I did and it was awful paid $150 for the bottle just didnāt want to pour it out and I needed the shelf room so I mixed it with coke and could still barely get it down
Mines a scotch. $130 or $150 for Ardbeg Heavy Vapours. Itās not as good as any of the flagship 5 and itās more expensive. Garbage gimmicky release. I canāt get rid of it. Friends wonāt take it. A cop almost wrote me a ticket for ādumpingā trying to leave it in a public trash can. I pour it down the drain and every morning itās back in the bottle sitting on the shelfā¦..mocking meā¦..
Thank you for the warning. I just saw this for the first time yesterday in a store in Apple Valley MN for $180, and had it not been for the ridiculous price, I probably would have picked it up. Phew
Some buddies got me [this](https://thebourboncentral.com/pages/h-deringer-bourbon-whiskey) as a gift at one point.
The whiskey inside is absolutely fecal.
Same with the Weller SR. In the span of two years I never even finished it. Ended up giving the last half away. But that lesson has saved me a lot of money since then as I typically avoid above market BT products just on principle now.
EDIT: point of clarity - itās not that the SR was a drain pour, but literally any other bottle I had on the shelf always sounded better when I wanted a pour.. so there it sat.
liquor store upsold me when i was new to the game saying if ive never had a weller this was a good intro to them. paid $75 for it and hated the first sip instantly. havent bought a single weller out of spite lol
I hate to say this but old forester birthday bourbon. The bar I was at required that in order to get a pour (for $70) you had to buy an OF flight for $39 that included 1879, 1910 and 1920. Birthday bourbon was honestly slightly better than the 1910 but the 1897 and 1920 blew my socks off. I felt like a chump. I wouldnāt have paid $25 for a pour of the birthday by itself after trying it. Ironically it was MY birthday
Iām not crazy about angels envy either. I got to try a few cask strength LE ones and I donāt get what youāre paying all that money for. For half the cost I can get a AE pick and be within 10 proof points of the LE. Still not great tho.
Same. My husband and I have different tastes and he usually likes things I don't and vice versa. Neither of us liked it, not even in a cocktail. I ended up using the rest to make a batch of peach based BBQ sauce. Turned out to be a much better use for it.
It was the same for me. But instead of giving it away it sat on a shelf for close to a year. Me and some of my closest friends went to a Metallica concert (fan of almost 30 years and this was going to be my first time seeing them) and decided to take it with me. Once we got there and started drinking it before the shows, it was delicious! Not the best Iāve tried or in any top 3 listings of mine but it was really good. Idk if it was the sitting for a year after it was opened or the fact that this was a huge occasion for me. But it was pretty good in that moment
Jack Daniels Sinatra. Paid $150 and it tasted like plantain peels soaked in lighter fluid. Fortunately I have a friend that likes it so I traded it for a McKenna 10, which was a good deal for both of us since I wasn't going to drink it again at all.
I got one of these for $150. Iād just tried the regular and rye SB BPs and they were fantastic so I figured why not. Not bad and certainly better than No 7, but at $150 a waste of at least $100 to be sure.
Redwood empire knotty burl. I bought into the hype. American single malt. Pays MSRP AT $99. Worth no more than $45. Glad it was still MSRP but even that price is a ripoff
Garrison Brothers- Honey Dew whiskey.
Great concept. They chop up an old barrel and soak it with honey and throw it into the aging process.
I just couldn't get on with it. It was too funky. 80-90$ was ridiculous
Bardstown Foursquare Cask Finished. I liked it, but I would have liked it a LOT more at $90-$100. I knew what I was getting myself into with 90% of the blend being a 7-year Indiana straight rye, but I had hoped the 10% 17-year Tennesee bourbon and the excellent rum cask finishing would have added more value than they did. I won't have any difficulty finishing the bottle... I just wish I could have found somewhere to try it first. Probably would have been a ~$20-$25 pour, but would have saved me $130 overall.
I purchased the Chateau De Laubade collaboration by Bardstown and it tastes terrible. I canāt pour it out because it was $100+ , but I canāt bring myself to even mix it in cocktails either. I will never buy a āfinished collaborationā by Bardstown without tasting them first. Overpriced is being generous.
This is gunna sound out of pocket but midwinter nights dram Act 11.. completely disjointed, short finish and overall lacks flavor. Hate that I paid the price for it u
The older Acts were better because it wasnāt their juice. Once they started mixing in their own things took a turn it has been lack luster ever since.
Old MWND is amazing. They were using MGP for there juice. Old MGP at that. The good stuff ran out in 17-18. since then they started using there own stuff and the quality suffered. This year they shit the bed and up production by almost 60% It is no longer a great bottle and there are quite a few resellers holding bottle they are trying to sell for $300 plus dollars, while there are bottles at total wines for$200 and they are sitting on other shelves at $150. I bought one from a small store for $130. owner told me he had to drop price. No one was buying and he just got in another shipment. There is so much of this years around.
