The Shortage That Never Happened

See YouTube Video Here

In December 2014, the Wall Street Journal sent a reporter to my house for two days. They called it stockpiling. I called it collecting.

They weren't wrong, exactly. They just didn't have the whole story.

Before I get into what actually happened, I want you to sit with a question for a second. When something you love becomes scarce, do you panic, or do you get curious? Your answer probably says more about you as a collector than anything sitting in your basement.

What the WSJ actually saw

The journalist spent two days at my house. He interviewed me, a few of my friends, my wife. I took him bourbon shopping so he could watch how I actually hunt for bottles instead of just hearing me describe it.

The quote they pulled from me was simple: I never wanted to be in a position where I wanted a bottle and couldn't get it. After a while, that turned into something with a life of its own.

The line that actually stuck with me wasn't mine, though. It was my wife's. The reporter asked her what she thought about all of it, and she said if I ever sold the collection, she'd think about all the shopping she could do.

But here's the detail that matters most for where this story goes. The article didn't just talk about stockpiling — it noted I'd already started buying barrels straight from distillers, bypassing retailers entirely. That wasn't a footnote. That was the whole shift.

Where it actually started

Long before anyone called it a shortage, this was about curiosity, not scarcity. I found a forum post about vintage bottles still sitting on shelves decades after production, and that's what got me hunting. Four handles of 1980/81 Old Forester, 86 proof, for $12.50 a bottle. Pappy 15 for $36. Van Winkle Lot B for $32. BTAC bottles for $45 each.

This was the late 2000s into the early 2010s — before the parking lot drops, before the lottery systems, before any of it had a name. I was thrilled just to find those bottles. My collection started with curiosity, not scarcity.

Then the craze hit

Bottles that were $36 started going for $400. Allocations tightened. Parking lot drops became a real thing. The secondary market exploded. That's when the Wall Street Journal came calling.

I joined the lotteries same as everyone else, but I wasn't chasing. Wasn't sitting in parking lots. Wasn't spamming the secondary market trying to flip something. Everyone around me was reacting to the scarcity. I was asking a different question: why chase when you can go right to the source?

That question sent me down a rabbit hole that ended up with over 300 barrel selections.

The pivot to private barrels

Mid-2009, a few of us got tired of hunting. We didn't want to keep chasing down the selections we wanted, so we asked a simple question: why not just buy the barrel ourselves? Our first two picks were with Willett and Four Roses — Four Roses had only started their barrel program the year before, so we were in on the ground floor of that.

Turned out to be better timing than we knew at the time. Within a few years, availability started drying up. Getting on a list became a thing. Waiting in line became a thing. Lotteries became a thing. We were already past all of that — we'd been picking barrels directly since before anyone needed a lottery to get one.

Zooming out: what was actually happening

Here's what I didn't know while I was living through all of this. Kentucky's aging barrel inventory was already climbing years before anyone called it a shortage — from a historic low of 3.4 million barrels in 1999, up toward 4 million by 2010. And in that same window, bottles on shelves were quietly losing their age statements. I was writing about it on my own blog as it happened: Elijah Craig 12, Old Charter, Ancient Age, one after another.

That same Wall Street Journal article actually listed some of what was sitting in my basement at the time. Old Charter 12-Year was one of them. Next to it, one word: Gone. I didn't know it yet, but I was standing in the middle of the exact data I'd eventually go dig up.

Barrels filled today aren't ready for years. That's the whole story in one sentence. The shortage was never really a shortage of bourbon — it was a shortage of bourbon that had actually finished aging.

The expansion

When the bourbon world got complicated — allocations tightening, relationships turning transactional, the whole culture shifting — my curiosity pointed somewhere else. Rum first, through a Privateer collaboration that turned three Weller Full Proof casks into something nobody had made before. Then armagnac, through a small producer relationship built the same way my distillery relationships were: directly, personally, out of genuine interest in what they were making. Then cognac. Then calvados.

The shortage didn't shrink my collection. It expanded it. I wasn't replacing bourbon — I was following curiosity.

The market catches up

While I was off exploring rum and armagnac, the industry was quietly catching up to itself. Barrel inventory kept climbing — 7.5 million by 2017, 11.4 million by 2022, 12.6 million not long after. Distilleries had massively ramped up production back when the shortage hit, and all those barrels just needed time.

As of the most recent count, Kentucky has 16.1 million barrels of bourbon aging in warehouses right now. That's an all-time record — ten billion dollars sitting in rickhouses. The shortage everyone panicked about in 2014 was never permanent. It was a lag. And the lag is over.

The shelf

This is what following curiosity for twenty years actually looks like: not a bourbon collection, but a brown spirits collection. When I reach for a bottle now, the question isn't which bourbon — it's what spirit fits the mood. It can be almost anything. That's what the shortage actually gave me. Not less. More.

The part that isn't really about bourbon

Here's the piece most people don't talk about. Before the shortage, nobody thought twice — you drank what you had, bourbon was just something you enjoyed. Then scarcity showed up, and the question quietly changed. It stopped being "do I want this" and became "can I get this." People lined up for bottles they'd never even tasted, just to prove they could get one.

I watched grown adults treat a bottle of bourbon like a trophy. Not because they loved what was in it — because getting it meant they'd won something.

That's really the whole difference between where the market's been and where it's headed. Scarcity asks can I get it. Abundance asks a completely different question: do I actually want it. Once bourbon stops being scarce, that second question is the only one left.

Where things stand right now

Bottle lotteries are winding down. Allocations are loosening. Secondary market prices on a lot of formerly-hyped bottles have come back to earth. That's not just a feeling — Kentucky's sitting on 16.1 million barrels of aging bourbon, which Forbes estimates represents something like a 300 percent oversupply. That's not a shortage. That's the opposite problem entirely, and distillers know they need to move that whiskey — which means the surplus itself is expected to bring prices down as producers compete to sell through it.

And the thing I've been tracking since 2009, the age statements, some of them are actually starting to come back. The barrels filled during the 2012-2016 boom are finally old enough to put a number on the label again. I'm not the only one seeing it — Forbes ran a piece on this earlier this year making the same point. Nice to know I wasn't just watching my own basement.

