Do y'all have your collection insured? Wife keeps bugging me that I need to do that.

Damn if you are thinking about insurance, I need to start drinking with you!

I've thought about insurance, but pretty much all of my valuable bottles are opened, and I don't know if it would cover that, since there's no value to an opened bottle on the market.

SexualChocolate said:

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Damn if you are thinking about insurance, I need to start drinking with you!

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I mean once you get close to 100 bottles even a bunch of reasonably priced bottles will add up. I am also not as good as Wilmwolf about opening up some of the harder to find bottles but slowly working my way towards that. Mostly because I am not buying as much being in wilmington.

ABC store had some bottle this week nothing crazy but people got in line at 6am.......for EH Taylor small batch and blantons sorry but 5 hours for those bourbons is insane.

Yea, I'm at around 100 plus bottles as well with about 50 plus opened. Need to get busy or at least invite some people over to share. COVID-19 has put a damper on sharing.

Was in Greenville SC this weekend and got a Bond and Lilliard Batch 2. Love WB Saffell so I can't wait to try that.

WB Saffel is one of my favorites. I had a bottle of the second batch of Bond and Lillard (most people hated the first for whatever reason) and I thought it was pretty good, but not as good as the Saffel, and I've passed on it on subsequent occasions to buy more of the WBS.

Was in VA for work, and swung by the Windsor store, scored a bottle of Blanton's and Sazerac Rye!

Thinking about opening a Blanton gold for the holidays, it feels like the time

Blade and Bow is quite enjoyable to the unsophisticated palate.

Happy Thanksgiving.

If it's good to you, then it doesn't really matter how sophisticated your palate is. It's been a few years since I've had it, but I thought it was good. I'm probably sticking to wild turkey products for the next few days, just seems right.

Agreed. I quite enjoyed it. Maybe a bit too much. Hunting is going to hurt just a bit this morning.

My BIL is more of a bourbon collector and drinker than I, and he enjoyed it too.

What a great idea on the Turkey products. Somehow my idiot self didn't think of that yesterday when staring at the hundreds of options.

Rare Breed is just a damn good bourbon that is always on the shelf. Wild Turkey makes some outstanding bourbons.

Unfortunately, the world is awakening to Turkey. Happy Thanksgiving to you IPS folks. I appreciate you.

vanuel said:

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Rare Breed is just a damn good bourbon that is always on the shelf. Wild Turkey makes some outstanding bourbons.

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as is the Kentucky Spirit.... one of my favorites!

Picked up a bottle of Elijah Craig small batch, barrel proof today. What does everyone think of this? At 136 proof, I'm expecting it to have a pretty good bite to be it.

ECBP is a favorite of a lot of people in the bourbon community because of its perceived cost to value ratio. A 12 year, barrel proof bourbon is a pretty rare thing in the current landscape. It is most definitely stout. I tend to like the "B" batches, as they are typically a lower proof due to the different seasons it experiences. I like it, but to be honest, anything over about 110 proof typically isn't appealing to me, so I either add a few drops of water or let the ice melt for a while in the glass before drinking it. If you have a palate for intense flavors it probably won't bother you too much, but for me, out of the bottle it always seems like it's burning my taste buds off. As far as a long aged, slightly oak forward, uncut bourbon, there aren't many competitors on the market, so I'm glad it exists.

Fun discussion: Favorite bottle below $45?

For me it's got to be Eagle Rare. At $35 it's always solid..but I've also been enjoying the Makers 101 now that it's widely available.

Interested to see what everyone else has to say. I know everyone has their favorite "budget" pick but what about that middle price range?

In that spot Eagle Rare certainly has a strong case. I'd throw in Russell's Reserve 10 and McKenna BIB and that's probably my top three in that range. All three ten years old, all in my preferred proof range, that's a strong lineup.

All I've really had of Bourbon is Jefferson's. Any recommendations for a novice that doesn't need to break the bank yet?

wilmwolf80 said:

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In that spot Eagle Rare certainly has a strong case. I'd throw in Russell's Reserve 10 and McKenna BIB and that's probably my top three in that range. All three ten years old, all in my preferred proof range, that's a strong lineup.

