Your most disappointing purchase?

[anacostiakat]

Mine would have to be Elijah Craig 18 Single Barrel.

I bought it after trying the sublime Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 15 YO. I thought 'if this is what really old bourbon is all about - I'm a believer!'

I'm a big fan of Elijah Craig 12 (although my latest bottle isn't up to par) so I figured it would be everything I love about the 12 YO with the benefit of extra age.

As it turned out, I discovered that a bourbon really can be overaged. It was way too woody, almost mossy. I've gone back again every now and then in the hopeful optimism that I might like it better, but I can't finish a glass.

What purchases didn't meet you're expectations?

Lately? Probably the Michter's US1 SB. Thin.

[Martian]

BT (dank). Weller 12 (harsh for a 12 yr). In oppositon to some comments here, I give Corner Creek a thumbs up.

[TNbourbon]

I would have to say my most disappointing purchase was the first release of William LaRue Weller. I've pretty much loved or liked every BTAC offering up to that point and the WLW was just something I could never get my tastebuds around.

I have the first bottle still opened. It's probably been over a year. I think I'll go back tonight and give it a go.

If nothing changed i'll need to ask Gary to give me some guidance as to what to mix this with to give me something a bit more enjoyable.

Same experience here with the '05 bottling, though the '06 was far superior. I 'enjoyed' the '05 almost exclusively 1:1:1 with Stagg and water. Pretty good, actually. And Stagg's pretty hard to drink very often neat, anyway.

[RedVette]

Jim Beam Small Batch. Great looking bottle. I saw it in a liquor store in Australia and thought I hit the Mother Lode. I had never seen it before so I assumed I found a dusty bottle of unobtainium. Only after I got back to the states did I notice the "Port Added" on the label. Holy Cow, this is an awful drink.

Low proof, young whiskey with Port. yuck.

[Caradog]

Corner Creek, should have poured it in the creek. But I remebered I really like to fish.

Oh yeah - these guys got me right around the Holidays - maybe it was the Pappy-shaped bottle, or the green glass.

Actually the back of the label starts, '"In the tradition of the great wine importers" which leads me to think they just stuck it in a wine bottle. It also says, "For Marvin and Sydney" - for Alvin is more like it. The Chipmunk.

Another one is Jefferson's - yikes. I was flush a while ago, and headed out to LeNell's, and threw this in with some others, maybe 'cause I'd visited Monticello. What was the taste - Iodine? Strychnine? I actually brought it back (!) with a busted cork floating in it, thinking maybe the taste was a production problem. LeNell took a swig and said, "Nah, that's Jefferson's." "Very Small Batch" - with good reason.

Between these two, I don't know if I'll ever buy another bottle from a distillery I can't find on a map...an exception and hat-over-heart for the Hirsch 16 still around from the old Michter's.

[NickAtMartinis]

It was called Kentucy ___________ XO. It was horrible. It tasted like they scraped in the inside of the barrel and put it in the bottle. It was some nasty stuff. I guess that's what happens when you go with a company that purchases its barrels from a distiller. I've learned from this, trust me.

[HighTower]

Jim Beam Small Batch. Great looking bottle. I saw it in a liquor store in Australia and thought I hit the Mother Lode. I had never seen it before so I assumed I found a dusty bottle of unobtainium. Only after I got back to the states did I notice the "Port Added" on the label. Holy Cow, this is an awful drink.

Low proof, young whiskey with Port. yuck.

Rob, I could have warned you off that crap. We lost Knob Creek and they gave us that shit instead. :hot:

More importantly, where were you in Aus and why didn't you call us??:grin:

I have real bourbon at my house!

P.S. You should have opted for the McKenna, which is Four Roses juice

Scott

[felthove]

Biggest disappointments for me were the times I dropped $50 for Blanton's and $50 for a Black Maple Hill Small Batch. Kept thinking about the other 2 bottles I could have picked up for $25 a piece. Don't regret the $50 for Bookers and Pappy 15, however.

[spun_cookie]

Both of the Woodsford Master's I got.... $100 a pop and they taste like a old penny.... :puke:

[Jazzhead]

Biggest disappointment I can remember was a Michter's Jug, that I found in the back room of a mom and pop on the White Horse Pike a year or so ago. They had several unopened cases of Michter's jugs, and I thought I had hit the mother lode! I bought one jug to sample, fully intending to bunker down a bunch. Lucky thing I tried one first, 'cuz it was flippin' vile. The ceramic jug was no doubt to blame, it was totally off and undrinkable. Musty is the best word to describe it.

I was actually fool enough to buy a second jug, thinking maybe I'd mishandled the cork. The second jug I treated with kid gloves, carefully extracting the ancient cork intact. I poured a glass with excitement, took a sip, and spat it out in horror. Musty, dusty, dank, awful.

I've had a terrible bottle of Dant BIB lately, but it was the nectar of the gods compared to that Michter's!

[Gillman]

That's really too bad. Having a tasted a number of those and other brands packaged the same way, I'm convinced that the porcelain or earthernware container is to blame. They were not designed to hold whiskey so long of course. I think their porosity allowed air in and it oxidised the whiskey. This is a risk with old (glass) bottles too, where air gets in through corks or loose closures. Still, once in a while you will get one that is good. It is the serendipity factor.

