Bourbon

[Bozo_Casanova 26462]

I don’t think you understand economics and the basic principles of supply and demand. 

I can’t hear you, I’ve got a $109 bottle of Stagg in my ear.

[huge 3793]

And we know what you had to do to get it.

Me? I might just spend the money.

I’ll tell you tomorrow.

[ckhorn 208]

45 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

I can’t hear you, I’ve got a $109 bottle of Stagg in my ear.

I have one for 109 and another for 299. They taste the same and would do all over again. Is 225 good for a 4 grain. I want to know how in the hell would turn that down. If you would. You are xoxoxixo liar.

edit: not you specific bozo, just in general. You da man

Edited February 12, 2019 by ckhorn

[Bozo_Casanova 26462]

Look, everybody do what they want. For me, I have two rules:

1) I don’t pay more than MSRP

2) Outside of what I trade to people on this this thread exclusively, I drink what I buy.

 

Im just a guy with no industry connections who likes whiskey. I don’t care what’s popular or critically acclaimed and I’m not a member of any of the Facebook groups or any of that other shit. This isn’t like beer where there are thousands of small market craft products worth drinking and you have to read and do constant research to keep up. This is bourbon, a tiny product field narrowly constrained by a handful of huge companies working from a limited supply of acceptable raw materials or unfinished product, which is why you have all these bullshit special edition bottles nowadays- to maintain interest in a product category where everybody has tried everything.

 

A couple of decent relationships with your local store manager gets you access to the whole market, at retail. You can invest a little bit of time into that, or you can invest a lot of time into finding the “deals” of the secondary market, for the right to pay $300.

 

[Bert Orange 1120]

52 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

I can’t hear you, I’ve got a $109 bottle of Stagg in my ear.

I’ve got a $125 bottle of Pappy 20 in mine. Does that mean I’m doing it right?  Better not drink it all as I might have to pay more than that for my next bottle because of my deplorable behavior of creating a market for overpriced bourbon by liking it too much. Or maybe I should hate the bad people in Kentucky that don’t make enough?  Or should i hate the people that wait in line to buy only to resell it?  Or the hoarders?

Fuck it. I’ll just hate EVERYBODY!!!!

[Bert Orange 1120]

1 minute ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Look, everybody do what they want. For me, I have two rules:
1) I don’t pay more than MSRP
2) Outside of what I trade to people on this this thread, I drink what I buy.

Im just a guy with no industry connections who likes whiskey. I don’t care what’s popular or critically acclaimed and I’m not a member of any of the Facebook groups or any of that other shit. This isn’t like beer where there are thousands of small market craft products worth drinking and you have to read and do constant research to keep up. This is bourbon, a tiny product field narrowly constrained by a handful of huge companies working from a limited supply of acceptable raw materials or unfinished product, which is why you have all these bullshit special edition bottles nowadays- to maintain interest in a product category where everybody has tried everything.

A couple of decent relationships with your local store manager gets you access to the whole market, at retail. You can invest a little bit of time into that, or you can invest a lot of time into finding the “deals” of the secondary market, for the right to pay $300.

Exactly. If only we all had those special relationships. By my math, we would all have to open our own liquor stores for that privilege. Unless you know a guy somewhere that gets 10 cases each of Weller and only has one guy like you fondling his balls. 

[Thetexashammer 1062]

3 hours ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

No offense fellas, but this is why the market is fucked up. If you’ll pay $300, why not $500 or a G?

[After irth 1243]

8 hours ago, Bert Orange said:

I’ve got a $125 bottle of Pappy 20 in mine. Does that mean I’m doing it right?  Better not drink it all as I might have to pay more than that for my next bottle because of my deplorable behavior of creating a market for overpriced bourbon by liking it too much. Or maybe I should hate the bad people in Kentucky that don’t make enough?  Or should i hate the people that wait in line to buy only to resell it?  Or the hoarders?

Fuck it. I’ll just hate EVERYBODY!!!!

Now you’re getting it!

[thrillhammer 683]

9 hours ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Look, everybody do what they want. For me, I have two rules:

1) I don’t pay more than MSRP

2) Outside of what I trade to people on this this thread exclusively, I drink what I buy.

