What Bourbon Did You Pass On 2022

[mbroo5880i]

2 hours ago, flahute said:

Well, the taters are now after WT products so it's not just a Buffalo Trace problem.

 

Had a very interesting conversation yesterday with a bar owner who is doing barrel picks for the local community. I picked up my Blanton's and Stagg (Jr) bottles and he was discussing the recent decision by Sazerac to switch distributors here in WA State. The previous distributor was using the Saz products as bribes to get stores to carry other things. They switched because they want the products in the hands of enthusiasts. To that end they are letting this bar do picks of desirable Saz products under the condition that they don't end up on the secondary market. To prevent the latter, the bar owner is hand numbering the bottles on the sticker and keeping track of who has what number. I hope it works.

 

59 minutes ago, Jazzhead said:

It's good to hear they are trying to do something.   Ultimately, this is a market distortion that doesn't affect anyone who doesn't choose to be affected by it.  I'm not immune -  I may not miss seeing a Blantons in five years or even a CEHT small batch in the past year.   But this absence of Pikesville is bugging me.

 

While I believe in free markets, I don't believe there is a free market with respect to spirits.  I know in Indiana the three-tier system is pretty self-serving.  I know store owners who hold back bottles for distributor reps.  What is the store owner to do?  If he wants a hint of allocated bottles, he has to take care of the distributor rep. 

 

Edited November 21, 2022 by mbroo5880i

[kcgumbohead]

On 11/19/2022 at 3:07 PM, Mattk said:

My understanding is that all the pikesville barrels got dumped into the EC rye National release. So they haven't been available for quite some time actually. Some slower moving stores still have a few on the shelves but then that is it. A HH sales rep I was talking with did say they were planning on reintroducing pikesville to the market once enough barrels aged again. So it is still going to be a while before it makes it back to the shelves.

Unfortunate news on the Pikesville front. I too noticed it missing but chalked it up to the mysterious periodic outages that cause OGD bib and 114 and the Rare Breeds to go temporarily missing. I never put it together that EC rye would impact it. Sometimes I give too much credit to producers. Why would you endanger a higher proof, well established and high quality expression by gutting its stocks and unleashing a watered down version under a different label? The existence of Ritt and Pikesville meant I never gave EC rye a thought beyond seeing it in the store after release, looking at the specs and thinking “ OK whatever, not for me” putting it back on the shelf and quickly forgetting about it. Maybe it’s a big seller? No doubt if/when Pikesville returns it will have tarted up packaging and a higher price.

[mbroo5880i]

7 minutes ago, kcgumbohead said:

Unfortunate news on the Pikesville front. I too noticed it missing but chalked it up to the mysterious periodic outages that cause OGD bib and 114 and the Rare Breeds to go temporarily missing. I never put it together that EC rye would impact it. Sometimes I give too much credit to producers. Why would you endanger a higher proof, well established and high quality expression by gutting its stocks and unleashing a watered down version under a different label? The existence of Ritt and Pikesville meant I never gave EC rye a thought beyond seeing it in the store after release, looking at the specs and thinking “ OK whatever, not for me” putting it back on the shelf and quickly forgetting about it. Maybe it’s a big seller? No doubt if/when Pikesville returns it will have tarted up packaging and a higher price.

 

I like EC Rye.  I would love it at $20.

[kcgumbohead]

8 minutes ago, mbroo5880i said:

 

I like EC Rye.  I would love it at $20.

Rye is popular, very popular and has been for a long time now, the producers shouldn’t be surprised by that so dedicate a few more days of production to rye, then you can support all your brand extensions without having to sacrifice one for another. I for one buy mostly rye and anticipate that being the case for the foreseeable future, I am far from alone in that.

[Mattk]

35 minutes ago, kcgumbohead said:

Unfortunate news on the Pikesville front. I too noticed it missing but chalked it up to the mysterious periodic outages that cause OGD bib and 114 and the Rare Breeds to go temporarily missing. I never put it together that EC rye would impact it. Sometimes I give too much credit to producers. Why would you endanger a higher proof, well established and high quality expression by gutting its stocks and unleashing a watered down version under a different label? The existence of Ritt and Pikesville meant I never gave EC rye a thought beyond seeing it in the store after release, looking at the specs and thinking “ OK whatever, not for me” putting it back on the shelf and quickly forgetting about it. Maybe it’s a big seller? No doubt if/when Pikesville returns it will have tarted up packaging and a higher price.

