Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Great Quake of 2011!

Sitting at work yesterday and all of a sudden things start rockin and rollin. Earthquake! Growing up in California I've lived through a number of them. Evacuation commenced and as we're all milling around outside waiting for the "all clear" my thoughts turn to home and all my bottles sitting on open shelves. I get a knot in my stomach thinking about a George T. Stagg or Pappy Van Winkle laying broken on the floor leaking it's contents all over the place. My plan was to work a little late but instead, I made a beeline home to check on things. Thankfully driving up I didn't see any missing bricks or cracks in either of my chimneys. Inside, everything looks normal as I do a quick inspection of multiple bunkers. Whew!

Evidently, there was a 4.2 aftershock last night about 8:00 which I didn't notice. I did notice however another aftershock this morning about 8:15. I just hope the 5.8 rumbler wasn't a pre-shock.

To celebrate surviving the great quake of 2011, I'm enjoying a 1988 Old Forester 86 proof with a Padilla Achilles cigar. The Old Forester is one of my favorite out of production bourbons. I say out of production because this particular bourbon came from DSP414 where current Old Forester come from DSP356. Very different flavor profiles. The 414 is rich, creamy, buttery and uber delicious. The Padilla Achilles is a good value cigar that I picked up from Cigars International for $2 a stick. Good cigar at a great value.

I just hope Hurricane Irene passes well to the East.

6 comments:

  1. You know, a friend of mine was telling me how he lost a bottle to the quake, and I immediately thought of your stash- especially the office. Glad you didn't lose any!

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  2. Jeremiah - all was good; believe me, I checked the bottles in the bunker and the office. Now I'm nervous about the office shelves that house my more interesting collection. Lived here in VA for 26 years and this is the first quake I remember.

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  3. I am glad to hear that your stash made it through the quake. The hurricane, too? You were very helpful in answering my question about SW stocks, etc. I have another, broader question. I have been drinking bourbon for a few years and only recently have thought about building a bigger stash. Currently I'll carry around 3-5 bottles at a time, and when they're drunk, they're gone. I do try to "protect" certain bottles, e.g. last year's Stagg better last me the full year at least. I also have the last 3 vintages of EW Single Barrel. But my question to you is, what would be a few bottles that you think might be worth stocking up on. Not really for profit, per se. I guess there is no way to know the future, and folks that stocked up on SW stuff by chance were lucky as it's in high demand. I just mean, what are a few moderately priced bourbons that might be worth storing away to revisit in a decade or two?

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  4. Greg - here's my motto: It's never cheaper than it is today.

    I haven't been collecting as long as some folks I know but what I do know is that prices year over year increase. With that in mind, enjoying limited release bottles like GTS is always a good thing but I would recommend, and based on your personal financial means, stocking up on those types of bottles. When I first starting buying the BTAC, the bottles cost me around mid $40's but last year here in VA, prices were near $80. When it comes to stocking up as you put it, my approach is always to enjoy at a later date by myself or with friends. I've been caught a couple of times asleep at the wheel only to see a particular bourbon disappear off the shelves completely or return with an age statement missing (e.g. Old Weller Antique). I wouldn't recommend stocking up for future decades but stock up to keep your bourbon bunker diverse. Start with having a bottle or more of labels from each distillery. You mentioned you had some EWSB, I would also add EW BIB or Henry McKenna BIB. You could have Knob Creek Reserve and OGD BIB from Beam. Weller 12 year, Baby Saz and maybe a Rock Hill Farms from BT. Old Forester Birthday Bourbon and Old Forester Signature from Brown Forman. And then maybe a couple micro offerings like High West or Stranahan;s. This would give you a nice cross section of various whiskies from different distilleries. As I mentioned in my new blog post, BTAC has announced its 2011 release so jumping on that is also a good idea.

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  5. Felt the quake in Lancaster, PA at work. I work in the parts department of a local Subaru dealership and all the metal bins started to rock and rattle. I knew right away it was an earthquake since our area also has some fault lines that rumble every few years. Some of the other guys freaked out. It was pretty funny.

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  6. Love me some Old Forester 86* from 1988 era!!! Its getting even better with the air in the bottle. I have to stash it the back when certain friends come over, if you know what i mean! Its the only one I have & really hoping to score another!

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