 

Im just a guy with no industry connections who likes whiskey. I don’t care what’s popular or critically acclaimed and I’m not a member of any of the Facebook groups or any of that other shit. This isn’t like beer where there are thousands of small market craft products worth drinking and you have to read and do constant research to keep up. This is bourbon, a tiny product field narrowly constrained by a handful of huge companies working from a limited supply of acceptable raw materials or unfinished product, which is why you have all these bullshit special edition bottles nowadays- to maintain interest in a product category where everybody has tried everything.

 

A couple of decent relationships with your local store manager gets you access to the whole market, at retail. You can invest a little bit of time into that, or you can invest a lot of time into finding the “deals” of the secondary market, for the right to pay $300.

 

 

i know a couple of stores that don't manage that way.  no lists, no preferred customers.  if they happen to luck into an allocated bottle they put it on the shelf.  first come, first served. 

i've bought many $100 bottles, but the most i've ever paid is $120 for knob creek 25th anniversary.  i've never seen any of the pappy's or btac in the wild but would probably drop $300 if i did, knowing that that is the going rate and therefore a fair price. 

[Bozo_Casanova 26462]

i know a couple of stores that don't manage that way.  no lists, no preferred customers.  if they happen to luck into an allocated bottle they put it on the shelf.  first come, first served. 

Those are the best stores with the best managers, and the stores that you do want a relationship with. Stores like that will often seek out specific items for good customers and get a high volume of allocated bottles because they don’t jerk the reps around.

 

[Neonmoon 38129]

10 hours ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Look, everybody do what they want. For me, I have two rules:

1) I don’t pay more than MSRP

2) Outside of what I trade to people on this this thread exclusively, I drink what I buy.

 

Im just a guy with no industry connections who likes whiskey. I don’t care what’s popular or critically acclaimed and I’m not a member of any of the Facebook groups or any of that other shit. This isn’t like beer where there are thousands of small market craft products worth drinking and you have to read and do constant research to keep up. This is bourbon, a tiny product field narrowly constrained by a handful of huge companies working from a limited supply of acceptable raw materials or unfinished product, which is why you have all these bullshit special edition bottles nowadays- to maintain interest in a product category where everybody has tried everything.

 

A couple of decent relationships with your local store manager gets you access to the whole market, at retail. You can invest a little bit of time into that, or you can invest a lot of time into finding the “deals” of the secondary market, for the right to pay $300.

 

There is nothing wrong with this view or approach. Live your life. If you're not buying anything over MSRP, and you drink every single drop you buy, then more power to you. Again, that's your way of life. However, there are different strokes for different folks. Some people do not want to spend the time cultivating relationships with mr. liquor store owner, maybe someone travles a lot and can't develop a relationship with just one store owner. Maybe someone drinks occasionally but not enough, and couln't possibly buy/drink enough bourbon to "get in good" with the liquor store owner. These people still want to taste the BTAC, how else are they going to do that? Pay over MSRP. 

[thrillhammer 683]

12 hours ago, Bert Orange said:

I don’t think you understand economics and the basic principles of supply and demand. 

i believe bozo's statement illustrates exactly the basic principles of supply and demand.  it's like saying if we would all stop smoking pot and doing coke, there wouldn't be so many drugs flowing across the border and the cartels wouldn't be so rich and powerful.   if we would all stop paying $300 for btac, they would lower the price.   that's a true statement.  not a realistic one, but factual nonetheless

[Bert Orange 1120]

6 minutes ago, thrillhammer said:

i believe bozo's statement illustrates exactly the basic principles of supply and demand.  it's like saying if we would all stop smoking pot and doing coke, there wouldn't be so many drugs flowing across the border and the cartels wouldn't be so rich and powerful.   if we would all stop paying $300 for btac, they would lower the price.   that's a true statement.  not a realistic one, but factual nonetheless

Really?  Because BT isn’t charging $300. The market clearing price is north of that. Why would BT lower the price exactly?

They made 74,000 bottles of BTAC in 2018. You think it’s a demand issue?

Wrong

[Bert Orange 1120]

Price controls. BT, NY apartments and Ford GT/Raptor. All of these items are under price controls not reflecting market. 

[Bozo_Casanova 26462]

Hold on. Nobody values price discovery more than I do.I sell option premium for fun, for crying out loud. I get it.

