Steph and I are planning a trip to Mammoth Cave for next spring. We figured while in that area we'd hit some distilleries. The town of Bardstown seems promising as a location as it's not too far out of our way and there are 11 or so distilleries within 16 miles of it.

So, has anyone toured some of the distilleries around Bardstown? Are there any that are must-sees and others that are not worth the time?
[Reply]

Can’t remember if Makers is in that area, but I did that tour and it was very good. That was probably 20 years ago though, so your mileage may vary.
[Reply]

Yep, they're one of them.
[Reply]

Unfortunately, I wasn't into bourbon yet when I was at UofL in 2000. We did do the Maker's tour in Louisville proper. I enjoyed it.

Bob, one of those bottles I sampled was bottle finished with an Amburana stave. I liked it a lot, but others I know don't care for anything Amburana.

Good da at Binny's yesterday!

Image
[Reply]

Decided to hit up a few stores after my doc appt. The one store I slightly overpaid for Blantons and Weller, has Weller SR ($99), 107 ($149), 12yr ($449) on the shelf, as well as 10yr Old Rip ($1299) and Pappy ($1799). They had other overpriced stuff (ER, EHT SB, Bookers, Willet Pot Still). There are new owners that decided to flex their other stores overpriced stuff around here. Good luck with that.

Another store had Russell 13 for $300. Apparently it’s selling as they were down to 3 bottles.

One store had a Russell’s Single Barrel that looked interesting. $65-70 iirc.
[Reply]

So it’s a bourbon Friday afternoon.

Wet my palate with some Coppercraft. Now doing a comparison of Wilderness Trail BiB vs the Family Reserve (at 110 proof and nearly 6 years aged). Might have to see if the store I got the FR has anymore.
[Reply]

Those RR picks can be great, Bob. The RR13s I've had (batches 2 & 3) are outstanding, but not 275-325 dollar outstanding. I traded for mine.

Got a Barrell Bourbon private blend from Whiskey Raiders' savant blender, T8KE. Hoping it's better than the last private blend I took a chance on.

Image
[Reply]

I’ll have to see if they have a sample bottle, before dropping the cash on it. I doubt it, but you never know unless you ask.

Cracked open the Benchmark single barrel I snagged last week. Surprisingly good.
[Reply]

I opened up the K.Luke last night and damn, it's a tasty bourbon. I'm going to Maisano's later on this week and I might have to grab another bottle.
[Reply]

I hit Maisano's and picked up four cask strength owner's picks. I also grabbed two bottles of OGD114 because it's the first time I've seen it in over six months or so.

Image
[Reply]

Looks like a nice lineup James! OGD114 has been hit-and-miss again up here. We are starting to find it on a more regular basis again.
[Reply]

Hey James, is that Old Elk store pick a sour mash by chance?
[Reply]

If it is they don't mention it anywhere on the label.
[Reply]

Nice haul James! Curious to hear your thoughts on the Old Scout and Old Elk picks.

It was a good day at Binny's, they released Stagg 22B and 23A, Blanton's Straight From the Barrel and Blanton's Gold. Catch was you could only take one of the four. I grabbed the SFTB and floored i to the next nearest Binny's, where I grabbed Stagg 22B. It was $60 and the secondary market for it around here is $250, so I saved a pretty penny.

Image
[Reply]

Tom any plans to open the Blantons SFTB any time soon? They show up in Florida from time to time but I want to know if it’s really worth it or not before buying. Also by chance what was Binnys price on it?

As for Old Elk store picks, I really haven’t had a bad one of their bourbons. I’m not a big fan typically of finished bourbons, but even their stuff is pretty good. Recently I had the chance to participate in a barrel pick of a sour mash from Old Elk and it was hard to narrow down the choices, as there really wasn’t a bad one, but our group ended up with a unanimous favorite and it turned out to be a high proof barrel too!
[Reply]

Nice scores there Tom.
[Reply]

Mike, the Blanton's SFTB was $149. I will open it in the next few days and let you know. I'm hoping it will be everything that Blanton's is not.:-)

I don't think I've tried any version of Old Elk. I'm sure they have some on the bar at Garfield's, I'll give one a whirl.

With all the great hauls you've had lately Bob, that's big praise! :-)
[Reply]

I've had two owner's picks that were cask strength and really enjoyed them. However, I've never had the "regular" Old Elk so have no idea how it is. It gets decent reviews.
[Reply]

Tom I hope that SFTB is tasty!

Before Greg Metze left as the master distiller at MGP he blended between 50,000 - 100,000 barrels that were all designated for Old Elk as propriatary mash bills and Old Elk purchased all of those barrels for their current distillate. Metze is the distiller for OE and while they expect to be using the sourced barrels for quite a while, they are also working on their own distillates and experimental barrels. They currently have 18 different selections (iirc) and their store picks encompass many of those options, blends, and finishes. As for a bottle I think you'd enjoy, their 8 wheated bourbon is pretty killer!
[Reply]

Image

Yesterdays pick-ups; Eagle Rare (one I keep on-hand for cocktails), Jack Single Barrel Barrel Proof Rye 136.1 proof, and Bombergers 2023 Small Batch 108 proof.
[Reply]