Empty bottle(s) support group — 2022

[Wedelstaedt]

6 minutes ago, 0895 said:

Probably my favorite bottle of the HH “budget brands” thus far.  This bottle had a fantastic profile of cinnamon gum, oak, and hint of what I often describe as eucalyptus w/ HH that really won me over.

Thanks to @JCwhammie for putting this on my radar.

 

I wish this could be available in Oklahoma. 
Our loss, your gain. 
 

Cheers 

[0895]

7 minutes ago, Wedelstaedt said:

I wish this could be available in Oklahoma. 
Our loss, your gain. 
 

Cheers 

It’s not available here either.  I snagged it on my last work trip to Kentucky.  Much to my dismay, they have since hired someone to cover that territory.

[Wedelstaedt]

42 minutes ago, 0895 said:

It’s not available here either.  I snagged it on my last work trip to Kentucky.  Much to my dismay, they have since hired someone to cover that territory.

Dang it, work always submarines us. ;-)))

 

Cheers

[Kepler]

17 hours ago, fishnbowljoe said:

 

Finally! Many folks have posted pics of OFSB Barrel Proof (or BIB?). Never seen one in my area. One store here did do a 90proof pick. Your’s is the only other one I’ve heard tell of. I hope it was as good as mine.

 

Biba! Joe

They used to be extremely common in my neck of the woods (almost every store that did barrel picks had one) but I imagine most of the new barrel picks these days are going for the BP variety.  This one was pretty good. I haven't tried all that many, but personally I don't see much variation in OF barrel picks.

 

 

Edited September 25, 2022 by Kepler
left out the "be"

[fishnbowljoe]

59 minutes ago, Kepler said:

They used to be extremely common in my neck of the woods (almost every store that did barrel picks had one) but I imagine most of the new barrel picks these days are going for the BP variety.  This one was pretty good. I haven't tried all that many, but personally I don't see much variation in OF barrel picks.

 

 

The one from the store here was really good. Lots of flavor and seemed to drink higher than 90 proof. I bought one and liked it so much, every time we were in the area, I’d stop in and buy another. I couldn’t believe it didn’t sell out sooner. Normally picks from this store don’t last long. All told I bought right around a case. I still have one open and a couple in the bunker.
 

Biba! Joe

[Kepler]

5 minutes ago, fishnbowljoe said:

The one from the store here was really good. Lots of flavor and seemed to drink higher than 90 proof. I bought one and liked it so much, every time we were in the area, I’d stop in and buy another. I couldn’t believe it didn’t sell out sooner. Normally picks from this store don’t last long. All told I bought right around a case. I still have one open and a couple in the bunker.
 

Biba! Joe

That sounds like it was keeper alright Joe   I still have an older 2013 square bottled OF SiB 90 proofer that I've been kind of nursing just because I like the old bottle.  The 90 proof single barrel has been replaced in the current lineup by a 100 proof version with the same black label.  I have a couple of those that says "Master Distiller Selected" as the picker on the front of the label.  It's ok, but again nothing much different than those others I've had.  I still like OF1920 better on a cube of ice than either of those single barrels.

 

 

[Thomm]

This one kinda got better and better as the fill level dipped. I'm still pretty new to the bourbon thing, but this is a definite rebuy. 

[markandrex]

Last night’s nightcap pour.  I believe I still have one or two back in the bunker.  It was an excellent MM series.

 

[fishnbowljoe]

I had a bottle wilt last night.

 

Biba! Joe

 

[flahute]

On 9/25/2022 at 8:00 PM, Thomm said:

This one kinda got better and better as the fill level dipped. I'm still pretty new to the bourbon thing, but this is a definite rebuy. 

One of the all time best kept secrets in bourbon. Don't let anyone else know.

[steven s]

21 hours ago, flahute said:

One of the all time best kept secrets in bourbon. Don't let anyone else know.

I agree, but do have questions here:

 

Do we think that the 100 is any different from the 86 other than proof?

 

Why would BF put whiskey this good into a lesser expensive product than their whisky row series, some of which I feel are not as good as this, at double the cost?

 

In my (about 7 years, scotch, irish, japanese prior) bourbon journey I have struggled with appreciating the majority of BF stuff. Maybe some bias has crept in. A group of friends who were/are Bourbon junkies raved about Woodford Double Oaked. I was still mostly into scotch, and thought they were nuts to prefer WRDO to a good scotch.  I found it syrupy and overly banana sweet sometimes, but loved the wood flavors other times. We had many scotch vs. bourbon friendly arguments for a couple years, and then we had a great behind the scenes tour at Woodford a few years back which was set up by an acquaintance who is on the BF board. I do really enjoy JDSBBP, even though I have had some miserable other bottles of JD. I like OF100 and 1920, and have had some decent OF single barrel picks over the years, but my current and last OFSBBP store pick is not that great. I definitely overpaid at $80.

 

Last BF comment- the OF rye 100 is very, very good to me. One of my favorite ryes currently. I love the malted creaminess contrasted with the rye sharpness. 

Hope to find an OF single barrel barrel proof rye pick at some point. Anyone tried one of these?

 

[IamMatt]

Online sources tend to agree that the Whiskey Row series and OF100, OF86, and Statesman all have the same 72-18-10 mash bill.  Different proofs are easily obtained, but what else might differentiate them?  I have no idea if different expressions use different yeast strains, or if all of these expressions (other than 1897 BIB) start out with the same juice.  OF offers no details other than these descriptions:  

 

OF 86 "delivers a genuine bourbon experience, with rich, full flavor and a smooth character."

