Wathen's Availability?

[doubleblank]

Like many others here, I really like Wathen's, but it has become hard (impossible) to find here in Texas. Is it still available in your area, and if so, is it the same Medley whiskey that was in the original bottlings? The reason for the questions is this....I located a case of Wathen's bottled in '98. I'll bunker it if it's not going to be widely available or if the current bottling is from other sources.

Randy B.

[gr8erdane]

The last bottle I bought back last November I think, was Barrel No 148 Hand Bottled 2/7/03 and signed by Charles Medley. I bought it from Randalls (www.internetwine.com) and other than paying their premium price, I enjoy it very much.

[cowdery]

Probably Charlie Medley is the only one who can really answer your question, but the last time I saw a compilation of whiskey in bonded warehouses, he had a pretty good supply. Nothing by Jim Beam standards, but probably enough to keep the Wathen's brand going for many years. You can email Charlie at info@wathens.com or visit the web site at www.wathens.com As for availability, Sam's still had it the last time I looked, Binny's too.

[doubleblank]

Thanks for the inventory info Chuck. I had looked at the web site but it appears it hasn't been updated for some time. I'm going to try to find a recent bottling to compare to the '98 bottling. If I do, I'll give my comments.....but I really do enjoy the '98.

Randy B.

[jvanwinkle]

Last I heard was that Charles was having a hard time finding someone to bottle his whiskey. It was in the past bottled by David Sherman in St. Louis.

Evan in Bardstown would be the only one left to bottle for him.

Julian

[ikewillett1]

I picked up a bottle of Wathen's in Indianapolis in November. The bottle says that it was bottled by Sherman in St. Louis. So, I know its still out there.

[LeNell]

I've been selling it at the store. However, when I tried to reorder, it was out of stock. I haven't been able to get a salesperson to tell me more.

[angelshare]

To bump an old thread -

I was in Rockville, MD, about 2 weeks ago and picked up a bottle of Wathen's. When I took it to the register, they had trouble finding the price because it had been "discontinued" from their stock, even though there were a few bottles on the shelf.

Is this the last of the Wathen's (what's on the store shelves right now)?

[cowdery]

I haven't heard anything to update what Julian said in March. (See his reply, above.)

[doubleblank]

I am not seeing any freshly stocked shelves here in Houston. When I find it, it always looks to be the last one or two bottles left. Latest bottling I've found is spring '03.

Randy

[angelshare]

The date on this bottle was May of 2001.

[LeNell]

I'm still having trouble getting it. I keep ordering it, but I get an "out of stock" message. Of course, with these monstrous in size distributors, sales people don't know details to pass along so I haven't been able to get the skinny on it, yet. Maybe I should just email Wathen's. I'm gonna do that now. I'll keep you posted.

[LeNell]

Just got word back from Sam Wathen Medley. He says that earlier this year he switched to a new national distributor - Frank-Lin Company in San Jose, California. He reported that during the switch, the glass manufacturer in Europe was out of the bottles, leaving them to search for other bottles which are in transit to the US now. They should be bottling again soon. I'll let you know when I hear more.

[TNbourbon]

Saw this bump, remembered seeing this at my nearby liquor store, it's my birthday, so -- I'm sitting here looking at my new bottle from Barrel Number 13, bottled 12/15/1997 and signed by Charles Medley.

My dilemma: as many of you know, I am -- at least, when I can be -- a collector as well as consumer of hard-to-find bourbons. Should I drink this bottle, or wait until I have another in hand? It was the last one on this store's shelf, and I didn't find another in town today. However, I still have several big stores in/near Nashville to check out.

[robbyvirus]

They should be bottling again soon. I'll let you know when I hear more.

Whew! Glad to hear that! I love Wathen's, and I'm glad it's a problem with the bottle supply and not the bourbon supply!

[angelshare]

First of all, happy (belated) birthday!

My vote is DRINK IT. Tim, you are certainly familiar with my biases by now, so you probably would have predicted that vote. Still, I would argue:

1) There does not appear to be anything super collectible about a 1997 bottling (unless I'm missing something), assuming further bottlings are available;

2) Thanks to the diligence of our kind fellow Bourbonian above, we can be optimistic about future availability (thanks for the inside scoop!);

3) Barrel 13? Unlucky! Best consume that bottle and get it out of the house;

4) C'mon, Tim - it's your birthday!

Hope you had a good one!

[stoopsie]

I have been to a few Montgomery County Liquor Stores lately and they all seem to have many bottles in stock. The last price I saw was about $23.00. They usually put them on sale about every 3 months. The last time it was $20.00

[LeNell]

The last time I got some, they raised the price significantly to force me to put it on the shelf at $29, up from $25. I was pretty upset about it and gave my salesperson's eardrums a good working about it, but, of course, he doesn't really care, since he works for a giant distributor, to give me a heads up about such things so that I could buy more before a price hike. Sounds like you have a great deal there with the sale price since that's cheaper than what I can buy it here wholesale!

[OneCubeOnly]

Sounds like you have a great deal there with the sale price since that's cheaper than what I can buy it here wholesale!

The weekly sales have some of the most phenomenal prices! It's great being close enough to load up on goodies!

[cowdery]

I suspect that if you bring a few bottles to Bardstown in September you will get some good trading action.

[angelshare]

I found them in two stores yesterday, but none were newer than February 2003. I assume that means bottling has not yet restarted. I saw a post elsewhere about Wathen's at a Binny's location, but didn't see it on the Binny's website. Probably old stock that turned up at one location?

Just out of curiosity, does anyone have preferences based on the year of bottling, or do you notice much of a difference? Tim mentioned having a 1997 bottle, and I've seen 1998, 2001 and 2003.

By the way, if anyone is headed for the festival and still looking for Wathen's, send me a PM.

[Barrel_Proof]

My two bottles of Wathen's, both purchased from Sam's, fill the gaps in angelshare's list:

Barrel 81, 8-17-1999, opened

Barrel 127, 4-20-2002, unopened

[doubleblank]

I've tried '98, '02 and '03 bottlings and liked them all. The '98 seems a little fuller and richer tasting than the '03 in particular. I still have about 6 bottles from '98 case I bought earlier. It shows up sporadically here in Texas.

Randy

[clayton]

The website for my home state of Washington State Liquor Board shows "Wathen's Bourbon" (no bottling details) for $28.95 but "Discontinued". Availability shows one unit available in Winthrop, WA.

One unit. I would call that limited availability.

[bourbonmed]

Randy, I agree. The '98 is my personal favorite.

Omar