Elmer T Lee - worth it?

[rzelinka]

Was out and about yesterday and discovered an Elmer T Lee. What’s the most folks would pay for this? Or Rock Hill Farms for that matter?

[MM818]

I feel like these single barrels have been well debated recently. You won’t get a consensus on their worth. They’re well respected bottles but it also depends on the bottle you buy. 

[rzelinka]

2 hours ago, MM818 said:

I feel like these single barrels have been well debated recently. You won’t get a consensus on their worth. They’re well respected bottles but it also depends on the bottle you buy. 

Thank you for responding. Yes, certainly has been debated and deliberated recently. I think most agree it's worth MSRP. The reality is one is unlikely to find either at MSRP. That begs the question what would people be willing to spend for Elmer T Lee? $100, $150? $200? I've seen it for between $150-$200 on the secondary market. $200 is a hard pass for me. $100 a buy. $150 would be only if I had money to burn. 

 

As for Rock Hill Farms, I often see this on the secondary market for $300. I think that would be a hard pass for me too. 

 

I'm usually good to pay double if I think it's a good bourbon which is hard to find, but when the asking price is 3-4 times MSRP, I have to draw the line.

[MSB]

IMO

 

I would pay MSRP and MAYBE 10-20% and no more. I refuse to pay secondary prices at LQ stores, or anywhere else for that matter.

 

IF you are in no hurry, time is on your side and you should be able to find it at some point at or close to MSRP.  

[rzelinka]

1 hour ago, MSB said:

IMO

 

I would pay MSRP and MAYBE 10-20% and no more. I refuse to pay secondary prices at LQ stores, or anywhere else for that matter.

 

IF you are in no hurry, time is on your side and you should be able to find it at some point at or close to MSRP.  

Thank you for responding. I respect your position. I subscribed to that theory early on until someone challenged my thinking. I was asked simply to reflect on how much time I spend on bourbon hunts. How often they don't yield any outcome. That led to what is an hour of my time worth? That's when I started to set a limit for what was acceptable for me to spend on a given bottle. To that end, I've not seen Elmer T Lee at MSRP in the years I've been hunting for it. I noted a video from a you tube influencer that goes back 6 years and it does not seem to have changed much from then to now.  That said, Elmer T Lee is pretty easy to find locally, just not at MSRP. My last point, while time may be on your side, I would submit it's not so much for me. I'm not getting any younger, and my disposable income will at some point reach a fixed level, so that also contributes to my acceptance to pay over MSRP. 

 

One of the many blessings we have here is an ample amount of bourbon and the choice to buy or not to buy.

 

 

[MSB]

1 hour ago, rzelinka said:

Thank you for responding. I respect your position. I subscribed to that theory early on until someone challenged my thinking. I was asked simply to reflect on how much time I spend on bourbon hunts. How often they don't yield any outcome. That led to what is an hour of my time worth? That's when I started to set a limit for what was acceptable for me to spend on a given bottle. To that end, I've not seen Elmer T Lee at MSRP in the years I've been hunting for it. I noted a video from a you tube influencer that goes back 6 years and it does not seem to have changed much from then to now.  That said, Elmer T Lee is pretty easy to find locally, just not at MSRP. My last point, while time may be on your side, I would submit it's not so much for me. I'm not getting any younger, and my disposable income will at some point reach a fixed level, so that also contributes to my acceptance to pay over MSRP. 

 

One of the many blessings we have here is an ample amount of bourbon and the choice to buy or not to buy.

 

 

You are welcome. I understand your position. That theory has crossed my mind several times.  Personally I could not and will not feed the beast of greed to anyone for anything. My stance is there are so many other good bourbons out there that I enjoy that I don't have to hunt and spend a day running to every LQ store in FOMO and those other bourbons I enjoy, come at a lower price.  

I am no spring chicken nor am I long in the tooth, yet. I am approaching my fixed income yrs as well. I have a bunker of bourbon that is part of my retirement plan. I won't be buying much when I retire. Exceptions will be made. 

My thoughts on "time is on your side", I should have been more clear of what I meant. What I mean by that is the bourbon boom is busting. I believe the hard to get bourbons will become more readily available and at or near MSRP.  Not today or next month but the near future. ( I do not include the WLW, GTS, PVW, OFBB and so on, those will be difficult to get no matter what) I am seeing prices drop on some regularly available and desirable btls. OF 1920, I am seeing the price on these drop from 65ish down to 52ish. HMcK 10yr, 70+ now down to 55ish (i hope they return to the 25$/btl). It will take time and I hope it doesn't take yrs for the rest to adjust.

