What bourbon did you pass on fall 2021?

[fosmith]

15 hours ago, 0895 said:

I found Sarah on google.

It's nice to put a face with the name.  She looks like a nice person too..

[fishnbowljoe]

5 hours ago, smokinjoe said:

There was that time in the late 80’s in Club Rio’s basement level and RuPaul was performing…

 TMI!

 

Biba! Joe

[fishnbowljoe]

Out and about yet again today. At one store I passed on a  Kosher BT @$79.99. First one I’ve seen. At another store I also passed on an Ezra Brooks pictured below. The manager was getting ready to put it on the shelf and hadn’t priced it yet. 
 

Biba! Joe

 

[Skinsfan1311]

Passed on JD Gold for $109.00.

Not sure if that's a bad price, or not, but I couldn't bring myself to spend it.

Passed on $24.00 Woodford Reserve. I know that's a great price, but I only like their rye.

 

[Double C's]

was out shopping and passed on a willet 4yr rye. It was the bottle of the day at a local store. I am not a rye fan so I left it for the next lucky person.

[LvR Mike]

Went to a whiskey lottery today and, not by choice, I did not make it home with any one of these as my ticket was never pulled.

 

What would be your top 2 choices here?

 

*side note* If you can't see it, Lob B is hiding behind the Old Rip Van Winkle 10

[Kjbarth]

9 minutes ago, LvR Mike said:

Went to a whiskey lottery today and, not by choice, I did not make it home with any one of these as my ticket was never pulled.

 

What would be your top 2 choices here?

 

*side note* If you can't see it, Lob B is hiding behind the Old Rip Van Winkle 10

1a and 1b - the Old Fitzgeralds

2 - any of the Wellers

3 - EC18

4 - ETL

5 - OF Birthday

[mbroo5880i]

3 hours ago, fosmith said:

It's nice to put a face with the name.  She looks like a nice person too..

 

How would you like to be one of the other bottlers at SA?  Everyone that comes in for a tour probably asks if they can meet Sarah so they can thank her for her stellar work. 

[0895]

27 minutes ago, LvR Mike said:

 

What would be your top 2 choices here?

 

 

Probably Birthday Bourbon and Old Rip Van Winkle.

 

My other thought would be to find out why there’s an old bottling of EC18 present.  That bottle was changed in 2018 I believe.

[mbroo5880i]

1 hour ago, Skinsfan1311 said:

Passed on JD Gold for $109.00.

Not sure if that's a bad price, or not, but I couldn't bring myself to spend it.

Passed on $24.00 Woodford Reserve. I know that's a great price, but I only like their rye.

 

 

I used to like WR more until @fishnbowljoeand others commented on the copper penny note. Now, that is the only note I taste.  I am such an impressionable young man.

 

Fortunately, as I get older, I have become more forgetful so I imagine one day I will buy a bottle, remark about how stellar it is, and wonder why I haven't purchased it in such a long-time.

[Skinsfan1311]

11 minutes ago, mbroo5880i said:

 

I used to like WR more until @fishnbowljoeand others commented on the copper penny note. Now, that is the only note I taste.  I am such an impressionable young man.

 

Fortunately, as I get older, I have become more forgetful so I imagine one day I will buy a bottle, remark about how stellar it is, and wonder why I haven't purchased it in such a long-time.

Yeah...that's why I, (almost), give every whiskey another chance, before moving on. It's taken me a couple bottles over the years to confirm that I don't care for the standard WR.  

[flahute]

1 hour ago, mbroo5880i said:

 

I used to like WR more until @fishnbowljoeand others commented on the copper penny note. Now, that is the only note I taste.  I am such an impressionable young man.

 

Fortunately, as I get older, I have become more forgetful so I imagine one day I will buy a bottle, remark about how stellar it is, and wonder why I haven't purchased it in such a long-time.

Drink OF100 instead since most of what's in WR is OF distillate. No copper penny in OF.

[Skinsfan1311]

21 minutes ago, flahute said:

Drink OF100 instead since most of what's in WR is OF distillate. No copper penny in OF.

...and it's cheap!  

That's interesting, because I really like the OF100, but am not a fan of the WR.

[Double C's]

1 hour ago, 0895 said:

Probably Birthday Bourbon and Old Rip Van Winkle.

 

My other thought would be to find out why there’s an old bottling of EC18 present.  That bottle was changed in 2018 I believe.

And the OWA's are the old screw top that's been gone for a while now as well. The front one is a store pick, and I would have been curious to know if the sticker matched the store it was being sold at.

[mbroo5880i]

48 minutes ago, flahute said:

Drink OF100 instead since most of what's in WR is OF distillate. No copper penny in OF.

 

I started my straight bourbon journey with WR years ago (mid-2000s).  I drank bourbon but usually in a mixed drink.  However, the early WR was crazy good.  I assume this was all BF Shively distillate. I noticed a drop off in the mid-2010s.  I assume as more of the copper pot still distillate was mixed in.  

 

A few years ago, I ventured back in with a single barrel pick.  I was pleasantly surprised.  However, I don't know if that was just a single barrel pick or a change in my palate during that period as recent bottles have been mediocre.

 

I have found with bourbon what is good one day is blah the next.  Of course, what is blah one day is good the next.  

 

Of course, over the past few years for me, OF100 >>>>>WR.

[flahute]

36 minutes ago, Skinsfan1311 said:

...and it's cheap!  

That's interesting, because I really like the OF100, but am not a fan of the WR.

