Blood Oath will release, in mid-April, a limited release (51,000 bottles) rye made with these different bourbons --- a 14-year and two eight-years, including one aged in a sauterne barrel.
Tennessee-based Sweetens Cove Bourbon will soon be released. It’s backed by, among others, sports heavyweights Peyton Manning, Andy Roddick, and Jim Nance. The hype has already started, as master distiller, Marianne Eaves calls the juice “Tennessee’s Pappy Van Winkle.” At $200 a bottle retail, it better be.
Just great. We could be headed toward a bourbon shortage because of Covid. Better grab all the value bourbon you can.
Garrison Brothers will release an 8-year, limited edition bourbon called Laguna Madre. The 2,000 bottle run retails for $299 each.
Whiskey Magazine calls Weller’s CYPB (Craft Your Perfect Bourbon) the world’s best. The hard-to-find and limited wheated CYPB ($50 retail) is already $650 on the secondary so get ready for a price jump.
Lux Row has released Blood Oath Pact 7. Retail $99. Good luck finding one at that price.
A bourbon-barrel seltzer? Yes, there is now such a thing
Bardstown has released a 19-year, 100 proof Tennessee bourbon aged in French Oak red wine barrels for 18 months.
And big news for the Bourbon Resource. We’re getting out own barrel from Starlight Distillery. We’ll do the barrel tasting and selection in May and get the bottles sometime in July. The label won’t bear our name (not this time) but is being named for a friend’s son and new wife. The bottles are pretty much already sold out but if there are any left, I’ll let readers know how they can get one.
The Secondary market: Where to find a bottle’s worth
You’ve heard me mention, probably too much, the secondary market. That’s the price hard-to-find bourbon can demand on the open market.
I hate it. I hate it because the market simply drives up prices for those of us who want to enjoy bourbon, not flip it for a profit. Yes, I know, the same thing goes for any commodity, like wine. The less supply = more demand = high prices. I get it.
So how does someone determine secondary? It really is “what the market will bear.” Also, those that frequent the markets (like me) understand how the market values a bottle. Here are a few examples of bottles you’ll find and the prices you can expect to pay:
· Bomberger’s and Shenk’s Homestead, $99 retail bottle, each sells for $150 to $180 on the secondary
· George T. Stagg Jr., $60 retail; $150 to $175 secondary
· William Larue Weller, $99 retail; $1,350 to $1,600 secondary
· McKenna 10 year: $60 retail, $100 secondary
· 1792 225th Anniversary: $39 retail; $275 to $325 secondary
Are those prices outrageous? It depends. I just paid $240 for a Lux Row 12-year Bourbon Barrel because (1) there were only 6,000 bottles produced this year; (2) It’s an amazing special occasion drinker and (3) It’s an asset. This bottle sells for $150 (if you can find it) and I can surpass what I paid for it (if I wanted to sell, which I won’t.)
Conversely, I’ve been offered several bottles of $130 retail Bardstown Discovery series #4, a blend of 10-, 13-, and 15-year-old sourced bourbons in the $140 range. But I haven’t taken the jump because I have little experience with Bardstown products and the industry has flooded the market with $100-plus bottles that aren’t worth a third of that price.
If you don’t have the time, desire, or patience to scour the markets, there’s another way to get a feel for what bourbon sells for. Take a look at the marvelous Bourbon Brown Book, which lists bourbon by distillery along with retail and approximate secondary prices. It’s a great resource, even if you just want to glance at it and exclaim, “What the %^*(#^&**$&^” when you see your favorite juice costs more than a month’s mortgage payment.
Pappy Van Winkle 23 year? $300 if you can find it off the shelf (good luck) at least $2,700 on the secondary. Russell’s Reserve 2003? Steep at $250 off the shelf, steeper at $500 secondary. Belle Meade Honey Cask Finish? $150 retail, $800 secondary, and I am mad at myself because I passed on a bottle for $200.
