What Bourbon Did You Purchase Today (Fall 2020)

[webfoots]

45 minutes ago, flahute said:

What kind of citrus? My first ever bottle of Handy was either a '12 or '13 and I remember getting grapefruit on the first sip. I don't think I've ever tasted it in a whiskey again since that bottle.

I was getting orange but my palate and tasting notes are usually more like “I really like this” or “that tastes weird” rather than picking up “grandmother’s over baked ginger snaps on a fall morning”

[FasterHorses]

[fishnbowljoe]

19 hours ago, Kepler said:

Well?  You only have 1 more day.  Feeling the pressure?!?   

 

18 hours ago, fishnbowljoe said:

I had to go out to run some errands today. Along the way, I stopped at two liquor stores. I somehow managed to walk out of both stores without buying a thing even though the temptation was there.

 

Biba! Joe

[flahute]

Was stunned to see a WSR sitting on the shelf at my local. I picked it up because it's been so long since I tried one. Opened it straight away. I don't love it like Joe does but it's a good change of pace.

[mbroo5880i]

On 12/4/2020 at 2:08 PM, lemonman said:

The new Binny's in the area had a coupon for today & tomorrow, so I picked up a trio of Knob Creek Gift sets (with two tumblers) for what works out to 20.99 each; I'm very happy with that deal!

 

 

Gurnee?

[mbroo5880i]

21 hours ago, webfoots said:

It’s my first purchased BTAC bottle so I was plenty happy to have one for myself as opposed to a bar pour. I honestly couldn’t remember my tasting experiences with the 2-3 prior THH’s other than it being a face punch and lingering. The 2020 is a fruit and citrus bomb for me after just opening with the only spice at the back end. 

Grabbing your own bottle of any of the BTAC collection is always fun! Enjoy!

[mbroo5880i]

1 hour ago, fishnbowljoe said:

 

I had to go out to run some errands today. Along the way, I stopped at two liquor stores. I somehow managed to walk out of both stores without buying a thing even though the temptation was there.

 

Biba! Joe

Does your week end on Saturday or Sunday?  Asking out of curiosity.

 

[mbroo5880i]

59 minutes ago, flahute said:

Was stunned to see a WSR sitting on the shelf at my local. I picked it up because it's been so long since I tried one. Opened it straight away. I don't love it like Joe does but it's a good change of pace.

Sometimes it is flavorable and sometimes it seems muted.  It is one of the pours that you don't feel guilty about and just enjoy.  Actually, I don't feel guilty about any pour but sometimes I am concerned about those over 125 proof. 

 

It is a great pour to recalibrate your palate. 

[flahute]

20 minutes ago, mbroo5880i said:

Sometimes it is flavorable and sometimes it seems muted.  It is one of the pours that you don't feel guilty about and just enjoy.  Actually, I don't feel guilty about any pour but sometimes I am concerned about those over 125 proof. 

 

It is a great pour to recalibrate your palate. 

So true! From taste to taste in this pour I experienced both flavorable and muted!

[fishnbowljoe]

21 hours ago, Kepler said:

Well?  You only have 1 more day.  Feeling the pressure?!?   

 

21 hours ago, fishnbowljoe said:

 

2 hours ago, fishnbowljoe said:

 

I had to go out to run some errands today. Along the way, I stopped at two liquor stores. I somehow managed to walk out of both stores without buying a thing even though the temptation was there.

 

Biba! Joe

My name is Joe and I have whiskeyrexia nervosa.

 

I cannot tell a lie. I stopped at a third store today.   The manager was there as I walked in, and we exchanged pleasantries, and chatted for a bit. Duty called, and the manager had to take care of business, so I headed back to the bourbon aisle. As I looked over the bourbon aisle, I spotted one lonely MM 46 on the shelf. It was on sale for $27.99, plus there was also an extra $2.00 off. I just couldn’t leave it there by itself, and I also couldn’t pass up the $25.99 price. I grabbed the bottle and headed to the counter. I got a big surprise when I got to the checkout counter. As I sat the MM 46 down, the lady behind the counter asked me if I was Joe “the bourbon guy”. I said yes. She pulled out a box and told me the manager said I might want the bottle that was tucked away inside it. She said it was $100.00, and asked if that was okay. I peeked inside the box, grinned, and told her that would be fine. The lady put the MM 46 in the box along with my surprise bottle, and I headed towards the door. As I was walking out, I spotted the manager. We exchanged knowing nods and smiles. My surprise bottle?  A 2020 WLW.  Every once in a while. 