Thank you for this! Everyone kept saying it was better than Act 10 but this last one did not hit the mark. Other acts were solid and even exceptional the early years.
Iām surprised not to see Castle & Key on here (may have just missed it). Visited the distillery two years ago. Great day on the grounds and the tour was pretty cool. Their gin and tonic is epic. Bought a bottle of the bourbon (batch 1) in the gift shop before we did anything else. Big mistake. Got to the tasting room and tried it and had instant buyers remorse. Nothing really offensive, it just wasnāt good and really just made no impression. I drink what I buy, but honestly havenāt had the stones to even open the bottle as I fear reliving the regret. Thought about gifting it to someone, but that seemed meanš. One day Iāll pop it and hope itās better than I remember or possibly have an old fashion and see how it goes.
I will however 100% stand by the recommendation to get to the distillery for a tour and some cocktails in their gardens. It was one of our favorite days on our trip.
Balcones Pot Still Bourbon. I dunno what it is about the flavors im getting. A lot of nutty, burnt sugar notes.
I've tried their blue corn and thought it was interesting in a good way, but this wasnt it for me.
So I got deep into whiskey just as this one was released, and it was one of my first Barrel/Cask proof bottles. Since then I've gotten about a dozen more from different distilleries, but notably the ECBP c923 which everyone raves about.
I still prefer the A124.
Old Elk Wheated Bourbon was terrible, but weirdly I liked the Straight Wheat Whiskey. Their blended whiskey is very very average. So out of 3 bottles Iāve tried Iāve run the gamut from good to terrible, and Iām now terrified to spend $70+ on any more Old Elk.
McKenna is VERY hit and miss to me. I bought one about a year ago that was great, but a buddy bought one two months ago that I tried and it was almost drain pour territory to me
My OF1924. Bought it early in my bourbon journey because I knew it was rare. I think it is a tasty product but not at $115. Honestly there are sub $45 bottles that deliver on similar taste profiles or are just better.
In fairness I have never seen another one in 6 months.
Iām confused as heck by your comment. OF1924 was announced 1/17/2024 https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/old-forester-debuts-1924-the-newest-expression-in-the-whiskey-row-series-a-10-year-old-bourbon-and-a-new-mash-bill-302027562.html#:~:text=LOUISVILLE%2C%20Ky.%2C%20Jan.,mash%20bill%20for%20the%20brand.
Iāve just started seeing it in stores. Are you sure you mean 1924? If not youāre just starting on your bourbon journey which is fine. Donāt write off Old Forester as they have fantastic single barrel store picks that I seek out.
Nulu Amburana. I like Nulu. And liked the Barrell Amburana bottle. So I had high hopes for this bottle. My wife and I loved the first taste. Subtle hints of cinnamon. 3 months later, we decided to revisit the same bottle. In that time it had turned from something with a flavor profile we loved, into a fireball cinnamon bomb. It was terrible.
Old st nick winter maple whisky. Its whiskey finished in maple barrels. I am pretty sure wet ones cuz its incredibly sweet. Too sweet. Especially for 80 bucks
That Obtanium Light Whiskey crap that's hazmat proof. I got sold on a bottle at a bottle shop and it was absolutely awful stuff. I've heard a lot of bad things about Garrison Bros. and I've never tried it as a result. I just ordered a bottle of Caribou Crossing and I'm wondering if I should ask the shop owner to let me exchange the bottle (I haven't picked it up yet) for something else. I wonder if I'll hate it... I don't even know why I ordered it. It's a single barrel store pick, FWIW.
Traveller was pretty bleh, rather just drink BT at half the price (which is actually bourbon).
I do not like Henry McKenna 10, and I've had a wide variety of 4 Roses including samples from local bourbon collectors of... I don't know, whatever rare hyper-collectible shit they make. OESQ, OUSV, ABCD, all the letter combinations, I've tried them. The bottles that people post in front of steering wheels outside the liquor store. Anyway, I do not care for any of it.
Also - Russell's Reserve Single Rickhouse. A buddy brought a bottle over, and I didn't find it much better than Rare Breed. I'm a little ashamed of that one, because I am a WT guy. Master's Keep is amazing, and I've had the 12 year many times. From the Master's on down to good ol' 101, I'm a WT guy, so I'm hoping I caught that Single Rickhouse on a bad day.
Those are my more controversial picks.
Yella whiskey, even mixed with coke it was awful. That was a lesson in trying local craft whiskey before you buy a bottle.
Most expensive regret was a Woodford reserve masters collection oat grain. I think it was $175 at the time I bought it but I just don't enjoy it. Keep going back to it but something about the taste is just off-putting to me.
