Quote :

"are you going to any of the distilleries while you are there?"

Yeah we did Buffalo Trace yesterday, and are going to [not my choice] Makers Mark today.

Our tour guide said he was able to buy a Bottle of the 10 year pappy last year. Said they went to 3 local liquor stores, 2 had waiting lists and 1 had a lottery. He did the latter and won...something like 200 entries for 14 bottles. Think he said it was $80.

5/3/2014 7:56:14 AM

Huge image!



Time for a birthday cocktail.

5/3/2014 7:02:53 PM

I seent those Grapefruit Bittermans at a store the other week, seemed pretty pricey at $15.99.

5/3/2014 10:36:19 PM

on the Pappy prices, there is a good thread on it on straight bourbon.com but you have to be a member to read it.

this guy just posted these prices from Oct 13:
10yr@35
12yr@48
rye @65
15yr@68
20yr@114
23yr@219

5/4/2014 3:38:41 PM

^^ I paid the same. Can't really recommend it at this point. Angostura all the way.

5/4/2014 8:03:45 PM

expect to pay roughly double that for most of those pappy prices at retail.

5/5/2014 8:31:07 AM

I never realized how many different brands of bitters were out there until I was in the package store in Decatur. They had an entire corner devoted to them. In fact I was more overwhelmed looking at bitters than I get looking at scotch and bourbons.

5/5/2014 8:48:46 AM

I paid $249 for the bottle of Pappy 23 I bought last year.

5/5/2014 9:47:47 AM

^^^ probably triple, unless getting it from a lottery or waiting list from a respectable store. if you were to find a random bottle, you're looking at much more than those list prices.

5/5/2014 10:10:53 AM

Quote :

"expect to pay roughly double that for most of those pappy prices at retail."

What's retail...those person to person bourbon trading sites? Or are you talking a liquor store who still has a couple...seems the markup is more than double in those cases.

^^ When/how? Waiting list/lottery?

5/5/2014 10:14:38 AM

went to my local liquor store in MD and they had a bottle behind the counter. The guy there knew I ususally bought good bourbon and offered it to me.

5/5/2014 10:48:57 AM

retail = in a store that sells liquor, at shelf price.

Personally, I paid $400 for a bottle of 23y and $300 for a bottle of 20y. I've seen a bottle of 15y for $150 at a different local store, but I didn't buy it.

5/5/2014 10:53:01 AM

^if you were to find Pappy on the shelves in a NC ABC store, you would pay those prices (I think) because they are the official retail, and I don't think NC marks up.

(Although they did charge $150/bottle for the Bookers 25th anniversary in Wake County and I think that was $100 MSRP....)

I do think it's almost unheard of to find Pappy at retail, but at least if any of you are thinking of buying a bottle off craigslist, you can see the profit margin...

5/8/2014 6:47:57 AM

fellas, i've gone a full month without buying a bottle of bourbon. i feel like this is a good step in the right direction for me. after we straight up housed the 2.5 liters of barrel aged manhattan i made two weeks ago i decided i should take a breather.

but now i'm ready to roll again. i need to get a few bottles of Rittenhouse and vermouth to refill my barrel, and want to buy some of the four roses Jeepin' found in Decatur on his trip to the A. ain't skeered.

5/8/2014 1:22:15 PM

do it!

i need to get some Rittenhouse too, as I just picked up a set of martini glasses so that I can start working on my Manhattans.

picked up a bottle of Knob Creek for the weekend trip with the guys. It's on special for $30 at NC ABC this month.

5/8/2014 1:30:40 PM

My haul from last weekend.



Most of it isn't very notable...the Dickel and Blantons are "Hand Selected" barrels for Liquor Barn, but I don't know how much stock I put into that. The ER10 I got because I like it (and it was cheap), and the tour guide said it was becoming hard to find in Kentucky, but probably easier to find elsewhere. I guess they're about to bottle some more but it's not quite ready or something. I got the Buffalo Trace since it seems hard to come by currently. The Buffalo Cream is for the GF. Black Ridge was something someone recommended to me...anyone had it? Got the Noah's as it seems popular and I've never had it. The Vodka is made by Buffalo Trace and seemed pretty good for the price point ($18). I got the Rebel Yell for mixing...aware I can get that here too. I had some and it wasn't nearly as bad as the price would suggest.

I considered the one of the Four Roses "Barrel Strength" private selection recipes for Liquor Barn...but #1 it was like $58ish while the regular FR single barrel was $30, and #2 it looked pretty picked over.

I saw these two on the way out of town but didn't really have time to look into them







[Edited on May 8, 2014 at 1:54 PM. Reason : ]

5/8/2014 1:43:59 PM

^ Liquor Barn got that hot shit (cue Little Brother)! I bought a bottle of their store selected Dickel and LOVE it. nice change of pace from standard bourbons, kinda smoky. i'm fortunate that i go to Bowling Green about once every 2 months for work, so i always stroll by the L-Barn there to see what's in stock.

can't believe i just said that i'm "fortunate" for business travel to Bowling Green, KY. sheesh. i REALLY must be a lush.

