What Bourbon did you find recently that would make a great Christmas gift for you?

[photogjunkie]

It would have to be that bottle of Pappy 20 that I found last week.

[FlashPuppy]

There's a BMH 21 I have been eyein' pretty hard lately....

[Joeluka]

Both of the Bottles of LeNell's Red Hook Rye I picked up yesterday are Christmas gifts for me. My Sister and Father-in-Law are paying for them. Good people those two.

[JDutton]

Well, actually I picked up several bottles on a trip to Omaha a few weeks ago. These were all varieties that aren't available in Sioux Falls. I've opened some of them but gave the Lot B and ORVW 10/107 to my wife and asked her to give them to me for Christmas. :cool:

[Empty Glass]

My thinking goes like this. The bottle of Pappy 23 that I ordered yesterday is going to be from mom using that $100 she gives me every year for Christmas.. even though I'm 45. Thanks mom! Oh yeah I get $100 for my birthday too! You can call me mama's boy but wait 'till I'm tipping my first pour and I'll toast to that.

[SBOmarc]

I am easily pleased.

Any bottle from any distillery.

[camduncan]

Anything Van Winkle would suit me fine

....or something from Heaven Hill

...... or something from Bufallo Trace

......... or anything from any distillery that isn't retailing to Australia :cool:

[straightwhiskeyruffneck]

three, because:

forester barrel reserve, i'm a big forester fan. never seen this one, pretty sure its no longer made.

four roses single barrel, 'cause i cant buy it here! (i'll get some when i go to kentucky this spring because i dont expect to get this one for x mas)

old pogue, i've never had this one. and i like how its the only whiskey these folks make.

[gothbat]

Assuming they are still there I would like to have the 3 WLW's that were sitting on the shelf at the liquor store the last time I was there. The only way this will happen is if I buy them myself though, the only people I exchange gifts with either don't shop at this store and wouldn't think to buy them even if they saw them, won't purchase liquor as a gift for me, or aren't old enough to buy them. I'm tempted to buy them, wrap them, put them under the tree, and feign surprise on X-mas morning when we are all opening presents.

[HighTower]

My thinking goes like this. The bottle of Pappy 23 that I ordered yesterday is going to be from mom using that $100 she gives me every year for Christmas.. even though I'm 45. Thanks mom! Oh yeah I get $100 for my birthday too! You can call me mama's boy but wait 'till I'm tipping my first pour and I'll toast to that.

What I'd like to know is where the hell you're getting Pappy 23 for $100!!:skep:

Scott

[Old Lamplighter]

I would be happy with another 2005 Saz 18 to replace the one I foolishly broke by accident.:hot:

Don't think I have been that good of a boy this year though. So, I would settle for some 06 Handy or WLW.

[cowdery]

three, because:

forester barrel reserve, i'm a big forester fan. never seen this one, pretty sure its no longer made.

four roses single barrel, 'cause i cant buy it here! (i'll get some when i go to kentucky this spring because i dont expect to get this one for x mas)

old pogue, i've never had this one. and i like how its the only whiskey these folks make.

I can help you cross one off your list: Old Pogue. You might say it's the only whiskey those folks don't make, as it's a KBD bottling of Heaven Hill whiskey.

[Special Reserve]

What I'd like to know is where the hell you're getting Pappy 23 for $100!!:skep:

Scott

This fall I stopped in a party store in a neighboring town that I've never been in before and on the shelf sat a bottle of PVW 23 with the PVW 20 price.

After looking around for a few minutes, the conversation went like this:

Clerk: "May I help you find anything?"

Me: "I think I found something. How much for the Pappy?"

Clerk: "The state price. $104.98 plus tax."

Me: "Do you take Master Charge?"

We both were happy. (But I think I was happier.)

The next week I went back to pick up the two Eagle Rare 101 10yr old bottles on their shelves.

[Hedmans Brorsa]

three, because:

forester barrel reserve, i'm a big forester fan. never seen this one, pretty sure its no longer made.

The Old Forester barrel reserve 96 was, to my knowledge. only sold in duty-free shops at US airports.

It was produced specifically for the summer olympics in Atlanta. I have no idea how much was made and for how long it was available.

Some of them found their way to Europe and the odd bottle can still be seen in specialist shops. I´m also pretty sure that it is no longer in production.

[Empty Glass]

Sorry my friend I already mentally included the birthday money. I just paid $200 + shipping. No tax.

[nor02lei]

The Old Forester barrel reserve 96 was, to my knowledge. only sold in duty-free shops at US airports.

It was produced specifically for the summer olympics in Atlanta. I have no idea how much was made and for how long it was available.

Some of them found their way to Europe and the odd bottle can still be seen in specialist shops. I´m also pretty sure that it is no longer in production.

Lennart,

I did taste Forester 96 on our second Borlänge Bourbon Boys tasting last night. It was a Forester-Woodford tasting and to my personal taste a very good tasting in general. I will come back to it later at the tasting subject Forester 96 did differ more from Forester 100 than I had expected. It was sweeter, spicier and a bit less floral than 100. I would say it was generally punchier but I really like them both and gave them the same 86 point in the100 point scale.

Since I am out of the original subject I must say that another one of the OFBB 2005 that I got open right now would be a gift I would appreciate.

