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Okay, here's a fun fantasy teaser for you guys & gals: let's say Mark goes insane next week and decides to dissolve his collection by drinking and sharing it all. Which one(s) would be your top pick(s) to help Mark drink?

I'll go first, as I know exactly what my dream bottle is:

I want to help Mark drink the Blanton's barrel proof handwritten bottle.

Does Mark have any Very Very Old Fitzgerald?

Oh the Henry Clay and Joseph Finch for starters.

The Hirsch 19.

Dave wrote:The Hirsch 19.

Ditto.

Everything except the Maker's Mark, and the 19 year old Weller!

ima

OneCubeOnly wrote:I want to help Mark drink the Blanton's barrel proof handwritten bottle.

I didn't realize that that bottle was so special. You're talking about the standard Blanton's barrel proof right?

I think I would opt for the Evan Williams 23

Thomas

Ima, I don't know you very well, so unless that was some kind of private joke, I'm not sure why you wouldn't take the Weller19 (the MM I can completely understand).

Dave wrote:Ima, I don't know you very well, so unless that was some kind of private joke, I'm not sure why you wouldn't take the Weller19 (the MM I can completely understand).

Linn has a thing for hating wheated whiskey, as far as I can remember. I'll agree that I can do w/o MM since my tastes have evolved, but the weller 19 is something I regret not buying more of 2-3 years ago!

OneCubeOnly wrote:Okay, here's a fun fantasy teaser for you guys & gals: let's say Mark goes insane next week and decides to dissolve his collection by drinking and sharing it all. Which one(s) would be your top pick(s) to help Mark drink?

I'll go first, as I know exactly what my dream bottle is:

I want to help Mark drink the Blanton's barrel proof handwritten bottle.

Dude, you had me laughing my ass off when I saw this thread. I'll tell ya, in recent weeks, the temptation to break open some of these bad boys has been a little overwhelming. If I were to open one tomorrow though, I think the first would be either a pappy 23 from the first release, iw harper presidents reserve or clay/finch.

Most of these MM bottles I would honestly sell right now if the price was respectable, like what they go for on ebay, but w/o having to resort to an auction... The whole NFL set was something that got WAY out of control!

The Whiskey Viking wrote:

OneCubeOnly wrote:I want to help Mark drink the Blanton's barrel proof handwritten bottle.

I didn't realize that that bottle was so special. You're talking about the standard Blanton's barrel proof right?

I think I would opt for the Evan Williams 23

Thomas

Yeah, in the US Thomas, we only get the regular tan colored label Blantons... none of the other 5 that are out there so it is rather unique. I had barrel proof blantons and I honestly think that it is a better bourbon reduced down a bit. Maybe a bit higher than the US versions though, like the gold and silver are where it gets good.

I've never had the EW 23yo but from what I was told it was pretty bad... I tend to like older aged/oaky bourbons though so it should be something interesting to eventually try.

I am not as extreme as Linn, but I never bought a bottle of Weller 19 and wouldn't now if I could. They were in my opinion, Julian's rejects and the extra year Julian gave them made it worth the extra money. I like Stitzel-Weller bourbon, but in my opinion the Weller 10yo is a better bourbon than the Weller 19yo.
Mike Veach

The Whiskey Viking wrote:I didn't realize that that bottle was so special. You're talking about the standard Blanton's barrel proof right?

I believe it's the same one you're thinking of--the export-only barrel-proof Blanton's (Mark's has a label handwritten with the barrel info on it).

I have a particular soft-spot for Blanton's. Actually, I've heard from people who have done distillery samplings that Blanton's really does better at lower proofs, but I think it'd be neat to control it myself and taste at different dilutions. I envision it as a G.T. Stagg but with a Blanton's flavor profile...purely speculation of course!

Mark wrote:I'll tell ya, in recent weeks, the temptation to break open some of these bad boys has been a little overwhelming.

Honestly, I don't know how you have the self-discipline to not open most of those!!?!

Who knows? Maybe a couple decades from now one of the Samuels' will approach you for your NFL collection and you can put your kids through college!

Mark wrote:I've never had the EW 23yo but from what I was told it was pretty bad... I tend to like older aged/oaky bourbons though so it should be something interesting to eventually try.

I had never heard any comments about the EW 23 before. I've only seen it being offered for a tremendous amount of money. Unless I win the lottery or get a considerably better paid job, I guess that one will be out of my league.
Thomas