What bourbon did you pass on (summer/fall) 2018

[KyleCBreese]

At least a dozen sitting on shelves in NJ. 

[PowderKeg]

On 9/11/2018 at 11:25 AM, Clueby said:

I was tempted by the Sweet Wheat at $50 but really didn't want to reward that store with my business.  It hit town at other stores for $35 and I missed out.  Apparently other markets its north of $75 though.

SW has been at the $40 mark in a handful of shops in/around LR/NLR, except one pimp that had it at $80 IIRC.  Literally next door it was $40.

 

Been looking for a 375 of WTRB in the old bottle for a little while and Bardstown "Toadys" had it at a half reasonable $, but like you I can't bring myself to reward such a sleazeball for the the occasional honest price that slips by.  Bozo has a 750 of 8yr 1792RR on the shelf above the counter for $500 FIRM .  Think the chiseler would give an even $1000 for one of my handles???  That still leaves a little room to roll a bourbon tourist!  EHTsib for $150 was another highlight.

[0895]

6 hours ago, PowderKeg said:

 Bozo has a 750 of 8yr 1792RR on the shelf above the counter for $500 FIRM .  Think the chiseler would give an even $1000 for one of my handles???  That still leaves a little room to roll a bourbon tourist!  EHTsib for $150 was another highlight.

 

That's actually a very very very hard bottle to find.

It's one of the "Ridgewood Reserve" labeled bottles that started the whole lawsuit between Saz/Barton & B-F / Woodford

 

I thought he was crazy when I saw it too, but then I did a double take and noticed it says "Ridgewood".

When Barton lost the suit, they changed it to "Ridgemont" shortly thereafter (about 6 months), and not many "Ridgewood" bottles were sold.

 

Kinda like when Makers mark sold the lower proof bottles for a very brief moment before going back to 90p almost immediately.  Those lower proof bottles are hard to find.

 

Anyway, I don't know if that bottle is worth his price, and frankly I don't care,

but it is that rare.....and for better or worse, he's sold every ridiculously priced thing he's ever had in his shop.  Someone always buys it.

 

http://sippncorn.blogspot.com/2015/07/woodford-v-ridgewood-court-ordered.html

Edited September 16, 2018 by 0895

[PowderKeg]

16 hours ago, 0895 said:

 

That's actually a very very very hard bottle to find.

It's one of the "Ridgewood Reserve" labeled bottles that started the whole lawsuit between Saz/Barton & B-F / Woodford

 

I thought he was crazy when I saw it too, but then I did a double take and noticed it says "Ridgewood".

When Barton lost the suit, they changed it to "Ridgemont" shortly thereafter (about 6 months), and not many "Ridgewood" bottles were sold.

 

Kinda like when Makers mark sold the lower proof bottles for a very brief moment before going back to 90p almost immediately.  Those lower proof bottles are hard to find.

 

Anyway, I don't know if that bottle is worth his price, and frankly I don't care,

but it is that rare.....and for better or worse, he's sold every ridiculously priced thing he's ever had in his shop.  Someone always buys it.

 

http://sippncorn.blogspot.com/2015/07/woodford-v-ridgewood-court-ordered.html

Well I missed that it was a Ridgewood (and I have no clue either as what that makes it worth to a collector, other than the bourbon inside isn't worth 1/10 of the price,  and I even like the 8yr 1792RR...), but that doesn't turn Toadys into anything above a sleazy dive bent on shafting bourbon tourists.  Was in once and the bozo was reaming someone out over the phone loudly, said he was getting screwed, using word combinations I hadn't yet considered, and all I could think - and laugh - about was "pot, meet kettle".  

 

And yes, unfortunately there are way too many people with lotsa excess money to flush - aka a sucker born every minute.

[0895]

2 hours ago, PowderKeg said:

but that doesn't turn Toadys into anything above a sleazy dive bent on shafting bourbon tourists.  

 

While I don’t disagree with you, almost every store in Bardstown, except Kroger is doing the same thing now (preying on tourism). 

 

I also have a special place in my heart for toddy’s.  I started stopping there in 2010, on my first trip to the holy land, and each trip back, I always go in and grab a HH 6 yr green label 90, in ritualistic fashion.

 

He is an interesting character, but I generally keep quiet, don’t touch anything, and don’t ask questions.  He’s always been alright with me.  One time he offered me a pour of some Willett rye he was tasting.

 

Edited September 17, 2018 by 0895

[PaulO]

I was in Bloomington today; visited the big Big Red store.  That was the place when I lived in B-town.  Today I passed on everything - lots of dodgey NDP stuff, and the reliable major brands all overpriced.  I guess I've got it pretty good in Greenwood/South Indy area.

Bourbon Zen - asked about products they didn't have, walked out without buying anything.

[JCwhammie]

Hmmm...

I also passed on KY Owl Rye batch 2 at $169.99. I can't believe this place isn't charging $225. 

I did grab 2 bottles of VOBBIB, which was my purpose for going. 

[Bob_Loblaw]

WSR for $49.99.  Yeesh

[CUfan99]

1 hour ago, JCwhammie said:

Hmmm...

I also passed on KY Owl Rye batch 2 at $169.99. I can't believe this place isn't charging $225. 

I did grab 2 bottles of VOBBIB, which was my purpose for going. 

Crazy! I’m a big fan of the OE7 but not at that price. I’m only a buyer at south of $20. EWBIB is the last of a dying breed in my market. 

