Antique Collection - What to buy/not to buy?

[JRomain]

Howdy gang.

Who here has tasted the entire 2007 AC? Are there any duds from this release ('05 WLW comes to mind), and are there any real gems (of course there are!)?

I bought some '07 Handy last week, and can't say I'm disappointed. I still have some '06 Stagg and I guess am basically wondering what should be my next purchase.

Money's tight or else I would buy and try them all for myself.

Cheers!

Jeff

[BourbonJoe]

I tasted the entire 2007 BTAC at the Philadelphia Whiskeyfest. There ain't a bummer in the bunch, so to speak. I liked them all, including the ER-17.

What have I purchased? Everything except the ER-17.

Joe :usflag:

[NickAtMartinis]

Howdy gang.

Who here has tasted the entire 2007 AC? Are there any duds from this release ('05 WLW comes to mind), and are there any real gems (of course there are!)?

I bought some '07 Handy last week, and can't say I'm disappointed. I still have some '06 Stagg and I guess am basically wondering what should be my next purchase.

Money's tight or else I would buy and try them all for myself.

Cheers!

Jeff

Here's the order in which I would put them, from best to worst:

Stagg

ER

Saz

WLW

It's all a matter of own individual tastes, but for me I thought the WLW was the weakest of the bunch. I'm a big Weller Antique fan and I'd rather save the $35+ and buy the Weller Antique 107 instead. But, again, I hate to sway you in one direction or another.

As far as my top two are concerned, the Stagg and ER are very close, more like 1A and 1B.

[ACDetroit]

I would agree with Mark. I did sip on some Handy, night before last and it to was Stellar!

If I was adding one or two bottles I'd get a Stagg you can never go wrong with that. Then I'd flip a coin for the ER 17 yr. or some Saz 18 yr., if the Saz is hard to find in CO go with the ER.

Good luck and happy shopping!

Tony

[Phischy]

(FURTHER ADVENTURES OF THE USS PHISCHY)

PING!

Sonar: "Captain! We've got a return ping! BTAC Fleet is spotted in Colorado!"

Captain E: "Great Sonar...if you can't remember we're a submarine. Denver is 5,000 ft ABOVE sealevel. AS this sub has neither wheels nor wings I'm not going to make the raiding party walk 1,800 miles. Unless you're volunteering...."

Sonar: "Aye aye sir, But no...that's a bit far."

Captain E: "Keep up the search, the fleet seems to be moving further west. We'll get them eventually."

(STAY TUNED....)

[snakster]

(FURTHER ADVENTURES OF THE USS PHISCHY)

PING!

Sonar: "Captain! We've got a return ping! BTAC Fleet is spotted in Colorado!"

Captain E: "Great Sonar...if you can't remember we're a submarine. Denver is 5,000 ft ABOVE sealevel. AS this sub has neither wheels nor wings I'm not going to make the raiding party walk 1,800 miles. Unless you're volunteering...."

Sonar: "Aye aye sir, But no...that's a bit far."

Captain E: "Keep up the search, the fleet seems to be moving further west. We'll get them eventually."

(STAY TUNED....)

Now THAT'S entertainment.

I have only tasted the GTS and the WLW so far. Nod goes to the GTS. I have the Saz 18 unopened (probably crack this weekend). Have not purchased the ER or Handy to date.

[Phischy]

I'm easily bored, and I have an active imagination. And I'm a pirate...garrrr.

[NickAtMartinis]

(FURTHER ADVENTURES OF THE USS PHISCHY)

PING!

Sonar: "Captain! We've got a return ping! BTAC Fleet is spotted in Colorado!"

Captain E: "Great Sonar...if you can't remember we're a submarine. Denver is 5,000 ft ABOVE sealevel. AS this sub has neither wheels nor wings I'm not going to make the raiding party walk 1,800 miles. Unless you're volunteering...."

Sonar: "Aye aye sir, But no...that's a bit far."

Captain E: "Keep up the search, the fleet seems to be moving further west. We'll get them eventually."

(STAY TUNED....)

:slappin:

Keep your ear to the ground, err, water that is.:grin:

[heatmiser]

Talked with Trayce at Hi-Times yesterday and he said the ETA for the BTAC collection is a week from today. 'Bout time it makes its way out west!!!

[Phischy]

Comms: "Captain! Just got word from C.O.M.P.A.C. SUB ALLIANCE BBQ HQ! They're reporting that the BTAC is westbound...a week out!"

