Blades & Bourbon

brownshoe said:
Too much money in this thread :) I just got a $17 Fighting Cock, 6yo (per liquor man) and 103 proof. Nice change from my usual $18 a handle 90 proof Ezra Brooks.
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I've got a $17 "limited edition" bottle of 100 proof Jim Beam's Old Tub (75% corn, 13% rye & 12% barley) on the shelf and have previously purchased/tasted a $12 bottle of Heaven Hill's 100 proof Mellow Corn (at least 80% corn) in the past.

Nothing I'd buy again but they'd do fine if you can't afford or don't want to spend more. Great as mixers or on the rocks. Ok neat w/a little water too, albeit a bit too young/unrefinded (at 4 yrs) to drink in that way IMO.
 
So looks like for one year only I drank ridiculous amount of knifes... ? :D:thumbsup:

Anyway, I was impressed by the 12 yo Weller and the higher proof - Antique.
Little bit different messy finger food for the Super bowl, covered with some 5 yo excellent Pinhook Bourbon:

Go Buccaneers !!! :p:thumbsup:

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I'd seen the Baker's Single Barrel; but had dismissed it due to the increased price...thinking, basically that Baker's is good; but not that good. Recently, I found it for a price I was willing to pay (and I was in the mood to experiment). I had a small glass, and was pleasantly surprised. Clearly Baker's; but better. A little more mellow - I'm thinking maybe a little less oak tannin and a touch more caramel. I'd moved the glasses enough that I wasn't sure which was which; but the taste told the tale. It's about $10 more than I was paying for the small batch; but I went and grabbed another bottle today, to have on hand.
 
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Well, I just opened my 1 Liter bottle (didn't even realize it was 1L) of Weller Special Reserve today and, I hate to say it, but I really am NOT impressed. It's not bad and certainly "drinkable" but I'm not sure what the"fuss" is all about.

I am now thinking about rushing back to my nearest Raley's which was closing out it's last can of Stillhouse for just $16 bucks after just finishing off my can of Stillhouse which provided a much smoother and enjoyable taste (especially "neat") than did the Weller.

Compared to what I paid for this 1L bottle of Special Reserve, the Stillhouse truly is a bargain!

PS: I did run over to Raley's to try to buy that can of Stillhouse but it was "gone." Should have bought it when I had the chance. Oh well . . . :(

Update 3/5/2021: I guess the Special Reserve is "growing on me." Already finished 1/2 of the 1L bottle but I am actually trying to finish it so that it doesn't take so much room in my liquor "cabinet." However, I don't think I'll buy another bottle of the stuff (even a 750ml bottle) unless I can get it close to MSRP of $40 and I'm not going to hold my breath til I do around these parts because the 1L bottle that I have is the ONLY bottle of Special Reserve that I've seen in my area in the past 3 months.
 
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sgt1372 said:
Well, I just opened my 1 Liter bottle (didn't even realize it was 1L) of Weller Special Reserve today and, I hate to say it, but I really am NOT impressed.

Not sure what to make of this but I am now thinking about rushing back to my nearest Raley's which was closing out it's last can of Stillhouse for just $16 bucks after just finishing off my can of Stillhouse which provided a much smoother and enjoyable taste than did the Weller.

Compared to what I paid for this 1L bottle of Special Reserve, the Stillhouse truly is a bargain!
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The demand for Weller SR is completely out of step with its quality. It's not that it's bad by any means, but there's miles of better stuff on the shelf at the same price and cheaper (sometimes significantly).
 
halden.doerge said:
The demand for Weller SR is completely out of step with its quality. It's not that it's bad by any means, but there's miles of better stuff on the shelf at the same price and cheaper (sometimes significantly).
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^this
I've had a few of the Weller offerings, and wasn't particularly impressed. It wasn't that awfully long ago that the Weller line ranged from mid $20s-upper $40s. The current pricing is beyond ridiculous, as it isn't a premium bourbon... it's hype was driven by internet influencers - due to unrealistic comparisons to PVW - and Buffalo Trace's allocation practices.
 
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Early Times Bottled in Bond, redux.

As some may remember, after my first sampling of this one, I was less than enthused. Extremely alcohol forward, to the point that I simply didn't enjoy drinking it. I believe I said that I thought there was a decent flavor in there; I just couldn't find it. I aerated the bottle, then poured half into an empty & left it alone for a few weeks. I had a few sips yesterday morning; and the result, IMO, is a significant improvement. It's a much more approachable bourbon, now.
While the taste is quite different, I think a side by side with Old Tub is in order - as they're both inexpensive 100pr bourbons. Heck, it might be fun to bring Old Forester to the party, too (I think I have just enough left)
 
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Okay, so after a fun night at work, I decided this was the morning. Pictured are comparable amounts of Early Times BIB, Old Forester, and Old Tub BIB...and a piece of strawberry rhubarb pie. (Combined = Breakfast)

Oh, there a WC small 21 insingo there, too.