 

OF 100 is "Handpicked from select barrels...."

 

OF 1910 "has undergone a second barreling, granting it exceptional character, a smooth and sweet flavor and a clean, crisp finish. Entering the second barrel at a low 100 proof allows more of the sweet wood sugars to dissolve into the whiskey..."

 

OF 1920 " To pay homage to this [Prohibition] era, Old Forester presents 1920 Prohibition Style Bourbon at 115 proof to represent the rich flavor profile this bourbon had nearly 100 years ago."

 

OF 1897 BIB "This expression follows the Bottled in Bond standards that whisky must be aged in a federally bonded warehouse for at least four years, the product of one distillation season, one distiller and from one distillery and bottled at 100 Proof. "

 

OF 1870 "Back then, Brown batched barrels obtained from three distilleries to create a consistent flavor profile. To emulate that process today, we also select barrels from three warehouses, each barrel originating from a different day of production, with a different entry proof and a different age profile."

 

OF Statesman "Old Forester Statesman offers bold flavor blended to a smooth 95 proof from hand-selected casks of our famed Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky from the warmest places in the warehouse."

 

So maybe it's all about the differences in the barrels and how they are picked and blended.  Similar to Buffalo Trace's Mash Bill #1 which produces expressions from Benchmark 8 to George T, Stagg.

 

[JakeySnakes]

Had the last pour from this bottle last night. If I had to choose one word to describe it, it would be "solid".

 

[flahute]

On 9/27/2022 at 6:44 PM, steven s said:

I agree, but do have questions here:

 

Do we think that the 100 is any different from the 86 other than proof?

 

Why would BF put whiskey this good into a lesser expensive product than their whisky row series, some of which I feel are not as good as this, at double the cost?

 

In my (about 7 years, scotch, irish, japanese prior) bourbon journey I have struggled with appreciating the majority of BF stuff. Maybe some bias has crept in. A group of friends who were/are Bourbon junkies raved about Woodford Double Oaked. I was still mostly into scotch, and thought they were nuts to prefer WRDO to a good scotch.  I found it syrupy and overly banana sweet sometimes, but loved the wood flavors other times. We had many scotch vs. bourbon friendly arguments for a couple years, and then we had a great behind the scenes tour at Woodford a few years back which was set up by an acquaintance who is on the BF board. I do really enjoy JDSBBP, even though I have had some miserable other bottles of JD. I like OF100 and 1920, and have had some decent OF single barrel picks over the years, but my current and last OFSBBP store pick is not that great. I definitely overpaid at $80.

 

Last BF comment- the OF rye 100 is very, very good to me. One of my favorite ryes currently. I love the malted creaminess contrasted with the rye sharpness. 

Hope to find an OF single barrel barrel proof rye pick at some point. Anyone tried one of these?

 

Yes. The OF100 is around 6yrs old. 86 is younger. 

[Clueby]

So this ECBP has now gone to bottle heaven.  I took this bottle with me on Thursday to my company's charity golf tournament to share with co-workers, clients, and vendors. It's kinda become my "thing" to have a decent bottle with me at the tournament to share. In past years there has been maybe 1/3 to 1/2 a bottle gone. Not this time!

I don't PLAY golf. I sit at a hole all day to monitor for a hole-in-one contest where the winner could get $10k so it has to be watched all day. We had one get pretty close!

I may be turning in an expense report. I even brought my own little cups.

[MM818]

44 minutes ago, Clueby said:

So this ECBP has now gone to bottle heaven.  I took this bottle with me on Thursday to my company's charity golf tournament to share with co-workers, clients, and vendors. It's kinda become my "thing" to have a decent bottle with me at the tournament to share. In past years there has been maybe 1/3 to 1/2 a bottle gone. Not this time!

I don't PLAY golf. I sit at a hole all day to monitor for a hole-in-one contest where the winner could get $10k so it has to be watched all day. We had one get pretty close!

I may be turning in an expense report. I even brought my own little cups.

I played in a charity golf tournament on Thursday. I was shamed into taking a shot because I got skunked on a dart  game that was set up at a hole. I had a choice between Crown Royal and some flavored Captain Morgan. I went with the CR and was clearly at the wrong tournament. Well done. 

[markandrex]

[elmossle]

Said goodbye to a bottle of WTRB this evening. 

[JakeySnakes]

The bin is calling, and these must go.

 

 

[Double C's]

had this one open too long and was time to kill it.

[IamMatt]

I had a quarter-full bottle of Eagle Rare that had been sitting around a long time.  I threw some Benchmark Full Proof in it and after a month or so it tasted better than either of its parts (to me anyway).

[GeeTen]

19 hours ago, IamMatt said:

I had a quarter-full bottle of Eagle Rare that had been sitting around a long time.  I threw some Benchmark Full Proof in it and after a month or so it tasted better than either of its parts (to me anyway).

 

"Mattie's Blend"???  

[IamMatt]

17 hours ago, GeeTen said:

 

"Mattie's Blend"???  

If it was I would call it "Saved From the Drain."

[JCwhammie]

A nice barrel from K. 

[IamMatt]

So I killed my BevMo store pick Driftless Glen bourbon and stripped it to use the bottle as a decanter.  Couldn't resist "repurposing" this label.