Bourbon

[Txslnghrns 1347]

Yep. I am not entertained. I think the Bourbon Night folks cut a deal. I’ll drink it because I need to get drunk tonight. 
 

It’s ok.

Yep. I am not entertained. I think the Bourbon Night folks cut a deal. I’ll drink it because I need to get drunk tonight. 
 

It’s ok.

[Txslnghrns 1347]

Buffalo Trace 1.75l $45.99
Weller Special Reserve 750ml $24.99

These seem like excellent prices to me. Am I off base?

Sounds like you’re on base at the BX or whatever they call it.

[Txslnghrns 1347]

Barrell makes a damn fine product. I’ll be posting the seagrass when it comes to an end. I killed this one tonight. RIP

[ruitxn 295]

^
Barrell makes a damn fine product.

Agree totally.

[BigDHornfan 6504]

Well happy birthday to me!
Wife totally surprised me. I don’t even want to how she did it.

[Herbie Hancock 7270]

She used your money that’s how lol. You should reward her good behavior when junior goes to bed 😜

[conVINCEd 21468]

Tracking down a Girl Scout isn’t that difficult.

 

[henrygandorf 28619]

ok so last thursday i was able to be an invited guest to fred minnick's bourbon invitational in scottsdale, in partnership with unicorn auctions.  we flew in at noon, the event was 2pm-5pm, and flew back the following morning.  the goal was to further our relationship with minnick and to establish a relationship with the unicorn auction guys, because we're developing a tv show somewhat set in this world.

the initial explanation was that there would be limits on what we tasted and how many pours we got.  the reality is that it was a total free-for-all, and we could get tasters of whatever was at the bar, pretty much as many times as we wanted.  so that's what we did.  here was the bar setup:

 

 

the pours were very small, like 3 tasting sips, but since we could get constant refills, it didn't really matter.  after about an hour, we did a group tasting outside, mostly populated by cigar-smoking obnoxious white dorks in their 50's (tickets were avail for $1,100).  that tasting included '22 ofbb, michters 10 rye, and pappy 23.  after that, we went back inside and did another hour or so of bothering the bartender to keep the pours coming.

i think i counted about 18-19 total tasting pours, not counting those 3 i just mentioned.  by the end, i told him to make them a bit heavier to avoid turning back around to him every 2 minutes.  we went to a gifting suite straight from the airport and hadn't eaten anything outside of southwest snack mix all day, so when minnick greeted us at the door with a couple glasses of william larue, it was an interesting way to start.

 

 

^^this is one of the co-founders of unicorn trying to get the last drop of pappy out.  they brought the booze and now we're best friends forever.

here is the other co-founder (in the middle).  their hq is in chicago and apparently they have a whole facility and a bar setup with all sorts of crazy shit, including a ton of dusties like the berghoff 14 year (located on the top shelf in the first pic).  it's old stitzel-weller juice and was pretty fantastic.  they know their shit and i spent most of my time bending their ears.

 

this was my first time having pappy - i tried the 20 and 23.  both were good but not melt-your-face-off good.  the 4r limited was outstanding.  i have a bottle at home, but it's just so good.  the wlw and gts (neither was 2022 i don't think) were both great.  the birthday bourbon was 2022 and not my favorite (i have an unopened bottle and might not open it now).  pretty much everything i drank was an absurd bottle, so yeah, everything was very good, nothing was objectionable or anything.

but now i'm completely ruined and everything in my bourbon cabinet is absolute swill.  i came back here just pacing back and forth, looking at it like, you disgust me, who let you in here?

so yeah, all in all, pretty nice little thursday afternoon.

[BigDHornfan 6504]

Very fucking cool!
Except the fact you had to hang out with the ascot.

1st of the birthday pours today.

[billfromlaketravis 11268]

@henrygandorf I’d hit the Houston Whiskey Social if you get a chance. Similar deal, just sub Minnick for Kristopher Hart, and it’s MUCH cheaper. It’s kind of a shit show free for all, but you can buy VIP tickets for Pappy/BTAC tastings and early entry. 

Hart walks around all night with BTAC and dusties handing out pours. There was a booth with dusty 101 and Gold Vein Old Fitzgerald in 2021. Also a good opportunity to try a bunch of new stuff. 

[RichUT 1728]

God I can't stand that ascot wearing asshat. If the cost of having access to that bar included listening to him for any amount of time, I'd have to think long and hard about making that deal.

Not that anyone is about to invite my grumpy ass to something like that, but still. 

[henrygandorf 28619]

lol i knew there would be some fun minnick reactions.

[BigDHornfan 6504]

Taking full advantage of not working today.

