What Bourbon Did You Purchase Winter 2023?

[Thomm]

Well, I love the single barrel, so I had to loosen up the purse strings by 12 bucks more and try this. It was just a hare more expensive. Okay, sorry. Gnome more puns. 

[steven s]

Trip to the big city, and I have not done a serious shop in a year or more, so I figured why not.

Background:  I feel after about 5 years of getting serious about building the bourbon aspect of the whiskey library, I am about there. I realize I was late to the party, and am not wasting time and $ tracking down bottles that came before my time, or things that are too hard to find, or not worth the hype and $.

Bourbon Zen?

Sipping from the 90ish open bourbon bottles in the library after starting with one of my daily pours, I am content with mostly replenishing the daily drinkers at this point. I'll occasionally grab something to add to the library, as with this Peerless DO (new to me, but am familiar with it and curious), and the New Riff (loved the others I've tried). Had to grab another RB rye so I can finish the one I have, (sooo good), and could not resist ANOTHER new RR SiB store pick. (imo- about as good as it gets for me of things that are available regularly). Got plenty of WSR, but had to grab one on principle for a friend who can't get it where he lives, NC. Had gone up to $24 since last time.

 

[jvd99]

56 minutes ago, steven s said:

Trip to the big city, and I have not done a serious shop in a year or more, so I figured why not.

Background:  I feel after about 5 years of getting serious about building the bourbon aspect of the whiskey library, I am about there. I realize I was late to the party, and am not wasting time and $ tracking down bottles that came before my time, or things that are too hard to find, or not worth the hype and $.

Bourbon Zen?

Sipping from the 90ish open bourbon bottles in the library after starting with one of my daily pours, I am content with mostly replenishing the daily drinkers at this point. I'll occasionally grab something to add to the library, as with this Peerless DO (new to me, but am familiar with it and curious), and the New Riff (loved the others I've tried). Had to grab another RB rye so I can finish the one I have, (sooo good), and could not resist ANOTHER new RR SiB store pick. (imo- about as good as it gets for me of things that are available regularly). Got plenty of WSR, but had to grab one on principle for a friend who can't get it where he lives, NC. Had gone up to $24 since last time.

 

You'll arrive at bourbon zen exponentially faster if you don't covet the unattainable. Good work on your bourbon library

[CardsandBourbon]

1 hour ago, steven s said:

Trip to the big city, and I have not done a serious shop in a year or more, so I figured why not.

Background:  I feel after about 5 years of getting serious about building the bourbon aspect of the whiskey library, I am about there. I realize I was late to the party, and am not wasting time and $ tracking down bottles that came before my time, or things that are too hard to find, or not worth the hype and $.

Bourbon Zen?

Sipping from the 90ish open bourbon bottles in the library after starting with one of my daily pours, I am content with mostly replenishing the daily drinkers at this point. I'll occasionally grab something to add to the library, as with this Peerless DO (new to me, but am familiar with it and curious), and the New Riff (loved the others I've tried). Had to grab another RB rye so I can finish the one I have, (sooo good), and could not resist ANOTHER new RR SiB store pick. (imo- about as good as it gets for me of things that are available regularly). Got plenty of WSR, but had to grab one on principle for a friend who can't get it where he lives, NC. Had gone up to $24 since last time.

 

Zen is finding what you like and going from there.  The OF, and the EW 1783 are two solid pours that don't come anywhere close to breaking the bank.  

[Davesnothere]

On 3/10/2023 at 11:43 PM, steven s said:

nice, you got a storage box as well!   You are in a control state, correct?

Yes, but we are only 30 minutes south of Tennessee and maybe an hour west of Georgia. we picked up the Stagg in Rome GA.

[Davesnothere]

I'm not certain if this counts as a purchase, but we picked these up in a trade today.

One EHT BP batch 11, one Weller FP SiB and two two Weller SP just to sweeten the pot.

We traded a handful of Blanton's that have been collecting dust just waiting for a deal like this one.

That's one advantage of living in a control state, well at least this control state, we can each pick up a Blanton's once a month for MSRP.

 

 

[Obree]

12 hours ago, Davesnothere said:

I'm not certain if this counts as a purchase, but we picked these up in a trade today.

One EHT BP batch 11, one Weller FP SiB and two two Weller SP just to sweeten the pot.

We traded a handful of Blanton's that have been collecting dust just waiting for a deal like this one.

That's one advantage of living in a control state, well at least this control state, we can each pick up a Blanton's once a month for MSRP.

 

 

Terrific trade! 

[Obree]

19 hours ago, steven s said:

Trip to the big city, and I have not done a serious shop in a year or more, so I figured why not.

