Deq, you are living the dream.

So far I've entered the state lotteries for both the 23 and 15 YO PVWFR. Only 24 bottles of the 23 and 120 bottles of the 15 available, and I seem to have struck out on the lotteries for Booker's Rye (sorry, 46and 2), 4RSB Ltd Ed., and the Parker's Heritage 11.

There is so much competition for bourbon here in the fall, I don't seem to have much luck. Competition dies off as we approach spring. Did find 2 bottles of ECBP and landed a bottle of EHTBP and OF1920 for Christmas, so not a complete bust. Anybody get anything interesting for Christmas.

I got a decanter but nothing in it.

Speaking of, do you guys use decanters? I prefer to keep stuff in the bottle because I like the bottles. I suppose I'll put my cheapest, every day bourbon in the decanter.

Looks like the last PA limited release was for the Pappy Van Winkle bottles in November. Probably nothing until late spring 2018 now. It's hard to find really good to great stuff in PA. I did snag a case of Blanton's yesterday with a dump date of 11/28/17. in 20 minutes from when I saw that a store near me had 18 bottles, they had 7 when I got there. I was just after 2, lol, but the clerk kind of pushed me into taking the sealed case of 6. Not sure if I should thank him or not.......

That sucks jiggray, but you did fairly well last year! Those weller magnums are going for 200$ u could go secondary and cash out then buy orvw or lot b for 375 -450.

Havent recieved xmas gifts from the other side of the family but I did stop into a liquor store on xmas eve and find a lot b. Lil birdie told me it might be there.

Dont use decanters, well not true, i have one with kettleone in it and another thats empty. Not a decanter guy.

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

Oh well (Booker's Rye), thanks for trying. Good luck with the others, Jigray...

No, no decanters here. I like the bottles they come in.

Got a bottle of Jack Daniels No.27 GOLD for Christmas. Very interested to try it out!

quote:

Originally posted by Deqlyn:
46n2 - LOL!

OGD 114 is here to stay. Beam circulated rumor to get rid of some probably. Everyone thought they would repackage it under basil haydens cask for 40 bucks. jerks.

Is it a WIllett rye or bourbon Kablammo? either might be tough to find.

Both are available today, I prefer the bourbon. Unfortunately the Lagunitas Willitized may not be distributed to Texas. Sheeyit, so much anticipation... its like getting socks and underwear for Christmas.

quote:

Originally posted by Deqlyn:
That sucks jiggray, but you did fairly well last year! Those weller magnums are going for 200$ u could go secondary and cash out then buy orvw or lot b for 375 -450.

You're right, I had some luck with the lottery, so I shouldn't complain too much. Just not much luck with stuff I don't already have.

I'm not a flipper, but would trade for the right return. Easier said than done, though, and I'm not all that anxious to acquire more Old Rip or Lot B.

I believe decanters are a bad idea unless they seal very well, and are kept close to full or you intend to consume it all fairly quickly. Some bottles are as nice as a lot of decanters like RHF and some bottles like IW Harper 15 are far nicer than the bourbon inside.

Jigray. Understand you dont want to sell. But what I have learned watching the secondary market is it is hard to trade up.

Wellers arent being traded for btac alone or pappy. If you had a btac you might be able to add a weller12 but its unlikely. The FR LEs wont get you there either u less you find a guy who is over indexed in orvw or something. Its an interesting world. Plenty of buyers though.

Today I'm taking delivery of my small share of a bottle split of a bottle of Old Overholt 7yr bonded rye barreled in 1949 and bottled in 1956. It's always interesting to get a chance to taste history and while I haven't always been wowed I've yet to get something that was awful. This will be the second oldest thing I've been lucky enough to taste. Really looking forward to it.

quote:

Originally posted by berto:
Today I'm taking delivery of my small share of a bottle split of a bottle of Old Overholt 7yr bonded rye barreled in 1949 and bottled in 1956. It's always interesting to get a chance to taste history and while I haven't always been wowed I've yet to get something that was awful. This will be the second oldest thing I've been lucky enough to taste. Really looking forward to it.

Very nice! Have you had the old crow chessman? I heard its pretty far up there as far as oldies go.

quote:

Originally posted by Deqlyn:

Very nice! Have you had the old crow chessman? I heard its pretty far up there as far as oldies go.

I have a bottle split of Chessman that I haven't jumped into yet. There are still Chessman decanters out there. A friend found a couple within the last two weeks.