Captain E: "Excellent Mister Jones. Put me on the squawk box."

"ATTENTION ALL HANDS. THIS IS THE CAPTAIN SPEAKING. AT LONG LAST THE BTAC FLEET IS NEARING OUR GRASP. SHARPEN YOUR SWORDS AND KNIVES, RIG THE BOAT TO TAKE ON CARGO. DOUBLE RATIONS AND DOUBLE GROG TO GET THIS TUB SHIPSHAPE! SOON BOYS, SOON!"

Captain E: "Mechanics: make sure all the batteries are working. Weapons: run a check list against all grapples, the deck gun and make sure we've got fish in the tubes. If we can't take her, we'll make sure no one else does. Sonar: keep your ears open lest there been anyone in our wake trying to snake our bounty! Navagator: plot an intercept course, get us into a position a day out to get the jump on 'em!"

*Crew of the USS Phischy is working double time, a scrambling of activity. Sparks fly from a grinder, the low glow of a welding torch in the back ground, weapons crews ready the boat for action and the old man calmly sews a patch on old Davy Jones*

(STAY TUNED! WILL THE USS PHISCHY AQUIRE ITS BOUNTY? WILL THE CAPTAIN GO MAD? TUNE IN NEXT WEEK!)

[Everman75]

BTAC:

I'm going to get either the Stagg or the Weller. Sounds like you guys are prefering Stagg over the Weller. Is this correct? Any one else wanna sound off? Cause I'm going to get one of them tomorrow.:grin:

BTW...I have never tried any of the BTAC's.

[Pharaoh]

Don't fire a torpedo just yet Phischy, fwiw, my sources tell me the California allocation kicks in today.

[Rughi]

(STAY TUNED! WILL THE USS PHISCHY AQUIRE ITS BOUNTY? WILL THE CAPTAIN GO MAD? TUNE IN NEXT WEEK!)

Phischy - Go buy those BTACs!!!!!

All except Handy available TODAY at a Bevmo - and hopefully a liquor store near you. Ken clued me in that their website has a real-time inventory for each store. You can purchase online and pick it up.

I don't want to hype Bevmo over independents, they're not perfect and try to monopolize goods from other retailers, but their online inventory is pretty, errr, Handy.

Roger

[polyamnesia]

ok.......it's almost 8pm

the store closest to me has 6 units (according to the PLCB site) of new STAGG on hand...

do i run out NOW NOW NOW and grab one of those $53.99 bottles?

or am i safe waiting until sunday...........:grin:

since they are within reach, i am psyched...but is it really REALLY really

worth the price?

i know, i know....it is IS is

[kpendle]

I picked up some at BevMo today. And they do have the Handy although I was unable to find it in their Web Storefront. They don't even have them locked away. Just proud soldiers all lined up on the shelf and ready for battle.

I will add based on what they had listed for quantities online and what was in the store the WLW and Handy are probably the ones there are the least of. I believe another post also referenced there was not as much of the WLW. They had twice as many Sazerac as Handy and WLW. And 3-4 times the quanities for ER17 and Stagg. But the Qty listed for Stagg has decreased by half since I first looked from 24 to 12 at the online virtual store. So they are going fast.

A tip for those of you who do occasionally purchase from BevMo they do seem to favor certain stores and not all will get the limited bottlings. And as others I believe have pointed out in the past their online inventory listings for each store are not perfect. Sometimes ahead or behind. The ahead being sometimes they are listed before they actually make it to the shelf. And store employees usually can't locate them. That happened to me today so I ended up having to go a little further to get them after they called and let me know they could not find it.

Watching my budget closely I only got WLW, Stagg, and the Handy. I have not been impressed enough with the ER17 to justify the price and the Sazerac will have to wait since I recently picked up some Van Winkle Rye.

Oh, and one side note I stopped at a couple places on the way to pickup the BTAC bottles and did find a Kentucky Spirit Pewter top bottled in 2000 for $29.99. Too good to pass up so it came home with me also.

I will agree with Roger in I prefer to deal with a particular independent store over BevMo. But my normal store still has previous issues of WLW, Stagg, and ER17 so I am not certain when and if they will be getting any of the 2007 issues.

Ken

[TNbourbon]

Buy the barrel-proofs. Unless they are significantly cheaper, the Saz 18 and ER17 are poorer values, relatively. Frankly, the Saz is likely to be the highest of the five. Ignore the previous, of course, if you're planning to sell them on eBay and alienate the rest of us.

