Brown Liquor Time

[fredst 9,064]

17 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Just went and bought another bottle of Double Oaked to keep hidden, as well as some Benchmark Bonded, Makers Cask Strength, Knob Creek Single Barrel (store pick), Rowan's Creek (never had it), and Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Strength. True retail therapy moment. I'm not sure I even wanted all those but it's been a hell of a month and I just really wanted to acquire bottles. Gonna have to rearrange my shelves soon. 

I used to like Rowan's but have not had in several years; that and Noah's Mill both reasonably good at a decent price (always thought of Noah as a higher proof Rowan). Benchmark a pretty good lower shelf option. If you can find the 12 or 15 year Knob, grab them, they are good. Maybe you can go Faulkner and pour the Benchmark into the Double Oaked bottle for when your company comes back

Edited December 9, 2021 by fredst

[McLoofus 35,182]

8 minutes ago, fredst said:

I used to like Rowan's but have not had in several years; that and Noah's Mill both reasonably good at a decent price (always thought of Noah as a higher proof Rowan). Benchmark a pretty good lower shelf option. If you can find the 12 or 15 year Knob, grab them, they are good. Maybe you can go Faulkner and pour the Benchmark into the Double Oaked bottle for when your company comes back

That's the impression I get from the Rowan's/Noah's dynamic and they're priced to match, with both still being affordable as you said. The Benchmark Full Proof had a nice flavor but is very thin. (Shocker for a sub $25 bottle.) I'll report back about the Bonded. Good to know about the more aged Knob Creeks. This store's picks on the Single Barrel have been great.

Really curious about the JD Single Barrel. Like 135 proof or something. 

Curious if anyone's seen/tried the Coy Hill? Guessing @ShocksMyBrain if anyone. 

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

13 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

That's the impression I get from the Rowan's/Noah's dynamic and they're priced to match, with both still being affordable as you said. The Benchmark Full Proof had a nice flavor but is very thin. (Shocker for a sub $25 bottle.) I'll report back about the Bonded. Good to know about the more aged Knob Creeks. This store's picks on the Single Barrel have been great.

Really curious about the JD Single Barrel. Like 135 proof or something. 

Curious if anyone's seen/tried the Coy Hill? Guessing @ShocksMyBrain if anyone. 

Coy Hill hasn’t been released in our market yet. But we did get the JD Advent Calendars…like 5 days into Advent. 😑

[fredst 9,064]

13 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Curious if anyone's seen/tried the Coy Hill?

I have not and, honestly, had not heard about until recently. Hard to imagine much whiskey flavor at 140+. Although, some of the George T Stagg at 135 or more is some of the best whiskey I’ve ever had..

[marsbold 67]

21 hours ago, McLoofus said:

I'm not sure I even wanted all those but it's been a hell of a month and I just really wanted to acquire bottles. Gonna have to rearrange my shelves soon. 

Sounds like  a good Christmas present to yourself!

[marsbold 67]

20 hours ago, fredst said:

I have not and, honestly, had not heard about until recently. Hard to imagine much whiskey flavor at 140+. Although, some of the George T Stagg at 135 or more is some of the best whiskey I’ve ever had..

I bought a bottle of a Copper Sky whiskey in Colorado in July; was recommended by the liquor store guy out there. It is 138.4 proof; highest proof bottle I've had. Since he recommended it, their distribution is small, and the proof was so high, I figured it was worth taking a chance. Just opened it Monday. Was actually pretty good with a small piece of ice or splash of water added. Also had reservations about anything with that high of a proof, but apparently it can be pulled off. 

Hopefully I'll get to try the GTS one day...

[McLoofus 35,182]

Update on the Double Oaked and ginger guy: He brought us a bottle of Uncle Nearest 100 proof. I take it all back.

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

On 12/9/2021 at 1:30 PM, McLoofus said:

That's the impression I get from the Rowan's/Noah's dynamic and they're priced to match, with both still being affordable as you said. The Benchmark Full Proof had a nice flavor but is very thin. (Shocker for a sub $25 bottle.) I'll report back about the Bonded. Good to know about the more aged Knob Creeks. This store's picks on the Single Barrel have been great.

Really curious about the JD Single Barrel. Like 135 proof or something. 

Curious if anyone's seen/tried the Coy Hill? Guessing @ShocksMyBrain if anyone. 

We got Coy Hill on Friday. ~140 proof. $90 or so our price. It’ll be going into our bourbon raffle, but a coworker picked up a bottle at another store, so I’ll get to try it at some point. 
 