What might come next

Here's where I'll admit I'm guessing, same as anyone else. If this cycle plays out the way the last one did, I'd expect new labels to lean back into higher proof — distilleries competing on substance instead of scarcity. Deeper age statements as a selling point instead of a liability. And maybe, eventually, prices actually settling back down as real competition returns. I could be wrong about all of it. But that's the bet I'd make.

Where I landed

The Wall Street Journal called me a collector during the shortage. They weren't wrong. But a collector doesn't panic when supply contracts — a collector gets curious about what's next. The shortage didn't change what I was looking for. It changed where I looked.

So here's the question I'd leave you with: when scarcity hits the thing you love, do you chase it, or do you let it redirect you?

Because the answer to that question isn't really about bourbon.

Pour thoughtfully. Draw slowly. And savor the journey.

The Dusty Hunting System — And Why It Matters Again

Summer of 2010. Baltimore liquor store. My eyes lock on a bottle of Old Forester Bottled in Bond. Distilled 1970. Bottled 1975. Thirty-five years on that shelf. I paid fifteen dollars.

That find wasn't luck. It was the result of knowing what to look for before anyone else in the room did.

I've written about dusty hunting on this blog going back to the early days — the DC mapped hunt, the Baltimore locked door, the bottles that sat on shelves for decades because nobody was buying bourbon in the 1970s and 80s. That era created the hunting grounds. Some of those bottles are still out there, but most have been found.

What's changed is the market. 16.1 million barrels aging in Kentucky right now. Production cut 28% in 2025. The last time it looked like this was the glut era that created the dusties in the first place.

Understanding what created those finds — the economics, the pattern, the specific things to look for on every bottle — is more valuable now than it's been in years. Not because you'll find a 1970 Old Forester for fifteen dollars. But because markets have memory. And this pattern has a shape.

I put together a video walking through the system in detail. Five things I check on every bottle. The DC mapped hunt. What the bottles from that era were actually telling you that the labels weren't saying directly.

There are other clues, labels, bottle style, etc.  Knowing the clues is the key to finding those old treasures.

If you've been reading this blog since the early days you already know most of this. But if you know someone just getting into collecting — or someone who thinks dusty hunting is wandering into random liquor stores and hoping something turns up — send them the video.

[Link to YouTube video]

Pour thoughtfully. Draw slowly. And savor the journey.

I Paid $5.99 For This Bourbon. Here's Why.

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO HERE

There's a liquor store I won't name. It looked like it hadn't been touched since the Carter administration. I'm walking the aisles — eyes scanning

shelves the way you do when you've been doing this long enough to know that's where the interesting bottles live.

I reach up and pull down an Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond.

I flip it over to the tax strip.

I did the math standing right there in the aisle.

I paid $5.99 for it.

The guy behind the register was pleased to get rid of it.

---

What's Happening in Kentucky Right Now

Before I explain that bottle — and I will — I want to show you where bourbon stands today.

Right now there are 16.1 million barrels of bourbon aging in Kentucky. That's an all time record.

At the same time:

• Production has been cut 28% in 2025 — the lowest since the pandemic
• Jim Beam paused their entire Clermont distillery for all of 2026
• Brown-Forman laid off 650 people and closed their cooperage
• 50 craft distilleries went under in 2025 alone
• Used barrels that were selling for $200 eighteen months ago are now going for $50

300 million cases aging. 35 million cases sold every year.  That's nearly nine years of inventory sitting in Kentucky rickhouses right now.

When I first heard that number I just stopped. Because I'd heard something like it before.

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When the Industry Got Weird

Picture Kentucky in the early 1970s.

Distilleries running full tilt. Stills going day and night. Warehouses filling up fast. Bourbon was built on post-war optimism. Demand was strong, the future looked good, everyone kept distilling.

Then vodka happened.

Clear spirits became fashionable. Your parents' generation decided bourbon was something their grandfather drank. Demand softened. Warehouses filled up. Distilleries running flat out suddenly had more whiskey than they could move.

You'd think the industry would slow down.

They didn't.

They got weird.

When you can't sell bourbon as bourbon you start selling it as a chess set. Jim Beam decanters. Wild Turkey collectibles. Genie bottles. Bowling pins. Train sets. The industry was throwing everything at the wall.

You know what they're doing now to move inventory?

Selling the barrels as garden planters.

Different glut. Same desperation.

But the strangest thing wasn't what happened outside the bottle.

It was what happened inside.

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How to Read a Bottled in Bond Tax Strip

Bottled in Bond is a government standard going back to 1897. 100 proof, single distillery, single distillation season, aged at least four years in a federally bonded warehouse. Congress's guarantee of what was actually in the bottle.

Part of that system was the tax strip — the green stamp over the cap. Flip the bottle over, find the strip, read two dates.

Distilled date. Bottled date.

Right there on every bottle.

Subtract one from the other. That's how old the whiskey actually is — regardless of what the label says.

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The Four Bottles

I have four Bottled in Bond bottles from the glut era. Here's what the tax strips say:

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Old Fitzgerald BIB Stitzel-Weller DSP-KY-16

I found this one in a liquor store that looked like it hadn't been touched since the Carter administration. Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond. Distilled at Stitzel-Weller — DSP-KY-16 — one of the most celebrated distilleries in bourbon history.

Label says six years old.

Distilled 1972. Bottled 1980.

That's eight years. Not six.

The whiskey sat because nobody was buying. When they finally bottled it they labeled it at the minimum — even though what was in the bottle was considerably better.

I put it on the counter. Guy rings it up. $5.99. I kept my face completely straight.

He said — "you sure you want this old whiskey?"

I said — "yeah I think so."

He was tickled to get rid of it.

That was the glut dividend. And I got mine for $5.99.

And just so you know — it's still remarkable. Eight year old Stitzel-Weller bourbon that nobody wanted. 

---

Old Charter BIB Bernheim DSP-KY-2 / Bottled at Buffalo Trace DSP-KY-113

Same era. Different store. Different city. I'm working my way through Baltimore. Store by store. I've got a list.

Old Charter Bottled in Bond. Distilled at the Bernheim distillery in Louisville. Bottled at what is now Buffalo Trace in Frankfort.

Label says four years old.

Distilled 1973. Bottled 1981.

Eight years. Not four.