 

Biba! Joe

 

 

 

 

[flahute]

5 minutes ago, fishnbowljoe said:

 

 

My name is Joe and I have whiskeyrexia nervosa.

 

I cannot tell a lie. I stopped at a third store today.   The manager was there as I walked in, and we exchanged pleasantries, and chatted for a bit. Duty called, and the manager had to take care of business, so I headed back to the bourbon aisle. As I looked over the bourbon aisle, I spotted one lonely MM 46 on the shelf. It was on sale for $27.99, plus there was also an extra $2.00 off. I just couldn’t leave it there by itself, and I also couldn’t pass up the $25.99 price. I grabbed the bottle and headed to the counter. I got a big surprise when I got to the checkout counter. As I sat the MM 46 down, the lady behind the counter asked me if I was Joe “the bourbon guy”. I said yes. She pulled out a box and told me the manager said I might want the bottle that was tucked away inside it. She said it was $100.00, and asked if that was okay. I peeked inside the box, grinned, and told her that would be fine. The lady put the MM 46 in the box along with my surprise bottle, and I headed towards the door. As I was walking out, I spotted the manager. We exchanged knowing nods and smiles. My surprise bottle?  A 2020 WLW.  Every once in a while. 

 

Biba! Joe

 

 

 

 

Hell yes! Only fitting that our Weller whore get one of these! Damn happy for you.

[webfoots]

I’m going to start introducing myself as “Joe, the bourbon guy” to every liquor store employee from now on...

[flahute]

6 minutes ago, webfoots said:

I’m going to start introducing myself as “Joe, the bourbon guy” to every liquor store employee from now on...

That only works in northern Illinois. 

[lemonman]

1 hour ago, mbroo5880i said:

Gurnee?

 

Yep, that's the one; really glad they added that store, the next closest was a PITA to get to.  In celebration of my purchases I've poured a generous amount of KC tonight.

 

 

 

[Kepler]

48 minutes ago, fishnbowljoe said:

 

 

My name is Joe and I have whiskeyrexia nervosa.

 

I cannot tell a lie. I stopped at a third store today.   The manager was there as I walked in, and we exchanged pleasantries, and chatted for a bit. Duty called, and the manager had to take care of business, so I headed back to the bourbon aisle. As I looked over the bourbon aisle, I spotted one lonely MM 46 on the shelf. It was on sale for $27.99, plus there was also an extra $2.00 off. I just couldn’t leave it there by itself, and I also couldn’t pass up the $25.99 price. I grabbed the bottle and headed to the counter. I got a big surprise when I got to the checkout counter. As I sat the MM 46 down, the lady behind the counter asked me if I was Joe “the bourbon guy”. I said yes. She pulled out a box and told me the manager said I might want the bottle that was tucked away inside it. She said it was $100.00, and asked if that was okay. I peeked inside the box, grinned, and told her that would be fine. The lady put the MM 46 in the box along with my surprise bottle, and I headed towards the door. As I was walking out, I spotted the manager. We exchanged knowing nods and smiles. My surprise bottle?  A 2020 WLW.  Every once in a while. 

 

Biba! Joe

Awesome!  Good decision stopping today!

[fishnbowljoe]

30 minutes ago, flahute said:

That only works in northern Illinois. 

Yeah, maybe once in a great while. More often than not, I get “the look” and employees scatter. 

 

Biba! Joe

[GeeTen]

12 hours ago, flahute said:

Was stunned to see a WSR sitting on the shelf at my local. I picked it up because it's been so long since I tried one. Opened it straight away. I don't love it like Joe does but it's a good change of pace.

 

I love my WSRs for vatting GW4G, Joe's 2018 Blend, as well as gifting.  Am I still wrong????   

[flahute]

3 hours ago, GeeTen said:

 

I love my WSRs for vatting GW4G, Joe's 2018 Blend, as well as gifting.  Am I still wrong????   

Were you wrong to begin with?

[PhantomLamb]

14 hours ago, fishnbowljoe said:

 

 

My name is Joe and I have whiskeyrexia nervosa.