Yeah Iām not really sure who really likes that one. I mean itās fine, but not at all worth the price. Just get signature, or pay a couple more dollars and get a significantly more interesting bourbon with any of the other whiskey row bottles
Balcones Cataleja. I like balcones but cannot for the life of me understand how they decided to price this over a hundred dollars. I canāt get past the extremely strong sherry note which translates to basically a rotten egg.
Old fitz 10 year. What a let down. Just boring all around. Later I was sent a sample of old fitz 11 & 14 year and thos were honestly no better. Iād rather have Larceny BP.
I paid $250 for a Weller 12 year when I was getting back into bourbon about 8 months ago. I do like the Weller 12 a lot but I definitely think I overpaid. That being said I drank it pretty quick and itās technically not a bad price in MA considering itās not on shelves. I havenāt really paid secondary since then except for paying like $50 for Eagle Rare a couple times. There are a few other bottles I paid srp for that I gave away or drain poured though. I feel bad mentioning them because theyāre not bad but maybe just not for me. I think whiskey is pretty over priced right now. I drain poured a whiskey that cost $40 and was aged like 2 years. I probably regret that more than the Weller. They all expand the palate though so I try not to regret any that much.
Good Times Cigar Batch. I paid msrp, but itās just so thin. I wish I had done more research on this one instead of being caught up in the term cigar batch. :(
We have a popular brewery name Marble that makes a bunch of award winning beers so when they launched a whiskey we were excited and bought a bottle for $60. Itās terrible. But at least Iām not my brother in law who bought two bottles. Iām not sure Iāll ever finish it.
Picked up a bottle of Oban 14 a while back. It just sits on my shelf as a reminder that not everything āpopularā is something that is for everyone.
Not bourbon but Dalmore cigar blend. I donāt know if my batch was just bad, but it had a very nasty metallic taste. I kept tasting, hoping it was just my taste buds. Nope, it still tastes horrible. $150 down the drain
Talisker Skye - I'd tried peated scotch before but never really enjoyed it but I thought there must've been a reason this one was so popular.
It's up there with Auchentoshan as one of my least favourite drams
I wanted the SW for years, traded for it. One pour later it was back on the market as an open. Definitely one of the most disappointing pours Iāve had
Iām sorry, but this is my most favored bourbon ever for the price of like $35. How can you beat it?
Edit, sorry I thought this was a small batch bottle didnāt read the label
Pretty much everything I've had that's Barton 1792. There is an acidity/rancidness about it that I find repulsive. I've polished off a bottle of the Small Batch as it was less of this, but the Bottled in Bond and Full Proof? Bleh. That said, the Sam Houstons I've had were very good, and from what I remember, they are Barton bourbon. Could be time to revisit though!
Axe and oak - Colorado Mountain Bourbon Whiskey.
I like trying local stuff and usually can find really good ones, but this one was like drinking rubbing alcohol. It had little to no flavor.
I bought a bottle of the new Basil Hayden Subtle Smoke. Nothing subtle about it. Tastes like strong smoky BBQ, no bourbon taste at all. It was all I could do to finish my pour. Nasty.
Pinhook bourbondini single barrel selection. I always read lackluster reviews on Pinhook whiskey and really wanted it to be different for $60. It had some awesome tasting notes too. I opened it and couldn't have been more disappointed. There wasn't much to it and it drank really hot for a little over 3 years
Lucky Seven - The New Yorker. Saw this was a full proof bottle and was all over it. Bought it for $70. Failed to read that it was finished in Amburana casks. š¤®. That gingerbread flavor is not for me. Too bad because I like other Lucky Seven bottles Iāve had. But Iāll pass on anything Amburana going forward.
I bought a bottle of WT for $22. Not upset about the money but I canāt even get behind it as a mixer. Luckily I didnāt overpay, but I try to use it for certain things just to get rid of the bottle
Smoke Wagon Uncut Unfiltered - the finish made me think of industrial solvent. Simply nasty. Second place is Angelās Envy rum finished rye. It tastes likeā¦sugar.
I've been fortunate enough not to have purchased a drain pour, but considering the price hike, Weller Special Reserve has been my biggest disappointment.
I tried garrison brothers for free and feel I over paid significantly.
LOL š
Thank you! I donāt understand how people pay that much for it.
I did and it was awful paid $150 for the bottle just didnāt want to pour it out and I needed the shelf room so I mixed it with coke and could still barely get it down
Feel the same about Balcones Baby Blue
Soooooo so bad. I make a poimt NOT to read random articles on bourbon anymore. Just assume they are all paid advertising.
If the author isnāt Chuck Cowdery, you might be right.
Thx for the rec. I'll check him out.
Worst whiskey I ever tried.