Background:  I feel after about 5 years of getting serious about building the bourbon aspect of the whiskey library, I am about there. I realize I was late to the party, and am not wasting time and $ tracking down bottles that came before my time, or things that are too hard to find, or not worth the hype and $.

Bourbon Zen?

Sipping from the 90ish open bourbon bottles in the library after starting with one of my daily pours, I am content with mostly replenishing the daily drinkers at this point. I'll occasionally grab something to add to the library, as with this Peerless DO (new to me, but am familiar with it and curious), and the New Riff (loved the others I've tried). Had to grab another RB rye so I can finish the one I have, (sooo good), and could not resist ANOTHER new RR SiB store pick. (imo- about as good as it gets for me of things that are available regularly). Got plenty of WSR, but had to grab one on principle for a friend who can't get it where he lives, NC. Had gone up to $24 since last time.

 

Would love to try the Peerless double oak!

[0895]

15 hours ago, Davesnothere said:

I'm not certain if this counts as a purchase, but we picked these up in a trade today.

 

 

 

Was the soap thrown in as a sweetener?

I love that stuff!

[Davesnothere]

2 hours ago, 0895 said:

 

Was the soap thrown in as a sweetener?

I love that stuff!

That wasn't part of the deal. That was a Christmas present from my oldest boy.

[GaryT]

Haven't bought a bottle of bourbon in a while, but a couple of weeks ago found myself in the store and decided to pick up a George Dickel 8 yr Bourbon, a Pure Kentucky XO (which was one of my favs when it was all sourced back in the day), and an OF 1920, which was my favorite of the whiskey row series.  

[Kepler]

On 3/13/2023 at 4:03 PM, Davesnothere said:

That wasn't part of the deal. That was a Christmas present from my oldest boy.

I think I received the same Christmas present!

[Clueby]

Picked these up today. Overpaid slightly for the ER but it was "brought out of the back" for me so felt like I kinda had to buy it (or the HH7BIB that I passed on) and it supports a small business.  Was already gonna buy their Yellowstone pick. They had a sample to try and I really liked it.

[Double C's]

I've been waiting for a few stores to receive their pics of EC Sib. One of those places got theirs in today so I had to get one while they were available. This is the first bottle of EC Sib barrel proof that i have had the chance to buy, so I couldn't wait to crack it open to see if it was worth the upcharge compared to the 12yr batched versions. My initial thought is that I would rather spend $10-$15 less for the batched ecpb releases. This one is very ethanol forward on the nose and palate. Reminds me of when I was working my way through a bottle of ecpb c917.

[Clueby]

21 minutes ago, Double C's said:

I've been waiting for a few stores to receive their pics of EC Sib. One of those places got theirs in today so I had to get one while they were available. This is the first bottle of EC Sib barrel proof that i have had the chance to buy, so I couldn't wait to crack it open to see if it was worth the upcharge compared to the 12yr batched versions. My initial thought is that I would rather spend $10-$15 less for the batched ecpb releases. This one is very ethanol forward on the nose and palate. Reminds me of when I was working my way through a bottle of ecpb c917.

 

I typically see the store picks of ECBP priced $5-$15 less than the standard 12 year batch releases. The picks are usually 8 or 9 years old. 

[dhooch]

On 1/20/2023 at 5:24 PM, smokinjoe said:

I had never been a big Bulleit guy, but beginning about a year and a half ago it really began to get in my wheelhouse after picking up a 200 ml as my hotel bottle during a couple day biz trip.  Got a 750 ml of it after returning home from that trip.  It’s been a semi-regular purchase since, and I’ve enjoyed every one.  Drained my latest a week ago, so while out at lunch to get something for the weekend, I decided to elevate Bulleit to the family sized category to feed the kiddo, and save a few bucks in the process.  Enjoying it yet again over a clear cube.  I now have a multi-family bourbon housing unit filled with the large Maker’s Mark, VOB 90, Wild Turkey 101, EW 1783, and now Bulleit families, respectively.  

I purchased a bottle of Bulleit Bourbon when it first came out. It was so bad, I literally poured it down the drain. Even Coke or 7-Up couldn't help it.

 

You folks on this Forum kept posting how good it was, so after five years I gave in and purchased another bottle. Well, guess what? It turns out that the distillery got its stuff together and now makes a pretty good Bourbon. I definitely will buy another bottle when this one is empty.

[Double C's]

1 hour ago, Clueby said:

I typically see the store picks of ECBP priced $5-$15 less than the standard 12 year batch releases. The picks are usually 8 or 9 years old. 

the few places that I have heard of in the area having the picks have been in the $80-$85 range, while I can get the ECBP standard batching for $70-$75 when I find one.

