Bourbon & Tennessee Whiskey

philtickelson wrote:

Good day, or GREAT day?

more like great day or great day…

all the reviews say that the single-barrell select bottles of Buffalo Trace are well worth the few extra dollars. that’s a nice find.

and the difference in dump dates on those two bottles of Blanton’s is interesting. would be fun to open them both and compare side-by-side.

Michael C. Winther wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>philtickelson wrote:</div>
Good day, or GREAT day?

more like great day or great day…

all the reviews say that the single-barrell select bottles of Buffalo Trace are well worth the few extra dollars. that’s a nice find.

and the difference in dump dates on those two bottles of Blanton’s is interesting. would be fun to open them both and compare side-by-side.

I’m excited to try the BT store pick. In this case, it was an extra $1 over the standard price at my shop. $22.99 out the door.

Ive been wanting to find a bottle of that buffalo trace single for awhile. ive found more bottles of old weller antique than ive found of that

check your local Haskell’s, they should be getting their bottles out soon(if they haven’t already). They will probably be closer to $30 there, I think I got my local shop is out.

Haskell’s has a ton of barrel picks in their stores right now. Four Roses, 1792, Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit, Woodford, maybe a couple other I don’t remember.

I went to a tasting/raffle last night.

Rock Hill Farms
Rip Van Winkle 10
Van Winkle 12 year lot B
Elijah Craig 18
George T Stagg

All were very solid, I think I liked the 10 better than the 12 on the winkle. I’m really glad I got to try all of them, because while they were very good bourbons, I would never pay anything near what they go for on the secondary market to actually get one.

Enjoying a nice Blanton’s tonite.

Merry Christmas everyone.

I had a finger of Crown straight up today. Sipped for an hour while watching basketball and waiting on the infamous Christmas dinner. Not a bad sipping booze at all.

Picked up some Vikre Distillery batch 1 of their Honor Brand “Hay and Sunshine” blend of bourbon, scotch, and rye. Spectacular. Definitely check it out if you’re looking for a beverage from a MN company.

Michael C. Winther wrote:

Picked up some Vikre Distillery batch 1 of their Honor Brand “Hay and Sunshine” blend of bourbon, scotch, and rye.

They make a great bourbon but spendy. Carole and I have been there many times. They make a super Aquavit and offer some very interesting cocktails with it as a base. Vikre is a half block from Duluth’s lift bridge in Canal Park….sort of right behind and across the street from the back of Grandma’s Restaurant.

I just had Pappy 23 the other day!

I’m slowly working on the Buffalo Trace I got for Christmas…good stuff as well.

Ho hum. Another bottle at MSRP (maybe a couple $ over) for the collection.

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Michael C. Winther wrote:

Picked up some Vikre Distillery batch 1 of their Honor Brand “Hay and Sunshine” blend of bourbon, scotch, and rye. Spectacular. Definitely check it out if you’re looking for a beverage from a MN company.

I need to pick some of this up, I had it a year or so ago and really liked it. I just always hesitate cause the price is like $5-$10 more than I want to spend.

I made out like a bandit for Christmas this year though:

Macallan 12 Triple Cask
Oban 14
The Dalmore Port Wood Reserve
Glenmorangie 18
Aberlour A’bunadh batch #47

Looking forward to trying them all out!

BoatsHateMe wrote:

Ho hum. Another bottle at MSRP (maybe a couple $ over) for the collection.

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Boats hate me when you crack that open I like to be invited over please and thank you

That Hay and Sunshine sounds like something I need to try. If you are a fan of that, you may want to try out Campfire from High West Distillery, It is absolutely fantastic. It is absolutely fantastic.

I’ve been by the Vikre Distillery many tim s but the timing has never been right to stop in. I’m making it a point next time through.

Not sure I saw it on here but Tin Cup Whiskey is one of my favorites. Not expensive and doesn’t have a hard bite to it at all.

BoatsHateMe wrote:

Ho hum. Another bottle at MSRP (maybe a couple $ over) for the collection.

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andys wrote:

Bulleit bourbon is good too

X2

Buffalo Trace is the best bourbon under $30 bar none.

Eagle Jr. is excellent.

Also bourbon shouldn’t be mixed with anything but water, if you’re going to dump coke in it might as well buy Old Crow…maybe that’s the time I spent in Kentucky talking.

Drizzy Musky wrote:

Buffalo Trace is the best bourbon under $30 bar none.

Eagle Jr. is excellent.

Also bourbon shouldn’t be mixed with anything but water, if you’re going to dump coke in it might as well buy Old Crow…maybe that’s the time I spent in Kentucky talking.

Buffalo Trace is darned good, especially if you can find a store pick!

But there are a TON of great <$30 bourbons, especially in the Twin Cities market.

Eagle Rare
Henry McKenna
Evan Williams Single Barrel

I’ve seen Four Roses Single Barrel as low as $29.99, but even at $33 it’s tough to beat.

