as of about 2 weeks ago, you could get pours of 10/12/Rye for $20/$25/$30 in Houston.

Went to Barcelona in The Vintage (Houston burbs) last week after a movie. From afar I spy what appears to to be the ORVW12, but can't be sure (bad eyes in dark bar) - so i ask the waitress - Q: the liquor, appears to be bourbon on the third row all the way to the left, can you tell me what it is? A: I think it's Shocktop... So i get up waddle to the bar, they have the 12/15/23. So I ask the bartender - Q: how much for the pours. A: $35 for the 12, $45 for the 15, $75 for the 22 - I really wanted to try the 22 since it's prob the only bottle in the world - no thanks. Also, waitress couldn't identify any porters/stouts/dark beer because she doesn't drink.
Not a fan.

Also, saw the 12, 10, Stagg, Handy, and maybe 1 other BTAC at OKRA in Houston. Didn't get to check on a price.

Yep, that guy at Dany's is horrible. His attitude seems as if the customers are the enemy and they are after his LE bourbon. He wouldn't even tell me a price at first and just kept saying over and over "how much are you looking to spend?"

oneoutofmany,
I picked up an EH Taylor barrel proof about a month ago in Austin and it is pretty dang good. I am definitely glad I have it in my growing collection.

Regarding Four Roses, I talked to someone at Specs and they said the FR LESmB came and went a little over a month ago. I was really hoping to find that this year and didn't even realize any had made it to the Austin area until I just heard it was already gone.

I did find a Parker's Heritage... cask strength wheater. Appears to be the first run of the Bernheim. Curious to try it.

Oh well, $45 for a pour of WLW here in SA. The "JUE" in me says don't be a fool but it's the precious! Decisions.

I picked up a bottle of the new PH last week as well. Didn't crack it open yet. Finished off my last pour or two of 2012 GTS over the weekend. Damn that's good juice.

the dude,
Thanks. A few folks recommended it so I went to pick up a bottle today to add to my also ever growing collection. Interested to try it against a couple other barrel proof bottles I've managed to pick up.
Had to go a little far afield for me to find it. Was actually at a Spec's. The assistant manager who retrieved it from the case for me used to work at my local Spec's so, as we were catching up, I asked if he knew anything about the Four Roses LE SmB. He took me over to their customer service area at the front and showed me a message on the wall. The notice said that all Pappy, BTAC, and Four Roses LE SmB would be going to wholesale accounts. None would be available for retail customers. I've heard that it (the Four Roses) has been seen at a few places in Dallas, but all allocated. Sounds like no one in Tarrant county has seen it or will be getting any. The store manager did say he'd look into it more. We'll see how that goes.

The Dude,

I have had similar issues with "Dany". When I stopped by today, he told me that everything had come and gone. I think he is full of ****.

About 5 months ago I bought two bottles of Handy from him. 2013 vintage. I think he is just holding the stuff for later in the year.

I was at Specs on DeZavala in San Antonio yesterday evening and they said they had just gotten some of the four roses small batch limited edition in.

Well, did you get it?

I received a call to inform me it was in and drove down for pickup. I did see a few people in Aggie gear as I left. Good luck everyone!

Opened GTS for Thanksgiving - a beautiful pour IMO

If this game keeps on like this, I'm going to be drinking a LOT of GTS tonight.

It appears that the Thanksgiving hangover, the bad taste left by Aggie football's implosion, and general BTAC/Pappy unavailability have left us grumpy and underbourboned.

Last night I tied flies and sipped on OWA 107.

(bourbon not pictured, as it was in my hand)

I was in Specs yesterday asking if they had seen the Willett experimental bourbon. They said they had just got the 9 and 10 year Willett in. I really had no clue what they had received, so I asked them to produce the bottles. They were Willett Family Estate bourbons. I had bought a bottle in the gift shop at the distillery last October, and it was an excellent bottle that I have been occasionally sipping on since. I walked away with 1 of the 2 cases allocated. I didn't realize these bottles made it out of the Willett gift shop.

