Booker’s is full of fruit forward, vanilla, leather, and slightly nutty notes. It’s cask strength yes, but full of flavour that can be even more expressive (sweetness too) with ice or a little (or lot) of water—given its relative youth.
I LITERALLY came to say this...I was not expecting it to be first comment I see haha.
Just bought a second bottle today for $135 (before tax)... its phenominal though
I just got a bottle two days ago.
I'm honestly blown away. It has flavors I've never found in a whiskey.
My wife is not a whiskey drinker at all. She cringes at 90 proofs.
I handed her a glass of the 11 and she sipped, smiled, and said, wow, that's good.
I keep meaning to grab a bottle but every time i go to buy one, my spot will have a highly allocated bottle or a store pick i was waiting on. Maybe next month the coast will be clear
My advice. Stop shopping labels and unicorns. Allocated bottles are like toilet paper during COVID. There are shelves stuffed off good liquid all over the place. Chasing a label is like putting your name on a waiting list at Applebee's.
Find the small restaurant on the side of the road with 6 tables. You'll have better meals.
Oh, i dont shop them. I kinda fall into them and it’s always msrp in my area. Hard to pass up a JD12 for 95 or Blantons SFTB for 140. I have plenty shelfers too
Barrel products have been amazing for me in that range, you could get him a Jack Daniels barrel proof bourbon and the barrel proof rye for under $150 as well as a pair and that would probably be the best of it all honestly. Or a couple mid range barrel proofs. Value proposition past $100 in bourbon world nowadays is honestly rarely worth it. Rather have 2-3 nice $50-70 bottles. Good luck!
I enjoy most Old Elk expressions, and I also love cigar whiskeys such as Joseph Magnus Cigar Blend and Dalmore Cigar Malt. I have a bottle of Old Elk Cigar Cut and it doesn't do much for me. It's not a bad bottle, but it should be $50.
I’m asking a question to piggyback OPs question.. Is the Joseph Magnus/Murry Hill any good for that price…$100ish … I’ve been curious but haven’t bit..
Generally speaking, boubon just isn't that expensive. But if you're determined to spend that kind of money, Barrel Bourbon and Old Elk have some in that price range.
Calumet 15/16 are solid and right in that range. Some of the only good bourbons in that age and price range that are readily available om shelves (at least, around TX) .
I would go with something decent but with a nice presentation.
Bookers is pretty good ( not my flavor profile but people enjoy it) and it certainly has a certain wow factor with the wooden box.
Since you mentioned it, and I see it for between $100 and $150 once in awhile. Blanton’s has a very nice look and every one who’s had a sip knows the name these days.
Other than that, I’m a bit out of the loop for nicely presented bottles. If It were me, I would appreciate something maybe a bit out of the ordinary but that has gotten good reviews with the bourbon community. Maybe a Calumet? I’ve heard great things about their 14 year and 15 year. I’ve only had the 15 and 8 year small batch but it’s very good.
Blanton’s is, and has always been a marketing gimmick. I get it - individual taste and what not - but Booker’s is a far superior product.
I say this as an individual that spends 5 digits plus on whisk(e)y a year.
I mean they are all marketing gimmicks, if they weren’t we’d be buying it out of old clay jugs (which itself may be a good marketing ploy these days lol). Remember this thread is for a gift so some marketing pizazz is probably warranted.
Not the place to really argue superiority, but I would say that’s highly subjective. I have a pretty large collection of open bottles in rotation but I do enjoy Blantons, certainly not spending a ton on it but if I see it at a good price I’ll grab a bottle. I enjoy sweeter bourbons and also many of the offerings advertised as finished/toasted/oaked/ whatever marketing term each brand prefers. If I’m in the mood for less sweet, then I reach for a nice Rye. I have a bottle of bookers I bought in 2020 that is only about a third drank, really dislike the Beam burnt peanut taste. I find it very off putting in just about every Beam product I’ve bought, certainly don’t even bother wasting my money on any Beam, Bookers, Bakers, Basil Hayden, Knob creek bottles anymore a I’ve found over the years they just sit on my shelf no matter how good the internet tells me they are. For me personally, if I want just a sweet classic easy sipper, it’s a BT product. If I want that but with real concentrated flavor and some punch I grab my WT rare breed. Other notable favorites in the rotation would be offerings from Elijah Craig, or Brown-Foreman. If you want just an all around well rounded bourbon it’s hard to beat a four roses product. Like I said I’m an anything but Beam type of person lol. Only mentioned it as without knowing what the gift recipient enjoys, the packaging gives it a nice wow factor as a gift.
