ChoppinDs40 said:

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polished off an entire bottle of Nelson Bro's (Nashville, TN bourbon) Saturday...

I've had some really nice stuff and buy everything rare (reasonably) that I can get my hands on...

That bottle was smooth.. Some of the best bourbon I've had in quite some time... and only ~$45 bottle or so.

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AgDev01 said:

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My guess is the classic given the msrp that i can see on the ABC site. Looks to be a replacement/renaming? for Belle Meade, which i enjoyed well enough. best i can tell it is either MGP juice or a blend of MGP, Dickle? and something else.

I'm betting it is probably best enjoyed After the Rain.

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TAM85 said:

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In a few weeks I head to Atlanta for a wedding. Can anyone recommend a good bottle shop worth checking out in the area that might have some BT or other novel finds? Thanks.

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MarathonAg12 said:

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If you score a THH, I'll give you 3 W12s for it.

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beagle2009 said:

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Drink that ***** Don't be that guy.

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trouble said:

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I'm be back in town Saturday night

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Quote:

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This extraordinary and unique set of five prototype bottles created in the mid 1990s represents the rarest American whiskey ever seen at auction. These bottles were originally produced as the prototypes for the world's first collectable ultra-premium US whiskey series to exclusively feature closed distilleries in America. The 5 bottle which comprise this set are:

[ol]

• Old Quaker Indiana Corn Whiskey 21 Year Old Limited Edition Barrel Proof 65.0 abv 1976
• Stitzel-Weller Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Limited Edition 17 Year Old Barrel Proof 53.5 abv 1980
• Taylor-Williams Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Limited Edition 17 Year Old Barrel Proof 56.0 abv 1980
• George T Stagg Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey Limited Edition 16 Year Old Barrel Proof 57.0 abv 1981
• Buffalo Springs Kentucky Rye Mash Whiskey Limited Edition 15 Year Old Barrel Proof 62.5 abv 1982
[/ol]

The project was the initiative of The Classic Kentucky Bourbon Company, a subsidiary of United Distillers (UD) in 1997. At the time, UD owned the Bernheim Distillery and Stitzel-Weller. On the point of The Rare American Whiskey Selection project receiving approval for launch, UD merged with another company, International Distillers & Vinters to create United Distillers & Vintners, forming the spirits division of Diageo. At this point the project was shelved, never to be revived.

The original premise of the Rare American Whiskey Selection project was to create an annual release of five very different barrel proof, high age statement whiskies. The project got as far as bottling 2 examples of each of the selected whiskeys, with prototype labels, but filled with the actual liquid to show the finished product as it would be sold. The whiskeys were tasted not just within UD, but also by respected industry critics at the time (see tasting notes by Dave Broom below from 1997).

The 2 sets of liquid were split up and, ironically, one set was sent to the Stitzel-Weller distillery for safekeeping, while the other set remained at the company HQ in the UK for the European market (hence the 70cl bottle size). It is believed that the set at the SW distillery were destroyed in the distillery fire, making this set the only one that still remains in existence.

This series of whiskeys, initially to be released in a limited run of 6,000 bottles per release, would have been a landmark in the history of premium American Whiskey. The project would have preceded the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection by a number of years, and seen the footprint of US Whiskeys in whisk(e)y collector circles change dramatically. These bottles represent not only ultra-rare liquid from now closed distilleries, but a crucial element of the story of rare American Whiskey's history that has until now gone untold.

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Quote:

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Lot Sold for 150,000 GBP

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