The secondary market is not kind to the wallet and it’s not meant to be. But if you know what you’re looking for, and learn what to avoid, you can find great bottles reasonably.
BOURBON PICKS
Affordable bourbon that would be good on your shelf
David Nicolson Reserve, 100 proof. $34.99
This one has become a staple on my shelf. It’s not a superstar bourbon, but it’s steady and reliable, much like the athlete who doesn’t make a lot of noise but always seems to respond to the moment. This David Nicolson version is the same way.
I say “this version” because the brand also has a white label 1843 that we’ll save for another newsletter.
The Nicolson isn’t big and doesn’t have a long finish, but it does have an even flavor profile with toffee, caramel, and vanilla the most prevalent on the nose.
This bourbon has a series of flavors on the palate, and you can debate all evening ling what you’re getting. For me, there’s some burnt sugar upfront followed by a sweet vanilla caramel with some oak, and at the very end, rye. It’s like the distiller decided to dump as many possible flavors in one bottle as possible. Normally, I wouldn’t be a fan of that, but in this case, it works.
The finish isn’t long but it’s not boring either. The flavors do a nice job coating the inside of the mouth.
The widely available Nicolson is the type of bourbon you won’t be ashamed to serve novices or the most advanced connoisseurs. It’s steady and a fine deal for the money.
DISTILLER: Sourced
BOTTLER: Lux Row
Proof: 100
Mash Bill: N/A, though the label says bourbon is “high rye”
BOURBON REVIEWS
This newsletter doesn’t do wholesale bourbon reviews because there are lots of other resources out there that do so. Here are five outstanding sources and I’ll add more as we go along:
Breaking Bourbon: The best overall website offers reviews and release dates
Whiskey Consensus rates, on a 1-10 scale, just about any bourbon you can imagine
Bourbon Banter offers reviews of the bottles it tastes
Modern Thirst: Reviews and a blog
Whiskey Advocate: A great place to find out the latest about the varying Whiskey Fests.
Note: There are, literally, hundreds of Bourbon events. These are a sampling of a few that seem interesting.
APRIL
Biscuits and Bourbon --- a biscuit bar with fried chicken, other toppings, and bourbon --- kicks off Derby week at the Kentucky Derby Museum on April 28
MAY
Bourbon and Bubbles will be May 22 in Franklin, KY
JULY
The Bacon, Bourbon and Brew festival is scheduled for July 8-11 in Cincinnati
AUGUST
The Bourbon Tasting event in Grove City, OH will be August 8
NEW!The Cincinnati Zoo will hold a bourbon tasting August 12
The Bourbon and Bowties fundraiser for Children’s Hospital in Prospect, KY has been moved to August 26
The Bourbon on the Banks festival is scheduled for August 27 and 28 in Frankfort, KY
SEPTEMBER
The Bourbon Burn, a bike tour of distilleries and horse farms, will be Sept. 24 in Kentucky
The Kentucky Bourbon Festival plans to hold its event Sept. 16-21 in Bardstown. General admission tickets will be available March 15. VIP tickets are already sold out
OCTOBER
The Edge Bourbon Festival in Northern Kentucky is scheduled for October 1.
The Detroit Bourbon Festival will be October 16.
Whiskey Fest has new dates: Oct. 30 in Hollywood, Fl; Nov. 5 in Chicago; Nov. 11 in NY; and Dec. 2 in San Francisco
NOVEMBER
Bourbon Classic in Louisville, KY, is Nov. 4, 5, and 6. Tickets are on sale.
First Capital Bourbon Dinner is scheduled Nov. 5 in Chillicothe, OH
ON HOLD, TBA
Whiskey’s of the World in San Francisco has been postponed a couple of time. We’ll see how that goes.
Bourbon and Bubbles, the premier annual event of the Dayton (OH) Art Institute is on hold
The Nth Whiskey Experience (Nth is not a typo) in Las Vegas has been moved to April 2022