The list of ‘great’ scotch <$30 is…much smaller :). I’m just hoping we are at peak bourbon bubble, I can handle not getting Blantons/Weller/etc.., but if all these <$30 mainstays creep into $40+ range I’ll be really disappointed.

Can we talk about rye?

Far North Spirits in Kennedy, MN (way northwest) is a cool story and they make an fantastic 100% straight rye whiskey.

The rye is grown up there, they have their own cooper, and are pretty much completely self-sufficient in their production.

Not sure if they distribute in the TC area but they do to each coast so I wouldn’t be surprised.

Totally worth the $40, which is a pinch more than I normally spend for a decent bottle of whiskey, but like I said, no regerts…

philtickelson wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>BoatsHateMe wrote:</div>
Ho hum. Another bottle at MSRP (maybe a couple $ over) for the collection.

This picture isn’t coming through on my browser, what’d you get?

Old Rip Van Winkle 10. I drew the lucky straw for the one bottle my favorite liquor store got. Kind of a kick since I won the golden ticket last year too.

Just before they called me last year I was in a liquor/grocery store and the had some premium spirits stacked up behind the counter, one of which was Old Rip. The sign said “like us on Facebook for a chance to buy this bottle”. I told her I don’t do Facebook, how else can I enter? Dhe said she’d ask the Mgr. I shopped sround, came back to the counter and the Mgr was there so I asked her – how do I get a chance? She says, obviously not knowing what they had, “oh I can just sell it to you”.
“Ring it up!” I didn’t even ask how much. I think it was $85, $20 more than the one I bought a couple days later.

My daughters boyfriend works at said store and I guess that lady got a royal ass chewing for that.

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I recently picked up a bottle of Basil Hayden’s after learning how fantastic that is for $28. A real bargain!

Oh yea Four Roses Single Barrel or Small Batch are excellent.

George Remus is also good stuff that wont break the bank

Luckily my go to store in Duluth has cases of Trace. Also put my name in the Pappy Lottery every year in back in Covington KY. Have yet to win, think it might have something to do with my Northern Address

Tried Basil Hayden last week at Crooked Pint in Rochester. Tasty stuff.

BoatsHateMe wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>philtickelson wrote:</div>

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>BoatsHateMe wrote:</div>
Ho hum. Another bottle at MSRP (maybe a couple $ over) for the collection.

This picture isn’t coming through on my browser, what’d you get?

Old Rip Van Winkle 10. I drew the lucky straw for the one bottle my favorite liquor store got. Kind of a kick since I won the golden ticket last year too.

Just before they called me last year I was in a liquor/grocery store and the had some premium spirits stacked up behind the counter, one of which was Old Rip. The sign said “like us on Facebook for a chance to buy this bottle”. I told her I don’t do Facebook, how else can I enter? Dhe said she’d ask the Mgr. I shopped sround, came back to the counter and the Mgr was there so I asked her – how do I get a chance? She says, obviously not knowing what they had, “oh I can just sell it to you”.
“Ring it up!” I didn’t even ask how much. I think it was $85, $20 more than the one I bought a couple days later.

My daughters boyfriend works at said store and I guess that lady got a royal ass chewing for that.

Wow! Great luck there! I got a bottle of Bourbon County Barrel Aged Stout a couple weeks ago for $2.99 at Cub, I think they screwed up that, but it only saved me like $8 :). I got to taste the ORVW 10 and 12 a few weeks back and honestly think I preferred the 10 year.

I’m officially on the ‘nice’ list at my liquor store, they pulled me aside last week and asked if I wanted any of the bottles they’ve been holding back for their best customers. I don’t know if I should be excited or sad. I got a bottle of Parker’s Heritage Curacao finish. It’s super tasty! Definitely a bit different, the curacao adds some sweetness to it but it’s very subtle and not cloying or overpowering. I’m guessing it won’t get reviewed super great cause it really is a bit different than a classic bourbon, but I really enjoy it.

Bearcat89 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>BoatsHateMe wrote:</div>
Ho hum. Another bottle at MSRP (maybe a couple $ over) for the collection.

Boats hate me when you crack that open I like to be invited over please and thank you

I’m always up for sharing whiskey, it’s my favorite part about it. The bottle on the left is an open bottle, I’d be happy to meet up on the ice sometime and share. Adds a whole new meaning to whiskey on ice!

I must be going to the wrong liquor stores. I am on “the list” at 2 different stores for rare or allocated bourbons or ryes, but yet no calls. Have had to go out of state to even get a sniff a buying a bottle of Blanton lately. Usually can scrounge some up from Iowa or Wisconsin, but hard for me to find local.

I like bourbon and I can tell you a couple not to buy. I have been gifted Costco’s Kirkland, bad, this Christmas I was gifted a bottle of Town and Branch, worst bourbon I’ve ever had. Sadly my friend paid like 40 bucks for the Town and Branch. I just can’t force myself to pour it down the drain.

Duke

Four Roses Single Barrel is certainly a smooth bourbon. $33.00 in one Rochester store.

I haven’t seen Michter’s mentioned yet. Really good!