Two different distilleries. Same story. This wasn't a coincidence. Two of the most important names in bourbon today — connected to one glut era bottle that sat on a shelf because nobody wanted it.

---

I.W. Harper BIB Bernheim DSP-KY-1 / Old Quaker Indiana DSP-IND-2

I.W. Harper. One of America's most celebrated bourbons — shipped almost entirely to Japan during the glut because Americans didn't want it.

Distilled 1976. Bottled 1983.

Seven years. Four year label.

---

Stillbrook Corn Whiskey BIB DSP-ILL-2

Rinse and repeat.

Distilled 1971. Bottled 1978.

Not four years. Seven years.

---

The Four Bottle Lineup

Four bottles. Kentucky. Indiana. Illinois. Bourbon. Corn whiskey. Some of America's most prestigious labels. All labeled at the minimum. All aged considerably longer. All sitting on shelves because nobody was buying.

I've shown these to people who've been collecting for decades and they just shake their heads.

This wasn't one distillery making one unusual decision. This was the industry. Whiskey aging whether anyone wanted it or not.

I still get a little — I don't know — something when I line these up. These distilleries are gone. These tax strips don't exist anymore. This specific window — closed.

That was the glut dividend.

---

The Distilleries We Lost

Wild Turkey. Four Roses. Buffalo Trace. The ones you know today — they survived by making hard decisions.

Some distilleries didn't make it through.

Stitzel-Weller — the distillery that made the Old Fitzgerald — stopped distilling in the early 1990s. Sat abandoned for decades. Old Taylor ceased production in the 1980s. Gone for 40 years. Old Quaker in Indiana. Closed late 1980s. Never came back.

The people who made these whiskeys didn't know they were in a glut. They just kept doing their jobs. Making bourbon. Until the day they couldn't.

---

The Modern Parallel

Look at the inventory chart from the 1960s to today.

1960s — optimism, expansion, running hard. The glut hits. Distilleries slow down, close, disappear. Inventory bottoms out around 2000. Then the bourbon boom. Demand surges. The industry rebuilds. Expands again. Runs hard again.

And now — 300 million cases aging. 35 million sold annually.

They did it again.

When I started getting into bourbon — mid to late 80s — bourbon was just bourbon. Nobody was camping outside liquor stores. Nobody was flipping bottles.

I remember thinking BTAC was expensive at $45. I actually debated it.

• Everyday bourbon — up 121%. Roughly keeping pace with inflation.
• BTAC MSRP — up 600%.
• Pappy on the secondary market — up 1,400%.
• Median household income — up 959%.

I was buying BTAC for $45. Walking into stores, picking it off the shelf. No lottery. No waitlist. No secondary market.

I remember thinking — I should probably buy more of these.

And then thinking — nah, there'll always be more.

There wasn't.

At some point bourbon stopped being a drink and started behaving like an asset.

That always ends the same way.

The glut of the 1970s taught the industry a painful lesson. The question is — will they slow down soon enough this time?

---

What to Watch For

This is from one trip to DC. I'm driving down a back street. I pull over. Walk into a liquor store that looks like it hasn't changed since 1975. Guy behind the register looks at me like I'm lost. I start pulling bottles off the shelf. He says — "that stuff's been here since my dad ran this place." I said — "perfect."

Three numbers that tell the whole story:

$5.99 — an eight year old Stitzel-Weller bourbon. Nobody wanted it.

$45 — BTAC off the shelf. No lottery. No waitlist.

Zero — people lined up outside liquor stores.

That window is closed now. But another one may be opening.

Here's what to watch for:

• Watch for discounting on mid-shelf and premium bottles. A bottle that's been $60 for three years showing up at $45 — that's a signal.
• Watch for age statements quietly reappearing on expressions that haven't carried them in years.
• Watch for better availability on things that have been allocated forever. Buffalo Trace on the shelf every week — pay attention to why.
• Watch for the mid-tier getting genuinely interesting again. That's where the glut dividend shows up first.

And if you ever find a Bottled in Bond with a tax strip intact — flip it over. Find the distilled date. Find the bottled date. Do the math.

You might be holding something considerably older than the label suggests.

And if the price is right — you'll know exactly what to do.

That's not a trick.

That's history.

---

In Summary

I've stood in these rickhouses. Walked these floors. Poured from barrels that have been aging longer than some of you have been alive.

And there's something about this hobby — something I find hard to put into words — that keeps pulling me back.

The last bourbon glut was painful for the industry. Distilleries closed. Brands disappeared. Decades of history went quiet.

But every time I walk past those old buildings — I think about the people who worked there. And I think about the bottles they left behind.

For the drinker who was paying attention — and patient — it was one of the best times in bourbon history to just go buy something good.

I don't know if we're heading into another one. But if we are — you'll recognize it now. And you'll know what to do.

I pick up that bottle of Old Fitz sometimes just to remind myself.

The next bourbon cycle may not be about scarcity.

It may be about patience.

And patience may bring back something else collectors lost during the boom — but that's a conversation for another video.

Pour thoughtfully, draw slowly, and savor the journey.

-- Greg

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What Stood Out This Week - Pours and Smokes

Watch The Full Video Here

This week I took some time to enjoy a few selections from the collection that really stood out. Instead of chasing new releases, I focused on what I actually reached for — and a few of them delivered excellent experiences.

I paired my personal barrel pick — the Altschuler 17 Year French Oak Finished Bourbon at 104 proof — with a Joya de Honduras Cabinet Selection Ligero Aged 17 Years, a Luxury Cigar Club exclusive. The bourbon brought rich oak, brown sugar, vanilla, cedar, baking spice, and dark fruit with zero heat. Paired with the Joya’s aged cedar, dry cocoa, leather, roasted nuts, and mature tobacco… it was the perfect pairing.

I also paired the Wild Turkey 12 Year 101 Japanese Release with the El Mago Solstice Sumatra 6x48 from Mardo Cigars. The Wild Turkey showed nice extra maturity with brown sugar, caramel, vanilla crème brûlée, charred oak, and leather undertones. The El Mago delivered cream, breadiness, cedar, and restrained spice with a perfect draw and razor sharp burn. They complemented each other beautifully.

