A store in Denver is having a tasting with Van Winkle 20, 23, and the EHT 4 grain. I guess it's making the rounds.

Just found out that I've been invited to join 44 other friends at a tasting of the ORVW 25 next month. We're getting a 1/2 oz sample in a bottle (we get to watch the pours) and the opportunity to get our picture taken with the bottle and (I think) the glasses that came with the bourbon.

I'll post pics and a tasting report in mid-July. It really does pay (sometimes) to be nice to people, eh?

TTFN,
"Point Blank" Frank
8-)

Be sure to let us know how terrible it is!

quote:

Originally posted by Deqlyn:

quote:

Originally posted by jigray3:
Woohoo! Success on the EHT. 2 bottles of the 4 grain and one single barrel so far. Still waiting for all precincts to report in, and waiting on Deq to confirm the 4 grain is worth the $70 admission.

remember i am very snobby but this eht 4 grain isnt worth 70 bucks let alone 45. it tastes like a bland over oaked lot b with zero complexity. Id have told you this whiskey is 6 years old if I didnt read the breaking bourbon review. I dont get any of the fruity notes or tastes and I have a very good palette. It's very rye heavy and nothing special. I would tell you 1792 high rye is better. I would go against buying more than 1 if you are dead set on it but consider me unimpressed.

i drink my whiskey neat and let it sit for quite awhile and even added a drop or two of water. I give it a ho-hum of 2-5 stars. if the price were 30 bucks id say maybe 3-5 stars but I would pass on this all day at 70$

OK, I am drinking the EHT 4 Grain now, and I agree it's not particularly memorable, but I get a really different experience than you. I don't find it particularly oaky (e.g. EC18), and I don't find it rye heavy. The rye's there certainly, but what I'm picking up on is the barley, similar to what I have in the Parker's Heritage #9, and there's clearly wheat as well. I agree there's an absence of fruit, but rather than fruit, I find it very floral with a long delicate finish, so floral and delicate you could easily underappreciate it because you aren't looking for it. Bland, no. Subtle, yes. It is similar in many ways to a bottle of 4R SiB OBSV Handpicked I recently finished, that was a truly exceptional if somewhat unusual choice from 4R. I wouldn't say the 4 Grain has zero complexity, I would say there's a hint with the promise of real complexity. For that reason, I'll pick up the second bottle. I like it, and I need more time with it to judge its value. I have had some bourbons do a 180 me given time and O2 exposure, so I am reluctant to render any kind of definitive judgement after one pour. If, ultimately, the value isn't there, it will still be good trade bait. If someone wants to offer me 2 bottles of the EHT SiB in trade or a bottle of the EHT BP for it, I'm probably in.

Full disclosure; I don't consider my palate good, I would say it's mine in that I know what I like, and I admit that I'm lousy at identifying specific flavors. That said, I seem to be relatively decent at identifying relative quality. It is seldom when I find something worthy and someone else doesn't and vice versa - this may be one of those times. And, despite my absence of any real ability, I too, am a bourbon snob. Go figure.

Update, Pour 2: Initial impressions hold, maybe even a little better tonight. I like it, but prefer the $10 less expensive EHT SiB which is straight forward and just exceptional for the money.

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

So I got my summer stash in stock. Tried to pare down to a few decent drinks in the rotation, which for me over one summer means a few bottles open only.
Fall will be game on.

But for now:
- 4 Roses SB
- Col EH Taylor, SmB
- Maker's Cask Strength
- Angel's Envy port finish
- Elijah Craig SmB
- WT Rare Breed

And:
Scotch
- Aberlour 12 yr
- Lagavulin 16 yr

Cognac
- Camus Borderies VSOP

This, supplemented with cheap wine and expensive beer, should get me through the summer.
At least that's the plan.

Almost feel like I hit the lottery today when stopping to get some beer I noticed the store had EH Taylor straight rye on sale for $35.00.

quote:

Originally posted by sureshot45:
Almost feel like I hit the lottery today when stopping to get some beer I noticed the store had EH Taylor straight rye on sale for $35.00.

Very nice.

I think the Rye and their Barrel Strength are the business. Some of my absolute favorites in the last few years.

Wow 35 bucks. Mis-price! Great deal and a great rye as 46n2 said. I scored the jeffersons rum cask cause a misprice about the same, 32 bucks.

quote:

Originally posted by Deqlyn:
Wow 35 bucks. Mis-price! Great deal and a great rye as 46n2 said. I scored the jeffersons rum cask cause a misprice about the same, 32 bucks.

I couldn't believe it was on sale let alone for that price but I did get the last bottle. Finally got to open it tonight and yes it is a great rye. For being 50 proof it very pleasant to drink and it will be hard to ration.

quote:

Originally posted by sureshot45:

I couldn't believe it was on sale let alone for that price but I did get the last bottle. Finally got to open it tonight and yes it is a great rye. For being 50 proof it very pleasant to drink and it will be hard to ration.

Hey sureshot45,

I think you meant it is 50% ABV (alcohol by volume) not 50 proof? If it's 50 proof, it's closer to wine than hooch and, therefore, very easy to drink. . . . .

