What bourbon did you purchase today? Winter/Spring '07

[jbutler]

By popular demand, the thread continues.

[Grain Brain]

Previously, on "What bourbon did you purchase today?"

It was Old Taylor BIB day in Manhattan today. Two quarts bottled in '79, one distilled in '70, the other in 71. And a fifth distilled in '67 and bottled in '74. Amazing to find this stuff still hanging around here on the island.

Man, I bet there are some real gems up that way. I've only visited NYC once in early '01, and it looked like a treasure trove of nooks and crannies. I'd love to revisit. Nice finds there, by the way.

[fitzharry]

I picked up an old bottle of Old Forester BIB 100 proof, and two bottles of Old Charter Proprieter's Reserve 13 year old.

[gluce]

I purchased 7 bottles of Pappy 15 for 34 bucks a piece. Last week I purchased 6 bottles of Pappy 20 for 62 bucks a piece. I hope that all my 15 yr is SW whiskey :pope:.

There is no indicator as to when these were produced, or is there?????

Later,

George

[JDutton]

3 bottles of Jacob's Well yesterday. There are 3 left in the store.

[TNbourbon]

...There is no indicator as to when these were produced, or is there?????

Later,

George

No, but the store manager should be able to tell you when they were entered into stock at that store, from which you generally can draw appropriate inferences. Pappy 15 doesn't stay on the shelves long in most places.

[panzer]

First time posting here, yes a newbie to SB, but not to the joys of bourbon. Happy to say that I am awaiting a shipment of BTAC-Stagg, Saz and Weller. I gave the names to a relative in the hope that they might be able to find them and hit the jackpot! Based on what they said was on the bottle of GTS, they may be '05, but won't know for sure until they get here.

I've been reading the posts here and learning a great deal. Read about how great BTAC is supposed to be and started the search, didn't think I'd be able to find any, so I feel fortunate. Can't wait to try them. Thanks to all for helping make my wallet lighter.

[photogjunkie]

Went hunting and found 3 Old Charter Proprietors Reserves (Heritage Collection) and 2 Old Fitzgerald BIB 1.75 DSP-16.

Good hunt.

[gothbat]

Found a WTKS that was bottled in 2000 this weekend. Not only does it have the pewter top but the label is different than the one on the current bottling.

[Grain Brain]

Tonight, a friend of mine brought me a bottle of Four Roses Single Barrel from a Kentucky business trip for me. I'm stoked!

I also snagged a bottle of WTRR 101 in Austin today. Last one on the shelf. I couldn't just leave it there - it looked so lonely.

[Edward_call_me_Ed]

Here are the bottles that I mentioned earlier. They came on Monday. If you look closely most of them are open already. I still have some of the Evan Williams 15 open. The Blanton's Straight from the Barrel is open so I haven't had pressing need of the Blanton's Silver, but I need to give it a test run so it will be opened tonight. The VWFR Rye 13 is looking mighty good...

In the earlier post I said something about Mitchner Rye (sp?) but I was mistaken. It is Hirsch Sekection 13 year old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey. Pretty good stuff. I am looking forward to doing a head to head with the VWFRR 13. I'm sure I prefer the later, but won't know for sure until I open it.

Ed

[bluesbassdad]

Ed,

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the Hirsch and VW ryes are the same product.

I found a bottle of the Hirsch rye in a little wine shop in Long Beach about four years ago. I couldn't tell any difference between it and the VW.

IIRC, someone in the know (Julian? not sure) confirmed my impression.

I guess thats a good news/bad news situation, eh? :grin:

An official time out for a search revealed this post.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[Edward_call_me_Ed]

Ed,

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the Hirsch and VW ryes are the same product.

I found a bottle of the Hirsch rye in a little wine shop in Long Beach about four years ago. I couldn't tell any difference between it and the VW.

IIRC, someone in the know (Julian? not sure) confirmed my impression.

I guess thats a good news/bad news situation, eh? :grin:

An official time out for a search revealed this post.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

Very interesting, Dave.

I cracked the VWFRR 13 before I read your post and thought, "Yep, this is better than the Hirsch. Darker caramel/brown sugar. Subtle spice that is none the less up front and accessible. I don't really need to do a side by side, but I will anyway."

Then I read your post and the link to Julian's comments. I poured some of my Hirsch Select. "Nope, while this is excellent it just isn't as good as the VWFRR 13." I went' back and forth between the two. The Hirsch was 'thinner' not as sweet, the caramel was there but not as deep. It just wasn't as good, wonderful, but not as good.

But what if I was 'tasting' the label? What if I was 'tasting' the opinions of all the posts here that say that Van Winkle whiskey is the best there is? What if I was being fooled by 'marketing?'

I had to do a blind side by side. I had my daughter pour a small taste into two identical glasses, don't worry, she is a bartender, not a minor. The glasses were marked A and B. I took a sip of glass B. Absolutely, VWFRR. Glass A, yep, Hirsch. Repeat. Not quite as sure, but yes, that is what they are. Clear the palate with room temp water. B, VWFRR. Rinse. A, Hirsch. No doubt about it now so I looked at the paper she had written the answers on. A=Hirsch, B=VWFRR.

Ed

[tachyonshuggy]

This weekend I stocked up a bit: a 1.75 of WT101 and a 1.75 of GD12 (not a bourbon but close enough for govt work).

[doubleblank]

Ed......What you are detecting is the fact that there have been about 7 or 8 different bottlings of the VWFRR 13yo and only a couple of the Hirsch. To do a proper comparison, you would need to find a bottle of the VWFRR that corresponds to the time of the Hirsch bottling. As the rye whiskey aged in barrel, its flavor evolved until Julian finally tanked the remainder of it. So an "A" bottling tastes different than a "D" bottling of the VWFRR due to additional ageing in the barrel (I don't recall exactly when he tanked this rye to stop the ageing). Julian has now added another straight rye to the tank so the current VWFRR is a slightly different animal altogether.