Gary

[smokinjoe]

Easy one for me. Old Whiskey River.

JOE

[birdman1099]

for me...

Wild Turkey Kentuckt Spirit.

[StraightBoston]

Jazzhead and Gary--

Combined, you hit my worst -- J.W. Dant in a milk glass decanter off of eBay. Tastes of basement more than bourbon.

(Saving grace was that I won with a bid of $1.99.)

Sorry to see all of the EC18-haters on this therad -- in spite of the sour finish it's one of my favorite pours. I wonder how much variation by barrel there is in this expression. I'm about to finish a bottle and I just picked up its replacement on sale ($24!) so we'll see...

[Old Lamplighter]

Of the 3 bottles of BT I have purchased, 2 were very disappointing and the 3rd wasn't far behind. I still have a half bottle of the last one and it is used strictly for mixing.

Someone in this thread described it as "dank". I would add "musty" to that very apt description. I know BT has heavy support herein......no offense intended, just my experience. All other BT products personally consumed have been most excellent and there are more than a few in my reserves.

[Tennessee Dave]

Hirsch 16 yo gold foil. To think I could have bought 4 Old Weller Antiques for this, geez!:hot:

[burbankbrewer]

A few months back I bought a bottle of JW Dant BiB to try. I think it must be a bad bottle, because it is absolutely vile. I've never tried any other JW Dant than this bottle, too afraid.

I just bought a bottle of ORVW 90. When I got to the checkout the cashier saw the cap was split at the top and some even leaked out. I didn't even notice it till he said something. It must have been in back. From now on I will carefully inspect the caps or corks.

[Sycamore Tree]

Woodford, Basil Hayden's and Bulliet are certainly the bottom three of the 60 or so bourbons and ryes I own and the hundred others I've had. I'd rather have Old Crow.

Totally agree on Basil Hayden's -just bad and didn't try to figure out why I didn't like it, I would take Evan williams or Ezra over it any day. After buying it, I find it funny when bartenders say: we got Basil Hayden's--like it is good or something

Same exactly with Woodford. I was expecting a lot more and wound up very bummed. for such a fancy looking bottle and name I was thinking why does it taste much simpler, flat and muted compared to an Old Charter?

OTOH, I like Bulleit. The taste notes aren't what I would spec out per se, however it goes down easy and has a unique taste that I found appealing.

[Frodo]

Sorry to see all of the EC18-haters on this therad -- in spite of the sour finish it's one of my favorite pours. I wonder how much variation by barrel there is in this expression. I'm about to finish a bottle and I just picked up its replacement on sale ($24!) so we'll see...

I've only had one bottle of the EC18 but it was unlike any bourbon I've ever had. VERY dry. I like dry, but I can see why some bourbon enthusiasts may not take to it. It is different...

[Slob]

I'd have to go with Bulleit, as well. I can't say I didn't like it, but I definitely expected more. I forget what I paid for it, but I remember wishing I had just bought another bottle of Maker's instead.

[OscarV]

I'd have to go with Bulleit, as well. I can't say I didn't like it, but I definitely expected more. I forget what I paid for it, but I remember wishing I had just bought another bottle of Maker's instead.

Well, yeah, OK,...I can see that.

But Builleit is a local thing, as far as the mid point between West-Central KY and Mid-Central KY, Builleit is an OK Bourbon not only for Friday Nights but for the rest of the week to.

[gr8erdane]

Thinking WAY back as I've been pretty lucky on purchases in the past few years:

I bought a bottle of Johnny Drum 15yr old that I think is corked. Drew has offered to replace it for me but I keep forgetting to bring it to Bardstown...

Then there was my first Woodford Reserve. It was from one of the batches much discussed as disappointing in an old thread. The next one was MUCH better. And yes, I drank all the bad one thinking of all the sober children in Africa...

Most recently I bought a dusty Seelbach Decanter of Ezra Brooks that tastes more of rum than whiskey but not bad for rum...still....

[cowdery]

An office chair I paid $700 for. The one I have now is just as good and I paid $100 for it.

Oh, you mean whiskey. McCormick Straight Bourbon Whiskey. The plastic bottle should have been the tip-off.

[Everman75]

I know this will irk some people, but here goes...Very Old Barton 100. Nasty! Tasted like rubbing alcohol with a drop of maple syrup. What was so disapointing about it is that it gets great reviews. I would understand if I bought a 750ml bottle of "Big Al's Bourbon Whiskey" for $6.99.

Just not my thing I guess.

[ILLfarmboy]

I'm not really sure if this counts but in the late winter of '92 or maybe it was '93 I purchased 50% ownership in a fifth of Black Velvet. It was about 2 AM. and the bars had just closed. We, that would be, the girl I had eyes for and a friend along with his girlfriend were all headed to my buddies apartment. We stopped at a convenience store to pick up more booze. I was low on cash and my friend's girlfriend Peggy drank Black Velvet & Coke, so Peggy and I, decided to split the cost of a fifth.

I tried in neat at first but quickly decided to drown it in pop. That incident is the primary reason I haven't explored Canadian whiskey much beyond CR.