It finally happened.

[flahute]

I got a bad bottle of standard RRSiB.

I gave this bottle a thousand chances. I never tasted good. It failed against many a sbs with other known bourbons that tasted like they are supposed to.

You all know that I'm a charter member of the Lawrenceburg Tribe so this is extremely disappointing. This is a first. I had to pour it out.

The circle of trust is getting smaller and smaller. I am now hesitant to buy another shelf RRSiB. This is sad.

 

BT products are almost all allocated. KCSiB is now allocated - It's now hard to find the standard shelf product. 4R store picks sell out same day. McKenna 10 is allocated. 

Everywhere you look the pickings get slimmer. There are still some gems (and I'm acquiring them) but the baseline keeps shrinking. 

When I travel for work and for leisure I check the stores and it's really sad. (Now to be clear, there are options I'm happy with such as WT101 and OF100) but compared to what it was 2-3 years ago it's gotten very thin.

 

If you have your favorites that you can still get easily? Maybe stash a case. I know I am. Is this the dark before the dawn? If so I hope it's short. If not we all at least have deep bunkers to draw from. All that increased production will come online at some point. Hurry up!

[0895]

It’s going to be a pain, but I think the only solution is to get an extra suitcase to BYOB when you travel.

 

Something like this

[PaulO]

Steve, is it possible you got a bottle with a bad cork.

 

My solution to all of it is the Bourbon Zen lifestyle.  I'm more than happy with the WT 101, and OF 100 you mention.  There are quite a few more brands I like.  Any of them (as long as I go to the right store) walk in and grab off the shelf.

I refuse to be lead down the garden path by brands that just don't deliver value equal to price.

Over the years I've watched a number go round the bend.  I won't pretend something is different than what it really is.

[mal00768]

Last Saturday I stopped by my favorite whisky store and they were still out of RR Sib. This is a very well known, successful store too. I honestly never thought that I would ever see that happen.

 

Maybe covid slows down the aging process? I wish someone would go hype up gin or something.

Edited August 12, 2021 by mal00768

[Mattk]

I've found that often a RRSIB rye I find to be bad is often very well received by my guests for some reason or another. But often the off pallet ones I like they don't. How bad was this thing?

[Jazzhead]

It's frustrating not to have a chance to get any of the allocated stuff.   But it helps to know it's unattainable because of hype,  not quality.   Quality bourbon is still plentiful, thank the stars,  and I hardly miss the absence of BT from the shelves.   (Spoken while sipping "secret" BT in the form of John J Bowman)

[HoustonNit]

This is very alarming news indeed. I and all of us are in the same boat and am actually on the lookout for my first non private select RRSiB.  I actually couldn’t find it on my recent trips.  This is concerning as others said maybe it was a bad cork.  

[PaulO]

It could be WT is diverting barrels into other brand(s) temporarily, or something with transportation.  I wouldn't worry too much.  They didn't quit making it.  To the contrary, they're making lots and lots.  

[DeepCover]

Do you have any tasting notes you can offer up for the bad batch? I’m curious.

[B.B. Babington]

On 8/12/2021 at 1:20 AM, flahute said:

I got a bad bottle of standard RRSiB.I gave this bottle a thousand chances. I never tasted good. ...

If you have your favorites that you can still get easily? Maybe stash a case. I know I am. Is this the dark before the dawn? ...

It's surprising that an RR would be defective, or any WT product, as they tend to be very consistent.  Just like BT.  BUT, I used to be major ER10 consumer since 1987 but came across a 1.75 L (murphy's law) that didn't pass muster.  I suffered through it and it wasn't until half gone that I was able to appreciate it for what it was, but not ER10 profile.

 

As for stashing favs, always a good idea.  Be selective, I stashed BTAC at $89 when EC18 was $35-$45 but I loved EC18, regular pour.  But it was always right there on the shelf so why stock up?  There are always alternatives on the shelf; WT products, Coopers, etc.  Break into the higher price range and find fascinating stuff, well worth $, like Matterson's or etc.  Be selective.  So much out there is re-labeled material, often good but way overpriced.  But sometimes re-labeled product somethings to consider, like Jefferson's.  And new stuff coming out all the time, sometimes from less expected places like Dickel or Beam.  I think it is dark before dawn.  I recently went into store and got ER10, Blanton's, 4R Select at 4 o'clock in afternoon when months ago these would have sold out when store opened.  With that optimism, I agree with you and stock up.  Though most bourboners might not like it, I'm enjoying the current Dickel BIB and now have 3 cases.

