Most You Would Pay For A 750ml Bottle?

[smokinjoe]

4 hours ago, Louisiana said:

 

What you pay for bourbon really doesn't tell anything about you. And it truly doesn't matter. It's all up to each individual as to what they'll pay for anything. I have a neighbor that is so cheap he squeaks, but will pay $20,000 to harvest a big buck in Canada every year. I would never spend that kind of money for a deer, but will buy higher end whiskey at normal retail. Everyone has certain things they splurge on. I only pay retail to be clear, but due to the current market retail may be higher than some want to pay. And that's okay. We all do things a bit different.

 

Cheers,

Jeff

 

Jeff, this is so awesomely centered.  I stand and salute.

[musekatcher]

I think I get uncomfortable over $65 for a fifth, but curiosity still takes me there.  There are selections in the $40's that I consider as good as I could ever imagine, and there are selections in the $20's that I consider superior price-quality values.  I really enjoy finding bargains in life, and gravitate to finding underrated items.   But I could also see spending $200 on a bottle to enjoy (supplemented by cheaper bourbon) over time. 

[Gorzo]

9 hours ago, DCFan said:

While I am enjoying this thread I can’t help but notice that we are only hearing from for the most part the budget minded drinkers. And despite my latest purchase and the PVW’s I have so far been unsuccessful in purchasing I would categorize myself as a budget minded buyer. I am perfectly happy with bourbons in the $20-$60 range because that’s what I basically buy.

 

But where are the big spenders on this board? We see the bunker photos. We see the photos from those who empty shelves. We hear about the latest LE’s that were bought. Come on and speak up you high rollers. We won’t think any less of you than we already do. J/K. 

Collectible stuff that I don't intend on opening $2000. I don't really count that stuff. No difference in a coin collection, baseball card collection etc...Things I have opened up $329.99 PVW20, but have figured out that W12 for under $30 is really all I will ever need. May have achieved Zen!

[Bbstout]

7 hours ago, typf2 said:

 

 

I'm new to the bourbon game! Had no idea it was that hard to get your hands on. I'm glad I'll know for next time. Saw the much higher proof and was leery to pull the trigger. I'm consistently in that 80-100 proof range until I get comfortable with the spice or burn if you will of higher proof whiskeys.

Enjoy the ETL and WSR, they are both solid bourbons. Remember the law of diminishing returns. If you look through the archives of this forum, there were many members that said they were happy with OGD114 for $17 when BTAC/Pappy was selling for $40-$100.

[Bbstout]

1 hour ago, Jazz June said:

The most I have spent on a bottle is 85 euro for Blantons SFTB. In the U.S. the most I have spent is $70, but this restraint is partly because I have never faced any tempting higher end stuff at a reasonable price. VA ABC sells everything hard to find through a lottery at MSRP. If I won a lottery for PvW 23 I would pay the $270 MSRP without much thought.

 

In DC I have seen BTAC and Van Winkle bottles for sale, but always at ridiculous prices that aren't even a little tempting. I was in one store recently and was talking bourbon with the store's spirits guy. After a while we got to talking about special releases and he mentioned he had a WLW, which is probably in the top 3 bottles I would like to purchase. He wanted $600 for it. I'm not sure what the upper limit I would spend on it would be, but $600 is well past it.

 

I think for me it is two things. I'm not going to spend more than a certain amount, although that hasn't been specifically determined, but I also don't want to pay too much of a markup. For example, I have spent $60 on a bottle before, but wouldn't buy ETL at $60 because of the mark up (I wonder if the DC shops are really moving it at the $100 price I see sometimes). As far as spending money on bourbon, the harder dilemma I have faced is how many to buy when you come across something harder to find at a good price. How many EC BPs should I buy if there are 10 on the shelf at $55?

ECBP for $55, I would buy at least 3 bottles.

[Canarse]

6 hours ago, Bourbon Fanatic said:

It's really not. In one instance you have (6) bottles, in the other, you have (1) bottle.

 

Don't get me wrong, I've been buying expensive bottles too, but to say it's the same thing? That's just silly.