J/K,
"Point Blank" Frank
8-)

4 days to the ORVW25 Tasting and counting . . .

Snagged a 1792 sweet wheat. Anyone had it?

quote:

Originally posted by GeeTen:

quote:

Originally posted by sureshot45:

I couldn't believe it was on sale let alone for that price but I did get the last bottle. Finally got to open it tonight and yes it is a great rye. For being 50 proof it very pleasant to drink and it will be hard to ration.

Hey sureshot45,

I think you meant it is 50% ABV (alcohol by volume) not 50 proof? If it's 50 proof, it's closer to wine than hooch and, therefore, very easy to drink. . . . .

J/K,
"Point Blank" Frank
8-)

4 days to the ORVW25 Tasting and counting . . .

You are correct, what I'm thinking and what I say/type are often not the same thing which has caused me no shortage of grief throughout my short time on this planet.

quote:

Originally posted by sureshot45:

You are correct, what I'm thinking and what I say/type are often not the same thing which has caused me no shortage of grief throughout my short time on this planet.

Ha, ha - moi aussi!

TTFN,
"Point Blank" Frank
8-)

It's never all that hard to find, but I only paid $49.99 for MMCS today.

Here are some pics from the "Unicorn Tasting & Lottery" that included the ORVW25 last Sunday!

These are the whiskeys that we tried:



From left to right: John J. Bowman Straight Virginia Bourbon SiB #1 Loch & K(e)y Society Barrel Pick ABV 50%; Four Roses SiB Julio's "Icons of Whiskey" barrel (1 of 6 barrels sold to the top retailers in the country) OBSV 12yr, 2mo; Eagle Rare 13yr 2006 Special Barrel Pick ABV 45%; Willett Family Estate "Aged Truth" 11yr bourbon ABV 63.7% (1 of 136 bottles); Willett Family Estate "Wheated Patriot" 21yr bourbon ABV 70.8% (1 of 98 bottles); Willett Family Estate "Wheated Warrior" 21yr bourbon ABV 69.8% (1 of 69 bottles); and,



ORVW25 ABV 50% 11 barrel Small Batch production (712 bottle yield - now that's making the Angels very happy!). That's me with the fancy bottle and top (no glasses this time as opposed to the ORVW23 offering from a few years ago) in its wood presentation case.

Still going back over my tasting notes, but the ORVW25 stuck out for its heavy oaky notes and a strange "coriander" accent. Typical of a really old whiskey that may have stayed in the barrel too long. Certainly not the winner among the bunch - the Willett "Wheated Warrior' was the clear favorite of mine and most of the folk at the tasting. It and the "Wheated Patriot" were far better than the disappointing ORVW25. Of course, YMMV.

We didn't know it at the time, but a reporter from The Boston Globe (liberal left-leaning biased rag owned by the NYT - JMHO) was at the tasting, too. Here's a link to his article:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/li...qQM0c2CoN/story.html

But here's some of the haul we got in the Unicorn Lottery held after the tasting (there was a lot more scotch and stuff including a nice vertical of Angel's Envy 2013-2016, VWFR Rye, etc.) to replenish the Whiskey Den:



The Elijah Craig barrel and the bottles on the top (except the PVW15 which was a birthday present for our Whiskey Den host from all of us and the EC23) were a lot donated by the "Borbone Brigante Charity." They purchased six (6) barrels of bourbon (Old Scout Belle of the Mountain, Old Scout Beau of the Mountain, OWA 107 Single Barrel, Four Roses Cask Strength single barrel, and 2 different single barrels of Elijah Craig NAS) to sell at a profit to their members. Half of the proceeds from this lot went to the local "Sweats for Vets" charity. Seemed like a good reason to buy the lot, no?

I even personally won a two-bottle set of ECBPs (Batch #11 and A117) for $120. I thought that was a good deal since finding a ECBP Batch #11 (139.4 proof) at retail these days is like finding a Unicorn.

Finally, somebody mentioned the rugby jersey that I was wearing that day. It was my playing jersey (#3- tight-head prop) for the Boston Unicorns (get it?) RFC that played in the Golden Oldies Rugby Festivals in Auckland ('87) and Toronto ('89). I also played in the Festivals in London ('85) and Perth ('91) with other teams. But that's another story for another time.

All in all, it was a very good day!

TTFN,
"Point Blank" Frank
8-)

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

Very nice! Tell me, as a willett whore, where does one get the wheated warrior?

quote:

Originally posted by Deqlyn:
Very nice! Tell me, as a willett whore, where does one get the wheated warrior?

Hey Deglyn,

Unfortunately you can't, sorry. I asked the same question, too. They were "specialty bottlings" only made in very limited numbers. These three (3) may have been the last of their kind, so we were told.

Bummer,
"Point Blank" Frank
8-)

I would have loved those Willetts.

Killer write up. Glad you got to try all that stuff. Every report I've seen said the old Willett's were the clear winners. I would have guessed that going in.

quote:

Originally posted by Deqlyn:
Very nice! Tell me, as a willett whore, where does one get the wheated warrior?

Secondary for north of $3000.