Finally, I enjoyed the Por Larranaga Picadores (Hermosos No. 4, 5x48) from 2017 paired with Foursquare Dominus. This mature Barbados rum (aged 3 years in ex-bourbon and 7 years in ex-cognac casks at 112 proof) brought rich caramel, Demerara sugar, vanilla, toffee, dark fruit, oak, tannins, and warm spices. The cigar offered salted caramel, floral honey, cream, soft wood, and tea spice with a refined medium body. Rum and Cuban cigars continue to be one of my favorite approachable combinations.

After more than 20 years of collecting, these quiet, satisfying moments of discovering great pairings from my own basement are what I enjoy most.

Have you had any standout pours or smokes lately? Let me know in the comments — I read every one.

If you enjoy relaxed, experience-based content about aged spirits and cigars, I’d appreciate it if you subscribed to the channel and joined the journey.

As always — pour thoughtfully, draw slowly, and savor the journey.

-- Greg

3 Bourbons and 3 Cigars that Over Deliver

 Watch the Full Video Here

I’ve been collecting aged spirits and cigars for over 20 years, and one thing I’ve learned is that you don’t always need the newest or most expensive releases to enjoy great drinks and smokes. Sometimes the best options are the ones that quietly deliver time after time.

In my latest video, I share three bourbons and three cigars that I actually reach for on a regular basis. These aren’t the rarest bottles or sticks in my collection — they’re the reliable, everyday choices that consistently punch above their weight.

Old Grand-Dad 114  

One of my go-to high-proof bourbon is Old Grand Dad 114 proof with a high-rye mashbill (63% corn, 27% rye, 10% malted barley). The recipe traces back to the old National Distillers days before Jim Beam acquired it in 1987.  They not only purchased the brand and recipe but a good supply of aged barrels.  The profile is bold spice and caramel sweetness which makes it a great all-rounder with cigars.

If the 114 proof is a little too punchy, you can scale down to the Old Grand Dad Bottled in Bond at 100 proof or the 86 proof which cost slightly less than the 114.

Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond 

Simple, honest, and one of the best values in bourbon and uses the Heaven Hill mashbill (78% corn, 10% rye, 12% malted barley). It’s straightforward, well-balanced, and always delivers more than you expect at this price point which is less than $20 in my area.

If you want to scale up, you can go with Henry McKenna Bottled in Bond which uses the same mashbill but is 10 years old and a single barrel.  Price point is higher at around $50-$60. 

Wild Turkey Rare Breed  

A blend of 6-, 8-, and 12-year barrels at barrel proof. Wild Turkey’s classic mashbill (75% corn, 13% rye, 12% malted barley) brings rich vanilla, oak, and that signature spicy kick. 

It’s one of the strongest everyday performers in the category.  The Rare Breed runs around $55-$65 but if you want to scale down you go with the standard Wild Turkey 101 which is a blend of 4, 6 and 8 year old barrels and comes in around $25-$30.

Now let's talk about some budget friendly cigars that punch above the price point

HVC Cerro 5x50 Robusto 

Excellent construction with balanced flavor. Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and filler. A solid, enjoyable everyday smoke.  This cigar is medium to full bodied with a profile of dark chocolate, espresso and moderate black pepper.

Warped Cloudhopper 5x46 Corona

Unique profile and great burn. Corojo ’99 wrapper with Nicaraguan binder and filler. I just picked up a 50 CAB for less than $5 a stick — outstanding value.  

This corona is a medium bodied cigar with a profile of burst of black pepper and chili zest that quickly mellows into smooth, creamy oak. Dominant notes of rich leather, dark chocolate, and toasted bread emerge, backed by a distinct graham cracker and marshmallow sweetness on the finish.

AJ Fernandez Enclave 6½ x 52 Toro 

A Nicaraguan puro with bold, rich flavors. The 6½ x 52 Toro size gives a solid 60–75 minute smoke that’s full but never harsh.  This cigar is medium to full bodied with a profile of white pepper, which quickly rounds out into cedar, toasted bread, coffee bean, baking spices, and a unique carob chip sweetness.  Fair warning, this cigar is a bit of a powerhouse, so eat before you enjoy.

I enjoy these kinds of bourbons and cigars because they’re dependable and genuinely enjoyable. In a world full of hype and new releases, sometimes the best choices are the ones that simply work.

Watch Full Video Here

If you watch it, I’d love to hear what you think. Drop a comment on the video or here on the blog — what’s one bourbon or cigar you think over delivers right now?

As always — pour thoughtfully, draw slowly, and savor the journey.

- Greg

How I Keep My Cigars Fresh in the Basement – Humidor Tour & Storage Tips

 Watch The Full Video Here

If you’ve ever struggled with keeping cigars fresh and smokable — dealing with dry cigars, mold issues, or inconsistent humidity — you’re not alone. I’m not a professional with a fancy walk-in humidor. I’m just a regular collector who started small and slowly built a system that works.

Today I’m sharing my real-world setup: three stand-up humidors and eight totes, all stored in my basement. This is what actually works for me after years of trial and error.

My basement is naturally cooler and more temperature-stable than the rest of the house. That consistency is huge for long-term cigar storage. I aim for 65–68% humidity in the humidors, and I run a small home humidifier year-round to keep things steady — especially in the dry winter months.

It’s nothing fancy, but it works reliably.

This is my primary humidor — mostly filled with Cuban cigars.

One thing you’ll notice on older Cubans is loose bands. That’s completely normal — the cigars shrink slightly over time as they age.

I have two additional stand-up humidors (also mostly Cubans) plus eight large totes for longer-term aging. The totes are mostly New World cigars and they actually provide excellent stability for bulk storage.

Here are the practical tips that have made the biggest difference for me:

- A cool, stable environment is more important than fancy equipment.

- Make sure you run a humidifier year-round for consistency.

- Inspect your cigars regularly.

- If you see mold, remove the affected cigars immediately and gently brush them with a soft brush like  shaving brush with soft bristles, and make sure you remove all the cigars and wipe down the box before placing the cigars back in.

- My humidors usually sit around 67%, but when I test a cigar it often reads ~62% — perfect for smoking.  Room temperature should be as stable as possible, less than 70 degrees is preferable.  Don't store your cigars in a room that fluctuates temperature during the day (e.g. direct sun entering the room)

- Totes often give better long-term stability than stand-ups simply because the plastic doesn't absorb moisture like wood, so humidity stays very stable.