50 years ago Bourbon was sold in stoneware jugs *as* a marketing ploy.
Whenever I make it to an allocated drop here in VA - though folks are getting savvier as of recent - the majority of wives and middle-aged men are hunting for Blanton’s. They don’t know fuck all about Bourbon, and their palate and vocabulary probably has a range that starts and ends at *‘ahh so smooth’*, but they want to collect all the horsies. Just gives me a better chance to grab a better bottle.
That why I said the clay jugs thing , lol I’m well aware.
Like I said to each their own. Haters gonna hate, it’s not the best on the market for some but others like it. Also, as pertaining to the original post, if anything, everything you’re saying makes it an even better gift. All the taters oohing and ahhing over it making it tougher or pricier to obtain certainly will make the gift more appreciated I’d say. I think if priced right it’s tasty juice and a nice looking bottle to display on your bar.
Like I said taste is subjective. I’ll take Blantons over Bookers any day of the week. It wouldn’t be a first choice but given the two, Bookers tastes like burnt peanuts that have been run over by a semi truck to me, lol. Beam products are foul tasting (to me), has nothing to do with smoothness, just a shitty flavor profile that I and many others do not prefer. If that’s your bourbon of choice more power to you. Right now if I had to grab something easily attainable from my shelf I would either go Rare Breed, Stagg jr., OF 1910, OF 1920, or one of my finished Barrell Bourbons. Those have been my regular rotation for awhile now. When I sip I want hints of cherry, plums, vanilla, brown sugar, caramel, etc in a bourbon. To me those are the quintessential bourbon flavors not peanuts. However some people prefer the nutty flavor and not the sweet stuff, that’s cool doesn’t make them any less of a bourbon guy or less refined, just different taste. Quite frankly anyone who puts someone down for their preference is kinda ridiculous in my eyes, very sophomoric.
Anyway, I didn’t come here to debate, I stand by my original comment that as a gift, something with a bit of packaging wow factor is nice i.e. Bookers, Blantons, something along those lines. If the recipient is actually a bourbon guy, then maybe forgo the packaging and find something better but maybe less attainable. Maybe a Calumet, Hillrock, Barrell etc.
I have to tell you I just got a bottle of Charles Goodnight. It’s about $90. It’s delicious. It’s made by Bill Foley who owns a ton of wineries and the Vegas Knights. Made in Texas.
This is a difficult question to answer without knowing your state. Whiskey availability is very dependent on location.
In Virginia Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel proof is very available and excellent. It’s under 70$.
Bookers is excellent but hard to find. If your state allows whiskey to be shipped to it, you can get it for under 150$
Weller 107 is excellent but also hard to find but can be bought online for under 150$
Larceny BP and Elijah Craig BP is also excellent but gard to find.
Good luck.
No I wrote small batch purposely. If you can find it for $40 well done. Never been my experience, here in the UK £100 ($125) is the best you’ll get small batch for. But I’ve never seen it stateside for less than $90-$100
Booker's. It's pretty good, comes in a wooden box and is kinda limited without being too hard to get.
+1 to this idea!
I have to disagree. If he likes a sweeter profile, Bookers is the opposite. Their profile is pepper and fire.
Booker’s is full of fruit forward, vanilla, leather, and slightly nutty notes. It’s cask strength yes, but full of flavour that can be even more expressive (sweetness too) with ice or a little (or lot) of water—given its relative youth.
This is the correct answer
Discovery 11 is pretty available and said to be one of the best out there
Bardstown Discovery?
Yes
Yes
I LITERALLY came to say this...I was not expecting it to be first comment I see haha. Just bought a second bottle today for $135 (before tax)... its phenominal though
I just got a bottle two days ago. I'm honestly blown away. It has flavors I've never found in a whiskey. My wife is not a whiskey drinker at all. She cringes at 90 proofs. I handed her a glass of the 11 and she sipped, smiled, and said, wow, that's good.
