Needing professional advice...

[thebrother]

 Hello. I am trying to purchase a very nice bourbon for my brother‘s 40th birthday. 

 

  I’ve been lurking here for the past few weeks  trying to get a basic education for myself, so I would know what questions to ask.

This weekend I went on a small recon mission to find out all of the Bourbons he currently owns. My thought process was, that I could ask all of you to help in deciphering what his  taste in bourbon was. Style of bourbon. Likes and dislikes. Based off of his current collection.   My goal would be to add 1 to 2 really nice Bourbons, that you all think he would like based on his collection. (And that he doesn’t already have) I’ll also be pairing this (or these) with a set of glassblower ben’s  customized medium glasses. 

Thinking the bourbon budget would be around 200-300.  Total gift under 500.  

 

Thank you all in advance for any and all help you can provide.  (I am in the Kansas City area if that helps with tracking things down.  I also know he loves old fashionds.)

 

thanks.  

[Gorzo]

Seems like he is a Buffalo Trace fan. With a $200-$300 budget  I would call around KC to see how stores are going to release their BTAC allotment and try to score one of those bottles.  Or try and find a bottle of the OF Birthday Bourbon.  

[Nm0369]

If time isn't an issue, the big fall releases (BTAC/Pappy etc) will be hitting stores over the next couple weeks.  Every store handles their bottles differently, but your budget will definitely cover a few at retail pricing.  Wild Turkey Decades would be a nice gift and easier to find.  Beyond that....maybe EH Taylor Barrel Proof or Elijah Craig Barrel Proof if you can find them.

[Radioyada]

My suggestion is to see if you can find him a bottle of CEHT Barrel Proof.  Should be easier than chasing down the BTAC releases, but if you get a chance for one of those at a respectable price definitely grab that!

[thebrother]

 Thank you for such quick replies. 

 My only worry is that it will get closer to time, late December, and I will not have been able to track anything down. The nearest liquor store with any possibility of carrying decent stuff is about 45 minutes to an hour away from me. 

  Do you recommend any reputable online retailers that would only have a reasonable up charge compared to retail? 

 Thank you so much, and please keep the recommendations coming!

 

[thebrother]

 I also wanted to add, that obviously I haven’t been around here long enough.....So far I’ve spent a solid 10 minutes looking up what some of these acronyms mean :-)

[Harry in WashDC]

58 minutes ago, thebrother said:

 Thank you for such quick replies. 

 My only worry is that it will get closer to time, late December, and I will not have been able to track anything down. The nearest liquor store with any possibility of carrying decent stuff is about 45 minutes to an hour away from me. 

  Do you recommend any reputable online retailers that would only have a reasonable up charge compared to retail? 

 Thank you so much, and please keep the recommendations coming!

 

Check with www.binnys.com in Chicago and call their whiskey hotline if you see something you like.  They ship to places where it is legal to ship.  Their prices are typical, and their shipping charges are not unreasonable. Push come to shove, get one or more of their Four Roses store picks. 

[EarthQuake]

Most of the bottles that would be worth $200-300 will be near impossible for you to find. BTAC or Pappy are basically unobtainable unicorns unless you have some sort of connection with your local liquor store, or can get lucky and a local store is running an auction that you happen to win. Even less sought after limited releases like OF Birthday Bourbon will be extremely difficult to get a hold of. Generally when you see something like the BTAC in the wild it will be marked up to the $600-700 range. The exception here being Thomas H Handy which you may be able to find closer to $300-400.

 

That's the bad news, the good news is that there are many excellent bourbons in the $50-130 range that are easy to only moderately tough to find (depends a bit on where you live).

 

As others have stated, C.E.H Taylor Barrel Proof is an excellent choice, could conceivably be found, and shouldn't run you much more than retail ($80) if you find it at a respectable store. This one is still pretty difficult though, so I wouldn't bank on being able to find it. Stagg JR at $50 is very similar in flavor profile and proof and typically much easier to find, though even this I would not expect to walk into any old liquor store and find. If you can't find it locally, you can generally find Stagg JR from various online vendors if you're willing to pay $70 or so. CEHT Single Barrel is pretty easy to find at $60, but isn't that much different to the small batch to be particularly exiting, though it's a very good bottle nonetheless.

