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The Basil Hayden, Clay. The Copper Sky is not. :)

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I've never tried either one

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The CS is a single barrel pick, so you won't see that specific one around. With the BH, you ain't missing much. :2

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Enjoying a pour of Buffalo trace this memorial day evening

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Killed off a single barrel pick of NBC, this one was classic MGP.

https://i.imgur.com/Sv7XAe6.jpg

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Finally got a chance to relax for a few minutes yesterday with Peter, it's been a while so we diversified with some rum and agave as well :al

https://i.postimg.cc/2yw8Gkkg/PXL-20...-181610385.jpg

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at $85 I find it hard, at Costco prices it is better but yeah a lot of others out there for that price that I would look for first.

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:tu

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I found this today. Is it any good?

https://photos.smugmug.com/RandomUpl...ZrSBnNc-XL.jpg

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People seem to love blantons. I've not had a chance to try it. Going to be doing a little whiskey hunting later in June

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I'm not nearly enough of a bourbon drinker to offer up an opinion on your question. But I think the bottle is cool. When it's empty you can put it with your trophy collection.

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I've never been a fan, but it's been a long time since I've had some. My tastes may have changed since then. But I'm not paying what a lot of places are asking for just to try it again.

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Nice grab! I picked one up for my brother for his wedding, he poured it for like 15 of us and most people were amazed they got to have Blanton's. I tried explaining that it's a gold and the differences but nobody gave a f*ck, at least my brother knew and appreciated it :r

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I am not a big Blanton's guy but I did like the Gold that Massphatness sacrificed to me and Big Ash a couple years ago. Now if I could get my hands on a SFTB..... :dr

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I've only had a few drams of various Blanton's over the years, I've like the Black a lot that I had at SoCal last year. The regular version is okay, but not always to my palate. I do have a number of bottle of regular Blanton's in my collection (trying to get all of the letters). This was a call from Spec's that I wasn't expecting and wasn't going to pass up on either.

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Called the store I found Blantons at a few weeks back. They mentioned having Bookers. They still do. Question is do I pay secondary prices? $180 for the 23-01, $190 for the 22-03. No deal on buying both.

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Prices on Bookers has gone up in the last year. I was used to paying $80-$90, now they are $115 at TW and Spec's. Those are definitely secondary prices. I wouldn't pay that unless I really, really liked the batch.

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Msrp is $100 here in Mich. Those aren’t crazy secondary prices (one place was selling Blantons for $200), but not having tried either of these, I can’t justify dropping the cash. So it’s a no go.

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While Booker's 22-03 and 23-01 are the best batches in years, those prices are crazy. It's become a bit harder to find, but when I do it's at $89 and tax. Even FB secondary groups are only at $115-130, those prices are nits Bob.

Replaced one of my favorite bottles of '22 earlier this week.

https://i.imgur.com/Xh8r5cJ.jpg

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I'll take one as well please, my first one went so incredibly quick

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I did not use much restraint with my first one either, Ben. I lucked into one at retail, not sure how I can get lucky again. Skipped going to Binny's yesterday and missed out of Jack Daniel's 10 and 12 Years, as well as lots of trade bait (EHT, ER, Buffalo Trace sps).

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Is any of the basil Hayden stuff worth buying?

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I don't think so. They want around $50 for their regular offering which is 80 proof. I can get an owner's pick Rebel Cask Strength for the same price that is much tastier. Hell, I can get 3 liters of WT101 for that and I enjoy it more.

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Haven't liked any of their expressions, Clay, and I actually poured the Dark Rye down the drain. Knob Creek, Baker's and Booker's (also all from Beam) blow i away.

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I agree 100%.

I've heard reviewers call Basil Hayden's a beginner's "quality" bourbon, where folks feel they're getting a good bourbon because of the price, and the proof won't scare them off. One YT channel mentioned how BH fans are always remarking about how smooth it is. Their response was along the lines of "Yeah, it's smooth because they water it down to 80 Proof, taking away all the complexity and leaving an inoffensive yet mildly tasty pour. Bottle it at 90 or 100 Proof and see how it does."

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My friend just texted a pick of the latest Hazmat he snagged. 144.36 proof. Holy schnikes!

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Started off with a very small pour of BT to prime the palette.

Pour #1 1792 single barrel. Lots of corn flavor, but more like buttered popcorn.

Pour #2 Old Elk Meijer store pick. Really new bottle, but super delicious. Getting some caramel notes.

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Wow!

