Thanks for the input gang. Will pass for now. They have had it in stock for a while so not too worried.

New question: Posting it here sine this is pretty active thread. My dad is a fan of grand marnier. He turns 70 this year and I am thinking of getting him Grand Marnier Centenaire (Cuvee du Centenaire). Anyone have experience with this specific item?

I'm not obsessed with marketing. You mention Whistle Pig which is a cheap to make Rye sourced from Canada in bulk. Yet, you call Maker's a non premium whiskey.

Don't get me wrong, Lawrence Indiana (Templeton Rye, Bulleit, list goes on and on) and Canada bulk suppliers produce excellent tasting bulk whiskey but to call craft bottle/packaging companies (yes... they don't distill) premium vs. a world class bourbon distilled/made/packaged on site like Maker's is crazy.

Maker's production is as craft and small batch (hand tasted, dipped, labeled) as most high end whiskeys. The premium being paid on cheap-bulk sourced Rye whiskey like Whistle Pig, Templeton, etc... is crazy. If you like the liquid you can get it in a different bottle for 1/4 the price.

^^^^
Exactly. Even Bulleit which invested heavily to finally open a distillery in Kentucky is years away from actually producing their liquid.

The bulk products are by and large quality. It amazes me the premium paid because of the cute perfume bottles they are packaged in. Whistle Pig disgusts me the most with their misleading Vermont farm crap when they bulk buy from Canada.

Hard to really call Makers craft/small batch (yes I know they call themselves that) when they shipped 1.4 million cases in 2013. They are the number two production of bourbon behind Jim Beam... I'll agree that it's pretty good stuff but let's face it.. Maker's makes a good consistent batch of bourbon, but I wouldn't necessary call them a premium whisky. They are one step above Jim Beam. Their biggest innovation in the last decade has been contemplating a switch in proof...

In the same token, ultimately bourbons like Pappy Van Winkle are also sourced whiskeys. There isn't a Van WInkle Distillery; I'm not sure if the current generation of Van Winkles have ever distilled... Their current production comes from Buffalo Trace and while the Van Winkles will try to tell you that it's distilled according to their recipe; it is ultimately the same mash bill that's in Old Weller Antique, Weller 12, etc..... In my mind the greatest whisky coming out in the US these days are at the hands of Jim Rutledge at Four Roses. 10 distinct recipes; great great single barrels... fun to taste and try.. amazing limited edition small batchs...

I'm a big fan of transparency and most of the stuff is indeed sourced. I was at Total Wine and there was like a whole row of oddly labeled stuff that was ultimately all sourced... I find that the guys at Smooth Ambler and High West are really upfront about where they get their liquid from while working on their own production. There's no fancy story, no BS marketing.. the stuff that comes out of Indiana is actually solid whisky...

FDW

We had a bottle of the Cuvée Spéciale Cent Cinquantenaire years ago. It was the smoothest drink I've ever had.

You've pooh-poohed a couple brands. What do you like (besides Makers)?

A friend of mine from Bourbon County told me that you drink Makers to avoid drinking Jim Beam. :)

Small Batch is not defined by how much annual volume. Maker's uses less than 20 Barrels per batch. I guess you aren't a fan of Maker's 46 or Cask strength...

Many whiskeys and bourbons have de-proofed (JD has twice) or removed the age statement over the past two decades. I was amazed about the backlash that Maker's received over the idea to de-proof...

I agree about the transparent labels. Hopefully one day suppliers join together to establish label regulations. I always look for whiskey that has "distilled by" on the label.

While I understand the reasons to remove age statements, I loathe the fact that it's so widespread a practice now. I only hope that in 10-15 years or so, the craze has moved on to something else (maybe flavored vodkas again :p), and stuff made at current production levels has been allowed time to age a bit.

There are too many great Bourbons to list them all. I've been drinking a lot of Basil Hayden's lately. :)

I don't mean to be snippy. I'm simply not a fan of these pop up so called craft bourbons that don't even distill that are nothing more than a fancy name and package. At least credit to Costco for largely stating where the liquid came from. They are even buying up ancient barrels on the open market. I saw a 50 year whiskey "from the Glenlivet distillery" under the Kirkland name.

I like Basil Hayden. I also like Woodford and Knob Creek, but to be honest I'm more of a scotch fan if I'm doing something in the whiskey world.

I did NOT like Blanton's...gave me a pounding headache after only one.

Agreed on the whiskies that are all marketing...for some reason I thought that was just a vodka phenomenon. Costco scotch (the Macallan 16) is my standby. :)

Stopped by the neighborhood ABC today to pick up some high-octane stuff for making homemade bitters, and came across Elmer T. Lee, which I hadn't seen in quite some time. Not a bad price ($32) for a Buffalo Trace line.

Anyone have suggestions on a high-proof rye? I have Rittenhouse (100, as it's BiB), as well as Knob Creek (also 100), and several in the 90 range. I did see Pikesville Rye at 110 proof, but I'm not spending $50 on something I'm making into bitters... may get a bottle just to sip, though.

MHT
 

This might not be news to everyone, but I flew out of MHT recently and there's a pretty good liquor store near gate 9. Lots of bourbon choices, but as you'd expect the prices are high. Even the sale price for Bookers was $50! I remember paying less than $20 for Bookers when it first came out and I'm sure it's not any better now than it was back then.

Smooth ambler, willett, eh taylor

I'll grant you those are all mighty fine drinking ryes, but probably are all a bit higher than I want to spend on turning them into bitters. ;) The Smooth Ambler is at least under $40, though...

Wife gave me this for xmas. Waiting till I'm feeling 100% to crack it open.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y78...psjqvrrukg.jpg