50 yr old Beam. Dusty as hell, surprisingly good.

Best GTS in a long time. Can’t say enough good things about this bottle.

Been waiting since July of last year to crack this one. It was worth the wait.
Michter’s really knows their shit. It’s as good as their BS Rye.
Turning 50 has been fun today.

[Hermanator 6562]

Bourbon has officially jumped the shark.

 

 

[BigDHornfan 6504]

Hits just keep on coming today.

[BigDHornfan 6504]

Bourbon has officially jumped the shark.
 
 

How so?

[BigDHornfan 6504]

Last one of the evening.
Today was a good one.

[conVINCEd 21468]

6 hours ago, Hermanator said:

Bourbon has officially jumped the shark.

 

 

I hope you’re right but suspect you aren’t.

[Redneck Mutha 7832]

11 hours ago, BigDHornfan said:

Last one of the evening.
Today was a good one.

Hell yeah.  EHT4G is my favorite ever.

[RichUT 1728]

He’s right. It won’t help for a long time. It’s popular with the late majority now, and it’s going to take many years for another spirit to come along and grab their attention.

[Hermanator 6562]

14 hours ago, BigDHornfan said:

How so?

It's just so wrong. A spirit of the poor southern folk of Kentucky bastardized into shit like the "Fred Minnick Bourbon Invitational" selling $1100 tickets to take tiny sips with pretentious white goobers. You know shit like this exists but seeing pictures just evokes a new level of disgust. This whole thing has crossed the Rubicon 

[huge 3766]

1 hour ago, Hermanator said:

It's just so wrong. A spirit of the poor southern folk of Kentucky bastardized into shit like the "Fred Minnick Bourbon Invitational" selling $1100 tickets to take tiny sips with pretentious white goobers. You know shit like this exists but seeing pictures just evokes a new level of disgust. This whole thing has crossed the Rubicon 

Ok feel free to sell your bottles and stick to drinking vodka tonic?

[henrygandorf 28619]

2 hours ago, Hermanator said:

It's just so wrong. A spirit of the poor southern folk of Kentucky bastardized into shit like the "Fred Minnick Bourbon Invitational" selling $1100 tickets to take tiny sips with pretentious white goobers. You know shit like this exists but seeing pictures just evokes a new level of disgust. This whole thing has crossed the Rubicon 

bourbon's overwhelming popularity means more brands, more varieties, and more overall awareness and attention towards something that you...like i think?  and this is bad for you how?  and bad for the bourbon industry how?

if you were a foodie, would you get mad about how the food culture has evolved through ultra high-end restaurant experiences and celebrity chefs causing even mid-sized cities to provide unique and interesting dining options?  i mean, this was just about filling your stomach with sustenance 3x a day, i'm happy at applebees thank you very much. 

there are a lot of ways to say, "it's harder to get the rare bottles that i like now" but you chose a shitty one.

[Hermanator 6562]

1 hour ago, henrygandorf said:

bourbon's overwhelming popularity means more brands, more varieties, and more overall awareness and attention towards something that you...like i think?  and this is bad for you how?  and bad for the bourbon industry how?

if you were a foodie, would you get mad about how the food culture has evolved through ultra high-end restaurant experiences and celebrity chefs causing even mid-sized cities to provide unique and interesting dining options?  i mean, this was just about filling your stomach with sustenance 3x a day, i'm happy at applebees thank you very much. 

there are a lot of ways to say, "it's harder to get the rare bottles that i like now" but you chose a shitty one.

My apologies. I didn't intend to insult you. 

That whole setting visual just disgusted me. It is what it is

[henrygandorf 28619]

6 minutes ago, Hermanator said:

My apologies. I didn't intend to insult you. 

That whole setting visual just disgusted me. It is what it is

no apology needed and you certainly didn't insult me. 

there were plenty of 50-something overweight obnoxious white dudes smoking cigars in their chiefs jerseys and we made fun of them at every turn.  most of the folks there who paid were through a corporate entity.  there were some o&g folks that walked in wearing houston rodeo vests and their company bought 8 tickets (they were initially in town for the waste management open). 

it was a lot of fun talking to random people about bourbon and other shit.  we were lucky we didn't have to pay and like i said, there were some business reasons we went, but yes, we were fortunate to attend and i'm personally glad stuff like this exists.  more people getting into bourbon is a net positive, even if there are some upsetting stumbles along the way.

for whatever it's worth, minnick is just a dude, and pretty much everyone there treated him as such.  

