Brown Liquor Time

[McLoofus 35,182]

4 minutes ago, fredst said:

Found a bottle of this and purchased today. Looking forward to trying (I got the 100 proof). Will let you know my thoughts.

Yes, please do. I have the 100 proof available locally at $49.99. I enjoyed the Old Scout. 

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

6 hours ago, McLoofus said:

Yes, please do. I have the 100 proof available locally at $49.99. I enjoyed the Old Scout. 

Ours was 52.99, then the price dropped to 39.99 while we still had the 100 proof. Coworker bought 5 bottles. 

[fredst 9,064]

On 11/9/2018 at 12:19 PM, McLoofus said:

Yes, please do. I have the 100 proof available locally at $49.99. I enjoyed the Old Scout. 

Ok, tried the “Contradiction” Friday night: lots of spice up front (more than I expected) like a higher rye mash bill- was expecting a little more sweetness from the wheat but never got that; long finish wish lots of wood on the back end. Not my favorite but certainly not a bad pour. My palate runs more to those bourbons that have that vanilla/caramel profile. Having said that I do like a good rye and to me this whiskey definitely has those notes. I have not tried the Old Scout.

Since Gus has made me totally apathetic about football😞 I’m glad I can come here and talk whiskey with you guys. Cheers!

[McLoofus 35,182]

5 minutes ago, fredst said:

Ok, tried the “Contradiction” Friday night: lots of spice up front (more than I expected) like a higher rye mash bill- was expecting a little more sweetness from the wheat but never got that; long finish wish lots of wood on the back end. Not my favorite but certainly not a bad pour. My palate runs more to those bourbons that have that vanilla/caramel profile. Having said that I do like a good rye and to me this whiskey definitely has those notes. I have not tried the Old Scout.

Since Gus has made me totally apathetic about football😞 I’m glad I can come here and talk whiskey with you guys. Cheers!

I think my palate might align with yours. Appreciate the deets! 

[Grumps 3,693]

On 11/2/2018 at 8:51 PM, ShocksMyBrain said:

This WAS one of my favorite bourbons for the price. Smooth Ambler Contradiction 100 proof coming in at about $55. 

However, the new bottles are coming in at 92 proof for $40. I haven’t tried the 92 proof, and I doubt I will unless someone comes through with a sample. 

Speaking of "Contradiction," you do realize that there is an elephant on the bottle, right? Surely there are enough bourbons out there for you to avoid bottles containing elephants!

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

It’s not quite as good as the barrel proof rye, but it’s pretty damn good. Pretty mellow for the 100 proof. 

[fredst 9,064]

On 11/16/2018 at 6:48 PM, ShocksMyBrain said:

It’s not quite as good as the barrel proof rye, but it’s pretty damn good. Pretty mellow for the 100 proof. 

Cost? Any ryes I’d be familiar with you’d compare it to?

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

1 hour ago, fredst said:

Cost? Any ryes I’d be familiar with you’d compare it to?

$45 or so. Nothing really comes to mind, other than just a softer version of the barrel proof rye they released this year. 

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

Our bourbon drawing for all the good s*** is this Saturday. Here’s a sneak peak, and not even close to what we all have planned. 

 

That Nikka From the Barrel next to the Blanton’s won #1 best whiskey of 2018 per Whiskey Advocate. I think the Knob Creek Cask Strength Rye was #2. 

[fredst 9,064]

1 hour ago, ShocksMyBrain said:

Our bourbon drawing for all the good s*** is this Saturday. Here’s a sneak peak, and not even close to what we all have planned. 

 

That Nikka From the Barrel next to the Blanton’s won #1 best whiskey of 2018 per Whiskey Advocate. I think the Knob Creek Cask Strength Rye was #2. 

Dude. I need you to score me some of the OFBB, Handy, and WLW and we good, lol.

I have a bottle of the 18 year EC and some of the High West Midwinters Night Dram coming that a friend purchased for me. I will submit tasting notes after I have had the opportunity.

Edited December 10, 2018 by fredst

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

5 minutes ago, fredst said:

Dude. I need you to score me some of the OFBB, Handy, and WLW and we good.

I’ll get right on that.

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

19 minutes ago, fredst said:

Dude. I need you to score me some of the OFBB, Handy, and WLW and we good, lol.

I have a bottle of the 18 year EC and some of the High West Midwinters Night Dram coming that a friend purchased for me. I will submit tasting notes after I have had the opportunity.

I had the EC 18 the other day. It was gorgeous. 

The MND is tasty as well, unsure if it was worthy of the price tag, but it was good. 