HOWEVER: Just because the market clearing price for a particular product is a certain level at a certain point in the value chain doesn't mean any particular buyer is paying it. Clearly MSRP is below clearing for BTAC in the aggregate. But so is $300. So I guess I don't understand what the objection to paying MSRP is, when so many buyers are paying MSRP. Why not be one of those people instead of the people paying 3X?
I'm not creating incentives for hoarding and I don't buy more than I can drink eventually. I'm just getting into the market at a different place in the value chain. The people selling $1000 bottles of BTAC are mostly paying MSRP.  And the people paying them $1000 or even $300 are telling them to buy up and flip as much as they can. 

I use imgur to post pictures of bottles on this thread. A while back I posted a picture of OFBB. A guy dm's me and offers me $700 for it. I said "I drank it". and he said "why did you do that?" I told me that is what I bought it for, and HE called ME a dumbass. 

If something is worth it to you,  spend what you are willing to pay. But don't complain when informal distribution levels proliferate and the market clearing price rises above that level, because you're living in a world that you help make, and there's always a deeper pocket out there. 

Edited February 12, 2019 by Bozo_Casanova

[thrillhammer 683]

32 minutes ago, Bert Orange said:

Really?  Because BT isn’t charging $300. The market clearing price is north of that. Why would BT lower the price exactly?

They made 74,000 bottles of BTAC in 2018. You think it’s a demand issue?

Wrong

you're right, btac doesn't control the price.  the liquor store, and demand, control the price.  the statement still holds true.  if we would all do like bozo does and not pay above msrp, then the liquor stores would be forced to sell at msrp.

[Bozo_Casanova 26462]

9 minutes ago, thrillhammer said:

you're right, btac doesn't control the price.  the liquor store, and demand, control the price.  the statement still holds true.  if we would all do like bozo does and not pay above msrp, then the liquor stores would be forced to sell at msrp.

For the record - Most reputable stores with strong relationships and decent volume do sell most of their stock at or fairly near MSRP.  It's the independent shops that get lucky and then put a crazy markup on a chase bottle because they may not see it again. 

That's what Bert doesn't seem to understand. BT doesn't see a dime over wholesale. A retail store can't build volume on chasers. Their incentive is to tun the middle and bottom shelf over, and halo products in stock for good customers keep traffic high. Your very high end bourbon buyer might only buy one bottle of bourbon a month, but a bottle of midshelf gin or 4-6 bottles of wine every week. 

Edited February 12, 2019 by Bozo_Casanova

[Bert Orange 1120]

You are far too focused on the initial sale price/MSRP.  But I get it, as that is your argument.  That we should all develop relationships with local liquor purveyors to be one of the luck 74,000 people in the US to take home a bottle at MSRP (which is a farce, because we all know not everyone sells at MSRP out of the gate).  So if you honestly want to go through life only paying what some bourbon maker sets as their MSRP (which is ONLY a guidepost), then you will likely miss out on as many options as you are lucky to procure at that price.  But sounds like you are OK with that.  Great that you stick to your guns.  But as a lot of us here have made abundantly clear to you - we don’t agree with you.  And don’t appreciate anyone getting preachy.  I’ve got enough fucking Pilates instructors and vegans reminding me that I am an asshole.  So go about your business, and I will happily pay anyone $300 for the sweet nectar I value well north of that.  And won’t stand in a fucking line on Friday after thanksgiving to enter a lottery, as I value football and my free time more than that.  Not judging those that have a different perspective.

 

Enough talk on this stupid shit.  Let’s just drink the shit and not worry about how much the next guy pays and why he shouldn’t.

[Horn21 168]

On 2/10/2019 at 4:23 PM, Paco said:

 

 

Shut. The. Fuck. Up.


(please)

 

I think everyone on this thread is already well aware of HM10, but I could be wrong.

46 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

For the record - Most reputable stores with strong relationships and decent volume do sell most of their stock at or fairly near MSRP.  It's the independent shops that get lucky and then put a crazy markup on a chase bottle because they may not see it again. 

That's what Bert doesn't seem to understand. BT doesn't see a dime over wholesale. A retail store can't build volume on chasers. Their incentive is to tun the middle and bottom shelf over, and halo products in stock for good customers keep traffic high. Your very high end bourbon buyer might only buy one bottle of bourbon a month, but a bottle of midshelf gin or 4-6 bottles of wine every week. 

