I'm still angry I didn't stock up on w107. FlyingDoctorWu had told me about a great store pick a year or two ago when I was still in his area. Now I'm in TX and it's near impossible to find.

Schawan has a couple barrel picks right now from High West. I haven't had them yet but the world that I'm getting is that they are quite tasty....



It's rarely on the shelf here in Baltimore. However, two stores have purchased barrels over the last couple years so they get about 220 bottles in at a time when those are delivered. I always make sure to get a case because at the price point it's unbeatable.... makes a great gift for people as well...

Didn't realize you moved. Thought you were up in PA still... hope you had some luck in TX this year with the hunt though... there should be plenty of Weller 12 in TX according to lore... I've never ever seen it here in MD

FDW

Just snagged a bottle of Thomas H. Handy Sazerac rye for the boss's holiday gift. He will have a Merry Christmas indeed!

you're a good employee.. great gift...

One of the most underrated pours.. just had a glass tonite... for a young rye it's incredible.. very bold, great rye spice.. and love the finish....

Hopefully he'll open it with you

FDW

He definitely will, so I will report back. I am picking it up for our office Thursday and we are going it to him next week.

Since moving to TX earlier this year, I've directed some spend to total wine to hit the highest tier in their rewards program, as those members get first shot at limited releases. Figured it'd give me better odds being new to the area than starting relationships with small stores.

This morning a friend sends me a text asking if I've received my email for their pvw release...I had not. Called corporate to see if it was by state or if there was something wrong and they told me that they weren't receiving any in TX. I was a bit deflated after the call, but then remembered that I'm in CA right now and thought maybe I could pull something off. Called corp back and they told me there was a store about 20mim from my office that had it first come, first serve for grand reserve members. They called the store and added me to their list so I'd be able to buy if there was any left (since I wouldn't have the barcoded email).

Hopped in the car and shot over there...there was quite a line. Fortunately, I made it just in time and was able to grab a pvw15 and orvw. They ran out 2 people after me. Double good luck that I brought a large suitcase that can easily fit the 2 bottles in a box :D

Interestingly enough one of the guys at work gave me a bottle of this last week. I haven't opened it yet but definitely a great gift.. I did use last years bottle to make a manhattan tonite and it was absolutely incredible. Such a great great pour....

Awesome.. so grand reserve is 25K points? 10 points/$ spend? We have a total wine here in Baltimore that I really don't visit too much... they used to be Beltway and less corporatey but now they really tow the Total Wine line. They used to just keep all the stuff first come first serve. Most of my PVW20 that I still have is left over from a great haul in 2011/2012 that I had there (well great as in 3 bottles)... now it's all tied into the system... I put most of my spend at a local shop (probably would have been enough to qualify as Grand reserve) but I got to say they really take care of me so I'm happy...

Anyway congrats again; hope you enjoy and great haul. Do they do the same for the Antique collection?

FDW

Had Reservoir and Hudson last night. Both were quite tasty.

Hoping to find some more Elmer T Lee and Col E H Taylor somewhere locally soon.

Yup, 25k points. Nobody seems to know yet what's going on with btac, but word is that it will somehow be offered to grand reserve members first. When did beltway change?

I still have a mostly full bottle of Hudson left, I was not impressed especially for the price.

How about beam doubling the price of booker's and cutting production? It's a safe, if uninspiring, choice in the $50 range, but forget it at $100. They're also killing old grand dad 114, which is a fantastic value and great for cocktails.

Good to know. My boss loves Manhattans.

A reminder that every six months (April and October) a group of us FTers go to Kentucky for the races and bourbon. For April 2017 we have reserved all the spots for a behind-the-scenes "hard hat" tour at Buffalo Trace.

The link is in my signature.

So total wine sent out and botched their btac emails earlier in the week - sent reservation emails with broken links. Said we'd get a new link the following day, then sent it later that same day. Fortunately, I happened to look at my email and got a reservation. They consolidated to just a few stores in each state - if you received a confirmation email yesterday, they would hold a bottleneck for you, but selection was first come, first serve.

Made the hour drive to Dallas this morning when they opened at 10 and there were about a dozen other people with reservations waiting. Earliest folks were there around 7 and the first 3 people took Wlw. Fortunately, I still have a half bottle of last year's left. Did score gts today. They had no saz.

Guy in front of me in line thought he'd be able to get a walk up bottle. He told the manager he didn't have an email and was told "nope, not happening, it's impossible for me to give you anything." Poor guy.

