What bottle did you open today? - 2023

[Obree]

8 hours ago, anthony. g. said:

Good suggestion for tonight's pour! Have not had that one in a while!

[Davesnothere]

There are a bunch of us Heritage guitar aficionados gathered in Kalamazoo this weekend for our annual Parsons Street Pilgramage. I opened an EH Taylor, and one of the other guys, while perhaps a guitar aficionado,  proved not to be a bourbon aficionado.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 4, 2023 by Davesnothere

[Skinsfan1311]

Gearing up for a road trip to see Metallica tomorrow

Opened the OGD, filled the decanter and flask is in the freezer. 

Wasn't sure whether to stick this in the "Empty Bottle Support Group" , or "What Bottle did You Open Today" 

 

 

[bayouredd]

2 hours ago, Skinsfan1311 said:

Gearing up for a road trip to see Metallica tomorrow

Opened the OGD, filled the decanter and flask is in the freezer. 

Wasn't sure whether to stick this in the "Empty Bottle Support Group" , or "What Bottle did You Open Today" 

 

 

Nice choice on the OGD. Sure wish I was going to see Metallica. They say if it's too loud, you're too old. If that's the case, I could die at that show. I did see a bunch of great shows in 77/78 in your part of the world at Merriweather Post Pavilion, the Cap Center & even a couple shows in Philly.

Where are you road tripping to?

[Skinsfan1311]

26 minutes ago, bayouredd said:

Nice choice on the OGD. Sure wish I was going to see Metallica. They say if it's too loud, you're too old. If that's the case, I could die at that show. I did see a bunch of great shows in 77/78 in your part of the world at Merriweather Post Pavilion, the Cap Center & even a couple shows in Philly.

Where are you road tripping to?

Agreed!   

We've seen a ton of great concerts at those venues. Sadly, the Cap Centre is no longer there.   

I'm road-tripping directly thru, and in, enemy territory. 

Meeting a buddy in Philly, and headed to MetLife stadium for the show.

I haven't seen Metallica since the Monsters of Rock show at RFK in '89.

Talk about  great  lineup.....Kindom Come *, Dokken, Scorpion, Metallica and Van Halen

 

*Well....Kingdom Come kind of skews the curve, but the rest of the bands kicked ass 

[mal00768]

OF 1920. YUS!

[Clueby]

On 8/4/2023 at 7:27 AM, Davesnothere said:

There are a bunch of us Heritage guitar aficionados gathered in Kalamazoo this weekend for our annual Parsons Street Pilgramage. I opened an EH Taylor, and one of the other guys, while perhaps a guitar aficionado,  proved not to be a bourbon aficionado.

 

On 8/5/2023 at 1:35 PM, bayouredd said:

Nice choice on the OGD. Sure wish I was going to see Metallica. They say if it's too loud, you're too old. If that's the case, I could die at that show. I did see a bunch of great shows in 77/78 in your part of the world at Merriweather Post Pavilion, the Cap Center & even a couple shows in Philly.

Where are you road tripping to?

 

Those Heritage guitars are sweet!  A couple of my guitar-playing friends have them.  The guy in my blues band uses one thru a Carr amp.  Tone, tone, tone.

 

Re: Metallica..my daughter and I are going to Power Trip in Indio, CA (Coachella Valley) in October.  This will be my first time ever seeing Metallica.  It will actually be my first time seeing all the bands there except AC/DC.  I've seen them more times than I can count.  The lineup is Iron Maiden, Guns & Roses, Judas Priest (they replaced Ozzy), AC/DC, Metallica, and Tool.  All bands get a full "headline-style" set.  There are no opening acts.

[markandrex]

Post concert avatar?

[Skinsfan1311]

6 hours ago, Clueby said:

 

 

Those Heritage guitars are sweet!  A couple of my guitar-playing friends have them.  The guy in my blues band uses one thru a Carr amp.  Tone, tone, tone.

 

Re: Metallica..my daughter and I are going to Power Trip in Indio, CA (Coachella Valley) in October.  This will be my first time ever seeing Metallica.  It will actually be my first time seeing all the bands there except AC/DC.  I've seen them more times than I can count.  The lineup is Iron Maiden, Guns & Roses, Judas Priest (they replaced Ozzy), AC/DC, Metallica, and Tool.  All bands get a full "headline-style" set.  There are no opening acts.

I saw Metallica on Sunday night at MetLife Stadium.  Last time I saw them, (and I dating myself here), was during the Monsters of Rock tour, '89.

They haven't lost a step. The show was incredible.

[0895]

10 hours ago, Clueby said:

 

 

Those Heritage guitars are sweet!  A couple of my guitar-playing friends have them.  The guy in my blues band uses one thru a Carr amp.  Tone, tone, tone.

 

Re: Metallica..my daughter and I are going to Power Trip in Indio, CA (Coachella Valley) in October.  This will be my first time ever seeing Metallica.  It will actually be my first time seeing all the bands there except AC/DC.  I've seen them more times than I can count.  The lineup is Iron Maiden, Guns & Roses, Judas Priest (they replaced Ozzy), AC/DC, Metallica, and Tool.  All bands get a full "headline-style" set.  There are no opening acts.

 

No disrespect towards the other bands, but don't miss the TOOL performance.

[Clueby]

As a drummer, I've never really been a fan of Lars but seeing some recent videos, Howard Stern performance, etc. you can tell he has recently stepped up his game.  He was always known as sloppy and error prone but he is really tightened up his playing.

 

Tool isn't my cup of tea really but I can appreciate the musicianship and the "art" part of their performances.  I'm looking forward to enjoying all the acts hopefully....from a mile away in general admission!

 

Now back to our regularly scheduled thread.

