re: Whiskey/Bourbon/Scotch Volume III

I'd like to do a side by side of this and the bardstown singlemalt is sipping on.

quote:

---

I'd like to do a side by side of this and the bardstown singlemalt is sipping on.

---

Ready whenever, this is truly a great bottle

NPD trying to kill this Rouse’s pick with a killer backup waiting on deck

NPD bye to a Great Maisano’s pick

FPD

quote:

---

Are Store Picks really worth it?

---

you have a group of people get together, usually bourbon nerds, and are presented with 4-6 different barrel samples, and they as a group decide what is the best barrel.

based on that, you tell me.

How Sam's does it I have no idea, I am speaking of smaller operations. I don't go looking for Rouses or Sam's or Costco barrel picks but I would certainly buy one.

It may have been vetted at the vendor or distributor and offered to Sam's. Obviously, there is probably more than one barrel involved but at the same time, each store is probably limited to x amount of bottles.

quote:

---

High West - The Prisoner

---

How is this? I like prisoner wine and I like High West rye.

Just not convinced I want them combined.

quote:

---

Are Store Picks really worth it?

---

Yes, it's generally the cheapest way to acquire potentially very good bourbon.

quote:

---

How many bottles of a particular bourbon are sent out across the nation?

---

In general, for non-picks? It could be hundreds of thousands, depending on the label.

quote:

---

Do the big chain stores actually send a rep out to taste, compare, and choose?
Are the mom and pop stores better situated for a store pick?

---

Smaller stores are probably better for picks, but not necessarily. I would guess that a lot of the big box stores just tell the rep to send them a barrel without even sampling, but it really depends on who the liquor manager is. If you get a liquor manager that is into bourbon they will try samples from different barrels and choose which one they prefer. It used to be that you would go out to the distillery to choose, and some people still do that, but since COVID a lot of distilleries will now just send out samples to the store of 3 or so barrels.

quote:

---

Is there really enough product to send that many store picks out?

---

Yes, they are thousands of barrels at each distillery.

quote:

---

Can you really tell the difference or is it it 99% a marketing mind game?

---

If you're very well versed in bourbon you should be able to tell the difference. Also, some single barrels are offered at proofs that there is no standard offering at. For instance, you can't get a non-pick Old Forester barrel proof bourbon, the closest thing you have to that is 1920 which is 115 proof. Another example is Four Roses Single Barrels, those are offered in recipes that you can't get as a shelf option. Also, with a batched bourbon the distillery is going for a specific profile, when you get a single barrel you can have something that is completely off profile.

ETA: I've helped a local store pick a few different barrels and you can definitely tell the difference in the barrels when you are sampling them side by side. Now, if you aren't trying them side by side, and you just drink a Buffalo Trace pick by itself, chances are that you might not be able to tell the difference based upon memory from a standard offering of Buffalo Trace.

I'll take pics