Ah, I see. Your info is likely way more correct than what I wrote as I was 6 whiskies deep when he mentioned it and hadn't yet had dinner so the details were a bit fuzzy.

I don't know how I sat on this but those are some impressive bottles. Smooth Ambler ran out of rye and the bottles are now highly sought after. A pick of the rye and one from K&L would be ridiculously sought after, you don't have any unopened?

Nit,


I got those before they became super popular. Soon after that they stopped doing private barrels due to the high demand for all their stuff. Lol at the prices...

Diablo the pricing for the Old Scout and overall selection is nuts.

Haven't heard from rum fans in a while. Just had a quick business trip to Dominican Republic and picked up some bottles.


Brugal Siglo De Oro and Ron Barcelo 30th anniversary. Both were excellent. Brugal was the best. Barcelo was a bit too much raisin flavor.

The duty-free in Santiago was out of the Siglo so I had to settle for Brugal 1888.

Went to the Pappy Van Winkle tasting session on Saturday. Was pretty good - got to taste the 10, 12, 15, 20 & 23 year varieties.

Particularly enjoyed the 20 and 23, which were very different. The 15 was pretty raisin-y, then the 20 was really soft and all wood up front then the rich fruit flavour slowly crept up on my palate after a few seconds. With the 23, the fruit was right back there up front along with the wood and was really rich and balanced. They were all single barrel bottles, so idk if the 20 is generally so different to the 15 and 23, or if it was just that particular barrel.

Didn't get to do side-by-side unfortunately - it was sequential pouring. Think my favourite was the 20 tbh, but would have been interesting to do a side-by-side blind tasting.

The event was only £25 so I was wondering if we would get full pours. Here's what we got:





Not sure it's worth the hype, but it is very good. After the session our table bought the remaining WLW in the bar, which was only 3 measures. Still think it was better than all the PVWs.

We had a different rep for this session so I asked him to clarify what had previously been said about the means of production changing. He confirmed it was the change from Stitzel Weller to BT stock. Apparently the bottles released this year are the last of the SW stock and from next year everything sold will be BT.

Wow, awesome value.

I've posted this before, but fwiw, I generally find the 23 over-oaked.

20 < 15 < 12 < 23 <<<< 10

And yeah, hard to say it's worth the hype when after market on 2016 VW 23 is like $1600. But whatever, to each their own. If you're gonna spend that kinda $$$ on a bottle I think you're better off trying to track down a 50s VOF/VVOF/etc.

Re: SW vs BT. Interesting, I was sure I'd read that it had switched over already, maybe the 23 is still a blend? Anyhow, now ima go try to see where I might have read it.

Err....those < signs should be >

Tried to edit but taptatalk botches the message when I do.

Yeah, I'd prob go 20 > 15 > 23 > 12 >>> 10.

What the Rep seemed to be saying was that production has been BT for a while but so far releases have been SW. Not sure if that's all releases or just the older stuff.

Some decent reads on this front:

http://bourbonr.com/blog/is-it-stitzel-weller/

http://recenteats.blogspot.com/2012/...pappy.html?m=1

Boston,

What a sick couple of tastings!

Thanks for those links foobar - v interesting. Conflicting info but it seems like everything on sale bar the 23 has been BT distillate for a few years.

@ El D. Yeah, was decent. Mentioned it to a friend yesterday saying it was prob once in a lifetime stuff then he replied telling me he went to one hosted by Preston VW in Feb, so they may be more common than I realised.

just picked up a bottle of Bookers small batch for $60

what do you guys think of Willett pot still?

I'm a big fan of the Weller too. Bought this a while back



but unfortunately it has long since been emptied and I can't find it over here anymore

Judge,

I'm not a fan of willett pot still.

Also not a fan. Cool bottle though.

Good lord, taking a cab and letting people know where I can be found if I am missing a few days.

Would order all the Van Winkles at once and sip side by side. Would do the same with the Antique collection. Then keep ordering my favorite 2-3 until I pass out or am asked to leave.

Fellow Scotch drinkers,

I know this isn't web MD but I was curious if anyone here has ever dealt with inflammation on the upper right side of the abdomen right below the rib cage due to frequent scotch intake in large amounts, I know the liver and gallbladder is in that vicinity. Got into scotch a few months ago and usually drink about half a Poland springs bottle 3-4 times a week. Lately I've had a lingering dull/mild burning sensation in that area, anyone else ever have this? Thanks

It's hard to say if it's due to drinking or just something else that may be bothering you. Long term heavy/medium drinking has different effects on different people, and I'd say the only way to be sure is to do something like cut your alcohol intake in half for one week and see what happens, maybe even stop for a week or two and then see what happens. I'd also try increasing water intake during nights of drinking, some people swear by it. I've talked to some men in their 50s who have told me they can't really drink anymore, their bodies just don't react like it did when they were younger.

That being said, I drink about 1.5 handles a week, consistently, for at least 6 years now, averaging 5-6 nights a week, only liquor (hate beer and wine), and I'm absolutely fine. I think a lot of people would consider that a lot of alcohol, from casual conversation. It just affects everyone differently, and if it is having a detrimental impact, I recommend you slow down to see if that helps.

Happy safe drinking, sir.

I'm currently in France and my in-laws had these delivered in the mail.

Really much better than the standard Blanton's.

I think my cousin has invited me to the same tasting, specifically Pappy, also in the uk. Looks fantastic.

Unfortunately I'm away at the time...

Holy crispy crap. 1.5 handles of 40% abv? That's 2.5l spirits a week?

You're consuming nearly 4x the average for the #1 ranked country (Czech Republic) by litres of pure alcohol if so.

Whatever that is, that isn't a normal or safe drinking limit. You may be doing alright now but if you sustain it for another 6 years check back in and let us know if cirrhosis is on the cards?

I am no public health expert but you're an outlier on a forum which uses statistical data...

Best,
Pete

yeaaa that doesn't sound good

That's about right. Half a bottle of whiskey a night. Some weeks I take 3 or 4 nights off, some weeks 1.

It's probably not good for me but for now I feel absolutely fine. I don't get hungover and I've had zero physical issues, never missed a day of work. For some reason I can just drink an amazing amount of liquor. Beer and wine kick my ass, but liquor I can just drink nonstop. I had a bartender tell me one night he poured me 13 doubles and was astonished I came back the next night. Don't worry, I don't plan on keeping this pace up for much longer.

If my liver falls out of my butt one day I'll report back.

Nice. You can probably outdrink a Russian! The liver is powerfully regenerative and I know alcohol works its mysterious wonder on others differently. Me, a once-a-year heavy night is about 200ml of pure alcohol - about half a liter of 40% alcohol spirit - and I will be hung overrrrrrr after that.

Best,
Pete