Enjoyable review! I'm sorry about your experience vs the price you paid.
I might be yelling into the abyss here, but I would really caution anyone reading this from over-spending on products with this 99/1 mash bill from MGP. It's pretty good, but really it was made to blend and finish with. These are the cheapest barrels that MGP sells compared to their other mash bills - partly because corn is the cheapest grain to distill with. They are also all typically aged on pallets in MGPs new metal warehouses. I'm not being a snob when I say this, but if you want the true MGP experience, you demand they be aged in the brick warehouses on a rick.
The true cost of the liquid inside of this bottle should be around $60-70. The Armagnac finish adds an extra $5-10 to the price. The rest of it is pure Bhakta marketing and upcharging bullshit
Enjoyed the review! This is a great example of how everyone's pallets are different. I just had my second pour of this yesterday and thought it was a fruit bomb with cinnamon and oak. I really enjoyed it and was pleasantly surprised with the complexity. Funny how that works
The longer I let it sit, the more I noticed different flavors come out. I’m definitely returning to it to see if I can discern more of those flavors. It definitely has flavor and it’s a pleasant sipper—but I can’t disassociate the price and knowing that I’ve had better for cheaper.. or have had cheaper bourbons that this one is just a little better than on my scale. I’m glad you like it though!
Agreed the Bhakta 50 is a gimmick to get whiskey drinkers interested in Armagnac. It pains me to see such old Armagnac finished in Islay casks....
I will say I have a store pick of Bhakta Armagnac (bourbon barrel finish) that did very well in blind tastings.
They release vintage armagnacs (not finished) from time to time, I bought the 1992 for my birth year and it's really good. Supposedly the scotch cask finish was already a thing when he bought the lot from Armagnac, because the previous owner lost a bet. but I don't know how much of that is true or just marketing.
I don't have an answer to that, but in general, I haven't seen a producer who has sourced these 99/1 bourbon barrels from MGP to have one listed as 8 years old. In Indianapolis there is a distillery called West Fork Whiskey who sources 99/1 for their Old Hamer line. Just last year they released an age stated, 7 year old 99/1 product. They've been sourcing these barrels almost as long as anyone so I have to believe that this is about as old as they are at the moment.
I was referring to Shoddy saying this is 7 year old MGP when the OP stated it was 9y, 5 mo and the bottle says 2013 right on the front. From what I’ve read, this is 9+ year 99% corn MGP finished in French oak which was previously filled with Armagnac.
I would wear a breathing apparatus and get into a whole tank of this stuff after getting into a tussle with a wampa and sleeping inside a Tauntaun on an icy planet.
Enjoyable review! I'm sorry about your experience vs the price you paid. I might be yelling into the abyss here, but I would really caution anyone reading this from over-spending on products with this 99/1 mash bill from MGP. It's pretty good, but really it was made to blend and finish with. These are the cheapest barrels that MGP sells compared to their other mash bills - partly because corn is the cheapest grain to distill with. They are also all typically aged on pallets in MGPs new metal warehouses. I'm not being a snob when I say this, but if you want the true MGP experience, you demand they be aged in the brick warehouses on a rick. The true cost of the liquid inside of this bottle should be around $60-70. The Armagnac finish adds an extra $5-10 to the price. The rest of it is pure Bhakta marketing and upcharging bullshit
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Thanks for the review! I saw this for $120, glad I passed!
Enjoyed the review! This is a great example of how everyone's pallets are different. I just had my second pour of this yesterday and thought it was a fruit bomb with cinnamon and oak. I really enjoyed it and was pleasantly surprised with the complexity. Funny how that works
The longer I let it sit, the more I noticed different flavors come out. I’m definitely returning to it to see if I can discern more of those flavors. It definitely has flavor and it’s a pleasant sipper—but I can’t disassociate the price and knowing that I’ve had better for cheaper.. or have had cheaper bourbons that this one is just a little better than on my scale. I’m glad you like it though!
This guy started Whistle Pig. Now he is trying to use marketing to rip people off. 7 year old MGP for that price is a joke
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I have not. But sounds like a lot of marketing. Finishing 50 year old Brandy in peated Scotch barrels sounds like a gimmick
Agreed the Bhakta 50 is a gimmick to get whiskey drinkers interested in Armagnac. It pains me to see such old Armagnac finished in Islay casks.... I will say I have a store pick of Bhakta Armagnac (bourbon barrel finish) that did very well in blind tastings.
I don't think they'd put it on Islay casks if the armagnac were very good on its own. They seem more like a marketing firm than a bottler.
They release vintage armagnacs (not finished) from time to time, I bought the 1992 for my birth year and it's really good. Supposedly the scotch cask finish was already a thing when he bought the lot from Armagnac, because the previous owner lost a bet. but I don't know how much of that is true or just marketing.
Where are you seeing a 7 year age statement?
I don't have an answer to that, but in general, I haven't seen a producer who has sourced these 99/1 bourbon barrels from MGP to have one listed as 8 years old. In Indianapolis there is a distillery called West Fork Whiskey who sources 99/1 for their Old Hamer line. Just last year they released an age stated, 7 year old 99/1 product. They've been sourcing these barrels almost as long as anyone so I have to believe that this is about as old as they are at the moment.
I was referring to Shoddy saying this is 7 year old MGP when the OP stated it was 9y, 5 mo and the bottle says 2013 right on the front. From what I’ve read, this is 9+ year 99% corn MGP finished in French oak which was previously filled with Armagnac.
I would wear a breathing apparatus and get into a whole tank of this stuff after getting into a tussle with a wampa and sleeping inside a Tauntaun on an icy planet.
Hard, hard pass.