Yev Kassem

Haha, I’m pretty lucky. I get the occasional side eye, but she doesn’t give me any shit for my habit.

Add Rare Breed to your list (both the bourbon and the rye)

I found my BT Kosher Rye recipe a few weeks ago during the great Weller Drop of Summer 2020. It was around 11am and I decided to swing by Total Wine on my way home from an appointment. I walk in and find an attendant and asked if he knew if they had any delivery trucks unloaded that day since I was hunting for the rye recipe (I knew that a few other TW stores in town had received theirs that week). The guy tells me the truck hadn’t been unloaded yet, so I turn around and head out. On my way out of the store the guy chases me down and tells me that they just brought the boxes out and they had some rye recipe at the counter. So I head back over to get a bottle, but lo and behold, what are they also putting out? Weller Single Barrel. So I grab the WSB and check out ($56 including tax) and then call my wife to tell her to haul ass over there from work so she could grab the rye recipe (since TW only allows one allocated bottle per person). During the next 20 minutes I’m waiting outside just hoping that none of the flippers walk in and text their buddies that the drop has happened. Luckily she made it in time and she got a bottle of the rye recipe (I think it was like $42). That Weller drop week was glorious for me as I snagged that rye recipe, Weller Single Barrel, Weller 12 and OWA.

I love the Bourbon Junkies. I think they give great reviews and their livestream on Tuesday night is awesome. They also have a Facebook group page you can join. It’s a great community.

I’ve seen a few reviews that say don’t feel bad if you miss out as it’s not great this year.

I’m heading up to Plano this weekend for Labor Day. I’ve never hunted for bourbon up in that area. Any good suggestions?

Yeah, much better chance. I usually Pappy raffles going for about $150 a spot (depending on the bottle being sold), but with only 10 spots you’ve at least got a pretty decent chance. I’m not that desperate to take that kind of risk just for a Pappy, but plenty of others are.

Yes

Keep an eye out for Buffalo Trace store picks. The big stores like Total Wine and Twin Liquors do them. They’re about $5 more, but it’s a single barrel pick, so it’s likely to different (and better) than the regular expression.

Turned 40 today, so I need to break out the hitter lineup tonight. Will start with a bit of Rock Hill Farms, and then on to Sam Houston 14, Joseph Magnus Cigar Blend (with an Alec Bradley Tempus Nicaragua stick) and Bardstown Chateau de Laubade. Might have to end with a nightcap of Stagg Jr if I’m not completely hammered by then. Enjoy those drams tonight, fellas.

They got themselves a cult following to convince themselves that the absurd price point is worth it.

The Kosher rye recipe definitely has that mashbill 2 flavor profile. Enjoy it!

I’ve had the Weller SiB and it’s meh. It’s not better than WFP, which is going for $300 less than WSB on secondary. Cigar Blend and Chateau de Laubade (each going for around $300 each on secondary) are two of the most flavorful and complex bourbons on the market right now. They both shitstomp WSB from both a taste and value perspective.

This. The kid came off the bench in the ‘09 championship game and almost won it as a true freshman. He was the all time high school passing leader and national high school player of the year when he stepped on campus. Had we kept the same offense for him, no way does the program crater the way it did. I’m not saying he would have had the career Colt had (few ever will), but Mack sabotaged any chance of his success by going pro style in 2010.

I got lucky a couple months back and got one off the shelf at Spec’s, but I haven’t seen it anywhere since.

Great kid and talent, but no way he was playing with Card in line to start next season and Ewers coming in ‘22.

Steph Curry would regress at shooting under Shaka’s tutelage. Does it matter if the kid can shoot if Shaka is coaching him?

Chateau de Laubade

I cracked open the Bardstown this evening and damn, is it complex. It’s sweet, but not like typical bourbon sweet. It’s like a dark fruit kind of sweet, like raisins or plums. The palate is completely different from the nose (in a good way as both are delicious). It’s a wild and very enjoyable ride from nose to palate to finish.

If you drop $60k on a Honda Civic, you’re damn sure gonna convince yourself it’s worth that much.

I just don’t get the Garrison Bros hype. $300 for an 8 year old, non- cask strength bourbon (Laguna Madre)? How about $75-$80 for an 80 proofer (Honeydew). Hard pass from me.

Really? That’s good to know. One of the reviews I read on it listed a bunch of states it was available in, but Texas wasn’t one of them. Sounds like they expanded distribution, which I’m all for.

Just has an amazing mail call Saturday. My Joseph Magnus Cigar Blend (batch 24) and Bardstown Chateau de Laubade just arrived. I received these in a trade for a Weller Single Barrel (Plus $50 and shipping). MSRP on the Magnus is $150-$200 and for the Bardstown is $150 or so (and it’s not even distributed in Texas). For the $50 MSRP I paid for Weller SiB, I think I did pretty well here. The Bardstown is 12 year MGP sourced juice, finished 18 months in armagnac barrels.

Herman to Lincoln