I follow this guy's blog and receive his emails. He gives you a heads up when good bourbons are released and gives ETA's by state on some.

An article recently added to his blog about Booker's.


“Value is a perception, not a calculation”

For those that have been living under a rock in the bourbon world for the last 24 hours here’s the deal. Friday, Beam Suntory confirmed a rumor that Booker’s will now be priced at $100 a bottle. It will also drop from six releases a year to four. I mentioned this in my Friday wrap-up but at that point, I thought it was nothing more than a rumor. Unfortunately, it was true. Before I dive into my thoughts on Beam’s decision it’s worth giving Chuck and Fred a read.

Is Beam being greedy? It’s hard to call this move anything but greedy. But, as Chuck pointed out, this isn’t a non-profit. Beam Suntory is a massive international company. This was an accountant (as an accountant I’d liked to blame the marketing department) move. Not a Master Distiller decision. They’re basically saying “we see people paying $100 for x, y & z. Why wouldn’t they pay that for Booker’s.” From that point of view, I can at least understand. I think moving Booker’s from six to four releases is a good idea. I also get a ton of requests from people asking for a bottles suggestion in the $100 range.

After hearing this news I started to count the number of times I’ve mentioned Booker’s as a bourbon you should buy. There were far too many to count. Anytime someone asks me for a suggestion for something to buy, I say Booker’s. It’s always the first bottles I think of when someone says they can’t find a certain limited edition bourbon. Why not save yourself some time and money and just buy Booker’s. That’s why I refer to this as the death of a bourbon generation. We’ve seen price increases before. Dropped age statements have become normal. There’s something a more incendiary about doubling the price of a product and dropping its supply. Especially, when it’s a product you love.

2016-05-09-17-14-41
Master Distiller Fred Noe at the Booker’s Roundtable I attended
There are a lot of smart people at Beam. I have no doubt that they researched and tested (probably with Booker’s rye) before making this move. I also know that there are a lot of Beam reps that were left in the dark about this decision. Some finding out the same way we did. Beam sees the broader whiskey market. The amount they’ll lose from bourbon nerds they’ll make up in new drinker’s that will be oblivious to the change. Does anyone remember when Elijah Craig 18 was $45?!

Maker’s Mark dropping their proof was the only other rival to Booker’s price in regards to a public outcry. The pushback has been loud and unanimous. Could Beam change their mind? Maybe. If they do, this will be the greatest marketing stunt of all time. Booker’s is currently flying off of the shelf. I talked with one retailer that sells about 10 bottles of Booker’s a year. His shelf was wiped clean of six bottles yesterday. I think that’s part of the confusion. Booker’s isn’t a bottle that flies off of the shelf and has allocation issues. It sits on most shelves 2-3 releases deep in most places. That’s the beauty of it. Now, if Beam announces a repeal of the pricing change in a few weeks they just pushed through all of their old inventory in time for the new year. Just a thought.

While I don’t agree with Beam’s decision, I still love Booker’s. Thankfully, I’ve loved Booker’s for a long time and have a well-stocked supply. Personally, I don’t think I’ll be paying $100 anytime soon.



Lot of good info what to buy OTHER THAN Booker's here.

http://bourbonr.com/blog/death-of-a-bourbon-generation/

Are we boycotting Beam and Bookers now?

Add it to the list!!!!

Merry Christmas Greg!!

It's not worth $100 a bottle to me. If I see a bottle at old pricing though guess I'll buy it.

Could be.

Beam just entered into a new contract with their union opponent. Very costly. Probably marketing though.

Back in the day. W.T Samuels change the name, changed the bottle,tripled the price, same whiskey,then called it Makers Mark.

Sales went through the roof.

Beam is also now Japanese owned. You'll see lots more of this in the next 3 years as well most bottles taking on the nas label. That's already happening with top brands like Eagle Rare, Elijah Craig and others.

Boycott!!

You hit the nail on the head, David.

Here are a few alternative suggestions from one of the commenters.