Btw if you call stores asking if they have Blanton’s this time of year, you’re an a**hole. If you’re badgering me for Blanton’s in store, you’re a dick and for sure not gonna get a bottle even if I do have one in the back. 
 

PSA: Blanton’s is overhyped, overpriced, underaged bourbon. 

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

On 12/10/2021 at 10:14 AM, marsbold said:

I bought a bottle of a Copper Sky whiskey in Colorado in July; was recommended by the liquor store guy out there. It is 138.4 proof; highest proof bottle I've had. Since he recommended it, their distribution is small, and the proof was so high, I figured it was worth taking a chance. Just opened it Monday. Was actually pretty good with a small piece of ice or splash of water added. Also had reservations about anything with that high of a proof, but apparently it can be pulled off. 

Hopefully I'll get to try the GTS one day...

Find the right bar to try GTS. Heads up, they didn’t release any this year. It “wasn’t up to their standard”. So expect Buffalo Trace to release an uber-special GTS next year for triple the price. 
 

Stagg Jr will be available, but all the batches I’ve tried have been a hot mess. 
 

Thomas Handy 18yr Sazerac clocks in around ~130 proof and is a straight killer. 

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

On 12/11/2021 at 1:17 PM, McLoofus said:

Update on the Double Oaked and ginger guy: He brought us a bottle of Uncle Nearest 100 proof. I take it all back.

We haven’t been able to get Nearest in over 3 months. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

3 minutes ago, ShocksMyBrain said:

PSA: Blanton’s is overhyped, overpriced, underaged bourbon. 

I've given up on it. Like... I can get OF 1920 for $60 anytime I want. Blanton's doesn't need me and I don't need it. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

Just now, ShocksMyBrain said:

We haven’t been able to get Nearest in over 3 months. 

And you're in TN!

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

1 minute ago, McLoofus said:

I've given up on it. Like... I can get OF 1920 for $60 anytime I want. Blanton's doesn't need me and I don't need it. 

Honestly, if you can somehow find a way to try a bottle of current Blanton’s and a bottle from say, five years ago, you’d see a noticeable difference. A lot of people also don’t know that a Japanese company owns the Blanton’s name, and that BT makes it for them. This would be a big reason why you can’t get Gold, BP, SFTB, in the US. 
 

I sell 1920 to every single person looking for Blanton’s. 

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

13 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

And you're in TN!

Yep. We can’t get Jack Daniels double shots either (100ml). We usually sell over 1,000 a month, been about a month since we got any. Can’t get Gentleman Jack either.
 

Glass shortage has hit JD hard this year. We went and picked a barrel back in September and the dude running the tasting said they’re going to be short like 19 million cases this year because they can’t bottle anything…so that means more barrels aging…
 

SO! Expect more special JD releases coming out…

Edited December 13, 2021 by ShocksMyBrain

[fredst 9,064]

2 hours ago, ShocksMyBrain said:

Stagg Jr will be available, but all the batches I’ve tried have been a hot mess.

There was one year that Jr. was good (maybe two years ago?) but every other edition I’ve tried was hot and all wood, not at all good IMO

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

1 hour ago, fredst said:

There was one year that Jr. was good (maybe two years ago?) but every other edition I’ve tried was hot and all wood, not at all good IMO

It’s not a great bourbon. 3, maybe 4 years ago it just sat on our shelf. No one wanted it. 
 

Bourbon’s popularity just keeps skyrocketing. I wish I could go back to 2008/09 when I could buy a bottle of Old Rip for $50 and feel bad because I was spending so much money on a bottle of whiskey.

 

[McLoofus 35,182]

9 hours ago, ShocksMyBrain said:

Bourbon’s popularity just keeps skyrocketing. I wish I could go back to 2008/09 when I could buy a bottle of Old Rip for $50 and feel bad because I was spending so much money on a bottle of whiskey.

And it's not really about enjoying the juice. It's about wagging dicks. I've joined a couple bourbon groups on FB and it's mostly just bros posting pictures of hype whales they bought on the secondary market. And if they didn't buy them on the secondary market, they're going to sell them on the secondary market. 

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

1 hour ago, McLoofus said:

And it's not really about enjoying the juice. It's about wagging dicks. I've joined a couple bourbon groups on FB and it's mostly just bros posting pictures of hype whales they bought on the secondary market. And if they didn't buy them on the secondary market, they're going to sell them on the secondary market. 

Once again, back to Blanton’s…people actually hoard it without ever trying it. Blows my mind that people treat it like a unicorn. 

