FlyerTalk Forums - Best & worst Bourbon?

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Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveBlaine (Post 25539805)

Today is Friday. What are you planning on drinking this weekend? Trying anything new or just the comfort of the ol' standby? :)

Not a bourbon, but I've been enjoying a freshly opened bottle of Nikka from the Barrel. It does have a bourbon nose and goes down easy despite its 51.4% abv.

I just tried Hudson Whiskey's Manhattan rye, four grain bourbon and baby bourbon. The first two were very good, especially the Manhattan, but the baby bourbon was undrinkable.

I thought I'd run this one by the board for some expert opinion. I went to pick up a bottle of Elijah Craig, and saw this next to it...was going to give it a try but at £50 thought I'd better get some thoughts on it first:

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5801/...8b02238e_z.jpg

Quote:

Originally Posted by LondonElite (Post 25544062)

From what I've read it's a very young bourbon (2 to 4 years) and can be a bit hot. Apparently it also has a very strong herbal note. Seems like you're paying a premium due to the fact all the grains are sourced within 100 miles of the distillery. My guess is it's not worth twice the price of the EC12.

I've said it before, but EC is a great value bourbon, *hic*!

The Fews vary quite a bit between batches FWIW. The one I picked up--selected from Ace Spirits when I ordered a Kavalan--was nice and not too young tasting.

Finally tracked down some Old Forester BiB while in GA over the weekend. I've had some of their 1870 Original Batch expression before and liked it, but I think the BiB is much nicer. The flavor profile is deeper, the bourbon a bit "rounder" and softer around the edges. I decided not to additionally grab a bottle of their single barrel expression as I think I can find it more easily.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlyingDoctorwu (Post 25542864)

I've never seen a bottle of Weller 12 in Maryland... or rather anywhere on the shelf.. I had someone send me a bottle from Texas... apparently it grows on trees there... I made a 60/40 antique:12 blend and let is sit for a month... it was okay but did't quite have the body that the Rip Van Winkle 10 has...

I do quite like the Old Weller Antique.. for the price one of the best drinkers out there....

FDW

I found bottles of OWA on the shelf here, not even a place on the shelf for WL Weller 12.

I checked a couple places too.

While not my favorite, my "go to" bourbon is the Elijah Craig 12. The 18 is overaged, but the 12 is something wonderful.

Quote:

Originally Posted by learned (Post 25552968)

While not my favorite, my "go to" bourbon is the Elijah Craig 12. The 18 is overaged, but the 12 is something wonderful.

Elijah Craig 12 is the Unofficial Bourbon of Flyertalk.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveBlaine (Post 25553110)

Elijah Craig 12 is the Unofficial Bourbon of Flyertalk.

I've never tried it, nor heard of it until I saw it in this thread. And I've been drinking Bourbon since the mid-80's.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlyingDoctorwu (Post 25542864)

[Edited to add]
Should have read further up this thread for previous discussion on W.L. Weller 12. It does NOT grow on trees here in Texas. It's difficult, but far from impossible, to find here in DFW. Many liquor stores are sold out of it, others do have a few bottles left but keep it in the back and only sell it on request, one bottle at a time.

I have never tried Old Weller Antique. Should I? There is actually a liquor store here in DFW that has 1.5L bottles and bottles of the OWA just sitting around gathering dust.

How does the OWA compare to the WLW12?

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveBlaine (Post 25553110)

Elijah Craig 12 is the Unofficial Bourbon of Flyertalk.

Must be the very VERY UNofficial bourbon of Flyertalk. I've been to practically every Flyertalk Horse and Bourbon DO and don't remember ever hearing anything special about Elijah Craig 12, let alone drinking it. Is Elijah Craig now a Heaven Hill product? I know it's a venerable brand.

Hopefully some of the bourbon fiends on this thread will join us at the next FT Horse & Bourbon DO in Kentucky (in April during the Keeneland spring meet, exact dates TBD).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Herb687 (Post 25570259)

I've been able to secure a couple bottles of W.L. Weller 12 year old bourbon. Has to be the hardest to find $27 bourbon in existence. I've enjoyed the WLW 12 in restaurants and bars before but it will be nice to have a ready supply of "Baby Pappy" at home now.