Found some stagg jr... havent seen it in awhile. Two different proofs... 129.5 and 131.9. Anybody know dates for these proofs? Or like one better than the other?

Edit: nm. Found the 131.9 is the fall 17 release.

For Atlanta members, there's 2 bottles left at the little Dekalb Bottle House on Briarcliff just east of Clairmont.

quote:

Originally posted by berto:

quote:

Originally posted by Deqlyn:

Very nice! Have you had the old crow chessman? I heard its pretty far up there as far as oldies go.

I have a bottle split of Chessman that I haven't jumped into yet. There are still Chessman decanters out there. A friend found a couple within the last two weeks.

their going for quite a bit online. around 350$ some opened turn up some nice cloudy brown stuff. Others clear as day. I did watch a 1900s George T. Stagg go for around 1800 bucks on BSN. Cool bottle, clear as day.

quote:

Originally posted by Deqlyn:

their going for quite a bit online. around 350$ some opened turn up some nice cloudy brown stuff. Others clear as day. I did watch a 1900s George T. Stagg go for around 1800 bucks on BSN. Cool bottle, clear as day.

Secondary is dumb. One friend bought the first one for $85 and another bought the second for $135. Same store a few hours apart. The store sucks and it's weird that the Chessmen were still on the shelf. Buying old bottles is so risky. I can't stomach the risk on my own so I buy into splits with guys in my group. We've lucked into a few deals below secondary because the bottles weren't shippable due to cork issues but otherwise fine.

quote:

Originally posted by berto:

quote:

Originally posted by Deqlyn:

their going for quite a bit online. around 350$ some opened turn up some nice cloudy brown stuff. Others clear as day. I did watch a 1900s George T. Stagg go for around 1800 bucks on BSN. Cool bottle, clear as day.

Secondary is dumb. One friend bought the first one for $85 and another bought the second for $135. Same store a few hours apart. The store sucks and it's weird that the Chessmen were still on the shelf. Buying old bottles is so risky. I can't stomach the risk on my own so I buy into splits with guys in my group. We've lucked into a few deals below secondary because the bottles weren't shippable due to cork issues but otherwise fine.

Nice. Really good score then. Totally understand!

As far as secondary, ya I agree the pricing is dumb. But I wouldn't have been able to trade off some stuff I collected the last 2 years to get what I have today. Useful to use it to trade. Of course it always comes with the risk of getting hosed too.

quote:

Originally posted by Deqlyn:
Jigray. Understand you dont want to sell. But what I have learned watching the secondary market is it is hard to trade up.

Wellers arent being traded for btac alone or pappy. If you had a btac you might be able to add a weller12 but its unlikely. The FR LEs wont get you there either u less you find a guy who is over indexed in orvw or something. Its an interesting world. Plenty of buyers though.

Constructing a mutually beneficial trade is best, of course, but very tough. Secondary market pricing for stuff probably muddies the water more than clears it.

I failed to mention earlier that my FIL gave me a 2L mini barrel for Christmas. I cure it by filling it with boiling water this morning to swell the wood and reduce loss to Angel's share. Think I'm going to start with a decent youngish bourbon and try to "improve" it. Maybe something I can't completely ruin like VOB, Ancient Acient Age or Virgin Bourbon. I like higher proof, so maybe even OGD114, but that I could ruin. Suggestions welcome.

The kit came with "essences" of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Marks Bourbon to add if you start with grain spirits or moonshine. Can't imagine that turning out well. Anybody try this?

No way I'd add something to it.

OGD114, KCSB, some of the higher proof 4RSB expressions, something commonly available to you that's lesser expensive than the best stuff and is high proof but one you already like.

Well if you want more for your wellers you gotta go secondary and expect to trade secondary. Otherwise youll trade 3 wellers for 1 GTS. Either way you lose as a GTS is 375ish and those weller big boys are 200 a pop.

What i know of the micro aging stuff is its pretty tough. The problem is time i.e. oxidation. We have a local distillery trying to speed up aging it tastes like shit. All the reading I did was you cant turn shelf turds into a better booze. 3 months in small barrel is equal to 1+ years. What you get is more oak but no complexity due to the surface area of the smaller barrels.

Those small barrels are best for finishing something that's drinkable on its own. Think something like a port finish on Elijah Craig or something like that. Or barrel age a cocktail. Don't try to make something cheap better because all some extra time in wood will do is make Ancient Age an overly woody mess. You need to plan on short aging cycle and test frequently because you'll lose a lot to the angels and what's left will get woody quickly.