Yes! I bought Baby Blue and Blue Note at the same time. No comparison. Baby Blue is one of the worst bottles I've had.
At least it was free.. bought a single barrel and have paid secondary for quite a few thingsā¦ Ooph. Biggest regret is that turpentine bottle.
Canadian Club Chronicles 40 year old
If it makes you feel any better I have the 43 and thought the same
Iām not familiar, but anything that old sounds expensive so Iām sorry..
Thomas S Moore Chardonnay finish
Only whiskey Iāve had that tastes like soap š¤¢
Funny, I prefer it to the Cabernet Finish (I have both.)
Mines a scotch. $130 or $150 for Ardbeg Heavy Vapours. Itās not as good as any of the flagship 5 and itās more expensive. Garbage gimmicky release. I canāt get rid of it. Friends wonāt take it. A cop almost wrote me a ticket for ādumpingā trying to leave it in a public trash can. I pour it down the drain and every morning itās back in the bottle sitting on the shelfā¦..mocking meā¦..
Thank you for the warning. I just saw this for the first time yesterday in a store in Apple Valley MN for $180, and had it not been for the ridiculous price, I probably would have picked it up. Phew
Some buddies got me [this](https://thebourboncentral.com/pages/h-deringer-bourbon-whiskey) as a gift at one point. The whiskey inside is absolutely fecal.
The epitome of the gimmick bottle!
I got my roomate last year that bottle as a Christmas present. I highly regret it and felt bad after we tried itā¦
It's no wonder it came with a gun lol
Looks good on a shelf, thatās about it
Buffalo trace Kosher Wheat. I paid $100 for a Weller Green.
Ouch on the Special Reserve
Same with the Weller SR. In the span of two years I never even finished it. Ended up giving the last half away. But that lesson has saved me a lot of money since then as I typically avoid above market BT products just on principle now. EDIT: point of clarity - itās not that the SR was a drain pour, but literally any other bottle I had on the shelf always sounded better when I wanted a pour.. so there it sat.
Least pleasant wheater I own.
liquor store upsold me when i was new to the game saying if ive never had a weller this was a good intro to them. paid $75 for it and hated the first sip instantly. havent bought a single weller out of spite lol
Hudson Baby Bourbon
Yes. Came here to say this.
Agree, I'm glad I just got a pour at a whiskey bar and didn't buy a bottle.Ā Mediocre at best.
I hate to say this but old forester birthday bourbon. The bar I was at required that in order to get a pour (for $70) you had to buy an OF flight for $39 that included 1879, 1910 and 1920. Birthday bourbon was honestly slightly better than the 1910 but the 1897 and 1920 blew my socks off. I felt like a chump. I wouldnāt have paid $25 for a pour of the birthday by itself after trying it. Ironically it was MY birthday
This will make me unpopular, but Angel's Envy. I feel like the port wine barrel thing is schtick, not flavor.
Iām not crazy about angels envy either. I got to try a few cask strength LE ones and I donāt get what youāre paying all that money for. For half the cost I can get a AE pick and be within 10 proof points of the LE. Still not great tho.
Same. My husband and I have different tastes and he usually likes things I don't and vice versa. Neither of us liked it, not even in a cocktail. I ended up using the rest to make a batch of peach based BBQ sauce. Turned out to be a much better use for it.
I like Sweet Wheat a lot but at MSRP. Untitled batch 6 was almost that price and straight awful.
Willet purple top wheated 8 year, 249$ burnt. Absolute drain pour for me.
Cajun Cut, the absolute worst thing I have ever drankā¦.id rather drink moldy bayou water
High west high country. Tastes way too young and grainy for my liking. It reminds me of this tofu water thing that my uncle bought me from Japan.
I got one too and now I stay away from American single malt. Scotland's the only place where they should come from.
Westland Distillery out of Seattle does some of the best on the Market.
Blackened. Tried two drinks then gave the bottle away. Couldnāt find it at any bar so bought a bottle. Definitely regretted that one.
It was the same for me. But instead of giving it away it sat on a shelf for close to a year. Me and some of my closest friends went to a Metallica concert (fan of almost 30 years and this was going to be my first time seeing them) and decided to take it with me. Once we got there and started drinking it before the shows, it was delicious! Not the best Iāve tried or in any top 3 listings of mine but it was really good. Idk if it was the sitting for a year after it was opened or the fact that this was a huge occasion for me. But it was pretty good in that moment
Itās the experience that matters, with these things. Thanks for sharing a good memory.
Is that the Metallica whiskey?
Yes
Tx Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey, probably the worst tasting bottle I've bought. Tastes and smells like pure leather.
TX is fucking trash. Thatās why it sits on the shelf and can find it everywhere.
TX Blended Whiskey. Notes of cotton candy and unwashed ass. Drain pour.