I bought a 21-year Willett a little over a year ago and paid $130 or so for the bottle. So the prices on those in the picture seem a tad bit higher in comparison! damn inflation. the 21-year was pretty good, finished it off about a month ago. didn't blow me away but was pretty damn good.

5/8/2014 5:34:41 PM

so who's going to head up that special order of black maple hill?

also i posted this question in the cocktail thread, but does anyone or have experiences with any brands of bitters aside from Angostura?

5/22/2014 10:18:05 AM

^ I think that post constitutes you volunteering

5/22/2014 10:23:23 AM

http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2014/05/20/whiskey-shortage-in-the-u-s/

same stuff we've ready time and again, but as whiskey demands increase with interest the supply is quickly decreasing. Especially in the premium brands. I'm starting to wonder if i should put a couple bottles away of a few that i really like in the coming months.


also, ViolentMAW, i just looked at your pic at the top of the page again. Is that frost on those bottles? I hope you don't keep your bourbon in the freezer.

5/22/2014 11:30:38 AM

^^^ check out fea brothers bitters
http://www.atthemeadow.com/shop/drink/bitters/fee-brothers-bitters

5/23/2014 4:03:50 AM

Made a few traditional Manhattans last night. Ended up liking a 3:1 ratio of Rye to Vermouth the best. I went with

3oz - Rittenhouse Rye
1oz - Martini-Rossi sweet vermouth
2 dash of angostura bitters
2 maraschino cherries

there was a nice balance between this rye and vermouth i thought.

also, i was surprised that i actually had to ask the ABC associate for the Rittenhouse as they had it in the back office and not on the shelf. He said that even though it's not a high price point, it was still one of their "boutique bourbons" and they rarely put them on the shelf. I wonder what else is hiding back there.

5/23/2014 9:22:24 AM

I like my Manhattans very cold. I try to drink them slow so it gets pretty warm at the end. 3 Rittenhouse manhattans will destroy me the next morning. I used to leave everything out and stir instead of shake. I would be left with a very warm drink. It's just my preference. I shake that sucker up now with 2 huge ice cubes for like a minute.

For vermouth I've switched to Carpano for good. It will hurt the wallet but just the Manhattan itself looks better. It's cloudier and tastes far more complex.

[Edited on May 23, 2014 at 12:11 PM. Reason : .]

5/23/2014 12:10:03 PM

I think I'm going to try making a manhattan with St. Germain and bing cherries this weekend. I may need to use dry vermouth instead of sweet vermouth to balance it out.

5/23/2014 1:02:46 PM

^^ dude. i had about 4 or 5 manhattans last night and it completely ruined my Saturday. the worst part is that i was all surprised this morning, like "what happened?? oh shit, that's right."

^ lemme know how the St. Germaine goes. i may be looking to make some drinks next Friday to ruin that Saturday as well

5/24/2014 4:04:51 PM

The first time I had Rittenhouse I told my father in law that I had no penis (obviously not true amirite ladies). One night I had 4 Manhattans and woke up still drunk for work. I was in a panic.

5/24/2014 6:52:31 PM

Quote :

"I think I'm going to try making a manhattan with St. Germain and bing cherries this weekend. I may need to use dry vermouth instead of sweet vermouth to balance it out."

I'm interested in how this turns out also. I have a bottle of St. Germain but, other than my wife making champagne cocktails, I dont' really know what to do with it.

Running low on bourbon here also; I like the Four Roses Small Batch that I have currently but there's maybe two pours of it left. (I did quite like that, especially for a sub $30 bottle). Gotta figure out what to try next.

5/25/2014 11:56:16 AM

saint Germain made for an interesting tasting manhattan - a little sweeter than I normally like them, but not bad. I also tried adding it into a martini, which I liked a little better. going heavy on the olive juice helped to balance out the sweetness.

6/1/2014 10:02:31 PM

FYI

Elijah Craig 12yr is on sale at ABC this month for $22. i plan to stock up on a few myself. It's replaced BT as my go to all purpose bourbon.

6/20/2014 8:53:14 AM

In a cocktail with a clear spirit use a bitter juice to balance the st germaine in a cocktail.. Grapefruit juice is a good choice (esp ruby red).
As for in a manhattan try using a lemon twist instead of the cherries if it was too sweet and you were already adding dry vermouth. ViolentMAW If you don't want to shake the hell out of a manhattan try using a chilled glass and when your drink gets warm enough you could just pour it into another cold glass.

6/22/2014 1:54:02 PM

Picked up a bottle of Rittenhouse Rye the other night. Haven't made a Manhattan with it yet, but I did have a glass by itself, and I think I like it better than Bulleit Rye, plus it's less expensive. So far, so good.

