[narvin]

Early Times Bottled-In-Bond comes in 1 liter bottles and it is delicious. I think the price point is $25-28.

Wow, didn't know this existed.  Limited distribution but I'll ask my friend to find it next time he goes to the Midwest.


https://whiskeyconsensus.com/early-times-bottled-in-bond-review/

[MDixon]

Current distribution for ET BiB is:
Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington
https://www.breakingbourbon.com/review/early-times-bottled-in-bond-bourbon

[Joe Sr.]

Anyone have experience with wheated bourbons? Just tried Larceny. Good stuff and at ~$25/750 ml it’s bargain.

I have not tried Larceny but I do enjoy wheated whiskeys.  Weller is wheated, not that you can get it anywhere anyway...

[MDixon]

I'm not typically a Larceny fan. I do hear the Barrel Proof Larceny is quite nice. Our local group did a barrel pick for Larceny I also hear is nice. They had 5 from which to choose and only one was a standout. To me that is how regular Larceny typically presents, ok, but nothing special.

[MDixon]

Recent bottle drains were:
Knob Creek Quarter Oak - it was good and I have another bottle, but not complex enough for me. A blend of regular Knob Creek and KC aged four years in a quarter cask (13 gallons). At 50 beans it was just a bit high.

Hancock's President's Reserve Single Barrel - this one is supposedly the same as Blanton's and from Buffalo Trace. The alcohol is 88.9% and to me it was just ok. I think when you do find it the bottle is less than $40. On secondary it goes for 2X that amount.

Elijah Craig Rye - figured this one would be stellar, but it was just ok. At $30 there are other bottles of Rye I prefer.

[smkranz]

I've acquired a distinct preference for scotch over bourbon during the past few years.  Last year, in anticipation of a 2-week trip to Scotland this Spring (which of course was cancelled ), I joined the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, mainly to be able to visit their members' rooms in Edinburgh and Glasgow.  The Society is an independent bottler of casks they acquire from all over, and they re-age them in various casks before bottling.  It is said (by them) that they have over 10,000 casks in their warehouse in Edinburgh.

They have branches all over the world including the U.S. (based in NY).  About every two weeks they release new bottlings ("outturns") of anywhere between a couple and a dozen different scotches.  Most of them are cask strength.  Of each outturn, say a cask yields 250 or 300 bottles, somewhere around 70-90 will be sent to the U.S.  Pricing for most bottles is between $95 - $150, and there seems to be an almost direct correlation between price and age.  They also have frequent releases in the $200-$400 range.

Since our trip was cancelled, I've been building an unreasonable collection of scotch.  All of the Society bottles have been outstanding, in particular their peated releases.  They don't identify the distillery directly, but rather by a code number followed by a cask number.  The unofficial code numbers are online from various sources.  They have tasting panels which write the most amusing and ridiculous-sounding descriptions.

https://www.smwsa.com

[jeffy]

I've acquired a distinct preference for scotch over bourbon during the past few years.  Last year, in anticipation of a 2-week trip to Scotland this Spring (which of course was cancelled ), I joined the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, mainly to be able to visit their members' rooms in Edinburgh and Glasgow.  The Society is an independent bottler of casks they acquire from all over, and they re-age them in various casks before bottling.  It is said (by them) that they have over 10,000 casks in their warehouse in Edinburgh.

They have branches all over the world including the U.S. (based in NY).  About every two weeks they release new bottlings ("outturns") of anywhere between a couple and a dozen different scotches.  Most of them are cask strength.  Of each outturn, say a cask yields 250 or 300 bottles, somewhere around 70-90 will be sent to the U.S.  Pricing for most bottles is between $95 - $150, and there seems to be an almost direct correlation between price and age.  They also have frequent releases in the $200-$400 range.

Since our trip was cancelled, I've been building an unreasonable collection of scotch.  All of the Society bottles have been outstanding, in particular their peated releases.  They don't identify the distillery directly, but rather by a code number followed by a cask number.  The unofficial code numbers are online from various sources.  They have tasting panels which write the most amusing and ridiculous-sounding descriptions.

https://www.smwsa.com

We used to splurge and buy from them on occasion, but lately it's a bit too much to spend.  I love the tasting notes, which are almost as pretentious as a too trendy restaurant.

[Wilbur]

Oof, $95 is three incredible bottles of gin...

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[MDixon]

Oof, $95 is three incredible bottles of gin...

Or over 6 bottles of Virgin or EW BiB

I tend to top out around a benny on a bottle of Bourbon or Scotch. Last year I picked up some more expensive bottles I really wanted, but for the next few years I don't plan to exceed my limit unless I know the bottle is mind blowing.

[joe_meadmaker]

they re-age them in various casks before bottling

I wasn't familiar with the Scotch Malt Whisky Society until now.  One of the distilleries near me just released a batch of their bourbon that was finished in Laphroaig casks.  I have a couple bottles ordered but still have to get down there to pick them up.  I'm looking forward to trying it.

[MDixon]

Finishing off a bottle of Hatozaki Small Batch. It's tasty, but not overly complex. I picked it up for around $30, but in NC it goes for $60. I would suggest to not pay $60 for this level of complexity.

[jeffy]

I prefer not to buy products from big corporate conglomerates.  Can anyone point me to a list that shows the brand names of American whiskeys by owner so I can find the more independent ones?

[MattyAHA]

i had some 21 year old scotch and im not a scotch drinker but GD it was smooth, too smooth almost.

[MDixon]

I prefer not to buy products from big corporate conglomerates.  Can anyone point me to a list that shows the brand names of American whiskeys by owner so I can find the more independent ones?

Most of the name brands are owned or associated with larger corporations. Sazerac, who owns Buffalo Trace, just bought Early Times. Four Roses is Kirin, George Dickel is Diageo, Wild Turkey is Campari, Beam is Suntory, etc.

I think Heaven Hill brands are family owned with revenues about $200 million. So go grab some Elijah Craig.

[MDixon]

Drained my bottle of Oban Little Bay tonight. I happened upon it at $40. In NC we charge $78+tx. It's great at $40, I'm not sure I'd cough up the coin at $78.