I have had pure WR distilled bourbon (no OF in it) and thought it was horrible. The amount of WR compared to OF that is in the final product is enough to impact the flavor negatively for some people.

[flahute]

6 minutes ago, mbroo5880i said:

 

I started my straight bourbon journey with WR years ago (mid-2000s).  I drank bourbon but usually in a mixed drink.  However, the early WR was crazy good.  I assume this was all BF Shively distillate. I noticed a drop off in the mid-2010s.  I assume as more of the copper pot still distillate was mixed in.  

 

A few years ago, I ventured back in with a single barrel pick.  I was pleasantly surprised.  However, I don't know if that was just a single barrel pick or a change in my palate during that period as recent bottles have been mediocre.

 

I have found with bourbon what is good one day is blah the next.  Of course, what is blah one day is good the next.  

 

Of course, over the past few years for me, OF100 >>>>>WR.

The early stuff was indeed all OF Shively.

 

The single barrel pick you tried was not actually a single barrel. It was a two barrel blend. You get six barrels to taste and if I recall correctly you pick your top three or four and then all of the possible two barrel blend permutations are created and you pick your favorite blend. When we did this we ended up with two OF barrels. I will point out that we tasted everything blind so we didn't know until the end. I'm guessing what you bought was also two OF barrels.

 

Of the six barrels we tasted, my two lowest ranked barrels, by a long shot, were WR distilled.

[mbroo5880i]

While I am a cheap bastard, I still enjoy trying new things if I think I might like it based on the specifications (mashbill, age, etc.).  I passed on a few bottles (all on sale, I am a cheap bastard after all) that I wonder about.

 

One was a Boone County 7 Year Single Barrel.  I didn't see a price but I believe it might be $70.  I have read it is a stellar wheated bourbon.  Seems a little pricey for what it is (MGP) but the reviews are pretty good.   

 

Another was a Woodinville Single Barrel.  It is Barrel Proof.  The price was $60.  They had two different barrels.  I have read mixed but generally good reviews.  

 

The final one was a Hard Truth Sweet Mash Rye.  It was $70.  I am not sure I have ever had a sweet mash whiskey.  This is the first batch of this rye.  Hard Truth is an Indiana distillery but not close to me.  

 

I am curious whether anyone has tried any of these and, if so, your thoughts?

 

[mbroo5880i]

Just now, flahute said:

The early stuff was indeed all OF Shively.

 

The single barrel pick you tried was not actually a single barrel. It was a two barrel blend. You get six barrels to taste and if I recall correctly you pick your top three or four and then all of the possible two barrel blend permutations are created and you pick your favorite blend. When we did this we ended up with two OF barrels. I will point out that we tasted everything blind so we didn't know until the end. I'm guessing what you bought was also two OF barrels.

 

Of the six barrels we tasted, my two lowest ranked barrels, by a long shot, were WR distilled.

 

Right you are about the two barrel blend.  It was actually billed as store pick.  I do recall the two barrel blend now that you mention it.  Interesting about the OF barrels because that bottle reminded me of the older version of WR.  Thanks for the refresher and insight!

[fishnbowljoe]

I had WR early on in my bourbon journey. I thought it was okay, and I’d buy a bottle every now and then. Then I stumbled upon a few bottles from very early batches that were supposedly all BF distillate. The older bottles were freaking awesome. They had that old “dusty” caramel/butterscotch nose and flavor. No comparison. I still have one left.

 

Biba! Joe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mbroo5880i]

11 minutes ago, fishnbowljoe said:

I had WR early on in my bourbon journey. I thought it was okay, and I’d buy a bottle every now and then.Then I stumbled upon a few bottles from very early batches that were supposedly all BF distillate. The older bottles were freaking awesome. They had that old “dusty” caramel/butterscotch nose and flavor. No comparison. I still have one left.

 

Biba! Joe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ah yes, the days of Lincoln Henderson.  I can't say anything bad about the current Master Distiller Chris Morris as OF is really rocking right now.  The Whiskey Row Series whiskeys have been a great addition.  While most have not in my wheelhouse, WR has continued to expand their offerings and offer LE eclectic whiskeys. 

[flahute]

31 minutes ago, mbroo5880i said:

 

Ah yes, the days of Lincoln Henderson.  I can't say anything bad about the current Master Distiller Chris Morris as OF is really rocking right now.  The Whiskey Row Series whiskeys have been a great addition.  While most have not in my wheelhouse, WR has continued to expand their offerings and offer LE eclectic whiskeys. 

Yep - big fan of Chris Morris. He's been a great friend to our group over the years.

[fishnbowljoe]

50 minutes ago, flahute said:

Yep - big fan of Chris Morris. He's been a great friend to our group over the years.

You ever had any interaction with Elizabeth McCall Steve?

[flahute]

2 minutes ago, fishnbowljoe said:

You ever had any interaction with Elizabeth McCall Steve?

I have not though I would like to as she seems to be very talented.

 

Chris always comes to our events and if we do a barrel pick at either WR or OF he always attends. I sat across the table from him at lunch back in August when we did our OF pick and he could not be a nicer guy.

[steven s]

saw things today I wanted, but the willpower won out:

OWA107 $130, angry and tempted

EHTSiB $239, easy pass

Stagg jr 17 $250, easy pass, but damn

ER10 $29 great price, but i'm flush on these now

1792 FP SiB "distillers pick" $48  very tempted

also saw ER at $65 and $149 for a 1.75. ?!?!