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Kentucky Owl the next Pappy?


Bbstout
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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/02/business/kentucky-owl-bourbon-tourism-napa.html

 

Irrational Exuberance sums up this article nicely.

 

I've never had a KO Bourbon but the Rye is incredible. I think they may have a short run of procuring interesting Bourbons/Ryes as there can't be much aged stock sitting around in the current Boom.

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I have tried a couple of different batched of the bourbon (both tried at bars) and it has left me disappointed both times.  If I had to purchase a bottle of the bourbon at MSRP or even worse, secondary, then I would not have been a happy camper.  The rye is great though (and I am not usually a rye fan).

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Interesting article and I’m glad you called it to our attention. After reading it I’m not sure if this is one more sign the boom is almost over or if I’m an idiot for passing on it multiple time and I need to run out and buy every bottle I know of. 

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What's crazy to me is that I'm pretty positive I've never seen an overwhelmingly positive reaction to KY Owl bourbon. I know folks liked the first batch of rye, but seemingly everything I've read about the bourbon was along the lines of "decent but way overpriced". Irrational exuberance, indeed.

 

Also, it took the dude four years to come with the first batch? Pretty wild.

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I've never had the bourbon, but I really enjoyed the KO Rye batch 1.  Haven't had a chance to try batch 2 yet.

Edited by JoeTerp
typo
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There are many people in MA who love it to death. I recently saw a bottle in the locked cabinet at Wegmans for 195 bucks. I passed on it. For me, there are too many other good things out there at much less to ante up. 

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I've never seen the enthusiast market embrace KO and in fact many aren't on board at all.  The initial hype build up on the secondary market was reminiscent of a boiler room pump and dump.  Seemed very shady.  Very different with VW.  I know the broader market might be impressed but that market is often one time buyers and many of those folks will move to the next big thing.  Authenticity is key and KO is not authentic.  Where's it from?  Oh, you can't tell me.  Maybe when their own stuff is ready in a decade but that's a long time with no guarantee it's good. 

 

The Napa thing would be great for Kentucky if it was a long term lasting effect that brought more than minimum wage customer service for tourists jobs but I don't see it.  I could be way off but the distilleries and tasting rooms can't ship bourbon home for folks.  That's a big hurdle.  

 

 

Edited by berto
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  • 4 weeks later...
On 1/3/2019 at 10:36 AM, Bbstout said:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/02/business/kentucky-owl-bourbon-tourism-napa.html

 

Irrational Exuberance sums up this article nicely.

 

I've never had a KO Bourbon but the Rye is incredible. I think they may have a short run of procuring interesting Bourbons/Ryes as there can't be much aged stock sitting around in the current Boom.

Saw some yesterday for $199.. 

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Hard to find, exorbitantly priced, average bourbon? Hmm, it has more in common with Pappy than I thought.

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I’ve seen the rye at TW for $200 in my area. They had quite a few of them there in the case. 

 

My local store has the bourbon but it’s listed for around $500.

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I can get the RYE up here for $200. Which sadly, is retail.

Edited by elmossle
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8 hours ago, elmossle said:

I can get the RYE up here for $200. Which sadly, is retail.

How many of these reside in your bunker, elmossle?

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It's a good rye for sure, although I prefer the 10 yr Whistle Pig at half the current price. The wholesale cost for batch 2 went up almost $50 dollars. Have not had the bourbon yet. 

I can't envision this as the next unicorn in the PVW stratosphere. 

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A couple thoughts here:

 

1) Keep in mind who is selling stocks right now: MGP, Dickel, Brown Forman.Barton.  Heaven Hill maybe. 

2) This episode of bourbon Pursuit is worth a listen. Particularly the part where Jeff Hopmayer suggests new NDPs start pricing at $100 or more. 

https://bourbonpursuit.com/2019/01/03/182-exposing-the-secrets-of-bourbon-sourcing-with-jeff-hopmayer-of-the-brindiamo-group/

 

3) Certainly there are very talented people with excellent palates who are very skilled as batching barrels. Folks like Jim Rutledge, SBs own nancy the nose, and even Dixon who can create a sum greater than the parts.

 

4) However, as a consumer, I still look at the parts used along with the price. $150 for Dickel isn’t a buy for me. Batched MGP or Barton for $200 or more aren’t a buy for me either. 

I haven’t had Cream of Kentucky yet and may roll the dice based on Jim Rutledges track record but it doesn’t changes the fact that it is 11yr old Barton, which is distillery that I have yet to find a profile that I enjoy. 

Even if I do enjoy the CoK, is it worth 2 Russell’s??

Value is always a matter settled between ones own wallet and tsste buddies. 

 

Sure would be nice if DSP numbers were listed on these hot new NDPs. 

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4 minutes ago, Mako254 said:

 

Even if I do enjoy the CoK, is it worth 2 Russell’s??

 

That's my benchmark for anything at and above $50. I love the stuff JR put down at 4R, but CoK is an easy no go for me. 

 

I'm also with you on Barton. I dont dislike the three regular 1792s, but there are too many bottles of other stuff that I enjoy more at those price points. I haven't had the SW, BiB, or high rye. I do really enjoy VOB BiB, though. 

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6 minutes ago, Mako254 said:

However, as a consumer, I still look at the parts used

This is what it comes down to for me. MGP is its own thing. But as for the guys whose primary business model is to sell their own stuff, sourced Dickel and/or Barton doesn't excite me. ECBP checks all of my HH boxes, and it's incredibly hard to imagine BF selling superior stock to what they use for their Whiskey Row or LEs.

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Earlier I mentioned I saw a bottle for around 500. I just recently posted a pic in the passed on thread for around 169. Still to high for me and the huge disparity in price sets my spidey sense tingling. This makes me thing it's a bubble in the making.

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13 hours ago, Richnimrod said:

How many of these reside in your bunker, elmossle?

 

At that price....none!! I did manage to get 2 bottles of both Batch 1 & 2 of the Rye, but I paid far less than $200. Now I did not find those up here, but could get extras of batch 2 if I wanted them. I liked batch 1 and only got batch 2 because they were the same price at the time. If my only options were at $200, then I would not have purchased them.

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20 hours ago, mross said:

Earlier I mentioned I saw a bottle for around 500. I just recently posted a pic in the passed on thread for around 169. Still to high for me and the huge disparity in price sets my spidey sense tingling. This makes me thing it's a bubble in the making.

Was the $500 bottle the Rye or the Bourbon?

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2 hours ago, Old Hippie said:

Was the $500 bottle the Rye or the Bourbon?

Rye, same as the other two I passed on. Couldn't take a picture of the 500 bottle, store did not want me too.

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I've got batch 1 of this rye sitting right beside a EHT rye... and I'd take the EHT rye every single time. 

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