You can be the only one to decide what a fair price is for any btl. Just as I do. And everyone else here on SB does.  

 

Nobody right, nobody wrong.  ( Michael Franti)

 

When I get off work, I'll tip a glass to you and everyone else.

 

CHEERS!

[flahute]

If you have never had a bottle it's understandable that you'd want to scratch the itch despite the premium price. Most of us who remember Elmer being on the shelf at MSRP will skip it and any of the other BT bottles at inflated prices. We have so much bourbon we can enjoy at regular prices. We've all gone through the cycle of overpaying for bourbons that have been out of reach before settling in to being satisfied by what we can get without any hunting.  There was a time when the hunt excited me. Those days are long gone. 

[MM818]

5 hours ago, rzelinka said:

Thank you for responding. Yes, certainly has been debated and deliberated recently. I think most agree it's worth MSRP. The reality is one is unlikely to find either at MSRP. That begs the question what would people be willing to spend for Elmer T Lee? $100, $150? $200? I've seen it for between $150-$200 on the secondary market. $200 is a hard pass for me. $100 a buy. $150 would be only if I had money to burn. 

 

As for Rock Hill Farms, I often see this on the secondary market for $300. I think that would be a hard pass for me too. 

 

I'm usually good to pay double if I think it's a good bourbon which is hard to find, but when the asking price is 3-4 times MSRP, I have to draw the line.

Light your money on fire! Love it. You seem resourceful. I bet you find Elmer soon in your spending parameters. 

[NDN98]

I like Elmer T Lee.......at retail.    While it is a good bourbon, I would not pay anywhere close to $100 or more for it.   Same for Rock Hill Farms.   I once traded 2 Weller 12s for a Rock Hill Farms back during COVID, because I let FOMO get the best of me and I regretted it as soon as I tasted it.   It too is a good bourbon, but not as good as the Weller 12 I traded for it.   Just my opinion.

[fishnbowljoe]

The only reason I recently bought an ETL was because I haven’t seen one in years. I liked it better at the $39.99  I paid a few years go as opposed to the $65.99 I recently paid. I probably won’t buy another. 

[Kepler]

10 hours ago, rzelinka said:

Thank you for responding. Yes, certainly has been debated and deliberated recently. I think most agree it's worth MSRP. The reality is one is unlikely to find either at MSRP. That begs the question what would people be willing to spend for Elmer T Lee? $100, $150? $200? I've seen it for between $150-$200 on the secondary market. $200 is a hard pass for me. $100 a buy. $150 would be only if I had money to burn. 

 

As for Rock Hill Farms, I often see this on the secondary market for $300. I think that would be a hard pass for me too. 

 

I'm usually good to pay double if I think it's a good bourbon which is hard to find, but when the asking price is 3-4 times MSRP, I have to draw the line.

 

I think whether a whiskey is "worth it" at a particular price point is almost an unanswerable question.  I do really like Flahute's answer above.  I agree with him.

 

But I'm happy to just talk about how ETL tastes and the value.  On taste alone, for me it tops out as equivalent to a $50 bourbon.  It's a 90 proof version of Blanton's with less barrel influence but with a more consistent profile for a single barrel.  I used to buy it when it was $35 to $45 but now at $49.99 I believe I have purchased my last ETL, especially if they keep going up. I'm not buying it anymore at that price.  Of course it helps that I have 3 or 4 in the bunker.  (see above point about "scratching that itch" lol) 

 

To my taste buds RHF tastes exactly like ETL but at 100 proof.  RHF is my favorite of the BT mashbill #2 expressions.  But I'm not the biggest fan of BT in general.  Very nice sweet caramel notes but not enough spice for me to be a favorite. 

 

You mention secondary prices a fair amount.  I personally know next to nothing about the secondary values, not my thing.  I would stay away from the secondary market ... I feel it can skew a person's perspective on prices.  To each his own but personally I'm not interested in keeping those flippers in business.

 

 

Edited 3 hours ago by Kepler

[rzelinka]

16 minutes ago, Kepler said:

 

I think whether a whiskey is "worth it" at a particular price point is almost an unanswerable question.  I do really like Flahute's answer above.  I agree with him.

