Rebel Yell change?

[mozilla]

Stopped by to see some of my old bourbon slinging brothers from my days at a liquor store and noticed something that I have not seen too many times.

Was helping a customer make a wise bourbon selection....when I noticed how odd looking these two bottles of RY were. The 750 was so light....almost colorless. The liter next to it was...let's say normal...you know normal for RY, which is a little light.

I was blown away by the color difference between them. Checked the dates and the lightest one was 08, while the normal was 06. Same labels on both bottles...the one with two little circles on a label of tan.

I know that RY is not thought of well, but has anyone else noticed this? It really looked like colored water. Maybe they had some issues with the filtration system stripping out too much of the color? Any thoughts?

[fishnbowljoe]

No thoughts, but I have a couple of 750's and noticed they seemed a little light. For a less expensive whiskey, the stuff ain't too bad. I bought a bottle a while back just because Rebel Yell and/or Yellowstone was my first bourbon, and also the first bourbons I dot drunk on. (approximately 35/36 years ago) Would buy RY again but not Yellowstone. Joe

[JeffRenner]

I was blown away by the color difference between them. Checked the dates and the lightest one was 08, while the normal was 06. Same labels on both bottles...the one with two little circles on a label of tan. ... Any thoughts?

That kind of thing happened to Old Crow back in the late nineties, when JB (which had acquired OC earlier in the decade) switched from four-year-old to three. It was only noticeable in the fine print on the back label.

(I thought the 4-y-o JB OC was a beautiful, balanced, delicate little bourbon and mourn its demise. Nothing like the old ND OC, but it occupied a niche that hasn't been filled since.)

Have you checked the fine print on the back label? Four-year-old and older whiskey doesn't have to state age, but less than four years must.

Jeff