 

Cheers!

I think you may have missed my point.  It's spending a lot of money on whiskey.  If you really like something and are fortunate enough to afford it, go for it!  Some folks can afford it and still choose not to spend that much money. That's good too.  Different strokes. 

[fishnbowljoe]

6 hours ago, Canarse said:

Paying hundreds for a single bottle or buying OWA by the case....same difference. 

 

6 hours ago, Bourbon Fanatic said:

It's really not. In one instance you have (6) bottles, in the other, you have (1) bottle.

 

Don't get me wrong, I've been buying expensive bottles too, but to say it's the same thing? That's just silly.

 

Cheers!

Maybe the packaging has changed with the "new" Weller bottles. I'm not sure about that, but the case of Weller 12 I bought contained 12 bottles. With my Binny's card, a case discount, and including the wonderful taxes we have here in Illinois, I was out the door for around $280.00. I do admit that this was a while back. About the same time I purchased a bottle for $125.00. I won't name it, but I will say that it was a private barrel selection that wasn't available in any store. It was pretty good, but I can assure y'all that I got a helluva lot more enjoyment from my 12 bottles of Weller 12. Just my two cents. 

 

Sláinte! Joe

[lcpfratn]

I wasn't sure that I wanted to respond to this thread since everyone has a different perspective on something like this. Certainly there are many bourbons that are relatively inexpensive that are great values and almost as good as many that sell for a lot more and of course sometimes they are better than ones that sell for a lot more. As the price approaches and exceeds $100, you start to pay for more than just what's in the bottle. Some of that is just marketing, but of course rarity, exclusivity and uniqueness come into play in addition to supply and demand factors.

As many have already said, there are plenty of great value bourbons that are readily available, so why spend over $50 or $60 or $30 or $80...whatever your threshold is. I can certainly relate to that way of thinking. Many folks are truly limited by their financial budget, while others will set similar limits because they don't see the value relationship above a certain level. These are all points of view that I can relate to and probably take a bit from all of them because everything is relative to one's situation, likes, dislikes and experiences. I really enjoyed reading many of the posts giving the reasoning for their limits that were relative to their situation or circumstances...and they're all great answers.

My own limits have changed from what I would have stated last year. Last year I would have said I wouldn't spend more than $100 plus tax on a bottle, but I mostly bought bottles below $60. I also would have said I'm not going to spend more than suggested retail for a bottle. My reasoning was that there are many great bourbons at retail for under $60 and even some nice LE's for under or right at $100. I was able to get a bottle of THH, ORVW10 and Lot B 12yr for well under $100 each last year and multiples of many allocated items at regular retail prices. I wasn't constrained by my financial budget to limit myself at that level, but I didn't place enough value on the higher priced items or items that I'd have to pay a premium price to get. I've been drinking bourbon all my life, but I didn't become an "enthusiast" until a few years ago, so those thresholds allowed me to experience and enjoy a lot of bourbon.

This year I decided that I wanted to experience more of the BTAC bourbons, older Pappy bottles, FR LEs, PHC, EC18, etc. so I figured I'd have to step up my limit some. As fall got closer, and some bottles started to show up, I realized the local game was changing too. Some distributors are starting to add premiums to wholesale prices on allocated and LE stuff. Some stores are also changing how they handle and price these items. So, I reluctantly paid $199 for FR Small Batch Al Young LE earlier this year because I knew it was going to be my only chance to get a bottle, and if I wanted it I'd have to pay the price. So my threshold limit was moved from $100 to $200, but with a lot of trepidation. I've since spent $199 on several other LE bottles and I've gotten a bit more comfortable with that limit for certain LE items, but I may be forced to go a bit above that limit for PVW20 if I'm given the opportunity to buy it. I'll probably make the one exception just to scratch the itch and experience my own bottle, but I'm not sure I'll do it again.


