What Bourbon Did You Purchase Today (Winter 2021)

[mbroo5880i]

35 minutes ago, fishnbowljoe said:

Been there, done that, kinda. Early on, White Castle was a stop after “unsuccessful” nights of cruising the south side of Indianapolis. I’m pretty sure @mbroo5880i knows precisely the White Castle I speak of. Later on they opened a store closer to where I lived in Beech Grove. It became the place to stop at sometimes after bowing, or last call. “Two sliders, order of fries, and a large Coke please.”

 

Biba! Joe

 

At the split between Madison Avenue and East Street.  You might remember there used to be a DQ across the street.  Of course, it closed earlier.  There was also a Pizza Hut a block away which made good on a late date night.  If you really needed sustenance there was a Waffle House at the corner of Troy and Madison.  Great eats, late nights within a few blocks of one another.  

[fishnbowljoe]

I may have made a slight mistake here. Although  @mbroo5880i is probably familiar with said White Castle, he lives on the west side. South side/Greenwood is @PaulO, and he’s the one that is probably more familiar with the old south side White Castle. 

[mbroo5880i]

1 minute ago, fishnbowljoe said:

I may have made a slight mistake here. Although  @mbroo5880i is probably familiar with said White Castle, he lives on the west side. South side/Greenwood is @PaulO, and he’s the one that is probably more familiar with the old south side White Castle. 

Actually no.  I grew up near Garfield Park.  I am a southsider.  I went to Manual HS.  I moved west after I met my wife who grew up in Hendricks County.  Most of my friends went to Manual, BGHS, PM and Southport.  We lived about 2 miles from that WC.

[fishnbowljoe]

6 minutes ago, mbroo5880i said:

 

At the split between Madison Avenue and East Street.  You might remember there used to be a DQ across the street.  Of course, it closed earlier.  There was also a Pizza Hut a block away which made good on a late date night.  If you really needed sustenance there was a Waffle House at the corner of Troy and Madison.  Great eats, late nights within a few blocks of one another.  

I reckon you do remember @mbroo5880i.   The cruising triangle route we followed was the White Castle, Tee Pee, and Steak and Shake.

[Kjbarth]

White Castle is also on the east coast. There was one in the town I grew up in in NJ. I'm one of 5 kids, and when my cousins (5 of them too) used to visit in the 60's, my aunt used to stop there first and get sacks and sacks of burgers. We'd have contests, who could eat the fastest, who could eat the most, who could eat in fewest bites, which turned into who could stuff the most into their mouth and chew. Definitely not gourmet burgers and definitely an acquired taste but I grew up with them and acquired the taste early on. As noted above, later in life, it became the stop off point for eating after a night of drinking. 

[fishnbowljoe]

13 minutes ago, Kjbarth said:

White Castle is also on the east coast. There was one in the town I grew up in in NJ. I'm one of 5 kids, and when my cousins (5 of them too) used to visit in the 60's, my aunt used to stop there first and get sacks and sacks of burgers. We'd have contests, who could eat the fastest, who could eat the most, who could eat in fewest bites, which turned into who could stuff the most into their mouth and chew. Definitely not gourmet burgers and definitely an acquired taste but I grew up with them and acquired the taste early on. As noted above, later in life, it became the stop off point for eating after a night of drinking. 

Ah the games we play(ed) with food. When I was on 3rd shift, 30 + years ago, sometimes we’d get off work and hit a local bar for a burger and a beer. We’d do this especially on pay day. There was a guy that was undefeated when it came to eating a hamburger (non White Castle) the fastest. His routine: smash flat, fold, three or four bites, done. He was also the king of the number of beers consumed. Guys from work used to keep score of the number of beers they drank on their bar napkins. I never got in on that, but I did best him when it came to chugging though. I used to beat him regularly. When he finally beat me once, he declared himself the winner and king of chugging. After that, he’d always avoid me and wouldn’t chug against me. It was a matter of pride for him and some of his buddies. He was a youngster, and I was an old guy. He carried the banner for, and upheld the honor of the young guns at work. Didn’t bother me. I was just having fun and enjoying free beers. All this didn’t last too long. I transferred to second shift after just a few months. We also went to the same bar. It wasn’t as crazy as with the third shift crew, plus on certain nights they had “entertainment”.
 