 

I cannot tell a lie. I stopped at a third store today.   The manager was there as I walked in, and we exchanged pleasantries, and chatted for a bit. Duty called, and the manager had to take care of business, so I headed back to the bourbon aisle. As I looked over the bourbon aisle, I spotted one lonely MM 46 on the shelf. It was on sale for $27.99, plus there was also an extra $2.00 off. I just couldn’t leave it there by itself, and I also couldn’t pass up the $25.99 price. I grabbed the bottle and headed to the counter. I got a big surprise when I got to the checkout counter. As I sat the MM 46 down, the lady behind the counter asked me if I was Joe “the bourbon guy”. I said yes. She pulled out a box and told me the manager said I might want the bottle that was tucked away inside it. She said it was $100.00, and asked if that was okay. I peeked inside the box, grinned, and told her that would be fine. The lady put the MM 46 in the box along with my surprise bottle, and I headed towards the door. As I was walking out, I spotted the manager. We exchanged knowing nods and smiles. My surprise bottle?  A 2020 WLW.  Every once in a while. 

 

Biba! Joe

 

 

 

 

Congrats, what a score!  Looking forward to your thoughts.

[geclbxf]

2 hours ago, PhantomLamb said:

Congrats, what a score!  Looking forward to your thoughts.

Assuming your loyalty was rewarded - and great set up by the manager too!   What a great story and thanks for sharing.

[fishnbowljoe]

3 hours ago, PhantomLamb said:

Congrats, what a score!  Looking forward to your thoughts.

 

1 hour ago, geclbxf said:

Assuming your loyalty was rewarded - and great set up by the manager too!   What a great story and thanks for sharing.

Thanks fellas. Yes, I believe I was rewarded.
 

I’m not quite sure if I’m gonna open it now or save it for some time down the road. I have a couple other WLW’s in my bunker, and I’m thinking about opening one of those. Regardless, one of my WLW’s will be opened.

 

Biba! Joe

[WhiskeyBlender]

On 12/2/2020 at 1:43 PM, Bob_Loblaw said:

@WhiskeyBlenderThank you Nancy! My turn to apologize for the delay. Been battling a nasty bout of the flu since Saturday. Negative for COVID, so that was good but man this bug kicked my ass. 
 

How many different batches do you generally get out of each “coupe mere?” So the process is to first start with a large blend and then each batch is finished/tweaked Separately?

 

Very interesting to hear about the Armagnac finish being so dominant. What flavors/notes do you think the small % of Sherry/Cognac finish add to the final product? 

@Bob_Loblaw, just got back home to CA from FL yesterday and the travel day was about 10 hours after a long hold-over in Chicago, so I'm quite washed out today. However, I think I can muster enough energy to get back to your questions! 

 

On your front, I hope you are well on the mend! Thank God you don't have Covid, but the flu is certainly no fun either. 

 

So, for Cigar Blend, a "coupe" (or coupe mere) is a skeleton or base blend that is composed of around 16 barrels. These barrels, which currently range from around 13 years old to 20, are then put into a stainless tank. From there, a small fraction of the regular Jos. Magnus Triple Cask Bourbon (as low as 1% now, maybe 3% at most these days) is also put into the tank. From there, the mingled Bourbon will go into 6 separate Armagnac casks that are 300 liters in size. These will then finish anywhere between 4 months to 1 year, depending upon the time of year, age and amount of tannins and other extractives in the Armagnac casks, etc. During that finishing time in the Armagnac barrels, I check each barrel every 2 to 3 weeks to monitor the progress. If I don't like the direction a certain barrel is taking, I might add very small percentage of another component; i.e., if the Bourbon is taking on too many tannins or intense barrel spice, I might add a little bit of sweeter Bourbon in order to give it some balance, etc. Although I want each Armagnac barrel "batch" to have its own character and personality, occasionally I do have to make small adjustments if flavors become too unbalanced. Finally, each Armagnac barrel will then become its own batch. 

 

I personally don't think that the Sherry & Cognac finish that comes from the small percentage of JMB Triple Cask adds anything to the taste and aroma of the final product. It is really negligible. In fact, I only use it to slightly give the whiskey a bit more sweetness so that it won't be drying if paired with a cigar or pipe. 

 

Hope this helps explain the process a little more, and hope you are feeling better! 

 

Cheers,

Nancy

 

 

Edited December 6, 2020 by WhiskeyBlender

[parksmart]

Thanks to a tip from @fosmith, was able to snag a couple bottles of the WSR PS from a supermarket chain.  And as an indicator the bourbon gods reward sharing and caring, the same chain happened to have some Buffalo Trace PS bottles on the shelf.  Scored a couple of those for myself and for fosmith!
 

[JGriff]

[FasterHorses]