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[grantsi]

Spent the last 7 years buying everything at retail ... never flipped or traded anything...but this year I was faced with my guy retiring. That meant no pappy ( was used to 10,12,15 every year ). Got a WLW which I opened last week. I ended up doing my first ever trade: 2 ORVW 10’s and 1 Lot B for a WFE 22 wheated. Makes a little uneasy I lost 3 bottles for 1 but it sounds yummy. I wouldn’t actually pay more than $300 for a bourbon.


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[Tony Santana]

Hey folks, its been awhile since I was regularly visiting this site, but I think I'm ready to get back into the game.  Interesting topic.  When I started "collecting" - which I'll define for strictly my own purposes as branching out and buying a variety of different bottles, including some more high end ones - my limit was generally $100.  Now I'll frequently exceed that, but I've been lucky enough to get BATC, 4R LE's, VW's, etc. at or fairly near MSRP.  And I'll still drink OGD BIB, for that matter, but my tastes tend to run to pricier pours and fortunately I'm able to afford it.  Looking to get a Joseph Magnus now, new to this area, but I think I can snag one for $90ish.

 

All that said, the most I've ever spent is a bit more than $300 - Pappy 23, Bookers Rye, and a Yamazaki 18 were all in that range.  I have a hard time going beyond that, and that's a relatively rare occurrence.  I have to think long and hard for anything more than about $125-$140.  And honesty, at this point I have so much wonderful whiskey I really don't need to buy anything else for a long time, so I can be selective.  It has to be a good deal or something I really want to try (see Magnus above) to entice me now.

[berto]

My breaking point was $100 then $150 now $400 but only because that's the most I've spent on a drinker up til now.  It's weird because I often balk at a huge store markup over MSRP but might not balk at a high MSRP.  10 year Old Rip at $300 chaps my hide but Booker's rye at the same less so.  I'll pay $400 for unicorns all day but they don't exist at that price so I pool my funds with friends and we split stupid bottles.  The $/oz is still silly but comes out to less than the tab at a bar. 

[BourbonGuy]

Last night I went to my local, and he said he had some limited bottles and asked my interest.  I asked him to show me what he had.  He showed me a bottle of Colonel E.H. Taylor Rye and said it was $150.  I said no thanks and then he brought me up front and held up a bottle of George T. Stagg.  Again I asked the price and he said $300.  I have never paid that much.  I thought about it. While I was thinking he said, "I didn't even order it.  It just showed up."  I said yes and took it.  Why.  Not so I can drink it by myself.  I have friends that love it and we haven't seen a bottle for 10 years.  Thing memories we can now make.  Special bourbons, shared with good friends that like bourbon have been some of my best memories.  That is why I spent $300.

Edited December 2, 2017 by BourbonGuy
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[BourbonGuy]

Sorry, I just wanted to follow up on the post above.   I asked the owner if he ever had George T. Stagg.  He said no, he could never get it.  At home when a good friend was retiring and moving out of state, I opened a bottle I had.  We had about 1/2 the bottle over time.  I wrapped the top in parafilm to minimize evaporation.  Then I said, I had an open bottle I would be willing to bring down so he could taste it.  He smiled and said, "maybe just a little taste".  I told him we could taste it straight, but would probably need a few drops of water as it is around 148 proof.  (this new release is like 129).  He was surprised.  I will bring the bottle down next week for him and me to share.

[jackthedog]

Fun topic to read through. I think I'm probably going to be in the $50-$75 range for something that I'd quickly open. If I had the chance to get something more on the unicorn side, EC23/PVW23, I'd probably pay retail. 

 

Most I've ever spent was $129 on EC18. I live in an ABC state and take part in their lottery on some rarer stuff. The upside is that if I were to ever win something, it would be at MSRP. Just have to win first...

[DCFan]

37 minutes ago, BourbonGuy said:

Special bourbons, shared with good friends that like bourbon have been some of my best memories.  That is why I spent $300.

Amen! It's nice to be able to spring for things like this and share it with special friends/relatives who can appreciate this for what it is and not ask for it in a mixer as if it was on par with JB.

