high roller bourbons

[Thig]

I thought about that but it could have been someone who just wanted the bottle to collect.   Rip Van Winkle is the cheapest Bourbon in the Pappy line.   However, this was one of the short squatty bottles that they no longer produced because they switched over to the tall skinny bottle.   So it was truly a collectors item because that bottle had not been made for at least 4 years and would most likely never be made again.  The year I purchased that bottle I was able to purchase that and a bottle of Family Reserve Lot B within a month of each other.   Looking back I can't believe I was able to to that.   Now its a unicorn especially living in the midwest.  I don't frequent liquor stores often enough to be one of the preferred customers and get a heads up or a bottle held back for me.

You're probably right, my mind immediately went to Pappy Van Winkle. I have two of the 10 yr Rip Van Winkle and 1 Lot B that I lucked up on a few years ago. Waiting for the right time to crack them open.

[BeerPimp]

6 minutes ago, Thig said:

39 minutes ago, BeerPimp said:

I thought about that but it could have been someone who just wanted the bottle to collect.   Rip Van Winkle is the cheapest Bourbon in the Pappy line.   However, this was one of the short squatty bottles that they no longer produced because they switched over to the tall skinny bottle.   So it was truly a collectors item because that bottle had not been made for at least 4 years and would most likely never be made again.  The year I purchased that bottle I was able to purchase that and a bottle of Family Reserve Lot B within a month of each other.   Looking back I can't believe I was able to to that.   Now its a unicorn especially living in the midwest.  I don't frequent liquor stores often enough to be one of the preferred customers and get a heads up or a bottle held back for me.

You're probably right, my mind immediately went to Pappy Van Winkle. I have two of the 10 yr Rip Van Winkle and 1 Lot B that I lucked up on a few years ago. Waiting for the right time to crack them open.

I have never seen or heard of any Pappy Van Winkle 15,20,23 showing up in my city.  I am sure it does but I am sure it is only a couple bottles.   You can ask the liquor stores but they just laugh.   I was glad to get my hand on those two bottles and I drank them over a long period of time knowing that they would be impossible to replace.   I shared them with worthy friends also.  Heck lately its been impossible to get a bottle of Blantons.  I have been saving mine for when I enjoy one of my Cuban cigars.

I like the idea of liquor stores doing a raffle to see who gets to purchase the bottles.   From a retailer stand point it makes a lot of sense.   If you just sell them to your best customers you are just keeping a customer.   If you have a raffle and make a big deal out of it you will have some increased sales for that day plus you might attract some new loyal customers and keeping a number of loyal customers.

[TNT009]

18 hours ago, Duxnutz said:

Geez you must have a cupboard filled with good bourbon! Can you shed light on the reasoning on why Blantons Gold/SFTB was never released locally in the States? 

Id love to know as well!!

[NitrousPurger]

High rollers keep your eyes peeled for this stuff. Brother in law just picked these up for $350ea and I’m told it’s incredible

[Lotusguy]

High rollers keep your eyes peeled for this stuff. Brother in law just picked these up for $350ea and I’m told it’s incredible

Your BIL has been had...

[NitrousPurger]

16 minutes ago, Lotusguy said:

Your BIL has been had...

Yea he’s crazy. Give me a couple boxes of Cubans any day over this

[GasGuy82]

Disappointed not to see WLW on this list. We used to own a liquor store so I refuse to chase bottles on principle. The last bottle of Pappy I got was 15, I traded half a box of ED Belis for it.

Probably one of the best bourbons I’ve had in a long time was some 1982 Wild Turkey a good friend brought to poker night. The old stuff from the glut days is just different. Maybe not always better, though sometimes, definitely, but different.

[BarryNY]

16 hours ago, TNT009 said:

Id love to know as well!!

Hi - way after my time...I have no clue.  Sorry.

