The Whiskey and Spirits Thread

[MacGyver]

I read an interesting article last week about a coming collapse in whiskey availability due to the new-found popularity amongst the hipster crowd and the fact that they - along with other new consumers worldwide are consuming at an unprecedented level.  Basically the consensus was that it was going to take some time for the makers to equilibrate to the new demand, and when you've got a product that's production is measured in years, it's going to be an issue.

[Lumber_Jack]

and for you Whisky Mary's Jack Daniels Honey came out with a free flask co pack, there is no upcharge for it. Unusual for JD.

That shit is un-drinkable

[Djay3]

... The demand for bourbon has increased worldwide,  lots of it goes to Japan where it commands a premium price and they pay it.

 

As far back as '04, I was amazed at the number of Japanese that flew in to the Bardstown Bourbon Festival! No telling the Japan market growth in the last 10 years!

 

On that trip we toured the Buffalo Trace distillery. Our tour guide slipped us a couple of "Japanese Market Only" gold plated Blanton's stoppers. They must pay a heck of a premium to merit such fancy Blanton's stoppers! The value of gold since then may have stopped this Japan perk?

 

 

 

                                                         Japan stopper on the right.

 

 

Sure enjoy your posts Mike.357!

Edited October 15, 2014 by Djay3

[LCPfraTN]

Visited Prichard's new micro-distillery location at Fontanel on the north side of Nashville last week. The double chocolate bourbon is one if my favorites, so I bought a bottle of that to replenish my stock, but tasted many others and came home with an assorted case. Their Private Stock Rum is fantastic...I will have to keep that for special occasions since it is only available at the Distillery.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[npgunner]

As far back as '04, I was amazed at the number of Japanese that flew in to the Bardstown Bourbon Festival! No telling the Japan market growth in the last 10 years!

 

On that trip we toured the Buffalo Trace distillery. Our tour guide slipped us a couple of "Japanese Market Only" gold plated Blanton's stoppers. They must pay a heck of a premium to merit such fancy Blanton's stoppers! The value of gold since then may have stopped this Japan perk?

 

 

 

                                                         Japan stopper on the right.

 

 

Sure enjoy your posts Mike.357!

wow .. gold plated stoppers ... and i thought my regular stopper collection was going to break the bank ...

speaking of those stoppers ... you know what sucks? buying a new bottle of blanton thinking you needed that particular letter, only to find out you already have it when you get back home...  :wall:  :wall:  :wall:

i guess there are worse things in the world ... at least i have a delicious bottle of bourbon to work my way through

Edited October 15, 2014 by npgunner

[Mike.357]

also be wary of the letter N stoppers.  There are two different ones.  Note the jockey position on the horse.

[npgunner]

also be wary of the letter N stoppers.  There are two different ones.  Note the jockey position on the horse.

thanks for the heads up ... i don't think i have either of the N's yet ... if I can find them, I'll try to just buy them both at the same time so as to avoid any possible confusion ...

[Raoul]

Anybody got a good mash recipe?

[Djay3]

Anybody got a good mash recipe?

Several folks do apparently. One comes to mind ... Give Julian VanWinkle a call. ; )

[Djay3]

wow .. gold plated stoppers ... and i thought my regular stopper collection was going to break the bank ...

Maybe the gold stoppers weren't strictly Japan? Here's a 2012 article link with photos of "Blanton's Gold Edition Bourbon". It is the "B".

http://drinkingmadeeasy.com/blog/blair-phillips/surviving-a-bear-attack-with-blantons-gold-edition-bourbon/ Edited October 16, 2014 by Djay3

[Mike.357]

some highly sought after bourbon was released by distributor's yesterday.

 

Weller Antique varieties, Sazerac Ryes, George Stagg varieties and maybe one or two others out of the Buffalo Trace distillery.

 

One was a Stagg wheat bourbon, IIRC.   Looks interesting.

 

None of it in quantity that allows me to hold any back for anyone.  Call around to your local liquor stores and see if they have it for you.

 

Pappy and Rip should be soon.  On that I probably can hold some of the Rip Van Winkle back for a few people when we get it. Of course based on quantity that we receive.

[npgunner]

From what I understand this was mostly released in East TN. Haven't seen any in Mid TN yet, at least at the few places I frequent. You're in the business though, does this sound reasonable? Or could I have just missed it?

