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Jimbaround

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34 minutes ago, thestud said:

 

 


It’s funny you say that, because the 3 bottles I have the most of in my bunker are ER10, Blanton’s, and OWA and I love them all dearly. But he was asking for whiskeys at a certain price point and EC ain’t in that ballpark.

 

 

Where I am, EC is most definitely in that price point. ER10, on the other hand, is not. I thought all your other pics were spot-on. 

I’m a BT fanboy as well. Not because of any loyalty, but only because I found that’s where my taste-buds led me most of the time once I started paying attention to producers, mash-bills, etc.  

Weller Special Reserve remains a personal favorite, and it has been since 1991. Not always readily available, but cheap when I do find it. I do love having Larceny around as a back-up. 

Other daily drinkers for me are Buffalo Trace and Evan Williams Single Barrel.

I could probably be happy as hell to subsist on those 3-4 mentioned labels for the rest of time. My only variance being the accidental stumbling-upon a rare bottle “in the wild”.  

Was interested to hear what you like to drink based on your comment, but you’re probably the grump at the bar that everyone avoids. 

Cheers, though!

Edited by After irth
We are a surly bunch, aren’t we?
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12 hours ago, BigDHornfan said:

It’s very good. It’s sweet, drink it after a good steak. It’s like dessert.

I get a ton of butterscotch on the nose.

At $82, get it. It’s $90 in DFW.

PM me if you want a sample.

I better taste it at a bar first. The sweet and dessert stuff has me a little worried.

How does it compare to Midwinter's Night Dram?

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2 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

I better taste it at a bar first. The sweet and dessert stuff has me a little worried.

How does it compare to Midwinter's Night Dram?

The MWND is much more spicy than the AE.  It's a lot more your traditional rye with a bit of sweetness to it compared to the AE's level of sweet.  

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It’s funny you say that, because the 3 bottles I have the most of in my bunker are ER10, Blanton’s, and OWA and I love them all dearly. But he was asking for whiskeys at a certain price point and EC ain’t in that ballpark.

Hey I dig the passion, man. Everybody should drink what they love when they want, and branch out when they want.

 

I do see regular Craig at that price though.

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I'm not sure what Heaven Hill could have done differently with the Elijah Craig Store Pick program. I would have released it at 100 proof, but Heaven Hill stuck with 94 proof. I guess they figured if the the proof were any higher they'd be drifting into EC Barrel Proof territory. 

If the EC Store Picks were 100 proof they'd be flying off the shelves. 

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2 hours ago, thestud said:

 


I’m still capable of finding ER10 out the door for under $30 on a regular basis. Haven’t ever seen EC for cheaper than $39 but it’s usually higher.

I’m the grump everywhere. The bar is probably the least grumpy you’ll find me because if I’m at the bar that means I’m sans kids and/or wife.
 

 

Regarding the EC and ER pricing:  just goes to show the vagaries of different regions and their pricing based on availability, etc.  

This crazy market of brown liquor.  So odd. 

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6 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

I'm not sure what Heaven Hill could have done differently with the Elijah Craig Store Pick program. I would have released it at 100 proof, but Heaven Hill stuck with 94 proof. I guess they figured if the the proof were any higher they'd be drifting into EC Barrel Proof territory. 

If the EC Store Picks were 100 proof they'd be flying off the shelves. 

Well if you haven’t heard, HH will be releasing barrel picks of their 92pf wheater Larceny.  Expect to see them released around bourbon season.

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12 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:
2 hours ago, ColoradoHorn said:
ER is readily available in Colorado.

Not in the stores i frequent. Haven't seen it in the shelves in probably close to a year on the south side of Denver.

Ask, we were passing thru Denver in march and stopped in a liquor store. We struck up a conversion with the chick working the counter, and she produced bottles of Weller, Eagle Rare, and Buffalo Trace. She said they kept it off the shelves cause people were buying it up, and re selling it at a higher price, and that pissed them off.

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53 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Ask, we were passing thru Denver in march and stopped in a liquor store. We struck up a conversion with the chick working the counter, and she produced bottles of Weller, Eagle Rare, and Buffalo Trace. She said they kept it off the shelves cause people were buying it up, and re selling it at a higher price, and that pissed them off.

Please PM in the name of the store. 

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1 minute ago, Chewbacca said:
35 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:
I'm vacationing in Vail in a couple weeks. Any liquor store recs in Vail or on the drive there?

Beaver Liquors in Beaver Creek is the only one i know up there.

There's a liquor stare at Lionshead Village I believe.  I'd just stop somewhere in Denver on the way out of town.  If you're flying int to Denver that is.

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I have never even come close to finding anything remotely decent at Applejack in Wheat Ridge. Is there a secret handshake I don’t know about?? Argonaut on the other hand is money. Always more store picks than you can shake a stick at, and I’ve found some very hard to find bottles there as well.
 
Applejack is huge and has a great selection for most things. But bourbon is tough to come by everywhere. Haven't been to Argonaut in a long time.
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1 hour ago, billfromlaketravis said:

I MIGHT be going to Louisville - Bourbon Trail for a bachelor party in February or March. I can't do it it if it's In March, I have rodeo. 

The plan would be to fly to Louisville and haul my treasures back in a rental car. 

I received wife approval tonight. It might be on. Just gotta present a strong case for February. 

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Anyone here have open a 2015 WLW or recall trying it?  I sampled one and it was, off. Like super oaky/woody. Not at all like the profile of WLW I’m used to. Trying to decide if the bottle is bad or if it’s just that way. 

Edited by Bert Orange
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Anyone here have open a 2015 WLW or recall trying it?  I sampled one and it was, off. Like super oaky/woody. Not at all like the profile of WLW I’m used to. Trying to decide if the bottle is bad or if it’s just that way. 