[polyamnesia]

i am seeing a few Staggs on ebay, says 144 proof (so that's the latest, right?) and already going for $60+ and more on another that sold last night. someone in Kentucky.

[darkluna]

My interests are in the barrel proof versions, with Handy leading the pack. I'm nursing a 2006 bottle while I wait for the new bottles to arrive. I hope the 2007 is as good as last years! Any thoughts from those who have tasted it??

[Phischy]

Make sure you check the labels/proofs. Just b/c a store just got it in doesn't mean it's an '07. I bought '07 Stagg/Handy/Saz/ER and the ER17 label says Fall '06. I kept it anyway since I only have 1 bottle bunkered...now I can do side by side tastings!

Larue Weller is by far the shortest in supply, my Bevmo didn't get it in, but there are others...some only recieved 3 bottles if any. My Bevmo guy rocks...while he can't do anything about people buying it online, he did not shelve any of the BTAC until I came to pick some up! Gotta love that!

I really like the Saz...Drinking any of the barrel proofs is just a bit too strong so I'm learning to cut them down a bit. It seems the alcohol in Handy/Stagg 'flashes' off the tongue. Interesting expierence!

[NickAtMartinis]

My interests are in the barrel proof versions, with Handy leading the pack. I'm nursing a 2006 bottle while I wait for the new bottles to arrive. I hope the 2007 is as good as last years! Any thoughts from those who have tasted it??

I've learned with the new '07 BTAC that barrel proof is not the be all, end all. What I've found with the Stagg is at 144+ proof, it has a tendency to numb my tongue. Granted, there's a bunch of flavor at barrel proof but what good is it when you lose half your tastebuds after the first few sips?

So, what I decided to do last night, after having lost 5,000 tastebuds, was water down the Stagg to around 120 proof. By deluting the bouron, I was able to keep my remaining tastebuds and, at the same time, maintain the integrity of the flavor.

By the way, I've had no problem with the '07 WLW. My tastebuds remain intact throughout.

[jburlowski]

I've learned with the new '07 BTAC that barrel proof is not the be all, end all. What I've found with the Stagg is at 144+ proof, it has a tendency to numb my tongue. Granted, there's a bunch of flavor at barrel proof but what good is it when you lose half your tastebuds after the first few sips?

So, what I decided to do last night, after having lost 5,000 tastebuds, was water down the Stagg to around 120 proof. By deluting the bouron, I was able to keep my remaining tastebuds and, at the same time, maintain the integrity of the flavor.

By the way, I've had no problem with the '07 WLW. My tastebuds remain intact throughout.

Anyone (IMHO) who drinks the new GTS straight is trying to compensate for something... 144 proof will pickle anyone's taste buds to the point where they cannot distinguish much of anything. Dilute it down to a more reasonable proof (you decide) and enjoy all the richness and complexity that it has to offer...

[NickAtMartinis]

Anyone (IMHO) who drinks the new GTS straight is trying to compensate for something... 144 proof will pickle anyone's taste buds to the point where they cannot distinguish much of anything. Dilute it down to a more reasonable proof (you decide) and enjoy all the richness and complexity that it has to offer...

Much agreed. The strange thing is that I don't remember having a problem with last year's Stagg. Not that I thought I was a big man for drinking it at that high of proof but my reasoning for doing so was the enriched flavor.

[OscarV]

I just calculated an easy cut to remember for this year's Stagg.

A half ounce of water and 2 ounces of Stagg, you'll get a 115.84 proof Stagg.

[polyamnesia]

glad to hear that there IS a numbing of the tastebuds...though it was "painless" i did lose a taste edge. and the next pour was like eating chocolate with the wrapper still intact....metaphorically, that is!

will dilute accordingly this weekend.

[Grain Brain]

My interests are in the barrel proof versions, with Handy leading the pack. I'm nursing a 2006 bottle while I wait for the new bottles to arrive. I hope the 2007 is as good as last years! Any thoughts from those who have tasted it??

It is beyond fantastic. I have only had the Saz 18 and the Handy so far this year, and the Handy is just killer. I tried it neat with the intention of adding water after tasting it full strength, but it was so smooth that I finished the sample without adding water no problem. It is super rich, full bodied and has a greatly balanced spiciness. Definitely a rye fiend's wet dream.