[Mike.357]

it is very possible that East TN got it before middle TN did.   Usually that is only a matter of days though, your area might have it today or tomorrow, certainly by next week.

[Hershmeister]

Is william larue weller still being produced? That is some amazing stuff

[Mike.357]

I think Larue was one of them

[npgunner]

From my reading of reviews of this years BTAC the WLW received the top review and was the least produced ...

I'm hoping to catch an Eagle Rare 17 and a George T Stagg, but would be happy just to find any of then near MSRP. If I can't find at any stores I'll do without. I'm
Not paying the inflated "flipper" prices some of these bourbons have acquired.

[Mike.357]

There is Eagle 17 around

[Mike.357]

the stars aligned and I was able to buy a Larue today.   140.2 proof.   Interesting stuff.  I still can't believe they let me buy it.

 

I opened it up and had everyone working try it.   We all started with a straight sip.  Wow.   Smooth as silk until it rolled down the throat and then it was like a Mushroom Cloud in the chest.     I am pretty sure this is the strongest whisky I ever tasted.   We all then cut it with water and what a change.   really opens it up.  Usually I water down whisky with equal parts

This can easily go to 2/3 water or even 3/4 depending on taste.

[Hershmeister]

the stars aligned and I was able to buy a Larue today. 140.2 proof. Interesting stuff. I still can't believe they let me buy it.

I opened it up and had everyone working try it. We all started with a straight sip. Wow. Smooth as silk until it rolled down the throat and then it was like a Mushroom Cloud in the chest. I am pretty sure this is the strongest whisky I ever tasted. We all then cut it with water and what a change. really opens it up. Usually I water down whisky with equal parts
This can easily go to 2/3 water or even 3/4 depending on taste.

The larue is higher proof than stagg this year?

[Mike.357]

IIRC the WLW is a little higher than Stagg.  Stagg was in the 130's.

 

I can't drink it without watering it down some.   Everyone of us who tasted the WLW straight had the same painful reaction.   It was fun to see our reactions to tasting it.

 

And we have some Jefferson's Ocean on the shelf.  Near 80 bucks.  I got to try that a few months back and was fairly impressed by it.  It has been difficult to get

[vontar]

Picked up a jar of Ole Smokey Charred (limited production) only available in Gatlinburg.  105 proof.  (aged 90 days in old Jim Beam Barrels) I took them up on the free samples before hand.  I have to say, several places are very friendly with the free samples.  Hit them back to back, you get enough to get a walking around buzz.

Edited October 26, 2014 by vontar

[npgunner]

IIRC the WLW is a little higher than Stagg.  Stagg was in the 130's.

 

I can't drink it without watering it down some.   Everyone of us who tasted the WLW straight had the same painful reaction.   It was fun to see our reactions to tasting it.

 

And we have some Jefferson's Ocean on the shelf.  Near 80 bucks.  I got to try that a few months back and was fairly impressed by it.  It has been difficult to get

I have a half empty bottle of the Ocean in my closet.  The whole idea behind this bottle seems a little "kitchy" to me, but in my opinion it's a very respectable drink (and maybe the bobbing of the boat, the salty ocean air, and the extremes in temp actually help).  I love the nose on that one, definitely some brown-sugar and caramel, little vanilla.  Feels pretty in the mouth too, not too oily, and not a whole lot of burn on the way down.  One of my favs, definitely nursing the last half of the bottle of have.  I believe I paid $85 for mine here in Nashville. 

[Mike.357]

the idea behind Ocean is to replicate the effect of shipping barrels on barges and riverboats in the olden days.  The whole story of crossing the equator four times and hitting 50 ports is funny.  But then again Kelt Cognac ships their spirit around the world before bottling it.

[TGO David]

I need to hunt down some more of the Weller Antique, as I emptied the last of my bottles a month or two back.  None of the local stores that I checked had any yet.

[Lumber_Jack]

I have a half empty bottle of the Ocean in my closet. The whole idea behind this bottle seems a little "kitchy" to me, but in my opinion it's a very respectable drink (and maybe the bobbing of the boat, the salty ocean air, and the extremes in temp actually help). I love the nose on that one, definitely some brown-sugar and caramel, little vanilla. Feels pretty in the mouth too, not too oily, and not a whole lot of burn on the way down. One of my favs, definitely nursing the last half of the bottle of have. I believe I paid $85 for mine here in Nashville.

What stores do you find good in the Nashville area?