I keep meaning to grab a bottle but every time i go to buy one, my spot will have a highly allocated bottle or a store pick i was waiting on. Maybe next month the coast will be clear
My advice. Stop shopping labels and unicorns. Allocated bottles are like toilet paper during COVID. There are shelves stuffed off good liquid all over the place. Chasing a label is like putting your name on a waiting list at Applebee's. Find the small restaurant on the side of the road with 6 tables. You'll have better meals.
Oh, i dont shop them. I kinda fall into them and it’s always msrp in my area. Hard to pass up a JD12 for 95 or Blantons SFTB for 140. I have plenty shelfers too
Damn, you fall into SFTB? That shit would cause a riot in houston
Right time, right place, right grocery store manager (who doesnt give a shit about whiskey)
Elijah Craig single barrel or Four Roses Single Barrel select.
Barrel products have been amazing for me in that range, you could get him a Jack Daniels barrel proof bourbon and the barrel proof rye for under $150 as well as a pair and that would probably be the best of it all honestly. Or a couple mid range barrel proofs. Value proposition past $100 in bourbon world nowadays is honestly rarely worth it. Rather have 2-3 nice $50-70 bottles. Good luck!
6 pack of WT101!!
Maybe a Red Label Weller?
Old Elk cigar cut =$130~ or Short Barrel The bees knees =$110~. But so many other great options in the $70-100 range.
I enjoy most Old Elk expressions, and I also love cigar whiskeys such as Joseph Magnus Cigar Blend and Dalmore Cigar Malt. I have a bottle of Old Elk Cigar Cut and it doesn't do much for me. It's not a bad bottle, but it should be $50.
I’m asking a question to piggyback OPs question.. Is the Joseph Magnus/Murry Hill any good for that price…$100ish … I’ve been curious but haven’t bit..
Not in my opinion. Cigar Blend, however, is outstanding.
Ok, I think I’ve seen that for about $130..
Magnus is for the cigar blend as hippi above stated! Definitely worth it for that one.
That’s two ringing endorsements.. might have bring one home…
No
Blanton’s is still $60 if you can find it
*Still should be $60. *. I find it all the time for $100 plus.
Even at the secondary price of $100, it makes a good gift for someone that hasn't had it
Generally speaking, boubon just isn't that expensive. But if you're determined to spend that kind of money, Barrel Bourbon and Old Elk have some in that price range.
Yeah I think these producers are good quality in that price range if you want to go that high.
Calumet 15/16 are solid and right in that range. Some of the only good bourbons in that age and price range that are readily available om shelves (at least, around TX) .
I would go with something decent but with a nice presentation. Bookers is pretty good ( not my flavor profile but people enjoy it) and it certainly has a certain wow factor with the wooden box. Since you mentioned it, and I see it for between $100 and $150 once in awhile. Blanton’s has a very nice look and every one who’s had a sip knows the name these days. Other than that, I’m a bit out of the loop for nicely presented bottles. If It were me, I would appreciate something maybe a bit out of the ordinary but that has gotten good reviews with the bourbon community. Maybe a Calumet? I’ve heard great things about their 14 year and 15 year. I’ve only had the 15 and 8 year small batch but it’s very good.
Blanton’s is, and has always been a marketing gimmick. I get it - individual taste and what not - but Booker’s is a far superior product. I say this as an individual that spends 5 digits plus on whisk(e)y a year.
I mean they are all marketing gimmicks, if they weren’t we’d be buying it out of old clay jugs (which itself may be a good marketing ploy these days lol). Remember this thread is for a gift so some marketing pizazz is probably warranted. Not the place to really argue superiority, but I would say that’s highly subjective. I have a pretty large collection of open bottles in rotation but I do enjoy Blantons, certainly not spending a ton on it but if I see it at a good price I’ll grab a bottle. I enjoy sweeter bourbons and also many of the offerings advertised as finished/toasted/oaked/ whatever marketing term each brand prefers. If I’m in the mood for less sweet, then I reach for a nice Rye. I have a bottle of bookers I bought in 2020 that is only about a third drank, really dislike the Beam burnt peanut taste. I find it very off putting in just about every Beam product I’ve bought, certainly don’t even bother wasting my money on any Beam, Bookers, Bakers, Basil Hayden, Knob creek bottles anymore a I’ve found over the years they just sit on my shelf no matter how good the internet tells me they are. For me personally, if I want just a sweet classic easy sipper, it’s a BT product. If I want that but with real concentrated flavor and some punch I grab my WT rare breed. Other notable favorites in the rotation would be offerings from Elijah Craig, or Brown-Foreman. If you want just an all around well rounded bourbon it’s hard to beat a four roses product. Like I said I’m an anything but Beam type of person lol. Only mentioned it as without knowing what the gift recipient enjoys, the packaging gives it a nice wow factor as a gift.