[Kepler]

@flahuteI wouldn't get too worked up Steve.  It's still just a single barrel product and even though WT has proven to have one of the best (perhaps THE best?) quality control of hand-picked barrels, eventually a bad one is bound to slip through from time to time.  Disappointing? Yes.  Some quality control slippage?  Maybe, but the jury is still out. 

But it wouldn't keep me from buying another RRSiB personally. 

 

I do get the general gist of your post however, and agree.  The number of reliably good bourbons actually available on the shelf at a good price is definitely dwindling fast. 

[fishnbowljoe]

Question Steve. Did the bottle have a real or synthetic cork?

 

Biba! Joe

[flahute]

14 minutes ago, fishnbowljoe said:

Question Steve. Did the bottle have a real or synthetic cork?

 

Biba! Joe

Real cork.

 

Paul and Nit may be onto something with the bad cork idea.

I'm not going to give up on RRSiB but I'm going to wait a little while to be sure any other bottles from the same barrel move out of the market. (On the chance it was a bad barrel).

In the meantime, I opened a Bourbon Crusaders RRSiB pick to remind how good they are supposed to be.

[fishnbowljoe]

I’m with them on the possibility of a bad cork. I had several old pewter top WTKS’s that had bad corks. I also had cork issues in the past with WTRB and WTRR 10 yr. I admit I was lucky that the bourbon was still good in all the bad cork WT bottles I had. 

 

Biba! Joe

[Kepler]

1 hour ago, flahute said:

I'm not going to give up on RRSiB but I'm going to wait a little while to be sure any other bottles from the same barrel move out of the market. (On the chance it was a bad barrel).

In the meantime, I opened a Bourbon Crusaders RRSiB pick to remind how good they are supposed to be.

 

That's what I would do.  Pass on buying any similar RRSiB bottles in your local market in case it was a bad barrel.  If it was the barrel, then for sure many bottles on shelves locally will be from the same barrel.

 

Hopefully it was just a tainted cork however.

[Shizzy]

On 8/12/2021 at 8:12 AM, mal00768 said:

I wish someone would go hype up gin or something.

straightgin.com awaits a buyer at $2800.  I'm sure we could get enough people to start talking about the stuff to divert traffic.

[fishnbowljoe]

1 hour ago, Shizzy said:

straightgin.com awaits a buyer at $2800.  I'm sure we could get enough people to start talking about the stuff to divert traffic.

LOL!

 

Biba! Joe

[beasled]

What's that? Van Ginkle, you say?

[Clueby]

On 8/13/2021 at 7:17 AM, Jazzhead said:

  (Spoken while sipping "secret" BT in the form of John J Bowman)

That is pretty much "unobtainium" around here also.  I've resorted to ordering from out of state.

[0895]

On 8/13/2021 at 7:17 AM, Jazzhead said:

It's frustrating not to have a chance to get any of the allocated stuff.   But it helps to know it's unattainable because of hype,  not quality.   Quality bourbon is still plentiful, thank the stars,  and I hardly miss the absence of BT from the shelves.   (Spoken while sipping "secret" BT in the form of John J Bowman)

 

On 8/17/2021 at 5:14 PM, Clueby said:

That is pretty much "unobtainium" around here also.  I've resorted to ordering from out of state.

 

 

Y'all be quiet now...  Everyone knows Bowman is VA craft swill and that real bourbon only comes from KY!

Quit trying to falsely hype up that garbage. 

[fishnbowljoe]

13 minutes ago, 0895 said:

 

 

 

Y'all be quiet now...  Everyone knows Bowman is VA craft swill and that real bourbon only comes from KY!

Quit trying to falsely hype up that garbage. 

 

 

Biba! Joe

[B.B. Babington]

On 8/12/2021 at 1:20 AM, flahute said:

...I gave this bottle a thousand chances. I never tasted good...

when I was kid often drank awful bottom shelf scotch because it made us feel sophisticated.  stuff was awful so I hated scotch. 100 years later and 100 years ago, I sat in yard looking at beautiful clear night sky with Haig Haig 2bl pinch, maybe finished the bottle, and renewed love of scotch.  

 

Bought a Blantons that went to half dozen times, always hating it.  Tonight took it to back yard with a small cat (watching for screech and horn tail) and sipped, nasty.  But didn't feel like going back inside so stuck with glencairn and bottle.  After dropping 1/3 or 1/2 (don't know, started with most and ended with little) it became pretty good, especially aftertaste

 

moral of the story, if you don't like it, drink some more

 

 

Edited September 21, 2021 by B.B. Babington

[TehRegion219]

Winner ^^