bourbon deLuxe

[vasshopper]

Was wondering if anyone has info on this bourbon? has yellow label-distilled spring 72-bottled fall 82 100 proof bonded. has a knights helmet with blue coat of arms on left side of yellow label and reads national distillers product. on back label it reads distilled by OLD TAYLOR--dsp ky.19 and bottled at dsp ky.14. ---Bourbon deLuxe--bottled in bond-straight bourbon--bottled by bourbon deluxe distillery co. frankfort ky. actually tastes quite good , no hot finish with a lot of sweet corn and burnt caramel and just a little bit of a woody taste. the taste stays on the tonque for quite awhile and i may have to buy some more of this cause it sure does grow on you!---life is good--den

[Guest **DONOTDELETE**]

Hi Den,

The Bourbon DeLuxe you have is from National Distillers, who sold the brand (along with Old Crow, Old Taylor, Old Grand Dad, and many others) to American Brands (Jim Beam) in 1987. It dates from at least the end of prohibition (we have a Nat.Dist. magazine ad from @1934-5 showing Bourbon DeLuxe). The brand is still being made and sold by Jim Beam, and even the current version is surprisingly good for a cheap bourbon. Certainly better than what Beam's done with Old Crow and Old Taylor. If you still have any left by next September, bring it with you to the Bourbon Fest! And if you have a source of more from the same period, send me a private message.

=John=

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://w3.one.net/~jeffelle/whiskey>http://w3.one.net/~jeffelle/whiskey</A>

[cowdery]

Right on, John. I would only add that 1972 was the last year any distilling was done at Old Taylor.

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://cowdery.home.netcom.com>--Chuck Cowdery</A>

[vasshopper]

Thanks John&Chuck for the info.

I'll let you know John if i can aquire some more, cause it's a little bit of a trip but seems to be worth it .--life is good--den

[BlindBull]

Came across several bottles of Bourbon de Luxe at a small Mom & Pop liquor store  recently. It has the 86259xxxx barcode that was used by ND and an 88 on the bottom of the bottle. Am I correct that this would be ND distilled juice and not that of Jim Beam? 

I just watched a tasting review of a 1970's bottle of this brand compared to a more recent (early 2000's) bottling and the reviewer compared this favorably to some of the better bourbons of today and gave it a score of 93.

[Billy Reis]

That would be my assumption.  Nice pickup. JB bought National in 1987 I believe, so pretty good dusty.

[kevinbrink]

Probably a good guess it is definitely 80's since the measurement is in proof rather than ABV, post 85 since no tax strip even if it is beam bottled the bourbon was likely ND distilled I would imagine and the laser code seems to solve the mystery. Rough looking bottle but hey the fill level looks good. Crack it open and let us know what you think!

[BlindBull]

On 4/12/2018 at 7:19 PM, kevinbrink said:

Probably a good guess it is definitely 80's since the measurement is in proof rather than ABV, post 85 since no tax strip even if it is beam bottled the bourbon was likely ND distilled I would imagine and the laser code seems to solve the mystery. Rough looking bottle but hey the fill level looks good. Crack it open and let us know what you think!

Thanks for the info. I'll let you know when I open it up and taste. 

[GaryT]

I picked up a couple like this several years back, and while a bottom shelfer for ND at the time, still punched well above its weight.  Delivered that butterscotchy goodness I love from ND!  The label & cap look rough - hoping it wasn't sitting in the sun for 30+ yrs or that might have destroyed it (I picked up a handle of dusty Old Charter whose label looked like this; it wasn't in the sun when I spotted it but apparently had spent a good deal of time there prior - and it was completely undrinkable).  Will keep happy thoughts that this isn't the case for your find!

[Enoch]

On 4/11/2018 at 6:16 PM, BlindBull said:

Came across several bottles of Bourbon de Luxe at a small Mom & Pop liquor store  recently. It has the 86259xxxx barcode that was used by ND and an 88 on the bottom of the bottle. Am I correct that this would be ND distilled juice and not that of Jim Beam? 

I just watched a tasting review of a 1970's bottle of this brand compared to a more recent (early 2000's) bottling and the reviewer compared this favorably to some of the better bourbons of today and gave it a score of 93.

This bottle is from at least 87 which is when they started using snap safety caps.

 

[Enoch]

Picked 2 of these up at an estate sale. Appears to be a 1970 export to Italy. Says distilled DSP 3, Louisville. Drank one and saving this one. Quite tasty. Also picked up a mid 80s USA bottle but it was nasty.

Edited April 17, 2018 by Enoch