My wife does not like losing charity auctions. So, I came home from an event with five bottles of bourbon. In no particular order, I have one bottle each of:
I like bourbon, but can’t claim to be anything like an expert. So, in your considered opinion, how would you rank these bottles? Is there any one (or more) that you’d consider special-occasion-only? I am assuming that they are all sipping whiskeys, and not to be mixed into a cocktail.
I’d rather not. I am sure it was well in excess of the actual value of the lot. It was going to a local charity, so we didn’t mind over-paying. Still, I’d rather not bring myself in for someone’s inevitable calling me out for being a sucker.
Well, all are produced at the Buffalo Trace Distillery. I don’t think I’ve ever had the Weller, and while I know I’ve had Taylor Small Batch I don’t remember anything about it except the unreasonably high cost. Blanton’s is fine but really overpriced. Buffalo Trace is perfectly cromulent, suitable for pouring over ice (if you do that) or putting into a Bourbon Manhattan. Eagle Rare is the best of the bunch as a ‘sipping whiskey’ for what it typically costs off the shelf.
Of these bottles, I would say the following: (1) all of them can be enjoyed neat or sipped and are all perfectly great; (2) most of these are “rare” in that they have surged in popularity among the secondary bourbon market online and are usually way over-priced than necessary; (3) Buffalo Trace is probably the best “mixed” drink bourbon out of the five, and probably the only one I would use for cocktails; (4) my personal favorite out of this list is the Eagle Rare 10 Year - I’d sip and enjoy that one for a long, long while; (5) Blanton’s is fantastic, but also, you can probably resell that for even more than you bought it for…; (6) Weller Special Reserve is often referred to as the “poor man’s Pappy”…
My personal ranking would be:
1 - Eagle Rare
2 - Blanton’s
3 - Colonel EH Taylor
4 - Weller
5 - Buffalo Trace
But honestly, can’t go wrong with any of them. Enjoy!
Fantastic selection of bourbons, congratulations. My daughter’s school just had a fundraiser and during the live auction a bottle of Weller Special Reserve and a bottle of Blanton’s both went for over $500. Naturally it was a school fundraiser so people were being generous.
As noted by others, all of these would be considered “rare” or highly sought after bottles by bourbon fans. Hell, if you wanted to part with any you can DM me and I would happily venmo you for a bottle shipped to me. Haha.
I agree that the Buffalo Trace is probably the most average of the group and if you were making a Manhattan or Old Fashioned, reach for the Buffalo Trace not the others. It would be criminal to use the others in a cocktail. (Frankly, I’d not use the Buffalo Trace either but if forced to choose…)
I agree with this ranking although I might move Weller below Buffalo Trace simply because I’m not a real big fan of wheated bourbon like Weller.
A couple of friends and I have a loose association that we call the Whisky Research Group. I would say what you have there is the basis for getting a few friends round for an evening of research.
IIRC it’s the same as Pappy Van Winkle coming off the still, and it’s where/how long it’s aged that determines whether it ends up as Pappy or Weller.
Weller Special Reserve isn’t special. If you were to go back to say… 2008, you’d find it priced rather low- I think a handle of it was like $30 or something ridiculous like that.
$99 for a 750 is outright robbery if you ask me. It used to be in the same ballpark as OGD, Wild Turkey 101 and the like. Certainly not anything special, although it is solid. I took a bottle to a hunting trip and nobody had any but me. It wouldn’t work like that now.
Blanton’s was about $50 back then- it’s decent enough, but not at the current prices.
Looking back through the thread, I think I missed the invitation to Sippin’ Night at Carl’s…
(That’s my way of saying that I’m insanely happy for you. Those are all on my “Maybe Someday” list. So I’m willing to cancel anything to make it to your Bourbon Night.)
All the other items on the OP’s list. It’s all Buffalo Trace production, just different aging and blending. (The Weller is wheated, but it’s the outlier.) My ranking would be:
Eagle Rare
Weller
E.H. Taylor
Buffalo Trace
Blanton’s
My opinion of Blanton’s is definitely a minority one. BTW, save the Taylor tube. They come in handy when you have to ship odd-sized/shaped stuff across the country.
I agree with this list. I currently have the Blanton’s and Buffalo Trace in my bar and have had the Eagle Rare and Taylor in the past. I have tried the Weller at a couple restaurants. All but the BT are almost impossible to find where I live, Total Wine and Bevmo don’t carry any of these and I know of a couple independent liquor stores that do but they are both about a 2 hour drive from home. I found the Blanton’s at a local Safeway, they occasionally get better quality bottles. I’m glad I live in an area that is blessed with a number of distilleries that produce whiskeys that are highly rated at the national level, Woodinville, Westland, 2Bar and Skunk Brothers are a few.
Thanks, y’all! If I ever decide to found the Doper Bourbon Research Group and host its annual conference, I’ll be sure to let you know. In the meantime, I will do a little quality control and possibly report back results.
This entire thread confuses me. The five bottles in the OP are available as a set from Buffalo Trace, and each has a number of minor variants available, all produced by the same organization.
I went to some bourbon rating sites, the flowery descriptions could have been pulled straight out of someone’s rear end.
Now, I drink a lot of bourbon. But I long ago learned to ignore EVERYTHING except side-by-side blind taste comparisons. At a bar I will ask the bartender to pick four that represent a range of styles and prices and let me decide which I prefer WITHOUT any identification.
I am no longer surprised by how poor price is as a selection criteria, unless I’m drinking to impress.
So, I came home from an event with five bottles of bourbon. In no particular order, I have one bottle each of:
