The Last 900 Bottles of Hirsh 16 Yr

[VERITAS]

This was just posted on John Hansell's blog....

Hirsch bourbon, which is the last formal bottling of bourbon from the old Michter’s Distillery in Schaefferstown, PA, is going out with a bang. Henry Preiss of Preiss Imports (the owner and distributor of the last remaining bottles) told me this yesterday:

I am taking the last 900 plus bottles of export package A.H. Hirsch 16 yr. old in 700ml bottles and dumping them back into stainless. We ordered and now have on hand from France 1000 hand blow old fashioned glass bottles, custom made t-top corks, a custom made Cigar humidor (arriving late July early August). We will create an old fashioned scroll and then combine all the components the Hirsch rebottled into these great hand blown bottles in a Custom Cigar Humidor Gift Pack. Each one will have a unique number and be a slice of American History to put away or enjoy. The price will be approx $1,000 - $1,500 each depending on all our final costs for the project.

The Hirsch 16 yr. old bourbon is a fantastic whiskey from a distillery with a lot of history. Yes, this is a lot of money for a bourbon, but it will help to give Michter’s the honor and respect it deserves.

Henry also has a couple of other whiskeys up his sleeve, including 25 and 28 year old bourbons he’s soon going to release. (250 cases of each.)

I can't imagine many people wanting to drop $1,000+ for a bottle of the gold foil no matter what comes with it... But perhaps since its the last of the Michter's line who knows!

Would anyone here consider getting a bottle?

[cigarnv]

I suspect the last of the foils will begin disappearing from the shelves even at current pricing.....

[spun_cookie]

I would not. I have the gold foil and it is good, but not worth what I paid.

[ACDetroit]

I agree with E! I've picked up Gold Foil Hirsch for less than $100 and it might not even be worth that. I can honestly say if they feel the packaging makes this a $1000 bottle they're nuts.

I have not run into the $1000 bottle of bourbon and I hope I never do!

I think they shouold have ended the quote more like this!!!

"I am taking the last 900 plus bottles of export package A.H. Hirsch 16 yr. old in 700ml bottles and dumping them!"

AC

[spun_cookie]

I agree with E! I've picked up Gold Foil Hirsch for less than $100 and it might not even be worth that. I can honestly say if they feel the packaging makes this a $1000 bottle they're nuts.

I have not run into the $1000 bottle of bourbon and I hope I never do!

I think they shouold have ended the quote more like this!!!

"I am taking the last 900 plus bottles of export package A.H. Hirsch 16 yr. old in 700ml bottles and dumping them!"

AC

They could add in a 6-pack of Coke Zero (bottles of course) and bump it up to $2K

[MikeK]

I wonder how many liquor stores are going to want to front the $$ to have a 'shelf queen' for the next x years. Not too many I would think.

Great, some good and interesting whiskey doomed to sit in a warehouse, liquor store shelf or some rich collectors shelf forever.

I have nothing the least bit kind to say about this move......

[TNbourbon]

Mr. Preiss has made no secret of his intention all along to milk these bottles and this whiskey -- he's deliberately held warehouse stock so that he could eke it out over time at ever-higher prices. That's why we can still find it anywhere from c. $70 to $200 at retail -- different retailers bought it at different times at different prices.

He's made it work for him, so more power to him. I've had my bottles and, though I might wish I now had some more to plunder collectors with, I'm perfectly willing to let the better-heeled get fleeced now.

But, don't underestimate a mention from John Hansell, who's known and well-regarded in whiskey circles. There are many multiples more than 1,000 that read his magazine and can afford to drop that kind of money without a second thought. I'd expect a sell-out.

[gothbat]

Absolutely not. I thought the bottles they were using sounded cool and actually considered picking up another bottle of this, imo, decent at best bourbon to give it another try but once I got to the humidor part and then to the price I thought to myself "no way in hell!". That's like 13 bottles of one of my expensive favorites. I'm no expert and I don't really have much to base this on but I wouldn't be surprised if this screws up the pricing of premium bottles in the near future, all it takes is one person with the balls to ask a price like that...

Despite all the talk here about how they're usually not very good at those old ages I am *very* interested in these 25 and 28 year old bourbons that are mentioned. I'll definitely buy them if they are at least somewhat reasonably priced but somehow I don't think they will be.

[bluesbassdad]

The Hirsch 16 y/o gold-foil bottling is like Willie Mays at the end of his career, when he was unable to reach routine fly balls and even fell down while batting. A magnificent legacy becomes ever more tarnished the longer a star sticks around after his peak. This bourbon is no different.

I think I still have an unopened bottle of this now-over-rated bourbon. IIRC, I paid only $45 for it, and it was over-priced at that -- a faint echo of the symphony of flavor in the gold wax version. Maybe I'll FedEx it to the Gazebo during KBF, and y'all can toast Mr. Preiss's business acumen. It would be an insult to toast the Michter's legacy.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[Virus_Of_Life]

The Hirsch 16 y/o gold-foil bottling is like Willie Mays at the end of his career, when he was unable to reach routine fly balls and even fell down while batting. A magnificent legacy becomes ever more tarnished the longer a star sticks around after his peak. This bourbon is no different.

I think I still have an unopened bottle of this now-over-rated bourbon. IIRC, I paid only $45 for it, and it was over-priced at that -- a faint echo of the symphony of flavor in the gold wax version. Maybe I'll FedEx it to the Gazebo during KBF, and y'all can toast Mr. Preiss's business acumen. It would be an insult to toast the Michter's legacy.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

Well said Dave!

Needless to say I am with the rest. Ship that crap back to wherever those 700ml bottles came from to begin with. Maybe the Japanese will buy it...

[Gillman]

Although I am known (I think) for looking on the bright side, I truly believe it is possible that re-tanking the whiskey may bring it into a new and improved state. The further exposure to air and effects of the mingling (or re-mingling) should, in other words, result in improvement. That said, I won't be looking to buy this package since I feel I have shot my bolt with Hirsch 16. I've had the blue wax (couple of times), and the gold and foil, many times. I've had my day with it.

Gary

[cigarnv]

I would not. I have the gold foil and it is good, but not worth what I paid.

I think the quality of the bourbon in the bottle may at the end of the day have little to do with what people will pay for it should they think it will be no more. For years I have watched people pay significant amounts for wine because it is old and rare, not because it is good, or at worst even drinkable. JMO..

[Gillman]

Dave, that is a generous suggestion, but I still hold out hope that you will visit a Gazebo some day.

Gary

[NorCalBoozer]

wow i've got a nice stash of the gold foil that I paid $49.99 each for.

I have to say, over the last five years, my bourbon "investment" has easily been my best performing asset.

[camduncan]

Not a chance i'd drop $1000 on a bottle of this. My experience with Hirsch has been too inconsistent to risk that sort of money to say the least.

The 16yo Hirsch available in Australia that Scott (Hightower) and I sampled at his house one night last year was horrid at worst and ordinary at best. We backed this up a few months later by sampling a bottle from the same batch at a local bar, and again, we both had the same opinion.

However to completely throw this opinion, the Hirsch 16 I tried whilst dining at Olives at the Bellagio in Vegas was some of the nicest bourbon I've ever tried.

So at the moment, I'm tempted to drop the asking price of $165 for a bottle or two of the (ordinary) Hirsch available here, just to have a piece of history, but even that's a stretch. $1000 to run the same risk - no way.

[barturtle]

For a grand, I've got a bottle of the gold wax 16yo...hell I'll even go find a nice decanter at Big Lots to toss into the deal...sorry I'm fresh out of humidors...

[HighTower]

The Hirsch 16 y/o gold-foil bottling is like Willie Mays at the end of his career, when he was unable to reach routine fly balls and even fell down while batting. A magnificent legacy becomes ever more tarnished the longer a star sticks around after his peak. This bourbon is no different.

Well said Dave, but echoing Cam's sentiments on the bottles I have tried in Australia, I would say it's more like Diego Maradona after he started substituting sugar with cocaine on his breakfast cereal every day.

As I was reading the first post in regards to the bottle etc...I was thinking that sounds like a nice piece of..."HOW MUCH?!?!?!?!"

No thanks.

Scott

[B1bomber]

I find it fascinating how many people here bash the Hirsch 16 gold foil. I consider it the finest bourbon I've ever had the pleasure of tasting. I do have the blue wax and even the Hirsch 20 red wax in my collection but have yet to sample them. I suppose either, or both, of them could be superior to the gold foil but as yet it remains my personal reigning champion of bourbons. Maybe I'm misguided, but I find the nose, the taste, and in particular, the finish to be superior to anything I've tried yet-- and I've tried many (my wallet and my wife would sadly attest to this.)

All that said, I wouldn't even consider dropping $1,000 for a single bottle. I'd rather spend that on about 20 bottles of my second favorite (which is Vintage 17).

[Gillman]

No question it's a nice whiskey, in fact very nice and representing a good example of well-aged, dryish bourbon. It also shows the character of the Michter's still IMO, that spearmint-like note. I am glad I have upwards of a bottle left. Still, I feel the earlier bottlings were better and also, I think some people are looking at the price aspect as well since even the current bottling seems to command now over $100 if you can find it. I'd be interested in your own comparison if you decide to open the Blue Wax. I think you will probably find they are all very good and will enjoy the differences they exhibit one to the other.

Gary

[B1bomber]

I can't disagree, the pricing has gotten out of hand. A store in Tewksbury, NJ, carries the gold foil version for a whopping $264/bottle now. Seems like it climbs by $50 everytime I go in there. Thankfully I've got several bottles stored in my basement and once they're gone that'll be it for me. No way would I ever pay that much.

Someday I'll get around to actually opening the other Hirsch versions and make the comparison. But until then, the Hirsch 16 gold foil remains my fave, price not factored.

[spun_cookie]

Had the Gilmans Hirsch gold tonight and it was terrible. Nothing like the one I have or the one I had at teh Bourbon Bistro. Undrickable. I actually poured it out intio the sink...

The one I have at home is great!!!!.... theirs taste like ass!

[Gillman]

I think you are referring to my comments in this thread to the gold foil version of Hirsch bourbon. I just tried this again (I don't have any other version left, just the gold foil, part of one bottle). It is a dry whisky, not as full in taste as the earlier bottlings IMO. It's still pretty good though, but for the current price, it will have to be a personal decision..

Gary

[AVB]

My problem with the blue wax version is that I opened it and finished it years ago and now don't have any more. If someone has a stash and is looking for a few bucks and a primo cigar or two I'm open to negotiation

[Vange]

There is no doubt the Hirsch 16 is a great bourbon be it wax top or foil top. Is it worth $100+?? Not when what I think is a better bourbon in Pappy 20 can be had for sub $100. I have 18 of the gold foil Hirsch in my bunker. The first case (12) I bought for a total of $650! Then my other 6 I purchased for $380. I am glad I pulled the trigger when I did. I dont think I will be buying anymore of it unless I stumble upon a great deal.

[cowdery]

One way of looking at this is that, as a participant in Straight Bourbon, we knew all about Hirsch back when it was affordable and had ample opportunities to try it and draw our own conclusions. We can face the $1,500 special edition with a smug, "I had it when it was $50."

I'm pretty much over the whole Michter's/Hirsch thing. Been there, done that. It's so 20th century.