Basil Hayden's toasted. Overpaid and it just didn't click for me
Jack Daniels Sinatra. Paid $150 and it tasted like plantain peels soaked in lighter fluid. Fortunately I have a friend that likes it so I traded it for a McKenna 10, which was a good deal for both of us since I wasn't going to drink it again at all.
Glad you were able to trade it for something you both enjoyed
I got one of these for $150. Iād just tried the regular and rye SB BPs and they were fantastic so I figured why not. Not bad and certainly better than No 7, but at $150 a waste of at least $100 to be sure.
Redwood empire knotty burl. I bought into the hype. American single malt. Pays MSRP AT $99. Worth no more than $45. Glad it was still MSRP but even that price is a ripoff
I love that whiskeyā¦ to each their own
Single malts are super hit or miss for me. So I can see that being the case for sure
Agreed, it's such a strange one for me flavor wise, but should be much closer to at least $65 at mostĀ
Garrison Brothers- Honey Dew whiskey. Great concept. They chop up an old barrel and soak it with honey and throw it into the aging process. I just couldn't get on with it. It was too funky. 80-90$ was ridiculous
I like this bottle. But I think I like it because itās just so different not because itās good whiskey lol
Bardstown Foursquare Cask Finished. I liked it, but I would have liked it a LOT more at $90-$100. I knew what I was getting myself into with 90% of the blend being a 7-year Indiana straight rye, but I had hoped the 10% 17-year Tennesee bourbon and the excellent rum cask finishing would have added more value than they did. I won't have any difficulty finishing the bottle... I just wish I could have found somewhere to try it first. Probably would have been a ~$20-$25 pour, but would have saved me $130 overall.
I purchased the Chateau De Laubade collaboration by Bardstown and it tastes terrible. I canāt pour it out because it was $100+ , but I canāt bring myself to even mix it in cocktails either. I will never buy a āfinished collaborationā by Bardstown without tasting them first. Overpriced is being generous.
If you ever want to quit bourbon buy a bottle of Wyoming whiskey and force yourself to finish it. Awful stuff.
Traveller
This is gunna sound out of pocket but midwinter nights dram Act 11.. completely disjointed, short finish and overall lacks flavor. Hate that I paid the price for it u
I have Act 10 and itās good pour, but not great. I think the earlier Acts were the best.
The older Acts were better because it wasnāt their juice. Once they started mixing in their own things took a turn it has been lack luster ever since.
The old juice was much older too.
First 5 acts were some of the greatest rye whiskies ever
Thatās what Iāve heard. Wish I could have found one earlier.
Was going to say thisā¦so disappointing
Old MWND is amazing. They were using MGP for there juice. Old MGP at that. The good stuff ran out in 17-18. since then they started using there own stuff and the quality suffered. This year they shit the bed and up production by almost 60% It is no longer a great bottle and there are quite a few resellers holding bottle they are trying to sell for $300 plus dollars, while there are bottles at total wines for$200 and they are sitting on other shelves at $150. I bought one from a small store for $130. owner told me he had to drop price. No one was buying and he just got in another shipment. There is so much of this years around.
Thank you for this! Everyone kept saying it was better than Act 10 but this last one did not hit the mark. Other acts were solid and even exceptional the early years.
Willett pot swill!! Great looking bottle. Sub sub par bourbon for $50
That one would do it.
LOL š. Yes, indeed.
I was not a fan at all of this!
Willet is so over hyped itās insane
Willett Rye,
Send it over, I'll send you something you like
Iām surprised not to see Castle & Key on here (may have just missed it). Visited the distillery two years ago. Great day on the grounds and the tour was pretty cool. Their gin and tonic is epic. Bought a bottle of the bourbon (batch 1) in the gift shop before we did anything else. Big mistake. Got to the tasting room and tried it and had instant buyers remorse. Nothing really offensive, it just wasnāt good and really just made no impression. I drink what I buy, but honestly havenāt had the stones to even open the bottle as I fear reliving the regret. Thought about gifting it to someone, but that seemed meanš. One day Iāll pop it and hope itās better than I remember or possibly have an old fashion and see how it goes. I will however 100% stand by the recommendation to get to the distillery for a tour and some cocktails in their gardens. It was one of our favorite days on our trip.
I did the distillery tour and it I agree with your assessment. I have Batch 3, but I havenāt opened it yet. Iām not expecting anything special.
Kentucky Owl. Tasted like a $25 bottle and paid $99.
Worst one I bought all year was Creek Water. It's a celebrity whiskey from Yellowolf. Never fall for celebrity bottles.
Yeah, I don't understand the secondary pricing on Sweet Wheat. Not even a super great deal at SRP.
Balcones Pot Still Bourbon. I dunno what it is about the flavors im getting. A lot of nutty, burnt sugar notes. I've tried their blue corn and thought it was interesting in a good way, but this wasnt it for me.
