Virgin Bourbon formerly 7 yr 101 proof is now NAS

[silverc]

I was in NC yesterday and planned to stock up on my favorite bottom shelfer, Virgin Bourbon, a 7 year age stated 101 proofer from Heaven Hill. I know this has limited distribution, but I am fortunate to see it all over in NC and occasionally in VA.

 

In many of the higher volume stores in Raleigh and Durham I noticed that there is a new label on it, that is very similar to the old label, except that it doesn't have any indication of 7 years.  I bought one of the NAS ones for a side by side comparison this weekend. As you can see in the picture it's easy to notice the difference for the average consumer. If you are in NC and enjoy this one like I do, I'd suggest getting a couple for the bunker while they are still available. I saw plenty of them NC ABC stores in smaller towns, so I think the NAS version started being phased in recently. Many of these smaller market ABC stores had 1.75L Family Size ones for $21 on sale/clearance. I did not see any NAS versions of the family size, so I wonder of those are being discontinued?

 

RIP to this great budget bourbon. I figured its days were numbered with the re-released 7yr HH BIB coming out at $40, while this one is basically the same specs at $14.

 

 

Edited July 13, 2019 by silverc

[smokinjoe]

That’s a bummer.  But like you said, no way they could keep it alive with the 7 yr HHBIB coming out at the higher price.  Geeze, I may never see Alabama again...  

 

[Vosgar]

Damn, another solid, age stated budget pour going by the wayside. Not surprising but still a shame. It's going to be tough to finish my only bottle, which is about 1/3 full, knowing I'll never get another one 

[gurgalunas]

My spot in KC dried up this week.  Its "the next hot one"...  Figured there would be changes, hopefully it's still good enough.  I'd figured they'd discontinue.

[squire]

Still, $14.00 isn't bad for a 4+ yr 100 proof Bourbon. 

[Hiker]

That's interesting, I didn't realize Heaven Hill was going to do that. I've always had a fondness for Virgin and I usually keep a bottle of it around.

 

I manage an ABC store in Western NC (15 miles west of Asheville) and we have three cases of the 7 year old in 750 ml's and 12 bottles of 1.75L in the warehouse plus what's on the shelf. If any of y'all are in the general Asheville area and interested in the availability of the 7 yr, just shoot me a message. 

Edited July 13, 2019 by Hiker

[Harry in WashDC]

5 minutes ago, Hiker said:

That's interesting, I didn't realize Heaven Hill was going to do that. I've always had a fondness for Virgin and I usually keep a bottle of it around.

 

I manage an ABC store in Western NC (15 miles west of Asheville) and we have three cases of the 7 year old in 750 ml's and 12 bottles of 1.75L in the warehouse plus what's on the shelf. If any of y'all are in the general Asheville area and interested in the availability of the 7 yr, just shoot me a message. 

ROAD TRIP!!!  Kidding, you all.  Sort of.  Maybe.

 

Seriously, folks, some Virginia ABC stores still have the "7 year" for $16.  I picked one up yesterday to replace the one I just finished.  Based on previous experience with such changes, I expect VA ABC will work off the old inventory before putting the new product out.

 

NOTE TO SELF - Do NOT go hunting and bunkering.  We STILL don't have sufficient space for the OGD BIB case purchased on sale in June.  And we hear about THAT problem at least twice a week.  But she did tell me to go ahead and get the Virgin yesterday so it's not all bad here.

[Harry in WashDC]

ALSO -- Would somebody do a SBS with the "7 Year" and the "NAS"?  Please recall that VOB BIB "6 Year" and VOB BIB "6" and VOB BIB "100 proof" and VOB "100 Proof" went through this with marginal (in my opinion, of course) effect on the profile.

 

TIA for taking a hit for the team.  I know life is tough, but somebody . . .

[silverc]

54 minutes ago, Harry in WashDC said:

ALSO -- Would somebody do a SBS with the "7 Year" and the "NAS"?  Please recall that VOB BIB "6 Year" and VOB BIB "6" and VOB BIB "100 proof" and VOB "100 Proof" went through this with marginal (in my opinion, of course) effect on the profile.

 

TIA for taking a hit for the team.  I know life is tough, but somebody . . .

Harry, it was a tough challenge, but as you said, somebody had to do it.    So I did a side-by-side comparison of the 7yr AS vs the NAS bottling this afternoon.   

Both tasted neat in a glencarin. Rested for 10 minutes.

 

7 Year AS version

Opened about 3 years, about 1/8 left in the bottle. I probably bought this in 2015-16.
Laser code: B07472849

 

Nose: Baking spices, oak, a little caramel in the background.
Taste: A lot of oak, with mild sweetness and baking spices. Noticeably more viscosity than the NAS version.
Finish: Longer than the NAS, with more oak and complexity of flavors.  

 

NAS version
Opened today. I bought this yesterday in NC.
Laser code: F16690103

 

Nose: A little more baking spices than the 7yr.
Taste: Not sweeter, slightly more alcohol bite, less oak, less complexity, flatter (maybe due to lack of oxidation since it's newly opened?)
Finish: Oak more prominent in the finish, which is slightly bitter and a little shorter than the 7yr.