[Ethernut]

On 8/9/2018 at 3:17 PM, Notsocleaver said:

I'm a scotch snob but a bourbon heathen. I love the nuances of a 21 year old speyside, but damn if I haven't found any bourbon I like more than Old Grand Dad 114. I liked Elijah Craig barrel proof, but once they dropped the age statement and the price the price crept up, it seemed crazy to buy one bottle when I could nearly get three bottles of Grand Dad for the same price.

The age statement is still on the Barrel Strength releases. It's on the back label. I'm one who likes OGD 114 also. It however, of late, seems they are bottling it younger.  

[Ethernut]

11 hours ago, Lotusguy said:

Your BIL has been had...
 

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!! So true.. (and I mean no disrespect)

I haven't had much rye I thought was worth more than $30, no matter what it is. I hate to tip my hat to BTAC but I have had some expressions of THH that I thought were worth the standard retail price though. (not the secondary market price)

[prodigy]

Your BIL has been had...

I've seen people asking crazy prices for the ky owl bourbon on the secondary. He could sell that one bottle and pay for both, and have extra left over.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

[Ethernut]

I'm gonna be the crazy guy in the room to say there aren't *really* many high roller bourbons. The stratospheric prices bottles of bourbon have been driven to, do not guarantee quality. The quality is the same as it was 6 years ago.. Lemme take you back..

 

 

6 years ago in bourbon.. Weller 12 sat on the shelves under $23...nearly all year right here in Kentucky. You could get Weller Antique 107. all. the. time. Pappy sat out on the shelves for a couple weeks to a month. Most of your secondary distillers (that dont actually distill anything but buy barrels from the Big 5, bottle them and resell) didn't exist. you could buy 12 year old bourbon all day long for around 30 bucks. Max! Four Roses Barrel Strength was $52 at Four Roses and you could by 17.5 year (2011/2012).

Check out this review I wrote when I first got into bourbon for a pricing look back into 13 bourbons. I had no idea what I was doing but it's a neat look into that era.

http://bourbonreviews.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=11788

 

Flash Forward...

 

 

...then the insanity hit.

 

 

...Now the same exact stuff is inflated to imbecility, guys are arguing on the internet,  the bourbon never hits the shelves before it disappears into the woodwork, folks see it as money like an investment into their future, it's become the laymans bitcoin, delivery truck drivers are being bribed, relationships with the distribution centers have been established and guys have the bill of ladings on where/when/quantity of special releases being delivered, dudes stand in line for hours or overnight arguing over who got there first so they can flip the bottle on the secondary market and make a meager $10/hour for their time, everyone is an expert and the dbaggery has reached unbelievable heights. 

 

Here's the deal. EVERY distiller is ramping production up. Four Roses for example is doubling theirs. This means (to me) that the scarcity thats creating the insanity has roughly 6-10 years before the supply surpasses the demand. Better sell your bottles in the next couple years.. These days wont last.

 

 

.....and we're back....

Recently I tasted some bourbon from 1978. Bottled in 78, distilled in the 60's. It was 45% and guess what, It tasted exactly the same. A "G" chord on a guitar has the same pitch no matter the guitar. The tone however is different guitar to guitar. That's the only difference and each distiller has their own tone dialed in. Keeping it real. Most of the bourbon we drink comes from 5'ish distillers. They have their methodology dialed in and it'll taste the same next year and 10 years from now (various barrel and mashbill 'tone' factors aside). The only bit of real excitement in the industry is some of the blending I'm seeing happen, theres something to be explored in that (the Scotch discovered that 100's of years ago). I had the opportunity to try a bourbon blend that was privately done. It's $120 and delivered without label in a glass bottle. The public cant even buy it. It has to be purchased through a network of trusted people. Now, THAT was an eye opener and something I'm excited to see hit the main stream. That's the new frontier because bourbon literally cant do anything new. ....and I love it for that. (same with Cuban Cigars).

 

 

[NitrousPurger]

5 hours ago, FatherOfPugs said:

@Ethernut good post, and this is why I rarely pay over $50 for a bottle of bourbon. Just not worth it.  Sad state of affairs, I was talking with my local liquor guy and we reminisced about the days when you could buy Weller 12 by the case, and the cost was about $35 a bottle. No one blinked an eye. Now, one bottle of Weller 12 will set you back $90 or more here.  I also miss seeing regular old Buffalo Trace just sit on shelves, now, when it comes it, 1 bottle per person and you better be quick. At least there is not a ridiculous mark up on that. 