So if I am looking for a barrel strength bourbon, there are several excellent choices in the $50-$70 price range including Four Roses Private Selection, Barrell Bourbon, Elija Craig Barrel Proof, and George T Stagg.

I'll go with one or several of these or others before I'll buy any more Booker's at $100 a bottle.

Beam (Japanese) can kiss my ass.

Market share opportunity of an up and coming distillery.

Accountants always end up milking a brand until it's value is gone, and they never understand why it happens.

I like good bourbon. I've had a lot of good bourbon. And I've never had 'any' that I'd pay 100 bucks a bottle for.

Store brand will get you just as drunk.Same hangover as the top shelf brand.

I like Four Roses but it is owned by Kirin.

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/con...-s-bourbon-brands-owned-foreign-n370486.

I like Woodford Reserve (or Dickel Rye if you can stomach a TN version).

Try Larceny. Comes with a hint of "Old Fitzgerald". Heaven Hill owns the brand. A most excellent product, at a decent price. If you can find any.

Jack Daniels.

Costco had Larceny. Almost grabbed one. Dang.

Thanks Sam!

Bought a bottle of Four Roses single barrel and it was very drinkable.

Went back to get another and none was to be found, also no Booker's, no Craig. I asked what the heck was up and was told a story that I've heard on 3 different occasions now. The guy said they were using a lot of the low and mid-priced bourbon to make that fireball shcit. The first time I heard it I said BS, but who knows.

Holidays!! The shelves will be re-stocked in 2 weeks.

Guess I'll have to stay with my "Turkey 101" or Knob Creek. I haven't been able to get Eagle Rare at the base package store in a year or so.

Now if my brother happens to have Bookers in his liquor cabinet when we go over for Christmas, I may just have to sample it.

Buffalo Trace and don't look back

Old Grand Dad BIB, or Black Label.

For Christmas time it is single barrel.

Kind of funny to me that this guy has people ask him all the time which 100 dollar bottle to buy.

Do they really like 100 dollar stuff, or do they just like to tell people the bottle cost 100 bucks?

Some people like to spend 5 dollars, some like to spend 10.

Another vote for Knob Creek. Single barrel for gifts. Still way under $100.00

Old Grand Dad Bonded for even less money.


My taste buds for Wine has gone up to about $12.00

Inflation.

Any Bourbon from Buffalo Trace Distillery is most likely gonna be great. Eagle Rare and Buffalo Trace are my favorites.

George Dickel, for the money, is hard to beat.

At $100/bottle, it had better be a damned good scotch and not any bourbon.

Knob Creek and Crown Royal here..

FYI......Dickel Rye is produced in Indiana by MGP.

Dickel # 12 is my favorite, though I would like to try their # 1.

I must be the only one, but I tried Buffalo trace based on the rave reviews it gathers here and was not impressed at all.

I do not like as much the blends made with second hand charred oak barrels. Just Saying.

Back in my drinking days Black Jack and George Dickel was good enough. Hasbeen

You're not. I don't like it either.

Me too. It is my understanding that they produce it in numbered batches and flavor and bite vary greatly accross the range.

I went to a tasting at a local store and they had representations from multiple number referenced batches. One number tasted similar to the old Old Charter, one had more spice, one tasted more like a scotch, and one tasted like jet fuel.

I have never seen it categorized elsewhere and have never bought another bottle.

Or you could try drinking better tasting and not as much, and not have to deal with a hangover.

Of course it took some age for us to figure that one out.

fleischmanns

Jack Daniel

Dang. Saw a couple bottles of Larceny on the shelf at ABC today, too, and a bottle of Booker's in the lockup case still at the $63 price. Might go back and get that one next week.

Did luck out and find a 01-16 release of Booker's with dust all over it's crate on the top shelf at Publix last night at the old price. Funny, bumped into a guy on his tiptoes trying to see everything on the top shelf, too. It was one of my gunsmiths.

Florida grocery stores sell liquor? Well Dang!!

Yeah I'd go back and get those Bookers. I received a rye this year and have the collectors unfiltered whatever series but at very good prices.

