The 'other' barrel of BT

[OneCubeOnly]

This is mostly directed at the rest of the gang who participated in the private BT barrel tasting/purchase--I remember hearing about somebody purchasing the runner-up barrel from our selection of 5. Nobody has said anything about what happened with this one....was it indeed purchased and bottled? Is it a secret who bought it? How were the logistics handled?

Is this hush-hush, or can we talk about it?

[Mark]

I sure haven't heard anything Gary, but I dont see why anyone should keep it hush hush if they tried that barrel with you guys and gals that were at the trace... I heard both barrels were very good so if someone did indeed buy it please let us know.

[Brewer]

Gary and Mark,

While at WhiskyFest, Kris informed me that barrel #3 was indeed purchased. I believe it was purchased by a liquor store that planned to sell it like Sam's and Binny's do. I'll see if I can find out the exact purchaser.

Bob

[Chris]

That would definitely be a find... I know i was thinking that we couldn't go wrong with either of the two finalists, but having both would be good too...

[OneCubeOnly]

Actually, the Elmer T. Lee that we tasted at the Gazebo that very night was almost exactly like "Barrel #3" (the runner-up). Once Bob pointed out how similar they are I was glad we picked the one we did...you can get ETL anywhere, so it's nice having something a bit more unique.

[Brewer]

Gary,

Yeah, the ETL was from the old "butt ugly" bottle, and I should clarify that it was Cliff that made that comparision. I still stand by the decision to go for barrel 4 though. Everyone seems to be enjoying it very much! That is not to say that I dislike ETL. I enjoy it very much, but I think ours has a very distinctive flavor/aroma that is very enjoyable.

Bob

[OneCubeOnly]

Cliff's mass-email seems to echo these sentiments also (I promise I hadn't read that e-mail prior to posting...but it almost sounds like I plagiarized him!) Great minds, huh Cliff!?

[Brewer]

I had forgotten about this thread, but I did look into this...the Thoroughbred Shop in Lexington KY purchased the other barrel. I was told by Kris C. at Buffalo Trace that they bought barrel 3 (our close 2nd choice), but I've since been told that it was barrel 5. I'll be getting this next week, and will report back. I really hope that it is barrel 3!

[Brewer]

Looking back on correspondence that I'd had with Kris C. at Buffalo Trace gave me the answer I was looking for. It was barrel 3 from our tasting. I guess that it is considered barrel 5 by Sal at the Thoroughbred Shop, since it was the 5th barrel at his tasting. It was barrel 3 at our tasting! I'll be getting a bottle of this on Monday, so I'll keep you posted!

Merry Christmas!

[tlsmothers]

Bob, do keep us posted. I was one that leaned towards barrel 3, but knew we wouldn't go wrong with either. Barrel 4 bottled is sure pleasing my taste buds even more than I remembered out of barrel, but I can't say that if you land a few bottles of barrel 3 that I won't make a trade with you of something else I have hanging around. *wink wink*

[Brewer]

I saw Ed during the holidays and he brought me barrel 3 from the Thoroughbred Shop. It was great comparing 3 & 4 again, side by side at an hour that was more appropriate for me than while at BT. I stand by my opinion on that day...barrel 4 has a better flavor profile to my tastebuds. That said, barrel 3, in its own right is damn good. Spicier to my taste.

When I see folks that are interested that are up in the NY/LI area, we'll have to do a side by side again. When will you be up again Dave G? Dave/Tina? Gary?

[OneCubeOnly]

The BTSB delivery relay obviously saved me a bunch of driving, but I was a tiny bit sad that I couldn't puruse LeNell's and have a drink with the NY crew!

Keep us VA/MD people posted about the next NY gettogether...if it's a good weekend I'm sure I can manage a trek up there!

I'd love to have a rematch of the #3 vs. #4 barrels, particularly now that I'm familiar with #4 so well!

Also, I'd like to test Cliff's theory about #3 having a resemblance to Elmer T. Lee.

[bunghole]

You'd have pay me a pretty heafty bribe to slip through Yankee lines, but I'd do it just to see Cliffie's face! "Yo Barrel Proof! It's bunghole! Wut Up?!"

imarebel