[0895]

5 hours ago, JCwhammie said:

 

I also passed on KY Owl Rye batch 2 at $169.99. I can't believe this place isn't charging $225. 

 

 

The problem is that people have tried it by now.   It’s more or less sitting everywhere.  

[lcpfratn]

 
The problem is that people have tried it by now.   It’s more or less sitting everywhere.  

Well, not everywhere, since neither batch ever got distributed in my area.

[0895]

32 minutes ago, lcpfratn said:

Well, not everywhere, since neither batch ever got distributed in my area.

Alright, you got me there.

 

In about 4 hours you could potentially be purchasing a bottle if you leave now.  Well, better wait til morning, the stores are closing.  

Bring Yuengling with you.

Edited September 21, 2018 by 0895

[lcpfratn]

20 minutes ago, 0895 said:

Alright, you got me there.

 

In about 4 hours you could potentially be purchasing a bottle if you leave now.  Well, better wait til morning, the stores are closing.  

Bring Yuengling with you.

I would have bought a bottle of the first batch at around $100, but with the elevated price of batch #2, even after the price reduction noted above, there are a lot of great Ryes available for a lot less money...including Lock Stock & Barrel 16yo, which I think I’ll go get a second bottle of while I still can. 

[Postal Grunt]

I'm still passing on Makers Mark these days. The sale price seems right at $22-24 for a 750 almost every week in the KC area in one outlet or another. I think it's a taste bud preference for Weller. My attitude will probably change after unicorn season has run its course over the next ten weeks or so.

[uncork_it_already]

On 9/14/2018 at 11:27 PM, KyleCBreese said:

At least a dozen sitting on shelves in NJ. 

Yeah I passed on this at $169.99, which is actually a good price.

 

Had some success with the bourbons and the first rye was acclaimed, but got greedy.

 

Batch 1 is still a buy though. Under $150-160 is a grab, IMO.

[BigSkyDrams]

Not exactly a pass, more of a miss, but seemed relevant to the thread. My local got 36 bottles OWA107 on Wednesday; the owner emailed the “top 1/3” of customers in their loyalty program offering the bottles to them first, on a one per customer basis, priced at $32, before expanding it to everyone in the loyalty program... before I even saw the first email they were all spoken for, roughly an hour after him sending out notice. The hype is real!

[Jackinbox]

19 hours ago, Postal Grunt said:

I'm still passing on Makers Mark these days. The sale price seems right at $22-24 for a 750 almost every week in the KC area in one outlet or another. I think it's a taste bud preference for Weller. My attitude will probably change after unicorn season has run its course over the next ten weeks or so.

I don't know what's going on with MM.  It less expensive now than it was 5 years ago.  Back then, a handle at Costco was $42.49.  I saw it today for $38.99.  It's the only bourbon I can think of that has gone down in price since I first got into bourbon.

[fosmith]

Fighting Cock NAS.  It was only around $16 so I was tempted but wound up buying an OE7 instead.  Did I make the right decision? 

[lcpfratn]

Fighting Cock NAS.  It was only around $16 so I was tempted but wound up buying an OE7 instead.  Did I make the right decision? 

Haven’t had the NAS FC, but the 6yo is very good and comparable to the OE7.

[FasterHorses]

14 year old barrel pick of Dickel for $65 but I’ll hope its there in the spring

[fosmith]

4 hours ago, lcpfratn said:

Haven’t had the NAS FC, but the 6yo is very good and comparable to the OE7.

I'd heard pretty good things about the 6yo and wanted to try it.  Was hoping the one on the shelf was it.  Alas...

[Kepler]

On 9/16/2018 at 7:52 PM, 0895 said:

He is an interesting character, but I generally keep quiet, don’t touch anything, and don’t ask questions. 

 

This guy sounds like the soup nazi from Seinfeld

[Kepler]

On 9/21/2018 at 10:12 AM, BigSkyDrams said:

Not exactly a pass, more of a miss, but seemed relevant to the thread. My local got 36 bottles OWA107 on Wednesday; the owner emailed the “top 1/3” of customers in their loyalty program offering the bottles to them first, on a one per customer basis, priced at $32, before expanding it to everyone in the loyalty program... before I even saw the first email they were all spoken for, roughly an hour after him sending out notice. The hype is real!

Save yourself some trouble.  OWA is not worth that type of feeding frenzy.  Go find yourself something else, relax and enjoy your pour.

[PaulO]

On 9/21/2018 at 8:25 PM, Jackinbox said:

I don't know what's going on with MM.  It less expensive now than it was 5 years ago.  Back then, a handle at Costco was $42.49.  I saw it today for $38.99.  It's the only bourbon I can think of that has gone down in price since I first got into bourbon.

I figured that at $39 for 1.75l, 750ml costs $16.72!

Yeah, I used to a Weller snob, not anymore.  MM is a solid, but not amazing pour, found everywhere.

[BigSkyDrams]

10 hours ago, Kepler said:

Save yourself some trouble.  OWA is not worth that type of feeding frenzy.  Go find yourself something else, relax and enjoy your pour.

Yeah I wasn’t particularly disappointed with the miss. I’ve had OWA plenty of times, and while good, it’s nothing special. Just thought it was an interesting example of the bourbon hype that’s going on. I can at least understand why people jump at the offer of OWA at roughly retail... what I’ll never get is people paying a 100-300% markup on WSR. That bottle is just so “meh” in the scheme of things.