 

2 minutes ago, Bert Orange said:

You are far too focused on the initial sale price/MSRP.  But I get it, as that is your argument.  That we should all develop relationships with local liquor purveyors to be one of the luck 74,000 people in the US to take home a bottle at MSRP (which is a farce, because we all know not everyone sells at MSRP out of the gate).  So if you honestly want to go through life only paying what some bourbon maker sets as their MSRP (which is ONLY a guidepost), then you will likely miss out on as many options as you are lucky to procure at that price.  But sounds like you are OK with that.  Great that you stick to your guns.  But as a lot of us here have made abundantly clear to you - we don’t agree with you.  And don’t appreciate anyone getting preachy.  I’ve got enough fucking Pilates instructors and vegans reminding me that I am an asshole.  So go about your business, and I will happily pay anyone $300 for the sweet nectar I value well north of that.  And won’t stand in a fucking line on Friday after thanksgiving to enter a lottery, as I value football and my free time more than that.  Not judging those that have a different perspective.

 

Enough talk on this stupid shit.  Let’s just drink the shit and not worry about how much the next guy pays and why he shouldn’t.

I agree with the sentiment of pay what you want to pay.  I also don't think it takes some elaborate scheme to do what BC does for his purchases.  I do the same thing, and it's pretty damn easy.

I think BC and I have scored some incredible bottles at the same location.  It's part relationship and part luck.  I typically use the same store when I pick up my 1-2 bottles a week of gin/vodka/tequila/wine that I'm going to purchase anyways, ask for recs on new stuff, and talk bourbon for a few mins.   

Over the last year or so I've purchased a couple THHs, GTS, and WLW in addition to several bottles each of harder stuff to nab like ER, W12, Blanton's, ETL, and MWND through them, all at MSRP.  Some were luck and some were favors for a customer who spends a chunk of money in that store on a regular basis.  Again, spend what you want to spend, but it doesn't take the lengths of which you describe to score some fantastic bottles at standard retail pricing.  In fact, I'd argue that hunting down bottles for $300+ takes more effort in many cases, beyond just paying 3x retail.  A lot of the store managers/owners appreciate and are excited to sell their product to customers they know aren't in the flipping game.

[Bozo_Casanova 26462]

This guy fucks

[huge 3793]

1 hour ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

This guy fucks

Also there is an ocean between that dude that chastised you for drinking your bourbon and what I brought up.  In my mind anyway.

 

[Bozo_Casanova 26462]

Totally agree.

[huge 3793]

Just now, Bozo_Casanova said:

Totally agree.

Also I'm jealous of other's relationships in this stupid game I choose to play.

[Bozo_Casanova 26462]

Plus it's a good forearm/bicep isolation workout. 

[HouTex 1867]

I just don't get spending $300+ on any bottle of booze, wine, or whatever.  You're just making expensive piss.  I'm easily satisfied with the basic Weller or, when I find them, Weller 12 or 107, or Larceny, or ER, or High West. The list goes on.  I'll splurge on OF 1920 and after I finish the bottle I wonder why I spent the $50 (IIRC) on the bottle.  When I get to taste a Pappy's I enjoy it, but it's not like it's some bottle of liquid magic.  I'm fortunate, I guess, that I can't tell much difference between any of those well made whiskeys.  Same goes for wine.  There's great wine for under $60 per bottle (and even a lot around $20) such that I can't imagine spending much more.

[Rollo Tomassi 80]

imgur

 

Here's the selection that we had Saturday night.  My friend brought the WLW down from Boise where he won it in a lottery.

[billfromlaketravis 11481]

59 minutes ago, Rollo Tomassi said:

 

 

 

Here's the selection that we had Saturday night.  My friend brought the WLW down from Boise where he won it in a lottery.

Did y’all blind taste test? 

Good friend.

[Bozo_Casanova 26462]

Solid lineup. What did you think of Old Potrero? Hotaling is a true independent. The rest of that lineup is  made by two companies. 

Edited February 12, 2019 by Bozo_Casanova

[Rollo Tomassi 80]

No blind test. We just went through the lineup (a few times). We all agreed the WLW was the best of the bunch. I thought the birthday bourbon and 1920 were next, followed by the EHT. W12 was as smooth as ever,  but next to those higher octane bourbons wasn't a fair fight  

The OF rye was good, but not special. The Old Portrero is a true 100% rye. It was clearly the most unique of the bunch. It had a very distinctive nose and taste. If I were a more seasoned rye drinker, it probably would have been more enjoyable. Very strong grain smell and taste. 