Do any of you bourbon fiends on this thread regularly flip bourbon? It seems like there is a fairly robust secondary market for a lot of bourbons and anyone with access to sought-after bourbons at retail pricing can fairly easily triple their money by reselling on ebay or Craigslist.

Any bourbon flippers out there? Any reason I shouldn't consider buying for resale? (Obviously I would always hold back a bottle or two for my personal stock)

[Edited to add]
Should have read further up this thread for previous discussion on W.L. Weller 12. It does NOT grow on trees here in Texas. It's difficult, but far from impossible, to find here in DFW. Many liquor stores are sold out of it, others do have a few bottles left but keep it in the back and only sell it on request, one bottle at a time.

I have never tried Old Weller Antique. Should I? There is actually a liquor store here in DFW that has 1.5L bottles and bottles of the OWA just sitting around gathering dust.

How does the OWA compare to the WLW12?

Must be the very VERY UNofficial bourbon of Flyertalk. I've been to practically every Flyertalk Horse and Bourbon DO and don't remember ever hearing anything special about Elijah Craig 12, let alone drinking it. Is Elijah Craig now a Heaven Hill product? I know it's a venerable brand.

Hopefully some of the bourbon fiends on this thread will join us at the next FT Horse & Bourbon DO in Kentucky (in April during the Keeneland spring meet, exact dates TBD).

Elijah Craig 12 is probably the super secret, Un-Official Bourbon then. Seems to come up quite a bit in this thread. At least, I seem to think it does.

OWA is worth a try. Should be available.

Anyways, as for "flipping" bourbon, anything you would suggest? I considered doing this with duty-free liquor exclusives but I'd be too tempted to just keep the Scotch/Bourbon for myself. :)

Considering the Horse and Bourbon DO in Kentucky. I'm guessing it's close to Lexington?

As for tonight's Bourbon selection, trying out the Costco Kirkland Signature 7 year old Bourbon. I'm told it is from the Jim Beam distillery and *speculation here* the same mash bill that is Jim Beam Black but this is bottled younger and stronger. So, who knows?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Herb687 (Post 25570259)

Do any of you bourbon fiends on this thread regularly flip bourbon? It seems like there is a fairly robust secondary market for a lot of bourbons and anyone with access to sought-after bourbons at retail pricing can fairly easily triple their money by reselling on ebay or Craigslist.

Any bourbon flippers out there? Any reason I shouldn't consider buying for resale? (Obviously I would always hold back a bottle or two for my personal stock)

It's not cool and I certainly wouldn't do it. Creates further scarcity and deprives others of the opportunity to try something. Flippers are part of the reason why stores are increasingly keeping their supplies of the good stuff off the shelves.

Quote:

Originally Posted by thelark (Post 25573809)

I generally drink everything I buy. That said, I do have a few bottles (most of them Japanese whisky or Scotch whisky) that I have not opened. The Scotch I would consider "flipping" at some point, I suppose (JW Explorer's Club selections I picked up at Duty Free), but the rest I intend to consume myself.

On the one hand, I understand keeping aside a 2nd bottle with the thought, "That way I can enjoy one, and maybe sell the other some day." On the other hand, the speculators and flippers are despicable scum who have driven up the prices of everything and made it very hard for real enthusiasts to obtain some of the better bourbons out there for their own consumption.

I love having a real "find" when you come across something special in some hole-in-the-wall store, snatch it up, and enjoy it at home.

There needs to be an equitable system of some sort to deal with the reality of scarcity of many products. For VA, I'd love to see them replace their waiting lists (which they no longer allow people to join, and which one doubts the stores even really honored to begin with) with a lottery, where you put down 50% deposits toward the boozes you're interested in, and can win at most 2 bottles of any given spirit and 10 bottles in any given year. Or something--our system in VA is completely broken even accounting for the fact they're state-owned ABC stores.