Biba! Joe

 

 

[MM818]

I typically enjoy AE cask strength offerings. This one is bourbon 55% and finished in port barrels. But I always forget if I prefer the rum or port.

 

The BBC Discovery #6 looks promising. 7, 11, and 17 year are always going to pique my interest. 
 

 

[apt43bear]

26 minutes ago, MM818 said:

I typically enjoy AE cask strength offerings. This one is bourbon 55% and finished in port barrels. But I always forget if I prefer the rum or port.

 

The BBC Discovery #6 looks promising. 7, 11, and 17 year are always going to pique my interest. 
 

 

I see some high proof AE barrel picks from time to time but haven't felt compelled to take the plunge yet. I've been so and so on the regular bourbon bottling but have been hearing good things about some of these store picks.  Be interested how your experience has been compare to the regular bottling.

[FasterHorses]

Went to pick up a Remus Reserve 5 that was being held for me and found out they were Remus Reserve 2. Picked up the HH and Blue Spot in FL. 

[Anwalt]

Found the Old Forester distributor here in PR.  Got Old Forester Statesman for $46 and 1920 for $48.  That's pre-sales tax, which is 11% here.  Those struck me as good prices compared to Stateside (e.g., 1920 seems to be $60 pretty consistently Stateside).  That's an oddity, booze is usually more expensive in PR than in the States.  But bourbon and rye are not much of a "thing" with Puerto Ricans; they are far more inclined towards rum.  I have attached an XL with most of the bourbon & rye available in PR.  It's pretty short!

 

Does not include the PX at Ft Buchanan.  A few military friends will report back on that.

 

PR Bourbon & Rye 03 31 22.xlsx

Edited March 31, 2022 by Anwalt
Upload corrected XL

[lemonman]

50 minutes ago, Anwalt said:

Found the Old Forester distributor here in PR.  Got Old Forester Statesman for $46 and 1920 for $48.  That's pre-sales tax, which is 11% here.  Those struck me as good prices compared to Stateside (e.g., 1920 seems to be $60 pretty consistently Stateside).  That's an oddity, booze is usually more expensive in PR than in the States.  But bourbon and rye are not much of a "thing" with Puerto Ricans; they are far more inclined towards rum.  I have attached an XL with most of the bourbon & rye available in PR.  It's pretty short!

 

Does not include the PX at Ft Buchanan.  A few military friends will report back on that.

 

PR Bourbon & Rye 03 31 22.xlsx 11.21 kB · 0 downloads

 

Those are good prices, although I can also get them for that at big box discount stores; regular liquor are in the $55-60 range as you stated.

 

And I thought our sales tax was high- 11% sucks!

 

 

[Anwalt]

1 minute ago, lemonman said:

 

Those are good prices, although I can also get them for that at big box discount stores; regular liquor are in the $55-60 range as you stated.

 

And I thought our sales tax was high- 11% sucks!

 

 

 

I wish we had more big box stores here or more variety in them.  I have friends telling me "Just wait until you see the Scottsdale-area Costco's".  We have 3 Costco's on the island - and thank God for those, they set the standard.  Unfortunately, they only carry two bourbons (Woodford and Bulleit).  Everything else is grocer, liquor store, or distributor.  And the selection is limited, which is why I mule 4 bottles per suitcase back every time I travel.  And make the kids do the same, etc.

Taxes here are very high.  33% income tax bracket starts at $60k married filing joint (For comparison, that federal bracket starts at $340k Stateside, though that ignores state income taxes).  I am fortunate in that I qualify for a special deal on income taxes (about 7% flat rate including federal).  It makes an 11% sales tax easier to tolerate.  Ditto hauling booze in.  And ditto that you get nada for the taxes paid here.  The level of government service is abysmally low.  They steal half, waste half, and whatever is left goes into roads, schools, etc.

 

Anyhow, I was pretty pleased with those finds.  Means I do not have to lug them in - I did so with a few 1920's.   

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

On 3/27/2022 at 10:01 PM, Kepler said:

All this burger talk has made me hungry. 

True story

 

and, these pretzels are making me thirsty!

[Radioyada]

Picked these up while out and about after work today.  The Barrell Seagrass 16 was ordered in for me, but the others were offered and I could not say no.  The JD10 and the batch 12 SJR are not for me, as my brother was looking for both of them recently.  The Castle & Key was something I have heard about recently, and picked it up to see what the fuss was about.

