I.W. Harper?

[B1bomber]

Came across a very dusty bottle of 15 year old I.W. Harper yesterday in a store in north Jersey. Never seen it before and doing a little Googling I see now that it's no longer available. Anyone familiar with this bottle? It's pictured here (where it's also pretty badly slammed by a couple reviewers)....

http://www.bourbonenthusiast.com/forum/DBvd.php?id=208&task=displaybottling

[scratchline]

Run a search on this site and you'll pull up a bunch of info. My personal feeling is that it's over-priced for what it is.

-Mike

[B1bomber]

Yeah, I did that. But I couldn't find info on when it became extinct or why it did.

[smokinjoe]

As I recall, this one is a yawner. I may try it again tonight, but it's been pushed way to the end of my bench. Of the 5 whiskies in the Bourbon Heritage Collection, I have found this to be the weakest of the lot. Plus, the bottles typically go in the mid $30 range. Too much, if you plan on drinking it, IMO. But, since it does carry the BHC, it may have trade value to someone, if you're into that kind of thing.

Cheers!

JOE

[scratchline]

Supposedly it was too tannic at 15 yrs. so had to be diluted to 80 proof to render it drinkable. I found that left it too thin. This is after one tasting at a bar in Nevada. I have a bottle bunkered but have passed on bottles I have seen since. I enjoy the extinct 80 proof Gold Medal and pick up any of the bonded I come across. IMO, these are more interesting pours.

-Mike

[ACDetroit]

This is a great night starter whiskey! If you drink this at the end of the night it will have no value as the Palate will not pick up the light flavors this one has to offer! If you search: I.W. Harper or BHC or Bourbon Heritage Collection you'll find it. If you looking to sell it's still around if you're hunting I see it in Detroit in the mid $30's.

15yr old 80 proof is just a bit week! If you know someone missing it from their BHC it's a nice gift!

Tony (find it on eBay) Curtis

[B1bomber]

Thanks for all the input. I'll probably pass it along to a friend of mine who's a collector.

[mozilla]

What was the price on the Harper, B1?

[B1bomber]

$59, which by all accounts, seems pretty high in hindsight.

[mozilla]

That is more like highway robbery. The most I would offer for that bottle is $32-35, which is what it seems to go for, here. If you see an OF12/90 jump of that in the same price range.

[Jazzhead]

Harper Gold Medal and the older BHC variant are regular pours of mine. No longer around, but I had bunkered a number of each and they always seem to hit the spot. I don't have a BHC open but I'm nipping from a Gold Medal as I write this. I can't think of an 80 proofer I enjoy more. Balanced, with notes of both citrus and fruit. I'm a rank amateur when it comes to tasting notes, but the label gets it right - it's "Always a pleasure".

[cowdery]

Agreed, probably too pricy at $59, but if you like to have things you probably won't see again, that would be a good one to get. It's like, it's not that great, but it's rare enough that you should go buy it immediately.

I don't know when the last of that was made, but 1999 wouldn't be a bad guess. That's when Diageo lost interest in the collection. Maybe it was earlier.

[Jazzhead]

$59 is definitely too high; I may have paid thirty bucks or so at most for the BHC variant. I've tried the BHC and the regular Gold Medal back to back, and they really aren't that much different. Which leads me to believe the Gold Medal is a lot older than the four years listed on the label. (The bottle I'm nipping from tonight (yes, I'm drinking from a proper glass) has an " 84" which may indicate the date, and was purchased near Penns Grove, NJ (Bruce Willis' old crib) about a year ago.)