"Pappy"

Brad, please shoot me a tell next time they hold that event- what a perfect staycation for Mollie and myself. Business related, too, if you get my drift. Overlooking the Ohio, morning fog, coffee on the patio and the uninterupted comany of the love of my life...

Yeah- worth the price of admission!

Weller is awesome. I've preaching that one when possible. Noah's and Rowan's have made thier way to my back bar, for no other reason except they haven't really been pushed and there's so much going on in the world of whisky right now.

Maybe we try to feature one of the two come Monday Industry Night.

Hmmm...

but while Early Times is 2 years old and reuses their barrels,

Wait a minute, Early Times is a bourbon isn't it? One of the standards for bourbon is that it has to be aged and NEW oak barrels! If they are truly Reusing barrels they cannot call themselves a bourbon!

[Robin Garr]

Wait a minute, Early Times is a bourbon isn't it? One of the standards for bourbon is that it has to be aged and NEW oak barrels! If they are truly Reusing barrels they cannot call themselves a bourbon!

Actually, if you'll check the fine print, I'm pretty sure it's labeled "Kentucky Whisky." Legal, but as you just demonstrated, a distinction that few people are going to notice.

I actually like Early Times in cocktails. It's underrated, IMO.

BF is now making an Early Times branded bourbon as well. Having tried it, it's really nothing out of the ordinary in that price range.

And I agree that Weller is underrated. I reckon I should give Benchmark a try for some of those everyday cocktails. Which reminds me, I'm out of Angostura!

Stephen D, as usual, is on the money. Johnny Drum is good, good stuff. The 101 is great, and the 86 is nothing to sneeze at. Also, I've been eschewing the virtues of AAAge for years. Best kept bourbon secret out there, imo

Wait a minute, Early Times is a bourbon isn't it? One of the standards for bourbon is that it has to be aged and NEW oak barrels! If they are truly Reusing barrels they cannot call themselves a bourbon!

Actually, if you'll check the fine print, I'm pretty sure it's labeled "Kentucky Whisky." Legal, but as you just demonstrated, a distinction that few people are going to notice.

Funny story, I got into a debate with a fella last night over this very issue. Nice guy, knoweledgable, proud Brown-Foreman retiree (or so he claimed,) but his eyes glossed over when I told him that Kevin Smith was the source for my information. I do believe I wrote up the 354 release here.

It was weird because he was fairly recent in his knoweledge- he knew about bourbon being declared the national spirit and all that, but the master distiller's name didn't ring a bell. Kevin's been the MD since I've been back in Louisville, at least 9 years now! Had me scratching my head, for sure, because I was trying to date his retirement based upon a timeline of current events.

At the end, I simply gave up trying to tell him that the 354 was a mix of new and used barrels and, by virtue, was considered a Kentucky Whiskey- not a bourbon. And that this offering represented a throwback to before it was actually called 'Bourbon,' but 'Kentucky Whiskey.'

Of course, it didn't help that BF decided to put the word 'Bourbon' on the label, in larger type than 'Kentucky Straight Whiskey.'

Whatever, at the end of the day we had a good time, lol! It just goes to show how quickly the world of spirits move. Blink and the next is out...

EDIT: I'm quickly falling in love with the term 'Kentucky Straight Whiskey.' You can now make bourbon anywhere in the US. We have to have a term that distiguishes our product from the other domestic products. Even a brightly-colored stamp would work for me!

EDIT: I'm quickly falling in love with the term 'Kentucky Straight Whiskey.' You can now make bourbon anywhere in the US. We have to have a term that distiguishes our product from the other domestic products. Even a brightly-colored stamp would work for me!

A really wonder how Kentucky let the standard for bourbon not require it to be made in Kentucky! I think your idea sounds great, kind of an expansion of Kentucky Proud. Maybe even placing some kind of seal on the bottle would be a nice touch.

EDIT: I'm quickly falling in love with the term 'Kentucky Straight Whiskey.' You can now make bourbon anywhere in the US. We have to have a term that distiguishes our product from the other domestic products. Even a brightly-colored stamp would work for me!

A really wonder how Kentucky let the standard for bourbon not require it to be made in Kentucky! I think your idea sounds great, kind of an expansion of Kentucky Proud. Maybe even placing some kind of seal on the bottle would be a nice touch.

A good idea, no?

We gave up the exclusivity in order to declare Bourbon America's national spirit. We can now impose trade sanctions against any country who allows bottlings of 'bourbon.' It was a Mitch McConnel thing, I'm told. I see the craftiness of his move, I just don't know how it really impacts the market.