All of that Willett is sourced bourbon. Most of it is pretty good, but it can vary widely from barrel to barrel. I have heard good things about this 9 yr though.

The 9 yr is quite a bit lighter in color than the 10 yr.

9 year is pretty solid. Drinking it right now.

And yes, I realize that is "whisky" rather than this thread about "whiskey"... but I like both... and it is equally applicable.

So, for our anniversary in March my wife and I will be taking a trip to Kentucky to visit as many distilleries as possible. We are going for basically 2 full days and 2 half days. I will also be posting this in the travel forum but thought it definitely had a place here as many of you may have taken the same trip, and also offer the most important insight. A few questions:

Fly into Louisville the best option? Which distilleries are musts? Tentative plans are BT, FR, HH, Jim Beam, Woodford, Makers, and Wild Turkey. What are the tours like for each of these and how long must you spend so as not to shortchange each place we do make it to? Any can't miss places for lodging and dinner along the bourbon route?

We are so excited to make this trip and can't believe we are actually going to do it. Any help is much appreciated.

Woodford is probably the most scenic and the best "behind the scenes" look. Buffalo Trace you must do but the tour is pretty lousy, comparatively speaking.

Woodford Reserve and Makers Mark are by far the best tours. I understand that Woodford has also expanded the tour experience since I was there last October.

I also enjoyed the Wild Turkey tour, but that was largely due to the tour guide we had. The Willett tour was pretty cool... new distillery at the time.

We hit 13 distilleries in 3 days... we did some serious driving. You really need to plan your itinerary to make the most out of your time there. The distilleries have pretty limited hours and the tour times at most are pretty much on the hour.

I also recommend going to Independent Stave Company for a tour... you'll get to see exactly how the barrels are constructed and charred.

I just broke the seal on my 2014 LE Single Barrel OESF and I must say this barrel is flat out delicious! It is well balanced with a spice kick from the rye but definitely satisfies the sweet tooth! Unfortunately, this bottle won't last long.

If anyone in the Metroplex is still looking for Maker's Mark Cask Strength, Total Wine in Fort Worth has about a half dozen bottles on the shelf.

quote:

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We hit 13 distilleries in 3 days... we did some serious driving. You really need to plan your itinerary to make the most out of your time there. The distilleries have pretty limited hours and the tour times at most are pretty much on the hour.

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You definitely need to plan everything out ahead of time. You can just show up at most of them, but I always call ahead, regardless of whether they require reservations. We took at fairly easy and only hit about 2 distilleries a day, but we had a few other events mixed in that we had to work around.

Other bargains:

PHC '14 Wheater: $160
Jeffersons Ocean (LOL): $120
Wild Turkey Diamond: $130

That's not a bad price for THH. $275 is about the minimum I can find it for online, and most are over $300.

Strange that GTS is so much more than THH, since GTS seems be more readily available to people this year.

Yeah, considering I bought GTS off this same store for $130 in November, and turned down the Handy at that same price. Kinda sorry now. LOL

If Austin people are looking for Balcones Single Malt or Elmer T Lee, South Lamar Wine and Spirits had some when I left. If you ask nicely they may tell you about some other things in the back that they aren't advertising.

I got two bottles of Handy this year on the secondary market for less than $230.

quote:

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If Austin people are looking for Balcones Single Malt or Elmer T Lee, South Lamar Wine and Spirits had some when I left. If you ask nicely they may tell you about some other things in the back that they aren't advertising.

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We must have been there about the same time. Probably best selection in town.

What all does he keep in the back?

Any thoughts on the Balcones Baby Blue? I know very little about Balcones, other than it always seems hard to find. My beer guy told me today I could have a bottle, if interested.

Technically not a bourbon, but I really liked it. I remember it being kind of sweet.