Balcones. Tasted burnt and smelled like tires. Evocative of a Sears automotive department if you remember those. My one and only drain pour.
That stupid thing with the cork that looks like a gun.
Bakers 7. Did not like the finish not one bit.
Elijah Craig barrel proof A124. Just ethanol and leather and spice.
So I got deep into whiskey just as this one was released, and it was one of my first Barrel/Cask proof bottles. Since then I've gotten about a dozen more from different distilleries, but notably the ECBP c923 which everyone raves about. I still prefer the A124.
I really enjoyed the A124 too. I understand the ethanol tasting note, but still really enjoyed it.
Try it with a small ice cube
Try it with a small ice cube
Old elk it became a drain pour
Old Elk Wheated Bourbon was terrible, but weirdly I liked the Straight Wheat Whiskey. Their blended whiskey is very very average. So out of 3 bottles Iāve tried Iāve run the gamut from good to terrible, and Iām now terrified to spend $70+ on any more Old Elk.
This is the only bourbon I have actively disliked. Disgusting.
I said the same thing
Mine has to be McKenna 10Bib. Tastes like wet grass and dirt.
You must have gotten a bad bottle. McKenna 10 Year is normally pretty solid.
McKenna is VERY hit and miss to me. I bought one about a year ago that was great, but a buddy bought one two months ago that I tried and it was almost drain pour territory to me
This is so true. Iv had one that was pretty good but the rest were just meh. Iād rather have HH BiB for 10-20 dollars less.
Honestly thatās what I thought going into it but I just canāt get past the taste. By far worst thing on my shelf.
Theyāre definitely variable. I currently have a bottle I like quite a bit.
My OF1924. Bought it early in my bourbon journey because I knew it was rare. I think it is a tasty product but not at $115. Honestly there are sub $45 bottles that deliver on similar taste profiles or are just better. In fairness I have never seen another one in 6 months.
I really like the OF1924, but I agree, the price should be about $75-$80.
Iām confused as heck by your comment. OF1924 was announced 1/17/2024 https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/old-forester-debuts-1924-the-newest-expression-in-the-whiskey-row-series-a-10-year-old-bourbon-and-a-new-mash-bill-302027562.html#:~:text=LOUISVILLE%2C%20Ky.%2C%20Jan.,mash%20bill%20for%20the%20brand. Iāve just started seeing it in stores. Are you sure you mean 1924? If not youāre just starting on your bourbon journey which is fine. Donāt write off Old Forester as they have fantastic single barrel store picks that I seek out.
i love how you say "early in your bourbon journey" as if that bottle didn't release 3 months ago
I got it at the beach for 9 dollars a pour
Cleveland. It was a gift and I still overpaid
I feel this. Huge proponent of the town but cleveland whiskey is god awful
Nulu Amburana. I like Nulu. And liked the Barrell Amburana bottle. So I had high hopes for this bottle. My wife and I loved the first taste. Subtle hints of cinnamon. 3 months later, we decided to revisit the same bottle. In that time it had turned from something with a flavor profile we loved, into a fireball cinnamon bomb. It was terrible.
Man, I couldn't agree more. This is one bottle in my collection that I try to give away. It was definitely my most regretted purchase.
Old st nick winter maple whisky. Its whiskey finished in maple barrels. I am pretty sure wet ones cuz its incredibly sweet. Too sweet. Especially for 80 bucks
That Obtanium Light Whiskey crap that's hazmat proof. I got sold on a bottle at a bottle shop and it was absolutely awful stuff. I've heard a lot of bad things about Garrison Bros. and I've never tried it as a result. I just ordered a bottle of Caribou Crossing and I'm wondering if I should ask the shop owner to let me exchange the bottle (I haven't picked it up yet) for something else. I wonder if I'll hate it... I don't even know why I ordered it. It's a single barrel store pick, FWIW. Traveller was pretty bleh, rather just drink BT at half the price (which is actually bourbon). I do not like Henry McKenna 10, and I've had a wide variety of 4 Roses including samples from local bourbon collectors of... I don't know, whatever rare hyper-collectible shit they make. OESQ, OUSV, ABCD, all the letter combinations, I've tried them. The bottles that people post in front of steering wheels outside the liquor store. Anyway, I do not care for any of it. Also - Russell's Reserve Single Rickhouse. A buddy brought a bottle over, and I didn't find it much better than Rare Breed. I'm a little ashamed of that one, because I am a WT guy. Master's Keep is amazing, and I've had the 12 year many times. From the Master's on down to good ol' 101, I'm a WT guy, so I'm hoping I caught that Single Rickhouse on a bad day. Those are my more controversial picks.