- Rotate your stock and don’t overfill — good airflow helps prevent issues.

That’s my current cigar storage setup. This is just what works for me — everyone’s situation and preferences are different. You don’t need expensive gear to keep cigars fresh. Consistency and paying attention are what matter most.

What does your humidor or storage setup look like? What’s your biggest challenge with cigar storage? Drop a comment below and let me know.

If you enjoyed this kind of relaxed, practical content, feel free to subscribe. I’ve got more humidor tours, vintage bourbon reviews, barrel picks, and lounge sessions coming soon.

Pour thoughtfully, draw slowly, and savor the journey.

— Greg

Two New Cigar boxes just arrived!

Check out the video here

Just received two new cigar boxes and did a quick unboxing.

These are heading straight into the humidor. The first impressions are solid — nice construction and promising aromas. I’m looking forward to seeing how they age over the next few months.

The first box is from Bond Roberts and this is their latest release, La Dalia.  It's 6-3/4 x 43 ring gauge.  The wrapper and binder are Honduran and the filler is Honduran and Nicaraguan.  I had the pleasure of smoking this pre-release and was very impressed....and I think the aging potential is high.

The second arrival is from Privada Cigar Club and contains their "Farm Roll" selections.  These cigars come from various factories like Aganonra, La Zona or Tabacalera A.J. Fernandez.  Each pack comes with a variety of cigar sizes, wrappers, binders and fillers.  Best of all, you get 20 cigars for a value price.

What do you think of these arrivals?  

What are you smoking (or looking for) right now? Drop it in the comments!

Pour thoughtfully, draw slowly, and savor the journey.

— Greg

My Vintage Wild Turkey Collection: 20 Years of Bottles & Memories

Hey everyone,

I just uploaded a new video on the Dram and Draw channel where I walk through my personal collection of vintage Wild Turkey bottles. Since many of you may prefer reading, here’s the story in written form.

The story starts with the Ripy family, who built their distillery on Wild Turkey Hill in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, in the 1860s. They operated as the Ripy Bros. Distillery and sold bourbon under labels like Old Ripy or Ripy Bros. The Ripy family owned and ran the distillery from the 1860s all the way until 1949.

Unlike today’s tightly controlled mashbills, early distillers like the Ripys had to adjust grain ratios based on crop availability and cost. One year corn might be cheap and abundant, the next it could be expensive or scarce. This meant the exact percentage of each grain could fluctuate from batch to batch.

To keep consistency despite these variations, they used "backset" — adding a portion of the previous fermentation’s spent mash into the next batch — to create sour mash. This helped stabilize pH levels, control bacteria, and produce more reliable flavor even when grain mixes changed. (This traditional method was later refined by Dr. James C. Crow.)

In 1940, Austin Nichols executive Thomas McCarthy took some of that Ripy-distilled whiskey on a wild turkey hunting trip. His friends loved it so much they kept asking for “that Wild Turkey bourbon.”

Austin Nichols & Co. officially began bottling and marketing it as Wild Turkey in 1942. They owned the brand and acted as the wholesaler and marketer, having the whiskey produced for them under contract. From 1949 to 1971 the distillery was owned by the Gould brothers (operating as J.T.S. Brown and later Boulevard Distillery), while Austin Nichols continued as the bottler and marketer. In 1971, Austin Nichols finally purchased the physical distillery and renamed it the Wild Turkey Distillery.

Jimmy Russell joined in 1954 and has been a steady hand ever since. Through all the ownership changes (Pernod Ricard in 1980, Campari in 2009), the core mashbill has stayed remarkably consistent: 75% corn, 13% rye, and 12% malted barley.

Here are some of the highlights I showed in the video:

- 1987 8 Year 101 Proof – The everyday workhorse from the 1970s–1992  

- 1984 8 Year 101 Proof (1.75L Handle) – 1970's to around 1992

- 1990 Cheesy Gold Foil 12 Year – 1985–1992 (the loud, shiny gold foil collectors remember)  

- 1991 First Edition Rare Breed – One of the early barrel-proof releases  

In the Video I feature some other unique releases like:

- 12 Year 101 Proof (Split Label) – Produced 1993 to around 1999

- 1855 Reserve (Export Rare Breed) – The sought-after export-only version  

- Russell’s Reserve 10 Year 101 – 2001–2005  

- Plus a few of the fun novelty bottles (Violin, Fantail) from the late 90s/early 2000s

If you have a vintage bottle and notice sediment in the bottom of the bottle,  that’s normal and actually a good sign — most vintage bourbons weren’t chill filtered.

Watch the Full Video Here

These bottles aren’t just whiskey — they’re little time capsules. Drinking Wild Turkey made 30 or 40 years ago is drinking history made by people who are long gone. My appreciation has changed a lot since I was mixing it with Coke in the 80s, and that’s what I love most about this hobby.

If you have your own Wild Turkey memories or dusty finds, drop them in the comments on YouTube. I read every one.

Pour thoughtfully, draw slowly, and savor the journey.

— Greg

Fresh Home Roast + Partagás D4

Hey everyone,

Just finished a fresh roast of Ethiopian Konga G2 and paired it with a Partagás D4 in the cigar lounge.

The beans profile will produce nice chocolate, berry, and nut notes — a clean, bright Ethiopian profile that I really enjoy. Even just the aroma from the roast filling the cigar lounge was fantastic.

The Partagás D4 brought that classic earthy cedar, mild spice, and slight sweetness that even without drinking the coffee right away, the combination of the fresh roast aroma and the cigar was a great moment.

I’m still dialing in my roasting process, but days like this make it all worthwhile.

Watch the Short Here

Have you tried pairing fresh roasted coffee with cigars? What roast level or origin works best for you? Drop your thoughts in the comments.

Pour thoughtfully, draw slowly, and savor the journey.

— Greg

He's Alive! New Post!

Hey everyone, I know folks are reading because I can see the analytics and I have to say, I really appreciate the continued engagement.

After many years of writing here on the blog, I’ve decided to start a YouTube channel called Dram and Draw. The name comes from “dram” (a pour of whiskey) and “draw” (pulling on a good cigar).