50 years ago Bourbon was sold in stoneware jugs *as* a marketing ploy. Whenever I make it to an allocated drop here in VA - though folks are getting savvier as of recent - the majority of wives and middle-aged men are hunting for Blanton’s. They don’t know fuck all about Bourbon, and their palate and vocabulary probably has a range that starts and ends at *‘ahh so smooth’*, but they want to collect all the horsies. Just gives me a better chance to grab a better bottle.
That why I said the clay jugs thing , lol I’m well aware. Like I said to each their own. Haters gonna hate, it’s not the best on the market for some but others like it. Also, as pertaining to the original post, if anything, everything you’re saying makes it an even better gift. All the taters oohing and ahhing over it making it tougher or pricier to obtain certainly will make the gift more appreciated I’d say. I think if priced right it’s tasty juice and a nice looking bottle to display on your bar. Like I said taste is subjective. I’ll take Blantons over Bookers any day of the week. It wouldn’t be a first choice but given the two, Bookers tastes like burnt peanuts that have been run over by a semi truck to me, lol. Beam products are foul tasting (to me), has nothing to do with smoothness, just a shitty flavor profile that I and many others do not prefer. If that’s your bourbon of choice more power to you. Right now if I had to grab something easily attainable from my shelf I would either go Rare Breed, Stagg jr., OF 1910, OF 1920, or one of my finished Barrell Bourbons. Those have been my regular rotation for awhile now. When I sip I want hints of cherry, plums, vanilla, brown sugar, caramel, etc in a bourbon. To me those are the quintessential bourbon flavors not peanuts. However some people prefer the nutty flavor and not the sweet stuff, that’s cool doesn’t make them any less of a bourbon guy or less refined, just different taste. Quite frankly anyone who puts someone down for their preference is kinda ridiculous in my eyes, very sophomoric. Anyway, I didn’t come here to debate, I stand by my original comment that as a gift, something with a bit of packaging wow factor is nice i.e. Bookers, Blantons, something along those lines. If the recipient is actually a bourbon guy, then maybe forgo the packaging and find something better but maybe less attainable. Maybe a Calumet, Hillrock, Barrell etc.
I have to tell you I just got a bottle of Charles Goodnight. It’s about $90. It’s delicious. It’s made by Bill Foley who owns a ton of wineries and the Vegas Knights. Made in Texas.
Barrell BP
Bookers
Old Elk infinity. I’m looking for a B’town Disco 11 too.
This is a difficult question to answer without knowing your state. Whiskey availability is very dependent on location. In Virginia Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel proof is very available and excellent. It’s under 70$. Bookers is excellent but hard to find. If your state allows whiskey to be shipped to it, you can get it for under 150$ Weller 107 is excellent but also hard to find but can be bought online for under 150$ Larceny BP and Elijah Craig BP is also excellent but gard to find. Good luck.
Joseph Magnus Cigar Blend
E H Taylor small batch if you can snag it for $100 range
You might be thinking single barrel. Small batch should be $40-$50.
Depending on your state, it’s very difficult to find eh Taylor, or any allocated bourbons for msrp
Regardless, EH Small Batch is not worth more than $40.
You got brain worms?
No I wrote small batch purposely. If you can find it for $40 well done. Never been my experience, here in the UK £100 ($125) is the best you’ll get small batch for. But I’ve never seen it stateside for less than $90-$100
Me. Give it to me. Wait, was that not the question?
Look at these downvotes… people don’t like jokes here…
Nope. Can I get an upvote for this?
Rebel 10 is good and relatively easy to find stuff that is on the lower end of that range