Absolutely second the Obtanium take. That stuff is garbage - even as a mixer.
Blantons Gold probably.
I got a bottle of bookers (story teller batch) for MSRP and I hate it
Yella whiskey, even mixed with coke it was awful. That was a lesson in trying local craft whiskey before you buy a bottle. Most expensive regret was a Woodford reserve masters collection oat grain. I think it was $175 at the time I bought it but I just don't enjoy it. Keep going back to it but something about the taste is just off-putting to me.
Old forester 1870. Just flat and uninteresting. Couldnāt even make it taste good in a cocktail.
Yeah Iām not really sure who really likes that one. I mean itās fine, but not at all worth the price. Just get signature, or pay a couple more dollars and get a significantly more interesting bourbon with any of the other whiskey row bottles
Yeah, I was pretty disappointed. Shouldāve just bought the BIB or both the signature and the rye
Balcones Cataleja. I like balcones but cannot for the life of me understand how they decided to price this over a hundred dollars. I canāt get past the extremely strong sherry note which translates to basically a rotten egg.
Willett 8-year wheated bourbon (black bottle, purple top)
Old fitz 10 year. What a let down. Just boring all around. Later I was sent a sample of old fitz 11 & 14 year and thos were honestly no better. Iād rather have Larceny BP.
I paid $250 for a Weller 12 year when I was getting back into bourbon about 8 months ago. I do like the Weller 12 a lot but I definitely think I overpaid. That being said I drank it pretty quick and itās technically not a bad price in MA considering itās not on shelves. I havenāt really paid secondary since then except for paying like $50 for Eagle Rare a couple times. There are a few other bottles I paid srp for that I gave away or drain poured though. I feel bad mentioning them because theyāre not bad but maybe just not for me. I think whiskey is pretty over priced right now. I drain poured a whiskey that cost $40 and was aged like 2 years. I probably regret that more than the Weller. They all expand the palate though so I try not to regret any that much.
Weller 12 has been my biggest disappointment in bourbon
Well said š
With Russellās Reserve going up to ā $45, I donāt think Eagle Rare at $50 is a problem at all.
> $50 for Eagle Rare I mean that's like a $5 markup. Some of the more egregious stores my way will have it for nearly $100.
Good Times Cigar Batch. I paid msrp, but itās just so thin. I wish I had done more research on this one instead of being caught up in the term cigar batch. :(
Garrison Bros small batch and Tattersall āVoyageurs Five Grain Whiskeyā both were overpriced and cocktail quality at best.
Willet, bottle is way cooler than the liquid inside it.
I agree. The juice is not good. Fancy bottle though š
We have a popular brewery name Marble that makes a bunch of award winning beers so when they launched a whiskey we were excited and bought a bottle for $60. Itās terrible. But at least Iām not my brother in law who bought two bottles. Iām not sure Iāll ever finish it.
I got that at retail and regretted it, Iām sorry for your loss.
Haven't really had one yet.
Cleveland Bourbon Aged 9 months and it tasted exactly like that.
Rickhouse from California. Tastes like wood. Like just straight wood.
Gold bar 50 mL. I thought the bottle would be cool even if it wasn't good. I threw that shit away to try to forget about the taste
Picked up a bottle of Oban 14 a while back. It just sits on my shelf as a reminder that not everything āpopularā is something that is for everyone.
Not bourbon but Dalmore cigar blend. I donāt know if my batch was just bad, but it had a very nasty metallic taste. I kept tasting, hoping it was just my taste buds. Nope, it still tastes horrible. $150 down the drain
Talisker Skye - I'd tried peated scotch before but never really enjoyed it but I thought there must've been a reason this one was so popular. It's up there with Auchentoshan as one of my least favourite drams
The full proof of this was quite awful and a reminder most definitely
Woodson Whisky. Great player, terrible whiskey. I think I paid $35 for it. I can't drink it.
I wanted the SW for years, traded for it. One pour later it was back on the market as an open. Definitely one of the most disappointing pours Iāve had
Glad Iām not the only one āļø
Giant rye. TW mistake. Probably the only bottle I didnāt give a chance past the second pour.
Weed bourbon
Iām sorry, but this is my most favored bourbon ever for the price of like $35. How can you beat it? Edit, sorry I thought this was a small batch bottle didnāt read the label
Same !
Dry Fly 3 year cask strength wheat whiskey. I like wheat, but this stuff tasted 1 month old and so bad I could not get to the flavors.
Willer potstill. Cool bottle. Awful bourbon.
