Picked up a bottle of Stagg Jr batch 6 today. Missed out on it a few weeks ago but the same store had some today so I guess they are spacing out putting it on the shelf.

Well i blanked on old forrester bday and george stagg raffles. Hopefully you guys are having better luck.

is it me or are the online stores not selling the good stuff? or are they just not out yet?

quote:

Originally posted by Deqlyn:
is it me or are the online stores not selling the good stuff? or are they just not out yet?

Many have moved their allocations to in store only. It makes sense to give their locals the chance instead of random internet buyers who may only show up for the hard to find.

quote:

Originally posted by Deqlyn:
Well i blanked on old forrester bday and george stagg raffles. Hopefully you guys are having better luck.

I'm in the lottery for the Birthday Bourbon. Should find out within the next week how I did on that one. Tomorrow I can sign up for the EHT Small Batch lottery. Picked up some Pikesville Rye when that showed up on the shelf. I think Pappy will be available for lottery here Halloween.

I was against the lottery initially, but while it's harder to get back stock of stuff like Stagg, Jr or ECBP, it's seems easier to get the tougher stuff, or maybe I've gotten a little lucky. Since March, I've entered 8 drawings and won 5 times though 2 are duplicates. Winnings include Abraham Bowman Wheat, Four Roses LE Elliott's Select, and Michter's Barrel Proof Rye. Missed on all the Taylor and Orphan Barrel offerings so far.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: jigray3,

Gosh eht small batch is thin in ur area? I saw 8 today with no limit, 4 different stores... BP. Yes tough even

Yeah, any and all EHT has become hard to get here. Weird, because when I got into bourbon 2.5 years ago, when I couldn't find anything else, I could find Taylor. I've also heard people prefer the small batch to the single barrel. Maybe that's price related though.

Heres a nice review a friend sent to me.

quote:

Review of a $3500 bottle of Mitcher Celebration...


Manny Katz This is a great mixer. Simply add one ounce of this overpriced shit to a glass with Antarctic sourced ice. Mix in One ounce ground palladium, 1/2 ounce of uranium and a dash of gold. Mix gently and garnish with a diamond. Congrats! You have now made a diamond Atomic douche on the rocks

If anyone is looking for a bottle of Blanton's and wanting to do a trade I'd like to get ahold of some Weller 12 or ETL

Pick up eht rye to bunker. And also a bourbon barrell batch no 9 13 yrs 112 proof.

I don't mind helping occasionally source a bottle of this or that. No trade necessary in most cases, definitely no mark up, etc, simple favor stuff, especially if you're screwed by locale.

ETL is pretty common around here, Weller 12 comes and goes, Stagg Jr seems to be around fairly often, etc . The common unicorns (BTAC, VW, etc) are a royal pain in the balls like most places.

A running list of who can't find what would help, vs digging back through the thread.

My connections, such as they are, are fewer these days and less able to help, so this sort of thing is largely dependent upon me looking at several stores when I make it by them.

Went to a small tasting tonight with a few buds. Enjoyed a handful of store picked Smooth Ambler eyes from around the country, some old Wild Turkey of various vintages, and some others. Makes me sad that the 80s-early 90s Turkey was so much better. It limited release hunting season soon but I'd prefer old Turkey.

So, I too am setting up a small tasting for some friends who are new to bourbon. As my boss did for us with Scotch a few weeks ago, I would like to have a range from lower shelf-readily available, up to some decent bourbon. Looking for advice here, but so far I have on hand for them to try Buffalo Trace, Wild Turkey Rare Breed (on recommendation from the forum), and Four Roses Small Batch. I can add one more on the low end (Bulleit? Woodford?) and possibly one more on the better end that I can locate (a nice Weller? Blanton's?). Also, I see Michter's and Basil Hayden around here, are they worth a shot?

I might throw in a mini bottle of a wheater for reference, but I personally don't like wheat.

Advice?

Thanks!

Low end - old granddad 114 or rittenhouse rye both in the 22 range, elijiah craig

"Higher" end - blantons, basil hayden

Id probably only do 1 higher proof bourbon if theyre newbies. I usually intro high proof stuff to newbies on a high quality blend so ogd 114 may not be the best choice.

Thanks. These guys are not new to drinking, just to bourbon. I may pick up the B Hayden, as it is available, but the Blantons is $100 and comes wrapped in velvet with the engraved horse, lot ofpackaging, not sure if the drink is worth $100 though?

I like to break things down by type and distillery, sometimes proof or price range, else comparisons are apples vs tomatoes, rather than, say, oranges vs tangerines...

there are regular (low to mid rye) bourbons, high rye bourbons, and wheat bourbons, that's it, and there are only a handful of distilleries that matter that make 99% of bourbon.

low rye vs high rye is an easy, and meaningful, and easily identifiable comparison, or just compare high rye offerings from one distillery vs another.

ex: Old Grand Dad 114 is a moderately priced, unpretentious, high rye from Beam. Bulleit, similarly, is a high rye, moderately priced, unpretentious offering from another distillery (formerly contract distilled at/by Four Roses).

Or compare the three types against one another in the same price bracket across different distilleries... Weller 12 or Makers for a wheater, OGD114 for a high rye, Elijah Craig 12 for a low to medium rye aka regular bourbon... etc.

Without similar constraints, the vast variety within Bourbon makes most comparisons not particularly helpful. Comparing Stagg Jr to Basil Hayden to Wild Turkey may as well be comparing tacos to ice cream to soup, IMO.

Skip the Basil. It's overpriced and under proofed and you're paying a premium for the marketing. Old Grand Dad is essentially the same and less money.

Michter's is hot garbage.

Blanton's is nice but $100 is double what it's worth.

Maker's or Larceny or some Weller should be included to cover the wheated bourbon angle. Rare Breed, Buffalo Trace, Four Roses Small Batch, and maybe Elijah Craig or Evan Williams single barrel cover all your bases.

quote:

Originally posted by berto:
Skip the Basil. It's overpriced and under proofed and you're paying a premium for the marketing. Old Grand Dad is essentially the same and less money.

Michter's is hot garbage.

Blanton's is nice but $100 is double what it's worth.

Maker's or Larceny or some Weller should be included to cover the wheated bourbon angle. Rare Breed, Buffalo Trace, Four Roses Small Batch, and maybe Elijah Craig or Evan Williams single barrel cover all your bases.

On a trip from NC to IN recently, the older son and I stopped off at Four Roses and did the brief tasting. Interesting history and the Japanese owners are currently financing a huge expansion.

As a side note. Tastings should start with the lowest proof bourbon and progress to the highest so as not to muddle the tastes buds.

Agree 100 for blantons is steep.