I like the EC the least of the HH lines. But it is lower proof and a popular name thatvritt and pikesville were not. Im bunkering pikesville when I see it because I do believe it will be if nothing else a different product when it returns. HH does have very high consistency But with that break from production that will be quite a task to recreate the magic they were bottling.

Edited November 21, 2022 by Mattk
Not actually edited. But I'm up late and have been drinking so the read on this one may be a bit rough

[TBoner]

Passed on an Old Ezra 7 for $130 today, laughing all the way to the door.

 

Things have gotten very stupid.

[Skinsfan1311]

14 hours ago, Mattk said:

I like the EC the least of the HH lines. But it is lower proof and a popular name thatvritt and pikesville were not. Im bunkering pikesville when I see it because I do believe it will be if nothing else a different product when it returns. HH does have very high consistency But with that break from production that will be quite a task to recreate the magic they were bottling.

 Agreed.

It's as if I posted it myself.    Heading up to PA for deer season and hoping to find some up there.   

[Anwalt]

45 minutes ago, Skinsfan1311 said:

 Agreed.

It's as if I posted it myself.    Heading up to PA for deer season and hoping to find some up there.   

 

$60.  They had some online as well.

[Skinsfan1311]

40 minutes ago, Anwalt said:

 

$60.  They had some online as well.

Nice!

I saw that too and am hoping that there will be some at the store.   They can't ship liquor to MD.

 

[PhantomLamb]

23 hours ago, Skinsfan1311 said:

Nice!

I saw that too and am hoping that there will be some at the store.   They can't ship liquor to MD.

 

PM me if you're anywhere close to PIttsburgh, we can meet up.

[PaulO]

I passed on a bunch of the holiday gift boxes with the free glass or other item.  It's by and large stuff I wouldn't buy anyway - like regular JD, CR, and all that flavored garbage. 

I did see FRSmB and two rocks glasses, but the price was over $50 - too much.

[Skinsfan1311]

2 hours ago, PaulO said:

I passed on a bunch of the holiday gift boxes with the free glass or other item.  It's by and large stuff I wouldn't buy anyway - like regular JD, CR, and all that flavored garbage. 

I did see FRSmB and two rocks glasses, but the price was over $50 - too much.

Good call.  

Most of that stuff is crap anyway.

That being said, I did buy a bottle of Laphroaig last year, because I liked the glasses that came with it.  They look like small, stemless, wine glasses.

[RT Fan]

3 hours ago, Skinsfan1311 said:

Good call.  

Most of that stuff is crap anyway.

That being said, I did buy a bottle of Laphroaig last year, because I liked the glasses that came with it.  They look like small, stemless, wine glasses.

Greatest nickname in whiskeydom: Laphroaig-“Tiger’s Claws”. The most radical whiskey I have ever tasted.

[mbroo5880i]

8 hours ago, PaulO said:

I passed on a bunch of the holiday gift boxes with the free glass or other item.  It's by and large stuff I wouldn't buy anyway - like regular JD, CR, and all that flavored garbage. 

I did see FRSmB and two rocks glasses, but the price was over $50 - too much.

 

I always wanted to enjoy FRSmB but it just find it meh.  Too many things I enjoy more for less $$.  I would hope that holiday gift boxes would be available for the same price or slightly less with some glasses or a jigger or something as an extra.

 

I passed on several Maker's Mark and Woodford holiday decorated bottles today. They weren't gift sets but bottles with special labels for the holidays.

Edited November 23, 2022 by mbroo5880i

[0895]

3 hours ago, mbroo5880i said:

 

I always wanted to enjoy FRSmB but it just find it meh.  Too many things I enjoy more for less $$.  

I’m with you.

But I recently learned it makes a heck of a good cocktail.

[Kepler]

3 hours ago, mbroo5880i said:

I always wanted to enjoy FRSmB but it just find it meh.  Too many things I enjoy more for less $$.

 

21 minutes ago, 0895 said:

I’m with you.

But I recently learned it makes a heck of a good cocktail.