Make that three....I don't care for it either....

I bought a jug of Elija Craig the other day and then a friend dropped by with a bottle of Bulliet....
I'll open the Bulliet tonight and save the EC for tomorrow...

Should be a merry Christmas...

I just bought a bottle of Old Grand Dad bonded and some Single Barrel Jack Daniel's.

Merry Christmas to meeeeeeeee!

I recieved a bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle 10 year old from a client. Had a taste of it this afternoon. Pretty good. Buffallo Trace , makers or Bookers generally for me. Just finished a big huge bottle of Knob Creek same client gave me two years ago. In my 30's I was big on Wild Turkey 101. I never met a bottle of Kentucky Bourbon I didnt like. I just had to decide what to drink it with if it wasnt worth drinking on the rocks or with a splash of water.

I've always regarded Bookers as a spirit that was too hot and finished much too quickly.

Now my wallet feels the same way.

Technically not bourbon, but it's getting hard to keep up with. These "craft" brewers and "small batch" distillers are doing some truly amazing things.

My doctor is convinced I've declared jihad on my liver and she's stymied when I try explaining to her that compared to 30 years ago, the "top shelf" beer (Michelob) and top shelf bourbon (Eagle Rare 101) was horse pizz. Roll Dominican cigars into that conversation and Lawby Jeebus......

agreed Denny!!

Jefferson's
Can't be touched for the price
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ad/Jefferson's_Small_Batch_Bourbon.jpg/170px-Jefferson's_Small_Batch_Bourbon.jpg

Hell yes to all of the above , adding Blanton's .

Almost brought home a 750 last time to the likker sto' but @ $107.00 per I came home with some Blantons instead. 69 bux.

Owner of store commented that it's his most popular bourbon.

http://jeffersonsbourbon.com/product.php?product_id=3

Bookers was good but I never found it worth the money. I liked Blantons better or for cheaper pours, Larceny, Eagle Rare or any version of Weller you can find, preferably 107 antique or 12 year, but the standard is fine for the money.

My neighbor cuts my grass every week. Twice a year, on his BD, and at Christmas, I thank him with a 1.75 of Buffalo Trace. He thinks it's an even trade.

Turkey 101 here.

I did win a bottle of Jesse James Outlaw Bourbon as a door prize at work the other day, pretty smooth to me.

Have heard great things about Knob Creek so may have to grab a bottle sometime and give it a shot.

Hoosiers even?!

From Wikipedia " George Dickel Rye, introduced in 2012, is the only Dickel product not produced at the Cascade Hollow Distillery. Most of the stages of its production are conducted under contract in Indiana, and is then trucked to the Diageo's facility in Plainfield, Illinois, for filtering with Dickel's charcoal and bottling.[3][9][10] It is mashed, distilled and aged at MGP Indiana."


Anyone remember Elmer T Lee? I haven't seen a bottle in years. It was a great bourbon and relatively wallet friendly. I miss it.

Happy Xmas, all.

I like Blantons, but it's tough to come by down here. Don't know why. ??

For cheaper poors, I've got matching yuge bottles of Bulliet and Buffalo Trace.

Christmas was pretty good to me. Added to the liquor cabinet are a WL Weller Special Reserve, & Bulleit 10 yr. bourbon, a Balvenie 14 yr Caribbean Cask scotch, and a Yamazaki 12 yr. Jap whisky.

The Weller is getting harder to find and the price is going up, up, up. In the locked cabinet was a Van Winkle 12 yr Special Reserve Lot B for $499. My wife bought me a bottle of that about 4 years ago and pd $200 and I thought that was outrageous. Bourbon is going crazy and the age statements are disappearing. Crazy. I can't wait for rum to be the new "It" spirit so the price of bourbon can come back to earth.

Bookers is still $69 per 750 here, same as the last couple years.
I prefer Bakers to Bookers, even better at 15-20 less per bottle.

That said, I like EW white label for the money. Ezra Brooks 90 proof for the cheap big bottle.