[marsbold 67]

1 hour ago, ShocksMyBrain said:

Once again, back to Blanton’s…people actually hoard it without ever trying it. Blows my mind that people treat it like a unicorn. 

Was talking to someone last night that has at least 10 bottles....they rarely even drink whiskey.

Best use I've found for Blanton's is trading it. It's good currency; use it for bottles I want & can't get otherwise. I've picked up 3-4 bottles in last few months for $60 in Alabama ABC monthly allocation day. Traded one recently for Weller 107; had same trade lined up with another person but it fell through.  I'll probably open one to try it out again since it's been several years since I had any. Others bottles will hopefully become more Weller 107 or EHT Small Batch (which I will open & consume).

[McLoofus 35,182]

5 minutes ago, marsbold said:

Was talking to someone last night that has at least 10 bottles....they rarely even drink whiskey.

Best use I've found for Blanton's is trading it. It's good currency; use it for bottles I want & can't get otherwise. I've picked up 3-4 bottles in last few months for $60 in Alabama ABC monthly allocation day. Traded one recently for Weller 107; had same trade lined up with another person but it fell through.  I'll probably open one to try it out again since it's been several years since I had any. Others bottles will hopefully become more Weller 107 or EHT Small Batch (which I will open & consume).

Now that makes sense. And a Weller 107 in return? Oh hell yeah.

[marsbold 67]

3 hours ago, McLoofus said:

And it's not really about enjoying the juice. It's about wagging dicks. I've joined a couple bourbon groups on FB and it's mostly just bros posting pictures of hype whales they bought on the secondary market. And if they didn't buy them on the secondary market, they're going to sell them on the secondary market. 

I'm probably in some of those same FB groups. Joined them in attempt to get info & maybe some tips on finding things. Agree its mostly showing off & secondary selling. The hoarding and people buying just to sell at crazy secondary prices is insane. Fortunately there are so many newer distillers now that many good bottles can be found pretty easily & don't have the hype & prices of the Buffalo Trace products. I've really enjoyed the last few Dickel BiB, Woodinville products, Redwood Empire products, etc - all pretty easy to find and at MSRP.

Edited December 13, 2021 by marsbold

[McLoofus 35,182]

5 minutes ago, marsbold said:

I'm probably in some of those same FB groups. Joined them in attempt to get info & maybe some tips on finding things. Agree its mostly showing off & secondary selling. The hoarding and people buying just to sell at crazy secondary prices is insane. Fortunately there are so many newer distillers now that many good bottles can be found pretty easily & don't have the hype & prices of the Buffalo Trace products. I've really enjoyed the last few Dickel BiB, Woodinville products, Redwood Empire products, etc - all pretty easy to find and at MSRP.

Honestly this club is much better. Especially with some of you guys who have tried so much stuff. 

Anything specifically from Woodinville or Redwood Empire you really loved?

[marsbold 67]

2 hours ago, McLoofus said:

Honestly this club is much better. Especially with some of you guys who have tried so much stuff. 

Anything specifically from Woodinville or Redwood Empire you really loved?

Woodinville has several expressions. I've had a couple bottles of their basic expression labeled 'bourbon whiskey' that goes for around $45; its gotten fairly easy to find. Also have their port finish. They have 1-2 more that I haven't tried. 

Redwood Empire has 3 expressions I think & reasonable prices for a smaller, "craft" distillery. I have Lost Monarch & Pipe Dream. Need to try them head to head; think I like Lost Monarch more. Have picked up multiple bottles of it. Little harder to find in my experience but its always been around $35. 

I'm sure there are a ton of other $30-$50 bottles that are great; I just haven't had time to try them all yet! Tend to find a few I like & can find, then keep buying them. Not to say I don't look for the harder to get ones at decent prices; just not going to find them enough to support my habit!!

[AUSwim 54]

This is a Baltimore distiller owned by the owner of Under Armor. Not sure how their distribution is nationally or even regionally but can get in most liquor stores in the area. This was one store's barrel select I decided to try. I'd suggest a distillery visit and tour if you're ever in the area. Being a rye its quite sweet but smooth and has a bit of a light smoke finish. At 55% I prefer to have with a splash of water. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

14 hours ago, AUSwim said:

This is a Baltimore distiller owned by the owner of Under Armor. Not sure how their distribution is nationally or even regionally but can get in most liquor stores in the area. This was one store's barrel select I decided to try. I'd suggest a distillery visit and tour if you're ever in the area. Being a rye its quite sweet but smooth and has a bit of a light smoke finish. At 55% I prefer to have with a splash of water. 

You had me at smoke. Pretty sure I can get that one locally. Appreciate the tasting review!