Being a good husband and father, I then made my way to t&co so I'd have an acceptable reason for being gone so long, other than just buying bourbon. :D

OK, so the boss and I got into the Thomas H Handy last night and WOW is all I can say without being banned from FT.

He was reluctant to mix such a special bourbon but ended up making a Manhattan and did not regret it. The most prominent flavor was this amazing smooth clove note with a honeyed finish. Really impressive drink. FlyingDoctorwu I hope you enjoy your bottle as much as he did ^

Beltway changed in 2014 I think for the PVW; this year for the BTAC. GTS is a good score. Absolutely rediciluous about Bookers- as you said it it is a hard sell at 50-60... Create artificial demand by cutting production and raising the price... I guess they saw what their limited editions did and are trying to create my hype for their normal stock...

I like high proof stuff for cocktails.. makes it seem like I'm getting a real drink...

Glad you liked it.. I find that better ingredients makes better cocktails. What vermouth and cherries did you use? I like carpano antica and Luxardo cherries...

FDW

No idea - sorry. I didn't have one. He is a Manhattan guy, I'm a scotch/ bourbon neat-er

Picked up some Baby Saz in NYC today. Never see it in NC and have heard good things. Saw it in a bunch of stores mostly at $40 so pulled the trigger when one store had it at $32. Looking forward to trying it when I get back to NC this weekend.

Also saw Stagg Jr 130 proof (Batch #7) for $70. Couldn't decide (even at a good price) and ultimately passed (perhaps a mistake) based on a few reviews of Batch 7 that weren't favorable.

Ended up spending the $70 on Ohishi Sherry Cask Whiskey instead (but that's for a different thread).

Have been drinking the Jefferson Ocean Aged batch 8 this week on vacation. Very, very good. Definitely worth the $64 at Costco, not sure if I'd pay the $90+ at a liquor store through. :cool:

Won a Van Winkle 12 in the VA ABC lottery this year. First time I'd tried it; it's good, albeit not in the same league as the 20.

Have the Mitcher's 10 Single Barrel coming in soon on a "2nd change" VA ABC lottery drawing, too. Costs like $40 more than the Pappy 12, but I'll buy it anyway given it's not something I see often at retail prices...


Haven't tried the voyage 8 yet; I do like the cask strength one (7?) a good bit, as well as the earlier batches.


Elmer T. Lee is supposedly showing up on VA ABC shelves again soon and is a good bargain at $35-ish. I haven't seen it at any of the ABCs I frequent yet, though, and got the ABC e-mail that stores would have it a few weeks ago. They also did online ordering for it earlier last year; I dunno if they'll do so again in 2017 or not. I snagged a few bottles when it was on shelves in early 2016.

Ahhhhh SO LUCKY! Enjoy.

I'm not a Bourbon drinker myself but am from a family and friend group who are...last week we found a place near us that had 10yr, 15yr and 20yr Pappy so some serious coin was dropped whilst everyone tried that various ones.

The consensus was the 15yr and 20yr were very different and the latter being spectacular (unfortunately for the wallets of those present! :D )

I used to live in VA but never heard of the ABC lotteries. I assume like most lotteries your $60 is lost if you don't win....do you know how many bottles the VA ABC get?

Very jealous - never had the chance to try any of them. One day maybe I'll get lucky on the Durham/NC ABC lottery (ha - not a chance). I saw the 10 year for $500 at a random liquor store while in NYC but couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger - if it'd been 15 or higher I might have pondered for longer.

This should be a crime!!
 

My uncle loves Elijah Craig, it is his drink.

Two years ago he helped my father (his brother) out quite a bit so my dad bucked up and found him a bottle of 23yo. Not bad huh? While on vacation with my family last week my Uncle, who lives in Florida, drove up to see everyone and brought his bottle of 23 with him to share with my father and I.

Now my father hates Bourbon, he is single malt scotch all the way but I love the stuff and was eager to get my hands on some EC23. While my uncle is pouring and pontificating about the smoothness and body and flavor he sneaks in "and that is why I cut it." WAHT :confused:. Yes folks he cut his Elijah Craig 23 with some Elijah Craig 12 :eek:!

My uncle, master distiller that he is cut it to a ratio of four parts 23 to every one part 12 and claims it was better....I wouldn't know. I've never had the stuff. Is it just me, or should this be a crime?