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Well put, James. :tu

What's the bottle, Bob?

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Northern Rye, Barrel #300

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Well, guess I needed a few more bottles. The BT on the right is a local store pick. $30, instead of the usual $27. Still 90 proof but from a single barrel. Hard to tell from the pic, but that bottle is a shade darker.

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Nice grabs! Let us know what you think of the Wilderness Trail. I've had an owner's pick of it that I quite liked.

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Will do. I’ve seen good things about them, like how they quickly became the 14th largest distillery in one a short time. Juice must be good if you can do that.

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Cracked open the WT last night for a taste. Very good, and should get better hopefully. First sip was kinda hot, but it was my first taste of the day. Gave it a few minutes to open up and my palette adjust. Vanilla, oak, spice. Long finish. The heat in my chest gradually built after a few more sips.

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You definitely have the bug, Bob, be careful out there. :D

I cracked a new 9 year KC pick.

https://i.imgur.com/KWk4xUA.jpg

Bottled in 2019, this one isn't as tasty as the last couple 9 year picks I've opened. I hear the latest 9 year picks have been excellent and I'm hoping that continues as this is the last of the 9 year KC picks on the bar.

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Question for the hive mind. Do you think bourbon is going to experience an implosion like the cigar boom of the early 2000’s? As I watch more videos and see all of the new brands coming out, there has to be a point where it reaches over saturation. And the prices. Hard to pay what some of these newcomers are asking when you can find the established brands cheaper.

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I think it's possible that the market gets wildly oversaturated with all the craft distilleries, and all the variants/finishes/etc that keep hitting the market. I see stuff now that sits on the shelf forever around here. My favorite was Digits, the Scottie Pippin bourbon. One of the stores here dropped it by over 50% and it still sits untouched.

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I think it's going to stop increasing at the rate it recently has, but I don't see an implosion on the horizon. Small brands will die off, big brands will keep putting out stupid amount of whiskey because they make their money on $20 Evan Williams not $300 Old Fitz decanters, and experimentation will always be around but will slow down. I bet there will always be a class of super premium extra high end to appeal to the scotch collectors but I think the $90-$150 range brands who don't have a core offering under $60 will have a hard time keeping people's attention

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I am starting to see some slowing down in some areas of the market, and some speeding up in other areas. Example, Smoke Wagon was previously considered allocated by Spec's, so it was in the glass case, one-per person per day rule. A few weeks ago, i saw cases of all expressions on the end cap, no limit. Same with Heaven Hill 7 Year. Not sure why those (and a few others) suddenly became widely available. As for the speeding up, I see some newer brands get snapped up and placed on secondary markets at lighting speeds. Case in point: Penelope Rio. It is gone two minutes after the doors open at the stores.

Overall, I agree with Sterns; the boom is going to slow down, but it isn't going to implode.

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Eventually I think we will see the "investors" coming into the market - people that are buying sourced bourbon, putting a label on it and selling it for $80-$90 a bottle, slow down or go away when the margins dry up. In the meantime, there is still a lot out there that is good and reasonably priced that people have moved on from that will end up being there after others go away.

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Lucked into a bottle of the new Hardin's Creek release Clermont today. 17 years and 110 proof, and sourced from barrels at the same location they age Booker's barrels. Two versions from other Beam distillery locations will be released in August and September, but as a Booker's junkie, this is the one I really wanted.

https://i.imgur.com/meprD2S.jpg

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Damn man, what a pickup, let me know what you think when you give it a try. I'm hoping to get a whiff of any of those three but it seems unlikely

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Ben, I go to tis store maybe 4 times a year. I've lucked into several good bottles there, I really should go there weekly during the summer. Good excuse for a nice little ride on the bike.

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Trying the Wilderness Trail again. Man is this good. Like the sweet mash profile.

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Try the rye, it’s better

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Was on my local Air Force Base today and they had Larceny Barrel Proof. It's the first time I've seen it there so I grabbed a bottle. It's the B523.

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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1x2O...w?usp=drivesdk
Picked this up today at the local liquor store

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Interested to hear your thoughts on it. I got a bottle that I’m meh about. Hopefully it opens up.

Nice pickup.

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Nice pickups, James and Clay. :tu :tu

James, I've never tried the Larceny BP but I've heard good things. I've also heard the batches have gotten progressively better.

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I've heard that, too. I had some from 2021 (can't remember the batch). It was decent, but nothing special. So I'm curious to see how they've progressed once I open it up.