Comments on: My Favorite Budget Bourbons (and Ryes)

By: Good summary of what makes Bourbon Bourbon | Ethan Prater

Good summary of what makes Bourbon Bourbon | Ethan Prater — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 06:06:53 +0000

[...] Favorite Budget Bourbons, by Ethan Prater [...]

By: Review: Death’s Door White Whiskey | Ethan Prater

Review: Death’s Door White Whiskey | Ethan Prater — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 02:38:27 +0000

[...] a nice cocktail from Death’s Door White Whiskey, but given the alternatives – even those costing half as much – you wouldn’t want to make this your late-evening contemplative [...]

By: Ethan Prater

Ethan Prater — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:21:00 +0000

@bjorn Yep, I really like Brett Pontoni, the spirits buyer at Binny’s. Really nice guy, good palate, customer-focused, and gets lots of cool exclusive bottlings.

And it *used* to be that it was cheaper to order from them and have it shipped than to buy at shops in California – especially since you pay nearly 10% extra for tax when you buy locally. But no more – often cheaper in California these days. I’ve been surprised to see how quickly and how high Binny’s prices have risen in recent years.

By: bjorn

bjorn — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:17:05 +0000

this is truly god’s work eep. just bought several bottles of the very old barton from binny’s. looked at the other selections at binny’s and their prices aren’t very reasonable. i’ll have to find the others locally but with shipping it is still reasonable it it is indeed hard to find..

now that buffalo trace is 19.99 at my local, it looks like it is going to be a very bourbon 2010.

By: Ethan Prater

Ethan Prater — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 06:34:47 +0000

@Greg J: I think Old Grand-Dad comes in several bottling strengths. I suspect the recipes are the same (though the Bonded is required to come from the same year, so might have some more flavor variation). I bet those bars are pouring 80 or 86 proof OG as their well bourbon. Still probably good stuff – just that I haven’t had it alongside the 100 proof Bonded or 114 proof to compare.

By: Greg J

Greg J — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 06:05:27 +0000

I know Rittenhouse 100 Rye and Old Grand Dad well, and Bulleit and Jim Beam a big less, and an a fan of all. I’m always impressed when Old Grand Dad is the well bourbon at a dive bar — def way above the quality bar I expect for $2 a shot, but I find it as the house pour at many spots in SF. Nice collection, EEP.