It's his bourbon so he's entitled to do whatever he wants. I assume he tried it straight first.

The shameful part of the story is sharing it after cutting it. Why not keep 2 separate bottles and mix it in your glass?

They instituted them this year, after several years of people complaining the waiting lists and other ways of handling heavily-allocated products were corrupt and opaque. The lotteries aren't much more transparent, but at least anyone can enter when they're announced. It's buried on the VA ABC website somewhere.

I heard the VA ABC got ~96 bottles of each of the ones they did in the lottery (10, 12, and the rye). They're still allocating the 20 and 23 to their ages-long waiting list customers, which they stopped letting people get on a couple of years back.

Good thing about the VA lotteries is that you don't pay until you pick up. That's how I have won a couple of 2nd chance entries, I suppose; the winners didn't end up wanting them, or weren't able to pick them up within 14 days.



One of the guys I work with gave me a 2 oz pour from his 20 year last year for Christmas, and IMHO, it deserves all the accolades it gets.

The 12 is pretty good, but it definitely needs a bit longer in the barrel. For the age (and the retail price, if you can get it retail), the 12 is fantastic.

I happily concur after having tried it last Thursday for the first time.

I have had Pappy 20....more than 2oz and just don't think it is that great. I agree it is very very good, but think better bottles can be had for far less hassle.

Not to start a holy war... but I wouldn't pay aftermarket prices for it, no... but it beats all the 20-year bourbons I've tried. IMHO, it's truly at that "sweet spot" where the barrel and the bourbon are in balance.

Picked up a Mitcher's Single Barrel 10 I won via VA ABC lottery today (in the 2nd chance drawing). Have to say it's not worth the $$$. It's good, but I prefer stuff that costs a third to half as much. Four Roses Single Barrel, for example, is better IMHO and runs $44, not $120.

Hands down Woodford Reserve the best small batch bourbon. Worst bourbon is E&J. Christian Brothers is not bad for$7 but i'll stick to Woodford.

But I do love my Cognac(Martel or Hennesy).

Amazing! France makes a really good Rye whiskey!

http://www.forgeorges.fr/wp-content/...l-713x1024.jpg

Found at the bar at the IC Marseille. Silver medal at the 2015 IWSC (International Wine and Spirits Competition)

Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof isn't bad. I picked up a bottle on Black Friday LOL when VA ABC offered a 25% off coupon or so.

128.8 proof, so definitely hot... drinks comparably to a couple of the Smooth Ambler Old Scout 10 barrel proofs I have. Costs more, though.

The aftermarket prices are offensive!!

I supposedly got my hands on the best bourbon out there just today, but I'm not opening it for awhile!

I almost entered the VA lottery for Pappy 25. Couldn't ever justify $1800 if I won it, though. Gorgeous presentation... but no bourbon is worth that.

Yes, I've paid over $400 for a whisky before... and I love Pappy 20 and would probably pay $400 for a bottle if I could (LOL). But $1800 for what is probably too old of a bourbon? No way.

I'm not sure I could pay $1,800 for ANY consumable. I've had bottles of wine in the high high many hundreds of dollars but I wasn't paying. $1,800 for anything that ends in the toilet.....or bushes ;).....is nuts.

What's the secondary market on this bottle? Doesn't seem to have hit yet, but it could be considered a great investment.

I considered that... VA ABC was quick to remind people that it's a crime in VA to resell alcohol, and that the bottles are etched with a serial #. (Not that that is going to dissuade resales much, or that VA ABC will be monitoring all online sales channels...)

Figured I could parcel out bottle share portions to offset some of the investment, but then did the math and realized it would be a tough sell to recoup even a decent portion. If I gave up half the bottle, that's 6 2oz shares... meaning I'd have to charge $150 each to even break even. Few bottle share groups I follow charge remotely that much for much rarer and older stuff.

Oh which bottle? Also, it really depends on where you are. I have seen 10yo Pappy (retail $40 +/-) sell for $500+. So if you were able to get a retail bottle in a lottery or by some other means it would be worth investing the $40 but me personally, I'd enjoy the drink.

I'm a fan of Eagle Rare. Purchased (4) 6 packs a year ago and gave away most of them for Holiday gifts. Down to my last 2 bottles.. Time to stock up again..

I opened and have enjoyed the Pappy 12 I won via lottery back in December, FWIW. Just couldn't bring myself to enter the Pappy 25 lottery given it would cost $1800 if I won...