Aged Bourbon

All this talk of the 20yr pappy van winkle, which I love, has me wondering…what other bourbons are comparable? If you know the general price, let me know that too. Thanks

I like Blantons Single Barrel, it is aged around 9 years and is good for the money $35 - $45 for a 750

For me, the best bourbon is the 20 year old A.H. Hirsch. Sadly, its no longer available, and I’m down to my last couple bottles. I have been searching for a worthy replacement for this dwindling resource, with little luck. Only Pappy’s 23, 20, and 18 year olds come close. The 23 year old is almost as good as the Hirsch, but, at 200+/bottle, it does not sufficiently outperform its younger siblings to justify the expense.

Greg
Which Hirsch 20? The Illinois whiskey or Kentucky bourbon? Both are still available in the new Preiss Imports catalog.

I like Pappy, a lot, but I also enjoy Black Maple Hill and the older bottlings of Michter’s.

Eagle Rare 17yr old = smooth like silk!!! [thumbs-up.gif]

Agreed. Pretty damn good bourbon in this price range.
My favorite below the Pappy level which I won’t buy regularly.

Peter, the Hirsch 20 I’m referring to was a limited run – from the Michter distillery. I understand that Michter’s distillery filed bankruptcy some time in the 80s and a lot of the bourbon was sold off. The person/persons who bought the old stock bottled it as “A.H. Hirsch” 16 and 20 y.o. The Hirsch 20 out there now is a totally different product, which does not begin to compare to the original.

Yep, I figured it was the old Michter’s stuff. I still have a little bit of that legendary 16yr in original bottles. Preiss is trying to buy back all the remaining bottles to re-release it in special crystal decanters (read: jack up price).

Interesting factoid: Michter’s is in Pennsylvania, so the first bourbon of the USA was Pennsylvanian! This was the distillery that “kept George Washington warm at Valley Forge.” Sad the distillery went under in '88, but their whiskies live on!

My absolute favorite is Parker’s Heritage Collection 27, which is made by Heaven Hill and aged 27-years. It’s on my Christmas list for Santa this year!

I don’t know about this, but asked our liquor guru Forrest, and here’s what he said:


Well that is tough. One of the reasons that VW Range has such a following is how specific and articulate its palate approach and articulation is. With that in mind the closest would be the PVW 15-- which really is a cheater answer-- so, some others that would compare favorably: WL Weller 18 (about $90.) it like PVW is a wheated Bourbon (wheat replaces the rye and ‘lightens’ the spiciness, which in turn is re-spiced by the wood through extensive aging), and excellent Dark Horse Contender would be Noah’s Mill, a 15 year old Small batch Bourbon Aged and bottled by Willet (a steal @ $52.) this has more ‘dark wood’, dried tree fruit and leather and also is a bit richer (along with the fortunate appeal of being more readily available because of available stock)-- the downside to Noah’s in comparison is it’s a touch less elegant–C’est la vie.