Leif

[straightwhiskeyruffneck]

I can help you cross one off your list: Old Pogue. You might say it's the only whiskey those folks don't make, as it's a KBD bottling of Heaven Hill whiskey.

wow! i had no idea. what a cheap trick, calling themselves the old pogue distillery

[TNbourbon]

wow! i had no idea. what a cheap trick, calling themselves the old pogue distillery

Actually, not all that uncommon. There are quite a few bourbons bottled by 'distilleries' which purchase their whiskey.

[straightwhiskeyruffneck]

Actually, not all that uncommon. There are quite a few bourbons bottled by 'distilleries' which purchase their whiskey.

guess i need to do my homework

[Rughi]

Actually, not all that uncommon. There are quite a few bourbons bottled by 'distilleries' which purchase their whiskey.

Agreed, most notably Van Winkle products.

Funny, I never read anyone feeling cheated by Julian's bulk market buying practices - but I read what are meant to be shocking and damning statements like POGUE DOESN'T DISTILL or KBD DOESN'T DISTILL all the time.

To me, the biggest problem with Pogue is that there are several middle men taking a cut (Chuck "outs" HH and KBD), making it overpriced. I like the bottle of Pogue I have better than the ORVW 10/107 that I have (2003 bottling?), but I wouldn't buy Pogue often at the mid-$40s price I paid for my curiosity.

Roger

[smokinjoe]

I can help you cross one off your list: Old Pogue. You might say it's the only whiskey those folks don't make, as it's a KBD bottling of Heaven Hill whiskey.

No need to take the Old Pogue off your list. Regardless of where it originates, it is fine whiskey in my opinion, and the Pogue family are fine people. I find Old Pogue to have a very nice butterscotch taste that I find very appealing.

Take your shot at it this Christmas if you like, I think you will enjoy it. If it doesn't agree with you, then you at least know for yourself.

Cheers!

JOE

[cowdery]

Although, yes, Van Winkle doesn't distill, and people should know that, they get a bit of a pass because Julian has a terrific palate and does an exceptional job of selecting outstanding barrels. He also offers extra-aged whiskeys of a quality that simply is not duplicated by any other producer.

Even as Van Winkle evolves into a "brand" of Buffalo Trace, I think that quality will remain. While it's logical to assume that producers who sell bulk whiskey might tend to hold back their best stock, I think Van Winkle is positioned to be a showcase for some of BT's best.

Julian may be good, but he's not infallible. He essentially rejected as too old the rye whiskey for which Doug, LeNell and others are getting rave reviews. Which is to say that KBD and similar companies have their role to play too.

I agree that the Pogues and KBD did a good job putting that product together and that the Pogues are very nice people. They do have a real family history in the business and it's nice, for that reason, to see their name on a bottle. I wish them all the best and always have. I never meant to suggest, and don't think I did suggest, that it wasn't a very fine bottle of whiskey. It is; though I also agree it is over-priced for what it is.

However, if they are leading people to believe that they "made" it, in the way most people understand that term, then that's wrong and I believe it's a service to let the uninformed know the real facts.

If we, as consumers, put a premium on honesty, we will get more honesty. If we, as consumers, put a premium on "real" distillers, maybe we will get more of those too.

[Hedmans Brorsa]

If we, as consumers, put a premium on honesty, we will get more honesty. If we, as consumers, put a premium on "real" distillers, maybe we will get more of those too.

I couldn´t agree more.

[nor02lei]

If we, as consumers, put a premium on honesty, we will get more honesty. If we, as consumers, put a premium on "real" distillers, maybe we will get more of those too.

That goes for me as well!

Leif

[Rughi]

That goes for me as well!

Leif

And for me!!!

And furthermore, the more we show a willingness to buy different expressions of a distillery's product (even if the expressions come via an independent bottler), the more likely we may get the distillery to release more expressions of the products in their warehouses.

The way I see it, HH was pulled (or emboldened) into releasing their excellent 21 year Rittenhouse because Julian and KBD were having so much success selling excellent bulk market products. If I understand the history of Single Malt, it was the independent bottlers who were virtually the only source for most single malts until the distilleries saw that the malts they were blending away could be a lucrative niche market. And, until the explosion of microbreweries, the American major beer labels were stodgily offering ever more watered down beers as innovative (less filling! no bitter beer face!) but are now trying to change their corporate cultures enough that they can react with beers that step _part of the way_ towards the excitement the microbrewers have created.

I think in Bourbon that the independent bottlers are more leading the way towards more and better choices for enthusiasts than foisting off generic crap on an unsuspecting public (it takes a lot of marketing muscle to do that on the huge scale of America, so two or three majors have that market share largely cornered).

Pogue would be a good, and distinct, bourbon if HH had decided to release that profile themselves (but they didn't). Old Bardstown NAS has a delightful play between a recognizable young HH-style menthol/clove and a very old murky/dry wood that tastes of blending in small amounts of much older product (no major distillery is interested in using that concept so aggressively, as far as I know). And, for every major distiller who sees fit to offer a product such as Booker or Stagg (or 4-grain or BTEC), there are five distinctive bottlings of independent bottler products such as BMH, Vintage Bourbon, or ORVW. Enthusiasts have responded to these releases and independent bottlers have largely created the market for the most exciting products available today.

If we, as consumers, put a premium on innovative and more varied niche products, we will get more exciting niche products. If we, as consumers, show support to the little guys who are trying to break into a multi-national corporation's industry, maybe we will get more "real" distillers too.

Let's get behind the independent bottlers leading the way AND the distillers who can see their way to follow the path!

Roger