Need Bourbon help

An oldie but a goodie is Old Crow. Definitely an overlooked bourbon. For mixed drinks, I also think Evan Williams Green is a good bourbon and an excellent value. If you want to spend a little more (about $17 per bottle here in Louisiana), Buffalo Trace is a great bourbon. Spicy and complex enough to drink neat, and would definitely enliven mixed drinks. Just my two cents.....

Similar to Stagg? Not much similar to Stagg, but Stagg, and nearest would be a handful of 18 yo 69% Willetts, 18 yo 69% Abraham Bowman (now sold out), and ?

I don't make bourbon cocktails, nor cook with it, but if I did, and only had liked Stagg among bourbons I would probably try using Wild Turkey Rare Breed, Old Grand-Dad 114, Old Grand-Dad 100, Booker's or Baker's for your other uses. Or drive up here north to Maryland and get yourself 6 or 8 bottles of Old Weller Antique 107 for $ 18 each.

Nock, what you NEED is Virgin 7 y/o 101 proof. Will tick all your boxes.

Isn't the VA ABC great? You may want to look at their special orders webpage to see if there are some things they might get for you. abc.virginia.gov/SpecialOrder/sporder.html/

Also I was told awhile back that VA ABC can get you a case of anything made at any place in the world if they don't regularly sell it so you might get a case of Weller 107. Otherwise, next time you are in MD, DC, or NC, stock up. I recently had the regular Four Roses and though it was pretty good, might want to try that.

@Nock, undiscounted Montgomery County Maryland price for Old Weller Antique 107 is currently $ 16.65 per 750 ml, plus 9% spirits sales tax, to total $ 18.15 per. Buy 12 undiscounted and 8% is discounted on EVERYTHING you buy in that purchase ticket, discounted or not. Weller alone gives you $ 16.82 per. Come buy a case of Weller and pick up some Scotch. Corryvreckan currently $ 59.99 on sale, Uigeadail $ 54.99 on sale, Lag 12 $ 56.35. (Sale items change May 1)

@Victor - that sound you hear is me weeping here in Ontario at those prices. :( As you well know, the LCBO (especially with Ardbeg and Macallan) gets a little 'excessive' with their pricing structure. To wit,

• Corryvreckan = Can$183 (new inventory has just been released...
• Uigeadail = $167
• Lagavulin 12 = $114 (on the "bright" side, these prices include the various taxes

These are not typos!! And yes, your math is correct, ALL three bottles can be bought in "MoCo" Maryland at their pre-tax sales price, for less than a bottle of Corryvreckan in Ontario! :O The Ardbeg pricing is so ridiculous that I could do a same-day trip into Michigan, bring back the Corry and Oogie, get dinged the 90% duty on liquor, and still save about $50, compared to buying them in Ontario.

My apologies for the rant / thread hi-jacking...please carry on. :)

As for the original topic of this thread, just a heads up about the Weller Antique 107. I have read (I think on BourbonEnthusiast) that this bottling may be going the way of the dodo bird. Why? I have no clue...they could charge double for this bottle and it would still be a great deal, IMHO. If anybody knows more about this, please update/correct my information.

I completely neglected to mention both Knob Creek and Booker's in my previous post. Booker's is my definite go-to bourbon when I want a nice high proof sipping bourbon. Definitely not a mixer!! Knob Creek is a great sweet bourbon that would do any cabinet proud.

@Pudge72 At least you can get those fine Arberg products, here in Manitoba we can only get Arberg 10 for about $100. Maybe I should call Kenora LCBO and see if they could bring a few bottles in. @Nock I just picked up some Elmer T Lee bourbon and for the $38 I think it's pretty darn good. Not sure how it compares to George T Stagg. Although my favorite still has to be Knob Creek 9 Year Old Single Barrel Reserve.

For me in the Chicagoland area you can't get much cheaper bourbon with quality than Makers (22.95) . Maybe a eljhi craig for 20.99 . But if you are going to you it to cook or mix Makers seems fine to me ( I logged on as I was having a Makers neat)

@Lars...quite true about availability compared to other jurisdictions. However, the pricing (including the 10 yo, which is also $100 in Ontario) is especially maddening after hearing the Ontario auditor general's report in 2011 about LCBO pricing practices. It's worse when the majority of the provincial population is within a two-hour drive of a US border crossing...

