Went store hopping this afternoon, just to check a few. Amazing how the most shady looking stores may carry stuff you wouldn’t think. One place had the usual HTF’s on the shelf. Double or more than MSRP. Another place, that had me feeling like I could get shanked, had EH Taylor SB and 1792 FP plus others. They were on hold for other customers though. :-) Did overpay for another bottle of Eagle Rare, but the best price I’ve found. Needed another bottle as I’m drinking thru my first bottle.
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The Hunt is fun, Bob, though those independent stores with unicorns at quadruple MSRP can be a kick in the nuts.

I had a drink in memory of pnoon last night. It was so good I had another.

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Also had a drink while out with some friends yesterday afternoon. First time trying a bourbon (rather than a rye) from Whistlepig, the 6 year Piggy Back Bourbon. I really love their ryes, but I am not a fan of the bourbon. :-)
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$80 for Weller SR? Talk about a kick in the nuts. That’s a $27 bottle.

I really need to find a bar with a nice selection to try a few pours before I buy another bottle.
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Just poured some Russell's. So glad this one is still available for <$40.

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That’s one I’ve been eyeing James. What’s the flavor profile like?
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It's pretty balanced. I get honey, vanilla, and chocolate-orange. One of the YT channels I watch says it best, if you like Wild Turkey you'll like Russel's Reserve.

My B&M used to do owner's picks of Russell's and they were always great. But apparently WT is no longer doing them, at least the same way they used to (in person, with the owner tasting several barrels to make their pick). Shame.
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A quick look at my current bar top makes me feel like a turkey fiend, I gotta get around to putting some of these away :-)

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It took me a little bit to come around to Turkey but I'm getting there. I think the shelf 10 year is going to be getting a lot of talk in these coming years and will be hard to find or nonexistent, at least for desired lot codes

They still do picks, Bruce Russell pulled 40 barrels out and said open as many as you want when I went. Eddie and Jimmy were around too, mostly hanging out. Highly recommend :-)

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Bob, that's crazy for Weller SR but you see that all over. I just grabbed one (limit 1) at Binny's for $29. Come to Shack this year and I'll bring it for you.

James, I've really been liking the Russell's as well, it's got that WT funk which is outstanding if you like that profile. Lots of picks drop around here, but if you can find it, that Russell's Reserve 13 Year is the best of the lot. :-)
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Confusing...here's the message we got from the B&M: "This unfortunately will be our final Russell's Single Barrel selection as the Campari State manager has made it clear the only way for buying Russell's barrels moving forward is pure volume as it is now inconvenient to have store owners select in person since any store can easily sell a Russell's barrel even if just selected from samples. I love the Russell's family and I will be forever grateful for all the Bourbon passion and knowledge they have shared with me over the years on dozens of barrel selections on their property."
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I'm guessing that the "the only way for buying Russell's barrels moving forward is pure volume" part is likely due to something with stores getting barrels based on sales, so a store that sells 10x the wild turkey 101 will get more russells single barrel picks, and store that sells none will likely not get picks, it's their way of incentivizing their shelf product sales. The rest of the message is probably due to frustration about that, but Campari is most certainly still doing single barrel picks for wild turkey, due to the three tier system they have no say in what happens to the bottles after they leave the distillery so if a store wants to sell a whole barrel for profit Campari can't stop them
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That makes sense and answers a question I had in a way. I see all these stores getting barrel picks. At what point does that eat into regular production? But if a store is selling a lot of product, then one or two barrels amounts to what they’d normally sell anyway.
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Seems likely, thanks.
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This is a new problem by the way. You used to be able to go to Sazerac and buy a barrel of anything made by Buffalo Trace, Barton, etc. Then they limited it to a certain number of barrels per year and it took a few months to sell out, the next year a few hours, then a few minutes. The last 4-5 years were instant sell outs, now they do quarterly lotteries where ~60 people out of hundreds of thousands win the chance to buy a barrel. Other heritage brands like Wild Turkey probably had similar problems but use a less public way of dealing with nit
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Minimal. It eats into labor because single barrels are a b**** to deal with logistically but you're right, they move so friggin many bottles of Wild Turkey 101, or Evan Williams, or Jim Beam, or Benchmark that no amount of private picks could impact what they're pumping out
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Never thought of it from a logistics standpoint. Even makes more sense. If you have 2-3000 barrels at any given point you’re managing plus all your normal production, it becomes a hassle. I was watching a video I think on BT. They make ~1500 new barrels a day. So the overall total dedicated to store picks is low for the big distilleries. But like you said, it becomes a logistical nightmare, especially since they’re selling out their stock anyway. And limiting the number of picks increases rarity, thus keeping demand high as well as prices.
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That's the reason BT stopped putting "single barrel" on eagle rare. They're still pretty much single barrels, but they don't shut the line down every couple hundred bottles to make sure everything is drained from the tank before dumping another barrel in, they just dump every time it gets low. Compared to something like Blantons where a few hands touch every bottle and they make sure there's no crossover
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Enjoyed the discussion and some more education thanks to Ben.

Traded for a couple Whistlepig single barrel picks, the Whiskey Rick is a 13 year barrel I've had before, and Snake in My Boot is a 14 year barrel at 119 proof.

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Nice! I'll heed your warning on their bourbon, but I sure do love some of those Alberta single barrels. I have a small handful of 16-17yrs left that I'm holding onto for dear life, I brought one to a bottle share a while back and the guy didn't believe me that some of the 10's were much much older... until he tried it :-)
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I know Ben! I've got a 19 year old Alberta single barrel that I've had for a couple years and can't bring myself to crack. The proof is definitely in the taste.
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