If your bottling is a "D" or later, it would likely taste noticeably different than any Hirsch 13yo rye bottling. If its the current bottling, it might be completely different.

Randy

[Edward_call_me_Ed]

Ed......What you are detecting is the fact that there have been about 7 or 8 different bottlings of the VWFRR 13yo and only a couple of the Hirsch. To do a proper comparison, you would need to find a bottle of the VWFRR that corresponds to the time of the Hirsch bottling. As the rye whiskey aged in barrel, its flavor evolved until Julian finally tanked the remainder of it. So an "A" bottling tastes different than a "D" bottling of the VWFRR due to additional ageing in the barrel (I don't recall exactly when he tanked this rye to stop the ageing). Julian has now added another straight rye to the tank so the current VWFRR is a slightly different animal altogether.

If your bottling is a "D" or later, it would likely taste noticeably different than any Hirsch 13yo rye bottling. If its the current bottling, it might be completely different.

Randy

Hi Randy,

I knew that there were multiple bottlings of the VWFRR 13. Both my previous bottle and this bottle lack a letter. All they have is a letter. Here is a picture of both lables.

So, what does this mean? Are these bottles from before Julian started using letters to lable different batches or are these the current bottling or what. All I know for sure is that this is some of the best whiskey I have ever tasted.

Ed

[doubleblank]

Those are older bottlings Ed......probably when the rye was actually 13yo. The later ones got a number and a letter in front of it. I'd guess your VWFRR and the Hirsch were bottled within a few years of each other.

Randy

[tmas]

Something I haven't seen here in NYC yet, Rittenhouse Rye BIB 100 proof, which has a nice color to it. I think I'll make some Manhattans out of it.

Something I've read about here, the Forty Creek Barrel Select Canadian Whiskey.

...And, Something I've had plenty of but can never seem to resist picking up ORVW 10yr 107 for only $26.00! Some fine drink'n lies ahead methinks! Tom V

[Edward_call_me_Ed]

Those are older bottlings Ed......probably when the rye was actually 13yo. The later ones got a number and a letter in front of it. I'd guess your VWFRR and the Hirsch were bottled within a few years of each other.

Randy

Thanks Randy,

That is what I thought. I think I can taste that my Hircsh and my VWFRR are both the same whiskey at different ages. I am not sure which is younger, but I sure know which one I like better! I am only a couple of pours into the VWFRR and already I am starting to morn the day it is empty. I think I will be drinking the Hirsch to save the VWFRR.

Ed

My 1,000th Post!

[snakster]

Last night I popped for a bottle of PVW 20. Now I need to buy another so I won't feel bad about opening and drinking one.

[fitzharry]

I bought two bottles of Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye today, and will probably buy two bottles of William Larue Weller 2006 tomorrow.

[TBoner]

Old Fitz Prime 375mL tax-stripped from 1988.

OGD114 faux-tax stripped from the ND era (1990)

[Edward_call_me_Ed]

Last night I popped for a bottle of PVW 20. Now I need to buy another so I won't feel bad about opening and drinking one.

Oh, that's not how I do it. I get it home and crack it as soon as it is legal to drink, I mean no driving or work, post meridian...

Round about the time the bottle hits the half way point is the time I get antsy to buy the backup.

Ed

[full_proof]

OGD Bonded 100, OGD114, BT (already had an unopened bottle but it was on sale :grin: ), ORVW 10-yr 90, EWSB 1996, ER 101 and two non-bourbon bottlings...Rain vodka and 1800 Anejo tequila (aged in charred oak barrels :grin: )

There were two other dusty ER101 on the shelf and I pushed them in the back to hide them and will make a surreptitious trip back to buy them when my funding (and wife) recover from this disbursement :slappin: . Also, I was surprised to find a variety of EWSB from 1990 to 1995, so I might go back and buy some more of those in differing years. I've not seen the 1997 bottling anywhere at this writing.

[Gillman]

Out shopping this morning, sadly I confirmed the slim pickings (relatively) for bourbon in Ontario. There is only at the moment WR, KC, WT (the 80), JB White and some Black. There was RB and RY for a while, but both are MIA and the RB is sorely missed. I believe that is it, on top of that in whiskey, there are the Jacks (all three).

I don't have any bourbon in the bunker now except some 70's-80's OTs (which are great), Jeff's Black Gold (I like it), some 60's and 70's Beam's (partly full bottle of each), an OF 100 which is one of my faves, and a little Pikesville and Rittenhouse Bonded. Also, a partly full foil Hirsch 16. Not a big selection, but good enough. I generally consume as I buy (or within the year), partly because my selection choices are limited, partly because I don't have a lot of room to store them. I also have a 20 bourbon personal vatting which is very satisfying.

I'd be happy just to be able to get some ETL and EC 12. That would round out what I need and while I've tasted greats in my time, I would be fully satisfied with those and our existing KC and WR.

In Canadian whisky the choice is larger than in recent years but with some exceptions (e.g., Barrel Select, Danfield's Private Reserve, the CC sherry cask which just reappeared) the flavor profile is fairly uniform.

So, I picked up some scotch. I got an 18 year old Grouse vatted malts, $70 which is pretty good for such well aged and hopefully well-vatted malts. The sticker says some are rather older than 18 years. Haven't tried it yet but the nose is promising (good sherry and wood). Also, I finally got the 15 year old French Oak Glenlivet, which is supposed to be better than the original, 12 year one.

Gary