 

Surprised that a batch 12 SJR was still out there floating around.

 

[Anwalt]

59 minutes ago, Radioyada said:

Picked these up while out and about after work today.  The Barrell Seagrass 16 was ordered in for me, but the others were offered and I could not say no.  The JD10 and the batch 12 SJR are not for me, as my brother was looking for both of them recently.  The Castle & Key was something I have heard about recently, and picked it up to see what the fuss was about.

 

Surprised that a batch 12 SJR was still out there floating around.

 

I'll be curious to hear your review of the Barrell Seagrass.  It runs about $80 in most retail places, thought about it.  Do tell!

[FasterHorses]

18 minutes ago, Anwalt said:

I'll be curious to hear your review of the Barrell Seagrass.  It runs about $80 in most retail places, thought about it.  Do tell!

I think the new seagrass release (maybe the one pictured) is $230ish

[Anwalt]

13 minutes ago, FasterHorses said:

I think the new seagrass release (maybe the one pictured) is $230ish

Yikes.  Good catch, I was looking at the wrong one:  https://www.totalwine.com/spirits/american-whiskey/rye-whiskey/barrell-seagrass-rye-whiskey/p/237170750

 

Still....curious.  Just a bit less likely to act on it!

[Clueby]

Picked up a couple dd's.

[Radioyada]

2 hours ago, Anwalt said:

I'll be curious to hear your review of the Barrell Seagrass.  It runs about $80 in most retail places, thought about it.  Do tell!

I am not one to do reviews, but the regular Barrell Seagrass is one that I really enjoy.  This new 16yr Seagrass is even better to me after just one small pour.  Will try it again some time next week to verify my thoughts.

 

 

[B.B. Babington]

14 minutes ago, Radioyada said:

I am not one to do reviews, but the regular Barrell Seagrass is one that I really enjoy...

 

I'll take that as a good review

[fosmith]

15 hours ago, Radioyada said:

Picked these up while out and about after work today.  The Barrell Seagrass 16 was ordered in for me, but the others were offered and I could not say no.  The JD10 and the batch 12 SJR are not for me, as my brother was looking for both of them recently.  The Castle & Key was something I have heard about recently, and picked it up to see what the fuss was about.

 

Surprised that a batch 12 SJR was still out there floating around.

I've heard the JD10 is fantastic.  I've never had the chance to get one or even try it though.   And the SJR B12 is great for sure.  I've got one open currently and can personally attest to that. 

 

I've never seen the Castle & Key and have avoided the Seagrass because of all the finishing gimmicks.  I should probably give it a chance though since it seems to be universally praised.   

[Radioyada]

54 minutes ago, fosmith said:

I've heard the JD10 is fantastic.  I've never had the chance to get one or even try it though.   And the SJR B12 is great for sure.  I've got one open currently and can personally attest to that. 

 

I've never seen the Castle & Key and have avoided the Seagrass because of all the finishing gimmicks.  I should probably give it a chance though since it seems to be universally praised.   

I agree with you about all the finishing gimmicks, but there are a few that have done it correctly and with fantastic results.  Seagrass and Dovetail from Barrell are two of them, and the Four Gate Kelvin Collaboration series are near the top of the best whiskey I have had so far.  SJR B12 is still the second best SJR behind batch 9 in my opinion, but they are both excellent.  That reminds me...I do not have a SJR open and need to correct that problem soon.

 

 

 

 

[Bourserker]

Having bought almost nothing for about 2 years I went ahead and picked up some staples (this was actually over multiple trips to the store).

[Bob_Loblaw]

4 hours ago, fosmith said:

have avoided the Seagrass because of all the finishing gimmicks.  I should probably give it a chance though since it seems to be universally praised.   

I am with you on this. Having the base stance that I avoid all the finishes and my LS knowing this has saved me many dollars and having to push through subpar bottles. Yes, there are some good ones, but I think the majority are trying to hide flawed (or young) whiskey. 
 

I liken it to sauce on a steak. It certainly CAN be amazing, but if you have a high quality cut of meat to start with totally unnecessary. 
 

Plus you add in the fact that the finished whiskeys generally cost even more due to the second barreling and it’s more incentive to avoid. 

[PaulO]

9 hours ago, Bourserker said:

Having bought almost nothing for about 2 years I went ahead and picked up some staples (this was actually over multiple trips to the store).

All winners in my book