Communist Control States!! (& a question)

[MurphyDawg]

so i finally went to the state store, fo the first time since joining this forum (to buy beer 4 a get together this weekend) and now i can tell you definitively what a wasteland this control state is. They had 22 bottlings of scotch (in freakin' boonytown ohio!!!) but just 10 of straight american whiskey, and the only ones they sold in larger than 750, were jim white & jack black (I am so jealous ol Linn and his 1.75L Knob creek's)

anyway i had a question about some of the cheaper offerings cause its pretty much all thats available to me on a regular basis.

i hear a lot about Old Forester 100 on this forum, but is the 86proof offering any good??(i was really close to buying it, but their credit card machine was out and i was low on $$$)

the other two "bottom shelf" offerings wereOld Grand Dad and Heavin Hill, any Comments???

(they also sold Evan Williams 7 for like $8.50, but I know I like that already).

TomC

[bobbyc]

If you can tolerate the Jim Beam White you may be able to handle the Heaven Hill. Its not regarded very highly on this forum by some . I used to guzzle the 100 proof bottled in bond stuff of theirs in my younger days and didn't mind it. They really shine with the Evan Williams and Elijah Craig bottlings. The Old Granddad makes about the best Manhattan you'll ever drink ,it also is supposed to have the highest rye content for a Bourbon. The Regans in their book "The Complete Book Of Bourbon" say that the Old Forester 100 Proof is the way whiskey was in 1870. If you care to believe them . There are other critical remarks about them in this forum ,and as I recall some name calling of some of our members . Why can't we all just get along? I don't intend to hack the Regans, their book if you haven't read it is something you should read at some point. Some of the things they write appears to me to be the same thing that the distilleries would write themselves. Promoting the party line as it were. I don't know as much about all this as I would like . You will find very shortly as I have that" Whiskey Mythology " is hard to sort through. The 86 Old Forester is fine as far as I am concerned. It is from this lot that the Woodford Reserve is hand picked and aged further.

Bobby Cox

[cowdery]

Especially considering your limited number of choices, Old Grand-Dad, Heaven Hill and Old Forester are all worth buying until you can make a road trip to civilization, i.e., Kentucky.

My dad, who still lives in Ohio, doesn't drink much but he does like rye, so I took him a bottle of the Van Winkle Family Reserve. We tapped into it and that reminded me how good it is, so now I have to go get a bottle for myself.

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

[RyanStotz]

The more I have of each the more I actually prefer the Old Forester 86 to the BIB. The BIB is a really good bourbon, if a standard vanilla/oak/spice one. The 86 is something of an outlier because of that weird floral nose and the way it tastes nothing at all like it smells. Not that being different necessarily makes a bourbon better, but given that Woodford Reserve beats OF BIB at its own game for not that much more money, I'd go with the 86 proof.

Stotz

[ratcheer]

Not that much more money? Here in ABC-Alabama, OF 100 is $15.49 and WR is $32. In my book, that is more than double. I *love* WR, but I usually buy OF 100 because of the price differential.

It must be different where you live.

[MurphyDawg]

just to kinda agree, OF 86 is $9.50 and WR is $29.85, so Forrester is a much easeir sell to my wife on our shrinking budget.

TomC

[RyanStotz]

Yow! Uh, yes, it is quite different where I live. In New Orleans OF BIB goes for around $16 and WR is around $22. Used to have liter bottles of WR for $25, too. Very, very stupid of me to not stock up on those, even if I actually prefer the OF BIB since it's not so overwhelmingly vanilla flavored.

Since control states obviously buy in extremely large quantities and thus presumably get a hefty discount, it's irritating to see instances when they don't pass on the savings to a captive buying public just because they hold the monopoly on liquor.

Stotz

[ratcheer]

I guess I need to come down to the Big Easy to stock up on Woodford.

And, with the premium WR so cheap, there, why on earth is the standard OF 100 so expensive? Competition should help all of your prices. My guess: they probably sell a lot more of the WR (especially with those prices!).

Tim

[MurphyDawg]

They have that book at the local library, I have read most of it before. I took it out again today and while i was skimming through it I noticed that they did seem to try to put a positive spin on everything. . . . . .It was a good read I just wish they would stand behind their opinions a little stronger.

Tom C

[RyanStotz]

Coming over here to stock up isn't a bad idea. When I first vacationed here a couple years ago I was so shocked at prices compared to my then home state (Oregon, a control state) that I ended up taking home about 40 bottles, which thrilled airline security, let me tell you. If you do make it over here, feel free to stop by my place for a drink. I think I have some bourbon sitting around here somewhere.

As for the price of OF BIB, you got me. Generally liquor, wine and beer prices here are excellent, but there are a few exceptions. OF BIB is one, Ardbeg 10 YO is another, and the better rums tend to be quite expensive across the board. Distribution down here is erratic in both availability and wholesale price (and legality, but that's another dozen or so stories), which mitigates the price benefits of competition somewhat. WR does sell very well down here, but so does OF, so, as I said, you got me as to why it's so expensive.

Stotz

[cowdery]

If you think the Regans are bad, i.e., fawning, you should read Mark Waymack and James Harris's book.

(In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention the Regans are personal friends of mine. I don't know Waymack and Harris.)

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

[MurphyDawg]

I really dont think they are fawning as much as they really have a positive tone to the book and they really try to keep the tone throughout, it just seems a little incongruent at times. On the other hand it did make for great reading through the history part of the book toward the beginning. Normally that stuff would put me to sleep but that part wound up being a real page turner.

BTW, I must admit its kinda kewl that I can interact and ask thing directly to people that the Regans thank for helping them become enlightened in their book (i recognized Chuck's and Mike Veach's name in their acknowledgements). It makes me feel like I can get the real deal on this stuff.

Tom (Just a lil' "Star Struck" myself. . . ) C

[bobbyc]

One of my treasures is a copy of Bluegrass, Belles, and Bourbon. It was written by Harry Harrison Kroll in the mid 60's. Mike Veach told me briefly at last years Bourbon Festival that there are errors in it. But it's still a fine book. There's a copy in our library here , but I managed to purchase a copy in "good" condition.

Bobby Cox