In my very first video, I sit down and share the story of how this all started — from drinking Wild Turkey mixed with Coke in the 1980s, to slowly discovering better bourbons around 2005, falling in love with cigars in 2007, and eventually building a heavily curated collection of aged spirits and cigars over the last 20 years.

I talk about private barrel selections (I’ve been involved in over 250 of them), how my tastes have evolved, and what I’ve learned along the way. It’s part personal story, part introduction to the channel, and a look at what’s coming in future videos — vintage bourbons, dusty hunting, barrel picks, cigar stories, pairings, and more.

https://youtu.be/dramanddraw

If you’ve enjoyed the blog over the years, I think you’ll like the videos too. They’ll have the same relaxed, conversational style — just with bottles, cigars, and a few more stories.

I’d love it if you’d head over, watch the video, and subscribe if you want to follow along. Drop a comment and let me know what you’d like to see in future episodes.

More content is coming soon.

Pour thoughtfully, draw slowly, and savor the journey.

— Greg

Rum - the other brown spirit

 As I’ve noted in previous posts, my spirits journey started with Bourbon.  At 18 I was enjoying Wild Turkey 12 year, drinking it neat or mixing it with coke.  It was plentiful and cheap back in the early 80’s. 

Fast forward (quite a bit forward) and today my spirits pursuit includes Rum.  What I knew about rum over the years was limited to sugary shelf offerings like Bacardi or Pyrat.  The nuances of rum were a mystery until I started to pay attention and dig a little deeper into this wonderful spirit.  This is a story of my own quick education of rum and the impact it has had on my drinking rotation.

First, lets start from the beginning, the origin of rum itself.  Rum as most anyone knows, comes from sugarcane.  The three styles of base product are either cane juice (Agricole), cane syrup or molasses.  Sugarcane itself is grown the world over but go back a quite a few thousand years and Sugarcane was indigenous to New Guinea.  While there are several strains of Sugarcane, one in particular, Saccharum officinarum is the stain most widely used among cane producing countries. 

When we think of rum, the Caribbean immediately comes to mind but cane as a commodity has traveled the world over throughout history; India, Japan, Persia, Portugal to name just a few.  Sugarcane found on the Island inhabited by Dominican Republic and Haiti (formerly Hispaniola) was introduced by Columbus during his second voyage to the America’s. 

The first introduction of rum in history is up for debate (much like bourbon) but British and French rums were noted around the 17^th century.  Rum has a deep and storied history, too much to articulate in this short post so I will advance the story to the beginnings of my own understanding of rum.  It’s also been noted that the first distilled spirit in American was rum.

At the time I was mixing bourbon and coke, I was also mixing rum and coke and typically some off the shelf Bacardi offering of the time.  Once I grew out of the overly sweet cocktails and began to focus more on the quality of the drink and eventually enjoying spirits neat, rum fell by the wayside and ignored for a few decades except for the occasional rummy drink on a cruise. 

Unbeknownst to me, rum is pretty unregulated, unlike say bourbon or scotch.  Rum producers or NDP that purchase sourced rum, can pretty much do what they want when it comes to adulteration.  In fact, Richard Seale from Foursquare has been quite vocal over the years promoting full transparency among producers.  Additives such as sugar, caramel coloring, or flavor packets are used post distillation.  As an example, and I’ll pick on Bacardi again, their 8-year offering contains 20 grams of sugar per liter or about 1.6 Tbsp of sugar.  I’ll pick on another one, Diplomatico Exclusiva, which has 44 grams per liter.  Every wonder why rum at times is so sugary sweet?  Well, now you know.  On top of that, to make the rum cosmetically appealing, producers may add caramel coloring to give it that extra aged look.  Let me caveat by saying, if this is what you like, then you'll get no judgement from me as I advocate to drink what you like and the way you like it. 

For me, I don’t care for rum that is overly sweet.  My first rum epiphany came about 6 or 7 years ago when I was introduced to a Demerara Distillers Diamond SVW 15 year Velier.  I can only say, I was blown away by this rum.  It was viscous, balanced and very un-rum like.  Blind I think some would assume it was a sweeter bourbon. 

That Diamond SVW triggered the thought process of rum exploration.  What else was out there that was as good as that or at least offered a drinking experience that did not include a follow up visit to the dentist?  This also triggered my curiosity of rum in general. 

Base Product:

Rhum Agricole: base product is cane juice.  The name comes from the French which loosely translate to “farm rum”.  The cane is pressed through mills to extract the juice. This style of rum typically produces an earthier profile, maybe grassy and less sweet.  This style is also less efficient in distillation than the other two.

Cane Syrup: Simply, it’s cane juice reduced down to a thicker concentration of syrup. 

Molasses: The byproduct of sugar extraction.  This sticky gooey brown stuff is what is left over and is used my most rum distilleries. 

Distillation: 

As expected, two forms of distillation are employed: pot still and column still.  Pot still is the older practice but that’s not to say that column distillation is “new” because it’s been around since about 1830.  The in-between of these two approaches is the hybrid which employs a combination of both pot and column. 

Aging: 

Rum aging in oak is well known.  What started as a practice to store product, turned in to an aging element.  The very nature of oak as a vessel means air and vapor, or angels share, can move freely through the barrel which as most know, is part of the aging process.  Like scotch, rum is aged primarily in spent bourbon casks.  Other casks are used of course that previously contained sherry, or brandy (e.g. Cognac or Armagnac).  Because rum is aged in used cooperage, much of the heavy wood influence has been spent, thus, rum maturation takes a more nuanced aging trajectory.  Like anything, older does not translate to better, so active management of the barrels is required to ensure a well balanced produced.  Last, aging location is not just the Caribbean.  There is quite a bit of rum aging in Scotland which provides a totally different environment resulting in different outcomes. 

One style to be aware of is Jamaican which uses Muck and Dunder, Hampden uses this process, Worthy Park does not.  If you have explored rum and had one whose profile exhibited rubber or petrol, welcome to Muck and Dunder.  I won’t say any more about it but wanted to mention it as it can be as polarizing as a well peated scotch.