Also, why is there not an official scotch thread? I could start one but I don't want to be the only jackass posting in it.

6/22/2014 2:10:09 PM

?
http://brentroad.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=640318

6/22/2014 3:32:11 PM

^,^^
and you've even posted in it multiple times

6/23/2014 8:15:28 AM

^I never claimed to have a good memory. Thanks though. I guess I should use the search function before shooting my mouth off. (Or would that be keyboard?)

A neighbor who just got married mentioned that he had a bottle of Pappy 20yr at the wedding and didn't finish it (obviously was only offered to certain guests who would appreciate it) and was nice enough to offer me a glass. All I can say is damn. Definitely lived up to the hype...just a beautiful product and in a different league than any other bourbon I've tried. He also shared some Macallan 18yr, which was also phenomenal, though (in obviously an apples to oranges, bourbon to scotch comparison) the Pappy 20 wins easily.

I definitely owe him a drink the next time I break out the good stuff, though I don't have anything near that level of good!

[Edited on July 2, 2014 at 1:23 AM. Reason : d]

7/2/2014 1:21:17 AM

I acquired a bottle of 2012 George T. Stagg.


I AM NOW THE LORD AND MASTER OF AWESOME

7/2/2014 2:43:11 PM

for you greensboro peeps, the new abc store on lawndale (near golden corral) has a very nice bourbon selection, as well as a "specialty" section that had some tags for stuff i've never seen before (like an $85 bottle of some type of four roses and a nicer elijah craig, both sold out)

7/2/2014 4:41:08 PM

Quote :

"I acquired a bottle of 2012 George T. Stagg. I AM NOW THE LORD AND MASTER OF AWESOME"

Did you get that locally, or online/while traveling/gifted? And if local, where?
My neighbor scored that bottle of Pappy 20 at the Carytown ABC store, but he had been on a waiting list for so long that he forgot he was on it. He said they have since closed the waiting list.

7/2/2014 11:42:45 PM

I doubt it's local. Stagg isn't showing up on the NC ABC Warehouse inventory list at all.



A buddy of mine is going on a bachelor party to Kentucky on Labor Day weekend. I know he'll be busy so I don't expect him to bottle hunt for me, but I wouldn't mind having him pick something up from there that isn't available in NC. Any thoughts? He's currently planning a distillery tour, so as soon as i know his stops i'll be able to narrow things down a bit.

7/3/2014 8:32:06 AM

But you see, I'm not local. Both BobbyDigital and myself are in Richmond, VA (or the very near suburbs in his case).

7/3/2014 11:32:40 PM

shoooooot homies, I got two bottles of that 2012 Stagg . Step yo game up! well, actually it's only 1.25 bottles at this point.

For real Mr.Digital, that is some awesome bourbon, enjoy that shit! It goes super slow which is nice, at that proof i only pour an ounce or so each time I have a drink. Helps for it to last longer, because it ain't cheap.

7/5/2014 6:13:57 PM

it was a gift-- very unexpected, and easily the best bourbon i've had.

7/10/2014 2:07:54 PM

^^^^ Don't the distilleries do special releases in September, or is that later in the fall?

7/10/2014 2:21:44 PM

Quote :

"I doubt it's local. Stagg isn't showing up on the NC ABC Warehouse inventory list at all. "

neither is the 2014 Four Roses Single Barrel Limited Edition bottle I picked up last month All this stuff comes to NC, and it seems like Wake county is a good place to get it.

7/16/2014 7:12:05 AM

New house has a butler's pantry. So I decided to load it up with some of my bourbon. Getting thirsty on a friday!

7/25/2014 11:04:32 AM

7/25/2014 11:09:15 AM

I like how the Pappy is "bottom shelf"

7/25/2014 11:20:56 AM

^ man, that's only because the top two shelves are kinda old and i would hate for one to break and bring the pappy crashing down. that's why there's also a bottle of four roses LE small batch on the bottom too. can't risk it! at least the bottles of stagg and WLW are half empty, so they're not as heavy

i'm sure whenever i get married i'll have to swap out the bourbon for some family pictures or something. figured i should take advantage for now.

7/25/2014 1:51:59 PM

anyone going to the bourbon festival next weekend in Cary? I think they still have tickets for sale.

7/27/2014 2:57:43 PM

is it a true bourbon fest or one of those Blues, Bourbon, & BBQ festivals? Charlotte has that one come through a couple times a year and the bourbon list is always nothing more than middle shelf ABC selection.

7/28/2014 8:27:33 AM

they'll have a limited sample of Pappy, but most of it is stuff you can get at the local ABC store. Woodford does some apple-cinnamon infused bourbon and something like sangria, which is tasty.

[Edited on July 29, 2014 at 11:57 PM. Reason : I wouldn't call $50 bottles of bourbon middle-shelf. Bakers, Bookers, Jefferson Reserve, etc.]

7/29/2014 11:55:48 PM