We we had a blast. 

[ckhorn 208]

8 hours ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

For the record - Most reputable stores with strong relationships and decent volume do sell most of their stock at or fairly near MSRP.  It's the independent shops that get lucky and then put a crazy markup on a chase bottle because they may not see it again. 

That's what Bert doesn't seem to understand. BT doesn't see a dime over wholesale. A retail store can't build volume on chasers. Their incentive is to tun the middle and bottom shelf over, and halo products in stock for good customers keep traffic high. Your very high end bourbon buyer might only buy one bottle of bourbon a month, but a bottle of midshelf gin or 4-6 bottles of wine every week. 

This is the problem. Most of these stores don't exist any longer. Most are marking up to secondary pricing. Spent the last ten years building a couple of Specs relationships and over a year ago they told me all allocated items go into the main system now. My name was in the hundreds. I may get a bottle of Weller 12 in three years.

Thanks to a motivational talk from Brown Water. I went on a seek, buy and drink mission. I have had more luck in the last six months, than in the last 6 years. My buying limit is $299 and I'm a happy man. 

[billfromlaketravis 11481]

28 minutes ago, Rollo Tomassi said:

No blind test. We just went through the lineup (a few times). We all agreed the WLW was the best of the bunch. I thought the birthday bourbon and 1920 were next, followed by the EHT. W12 was as smooth as ever,  but next to those higher octane bourbons wasn't a fair fight  

The OF rye was good, but not special. The Old Portrero is a true 100% rye. It was clearly the most unique of the bunch. It had a very distinctive nose and taste. If I were a more seasoned rye drinker, it probably would have been more enjoyable. Very strong grain smell and taste. 

We we had a blast. 

Thanks for the recap. I’m cracking open a bottle of Old Forester Birthday Bourbon this weekend for my birthday. The goal is to make it an annual tradition. 2 for 2 thus far. 

I’m off Friday, so I’ll probably pop into Eight Row for a drinking lunch. Their prices and selection are roughly equivalent to Whiskey Cake, and hey I can walk home afterwards. 

[Horn21 168]

31 minutes ago, ckhorn said:

This is the problem. Most of these stores don't exist any longer. Most are marking up to secondary pricing. Spent the last ten years building a couple of Specs relationships and over a year ago they told me all allocated items go into the main system now. My name was in the hundreds. I may get a bottle of Weller 12 in three years.

Thanks to a motivational talk from Brown Water. I went on a seek, buy and drink mission. I have had more luck in the last six months, than in the last 6 years. My buying limit is $299 and I'm a happy man. 

Speaking specifically in Austin, Spec's had a great opportunity, IMO.  They had a captive market and had a lot of people going to them first for their needs.  Whatever decisions have been made higher up the chain the last few years have really brought them down in the eyes of the more discerning boozehounds.  It might not hurt them in the short-term, but I have to think looking out 10+ years, Spec's is going to regret the path they have chosen.  Granted, a shitload of folks just want their Popov or Early Times or High Life and they want it as cheap as possible and that's all they care about, but it's crazy to me that Spec's is willingly and purposefully creating a shit experience for what seems to me to be a rather not-insignificant part of their market.

CSB.  Spec's is garbage.

[After irth 1243]

2 minutes ago, Horn21 said:

Speaking specifically in Austin, Spec's had a great opportunity, IMO.  They had a captive market and had a lot of people going to them first for their needs.  Whatever decisions have been made higher up the chain the last few years have really brought them down in the eyes of the more discerning boozehounds.  It might not hurt them in the short-term, but I have to think looking out 10+ years, Spec's is going to regret the path they have chosen.  Granted, a shitload of folks just want their Popov or Early Times or High Life and they want it as cheap as possible and that's all they care about, but it's crazy to me that Spec's is willingly and purposefully creating a shit experience for what seems to me to be a rather not-insignificant part of their market.

CSB.  Spec's is garbage.

Agreed. I went on a bourbon-hunting fandango yesterday with 9 stops at independents. 

Did not encounter any gimmicky NDP bullshit. No hard-sell tactics. Had pleasant conversations about bourbon with knowledgeable staff/owners. 

Bought some other items as well. Was a pleasure to shop and spend money in these establishments. 

