Purchasing bourbon

[bourbonv]

I am curious as to how the members here go about purchasing a new bourbon. Do you research a product on line or in magazines and books? Do you simply look for new packaging or names? Does it really matter you whether it is 90 proof or 90.4 proof? Are you a collector that simply has to have every new product bottled? What is the main factor in making your choices to purchase bourbon?

For the record, I like to try before I buy and I let a bourbon bar purchase it first and try it there. If I like the taste, I will go to the liquor store check the price. If the price and the taste match up, I buy a bottle.

Mike Veach

[MikeK]

I don't collect whiskey in the normal sense. I do collect scarce bottlings so I will be able to drink them in the future. Whiskey was made to drink!

I do research whiskey before I buy it. I read impressions on this forum and check the notes of writers like Cowdery, Jackson and Murray. And yes, price is compared against reviews and rarity to make a decision. Sometimes I get to try a bourbon or rye at a festival or tasting, and this is optimal.

Scotch is more prevalent in my area. Tasting events are common and some stores will pour you a sample before purchase. Most of my Scotch purchases have occurred after a tasting.

In summary, I would very rarely, if ever, purchase a whiskey without either tasting it first or comparing numerous reviews of people I'm familiar with.

Mike

[Mike]

Without question, my main source of interest in buying bourbons is and has been Bourbon Enthusiast.

Some might have noticed that my reviews often will follow on a discussion about some particular bourbon or other whiskey. I came to BE about 15 months ago admitting to my 'student' status. So I deliberatedly set out to try many bourbons and write reviews. I wanted to learn about different taste experiences. When I started I really believed I was on the quest for that 'best' bourbon..........why I am not sure. In retrospect, it seems rather naive of me.

At any rate, I bought with the purpose of trying many of those bourbons which were rated pretty highly in various reviews. I really only started tasting the less expensive stuff a few months ago.

Although I certainly know more about bourbon flavors than I did a year or so ago, sometimes I think I am more or less back at square one in judging what is a premium bourbon and what is not. I enjoy some of the less expensive bourbons just as much as the expensive ones.

And those times when I have participated in blind tastings do not encourage me to think I have come very far in being a judge of which bourbons are great. Certainly, there is a large subjective element there.

I make my deicsions to buy based on curiosity about a brand I haven't tried before. Price does enter into the equation, I have not tried Classic Cask bourbons because of the cost (and because I have not found a lot of info about them). I have not tried the Black Maple Hills Rye because of its price. I did not buy the Pappy 23 YO because at $300, I just don't think it is worth it (I had it once before and found it too dry and astringent for my taste).

I am not above spending $100 or more for a bottle of some whiskey, indeed I have done so, but it ain't been very often. And seeing as how I like some of the less expensive bourbons and scotchs about as well, I may never spend that much again. I may not ever be $100 + curious again.

Bottom line, I like to taste different bourbons and do side by side comparisons of them with friends. That means I usually have somewhere around 40 or so bottles of bourbon on hand and open.

If I see something on the shelf at 'my' liquor store that I haven't tried, especially if it is reasonable ($40 or less), I will eventually give it a try. As an example, I finally tried WT Rye recently and loved it. I have been meaning to try it for quite a while.

When I make it to KY some time soon, I hope pick up some Buffalo Trace, some Eagle Rare 17 YO, some Sazarac Rye, and some Stagg if I can find them. If I had not joined BE about 15 months ago, I would not know about these whiskeys, or many of the others I have had the pleasure of trying.

[Bourbon Joe]

We have six regular members of our bourbon tasting group. Each week we get together and taste three whiskies (blind). I keep track of the ones I picked as best and, when it comes time to stock up, I'll purchase these.
Sooner or later we'll have tried 'em all. I do collect bourbons also. My collection is up to about 140 different whiskies (Bourbon & Rye), about 25% of which are open. I do not collect (or even drink) Scotch.
Joe

[Art L]

I basically agree with Mike and MikeK's methods for choosing a new whiskey but in the absence of a tasting or other opinions I also will buy whiskey based on the simply on the brand of which I've enjoyed several (if not all) of their products, like Buffalo Trace and Wild Turkey.

For example, when the WLW 12 was released recently, I just had to get a bottle to try and although it wasn't what I had hoped for (it's a bit more delicate than I would like) it still did not disappoint me.

I would buy any new Van Winkle products as well (are you listening Julian?) but tasting and reading reviews first are the always the best methods to get me to buy something new. I wish that all whiskeys were bottled in the little 50ml size!

Also, the odd proofs won't sell me on a whiskey. Although I do tend to enjoy the 100 proof products best, a strange proof doesn't do much to open my wallet. So taste, opinions, and reputation; that's what sells me.

[OscarV]

In one sense I am a collector, and in another I am not.
I buy it all. But I drink them. I have 93 different boubon labels. 39 I have drank and the rest are not yet opened. I keep my empties.
I do subscribe to "Malt Advocate", "Whisky Magazine", and Chuck Cowdery's "The Bourbon Country Reader", and check out this web-site to learn what's new, and get the reviews.
I will still buy one that gets a bad review to judge for myself.
I love top of the line, Pappy 20yo neat, and the bottom shelf, Old Crow makes a great bourbon mist.
I read in a post of another subject that someone said that 100 proof is all that he likes now, I to have become like that, 80 proof seems watered down to me.