 

Four Roses Single Barrel barrel proof store picks are pretty easy to find, though you may have to order from a store online. The price range is typically $60-80. There is variance in flavor profile here because there are 10 difference recipes, but that is part of the appeal. It's important to note that there is a Four Roses Single Barrel 100 proof, which is usually $40 or so but generally not as good as the barrel proof selections. I can't tell which your brother has, but each batch of store pick barrel proof will be unique so there isn't much risk of a duplicate purchase.

 

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof as others have stated, this one isn't exactly easy to find but with some hunting it's doable, especially if you're willing to pay a bit over retail, maybe $70-80 or so. Elijah Craig 18 is another one that will be very difficult but perhaps not impossible to find.

 

In the realm of older Bourbons there is Orphan Barrel Barterhouse 20 year, this is moderately easy to find and you'll usually find it at retail ($80). To me, this is as good as Elijah Craig 18 if not slightly better, and you've got a much higher chance to find it especially at a reasonable price. Orphan Barrel Rhetoric could be found as well, this comes in 20-23 year versions and should be more like $120 or so. Opinions are somewhat mixed on Oprhan Barrel products but Barterhouse is generally well liked and one of my favorite pours.

 

The Wild Turkey Decades Maker's Keep line is a special edition that is pretty easy to find, both the Decades and 17 year shouldn't be too hard to track down nor should they run you more than $135 or so. It looks like he has at least one of these, so you could try to find the other if he doesn't have it.

 

Knob Creek 25th anniversary came out recently and shouldn't be too hard to find in the $120-ish range. 

 

Old Weller Antique 107 is only somewhat hard to find, and while Weller 12 year is more difficult it's a lot easier than anything Pappy (the Weller line uses the same wheated Buffalo Trace mash bill that is used for most Pappy bourbons). For both of these you could go out of your way to pay considerably more than retail, but still not break the bank.

 

Not sure if he's into Rye, but there are some interesting ones out there:

Lock Stock & Barrel 13 or 16 year, these are a couple of the very few 10+ ryes on the market

WhistlePig 10 year - you can find barrel proof store picks of this for around $80 which are great

High West Bourye - this is a bourbon/rye blend which is another one of my favorites, usually $70-ish

Russell's Reserve Single Barrel Rye, look's like he has the Bourbon version of this, this is one of my favorite ryes

 

If you're willing to look outside of the Bourbon/Rye world you may be more likely to get your hands on a very good bottle in your desired price range. A nice Scotch (not really a Scotch guy so I won't try to make a recommendation), or a Japanese whiskey like Nikka 17 year or Hibiki 17 year will be closer to the $200 range.

 

Use wine searcher to shop online, it may take some effort to find stores that will ship to you, but you'll have a much wider net: https://www.wine-searcher.com/

Edited October 8, 2017 by EarthQuake

[thebrother]

Thank you for ALL of that earthquake.  

 

Keep em me coming guys.  This is awesome.  

 

And again...thank you all.  

[EarthQuake]

No problem!

 

Oh and one last thought, if you're willing to order from out of the country, sometimes you can find limited editions or export only bottles that are very difficult to find in the states. For instance, Four Roses Small Batch Limited Editions you can often find from some UK stores, generally in the $230-450 range (depends on year of the bottle). That's a lot to pay for that bottle in my opinion though, especially considering how good, and easy to find the FR store pick single barrels are, but if it was something you had your heart set on it's possible. Last I checked FRSBLE 2016 was $230-ish at the whisky exchange.

 

Here are a few stores:

https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/

https://www.masterofmalt.com/

http://www.whisky.fr/en/

Edited October 8, 2017 by EarthQuake

[fishnbowljoe]

I second the suggestion of Stagg Jr. I also think that the current Bourbon Of The Month, Rock Hill Farms would be a decent choice. Please post again and let us know how it's going, and how it all turns out. 

