NEWS
Russell Reserve’s 13-year bourbon is on the market --- well, sort of. It’s a limited-release bourbon that retails for $69.99 but sells for at least $400 on the secondary. We all know how good that stuff is but it’s a hard pass at those ultra-inflated prices.
Calumet Farm has released a 15-year bourbon. Two words --- Stay Away. There’s plenty available at $129 but there are plenty of bourbons at half the price that are twice as good. This coming from someone who has made the 14-year an orphan. I’ve had one drink, and that’s it.
Something called Walker’s Cay Bourbon is supposed to hit the market soon. It’s distilled by King Spirits, coming in at 90 proof with aromas of caramel, vanilla, and dried fruit, so say the tasting notes. Being curious, I found the distillery’s brand positioning statement and presentation and it’s filled with all kinds of details, like the price --- $9.99 a bottle. You can see the entire presentation here.
One of my favorites, Bookers, has released its second 2021 batch, the “Tagalog Batch.” It’s aged 6 years, 5 months at 127.9 proof, a bit higher than the year’s first release, the 125.3 proof Donohoe’s Batch. $89.99 retail. I don’t think I’ve opened my Donohoe yet.
Five Brothers Bourbon, another limited release, has hit the market. This 90-proof Heaven Hill product is only available at the distillery or at “select” Kentucky retailers for $59.99, the press release says. “Sweet and smooth with notes of vanilla and sugar cookie, the finish is long yet subtle making for an easy sipper,” the press release says.
Kentucky Senator is coming out with its second, 1,300 bottle release. Notice a trend here? So much “limited stuff” to drive up prices. The 6-year retails for $110 and the 15-year $200 for this non-distilled (in other words, sourced) product. Me, I’d like to try a shot first.
COSTCO COMING OUT WITH 3 NEW BOURBONS
This is exciting. Forbes reports that Costco is coming out with small-batch, bottled-in-bond, and single-barrel bourbons. The bourbons have “Barton” on the label and wouldn’t that be a thing if that’s where Costco is getting its product
Barton’s 1792 small-batch, at $30 a bottle, is an industry leader in that price point. Its other bourbons --- the bottled-in-bond, full proof, single barrel, sweet wheat, 12-year --- are all so good they’re going for upwards to $250 on the secondary.
The Costco bourbons don’t have an age statement but we can make some guesses. The Bottled in Bond will be four years at 100 proof distilled and bottled in the same location. That’s the law so that’s what it will be. The other bottles are labeled straight bourbon whiskey so that’s aged at least 2 years.
Forbes says the bottle price should be at about $25 bottle, and a couple of things caught my attention about that. First, that’s less than any 1792 price. But this could also be a way for Barton to continue to hold on to market share in the lower price categories while turning 1792 into a more mid-priced brand.
1792 has already been lauded for its quality, with a bunch of its products coming in first at the last year’s International Whiskey Awards. So this could be a way for Barton to have the best of both worlds --- increase 1792 price while still profitably playing in the lower-priced market.
OUR BARREL(S)
Admit it. The plural caught your eye.
We’re still on track to get the Starlight Double Oak and Starlight Rye (about $70 bottle) in mid-July. It’s a higher-priced bourbon but it’s also not readily available, so we’re getting a rare bird. Secondary price hovers in the $110 to $120 range for these and I note that only for comparison. Point is, it’s a good deal.
Woodford is trying to get the local bourbon group in, in August. I mention “local” because I’m slowly picking up people from out of the area and state. We’ll blend two barrels to come up with our own taste profile (Woodford doesn’t sell single barrels) and the 90 proof product will be in the $50 range. More to come.
VIDEO CHAT
Mostly for those who are out of town, but available to anyone, I’m planning a bourbon 101 video chat. It will be 45 minutes --- and it will not be of me droning on and on and boring people. Heavy audience participation. More to come.
I BUY IT SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO
Evan Williams 12 year.
Mash bill 75% corn, 13% rye, 12% malted barley.
EU Retail: 50 Euro, US Retail $150. Secondary $200-$250
I love being of service to my audience and one way I can do that is to warn you not to make the same buying mistakes I have.
Granted, everyone has different tastes. One man’s Merlot is another man’s Bordeaux. In the case of the Evan Williams 12 year, this would be my merlot --- it’s OK but nothing I would go out of my way to get, and nothing I would pay this much for again.
And that’s disappointing. I had been looking for one of these for a while. It’s only available at the Evan Williams gift shop or overseas and comes in 700ML bottles.
I’ll take a slight detour and explain why the bottles in Europe are 700ML and why that might not matter anymore.
Remember when the U.S., back in 1980, thought about converting to the metric system? It would have been easier for a sloth to win a foot race against a rabbit. No way we were going to have to, as a country, re-learn math. Anyway, before 1980, we purchased spirits by the fifth. During the metric conversion discussions, the federal government converted spirits bottles to 750ML, which is a the rough equivalent. At that time some European countries used the 700ML standard for spirits, so the Alcohol Tax and Trade Bureau banned the importation of those smaller bottles. Why? Because it was concerned consumers wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the two bottle sizes and end up buying the smaller size when they thought they were getting the larger size. (So much for faith in the American consumer).
What’s the size difference you ask? 700ML = 23.66 ounces and 750ML 25.4 ounces --- about the size of one healthy shot, or one of those airplane bottles of booze.
By 1992, the newly formed European Union went to a standard 700ML bottle to make trade easier. American distillers then began producing, in mass, the 700ML “export only” bottles, bottles that the federal government had banned for import.
I say “had” because the federal government has published new regulations that now allow for 700ML imports. Whether that means distillers make those bottles available for sale here is up in the air.
History is fun, right? But at least you now have the background.
So that gets us back to Evan William 12-year. The “export only” allure makes these sought-after bottles. In some cases --- like the WT 13 --- it’s worth the effort. In others, like the EW 12, it’s a nice bourbon but if my crystal ball was working I’d save the $400 I spent on two. I always buy in pairs because I want an extra. Sometimes that bites me.
The EW 12 doesn’t have the properties of bourbon of this age. It does have a very nice thick caramel flavor that burst into some peppery notes, and it has a very nice, long finish. It lacks the oak you would expect on a 12 year, and at 101 proof, it doesn’t have much of a kick.
My criticism of this bourbon has more to do with price than quality. It is good but it’s not $200 a bottle good. If I could get it for the 50 euros it costs overseas, sign me up. But that rarified air of $200 belongs to the amazing Lux Row Double Barrel, or the Blanton’s barrel proof, or the Blood Oath. Hell, you can get Bomberger’s and Shenks for just over retail at $100 each on the secondary and those are superior to this.
I should mention that I really did get a steal at that price since secondary is as high as $450 each. But I buy to drink, not flip, so the second one will stay with me.
So if you can get one of these for about retail, go for it. Otherwise, no.
Hey, look what I got!
That’s something, huh? My wife got it for my birthday. It was crafted by Gary Collins, a Bourbon resource reader, and friend. He does a great job with this sort of work. It gives me room for 60 more bottles, so I’m on my way to 300!
Happy drinking and please do so responsibly.