I have been told by many people that they believe that we are in the Golden Age of Bourbon. While I agree that there are a lot of fine bourbons out there and there are some new products coming from the distillers that show promise and inovation, I believe the Golden Age has passed.
The other day at the Bistro, Scratchline and his friend, Bill, were discussing the history of bourbon and one of them brought up a historian who proposed the following theory: The nineteenth century and early twentieth century were the age of business while the late twentieth century is the beginning of the age of industry. The difference between the two is the age of business put the emphesis on the product - make a good product and you will make money. The age of industry the only goal is to make money so the cheaper the product the better. I think this latter attitude has dominated the business for the last 30 years and only now are we seeing some of the distillers try to buck the trend.
To add to this point ask yourself the following questions and be honest with your answers:
If you had a choice between buying a Pappy 23 yo or a Very, Very Old Fitzgerald bottled in the 1960's at 12 yo, which would you buy?
If you had a choice between Old Grand Dad 114 and a 1970's bottle of Old Grand Dad, which would you buy?
If you could purchase a pre-prohibition bottle of I W Harper bourbon for the same price as four bottles of Stagg, which would you buy?
In a choice of Cabin Still 90 proof from Stitzel-Weller or a bottle of Weller 12 yo, which would you buy?
Mike Veach