[flahute]

On 11/30/2017 at 9:38 AM, DCFan said:

While I am enjoying this thread I can’t help but notice that we are only hearing from for the most part the budget minded drinkers. And despite my latest purchase and the PVW’s I have so far been unsuccessful in purchasing I would categorize myself as a budget minded buyer. I am perfectly happy with bourbons in the $20-$60 range because that’s what I basically buy.

 

But where are the big spenders on this board? We see the bunker photos. We see the photos from those who empty shelves. We hear about the latest LE’s that were bought. Come on and speak up you high rollers. We won’t think any less of you than we already do. J/K. 

How do you define big spending? Prior to your post, I count 9 people on this thread willing to go up to $300 with a few willing to go higher.

[Radioyada]

The most I have paid for a bottle is $400, but that was for a special occasion.  For me the limit always depends on my budget and desires at that time versus what is available. Fortunately I am in a very good location for bourbon availability, so keeping a stock of very good bottles is not difficult. 

[DCFan]

2 hours ago, flahute said:

How do you define big spending? Prior to your post, I count 9 people on this thread willing to go up to $300 with a few willing to go higher.

$301.  Jeez Louise, Steve. I’m just trying to spur this topic along and bring the big spenders in. They’re thinking their numbers would be seen as pretentious or bragging, I just wanted to bring them in to represent the range of posters we have here.

[lcpfratn]

$301. [emoji6] Jeez Louise, Steve. I’m just trying to spur this topic along and bring the big spenders in. They’re thinking their numbers would be seen as pretentious or bragging, I just wanted to bring them in to represent the range of posters we have here.

I think you’ll find that there are very few of the really “big spenders” that you seem to think there are on this forum. You have made references to the huge bunker stashes on the other thread and assumed they must have been accumulated via vast secondary market spending, but you’re probably mistaken. Many of the bunkers have been built over years of buying, and much of it before the current bourbon boom exploded. There are also many members that are well connected through extensive volume purchases and other activities that give them more access to LE and allocated bourbons than the average guy. Don’t get me wrong, that kind of relationship and access costs a good bit of money to cultivate, but it does allow you to keep your per bottle price limit in check more easily.


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[JTaylor]

Last year I was able to get my first PVW ever so I paid the $289 for PVW23. Most of what I paid was for the experience. I shared it with my fellow bourbon "enthusiast" cousin, my Son and Son-in-law. It's pappy for cryin out loud, arguably the pinnacle of our hobby so I'd wanted to try it from the time I first heard of it but saw it as unobtainable and would laugh at the secondary pricing. When it was offered to me at retail I still really rolled it over in my head for a while trying to decide whether a bottle of bourbon could really be worth $300. I pulled the trigger obviously, for what is largely considered the apex bourbon and may have gone that high for GTS or WLW but was fortunate enough to get both for $99 ea this year.

I still struggle with "worth" and "value"... I don't collect them or resell them, I drink them, so assigning a value to a consumable seems odd to me. The only value in a drinking bourbon is either how drunk you can get for a dollar, or in the amount of enjoyment you get from the hunt, the find, the owning and displaying, tasting, comparing and sharing, and discussing with all you fuckers. For that I'll go $200, maybe $300 if a PVW20 ever comes my way. 

[Spade]

I haven't gone over $200 for any sort of spirit. But, I could imagine myself doing so in the right circumstances. I exceed $75 only a few times a year — mainly because there's so much great stuff available less than that. And of course whenever I do grab an expensive bottle I justify it in my mind by telling myself if I take the average of it and bottle of WT101 then it's not so bad.

[Vosgar]

3 hours ago, lcpfratn said:

Many of the bunkers have been built over years of buying, and much of it before the current bourbon boom exploded.

^^^^ This is me ^^^^

 

To answer the question, even though my bunker may theoretically be worth a bundle these days, I've never spent more than $110 for a bottle of bourbon. Just can't get myself to even think about spending hundreds of dollars for any current release, regardless of what it is. I was very fortunate with my purchases back before the market went stupid, and while I've been known to spend a lot of money at one time, it's always been for multiple bottles

[flahute]

5 hours ago, DCFan said:

$301.  Jeez Louise, Steve. I’m just trying to spur this topic along and bring the big spenders in. They’re thinking their numbers would be seen as pretentious or bragging, I just wanted to bring them in to represent the range of posters we have here.