 

Cheers! Joe

[DeepCover]

1) Weller 12

2) Stagg Jr

3) CEHT BP

[kevinbrink]

Seeing as he already has the 17 year Wild Turkey Masters Keep I'll second the recommendation to pick up the newer Decades release, shouldn't be as hard as some other things to find.

[lcpfratn]

Depending on where you are shopping some of the "retail" prices that EarthQuake cited may be high or low. For instance, Wild Turkey Masters Keep will generally run you $150 in my area, Barterhouse will run you $100 and KC25th will run you $150. However, most Four Roses Single Barrel Private Selection cask strength bottles that I find are usually less than $60. My point is that prices are different around the country, but I pretty much agree with most of the rest of EarthQuake's suggestions and comments.


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[PaulO]

Wow, what a nice brother you are.

It's hard for me to recommend anything really expensive, like $100+. 

Here are some suggestions after viewing the photos:

Wild Turkey Rare Breed or Kentucky Spirit, Makers Mark Cask Strength or Makers 46 Cask Strength, Old Forester 1920, Rebel Yell 10 year old.

 

 

 

[chappy6107]

based on the pics of what he already has.  some of these will definitely have already been mentioned.

 

since he has russell's reserve 10 year, you could get russell's reserve 10 year single barrel (often found as a store pick)

since he has ceht small batch, you could get ceht barrel proof

since he has knob creek 2001, you could get knob creek 25th anniversary

since he has weller antique 107, you could get weller 12 year

since he has basil hayden's, you could get old grandad 114

since he has wild turkey masters keep 17, you could get wild turkey masters keep decades

since he has blantons & elmer t. lee, you could get rock hill farms

 

old forester 1920

a midwinter nights dram (high west)

smooth ambler old scout bourbon (7yr, 10yr, 11yr)

stagg jr

1792 full proof

barrel bourbon

 

and if you think he has the space for it...a retired barrel or maybe just a barrel top.

 

[thebrother]

Awesome responses. Thank you. 

I’m going to try to turn this into a search list and get “boots on the ground” quickly...otherwise I’ll be paying the online markups or not finding g them at all it sounds like.  

Thank you all and keep them coming if you’d like.  I really appreciate it.    

 

[CardsandBourbon]

4 hours ago, thebrother said:

Awesome responses. Thank you. 

I’m going to try to turn this into a search list and get “boots on the ground” quickly...otherwise I’ll be paying the online markups or not finding g them at all it sounds like.  

Thank you all and keep them coming if you’d like.  I really appreciate it.    

 

Make sure you come back and let us know what you end up getting.

[FacePlant]

The only open bottles I see are the Blantons (Internationals are still sealed) and Basil Hayden's. Bookers-can't tell if it's open-is the only barrel proof you're picturing.

If you want to give him a good drinker and not a bar ornament (I say that with the deepest sincerity) maybe Eagle Rare, Henry McKenna 10yr BIB, or Elijah Craig SB. As previous posters have said if you can find a unicorn even better. 

Edited October 11, 2017 by FacePlant

[fishnbowljoe]

4 hours ago, CardsandBourbon said:

Make sure you come back and let us know what you end up getting.

 What he said.  By the way, where are you from? That could be a help or a hindrance.  

 

Cheers! Joe

[thebrother]

When somebody uses the acronym “sb” ..... how do I know when it’s “small batch” or “single barrel”?

 

example. The Elijah Craig that faceplant suggested. 

[DCFan]

6 minutes ago, thebrother said:

When somebody uses the acronym “sb” ..... how do I know when it’s “small batch” or “single barrel”?

 

example. The Elijah Craig that faceplant suggested. 

SB = small batch

SiB = single barrel 

[Bourbon Fanatic]

7 minutes ago, thebrother said:

When somebody uses the acronym “sb” ..... how do I know when it’s “small batch” or “single barrel”?

 

example. The Elijah Craig that faceplant suggested. 

The way I've always known it, Sm is the acronym for small batch and SB is the acronym for single barrel.

 

Cheers!

[lcpfratn]

I believe FacePlant was referring to a private selection also called store pick of EC, which is essentially a Single Barrel. EC is otherwise always a small batch.


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[thebrother]

I'm from the kansas city area

missouri side.