Blanton's was the first commercially available single barrel offering back in 1984, it even says 'The Original Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey on the neck tag'. Others followed suit soon thereafter, like one of our favorites, Wild Turkey Kentuck Spirit. For many years, Blanton's sat on shelves at $25, ignored by most as bourbon wasn't the juggernaut we know it to be today. As the bourbon boom accelerated, Blanton's became one of the more popular bourbons on the market, to the point that these days, fools ...excuse me, people are paying $80 - $100 for the 93 proof variant and it is often seen on shelves for $250 or more. Ridiculous!
I like Blanton's just fine and at or near retail, $60 or so, I'd pretty much always buy it. I enjoy it and it's fun with non-whiskey geek friends who come over, it's the one they are always anxious to taste. It's also fun to let them taste next to a $23 bottle of Wild Turkey 101 for some perspective and enlightenment around spending more does not always mean getting better booze. But I have always drawn the line for Blanton's around $60. It just isn't good enough to pay more for me. There are other Buffalo Trace bourbons such as Eagle Rare that can still be found for less and in my mind, taste as good or even better. Heck, Eagle Rare is age stated at 10 years! Sure, it's the other mashbill and 3 proof points less but I've never noticed a big difference in those two mashbills nor does 90 vs 93 proof make a material difference to me.
These days, you can also get private barrel picks of Blanton's but does that matter as much with a whiskey that is always a single barrel offering? Do you think they are rolling out better barrels for restaurants and liquor stores to choose from than they are using in their own release? Private picks had already changed from the days of a distillery hauling out 8 - 12 barrels to choose from. I think most stores now just have samples sent to the store for choosing a single barrel. Do you really think Buffalo Trace is thoughtfully tasting through all of those sample bottles before sending them to your local store? Seems a long shot to me but let's find out.
Today we'll open up a Blanton's store pick from Hazel's Beverage World here in Boulder, CO, and taste it next to a standard release Blanton's that Dan bought at a store near his home.
We paid the same $60 for both. Is one better than the other? What say you, Colonel Albert B. Blanton?
Cheers!
On a non-whiskey note. You probably know that we also produce some excellent bicycle content. Slow Guy on the Fast Ride is focused on road and gravel cycling. Dan hosts a podcast and we put out a fair amount of gear-focused content. Our Lemme See That Videos are a hoot and valuable and we also do longer-form, written, and video reviews of road and gravel cycling gear. We also just launched Dawn Patrol MTB which is focused on mountain bikes as the name suggests.
At the moment, it's just me and Dan cranking it out, and when we can with our limited resources, we pull in freelance writers. We really want to provide diverse insight into cycling but we don't want to ask others to work for free (like we do so far) so we're asking for your support (beyond watching us, which we so greatly appreciate). If you can donate at this link - https://www.gofundme.com/f/reshape-cycling-media - we'll use all proceeds to pay talented freelance writers from backgrounds different from our own, to produce bike content that we know will appeal to a wide audience. Of course, whenever possible, we'll pour them a tipple of tasty whiskey too. Anyone who donates $75 or more will receive some goodies, not limited to a Slow Guy t-shirt, stickers, and probably more. Thank you for all you do to support the Practical Still and me and Dan.
Cheers!
#ryewhiskey #bourbon #irishwhiskey #singlepotstill #redbreast #redspotirishwhiskey #knobcreekbourbon
If you're into bicycles, we are too! Take a look at slowguyonthefastride.com and @Slow Guy on the Fast Ride for reviews, interviews, and our podcast. In August, we'll launch Dawn Patrol MTB - a digital mountain bike title with videos, reviews, and more. You can already follow us on Instagram @DawnPatrolMTB.
And give a listen to the latest podcast to join us, Mental Healthlete - www.mentalhealthlete.com and @mentalhealthlete - it's on all the podcasts apps. We all struggle from time to time and maybe athletes more than most. Host Bill Garrels opens up about his own struggles and has great guests on to share their stories and the strategies they have found to keep them moving in the right direction.
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