I always said there is no such thing as a bad bourbon, its just that some are better than others.
Until I recently got a bottle of "Joshua Brook" and "80 Strong", nows thems thar are some bad bourbon Brothers!

I also have 1 wheat, 4 ryes, 2 Tennessee's, 2 Irish and 2 scotch. I want to get a Japanese, Suntory, for my collection and to drink.

I would love to be able to go to a bar and sample different bourbons, but where I am they think Jack Daniels is a bourbon, and all the bars around here cater to the fruit flavored vodka crowd.
Last year I was in Kentucky and went to the Maker's Mark lounge and I thought I died and went to heaven.

In about 3 weeks I will be in KY again, and I am sure my collection will more than pass 100.

Oscar

[gillmang]

Anyone who has tried Four Roses Single Barrel may feel they have gotten a little closer to the big place up in the sky! To me it has elegance, concentration, breeding, it is close to the perfect bourbon.

I can't resist passing on a story I read in a book I just finished, Titan, a biography of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. (founder of Standard Oil), by Ron Chernow. This is truly one of the best books I have ever read, I highly recommend it. The story by the way has nothing to do with alcohol, of which Rockefeller was a fervent opponent.

In his later years, John D. used to like to take tours of the countryside in a Crane-Simplex auto, this was around 1918. He did this in particular in Florida where he maintained a home near the sea.

One day he and his entourage were in the car in the Florida back country and needed some gas. They stopped at a gas station and a woman attendant asked how much they needed. The chauffeur said, "5 gallons". Evidently the attendant didn't think that was enough for the large luxury car far from its home base. She asked the party where they were going. John D. replied, "Madam, we are all going to heaven". The attendant replied, "Well you ain't goin to get there very fast on five gallons of gas".

Chernow reports that for the rest of his life Rockefeller took pleasure in repeating the story.

Gary

[bourbonv]

I was asking this because there are several people I know here in Louisville that always go to the reviews section here before they buy a bourbon for home. A couple of them are also subscribers to Malt Advocate and have a few bourbon books in the library. It seems that a true bourbon enthusiast will go that extra mile to find out before they buy. The fancy bottles and odd percentage proof does not seem to factor in at all in their purchase. The same seems to be true amongst the members here as well.

Mike Veach

[angelshare]

As with most things, the higher the cost, the more likely we are to research before buying. Our experience with less expensive bourbon is that it is usually more "simple" than "bad," and sometimes you find a novel flavor profile. Virginia, however, has a limited selection, so there is rarely anything new to us just sitting on the shelf. Heck, if there is, we almost always buy it regardless to reinforce the behavior of the state ABC's expanding its bourbon selection.

Research is more important before a trip to TN or KY where we are likely to encounter lots of products from which we have to choose and a limited budget with which to work. For example, based on reviews plus price factor, we're likely at some point in the future to pick up Bernheim Wheat whiskey but leave 4-Grain sitting on the shelf.

[scratchline]

Definitely, Mike. The reviews and opinions of board members are the most important educator as to what I might want to buy or try. Of course, given the diversity of opinions there isn't always a consensus and there are whiskies, particularly the older or odder brands, that aren't very thoroughly debated. Then I have to make a more instinctive decision. If there is more than one bottle available, I'll often buy one, sample, and go from there.

The wildcard of price is tough to factor in. I'm still amazed by the vagaries of pricing and unless I'm really crazy about something (WT 12, say) I hate overpaying for something I can get elsewhere cheaper. But if a deal is good enough, I'll buy things I might not otherwise buy, just to have a chance to try them.

By way of illustrating the pricing craziness, I was in a liquor store billed as "The House of Tequila" several days ago and discovered a couple of bottles of Rare Breed which I suspected were from the very first bottling. The price: 18.35. I love WT of all feathers but have never had RB. Obviously, I picked these bottles up, and if they had had a case, I would have taken them all at that price.

-Mike

[Mike]

Anyone who has tried Four Roses Single Barrel may feel they have gotten a little closer to the big place up in the sky! To me it has elegance, concentration, breeding, it is close to the perfect bourbon.
Gary

If I ever make it to that long sought liquor store in KY, I will buy the Four Roses SB just based on Gary Gillman's recommendation. I assume it is in the $40 to $50 range, Gary. It is not available in GA, at least that I have seen. And I am always alooking!!

[MikeK]

If I ever make it to that long sought liquor store in KY, I will buy the Four Roses SB just based on Gary Gillman's recommendation. I assume it is in the $40 to $50 range, Gary. It is not available in GA, at least that I have seen. And I am always alooking!!

I agree, it is a very nice pour; quite complex. And it is only about $30. But sadly only available in KY me thinks. I plan to pick up a couple bottles while I'm at the Sampler.

Mike

[bourbonv]

Four Roses Single Barrel is an excellent product and I would recommend it to anybody as well. It also has a very nice packaging that is really quite different from any other single barrel product. Would that make aqnyone think about trying it if they had no other information on the product?

Mike Veach

[Gayle Hack]

I go the Bourbon's Bistro here in Louisville (since they have the most selection) and try one before I buy. Proof is a factor when I buy, except in the case of Rebel Yell which I think is a pretty good 80 proof bourbon, even though I like higher proofs.

[Strayed]

I go the Bourbon's Bistro here in Louisville (since they have the most selection) and try one before I buy.

For those lucky enough to live near a good bourbon-oriented bar, that's absolutely the best possible way to make such a decision. For those who THINK there aren't any such bars near them, try Googling on "bourbon bar"; you might be surprised.