better than the other taller bottles because they fit in my cabinets better. There Ya' Go! You're in charge. Pick what worx for you. I have several different storage locations, some few with at least one 'tall' shelf, so the taller bottles work fine for those spaces; but 'squat' bottles work almost anywhere.... they just take up a little more horizontal room. Like most things in life, it's all about making choices that work for our individual situations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Black Tot Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 On 8/3/2017 at 11:56 AM, nate1892 said: Good idea on the Blantons Straight From the Barrel. I'll be in Scotland over Christmas. Hopefully I can track one down over there. You don't need to track it down in the UK. You can order it on Amazon.co.uk and have it sent to where you're staying. You're welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nate1892 Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 11 hours ago, The Black Tot said: You don't need to track it down in the UK. You can order it on Amazon.co.uk and have it sent to where you're staying. You're welcome. Never even thought about amazon. Good call, thanks bud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts