One EHT BP was for a friend.

I have been lucky that during the year I will find something special like this. Last year I got an Antique collection Thomas Handy Sazerac Rye. I opened that for this holiday season and had a small sample last night it was really good.

So this years line up for the holiday season

Finish Bombergers' Declaration Bourbon (ETA this is a fantastic bourbon, I would choose it over just about anything except the antique collection)
Finish Old Fitz
Open the Handy

Next year I finish off the Handy and crack open the EHT or maybe the Weller full proof.

How is the Stagg Jr? I have a bottle but have so many open bottles right now I have not opened that one.

Nice line up by the way.

quote:

Originally posted by GA Gator:
One EHT BP was for a friend.

I have been lucky that during the year I will find something special like this. Last year I got an Antique collection Thomas Handy Sazerac Rye. I opened that for this holiday season and had a small sample last night it was really good.

So this years line up for the holiday season

Finish Bombergers' Declaration Bourbon (ETA this is a fantastic bourbon, I would choose it over just about anything except the antique collection)
Finish Old Fitz
Open the Handy

Next year I finish off the Handy and crack open the EHT or maybe the Weller full proof.

What would you guys recommend for a good bourbon to bring to Christmas dinner tomorrow? Was looking at something simple that tastes good and not too alcohol tasting. Would Elijah Craig or Bullet be a good choice? Price is not a issue. But lots of the guests like Jack and Coke is it ok to mix them?

I love the Stagg Jr, a lot of heat which I enjoy but it doenst linger. I'm savoring the last of my Stagg Jr that I paid retail for about a year and a half ago.

quote:

Originally posted by dfens:
What would you guys recommend for a good bourbon to bring to Christmas dinner tomorrow? Was looking at something simple that tastes good and not too alcohol tasting. Would Elijah Craig or Bullet be a good choice? Price is not a issue. But lots of the guests like Jack and Coke is it ok to mix them?

I think Bulleit is a great bourbon for mixing. If you wanted to get the Elijah Craig but maybe a little nicer for those who will sip it, the EC barrel proof or EC toasted barrel are both good, but nothing wrong with the standard Elijah Craig.

quote:

Originally posted by dfens:
What would you guys recommend for a good bourbon to bring to Christmas dinner tomorrow? Was looking at something simple that tastes good and not too alcohol tasting. Would Elijah Craig or Bullet be a good choice? Price is not a issue. But lots of the guests like Jack and Coke is it ok to mix them?

Woodford is great for a group. High quality readily available. Double oak for extra special

Elijah Craig is good. Has more rye spice compared to others

Buffalo Trace, or Eagle rare

Bullet is good but there are better if someone wants bourbon with ice or water. Bullet makes a really good old fashioned.

The Stagg Jr. Is last years bottle. It’s very good but you have to be careful the 136 proof needs to be cut. I don’t cut it enough and drink it at higher proof than I should.

The Handy was phenomenal.

My old brick and mortar use to hold a drawing for repeat customers they would sell the rare bourbon at MSRP. They use to tell people to drink the bourbon and if they saw anyone selling it on the secondary market they would be excluded from the next year. The owners sold the store and the new owners sell rare bourbons at top market prices. Antique collection $900, ELT $350. You get the idea. So out of spite the Handy was this years choice. Life short drink the unicorns.

Opened a bottle of Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel. My new favorite.

My bourbon bar
[IMG]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52586669017_239808508a_k.jpg"> Bourbon bar by Robert Peed, on Flickr[/IMG]

I grabbed a bottle of Penelope barrel strength to try. So far I am enjoying it.

https://shop.penelopebourbon.c...ucts/barrel-strength

quote:

Originally posted by petr:
I grabbed a bottle of Penelope barrel strength to try. So far I am enjoying it.

https://shop.penelopebourbon.c...ucts/barrel-strength

I have a bottle of that in the cabinet as well but haven't opened it yet. Too many others to crack open first. Owner of a store raved about how good it was and how it wasn't widely available in MN yet.

Not even a month later it was everywhere.

You should crack it open. The four grain is a different flavor profile. I have batch #4 and it really coats the mouth. The flavors linger long after.

The Lovely Girlfriend gave me a bottle of Woodford Reserve Double Oaked. Love it. (And her!)

Awesome!

A group of friends and friends of friends had a bourbon tasting last night. Only one rule, the bottle you bring needs to be $60 or more in order to keep the rif raf out. Now the bottle prices are Pennsylvania pricing, which is basically MSRP due to the liquor laws here.

We ended up with sixteen bottles to sample plus two infinity bottles, as some people brought more than one bottle to try. Personally I took two bottles which ironically, one was the lowest proof and the other being the highest proof. No, I didn't win a prize...lol.

Overall, it was a great outing and an opportunity to try something before buying a whole bottle only to find out it was a poor decision. The pours were about a thimble size in a glencaren glass, so no one got sloppy and we had food there to help.

This link, if it works, is a picture of the bar top. https://photos.app.goo.gl/wbPbVEccCdQcorPp7

They are lined up lowest proof on the left to the highest proof on the right.

Saw a Birthday Bourbon on the shelf at a store I sometimes drop in on when in the neighborhood. $900 price tag, which is 10x what I paid for one in 2017.

quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:
Saw a Birthday Bourbon on the shelf at a store I sometimes drop in on when in the neighborhood. $900 price tag, which is 10x what I paid for one in 2017.

Same here, $850-$1000 as of last week where I saw two bottles.

I picked up a bottle of EH Taylor Barrel Proof that someone had marked up, but still a good bit under secondary, so I said fuck it. I also came across a bottle of Bookers for a few bucks over MSRP, needless to say it was an expensive few days.

Over in Sarasota this week, I stopped by a store that had a LOT of heat, multiple bottles of BTAC, Elmer, Stagg Jr, EH Taylor Warehouse C ($7k). I gathered they just liked to have it on display, they didnt seem terribly interested in selling anything desirable unless someone wanted to spend "fuck you" money.

Having been chasing Bourbon since early Covid, I am not certain my pallet is mature enough to really appreciate the more expensive bottles.

The secondary market continues to put many bottles out of my reach.

Big fan of BT, HH and Four Roses products, but there is nothing I wont try.

I picked up a bottle of Basil Hayden Toast last weekend at VA ABC store. Anyone tried this yet?

It tastes like Blanton's or Eagle Rare to me.

Made it to BT today. I was shut out the last two times, but not today.

The predictions were correct.

Snagged two Blanton's.

Now in Blanton's jail for 90 days.

1792 Small Batch bourbon, especially in the 1.75 size, is no where to be found in my part of the Country. Total Wine and More has been out of it for the last 2 months, and says "maybe" in Feb., but maybe not!!