My own experience is fairly recent and like bourbon, I jumped in with both feet.  As a group, we have extended our barrel selections to include rum which I’ll touch on briefly. 

Two distilleries we have engaged with are Privateer in Ipswich MA, and Richland Rum in Richland GA.  Both of these domestic producers follow distillation practices that pretty much mirrors bourbon distillation, meaning, no funny business to alter the flavor of the rum.  They distill, barrel and age.  That’s it. 

Privateer is making some really fantastic domestic rum.  They use grade A molasses that to my last understanding and conversation with Privateer was sourced from a family farm in Venezuela.  Distillation is both Pot and Column or hybrid depending on the style they want to produce.  Many of their rums are aged in New Oak and some in used casks that can include bourbon, rye and brandy (there may be others).  To date, our group has selected 6 barrels from Privateer and each one has been fantastic.  The selections have a range of 2.5 – 4 years old and while this may seem young, it’s not with rum as you don’t get that new make off note like you do with a grain-based distillation.  The aging trajectory seems to be much shorter.  We also provided a Weller cask to them late 2019 which they filled with 3 year old rum.  We let it ride for 6 months and bottled.  The barrels arch of influence is about 3 months so at 6 months we really liked the fact that the rum had not fully integrated with the barrel so the profile exhibited a combination rum from new oak but then that bourbon influence from the wet bourbon cask.  It was a huge success with the group.  Andrew Cabot, Privateers CEO/COO sent me a bottle of rum they aged in a Cognac cask called L’Alliance.  The added fruit character combined with the rum was very compelling.  So much so, I bought 6 more bottles. 

Richland Rum in GA is a family run business and is considered an Estate rum meaning everything that goes into producing that rum is done on premise. The big distinction being they grow their own cane, harvest it, and then extract the cane juice which they reduce to a syrup.  The syrup is used in the distillation process.  They use copper pot stills and age their rum in new oak.  We selected two barrels from them a couple years back.  My opinion is they are also making really great domestic rum.  Worth a look.

As I noted in a recent post, it’s been about 3.5 years since my last post but I have not been dormant.  I’ve been plenty busy exploring, buying, drinking and sharing various spirits and that won’t stop.  For me, I like to keep my consumption eclectic.  Drinking bourbon continuously can get a bit boring (at least to me) so having rum or even Armagnac (another post for a later date) keeps things interesting and fresh.  If you love bourbon, maybe explore the world of rum.  I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

As a parting gift, here are a couple suggestions in the event you want to explore, assuming your retailer carries some of these labels:

Mount Gay Black Barrel

Flor de Cana 7 or 12 year

Appleton Estate 12 year

Cruzan Single Barrel Estate

Privateer Navy Yard or Queens Share

Richland Single Estate Rum

The Real McCoy 5 or 12 year (Foursquare)

Doorly’s 5 or 12 year (also Foursquare but I’ve found these to be less expensive than McCoy)

 

The History of Now

Right now if you want a George T. Stagg or the much-hyped Pappy Van Winkle 15, you are going to pay a premium and by premium, I mean as much as $1,500 or more on the secondary market for said Pappy. 

The history of now with respect to whiskey is forget what you paid last year or 10 years ago.  If you want it, start counting Benjamin’s.  For the lucky few who are able to find them at retail either through pure luck or lottery, you can get a good deal, if that even exists.  In Virginia, the list price for PVW15 is $120 plus tax. 

I’ve said for years “it won’t be any cheaper than it is today” has never been more true.  Back in 2007 I would shop online and buy whatever I wanted.  I purchased PVW15 for $36.99 and Old Rip 10 107 for $26.99.  In Montgomery County, MD ABC, I would pick up Old Weller Antique 7 year for $15.99 when it was on sale.  That same year, when you could buy booze on eBay, I purchased a 1976 Yellowstone in the box for $35.  I remember going into a VA ABC store in March of 2008 and buying the 2007 release of GTS for $44.99. 

Looking back in the blog, I wrote about this subject in 2014 noting that PVW15 was going for up to $700.  It only took 6 years for the valuation to more than double.  As much as things have changed over the corresponding years and we’ve all seen pricing jump and then jump again (Elijah Craig 18 for instance), some things do indeed stay the same.  Evan Williams Bottled in Bond and Old Grand Dad 114 are steady offerings at a fair price.  Over the years, I have had to reset the threshold of what I’ll pay for any particular offering and that includes lowering the threshold in some cases.  Just yesterday, I picked up four bottles of Elijah Craig 94 pf that was a single barrel selection done by a friend.  It’s actually a great selection and out the door was $35.  On the other hand, they also selected an Old Elk that was $80.  I was assured it was very good but I passed since I didn’t think the price was in line with a 6 year old whiskey. 

Now in 2021, there is a ton of bourbon white noise out there with a gazillion Non Distiller Producers (NDP’s) and sourced whiskey.  There is nothing wrong with sourced whiskey but what I find bizarre is something like a recent Smoke Wagon barrel selection selling for $675 on the secondary.  Smoke Wagon is MGP.  Years ago, we did a couple of barrel selections from Smooth Ambler with age ranges from 7-10 years and paid less than $50 a bottle.  I certainly understand the difference between retail pricing and the secondary valuation but the gap is cavernous in many cases. 

The question; is this the new norm? My interpretation of the history of now says yes.  Going forward there are some discriminators that play into my decision to purchase or not purchase.  I have a sizable collection so that is a factor (do I need to add more and yet more again).   I am drawn to certain profiles and I do tend to stick to stuff I know I like and shy away from things I don’t (Blaton’s, ETL).  We still do barrel selections so that feeds the need year over year but I find myself being far more discriminating when something new comes along.

Still Kickin and Drinkin

 Every once in a while I look back and see what I was doing and interested in 10 years ago and funny thing, not much has changed.  Still doing the whiskey and cigars bit albeit expanded to a large degree.  I know the blog has been dormant for over 3 1/2 years but I haven't been dormant, very much the opposite.  Much of my time is spent managing a private whiskey forum which is very active and over the last 10 years resulted in good friendships and north of 200 barrel selections.  I've contemplated posting now again but not for the sake of posting.  We're doing some interesting things and you in turn might find it at least entertaining.   