I don’t recall having that experience, but maybe you got a weird barrel or maybe that year was especially oaky.

 

That being said- in general, bourbon does not improve in the barrel after 8-10 years under normal circumstances for most palates, but that’s also variable by the mashbill, conditions, etc. Most wheaters don’t peak past 8, because they lose the syrupyness over time that characterizes wheat bourbon and what they gain, over time, is wood spice and salty dryness. And a year in Kentucky is worth 2-3 years of aging in Scotland. That’s why it’s generally true that higher rye bourbon gets better in the barrel a bit longer than wheat, because aging leans into the rye profile. There are other variables, too. For example, a barrel made from the top of an oak tree tastes better for wheat (according to studies at BT) and older wood at the bottom is better for rye, and so on.

 

So you take WLW, which at 13-14 years old is a bit of a high wire act- keeping enough of the sweetness while imparting complexity without a grainy mouthfeel or so much tobacco that you smother the dates and figs. Same deal for the PVW line. A barrel will be more or less of all things, and all barrels will be different, and it gets harder to balance the older the whiskey.

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14 hours ago, Chewbacca said:
14 hours ago, thestud said:
I have never even come close to finding anything remotely decent at Applejack in Wheat Ridge. Is there a secret handshake I don’t know about?? Argonaut on the other hand is money. Always more store picks than you can shake a stick at, and I’ve found some very hard to find bottles there as well.
 

Read more  

Applejack is huge and has a great selection for most things. But bourbon is tough to come by everywhere. Haven't been to Argonaut in a long time.

My personal ranking:  Davidson’s, Argonaut and lastly Applejacks.  It’s hard to find any rare bourbon in Denver as it’s a whiskey town.  Years ago, I found a 2016 SAOS rye sitting on the bottom shelf at Applejacks.   I was also able to grab Argonaut’s SAOS bourbon store pick before they stop releasing them.  As far as store picks, Davidson’s has the best inventory on hand. 

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16 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

McKenna once sat on the shelves at the Total Wine near my office. How times have changed. 

Power's liquormart had Mckenna and Weller on shelves plus Eagle Rare.  Cheaper than most liquor stores due to no City sales tax.  Breckenridge liquor store had Weller on the shelves, but wanted 39.95 for 750ml

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26 minutes ago, Whiskyteer said:

My personal ranking:  Davidson’s, Argonaut and lastly Applejacks.  It’s hard to find any rare bourbon in Denver as it’s a whiskey town.  Years ago, I found a 2016 SAOS rye sitting on the bottom shelf at Applejacks.   I was also able to grab Argonaut’s SAOS bourbon store pick before they stop releasing them.  As far as store picks, Davidson’s has the best inventory on hand. 

DIA Liquors has a large selection of Bourbon's on hand.  He keeps all allocated behind the counter just have to ask.  All he had last month was a Blade and bow Rye.

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25 minutes ago, Party_Taco said:

SCORE!

They had two but couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger ok both given how hard we went last weekend.

Will probably open it soon and haul ass back for the other if it holds up...

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I passed because of the rum finishing. I’m not sure I’m into it. 

Enjoy. 

Edited by billfromlaketravis
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Update...

Solid meh - Front end ain’t too bad if a bit heavy on the sweetness, but it is entirely lacking in character and depth thereafter.

This is going to the bottom shelf with the Kentucky Owl, but I’ll be pushing the other half on this as an “easy drinker”.

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On ‎7‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 7:09 PM, billfromlaketravis said:

I'm vacationing in Vail in a couple weeks. Any liquor store recs in Vail or on the drive there?

Antlers Liquor and Wine Cellar in Frisco had ER a couple weeks ago when we were there.  It's easily accessible off I70 at the main Frisco exit.

Douchebag brother in law knocked it over and busted bottle after I'd had one drink out of it.  Sent his ass back for more.

Edited by burns_312
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15 hours ago, Party_Taco said:

Update...

Solid meh - Front end ain’t too bad if a bit heavy on the sweetness, but it is entirely lacking in character and depth thereafter.

This is going to the bottom shelf with the Kentucky Owl, but I’ll be pushing the other half on this as an “easy drinker”.

If you dont want your KO I will take it off your hands or trade something else expensive for it.

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I  might be shifting alliances from Wild Turkey to Knob Creek. KC continues to knock it out of the park. The Rye Single Barrel Store Pick was really good. That's on top of course of the excellent Bourbon Single Barrel Store Pick Program. 

What's a good Wild Turkey product comp to Knob Creek 25th Anniversary? 

Edited by billfromlaketravis
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21 minutes ago, BigDHornfan said:

Bill,

Try the Masters Keep Decades.

Picking up the Masters Keep Cornerstone Rye tomorrow. Looking forward to that.

 

Also got the first W12 of the year today. Finally dropped around DFW today.

So awesome when you score one at retail.

 

I'll give it a shot. I have an extra bottle of Knob Creek 25 so it's not an either or sort of thing. 

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41 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

I  might be shifting alliances from Wild Turkey to Knob Creek. KC continues to knock it out of the park. The Rye Single Barrel Store Pick was really good. That's on top of course of the excellent Bourbon Single Barrel Store Pick Program. 

What's a good Wild Turkey product comp to Knob Creek 25th Anniversary? 

These two lines of products are definitely at the top of my list. I could literally drink Rare Breed and KC Single Barrel for the rest of my days and be happy. 

Edited by Constant
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I took a deeper dive on the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky. It looks like it basically makes a reverse C from Louisville to Jim Beam in Clermont. Along the way are the following: Buffalo Trace, Wild Turkey,  Four Roses, Heaven Hill, and finally Jim Beam. 

I'm sure the night life is pretty decent in Louisville, but my focus would be on the gift shops at Michter's and Old Forester. 

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