Liquor store down the street from me has 2 bottles of Weller 12 for $35 each. Think I’ll go buy them right now...

[prodigy]

Liquor store down the street from me has 2 bottles of Weller 12 for $35 each. Think I’ll go buy them right now...

And then trade one to me

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

[BinBin]

Bourbon craze is only going to get worst. 

[BinBin]

Bourbon craze is only going to get worst. 

[Thig]

Bourbon craze is only going to get worst. 

And there I was hoping it was about over.

[Duxnutz]

7 hours ago, BinBin said:

Bourbon craze is only going to get worst. 

I think Scotch/single malt is going to feel it more than bourbon. Couple years and maybe a recession and things will be back to normal.

[BinBin]

10 hours ago, Duxnutz said:

I think Scotch/single malt is going to feel it more than bourbon. Couple years and maybe a recession and things will be back to normal.

Look at Japanese whiskey 

[NitrousPurger]

18 hours ago, Duxnutz said:

I think Scotch/single malt is going to feel it more than bourbon. Couple years and maybe a recession and things will be back to normal.

I once read an article saying higher end liquors were recession proof and actually became more popular during recessions because it’s an affordable luxury when you can’t afford a new car or a vacation etc. 

[Lotusguy]

I once read an article saying higher end liquors were recession proof and actually became more popular during recessions because it’s an affordable luxury when you can’t afford a new car or a vacation etc. 

Plus people will drink to celebrate or to drown their sorrows

[SmokenWhisky]

I would think that the majority of the people paying $90 US for a bottle of Weller 12 probably haven't had it before and will hopefully realize they overpaid. Weller 12 and Antique are underpriced bottles IMO and should retail for more than $35 US or whatever they go for.

Same with the people paying crazy amounts for anything with Van Winkle in the name. People are buying a status symbol that they will often never open when overpaying. A lot of people just want to own that bottle to try and show off on instagram etc and say look what I got.

I've heard of people paying $400 -$500 us for ORVW 10 year. Thats crazy. Plain crazy. Anyone paying that amount couldn't have tried it. Doesn't make sense to me. 

[BeerPimp]

18 minutes ago, SmokenWhisky said:

I would think that the majority of the people paying $90 US for a bottle of Weller 12 probably haven't had it before and will hopefully realize they overpaid. Weller 12 and Antique are underpriced bottles IMO and should retail for more than $35 US or whatever they go for.

Same with the people paying crazy amounts for anything with Van Winkle in the name. People are buying a status symbol that they will often never open when overpaying. A lot of people just want to own that bottle to try and show off on instagram etc and say look what I got.

I've heard of people paying $400 -$500 us for ORVW 10 year. Thats crazy. Plain crazy. Anyone paying that amount couldn't have tried it. Doesn't make sense to me. 

I paid $46 for my bottle of ORVW but that was 2011.  Then a month later I paid $75 for Van Winkle family reserve lot b.  I have never seen any of the higher grade of Pappy around here.  After 2011 I have never seen a bottle of Pappy here period.   I would like to try Weller 12 but I definitely am not going to pay $90 for it.

[canadianbeaver]

Great conversation here and the Weller 12 is my choice at our Open Mike here on Wednesdays at our local bar. It is the cheapest one and I like it the best. ?

The bottle on on shelf of RVWink is tasty but 100% agree, not that big a deal. Except we know it cannot be replaced easily. Same with King George V Johnny Walker. Well, hold on. That bottle is wonderful. A recent taste of Pogue at a bar in Brooklyn was great!

Perhaps my favorite, Eagle Rare, is more telling that price is less importantant than just what tastes divine.

Cheers!

CB

[unclepauly25]

Finally found this after a 10 year search! 

It was delicious ?