I was back in Andorra recently (see above) and this time I bought the Four Roses Single Barrel. It was only €20-something there. Wow I am surprised and impressed at the quality.

scored a 23 this year again. I know FDW got the 20. Anyone else? Already opened it! :)

Total wine has totally screwed the state of Texas - no BTAC or PVW. My spend is going elsewhere next year.

Picked these up this weekend. All 3 can be surprisingly tricky to get in the Houston area.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...20edb190fc.jpg

It does suck. I've noticed though that the Total Wines in the Houston area generally don't have the harder to get stuff. I usually end up just getting all our wine and champagne from them and then bourbon elsewhere.

Also bought in Andorra, a bottle of Woodford Reserve Distillers Select. But what I hadn't noticed til now that I'm opening the bottle, that it's a 1 liter size bottle! Do they even sell those in the US?

https://www.onlineshop-helgoland.de/...1L_720x600.jpg

I believe that's how that one comes. I could be mistaken though.

Does Total Wine down by y'all do their frequent buyer club? I don't shop at the one here in MD but my neighbor does and was able to get a BTAC via that route this year....

I remember being able to walk into Beltway (aka Total Wine) and have the pick of PVW/BTAC (oh the good ole days)..... I actually left many a VW 10 and 12 on the shelf there.....

FDW

I've only ever seen 750ml in the US. But maybe they now have bigger bottles like Europe? Or are there regional laws preventing that?

All my duty-free Woodford purchases worldwide has been the one litre; I have yet to see anything but 750ml at US retail outlets

yes, they do - I have her highest status (of course). They didn’t ship any pvw or btac to the entire state this year. Independent retailers started putting btac on the shelf this week. Found a gts and wlw for $500. Unreal.

Did pick up a wt decades, ecbp and michter’s toasted over the past couple days.

maybe they will do it later. I remember Total Wine last year holding their stock back and selling at a later date...

Costco sells Woodford Reserve Distiller’s Select in 1.75L. Bought one in LEX a couple weeks back for $60, though I think I have also seen it in Chicagoland. Different text/layout silk-screened on bottle than the one pictured here a couple days ago, but it’s labeled as “Distiller’s Select/Woodford Reserve/Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.”

Is it the same exact stuff if it omits “Labrot & Graham” from the label? Sorry, I am kind of a bourbon novice.

Note that we are having the 12th iteration of the LEX Horse and Bourbon DO in April. Bourbon tours, horse farms, horse races, partying, and points/miles talk. What could be better?

Link in my signature below.

not happening here this year, confirmed with corporate.

Woodford, Knob Creek and a few others are available in both 0.75L and 1.0L sizes in Ohio. I'm sure they are in other states as well.

Found the latest installment of Boss Hog for $429. Talk me into or out of it. And by friday.

the black prince?
well... that’s a good price.... for the black prince. Retail is $500... It’s too rich for my blood. They’ve sourced this rye from MGP (previous years have been CAndian). Aged 14 years and finished in Armagnac barrels... I’ve just never been able to get into Whistle Pig too much... and maybe I’m the only one but I hate finished whiskey. Especially rye, which I love. I love a nice prototypical rye finish; heavy on the pepper... but it’s gstting well reviewed and it would be interesting to try. It’s not flying off the shelves though. I say hi to a bottle every week and it doesn’t tempt me at all... pikesvilke 7 yo rye works quite well for me...

So TL;DR good price on expensive booze that’s still likely overpriced. Gets good reviews though.

Thanks for your reply. Gonna sleep on it still. If I don’t get it I’m gonna snag EH Taylor Rye that the store just got in.

Hard pass. Have never been impressed by Whistle Pig, at any of their price points. If you really want to spend that much money, buy a bottle of Lot B.

I like Whistle Pig, but that's too rich for my blood. Half that, and sure... but as everyone's said, it has gotten great reviews.

A friend of mine who has a bottle says it's awesome, but he actually prefers the current High West Midwinter Night's Dram (not sure what Act/Scene it is; I picked up Act III last winter in UT).

So as noted previously, saw Boss Hog for $429. Went into an independently owned store this weekend and they were asking $1k a bottle. Crazy talk. The independent store was pretty much double the price of a big box store for anything they carried but they did have some hard to find things which were just fun to look at.