[RichUT 1728]

My view is that we've crossed a line such that proximity/access to the product is now a bigger focus than the product itself. Or at least that's true for many. People just want to rack up fictional "equity" for being in the general atmosphere of rare products more than they want to drink high quality product that is readily available. And look, I'm not at all butt hurt that I don't have access to bottle XYZ. I bought (at MSRP) and killed the Van Winkle 23 "Family Selection" that went for $50k in a charity auction last year. It was unquestionably phenomenal. But it didn't grant me any special powers, and it didn't redefine what good whiskey is for me either. 

This whole bourbon explosion is just another symptom of how pervasive FOMO is in our culture. People inherently want that which they cannot have, but the truth is that those rare bottles of whiskey are just an exercise in the optimization of the final 1-2%. It'd be great if the product in the glass was the focus, but I'm not naive enough to believe that we're ever getting back to that point. 

Edited February 15, 2023 by RichUT

[henrygandorf 28619]

1 hour ago, RichUT said:

My view is that we've crossed a line such that proximity/access to the product is now a bigger focus than the product itself. Or at least that's true for many. People just want to rack up fictional "equity" for being in the general atmosphere of rare products more than they want to drink high quality product that is readily available. And look, I'm not at all butt hurt that I don't have access to bottle XYZ. I bought (at MSRP) and killed the Van Winkle 23 "Family Selection" that went for $50k in a charity auction last year. It was unquestionably phenomenal. But it didn't grant me any special powers, and it didn't redefine what good whiskey is for me either. 

This whole bourbon explosion is just another symptom of how pervasive FOMO is in our culture. People inherently want that which they cannot have, but the truth is that those rare bottles of whiskey are just an exercise in the optimization of the final 1-2%. It'd be great if the product in the glass was the focus, but I'm not naive enough to believe that we're ever getting back to that point. 

many also see it as actual equity.  it's become an investment for some and bottles are seen as assets, like any other collectibles.  this is why bourbon collecting is closer in many ways to coins, stamps, baseball cards, art, cars, whatever, than it is to vodka or gin.

https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/12/09/whisky-becomes-top-collectable-investment-beating-out-art-and-cars.html

and like any other hobby, there are shitty obnoxious folks and regular nice folks.  from a personal perspective, i can tell that the people shooting me texts about bottles get excited when i come to scoop the bottle.  of course they also know that i'll take it home and drink it, not flip it.  that helps.

[RichUT 1728]

Yes, for some there is that opportunity to turn it into a means to generate profit. I am also an avid sneaker fan and I am frustrated as fuck with that culture too. On many an occasion I have said "I buy sneakers to wear them and whiskeys to drink them.", and I don't foresee a scenario where that ever changes. It's not that I don't have the means, but I am not interested in contributing to that side of the culture in any way, shape, form or fashion. That just feels gross to me. There are a ton of ways to turn a nickel into a quarter, and I'm not interested in using things I am personally passionate about to do it. 

[henrygandorf 28619]

38 minutes ago, RichUT said:

"I buy sneakers to wear them and whiskeys to drink them."

best if read by your avatar.

[billfromlaketravis 11268]

Just sent the Squawk Box segment to my wife hg. Thanks. 
 

It’s painfully obvious where I shop. They’ve asked me not to crotch shot once as a joke. I don’t think they give a f***. Their best customers are their best customers, and they don’t ask questions. “First in line”in 2023 drop had the ORVW for sale on Facebook within an hour, and they looked the other way. 
 

I get what I get and I don’t bug them for extras. That’s our deal. 

[Hermanator 6562]

My bad for derailing the thread a bit. And you're right the increased demand bringing in new products to market has been a great thing. I don't know how long Penelope has been around but I really like two of their bottles and they probably wouldn't be around if not for the craziness in this market. 

The last time I was at specs I saw an Angel's Envy Single Barrel store pick. Was around $100 and I think 118 proof or 108 proof. Anyone tried it?

[shadow_operative 15931]

On 2/14/2023 at 12:58 PM, henrygandorf said:

(i have an unopened bottle and might not open it now).

you have my address.

[Txslnghrns 1347]

I only have one more bottle left…

[BigDHornfan 6504]

My bad for derailing the thread a bit. And you're right the increased demand bringing in new products to market has been a great thing. I don't know how long Penelope has been around but I really like two of their bottles and they probably wouldn't be around if not for the craziness in this market. 
The last time I was at specs I saw an Angel's Envy Single Barrel store pick. Was around $100 and I think 118 proof or 108 proof. Anyone tried it?

Those AE picks are great.
Just about $10-15 overpriced IMO.

[Bert Orange 1093]

1 hour ago, BigDHornfan said:

Those AE picks are great.
Just about $10-15 overpriced IMO.

You really have to try AE barrel proof. Real shame they refuse to allow anyone to proof above 110 at bottling. Gotta protect their precious annual cask strength release market. 
 