[Anwalt]

Been traveling a bunch lately. I tend not to drink very much bourbon when I do. I should probably start packing a bunch of those little 2 oz jars....

 

Well, finally got this one to PR. Been waiting a while to try it.

 

 

[steven s]

what's with that bottle shape?

[BigRich]

7 hours ago, steven s said:

what's with that bottle shape?

That's typical of Booker's bottles for the international market. 

Edited August 11, 2023 by BigRich

[Obree]

On 8/8/2023 at 10:51 PM, Anwalt said:

Been traveling a bunch lately. I tend not to drink very much bourbon when I do. I should probably start packing a bunch of those little 2 oz jars....

 

Well, finally got this one to PR. Been waiting a while to try it.

 

 

I love that batch, as you know! Got 2 more back up bottles recently......

[Grady330]

Picked up a Hirsch 0323 Bivouac $55 bucks. 100 proof. Light color, light aroma, light flavor. Might be a good starter bottle for a newbie. Does not meet my expectations, especially for the price...  YMMV

[Anwalt]

6 hours ago, Obree said:

I love that batch, as you know! Got 2 more back up bottles recently

Nice! Get while the getting is good. They are still out there. I'd love to know the logistics & story behind "how a bunch of 2015 bottles popped up in 2022/23".

Edited August 11, 2023 by Anwalt

[Anwalt]

1 hour ago, Grady330 said:

Picked up a Hirsch 0323 Bivouac $55 bucks. 100 proof. Light color, light aroma, light flavor. Might be a good starter bottle for a newbie. Does not meet my expectations, especially for the price...  YMMV

 

Appreciate the heads-up. Got one as part of a package. Mulling over whether to open it, take it to a (non-serious-whiskey) party, etc.

[fishnbowljoe]

9 minutes ago, Anwalt said:

Nice! Get while the getting is good. They are still out there. I'd love to know the logistics & story behind "how a bunch of 2015 bottles popped up in 2022/23".

I once asked a sales guy how some older stuff suddenly showed up at a store. I can’t remember his exact words, but he said something about it not being stored in its usual allocated area in the warehouse because of a lack of space. The warehouse received a shipment and they found a rack to store it on temporarily. It was then forgotten about. So basically, it was “lost in the system” for quite a while.

[Anwalt]

Just now, fishnbowljoe said:

I once asked a sales guy how some older stuff suddenly showed up at a store. I can’t remember his exact words, but he said something about it not being stored in its usual allocated area in the warehouse because of a lack of space. The warehouse received a shipment and they found a rack to store it on temporarily. It was then forgotten about. So basically, it was “lost in the system” for quite a while.

 

That makes sense. I visited Andorra (tax-free haven) with a friend once. He related how exactly what you described used to happen a lot there. Indeed, he explicitly looked for "overlooked stuff" once he made nice with store managers - they let him sift through things and so on. He found some real gems. He said that with the boom the trick caught on and such layabout bottles are now much rarer.

 

I think that's how Gulmohar's in St Maarten gets some of what they get. They seem to have SFTB (and a lot of it) that is a little "off" (not in a bad way, the contents have been great). They seem to consistently have had 2020 bottles in 2023. The wax has been a little weird, as if a bit melty, with clear seams but not cracks, with the "ridging" melted away (except for a little bit, see the pic). But the contents were the real deal. Maybe some "forgotten batches"? Or just Caribbean heat? Dunno.

The wax on the Bookers 2015-2 crumbled away once I opened it. Is that common? Or perhaps a storage issue? The contents were fine though, so the wax did its job.

 

Kissing cousin issue: Found some 1997 Sauternes in Bordeaux - at 1997 prices. Pretty common actually, they evidently price the Sauternes based on volume and often do not raise prices over the years. Just a local custom.

 

God bless these sorts of aberrations!

 

[Anwalt]

Yesterday's pour: A Peerless DO Bourbon SP. Lots of flavor. A touch hot for my liking, a little water helped it out. It allowed the flavor to really come forth.

 

I was not a fan of Peerless in general. But their recent 6y bottles (and especially this one) have been much better than the old 4y and heaven (Hill? Lolz) help us, their 2y stuff. Young & hot is great with [enter whatever it is that turns you on]. In a bourbon? Not so much.

Edited August 11, 2023 by Anwalt

[Anwalt]

Heard good things about this one. A friend had an extra so we swapped. Really looking forward to trying it.

 

How does it compare to normal Michters?  I tried the 10y Michter bourbon in Louiseville and really, really liked it.

 

Ah. The internet answered my question: https://thebourbonculture.com/whiskey-reviews/shenks-homestead-kentucky-sour-mash-whiskey-2022-review/

[Grady330]

13 hours ago, Anwalt said:

Heard good things about this one. A friend had an extra so we swapped. Really looking forward to trying it.

 

How does it compare to normal Michters?  I tried the 10y Michter bourbon in Louiseville and really, really liked it.

 

Ah. The internet answered my question: https://thebourbonculture.com/whiskey-reviews/shenks-homestead-kentucky-sour-mash-whiskey-2022-review/

Try finding Shenks brother, Bombergers. 

[fosmith]

On 8/11/2023 at 12:35 PM, Anwalt said:

The wax on the Bookers 2015-2 crumbled away once I opened it. Is that common? Or perhaps a storage issue? The contents were fine though, so the wax did its job.

It used to be common.  Older Booker's (and Knob Creek) had wax that crumbled and made a mess all over the counter when you opened the bottle.  In the last few years, Beam has gotten its act together and started using a softer and less brittle wax formula.  2015 was definitely in the brittle wax era. 

[Anwalt]

2 hours ago, fosmith said:

It used to be common.

 

Good to know, thanks for the knowledge!