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

Not my pic, obv, but a customer brought this in a couple weeks ago. Fantastic. No idea on the price, as I didn’t ask.

[McLoofus 35,182]

14 hours ago, ShocksMyBrain said:

I had the EC 18 the other day. It was gorgeous. 

The MND is tasty as well, unsure if it was worthy of the price tag, but it was good. 

Exactly what a person who received it as a gift wants to hear, lol.

Have you gotten to taste this year's OFBB? The one they put out 3 or 4 years ago was one of my favorite bourbons I've ever tasted but- last year's? the one before that?- whichever one I tasted since wasn't what I remembered. But it was still damned good.

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

3 hours ago, McLoofus said:

Exactly what a person who received it as a gift wants to hear, lol.

Have you gotten to taste this year's OFBB? The one they put out 3 or 4 years ago was one of my favorite bourbons I've ever tasted but- last year's? the one before that?- whichever one I tasted since wasn't what I remembered. But it was still damned good.

I haven’t. Hoping someone who buys it in the drawing will stick around after the crowd clears and taste us on it. 

[fredst 9,064]

It was a good couple of days at my house. The Midwinters is delicious: fruity taste, almost like raisins, very smooth. Delicious solo but I also made a Manhattan with it and that was the best Manhattan I’ve ever had I think. Have not yet tasted the others but will let y’all know when I do. 

Regarding the OFBB...haven’t tasted this years but last years was really good, best since 2013. I think I missed 2016 but for sure 2014 and 2015 didn’t live up to the 2013, though they weren’t bad.

[McLoofus 35,182]

@ShocksMyBrain- You've asked what shoppers like in a seller. Similarly, is there a strategy to getting on a seller's "good list" and staying in the know about the good stuff that comes in? I'm averse to being a pest, to a fault. I know that spending a lot of money and making informed choices on big ticket items helps, but I unfortunately have to be careful with my splurges. I do try to be friendly and knowledgeable in my interactions at my local spots. Well, the friendly part doesn't require much effort. Y'all help with the knowledgeable part, lol. 

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

28 minutes ago, fredst said:

It was a good couple of days at my house. The Midwinters is delicious: fruity taste, almost like raisins, very smooth. Delicious solo but I also made a Manhattan with it and that was the best Manhattan I’ve ever had I think. Have not yet tasted the others but will let y’all know when I do. 

Regarding the OFBB...haven’t tasted this years but last years was really good, best since 2013. I think I missed 2016 but for sure 2014 and 2015 didn’t live up to the 2013, though they weren’t bad.

If you like manhattans, try the High West Yippie Ki Yay. Tastes like a strong already made manhattan. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

For my fellow bargain aficionados.

https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2018/12/13-of-the-best-bottom-shelf-cheap-bourbons-blind-t.html

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

4 hours ago, McLoofus said:

@ShocksMyBrain- You've asked what shoppers like in a seller. Similarly, is there a strategy to getting on a seller's "good list" and staying in the know about the good stuff that comes in? I'm averse to being a pest, to a fault. I know that spending a lot of money and making informed choices on big ticket items helps, but I unfortunately have to be careful with my splurges. I do try to be friendly and knowledgeable in my interactions at my local spots. Well, the friendly part doesn't require much effort. Y'all help with the knowledgeable part, lol. 

Come in weekly or bi-weekly and actually buy something, doesn’t have to be expensive.

Strike up a conversation with me, “what’s new, what do you like, etc”. I remember faces very easily, and if you’re not a dick I’ll most likely come to you when I see you again. If I ask you if you need help, and the first few times you decline, I’ll remember and likely think you may not ever need help. Some shoppers I recognize, I’ll grab them and be like, “here’s the [special bourbon], buy it today because it’ll be gone tomorrow”.

Don’t bend my ear for 20 minutes on a Friday or Saturday night. I’ve got other customers to help and stocking to do. Early-mid week is best if you want to really talk shop. There’s one guy who used to come in that would take 15-30 minutes of my/our time every Friday and not buy anything. As a staff, we stopped engaging him because of this. 

Lastly, if you never shop here, don’t immediately ask, “y’all got any Pappy?” because we don’t. “How do you handle your Pappy, BTAC, etc. allotments?”  is a lot better of a way to ask. 

I say all this in first person, but it applies to our entire staff that drinks bourbon. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

20 minutes ago, ShocksMyBrain said:

Come in weekly or bi-weekly and actually buy something, doesn’t have to be expensive.

