Old Whiskey (Pictures Added)

[Absalom]

I found that true when trying to buy I.W. Harper in more modern times. It was almost unavailable for years, and the word was that pretty much all of their production went to Japan, as it was highly prized there and they were willing to pay the tab.

John

True, but it had nothing to do with quality or the Japanese paying a higher price.

It was simply a corporate decision to allocate the Harper brand to the Asian market.

Harper was and likely still is Bernheim bourbon, meaning it is contract-distilled for Diageo of London, the corporate owner, by Heaven Hill at the New Bernheim distillery in Louisville.

New Bernheim also distills the bourbon for many other brands, Elijah Craig, Evan Williams, Henry McKenna to name a few. They don't cook a different recipe for every brand. Any differences are in aging, barrel selection, and marketing.

And when the Asian whisky market expanded, Harper was assigned to that market. Same thing happened to Four Roses. As long as Seagrams owned the brand, you could not get it in the US, only in the Far East. Ironically, it took a sale to new Japanese owners to bring Four Roses bourbon back to the US market.

 

[Warren Sear]

I recently drank an unopened bottle of Scotch I had found at my grandparents house. I dated it to the late 1950's. I then bought a modern bottle of the same brand and discovered much to my dismay that it was actually better tasting than the old stuff.

Of course; "aging" stops once the whiskey is taken out of the cask and put into a bottle. After bottling, it just gets older, not better.

 

[jtcarm]

I killed a LOT of CC in my youth.

Health issues forced me to give up alcohol years ago. I never liked wine, beer I can live without, but I sure miss good whiskey.

 

[BearBio]

Whisky: Jameson's (Tullamore Dew in a pinch).

 

[Ogandydancer]

I remain a Bushmills friend. Sometimes if available here (which Is rarely) Buffalo Trace and a good Scotch Glenlivet for single malt and Dewars White label for blended been thinking of trying the Dewars Black label.

 

[Targets Guy]

If it was good enough for Capone who am I to argue?

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

You like it, buy it, enjoy it, it's never a waste of money if its something we like, I bought a penn last week, did I need another reel, Bwahahahahahahahaha, ahem, anyway, enjoy and take care.

What kind of Penn-you can't say something like that and not give details

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

True, but it had nothing to do with quality or the Japanese paying a higher price.

It was simply a corporate decision to allocate the Harper brand to the Asian market.

Harper was and likely still is Bernheim bourbon, meaning it is contract-distilled for Diageo of London, the corporate owner, by Heaven Hill at the New Bernheim distillery in Louisville.

New Bernheim also distills the bourbon for many other brands, Elijah Craig, Evan Williams, Henry McKenna to name a few. They don't cook a different recipe for every brand. Any differences are in aging, barrel selection, and marketing.

And when the Asian whisky market expanded, Harper was assigned to that market. Same thing happened to Four Roses. As long as Seagrams owned the brand, you could not get it in the US, only in the Far East. Ironically, it took a sale to new Japanese owners to bring Four Roses bourbon back to the US market.

Whiskey's dirty little marketing secrets. Think that's bad do some research into what they do regarding marketiting scotch. That bottle of "Beanobobbin" from the distillery at the headwaters of the Firth of Fry that Whisky spectator gives a 94 rating to may very well turn out to be the overage from the Laphroig distillery contracted out to a bottler in Canada. They are selling the name and snob appeal.
I bought a bottle of Kirklands 22 year old Speyside Single Malt for $60 a while back. Have no idea where it came from as I do not think COSTCO has a distillery but it tastes suspciously like a McCallan.
It is not the sellers fault, the Distillers DEMAND their name be kept out of it.
Buy it cause you like the taste don't buy it for the story behind it. Today more and more that applies to whiskey and whisky. Don't be afraid to experiment!!!

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

I have a bottle of Beefeater gin that was in my mother in law's cabinet when I started dating her daughter over 40 years ago. When my MIL died my wife threw it in the garbage but I got it out and now it sits in my cabinet.
I'm not a gin drinker but I just could not throw away a never opened bottle that is that old.

You are lucky. When my mother in law drank gin she got wicked mean

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

After a few drinks you wont care! Remember all the ladies look like young Rachel Welch at closing!

My old saying "go ugly early"

 

[Absalom]

.....
I bought a bottle of Kirklands 22 year old Speyside Single Malt for $60 a while back. Have no idea where it came from as I do not think COSTCO has a distillery but it tastes suspciously like a McCallan.
It is not the sellers fault, the Distillers DEMAND their name be kept out of it.

Unfortunately Costco can't sell liquor in Oregon, or I'd be all over it. The Kirkland brand of scotch is well-known to frequently camouflage some treasures.

Obviously prestige brands like Macallan have no interest in it being known that you can get the same stuff and age under Costco's label for a tenth or less of the price of the distillery-labeled bottle.

So part of Costco's deals for getting cheap batches of surplus barrels are non-disclosure agreements.

 

[kaaskop49]

After drinking almost nothing but Jack Daniels for years, my family doc and another forum poster introduced me to George Dickel 12. Small mistake. Now I buy Dickel 12 in the 1.75 liter bottles. My doc is cool: every 3 months, we discuss whiskey and gambling. I bought him a bottle of the latest Dickel Bottled-In-Bond last month. I go over my health issues with my broker in NY. I've got things pretty well figured out.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

 

[woodsltc]

After a few drinks you wont care! Remember all the ladies look like young Rachel Welch at closing!

My old saying "go ugly early"

When I read this I laughed-out-loud..........wife heard me and asked what was so funny. So, I showed her and she punched me pretty hard.

Wives have no sense of humor sometimes.


Don