Nock, I think your request is for a "generic" bourbon for cooking and for mixed drinks. And for cooking, I am assuming dishes in which you don't taste much of the individual bourbon, and the alcohol has evaporated. You never mentioned that you "sip" bourbon, and so that would rule out (IMHO) anything above mid-range bottles.

Let us know what you come up with ...

So for these specs, bottles that quickly come to mind are Buffalo Trace, Wild Turkey, Old Grandad, Jim Beam White or Black, Makers Mark, Ancient Age, Old Crow, Old Forester, Evan Williams, etc. These are low to mid-range bourbons ... usually not best for sipping.

You then went on to mention George T. Stagg (an ultimate sipping bourbon) ... do not mix or cook ! Then there is Antique 107 ... mid to top shelf, and great for sipping, but quite robust, and OK for mixing only because it is relatively cheap. You might try picking up several of the 50 ml bottles just to try a few others.

To everyone who has made suggestions a big thank you! I will put every suggestion into my quality, price and availability spread sheet. First I look up the price here in Virginia, and then I look up ratings by some of our favorite on-line bloggers and published pundits.

@Victor – I guess that my hope in putting the bit about Stagg in my original post is that someone could suggest a similar profile. But my hunch has always been that nothing is similar to Stagg. However, for example: If I were new to smoky/peaty scotches and wanted something similar to Lagavulin 16yo for my wife’s favorite cocktail (Smoky Martini: 4 parts gin, 1 part Lagavulin 16yo and a blue cheese stuffed olive) I would hope to be told about Finlaggan Old Reserve ($23), McClelland’s Islay Single Malt ($25), Bowmore Legend ($35), or Black Bottle and White Horse (both less smoky then they were). Any of these make my wife happy with her Smoky Martini, and all of them make me happy to not use my precious Lagavuiln 16yo in her mixed drink.

So I was hoping for a similar flavor profile. Famous Grouse, Chivas, Johnnie Walker Red, Dewars, and Ballantines are nothing like Lagavulin 16.

My first Bourbon experience that I really remember was buying a bottle of George T. Stagg in 2005 because I heard it had won best whisky in the world (can’t remember from who) and so I had to try any whisky that beat out my precious Laphroaig 10yo Cask Strength (which came in second). Needless to say I instantly fell in love. However, what followed was string of very disappointing bottles: Elijah Craig 12yo, Basil Hayden, Maker’s Mark, Buffalo Trace, Jim Beam Black, Evan Williams, Ancient Age and Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel.

I went to a bourbon tasting in Nashville in 2010 and tried over 40 whiskies. I didn’t take any notes, but I came away with the opinion that Ridgemont Reserve 1792 was the bourbon for me. Half a bottle later I knew I was horribly wrong. The 1792 was just too smooth, soft and bland. I love big scotches (Islay’s south shore), big red wines, and George T. Stagg. So maybe I would love big bourbons?

Well, I ended up with a bottle of Old Weller Ancient 107 and it fit the bill perfectly. Great price, nice whisky, and it worked great in a cocktail. I have made one Mint Julep with George T. Stagg. But, while it was truly amazing it also felt so very terribly wrong . . . I’ll never do it again . . . promise.

So now I am living in Norfolk Virginia and have recently found myself with an empty bottle of Old Weller 107. Turns out I can’t replace it here in these Virginia liquor controlled stores (any Weller). Further, my wife just finished our bottle of Maker’s Mark cooking. Here Maker’s goes for $30 with tax. I have been looking at Buffalo Trace ($26), Eagle Rare 10yo ($28), and Wild Turkey 101 ($27), but was holding out hope for a recommendation from you guys.

Victor – your tale of prices in Maryland sound like a story of wonder and fantasy. Seriously, the Ardbeg Corry and Lagavulin 12yo sound to good to be true! The Old Weller Ancient 107 sounds perfect! I will just have to figure out how much I have to buy to make the 9 hour round trip worth it.

As it currently stands I have taken @AboutChoice’s recommendation and have picked up samples of Knob Creek small batch 9 yo, Woodford Reserve Distillers Select, Evan Williams, and Maker’s Mark. I will try all four against my open bottle of George T. Stagg 2011 and let you know what I find.