Strike up a conversation with me, “what’s new, what do you like, etc”. I remember faces very easily, and if you’re not a dick I’ll most likely come to you when I see you again. If I ask you if you need help, and the first few times you decline, I’ll remember and likely think you may not ever need help. Some shoppers I recognize, I’ll grab them and be like, “here’s the [special bourbon], buy it today because it’ll be gone tomorrow”.

Don’t bend my ear for 20 minutes on a Friday or Saturday night. I’ve got other customers to help and stocking to do. Early-mid week is best if you want to really talk shop. There’s one guy who used to come in that would take 15-30 minutes of my/our time every Friday and not buy anything. As a staff, we stopped engaging him because of this. 

Lastly, if you never shop here, don’t immediately ask, “y’all got any Pappy?” because we don’t. “How do you handle your Pappy, BTAC, etc. allotments?”  is a lot better of a way to ask. 

I say all this in first person, but it applies to our entire staff that drinks bourbon. 

Thanks. I learned a lot of that etiquette from beer culture but great point about timing during the week. And I can sometimes be timid about approaching guys. I do better with the beer guys than the bourbon guys because there's a lot more rotation with the beer stock and that "what's cool right now" question can be asked weekly.

I asked that exact question about BTAC the other day. I think I asked the wrong guy, but after I'd been shopping at this spot almost exclusively for a year, he let me know that they keep the "well" Weller in the back so that people don't buy 6 bottles off the shelf at a time. It's a start. 

[fredst 9,064]

58 minutes ago, ShocksMyBrain said:

Come in weekly or bi-weekly and actually buy something, doesn’t have to be expensive.

Strike up a conversation with me, “what’s new, what do you like, etc”. I remember faces very easily, and if you’re not a dick I’ll most likely come to you when I see you again. If I ask you if you need help, and the first few times you decline, I’ll remember and likely think you may not ever need help. Some shoppers I recognize, I’ll grab them and be like, “here’s the [special bourbon], buy it today because it’ll be gone tomorrow”.

Don’t bend my ear for 20 minutes on a Friday or Saturday night. I’ve got other customers to help and stocking to do. Early-mid week is best if you want to really talk shop. There’s one guy who used to come in that would take 15-30 minutes of my/our time every Friday and not buy anything. As a staff, we stopped engaging him because of this. 

Lastly, if you never shop here, don’t immediately ask, “y’all got any Pappy?” because we don’t. “How do you handle your Pappy, BTAC, etc. allotments?”  is a lot better of a way to ask. 

I say all this in first person, but it applies to our entire staff that drinks bourbon. 

Good pointers. Where are you located? What if I come in and accidentally act like a dick, lol?

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

22 minutes ago, fredst said:

Good pointers. Where are you located? What if I come in and accidentally act like a dick, lol?

Memphis. 

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

59 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Thanks. I learned a lot of that etiquette from beer culture but great point about timing during the week. And I can sometimes be timid about approaching guys. I do better with the beer guys than the bourbon guys because there's a lot more rotation with the beer stock and that "what's cool right now" question can be asked weekly.

I asked that exact question about BTAC the other day. I think I asked the wrong guy, but after I'd been shopping at this spot almost exclusively for a year, he let me know that they keep the "well" Weller in the back so that people don't buy 6 bottles off the shelf at a time. It's a start. 

Bourbon hounds are the worst. Because they would buy the Weller SR off the shelf and turn around and flip it. We have to do the same thing with our Weller SR.

They act like children moreso than beer and wine snobs.

Every single FB message we’ve gotten in the past two weeks has been about this stupid drawing we’re doing Saturday. My owner has about had it with the whole thing—so much bitching about it. She said we may just jack the s*** out of the price and let it be open season next year. 

Edited December 12, 2018 by ShocksMyBrain

[fredst 9,064]

39 minutes ago, ShocksMyBrain said:

Bourbon hounds are the worst. Because they would buy the Weller SR off the shelf and turn around and flip it. We have to do the same thing with our Weller SR.

They act like children moreso than beer and wine snobs.

Every single FB message we’ve gotten in the past two weeks has been about this stupid drawing we’re doing Saturday. My owner has about had it with the whole thing—so much bitching about it. She said we may just jack the s*** out of the price and let it be open season next year. 

I had a Pappy connection for awhile that would  sell it near standard MSRP but you had to agree to let him break the seal on it, ending that secondary market resell BS. What is the name of your store in Memphis? I’m in AL and the ABC restricts the liquor market enough that I just can’t get a lot of the stuff I want without traveling😔

Edited December 12, 2018 by fredst