Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Is This the Golden Age for Bourbon?

Those empty Pappy bottles can be sold on ebay! I keep mine for olive oil and such but....

Nice. I need some more Pappy. Been a few years now.

And some Elmer T.....

ETL can be had in VA for 30 bucks. I stashed a few aside...

Who has Black Maple Hill(nas)?

I'd like some Pappy on hand as well..And some Stranahans Colorado..Pretty rare

My wife chews my azz out for tossing them because she uses them for making "vanilla infusion" with Grey Goose or Tito's and vanilla beans...

I had to stop drinking Wild Turkey the spring of '83. I felt like I owed it to the good people of Raleigh.

Supposedly whiskey doesn't 'age' in the bottle as does wine. It's more accurate to state that whiskey doesn't change as quickly or as much, but it does change. American bourbon whiskeys can change significantly due to the tannins leached from fresh oak barrels.

Good stuff. Especially when it is brought up from Tennessee.

giddy'up

I'm in the biz and "Yes", this truly is the "Golden Age" for American bourbons. By and large, forget about Pappy, Orphan Barrel, and Buffalo Trace Antique Collection stuff these days. Can't find it and, if you do, you'll pay through the nose. Incredibly over-priced, at least for the time being. This phenomenon is even spilling over into "every day" bourbons - Weller Antique 107, Weller 12 Year, Basil Hayden's, etc. Hell, this past Fall, I grabbed a bottle of Old Forester Birthday Bourbon for about $44 and could have easily flipped it for $250 - $300 on the gray market. Chose to hold on to it and am enjoying it slowly, as I think I'm appreciating it for the right reasons.

Bottom line - it is pure insanity right now when it comes to "collectible" bourbons. This will pass but it may take a while. As noted earlier, the Asian market isn't helping things. They caused a stir about 8 - 10 years ago with Bordeaux/Burgundy but that bubble eventually burst, so things should return to normal. Here's hoping, at least.

Yeah, whiskey doesn't age in the bottle, but it can change if the seal is bad and oxygen gets in. I looked at this as a time capsule. A glimpse at what a standard quality whiskey at the time was like. I can tell you that there was certainly older whiskey than 8 years (you have to put the youngest whiskey in the batch/barrel dump on the label) in this bottle. The 10 and 12 year old whiskeys I've had in the past few years didn't have anywhere near the color or complexity of flavors that this old WT 101 has. It's to be expected I guess, the more popular it becomes, the more it is rushed out the door. Have you noticed more and more whiskeys are losing their age statements? While there are still some pretty decent and enjoyable bourbons out there, it appears the golden age of bourbon was back when demand was down and the quality was way up. I'm happy the industry is doing well, and when the demand goes down, like it did with vodka, and with rickhouses full of whiskey, there could once again be older whiskey available at reasonable prices. Hope I live long enough to see it. Til then, the golden age of whiskey is long behind us.

Interesting. My family is big time "in the biz" and have no problem at all getting me any of the Pappy's, Blanton's, Col E.H. Taylor, Eagle Rare, Booker's, and all the misc "small batches" etc, etc at a pretty good discount.... maybe a regional thing?

one thing for sure it's a $$ thing...

God bless America and Capitalism!

More than likely. It's interesting from where I sit as well because, what we've discovered is that proximity doesn't necessarily mean access is any better. When it comes to the actual distribution of these "boutique" bourbons, there's a lot of "back scratching" that goes on. Same as what happens with Opus One, Dominus, Quintessa, and even some beers now - Pliny The Elder, from Russian River Brewing, comes to mind. I don't doubt for a minute that politics and preferential treatment are in play.

Charlie Sisk had a bottle of this at SHOT and it made a serious impression on me!
http://www.knobcreek.com/knob-creek-single-barrel-reserve

At 120 proof it was pretty lethal, and sipping it was an incredible experience. I have never tasted any whisky/whiskey that smooth and complex, regardless the proof.

Interesting. I found it to be "hot" even when reduced with spring water, and I'm accustomed to stuff even higher than 120 proof. Maybe the barrel mine was drawn from was a hot one.

As a single malt slut with a preference for Islays and such I found it anything but hot with just a tiny touch of water.

I found my bottle hotter than a couple of bottles of George T. Stagg at 140+ proof.

I'm no stranger to Islay whisky. A favorite of mine is my cask strength, unfiltered Laphroaig. I don't cut that one either. Nor do I cut my Lagavulin, Ardbeg, Port Ellen, Caol Ila, Bruichladdich, or Bowmore.