I'm going to agree with Jeff that we likely don't have too many of those really big spenders here. I see those guys on some of the secondary sites who are willing to drop some serious coin on certain bottles. I don't think any of those guys are here. If they are, they are silent. Some of them used to be here but they are scarce these days. Most here are able to find great joy in the standardly available bottles.

[Harry in WashDC]

1 hour ago, flahute said:

I'm going to agree with Jeff that we likely don't have too many of those really big spenders here. I see those guys on some of the secondary sites who are willing to drop some serious coin on certain bottles. I don't think any of those guys are here. If they are, they are silent. Some of them used to be here but they are scarce these days. Most here are able to find great joy in the standardly available bottles.

Let me say this about that - Anybody who spends more than, say, two months reading the threads here, particularly if they participate by commenting, likely cares more about how the bourbon tastes than what it costs or what it is worth on a secondary market.  This conversation reminds me of a comment made by an SBer on an old thread about how much their bunkers were worth or who would inherit it - the SBer responded with something like, "It doesn't matter what it is worth.  I intend on drinking everything in my bunker - EVERY SINGLE ONE".

 

I think most of us here share that to a large extent - our bunkers are for us and our friends, NOT for the purpose of funding retirement or the nursing home or letting our kids off the job-hook.  In conversations with just a few members (as I have not yet made the pilgrimage to the Gazebo but drown my sorrows while you all are doing so twice EVERY year), there are plenty here who could, if they were inclined, just buy everything they wanted - it's available online if one lives in a jurisdiction allowing shipments like I do.  BUT, check out the thread on bourbon nirvana or search for bourbon zen or read the comments on the boom peaking topics.  The choice is to not participate solely for the purpose of participating.

 

There is just too much reasonably priced, excellent bourbon that satisfies a range of palates for many of us, who could afford it, to go crazy.  That doesn't mean I don't go nuts on occasion - check out my car trunk; among the several bottles in there is a barrel strength MM I picked up about six months ago and have no idea when I'll be able to drink it.  Likewise my extended family of Bookers in the bunker - I just seem to reach for other stuff.  Just this week I went looking for some bunker-worthy Isaac Bowman port finish even though I have 6 or so and even though it is likely to be a permanent addition to the ASmith Bowman lineup.  Some WT RB 375s @ $13 were right next to it, and next to THEM were a whole bunch of Blanton's grenades.  SO, I'm going to spend money on one unicorn and let those poor things languish on the shelf?  No way.  But, I digress.

 

FINALLY (yeah, I'm winding down tonight - Ohio State just beat Wisconsin), several years ago, I bought a Guigal Cotes de Rhone I love for $13.  Just for fun, I bought a Guigal Meritage for $99 - same vintage.  Did a SBS.  Could NOT tell the difference although two people in the group of five including me preferred the CdeR.  A man's got to know his limitations.  Mine isn't money; it is tasting money.  I just can't do it.  But I sure can tell you which bourbons (and ryes) taste really good to me, which ones work best in which cocktails for me, andwhich ones are likely to please the casual drinkers who ask me for tastes of stuff.  After all, this isn't stamp collecting, matchbook collecting, or art appreciation.  It is purchasing a consumable.  And I, for one, put it to its best and finest use.

[DCFan]

12 hours ago, lcpfratn said:

You have made references to the huge bunker stashes on the other thread and assumed they must have been accumulated via vast secondary market spending, but you’re probably mistaken.

Talk about faulty assumptions. I don't really care how someone builds up a bunker, for the purposes of THIS THREAD we're talking about people who have built them up one way or the other and what they will spend to do so. They had to open their wallets whether it's at their neighborhood LS or the secondary market. Whether you're talking todays dollars or last century, the high quality bourbons in those bunker photos cost more than JB now or then. So to wrap it up, I'm not casting aspersions or being judgemental on how someone acquires bourbon it's discussing your dollar limits when pursuing bourbon. The end.