Admittedly, I was expecting to like the Old Forester the best; but that's not how things happened today.
Today, at one sip or another, I thought each carried a somewhat medicinal taste. Overall, I thought the Early Times was similar to the Old Forester. Not the same, just similar. It bears mentioning that I'd previously enjoyed the Old Forester more than I did today...and the Early Times was hideous at first taste, and required some shenanigans to make drinkable.
I'm surprised to say that, today, I found the Old Tub just a bit more enjoyable than the Old Forester.
Group shot
With a (Gen 1) 0550 and Spider Monkey.

Final thoughts - these are all okay. I believe that the Old Tub was the least expensive bottle...but the other two are 1L vs 750 mL. Will I buy any of them again? Probably not. I'd rather drink Four Roses Small Batch than any of these. Do I regret buying any of them? I can't say that I do...but, with 2 bottles of Baker's open; I won't be revisiting these for a while
 
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I'd give another bottle of Early Times a try. Maybe you got a bad one. I've had more of that than any other $20ish bourbon over the last couple years, and I find it to be some of the best if not the best tasting juice at that price point. I'm sure it all depends on what flavor profile different folks like, but ET BiB is really excellent for my money.

I find it to be very similar to Woodford but with the proof bumped up enough to give a decent intensity of flavor. The Brown Forman flavor profile is definitely more evident in ET than in Old Forester. I liked Old Tub, but I think I just like that Brown Forman flavor profile better than Jim Beam, by just a hair.

Though now that Sazerac has bought Early Times from Brown Forman, who knows how it may end up changing.
 
Being a huge fan of Barton's 1792, I was happy to lay my hands on a bottle I was missing, along with the 12 years old: Sweet Wheat.
My buddies and I tried all of them and my personal best is still the Full Proof, followed by Bottled in Bond, Sweet Wheat and Small Batch... Single barrel is fine, but it's so close to the Small Batch that I personally can't make the difference and rather spend the less $$ for the SB... :D

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POCEH KOCEB said:
Being a huge fan of Barton's 1792, I was happy to lay my hands on a bottle I was missing, along with the 12 years old: Sweet Wheat.
My buddies and I tried all of them and my personal best is still the Full Proof, followed by Bottled in Bond, Sweet Wheat and Small Batch... Single barrel is fine, but it's so close to the Small Batch that I personally can't make the difference and rather spend the less $$ for the SB... :D

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Single barrel store picks of 1792 have been some of the best stuff you can get for the money. Always a fan of those.
 
Probably, not contesting it. Maybe I just got different barrel... I like it but side by side with BIB, I'd go for the later any time.
 
POCEH KOCEB said:
Being a huge fan of Barton's 1792, I was happy to lay my hands on a bottle I was missing, along with the 12 years old: Sweet Wheat.
My buddies and I tried all of them and my personal best is still the Full Proof, followed by Bottled in Bond, Sweet Wheat and Small Batch... Single barrel is fine, but it's so close to the Small Batch that I personally can't make the difference and rather spend the less $$ for the SB... :D
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Opened and tasted a bottle of 1792 Full Proof awhile ago but I do not recall it being particularly memorable. Will have to revisit it.

There's a bottle of Small Batch on sale for $30 at my local BevMo and a bottle of Single Barrel at the closest TWM to me for $33.

Since the BevMo is located only 5 mins from my house (while the TWM is located about 40 miles away) and since you didn't notice much of a difference between the 2, I may buy the bottle of the Small Batch at BevMo give it a try.

Other recent bourbon purchases that I have not yet opened/tasted include a bottle of Colonel E.H. Taylor - Small Batch and Baker's 7 - Single Barrel (which @hhmore mentioned above). Other bottles that I purchased previously but do not plan to open any time soon include: Michter's 10, Weller 12 and Pinhook Bourbon War - Vertical Series 4 & 5.

Among the bourbons on my current buy list are:

Blanton's Gold
Booker's Boston Batch
Boondocks 8 yr Port Cask
Bulleit Barrel Strength
Burning Chair - Barrel Select
Hickory Hill 12 Single Barrel

While I have seen a bottle of Blanton's & Bookers for sale in the past, I have not seen any recently. The Bulleit is available at my LLS for a high but affordable price and the Boondocks, Burning Chair and Hickory Hill are available at TWM.

There's also a bottle of Weller Full Proof and Antique 107 available at my LLS for $300 and $150, respectively. Given my less than notable tasting experience w/Weller Special Reserve, I'm no longer motivated to buy the Full Proof but may but the Antique 107. Will probably buy it w/the Bulleit, if they're still there, during my next trip to my LLS.

However, before I open any other newly purchased bottles, I want to finish off various other previously opened bottles that I think are "ok" but that I probably will not buy again in order to make room on my shelves for others.
 
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POCEH KOCEB said:
Probably, not contesting it. Maybe I just got different barrel... I like it but side by side with BIB, I'd go for the later any time.
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Yeah, I've heard that the BiB is better than the standard single barrel from 1792. I was actually thinking of single barrel picks of the Full Proof that I've had (forgot to say it, though). Those I really like.
 
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