My last Spec’s experience was in Humble. Was trying to shop leisurely and enjoy some free time, but the overly aggressive “customer service” was so bludgeoning, I couldn’t check out and leave fast enough. 

[After irth 1243]

Along those same lines, let me tell you my mission on a gray and shitty Monday morning. I got it in my head to acquire all 4 Old Forester Whiskey Row offerings as a gift for my bro-in-law who is a novice Bourbon drinker. 

Figured it was a good gift. Not too expensive. Lots of yield. Lots of comparison. Hopefully some tasting discussions between him and his buddies.

He recently sent me a bottle of Weller 12 from the secondary market for MY birthday. I was extremely grateful and flattered, but kinda felt bad for his effort and expense. Wanted to return the favor with a vengeance. 

I have many interesting stories of the 9 stops that I made (many things I passed

up for myself) but suffice to say:  mission accomplished!  9 stops. 4 bottles (all at MSRP), 1hr, 45min total time. Felt like a fuckin rock star. Totally made my day that I nailed them all, just in one day. 

I just figured that karma (or law of averages, whatever) would have me spending weeks hunting the one missing bottle...

Anyway...for what it’s worth...that’s my Bourbon success story this week. My good goddam deed for the day. 

[BourbonTahoe 2]

 

imgur

 

 

Anyone tried this yet? 

Edited February 13, 2019 by BourbonTahoe

[BourbonTahoe 2]

Apologies... second try.

Anyone tried this yet?

https://m.imgur.com/gallery/uZ57Cpq

 

Edited February 13, 2019 by BourbonTahoe

[thrillhammer 683]

1 hour ago, BourbonTahoe said:

Apologies... second try.

Anyone tried this yet?

https://m.imgur.com/gallery/uZ57Cpq

 

No heard about it.  Where did you find it?  They're making a big deal about that red corn as a marketing angle.   Have you tried it?

[thrillhammer 683]

2 hours ago, thrillhammer said:

No heard about it.  Where did you find it?  They're making a big deal about that red corn as a marketing angle.   Have you tried it?

On second glance, that's not the one I've heard of.    Never seen that one in fact.  Love the crock bottle.  The one I was thinking of was the New Southern Revival that uses the jimmy red corn.  

[Bozo_Casanova 26462]

I think Nancy Gribble tried it

[BourbonTahoe 2]

9 hours ago, thrillhammer said:

No heard about it.  Where did you find it?  They're making a big deal about that red corn as a marketing angle.   Have you tried it?

Opening it tonight... South Lamar wine and spirits. 

[Smax 3800]

Just sitting on the shelves here in norcal

Wonder if housekeeping thinks I have a drinking problem

[billfromlaketravis 11481]

3 hours ago, Smax said:

Just sitting on the shelves here in norcal

Wonder if housekeeping thinks I have a drinking problem

Not surprised about NorCal. 

[Thetexashammer 1062]

3 hours ago, Smax said:

Just sitting on the shelves here in norcal

Wonder if housekeeping knows I have a drinking problem

FIFY

[Dutchrudder 11139]

How much is Blantons up there?

[Smax 3800]

10 hours ago, Dutchrudder said:

How much is Blantons up there?

It varies but 

 

[huge 3793]

anyone had this?

 

Friend bought a bottle, supposedly pretty rare?

[ColoradoHorn 7]

Saw one 

2 hours ago, huge said:

anyone had this?

 

Friend bought a bottle, supposedly pretty rare?

Saw one in Tennessee (live in Colorado) while traveling the liquor store was doing a silent auction.  The price after 3 bids was $250.

[ColoradoHorn 7]

18 minutes ago, ColoradoHorn said:

Saw one 

Saw one in Tennessee (live in Colorado) while traveling the liquor store was doing a silent auction.  The price after 3 bids was $250.

From their website

---

Currently we are crafting batches for Texas and Tennessee only.

[huge 3793]

Friend was told that only 3 or 4 stores in Houston would have it?  I don't know.

[Horn21 168]

It might be nectar of the gods, but it is odd to me that a low to mid-tier whiskey producer would jump straight to a scarce high-end bourbon.  The "history" tab on their site is 3 paragraphs discussing Sam Houston the man with something like "and this bourbon mirrors his legacy" thrown in as an afterthought. I suppose if it's no good, the market will reflect that.

I'm curious to read your thoughts on it.