Edited February 16, 2023 by Bert Orange

[Bert Orange 1093]

Some crazy good Nashville barrel company reissues just dropped. 

Grab the maple finished for some kick ass bourbon. 

[billfromlaketravis 11268]

5 hours ago, Bert Orange said:

Some crazy good Nashville barrel company reissues just dropped. 

Grab the maple finished for some kick ass bourbon. 

Bert what’s the shipping turnaround from Nashville Barrel?

[billfromlaketravis 11268]

I’m a strong recommend on the Spec’s Old Scout Rye pick. Skip the bourbon pick. 

What sorcery is this? 5 year old MGP rye without the bubblegum note bullshit. 

[NOMAAA 1694]

The Nashville barrel specs picks rye and bourbon were fine. 

[billfromlaketravis 11268]

38 minutes ago, NOMAAA said:

The Nashville barrel specs picks rye and bourbon were fine. 

Yeah I didn't know what the hell it was, and I passed.

I'll roll the dice on Rye Not Roses. It can't be bad at +119 proof, 10 years old. At least I'll be shit hammered. 

[stork642 4498]

Traded this for 2 Blanton’s, EH Taylor Small Batch, and an Eagle Rare.  I’ve been chasing this one.  I’ve got plenty of the ones I traded.  No brainer for me. 

[stork642 4498]

On 2/15/2023 at 2:22 PM, RichUT said:

My view is that we've crossed a line such that proximity/access to the product is now a bigger focus than the product itself. Or at least that's true for many. People just want to rack up fictional "equity" for being in the general atmosphere of rare products more than they want to drink high quality product that is readily available. And look, I'm not at all butt hurt that I don't have access to bottle XYZ. I bought (at MSRP) and killed the Van Winkle 23 "Family Selection" that went for $50k in a charity auction last year. It was unquestionably phenomenal. But it didn't grant me any special powers, and it didn't redefine what good whiskey is for me either. 

This whole bourbon explosion is just another symptom of how pervasive FOMO is in our culture. People inherently want that which they cannot have, but the truth is that those rare bottles of whiskey are just an exercise in the optimization of the final 1-2%. It'd be great if the product in the glass was the focus, but I'm not naive enough to believe that we're ever getting back to that point. 

I’m collecting bottles for the apocalypse. I may not have food but I’ll be damned if I run out of good whiskey.  

[billfromlaketravis 11268]

3 minutes ago, stork642 said:

Traded this for 2 Blanton’s, EH Taylor Small Batch, and an Eagle Rare.  I’ve been chasing this one.  I’ve got plenty of the ones I traded.  No brainer for me. 

I think you made a good deal. It's the best Turkey product on the market, and half of what Master's Keep bottles cost. Stork coming up in the world. Patiently waiting for the OFC steering wheel shot. 

[KeysPhoneWallet 807]

My bad for derailing the thread a bit. And you're right the increased demand bringing in new products to market has been a great thing. I don't know how long Penelope has been around but I really like two of their bottles and they probably wouldn't be around if not for the craziness in this market. 
The last time I was at specs I saw an Angel's Envy Single Barrel store pick. Was around $100 and I think 118 proof or 108 proof. Anyone tried it?

I have it. I like it, but my buddy doesn’t, so it isn’t universal

[KeysPhoneWallet 807]

Picked up a gb guad to round out my gb collection. I do like it.

Also picked up a saints alley limited edition herald from total wine. It’s like the normal heralds, but with an additional finish. I like it.

Bought $250 in wine to get total wine status, will report back on any lottery winnings that result from the status

[billfromlaketravis 11268]

15 minutes ago, KeysPhoneWallet said:

Picked up a gb guad to round out my gb collection. I do like it.

Also picked up a saints alley limited edition herald from total wine. It’s like the normal heralds, but with an additional finish. I like it.

Bought $250 in wine to get total wine status, will report back on any lottery winnings that result from the status

Bib & Tucker Boyz say : 

[Bert Orange 1093]

3 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Bert what’s the shipping turnaround from Nashville Barrel?

Getting mine in less than a week

[billfromlaketravis 11268]

ISO: 2 OF King Ranch 

WTT: Weller Single Barrel 

 

Edited February 17, 2023 by billfromlaketravis

[NOMAAA 1694]

2 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

I think you made a good deal. It's the best Turkey product on the market, and half of what Master's Keep bottles cost. Stork coming up in the world. Patiently waiting for the OFC steering wheel shot. 

Is it?

[BigDHornfan 6504]

10 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

ISO: 2 OF King Ranch 

WTT: Weller Single Barrel 

 

you willing to ship the Weller to Dallas?