4 Roses is my favorite, unless you are buying, then I like whatever you are buying. Grin

I received a bottle of Willett pot still reserve bourbon as a gift. Any good reviews?

You must have some GOOD friends!

Picked up a couple of bottles, Booker is still 56.88 in Dallas, but the man at the store said the next shipment would be $100.00 per bottle.

I ask what justified the increase in price. He just replied that maybe they would release an aged version and reviews that justified the increase, but he doubted it.

Honestly, have enjoyed it but it is not my favorite and at $100.00 I move to scotch.

Bookers sucks in my opinion.

Knob creek kicks it's ass.

Give me Gordon's gin and im happy. Bourbon is for the flue!

120 proof Knob is incredible... 100 proof is pretty good... 80 is only marginal, to my taste.

F%$K Jack Danilels. The most over rated bourbon on the market, IMHO. I know it has a huge following, but I can't take that sour corn taste. Reminds me of the neighbors farm where you can smell the corn in the cow sh&t. My buddy bought me a bottle for my birthday this year. One drink and I gave it back to him. Old Grand Dad, on the other hand, is about as good as it gets, for me. I read an article somewhere about under-rated brands in the US,and Old Grand Dad Bourbon was one of those mentioned. I guess in the end, they all give you the same result.

Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve is my favorite. It has the best flavor of any of em' to me.

It is mighty fine whiskey... if it has any shortcoming it is the fact it is sneaky...

It isn't.

Garrison Brothers. Mmmmmmmm....

I love Bookers but not at $100 a bottle. I was in the store a week or so ago and it was still priced at around $50-60

I'll buy other stuff like Eagle Rare Wild Turkey 101 and Elijah Craig

I do have some great friends Art, but I have my wife and son to thank (and I did) for the whisky bonanza.

Everyone's taste varies (as we can see in this thread) but I enjoyed the Willett's that I have had. It's good whiskey.

Oh, I won't be adding any demand for the Bookers. I've had it in the past and I didn't think it was so special. I prefer Knob Creek, and agree the single barrel is excellent. I just opened a bottle of Russell's Reserve Single Barrel @ 110 proof and it's superb. And - - don't get me started on Four Roses Single Barrel, it's just wonderful. It's going up in price too but I would turn my nose up to Bookers while running to the Four Roses.

Where's Mathman?

I have to lmao at some of the stuff in this thread and conclude that many of the posters are either drunks who don't gaf what whiskey tastes like or are just parroting what they've read.

Buffalo Trace has a huge following here on the fire, mainly because it has a cool label. I've tried a lot of expensive whiskeys and usually they taste no better than some inexpensive ones.

OTOH, whoever thinks that the hangover from say, Evan Williams is the same as one from Wild Turkey just hasn't drank much. Generally more expensive brands don't leave you as hungover.

Plain old Wild Turkey for the win. There may be some that outdo it, but not for the price. I haven't drank any for a number of years but for a cheap whiskey, Old Crow used to be hard to beat. A brand made in Texas called McKendrick was a most excellent whiskey at a very reasonable price. Unfortunately, it is no longer made that I'm aware of. Rebecca Creek tastes a lot like I remember it, but is fairly pricey. High West makes some great whiskies but are also pretty expensive. Henry McKenna and George Dickel are good brands.

Never had any Bookers and most likely never will now. I didn't much care for Buffalo Trace either so that one will most likely never grace my cabinet again.
Jefferson's Very Small Batch at under $40 is hard to beat. As is Bowman Brothers Small Batch, Elijah Craig and Knob Creek. I also found myself bringing home a second bottle of Tin Cup last week, another in the under $40 range.
Being that ABC can only be bought in .gov stores in Virginia can certainly hinder product availability[at least in the sticks portion of the state] pricing is pretty good when I compare to states that are private.
I also am looking forward to trying some bourbon that is still a couple of years out yet that a 'friend' has stored as it ages. Should be interesting when it's time has come.

Price versus quality, the Knob 100 proof is $22 at Costco... Have not seen anything that matches the combo...

Good deal!