[Clueby]

13 hours ago, Double C's said:

the few places that I have heard of in the area having the picks have been in the $80-$85 range, while I can get the ECBP standard batching for $70-$75 when I find one.

Last store i was in with a pick was $74.95 and was 8 years old while the regular 12 year batch was $79.95. I chose the latter since I felt it was more of a "known" thing and was 4 years older.

[IamMatt]

14 hours ago, Double C's said:

I've been waiting for a few stores to receive their pics of EC Sib. One of those places got theirs in today so I had to get one while they were available. This is the first bottle of EC Sib barrel proof that i have had the chance to buy, so I couldn't wait to crack it open to see if it was worth the upcharge compared to the 12yr batched versions. My initial thought is that I would rather spend $10-$15 less for the batched ecpb releases. This one is very ethanol forward on the nose and palate. Reminds me of when I was working my way through a bottle of ecpb c917.

 

I've only had a few ECBP picks,  I just finished one that was as good as any of the batches I've had, 134 proof but you would never guess it.  I have another that was only OK.  Maybe it's the importance of finding a store or club whose picker's palate matches your own.

[markandrex]

I went by my regular LS today to drop off the dozen doughnuts I owed them from a few weeks ago.  He went to the office and came back with this.  Now I owe him a dozen fritters!

[Jazz June]

21 hours ago, IamMatt said:

I've only had a few ECBP picks,  I just finished one that was as good as any of the batches I've had, 134 proof but you would never guess it.  I have another that was only OK.  Maybe it's the importance of finding a store or club whose picker's palate matches your own.

I have been disappointed in the barrel proof Elijah Craig picks overall. It's not that they are bad, more that they are a step down from the batched versions at a higher price (MSRP for the batched is $70, private selection BP MSRP is $80). Most of the picks I have seen are 8 or 9 years old with a few 10 and 11 year barrels sprinkled in. I have yet to try a BP pick that was as good as the better batched versions, which is admittedly a pretty high bar. And I do commend HH for giving enthusiasts what they want - barrel proof picks. Maybe my expectations were just too high as the batched version, even at $70, is one of the better values in that price range and a great bourbon.

[flahute]

On 3/15/2023 at 7:59 PM, dhooch said:

I purchased a bottle of Bulleit Bourbon when it first came out. It was so bad, I literally poured it down the drain. Even Coke or 7-Up couldn't help it.

 

You folks on this Forum kept posting how good it was, so after five years I gave in and purchased another bottle. Well, guess what? It turns out that the distillery got its stuff together and now makes a pretty good Bourbon. I definitely will buy another bottle when this one is empty.

They aren't yet selling what they make (it's still aging). What's in your bottle is still sourced bourbon. They just got better at blending.

[Obree]

Found a Bomberger 2022 and a Shenk's 2022 in Belgium, that the shop did not want to ship to the Netherlands. Had to find other ways to get it to me, glad I could use the address of my son's girlfriends parents that live in Belgium. And they brought it over today!

[Kepler]

On 3/15/2023 at 9:14 PM, Clueby said:

I typically see the store picks of ECBP priced $5-$15 less than the standard 12 year batch releases. The picks are usually 8 or 9 years old. 

 

On 3/15/2023 at 10:32 PM, Double C's said:

the few places that I have heard of in the area having the picks have been in the $80-$85 range, while I can get the ECBP standard batching for $70-$75 when I find one.

 

In my neck of the woods the BP store picks are closer to $90-100 and yes, aged less than 12 years.  I'll take the regular batched ECBP when I can find it.

 

I may be the only one, but I would rather go back to the days of the store picks being 94 proof and considerably less money (and easier to find as well).  The barrel proof store picks sell out a lot faster because of, well because of:

[Kepler]

12 hours ago, Jazz June said:

I have been disappointed in the barrel proof Elijah Craig picks overall. It's not that they are bad, more that they are a step down from the batched versions at a higher price (MSRP for the batched is $70, private selection BP MSRP is $80). Most of the picks I have seen are 8 or 9 years old with a few 10 and 11 year barrels sprinkled in. I have yet to try a BP pick that was as good as the better batched versions, which is admittedly a pretty high bar. And I do commend HH for giving enthusiasts what they want - barrel proof picks. Maybe my expectations were just too high as the batched version, even at $70, is one of the better values in that price range and a great bourbon.

 

I agree we should commend HH for giving enthusiasts what they want.  But they sure charge a premium for adding water to the bottle.