I picked this EH Taylor up at a big box store this weekend. Trying to get their full line up.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2c051dbd74.jpg

I've been watching the Whistle Pig sit on the shelf at my local for I think $500...not tempted.. think you made the right choice....

The EH Taylor stuff is interesting... The full line will be tough given that they've done a lot of one offs... I think it's where Harlan Wheatley gets to experiement...

FDW

Have blanton’s gold and sftb coming in - really looking forward to them.

I recently purchased the High West Bourbon - it was about the same price as my normal BH so I wanted to try it. Has anyone else had it? I am sticking with Basil next time. Very disappointed after having so many other good High West products.

Very informative and interesting

High West makes a number of products, what specifically did you buy?

Not a BH fan, as it’s too watered down.

The american prairie bourbon

Anybody tried Buffalo Trace's Benchmark Old Number 8? The bottle looks like quite a ripoff of JD. I wonder how they got away with that?

http://www.buffalotracedistillery.co.../Benchmark.png https://img.thewhiskyexchange.com/540/brbon_jac1.jpg

Benchmark | Buffalo Trace Distillery

I almost never drink whiskey of any kind but yesterday at the duty free they were giving out free samples of Woodford Reserve. Needless to say, I wouldn't be posting if I didn't think it was great. So the question is, how does it rank on the Bourbon scale? I mean, is it considered a good brand or just a value bottle. I have absolutely nothing to compare it to. I see that there are a few recent posts from others who have also bought this at the duty free.

I'd rate it as both a good brand and a good value. It's one of the better mid-tier bourbons out there and it hasn't seen the dramatic price increases that we've seen in other brands within the bourbon category. You see it on these boards pretty frequently because both AA and DL serve it in all cabins (something I appreciate as a bourbon fan).

Personally I put it in the same league as Buffalo Trace (at today's MSRP), Maker's Mark, Knob Creek, Angel's Envy, and Weller 107 (at MSRP price, not secondary market price) and on a higher tier than Jack Daniel's / Jim Beam / Wild Turkey 101 / Four Roses Yellow.

I agree completely and would add that they also serve it on BA and some other airlines I can't recall at the moment. And it's its free pour in some airline lounges such as BA's GF at LHR T3 and T5.

Woodford Reserve is both a good brand and a good value. It's my mainstay at home and my usual call at bars. I've tried other brands within the same price range and keep coming back to it.

Just snagged this today and I'm very excited. I've heard good things about Orphan Barrel but never have tried it. It can be hard to locate.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e44fe2833c.jpg

Good day bottle hunting around here. W.L. Weller Special Reserve, 107, and 12 Year; Blanton's; Stagg Jr.; E.H. Taylor Single Barrel; and 1792 Sweet Wheat and Single Barrel.

And not bourbon, but riding alongside in the cart: a case of Bourbon County and a case of Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Stout.

Haven't had that rye, but have had several other Orphan Barrel products. They always have some age going for them... but IMHO are a bit over-priced for what they are. Good, but more in the $50 range good vs. the $100+ a lot of their stuff commands.

Still, a 25-year anything is quite a treat.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...0b8542423c.jpg
This one will be missed...

I've been drinking my bottle since Christmas and I continue to be impressed with the flavor complexity. On the other hand, seeing my interest, my MIL bought me a bottle of single malt Scotch as well. That just isn't going down, so at least I know where my tastes lie. Maybe I'll be confident enough to try some of the more expensive brands that have been noted here.

The older orphan barrel's are overoaked IMO. Some are OK, none are worth $120+. This is all Diageo hype and BS advertising to cash in on the bourbon craze happening as of late.

Which bottle of scotch? There are so many bottles of different varieties that it's impossible for someone to dislike scotch as a whole. You just haven't tried the right one yet!

Picked up a bottle in Colorado at a decent price ($120). Have to say, it's so-so. Probably a bit too much age for a rye; a lot of the spiciness has been overly smoothed out by the time in barrel. Could stand to be a bit higher proof, too.

It's decent drinking, to be sure. But like almost all the other Orphan Barrel I've tried, it's overpriced and overhyped vs. what it actually is. YMMV.