 

But I'm happy to just talk about how ETL tastes and the value.  On taste alone, for me it tops out as equivalent to a $50 bourbon.  It's a 90 proof version of Blanton's with less barrel influence but with a more consistent profile for a single barrel.  I used to buy it when it was $35 to $45 but now at $49.99 I believe I have purchased my last ETL, especially if they keep going up. I'm not buying it anymore at that price.  Of course it helps that I have 3 or 4 in the bunker.  (see above point about "scratching that itch" lol) 

 

To my taste buds RHF tastes exactly like ETL but at 100 proof.  RHF is my favorite of the BT mashbill #2 expressions.  But I'm not the biggest fan of BT in general.  Very nice sweet caramel notes but not enough spice for me to be a favorite. 

 

You mention secondary prices a fair amount.  I personally know next to nothing about the secondary values, not my thing.  I would stay away from the secondary market ... I feel it can skew a person's perspective on prices.  To each his own but personally I'm not interested in keeping those flippers in business.

 

 

Thank you for responding and sharing your perspective. I can certainly appreciate your position. I think I’m accustomed to seeing prices for some things going above MSRP. Cars, electronics, bourbons, etc for instance all see prices change based on the market. At the end of the day, I’m not a flipper of bourbons. I am a consumer of them. Now with cars, I am a collector. I have a daily driver, but I have others that I just sit on and watch them appreciate. I keep tabs on the market and make every attempt to unload them when the market is high, and buy them when the market is low. If I were in to real estate, I’d take the same approach.

 

Back to bourbon, I see many bottles that I am interested in are only available above MSRP. The places I buy from are local business owners who are running a business. I don’t see them as being flippers in the traditional sense. I do buy from online places, also liquor stores. Again, I see them as running a business, not someone who is hoarding bottles for profit, but hey, if that’s their thing, so be it.

 

I do have a method to my madness on what my limit is for paying above MSRP. I can sleep at night, my family is taken care of, we’re not taping into our retirement, etc. I would submit that is all that matters. 

 

I appreciate your point about Elmer T Lee being essentially a $50 bottle. I sampled it a few months back at a bar, and drew the same conclusion. That said, I’d like to add one, but have yet to find one in the price range that I am comfortable with. So the search goes on. As someone else pointed out, there are no shortage of exceptional bourbons, better than Elmer T Lee perhaps at a lower price range. It’s good to be a bourbon connoisseur

 

 

 

[Kepler]

7 minutes ago, rzelinka said:

Thank you for responding and sharing your perspective. I can certainly appreciate your position. I think I’m accustomed to seeing prices for some things going above MSRP. Cars, electronics, bourbons, etc for instance all see prices change based on the market. At the end of the day, I’m not a flipper of bourbons. I am a consumer of them. Now with cars, I am a collector. I have a daily driver, but I have others that I just sit on and watch them appreciate. I keep tabs on the market and make every attempt to unload them when the market is high, and buy them when the market is low. If I were in to real estate, I’d take the same approach.

 

Back to bourbon, I see many bottles that I am interested in are only available above MSRP. The places I buy from are local business owners who are running a business. I don’t see them as being flippers in the traditional sense. I do buy from online places, also liquor stores. Again, I see them as running a business, not someone who is hoarding bottles for profit, but hey, if that’s their thing, so be it.

 

I do have a method to my madness on what my limit is for paying above MSRP. I can sleep at night, my family is taken care of, we’re not taping into our retirement, etc. I would submit that is all that matters. 

 

I appreciate your point about Elmer T Lee being essentially a $50 bottle. I sampled it a few months back at a bar, and drew the same conclusion. That said, I’d like to add one, but have yet to find one in the price range that I am comfortable with. So the search goes on. As someone else pointed out, there are no shortage of exceptional bourbons, better than Elmer T Lee perhaps at a lower price range. It’s good to be a bourbon connoisseur

 

 

Ahh, by secondary market I was thinking you meant unlicensed flippers.  Well licensed liquor stores that sell above MSRP are different and I have no problem with buying from them.   

[rzelinka]

1 minute ago, Kepler said:

 

Ahh, by secondary market I was thinking you meant unlicensed flippers.  Well licensed liquor stores that sell above MSRP are different and I have no problem with buying from them.   

Right, no sir. I share your sentiments. I have no interest in buying from someone who isn’t licensed to sell alcohol. Trading is a whole different things. I have a small group where we do this, but yeah, my secondary market purchases are from liquor stores.

[Kepler]

11 minutes ago, rzelinka said:

Right, no sir. I share your sentiments. I have no interest in buying from someone who isn’t licensed to sell alcohol. Trading is a whole different things. I have a small group where we do this, but yeah, my secondary market purchases are from liquor stores.

I'm with you sir, cheers to that