Overall there are some noticeable differences between these, but it's not dramatic. If using these as a mixer, I would say there would likely be no difference, but trying them neat, and side-by-side, I can detect some differences. Those may be due to younger aged bourbon included in here, but the NAS tastes like it does have a good proportion of older (6-7 year) juice in it now. I guess as time goes on, like what HH did with the Elijah Craig stuff, it may skew more a higher proportion of younger juice in the batch. For now it's not a huge difference, but I do prefer the 7yr AS stuff.

 

 

 

[lcpfratn]

I told myself the other day that I needed to pick up a few more bottles in case this happened when I saw some on the shelf at one of my favorite local stores...then I got distracted with some other purchases and forgot to add them to my basket. Looks like I need to make another trip to that store sooner than later!

[kcgumbohead]

Glad I nabbed one on a recent work trip, likely my first and only. I tasted this in Bardstown and enjoyed very much so I will put this away to savor at some time in the future.

[fosmith]

17 hours ago, Hiker said:

I manage an ABC store in Western NC (15 miles west of Asheville) and we have three cases of the 7 year old in 750 ml's and 12 bottles of 1.75L in the warehouse plus what's on the shelf. If any of y'all are in the general Asheville area and interested in the availability of the 7 yr, just shoot me a message. 

Can you ship to California?  Always been curious about this one...

[FasterHorses]

15 hours ago, lcpfratn said:

I told myself the other day that I needed to pick up a few more bottles in case this happened when I saw some on the shelf at one of my favorite local stores...then I got distracted with some other purchases and forgot to add them to my basket. Looks like I need to make another trip to that store sooner than later!

Mississippi or AL?  Trying to decide if I want to make a run across the border. 

Edited July 14, 2019 by FasterHorses

[lcpfratn]

Mississippi or AL?  Trying to decide if I want to make a run across the border. 

You should be able to find it in both states, but it is probably more prevalent in AL. FacePlant introduced Virgin Bourbon to me a few years ago, and he picks it up in Alabama near Chattanooga when he is visiting family in the area. Some Mississippi stores started carrying it within the last year, but I don’t know if it is readily available statewide. I’ve been getting it in Mississippi when I see it since that’s closer to me.

[FasterHorses]

1 hour ago, lcpfratn said:

You should be able to find it in both states, but it is probably more prevalent in AL. FacePlant introduced Virgin Bourbon to me a few years ago, and he picks it up in Alabama near Chattanooga when he is visiting family in the area. Some Mississippi stores started carrying it within the last year, but I don’t know if it is readily available statewide. I’ve been getting it in Mississippi when I see it since that’s closer to me.

Thanks Jeff.. I’ll probably see if AL has any on the shelf sometime this week. Stinks.. I was just there last week. 

[hollywood]

3 hours ago, FasterHorses said:

Thanks Jeff.. I’ll probably see if AL has any on the shelf sometime this week. Stinks.. I was just there last week. 

I’m still seeing only the AS versions here.. Doesn’t mean that the NAS hasn’t arrived in some LS’s of course.. I’m sure the inevitable will be made pevalent soon then... 

[squire]

Virgin Bourbon was commonly available in Mississippi 30-40 years ago and I'm informed it's still around but I haven't seen it on shelves in quite awhile.  Not a problem because Alabama is less than 30 minutes from my front door.

[Hiker]

On 7/14/2019 at 9:48 AM, fosmith said:

Can you ship to California?  Always been curious about this one...

Unfortunately NC law won't allow us to do that.

[hollywood]

I posted in the Purchased Today thread earlier that I bought 2 AS back up bottles. No apparent shortages anywhere here as of yet. Went to 4 ABC stores today with all of them carrying 12-18 bottles each of the AS still.

[DeltaAlphaVictorEasy]

The Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area is currently being actively hunted and is probably wiped out of the AS 750ml bottles by now.  A friend of mine told me about Fred Minnick's announcement concerning the discontinuation, and we both went out to find a few to bunker- every clerk at many ABC stores said approximately the same thing: "what's with this Virgin Bourbon, was there an article about it or something? we've gotten 87 calls about it today already"

Edited July 20, 2019 by DeltaAlphaVictorEasy

[FasterHorses]

Fred

[Harry in WashDC]

I know I added to the hysteria, but . . .

 

After silverc's post above (and as I indicated above re: my wife's hair appointment), I narrowed the list of stores I'd visit with some online searching and then did a little physical searching.  I did not buy all the VB 101 AS I found, but I did buy a few and left a goodly number on the shelf.  The good news is - I stumbled across a cache of VOB 100 @ $14.  VB 101 never had a chance against VOB 100 in THAT head-to-head.

 

YMMV, but mine didn't. 

 

Now, where I gonna put all this?  And, am I approaching the max number of 750s I can consume before croaking?  Time will tell.

[Guss West]

If I had more room in my luggage I would have flown more of the VB101 AS back home to CT. 

As it was I was content to grab a few and recommend it to the other bourbon geek in the aisle and to the local friendly folks who brought the hospitality.  I'm going back in Sept, I assume it will all be gone by then. 

[hollywood]

Saw my first NAS version here yesterday at arguably the largest ABC store in regards to selection variety in the area.. The only store I was in over the weekend, but appears the inevitable is now trending quickly. (I’d posted not long ago seeing ONLY AS versions still)

[cdcdguy]

Is there a price difference in the two?