FriedTex said:

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Just got a store pick of this one 10 minutes ago

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That's awesome. I don't have any store picks in my inventory. I think once I establish my base of bourbon, ill start picking up some store picks, Does it just make the bottle itself "rare"?

Bottle of VW12 in my local store right up for grabs.. hidden somewhere.

Dammit if I didn't spend 25 minutes in there.. but no such luck.

They posted yesterday, so it's been a whole day and no one has found it. I got my neighbor to go try his luck.

62strat said:

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Bottle of VW12 in my local store right up for grabs.. hidden somewhere.

Dammit if I didn't spend 25 minutes in there.. but no such luck.

They posted yesterday, so it's been a whole day and no one has found it. I got my neighbor to go try his luck.

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Check the women's restroom, it's probably in there.

But that's actually a genius way to drive traffic.

Hidden behind the counter.

"1 Van Winkle 12 year please."

62strat said:

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Bottle of VW12 in my local store right up for grabs.. hidden somewhere.

Dammit if I didn't spend 25 minutes in there.. but no such luck.

They posted yesterday, so it's been a whole day and no one has found it. I got my neighbor to go try his luck.

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I give it 48 hours before some jackass crawls into an air vent, gets stuck in a refrigerator, or pulls some ceiling tiles down on themselves/causes some other damage to the store.

DubFalls said:

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62strat said:

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Bottle of VW12 in my local store right up for grabs.. hidden somewhere.

Dammit if I didn't spend 25 minutes in there.. but no such luck.

They posted yesterday, so it's been a whole day and no one has found it. I got my neighbor to go try his luck.

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Check the women's restroom, it's probably in there.

But that's actually a genius way to drive traffic.

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I did see one chick who was on the search. otherwise, a bunch of dudes. I think I counted maybe 7-8 for 20 minutes I was in there... at 10am on a Friday.

There was a bottle of wine called 'poppy' I thought about making a joke to someone lol. Wait for employee to walk by when there happens to be searchers nearby as well, and ask really loudly, would you recommend this poppy? I've heard about it, is it any good?

The store actually posted on FB 'the bottle of pappy still hasn't been found'.

MarathonAg12 said:

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FriedTex said:

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Just got a store pick of this one 10 minutes ago

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That's awesome. I don't have any store picks in my inventory. I think once I establish my base of bourbon, ill start picking up some store picks, Does it just make the bottle itself "rare"?

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Some stores are known for having really excellent people that do their picking and have above average barrels fairly often.

It's also a chance to get something different, for a while the KC store picks were up to 15 years old but that's gone away for the most part.

MarathonAg12 said:

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FriedTex said:

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Just got a store pick of this one 10 minutes ago

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That's awesome. I don't have any store picks in my inventory. I think once I establish my base of bourbon, ill start picking up some store picks, Does it just make the bottle itself "rare"?

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Yes, It's "rare" bc it's the only one that will ever exist. Just in case you don't know what store picks are, they are when a liquor store or group goes up to the distillery and sample 4-5 barrels of one bourbon and then "picks" one and get all of the bottle from that particular barrel.

I try to only buy store picks now (outside of my daily drinker) as it brings a 10-30% upgrade to the normal offerings. I've had some single barrel Russel Reserve's that are unbelievable

I'll hedge the above post and say that some picks are done by going to the distillery and trying multiple barrels.

Other stores just get sent two or three 200ML bottles mailed to them from different barrels to pick from

Well there is your full accounting of the store pick process

Haha yeah bought it for fun because of the price tag. Fortunate have some EHT SB already stored away for more serious drinking. Will try this one with ginger ale if it sucks over ice

I think the differences come the variables associated with the composition of an individual barrel as well as how different barrels are stored. One barrel might have more slightly more char. Another might be slightly more absorbent. Another might be stored closer to air circulation. Etc. Etc.

Anyway, those all produce different notes in the same fluid, even if only subtly so.

So if you take all of those barrels and you pour them all into the same vat, the nuanced differences from the barrels' individual variables get muted. I'm making this next part up for the sake of illustration.

Say you have 3 full barrels, each comprised of 10 parts of fluid.

• Barrel A has 4 parts "oakiness", 1 part "sweetness", and 5 parts generic.
• Barrel B has 2 parts oak, 3 parts sweetness, and 5 parts generic.
• Barrel B has 2 parts oak, 1 parts sweetness, and 7 parts generic.

Now you combine all 3. From all 30 parts, you're going to have 8 parts oak, 5 parts sweet, and 17 parts generic. That's 27% oak, 17% sweet, and 56% generic. That might be an exceptional mix. Regardless, it'll taste different from Barrel A, which by itself was 40% oak, or Barrel B, which was 30% sweet.

So you can go and taste Barrels A, B, and C, and whichever you like best, maybe it becomes your "barrel pick", and you get the bottles, through a sticker on there, and people snap it up because it's notably oakier or sweeter or whatever compared to the standard bottle.

Sometimes, a particular batch or barrel will develop a reputation, and then people will hunt it out since that information sometimes shows up on the sticker. "Oh, the batch that was on floor 12, section J of the warehouse is EXCEPTIONAL" or whatever and then the price goes haywire.

DubFalls said:

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I entered the Knob Creek 9 Year Single Barrel Reserve game today. Not a store pick though.

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Good stuff!

Wife and I did a blind tasting of 11 different Russell Reserve store picks from around the state. Oak liquor cabinet was unanimous #1 in nose, pallet, finish, and ice. Top three were all warehouse "A". Kinda interesting.

Ha that is what I am drinking tonight.

proc said:

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DubFalls said:

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I entered the Knob Creek 9 Year Single Barrel Reserve game today. Not a store pick though.

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Good stuff!

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I had to put a few drops of water into it to bring down the heat and open it up, but dang is it good once you do that. Definite like on that one. Amazing bourbon.

So, the owner at my liquor store has offered me a bottle of either Blanton's or EHT SiB.

Any thoughts on which one to get?

EHT sib gets my vote too

Eht sib by far!

I prefer Blantons.

Still think EHT SmB is better than the more expensive SiB. Sipping some now.

You won't be disappointed!

Great pickup. It does not disappoint.

Have you have the WT Masters Keep Revival?

can't find rare breed rye anymore around me. great bottle though.

Ornlu said:

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Have you have the WT Masters Keep Revival?

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I have not. I did a deep dive on WT products and revival looks amazing.

Never even heard of those varieties.

Where did you purchase?

Single barrel is discontinued to my knowledge.

Black Belle is aged in stout barrels and a distillery only release. These came from a raffle group.

Edit if I remember right when I visited the distillery a while back they did have single barrel in the gift shop.