So, in this current era of COVID and the fact that I'm working week on/week off, I might as well make myself useful and post now and then.  So, maybe stay tuned.  I might be hanging around.

State ABC's grow up....sort of

I've lived in Virginia for nearly 32 years and for that duration, the Commonwealth has been an ABC state.  Back when I moved here in 1985 my bourbon of choice was Wild Turkey 8 year 101 or Kentucky Spirit.  It took nearly 20 years to come around and realize there's a whole world of interesting whiskey's beyond what Wild Turkey offered.

Once that happened, my interest in acquiring different bottles was hampered by the fact that Virginia simply didn't put much effort in offering any variety to the extent that open market states carried a wide variety of spirits.  Thankfully, Maryland (not Montgomery County, a controlled jurisdiction) and D.C. were near by to help with my booze shopping.

On a fairly regular basis I travel to North Carolina which is also a controlled state.  While visiting family back about 5 year ago, I visited a local ABC near Lexington NC and was actually quite appalled at the anemic selection thinking at the time they were significantly worse than Virginia.

One of my early trips to NC I conducted a whiskey tasting for a group of local enthusiasts with two of the participants members of the NC ABC board.  One of the bourbons I featured was a Four Roses Single Barrel; one that shockingly they had not seen, at least not in the western part of the state.  Fast forward 1 year and I'm conducting the tasting once again (2017 was our 5th year going down) and the same two ABC board members are happy to inform me that western NC now carried Four Roses Single Barrel along with the Small Batch (I should get a kick back....seriously).  In my discussion with the two board members I encouraged them to broaden their selections.

In no way do I take any credit for what shows up on the shelves of North Carolina ABC stores.....maybe some minuscule influence but that would be it.  Last fall I was again visiting family in NC and was pleased to see ABC stores carrying a much broader selection that just a couple years previously.  I think this is in large part due to the huge popularity of American whiskey evidenced by the two rows of various rye and bourbon labels on the shelf of the ABC store.

Virginia has certainly changed their posture when it comes to whiskey and now feature a more diverse portfolio of whiskies, and not just bourbon and rye but a few more Scotch, Irish and Japanese as well.  I'm more inclined today to drop into my local ABC and see what's on the shelf. 

Of course as the state controlled monopolies increase their shelf selections, so too does the open market retailers in non-controlled states.  In my opinion, the ABC's will always be playing catch up to the rest of the country as their bureaucracy is a natural impediment to the freer movement of inventory elsewhere.  As an example, I've never seen Independent Bottlers of Scotch, etc release in ABC states.  Maybe they have but in my area I have to shop in non-controlled jurisdictions to find releases from Cadenhead, Caskers, Douglas Laing or Old Malt Cask.  What ABC's have done is single barrel selections form Jim Beam, Four Roses or Knappogue.

I do hope ABC states one day relinquish control and allow the open market retailers to do what they do best.  Sell a broad and diverse selection of great spirits.

In remembrance - Tim Davis

Understand it's been some time since I've posted and truth is, I got lazy for a while. 

A friend and fellow whiskey enthusiast passed away the afternoon of April 8th.  He wasn't old and had not been feeling ill.  It was just one of those things that happens and then you're gone.  The reasons for his passing are to this day still unclear.  His family understandably is deeply saddened by the loss of a husband and father.

Tim was only 49 years young and had a passion for life and the things of life.  My introduction to the fabled and rare Port Ellen Scotch was through the generosity of Tim.  When I had trouble sourcing a hard to find Japanese whiskey, Tim again helped out.  And when he was excited about a release of a 19 year old Caperdonach Scotch, Tim shared by sending bottles.  It wasn't just whiskey that he freely shared but his passion for his family and work.  All you have to do is peruse his Facebook page and see loads of pictures of his wife and two kids. 

His passing has left a hole for many of his friends and of course his family.  Too often we take for granted those that are around us only to realize when a person we care about is gone, the time was too short and regret sets in on missed opportunities of fellowship.

A group I head up, 1789b is still in a bit of shock over Tim's passing as he was one of our own.  In our own way we desperately want to help the family and as such we will be conducting some charity auctions and donating the proceeds to the Davis children's 529 Education Fund. 

We are partnering with Tim's employer Rockfish Innovation Group and Pappy & Co. who have graciously donated bourbon and Pappy Van Winkle Cigars. 

If you knew Tim or simply want to know more, I encourage you to read some recent words from folks who knew Tim best.

http://finneymedia.net/a-beautiful-heart/ 
http://jacobsmedia.com/tim-davis/

Rest in peace my friend.  It was my pleasure knowing you.

Tim doubling up his bourbon allocation

High West Goes Corporate

I've been a big fan of High West for quite a few years.  Their 21 year rye is probably my favorite rye whiskey.  So I had mixed feelings when it was announced last week that Constellation Brands purchased High West for $160 million.

David Perkins, the founder of High West, left his job at Genentech back in 2004.  His decision to move from biochemistry to distilling was due in part to a vacation he and his wife took to Kentucky.  In a conversation I had with David a number of years ago he made the observation that while touring the distilleries, he noticed some familiarity with that equipment and what he used as a biochemist. He stated to his wife "I could do that", and the seed was planted.

David at the outset sourced from Constellation among others and in my opinion, did a very good job with barrel selection and ultimately, blending.  Much of the success of High West is due in part to David's vision and execution and all you have to do is visit Park City Utah and see the High West compound first hand to see his dream in action.

So, back to my opening comment about mixed feelings of the sale.  David has stated he will be staying with High West as Brand Ambassador playing a very hands on role in the business.  His reason for selling had to do with growth stating that where he wanted to take the distillery couldn't happen without some bigger player with bigger money.  Enter Constellation Brands who also owns Corona, Modelo and Ballast Point beers and a whole gaggle of winery's and wine labels.  This to my knowledge would be the first spirits addition to their portfolio and truth be told, it's a good addition.  My first reaction was some sadness to see an independent distillery go corporate but I certainly understand the reasoning.  The purchase of Ballast Point didn't go so well and I hope that Constellation took some lesson's learned and won't repeat the same mistakes.  I glad that David and his team will be staying on to keep things going.

Time will tell how this investment will pay off for whiskey enthusiasts because that's all I really care about and of course curious as to what new products or innovations High West will produce in the future.