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I used to love McKenna but fell off recently, but I had Russell's 10 for the first time this past weekend and really enjoyed it.

statefan91 said:

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All I've really had of Bourbon is Jefferson's. Any recommendations for a novice that doesn't need to break the bank yet?

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There is a lot to explore in the ~$30 and below price range. Wild Turkey 101 is a quintessential bourbon for me and one of my go-to bottles. It has a little higher proof but not overwhelming, a higher rye mash bill, and is always on the shelf. Evan Williams Single Barrel is an often overlooked bourbon that is a nice introduction to the single barrel experience that gives you the nutty flavor profile Heaven Hill is known for. Elijah Craig Small Batch is another Heaven Hill product and one of my personal faves. Larceny is good introduction to the high wheat style bourbon, along with Maker's Mark, that are both around that price range. Old Forrester 100 proof is a good introduction to their product line that is sub $30. 1792 Small Batch is a good introduction to Barton products and the cinnamon note I find common to their stuff. Bowman Brothers Small Batch originates at Buffalo Trace and is then redistilled in Virginia so that it can be a product of VA. Their products have been overlooked for a while, but with that connection to Buffalo Trace, people are starting to take notice. That's a good primer for the low/mid range stuff. If you want to seriously get into it, I recommend starting at the very bottom and working your way up so you can learn your palate and what you like before you start spending a bunch of money. There are a lot of drinkable bourbons in the sub $20 range too.

A lot to digest there, thank you!

I was in the store today and nothing really was calling my name so I decided to try a bottle of Virgin Bourbon. Always looking for a good budget bottle.

I think we talked about it a few pages back, but Virgin 101 used to be a great deal when it was an age stated 7 year old bourbon for 12 bucks. Heaven Hill pulled the age statement last year, but some of us still have a few of the old bottles, and some of the 7 year ones are still around in stores if you look. To my knowledge it is only sold in NC and Alabama for some reason.

Yeah I'm not sure how long this is aged now that they took the 7 year statement off. We'll see how it goes.

I don't drink much and I certainly have zero sophistication as far as my palette goes. But I bought some Wild Turkey Rare Breed today.
Will crack that open at some point this holiday season and see how I like it.
On the rare occasions that I do drink, I usually drink Maker's

Based on recommendations on here this week, I picked up some Russell's Reserve 10 today and cracked it tonight to celebrate our big win.

I like it, good recommendation, but since I'm celebrating an awesome and unexpected 8-3 season I could probably be drinking Ancient Age out of an old sweaty boot and I'd swear it tasted divine.

someone mentioned Cooper's on here a few pages back. Got one this week and cracked it.. that was a good pour!

Got a bottle of Larceny Barrel Proof this weekend. Good Juice!

Just got named whiskey of the year by Whiskey Advocate, it's probably going to go the way of the dodo bird for a while so you're lucky to snag one. I got the A batch this year and it's still about half full so I've passed on the next two batches, which I might regret now.

Larceny Barrel Proof is fantastic if you can find it. See it in Total Wine in SC. Also, if in SC, look for Early Times. It's really good for the price.

Was gifted a bottle of Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage last week. 86.6 proof, label says barreled on 01/19/12, bottled 11/25/19, bottle # 47.

Have never seen this before. It's not a bad pour. I'll look for it this week and try to pick up another bottle or two. Says "limited availability". Hopefully it's still around.

It's readily available. It doesn't get as much love as it should, it's a good value and I've had a couple that were really good. A friend just picked one up Saturday on my recommendation and he liked it as well.

wilmwolf80 said:

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It's readily available. It doesn't get as much love as it should, it's a good value and I've had a couple that were really good. A friend just picked one up Saturday on my recommendation and he liked it as well.

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Thank you. I respect your input and recommendations here; based on that, I plan to pick up several to gift this Christmas.

Here is another tip beside Angier store for great bourbon but the Winterville store gets some great stuff. The East Carolina Bourbon Society on Facebook has done some picks that they have released at Winterville. The new Old Scout Smooth Ambler I heard is really good.