PiraSea Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 I know they are both single barrel of the BT #2 mashbill. Bourbonr says Blantons is 6-8 years and ETL is 12-14. If those ages are correct, you would expect the MSRP's to be flipped. In NC they must be sold by MSRP and it was $39 for ETL yesterday and in the $50's for Blantons normally. ETL is also much more rare. What gives? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dad-proof Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 (edited) I don't know where that blog got the info on ETL being 12-14 years, but I don't think that's right. The differences that I know of include a) Blanton's comes from wharehouse H, and b) Blanton's is part of the Age International portfolio whish has (partial?) ownership distinct from Sazerac, even though it is made at Buffalo Trace distillery. It's not completely unlike Van Winkle products coming from Buffalo Trace but the brand not being fully owned by Sazerac. Given the additional layers of contracts and arrangements in place, along with a dedicated wharehouse and being a more storied brand, it helps me make sense of Blanton's is more consistently available, and why there are non-US versions of Blanton's, while ETL has to fight with the other Sazerac brands when it comes to overall capacity constraints at BT. Edited May 18, 2018 by dad-proof 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry in WashDC Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 52 minutes ago, PiraSea said: I know they are both single barrel of the BT #2 mashbill. Bourbonr says Blantons is 6-8 years and ETL is 12-14. If those ages are correct, you would expect the MSRP's to be flipped. In NC they must be sold by MSRP and it was $39 for ETL yesterday and in the $50's for Blantons normally. ETL is also much more rare. What gives? Origami bottles with oversized corks with horsies stuck on the cork are expensive to make; and shipping costs more as they take up more space. OR, marketing costs are higher as I've seen Blanton's ads and placements in shows and movies, but ETL not so much. OR, most bourbon drinkers prefer spirits younger than 10 years so supply and demand does influence price. Or a combination of these. How does all this affect me? I prefer Blanton's to ETL because it is smoother, younger, and easily sharable with persons who are not familiar with oakier, rougher, older bourbons. That said, the price difference and availability mean I buy one ETL for about every two Blanton's I buy. Some days there is just NOTHING that satisfies an itch like a couple of ounces of ETL. For me, that's not often, but on those days . . . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mako254 Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 2 hours ago, Harry in WashDC said: Origami bottles with oversized corks with horsies stuck on the cork are expensive to make; and shipping costs more as they take up more space. OR, marketing costs are higher as I've seen Blanton's ads and placements in shows and movies, but ETL not so much. OR, most bourbon drinkers prefer spirits younger than 10 years so supply and demand does influence price. Or a combination of these. How does all this affect me? I prefer Blanton's to ETL because it is smoother, younger, and easily sharable with persons who are not familiar with oakier, rougher, older bourbons. That said, the price difference and availability mean I buy one ETL for about every two Blanton's I buy. Some days there is just NOTHING that satisfies an itch like a couple of ounces of ETL. For me, that's not often, but on those days . . . You seem to have a lot of itches Harry. Each one requiring a different bottle! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinbrink Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 As far as I can tell they are both 4 years old. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlutz Posted May 19, 2018 Share Posted May 19, 2018 (edited) Most nights, Blanton’s is too elegant for me. I much prefer the harder edge of ETL or the higher proof and wider variety of flavors I get from RHF. I do love Blantons SFTB and had some last night. It does need just a few drops of water or it numbs my mouth. Sometimes though, I just appreciate the elegance of regular Blantons. Edited May 19, 2018 by Charlutz Qualifications Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l364cy Posted May 19, 2018 Share Posted May 19, 2018 I suspect ETL is sourced from lower floors of rickhouses. 14 years seems too long, especially for ETL (and his preferences), however, there is a much stronger oak profile to ETL vs Blantons. I (and my wife) find ETL to be sweeter, smoother, with an easier finish than (most) Blantons bottles. ETL also has prominent vanilla and honey flavors that I don't often pick up as much in Blantons, I get more of a raisin/currant type fruit instead usually. I have a batch of SFTB from 5/17 that is a surprisingly spicy barrel, giving GTS a little run for his money in the pepper department, just missing the chewy mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theiano Posted May 19, 2018 Share Posted May 19, 2018 I don't find either one to appear to be aged too long, at least from what I can taste. I would've said that they are both around 6-8 years. From the bottle's I have had I would've said they are fairly similar, perhaps with ETL taking a slight edge over Blanton's. However given ETL is also significantly lower retail price (if you can find it for retail) I would say it is better value. From a rarity perspective, I don't know what the reason for that is, maybe ETL is made from storing whatever spare barrels they have left over in another warehouse once they fill warehouse H with Blanton's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranecreek Posted May 19, 2018 Share Posted May 19, 2018 17 hours ago, kevinbrink said: As far as I can tell they are both 4 years old. I agree here with the age. Since they are unwilling to state the age, than you can assume that they are a blend of 4 year and probably some older barrels. Blantons has to come from warehouse H but that does not mean every barrel there becomes Blantons. When fulfilling label demands it is all about barrel selection chosen to match a flavor profile. Take Buffalo Trace and say Eagle Rare. They are both the same identical distillate with the Eagle Rare being the 10 year version. (i guess it's still 10, have not looked in a while) Blantons and ETL are much the same as that, much closer related than one may think. As Harry said there are more costs associated with bottling Blantons and given the fact that they can charge more and get it explains the cost. For the record I prefer the ETL which is less floral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnbowljoe Posted May 19, 2018 Share Posted May 19, 2018 ETL used to be 7 to 9 years old. In recent years, the speculation was that the aged dropped to 6 to 8 years old. I'm not sure about the age of Blanton's, but IIRC, it's very similar to ETL. Biba! Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlutz Posted May 19, 2018 Share Posted May 19, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, Cranecreek said: I agree here with the age. Since they are unwilling to state the age, than you can assume that they are a blend of 4 year and probably some older barrels. ETL and Blantons are single barrels, as is RHF. Edited May 19, 2018 by Charlutz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranecreek Posted May 19, 2018 Share Posted May 19, 2018 (edited) 9 minutes ago, Charlutz said: ETL and Blantons are single barrels, as is RHF. Well do I have egg on my face or what !! That's what I get for posting without thinking. Thanks Charlie for pointing out that knucklehead comment of mine. I may need a drink after that....... Edited May 19, 2018 by Cranecreek 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlutz Posted May 19, 2018 Share Posted May 19, 2018 Ha. No worries. We’ve all been there. It’s happening more and more to me as I get older?!? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mako254 Posted May 20, 2018 Share Posted May 20, 2018 23 hours ago, Charlutz said: Most nights, Blanton’s is too elegant for me. I much prefer the harder edge of ETL or the higher proof and wider variety of flavors I get from RHF. I do love Blantons SFTB and had some last night. It does need just a few drops of water or it numbs my mouth. Sometimes though, I just appreciate the elegance of regular Blantons. Rock Hill Farms is king of MB2 for my (domestic) money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0895 Posted May 20, 2018 Share Posted May 20, 2018 Surely someone has a picture in the Blanton's bottling hall, of one of the barrel heads being dumped or on the staging rack? That could probably give us some clues. The last store pick samples I saw for Blanton's were 7 years and some change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EarthQuake Posted May 20, 2018 Share Posted May 20, 2018 (edited) I've got a store pick of Blanton's and a recent (2017) ETL open right now, the ETL tastes a bit older (I'm not sure about 12-14 but probably at least 10 years), more complex and is what I generally prefer. I do not think ETL is rougher, both are rather smooth and easy to drink. It does have a bit more oak (which I like). My only complaint with the ETL is the proof is a bit low, but the same can be said about Blanton's. I wish ETL was as easy as Blanton's to find too. I think Blanton's is a bit overpriced honestly, I prefer CEHT Small batch or even Eagle Rare most days, at $40/30 respectively rather than $55 or so for Blanton's. At that price point I want a Stagg Jr, Four Roses private selection, etc which I tend to greatly prefer vs Blanton's. Edited May 20, 2018 by EarthQuake 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starhopper Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 No way ETL is 14 yrs old. At that age, it would definitely be advertised on the label! Hell, if it were even 10 yrs, that would be on the label too as people love their age statements. Tastes more like 5-6 IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starhopper Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 (edited) 2 hours ago, starhopper said: No way ETL is 14 yrs old. At that age, it would definitely be advertised on the label! Hell, if it were even 10 yrs, that would be on the label too as people love their age statements. Tastes more like 5-6 IMHO. Correction, I would say it's more like 7-8 years (not the 5-6 I posted earlier). Six years ago, it was rumored to be around 9 yrs or so, depending on when Elmer deemed it was ready for bottling. Edited May 22, 2018 by starhopper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDanner Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 On 5/18/2018 at 9:20 AM, PiraSea said: I know they are both single barrel of the BT #2 mashbill. Bourbonr says Blantons is 6-8 years and ETL is 12-14. If those ages are correct, you would expect the MSRP's to be flipped. In NC they must be sold by MSRP and it was $39 for ETL yesterday and in the $50's for Blantons normally. ETL is also much more rare. What gives? Congrats on finding an ETL in NC. I do occasionally get my hands on a Blanton, but the one bottle of ETL I got was pure accident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnbowljoe Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 https://www.straightbourbon.com/community/topic/20610-elmer-t-lee-age/ https://www.straightbourbon.com/community/topic/23851-elmer-t-lee/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starhopper Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 (edited) 12 hours ago, fishnbowljoe said: https://www.straightbourbon.com/community/topic/20610-elmer-t-lee-age/ https://www.straightbourbon.com/community/topic/23851-elmer-t-lee/ Hey Joe. I would've posted those links, but since some of the comments on ETL age were 4 to 5 years ago I didn't think they were necessarily representative of what's in the bottle today! Things have changed in the past few years, with younger distillate being bottled to keep up with demand. Not certain ETL was immune to these market forces - it certainly tastes younger to me than it used to. Edited May 23, 2018 by starhopper 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubadoo97 Posted June 3, 2018 Share Posted June 3, 2018 Amazing the power of the horse and jockey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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