 

What y'all don't care for the spicy side of life?   

There's probably plenty of bottles I also prefer for less $$, but it's hard to beat the overall balance of 4R small batch.  To my palate anyway it tastes like bourbon should.  I do prefer the 4RSiB for sipping but when I want a 90 proofer it fits the bill nicely and beats most challengers. 

 

P S. I'm no mixologist but I assume the high rye content and accompanying complexity is surely why it's so good in cocktails.

 

 

Edited November 23, 2022 by Kepler
spelling

[Kepler]

I was very tempted based on the positive feedback by my trusted resource  @fosmith ... but alas I passed on Benchmark Full Proof yet again (3rd time ).  I'm trying to practice self control here and not purchase full size bottles simply out of curiosity, well, because I have enough bottles to last a couple of lifetimes haha ..

[PaulO]

20 hours ago, Skinsfan1311 said:

Good call.  

Most of that stuff is crap anyway.

That being said, I did buy a bottle of Laphroaig last year, because I liked the glasses that came with it.  They look like small, stemless, wine glasses.

Laphroaig at regular price (or another decent bottle) plus two cool glasses free - that's what it should be.

[0895]

11 hours ago, Kepler said:

 

What y'all don't care for the spicy side of life?   

The sophistication of our palates prevents enjoyment of one dimensional boring whisky…

[Skinsfan1311]

3 hours ago, PaulO said:

Laphroaig at regular price (or another decent bottle) plus two cool glasses free - that's what it should be.

Agreed.

I found another deal, with Ardbeg 10 year.  They had a couple of slick tin coffee cups, with their logo on it.  They're perfect for sippin' whiskey at tailgate parties, with the added bonus that they don't break if you drop them. 

Another cool gift box, is back when they included a glass, cocktail spoon,  and strainer, all with the 4 Roses logo, when I bought a bottle of 4RYL a few years ago.

I do look at those gift boxes, because they don't charge extra for them, but most of the stuff , (glasses), I don't want.    Ardbeg did have a really cool smoker tube that I thought I wanted, but took a pass when I saw it.   It looked to be pretty well-constructed, but it's a lot bigger than I thought it would be but I have enough crap for my grills and smokers.

If I ever see a WT boxed set, that includes glasses, I'm all over it!    

[mbroo5880i]

8 hours ago, 0895 said:

The sophistication of our palates prevents enjoyment of one dimensional boring whisky…

 

Yeah, what he said!  

[mbroo5880i]

10 hours ago, PaulO said:

Laphroaig at regular price (or another decent bottle) plus two cool glasses free - that's what it should be.

 

Man, I would love to find a bottle of WT101 with two of those crazy great Turkey glasses @Kepler has for $25.  I might just walk out with two!  

 

I am with you.  The benefit of the gift packs should be a freebee kick in like a set of glasses but at the same price.

[Thomm]

Got a call from a local liquor store that has occasional allocated bottle lotteries. Paid $31 for a KC rye to get my ticket, so I figured I really wasn't getting fleeced, win or lose. 

At the time of my call, the choices left were Smokewagon uncut unfiltered and Buffalo Trace. I have another source for the Smokewagon, should I wish to try it, so I asked how much for the BT. $35.99 put it rather solidly in the "I'll just wait until I'm in Indiana again" category (AKA the "four more dollars and I'm getting another FRSib" category).

[bayouredd]

While on the 4R SB stated above:

It is Mrs Redd's #1 bourbon of choice; I'm guessing because of nice spice with no real kick. Not terrible but for myself, the SiB or even the Select wins hands down. 

[mbroo5880i]

20 hours ago, Thomm said:

Got a call from a local liquor store that has occasional allocated bottle lotteries. Paid $31 for a KC rye to get my ticket, so I figured I really wasn't getting fleeced, win or lose. 

At the time of my call, the choices left were Smokewagon uncut unfiltered and Buffalo Trace. I have another source for the Smokewagon, should I wish to try it, so I asked how much for the BT. $35.99 put it rather solidly in the "I'll just wait until I'm in Indiana again" category (AKA the "four more dollars and I'm getting another FRSib" category).

 

Good call.  The KC Rye price was fine.  But, BT is $23.99 in Indy.  I guess it depends on local availability.