You can make a bourbon in New Jersey now, but does that make it exceptional? Nah, it's just schwag, they don't live on the Limestone shelf. That's the logic-but does it translate to the masses, over time? The jury is out, methinks...

I believe the law prohibits any state other than Kentucky from featuring the state name on the product. You can make bourbon in New York, but you can't call it 'New York Bourbon Whiskey'.

Well, I stopped at four liquor stores (including The Keg) today on the Indiana side of the river and they got no Pappy. So, I stopped in at my favorite watering hole and they called all of their distributors and finally called the distiller only to be told that the shipments to Indiana had not even left the distillery yet.

That sucks. The liquor stores in KY won't open until 6:00 and traffic across the bridge is.... well not really a sane option at this time of day. I'd have to drink a bottle of cheap Rye just to get over the bridge without jumping. Then I'm sure the guy in line just in front of me would get the last bottle anyway.

NO FAIR.....

Hey ToddA, can you hook a guy up?

Sorry Shane, I've not been on the site as much as a normally am able to, so I missed your post. Indiana is supposed to get our Van Winkles either near the end of this week, or mid-next week. And like every year, they are promising us nothing other than to tell us that we will probably get less this year than in the past.... I'll let you know what we get once things arrive.

Well, I stopped at four liquor stores (including The Keg) today on the Indiana side of the river and they got no Pappy. So, I stopped in at my favorite watering hole and they called all of their distributors and finally called the distiller only to be told that the shipments to Indiana had not even left the distillery yet.

That sucks. The liquor stores in KY won't open until 6:00 and traffic across the bridge is.... well not really a sane option at this time of day. I'd have to drink a bottle of cheap Rye just to get over the bridge without jumping. Then I'm sure the guy in line just in front of me would get the last bottle anyway.

NO FAIR.....

Hey ToddA, can you hook a guy up?

Sorry Shane, I've not been on the site as much as a normally am able to, so I missed your post. Indiana is supposed to get our Van Winkles either near the end of this week, or mid-next week. And like every year, they are promising us nothing other than to tell us that we will probably get less this year than in the past.... I'll let you know what we get once things arrive.

Not to worry Todd, I know you've been busy with the new store. Also, if as I suspect your Pappy ration has already been promised to valued/regular customers that's as it should be. If I don't get a bottle I'll at least get to taste it at some of the fine restaurants. I can live with that!

This falls "Pappy" has been released.

I tasted some of that once. Nasty, just plain nasty. I don't know how people pour that raw alcohol in 'em and still live ... etc.

This falls "Pappy" has been released.

I tasted some of that once. Nasty, just plain nasty. I don't know how people pour that raw alcohol in 'em and still live ... etc.

Gotcha!
Someone very wise once said "If it's a style you don't like, and if you can't be objective while considering it with accepted stylistic criteria, best not to judge it at all."

Yes, you could point out this is out of context and not relevant at all but I'd point out it suits my purpose perfectly Sir!

My purpose, you'll just have to attend our Whiskey Roullete put on by the amazing StephenD somtime very soon (Stephen are you listening - soon)

To show how fair and unbiased I am, if you'll just agree to open the bridge back up I'll even pick you up and drive you across myself. Come on be a sport! Drink whiskey with us and we'll bury the hatchet so to speak.....and I'll bring a dictionary!

Cheers!

As an out of state Bourbon drinker I have mixed experiences some good and some bad trying to obtain small batch stuff. This thread prompted me to try and seek some Pappy's once again only to get the stink-eye from the liquor store clerks. Every liquor store in town told me they would try and order some for me and then called to say there was none to be had.

Arkansas is different than KY in that it has a three tier system. All liquor goes to one of three whosalers then is re-sold to the individual liquor stores. In my frustration I decided on an end run. I called the wholesaler directly and through some fortuitous accident spoke directly with the owner. After hearing my sob story he shipped a mixed case of 23, 20 and 15 year to a local store in my name. It was waiting for me when they opened at 7AM the very next day.

Thanks for the heads up on the November Pappy's release. I probably would have missed out if not for that.

I had no such luck when trying to purchase the 2011 George T. Stagg. There is no allocation for Arkansas. Had to buy it on Ebay.

This falls "Pappy" has been released.

I tasted some of that once. Nasty, just plain nasty. I don't know how people pour that raw alcohol in 'em and still live ... etc.

I smile and wink in your general direction