Bourbon Bonanza: Update: It's only money...

September 28, 2015, 07:42 PM

quote:
Originally posted by petr:
So this was posted on our home page when I entered the www. Are the "experts" on the mark, or did they blow it?

http://www.msn.com/en-us/fooda...1?ocid=iehp#image=51

Nonsense list.

The "top" bottle is universally acclaimed. It was released 6 years ago. It was a one off. It is as unavailable as bottles get. If you manage to find someone willing to part with a bottle you'll spend over $600. The list is laughable. There are some overpriced lemons supposedly scored above better bottles.

Many of the so called experts are on the take. Low scores might lead to a lack of free booze to rate. High scores might encourage more free booze showing up at the office. Perhaps some increased advertising expenditures will follow a good review. maybe a honey barrel gets sent to prominent reviewers. Let's not mention the wine guys stepping into whiskey and weighing in. Or the beverage managers at X Restaurant group angling for deals.

The contests are just as bad. $1000 at entry might guarantee a silver medal. $2000 buys a gold medal. $5000 buys double gold.

Drink what you like how you like it. Don't worry so much about ratings and experts and must buy hype.

September 29, 2015, 12:08 PM

jigray3

quote:
Originally posted by berto:

The Weller 12 yr/Old Weller Antique blend was created to come close to the discontinued Weller Centennial bottling. Weller Centennial was much beloved and clocked in at 10 years old and 100 proof. Mixing Weller 12/90 proof and Old Weller Antique, then stated 7 years/107, now ~6 yr/107 at 1:1 came close to 10 years and 100 proof. Mix in small amounts and find your happy spot whether 60/40, 50/50, 40/60 or something else.

The blend was never intended to replicate Pappy as the 15 yr Pappy is 107 proof and you can't possibly approach 15 years of age and 107 proof by mixing 12 yr with 6/7 year and 90 proof with 107 proof. The Poor Man's Pappy nonsense started with idiot bloggers and writers needing another article to feed into the Pappy hype. They seized on the W12/OWA blend and started calling it something it was never intended to be resulting in the masses thinking they could somehow cheat their way to Pappy and creating a run on Weller.

Whether the blend, in whatever ratio you choose, is better than its parts is something only you can decide. Many think both W12 and OWA suffer greatly in comparison to bottles from 5 years ago due to the pressure exerted on the brand by the current market. Some folks cherish store selected bottles of OWA because they're better than the standard bottling.

I've blended a few bourbons, but mostly to improve the flavor of one I didn't care for with surprising results. I ask because my wife found a bottle of Weller 12 in New Orleans on business, and I already have the 107, which I like a great deal. I figure I'll give the blend a try.

Every review I've seen admits the blend doesn't taste like Pappy, but some compare it favorably to the 10 Year Old Rip and the 12 Year Special Reserve Lot B. Most just say the blend tastes great and is worth doing regardless of any similarities, but I have more faith in opinions of the folks here.

September 29, 2015, 12:36 PM

46and2

aside from the "blending" of multiple barrels of the same whiskey which is done before bottling, I don't drink blends. one of the things I like best about Bourbon and Rye is the unpretentious simplicity. plus it smacks of "pretending to be something it isn't", which I generally avoid.

lots of genuine whiskey enthusiasts do their own blends, though. it's a way to geek out and play Master Distiller in a confined sandbox, maybe even come up with new creations, and that's cool if it pushes your buttons. for me, there's enough good regular Whiskey that I just skip it.

September 29, 2015, 07:28 PM

Deqlyn

Wish me luck pappy raffle coming in a month.

September 30, 2015, 12:42 PM

46and2

quote:
Originally posted by Deqlyn:
Wish me luck pappy raffle coming in a month.

good luck.

how does it work there, again? a slot to pick one bottle, or what?

September 30, 2015, 07:23 PM

Deqlyn

Well they get "x" bottles. "X" amount of people get on the pappy list. When the bottles come in they draw names from a hat and call you. Theres no public event to my knowledge so i am winning friends and influencing people.

Last year the 15 yr sold at 150 bucks they said. So its sorta close to retail. I could have my years mixed up.

October 01, 2015, 06:55 AM

CQB60

Seems as if anything even associated with Pappys these days makes it a rarity. I overheard a proprietor of a mid size liqour store on the Charlotte border in SC yesterday informing patrons that Benchmark is hard to come by due to the distillers popularity.

October 01, 2015, 11:50 AM

jigray3

Anybody ever bought a bottle where the bourbon inside was off? Just didn't taste right? Tried my Weller 12, and when I pulled it out the first thing I noticed was that it had leaked a little on its trip back from New Orleans. The plastic ring was in tact, but the top was not fully screwed down. I'll try it again tonight this time next to my 107, but I was disappointed last night. Nothing but alcohol and wood.

October 01, 2015, 11:58 AM

GA Gator

I picked up Pappy lot B last year just before thanksgiving for $69.99. I left the 10 yr sitting on the shelf, I went home tried it, got in the car went back and it was gone.

At the time I had Weller 12 also. I had my wife pour a blind taste test. I could tell the pappy by smell before I even tasted it. Their really is no comparison. And this is coming from a person who likes weller 12. The lot B is really that much better.

Jigray
try it again after it aerates but weller 12 definitively has more flavors than alcohol and wood.

October 22, 2015, 10:46 PM

jigray3

I have a solid line on some Pappy. Keep your fingers crossed.

October 24, 2015, 09:33 PM

GA Gator

I saw Bullet has a 10 yr old Bourbon on the market has anyone tried it? I like their rye.

October 25, 2015, 12:14 AM

berto

The Bulleit 10 yr is decent. Not worth $40+ a bottle. For $30 it's worth taking a chance. Four Roses was contract distilling Bulleits bourbon until a few years ago. Don't know who does it now and whether the 10 yr has changed over yet. Bulleit rye is from MGP in Indiana like many other ryes on many other labels. Bulleit rye has the advantage of the best pricing.

October 25, 2015, 11:45 AM

daikyu

A bourbon that I have been drinking lately that I really like is Larceny. Suprisingly cheap but very good. ~$27 a bottle.

October 25, 2015, 06:33 PM

46and2

I like and stock the Bulleit 10yr Bourbon. There aren't many choices in aged high rye Bourbons, and I feel it's worth the price - especially given the relative rarity.

October 27, 2015, 11:01 AM

jigray3

Success!

October 27, 2015, 11:47 AM

46and2

^ indeed.

my second favorite whiskey, ever, only slightly behind their Rye.

October 27, 2015, 12:37 PM

Ian111

Congratulations on the big score jigray. Enjoy!

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October 27, 2015, 05:55 PM

jigray3

quote:
Originally posted by Ian111:
Congratulations on the big score jigray. Enjoy!

Thanks, guys. I got the heads up from a friendly store manager and was second in line at 5:45 am this morning in some pretty brisk weather, but everyone in line had a good time chatting about bourbon, and all 18 people in line at opening time got at least a bottle of the 12 Y.O. Four of us scored a bottle of the 15.