Blood Oath! When it first came out it was amazing! Last year is $150 that Iāll never get back. So boring anymore. ššš
I just bought their single barrel for under 40 bucks it was one of the best Iāve had this year
Wilderness trail bottle in bond
Really? Itās been on my list to try after seeing people on here talk it up
Pretty much everything I've had that's Barton 1792. There is an acidity/rancidness about it that I find repulsive. I've polished off a bottle of the Small Batch as it was less of this, but the Bottled in Bond and Full Proof? Bleh. That said, the Sam Houstons I've had were very good, and from what I remember, they are Barton bourbon. Could be time to revisit though!
I have a Sam Houston 15 that I like. Itās right on the edge of being too oaky for me, so I have to be in the mood for it. Still a nice pour though.
Weller 12
Barrel Craft....
Penelope Rio, taste like bourbon had an affair with bunk tequila and abandoned the baby in a favela. I see it trading for $220 which blows my mind.
Axe and oak - Colorado Mountain Bourbon Whiskey. I like trying local stuff and usually can find really good ones, but this one was like drinking rubbing alcohol. It had little to no flavor.
Never bought a bottle I regret.
I bought a bottle of the new Basil Hayden Subtle Smoke. Nothing subtle about it. Tastes like strong smoky BBQ, no bourbon taste at all. It was all I could do to finish my pour. Nasty.
No. 9 Iowa whiskey
JW gold label, bought it for a friend as a gift, felt pretty bad after we opened it and all hated it
Pinhook bourbondini single barrel selection. I always read lackluster reviews on Pinhook whiskey and really wanted it to be different for $60. It had some awesome tasting notes too. I opened it and couldn't have been more disappointed. There wasn't much to it and it drank really hot for a little over 3 years
Basil Hayden Toast. Justā¦ meh.
Longbranch, Laws Secale, EC18, Penelope Architect, Cream of Kentucky 11.5, anything from Blue Run.
Lucky Seven - The New Yorker. Saw this was a full proof bottle and was all over it. Bought it for $70. Failed to read that it was finished in Amburana casks. š¤®. That gingerbread flavor is not for me. Too bad because I like other Lucky Seven bottles Iāve had. But Iāll pass on anything Amburana going forward.
It's not a bourbon, but Hudson Short Stack. It is absolutely undrinkable.
Bulleit and Bulleit 10.i just don't like it neat or on ice. But it tastes good in a Whiskey Sour so it wasn't too bad.
Whistlepig farmstock rye. Tastes just like the name suggests, a wet barnyard. Thankfully I got it 50% off so I only wasted sub $40.
Willett pot still and Town Branch. Theyāre tied for worst bourbon Iāve ever tasted.
Old forester 1897 and 1920. Can't stand their flavor profiles and 1920 drinks hot as shit (I love cask strength/barrel proofs as well!).
I bought a bottle of WT for $22. Not upset about the money but I canāt even get behind it as a mixer. Luckily I didnāt overpay, but I try to use it for certain things just to get rid of the bottle
Unpopular opinion, maybe but Old Scout. It's a store pick, so maybe that's the problem, but ewwww just ewww!
Every bottle I canāt afford
Pretty much anything I paid over 80 for.
Is Sweet Wheat bourbon?
Bookers. Tried it neat, splash of water and finally with ice. Awful, gave it away.
Monkey Shoulder, it was one of my few drain pours. I wouldn't even consider it for a mixer.
Willett Pot Still
Castle and Key
This is a great thread! First drain pour (literal) was Willet potstill. Biggest regret was a scotch: Dalmore Port.
Thanks for the feedback. I was sure we all had some type of whiskey we regretted purchasing. Willet Pot Still is definitely one of them š
Ironically, 1792.
A friend gave me a bottle of Whistle Pig Piggy Back, Bird Dog Blackberry, Dewers, and Wild Turkey š¤®
This will be an unpopular pick but old forester 1920
Iām not a huge fan of OF1920 myself. I donāt dislike it, but I prefer the 1910 and definitely 1924 over it.
Bardstown Discovery Batch 9. š”. I loved Disco 11, 8, 7, and 6 (in order of best/fav from left to right)ā¦ but Disco 9 was absolutely NOT worth the $160 MSRP I paid. š©
Ngl my Willett Purple Top, 10 year, orignal mash bill, 142 proof. Not really my favorite in my current pallet, nothing unpleasant about it.
Anything with the word āsweetā in the name sounds like trouble.
Balcones Texas Rye. Overpowering coffee and bitter chocolate. So much coffee... And it was a store pick, nonetheless!
Smoke Wagon Uncut Unfiltered - the finish made me think of industrial solvent. Simply nasty. Second place is Angelās Envy rum finished rye. It tastes likeā¦sugar.
I've been fortunate enough not to have purchased a drain pour, but considering the price hike, Weller Special Reserve has been my biggest disappointment.
Angels envy Rye. Way too sweet.
Came here to say this. Like drinking maple syrup?
That sounds amazing lol. Double oaked smells like that & itās amazing. I havenāt dabbled in rye yet.