pkingmartin
Early Times Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon
Bourbon — Kentucky, USA
Reviewed
March 22, 2021 (edited April 19, 2021)
This is a sample graciously sent from @ContemplativeFox. I have never heard of this one before and am going into this one blind besides the fact that he wrote BiB on the bottle.
On the nose: you’re greeted with pecan caramel clusters leading to apple pie filling then comes chocolate, some dusty oak, vanilla crème brulee, light barrel spices and a moderate ethanol burn. The taste reveals a viscous mouthfeel starting with rich caramel, orange peel, chocolate, spearmint, dusty oak leading to medium barrel spices and medium ethanol burn with a finish that is medium length with light spices, caramel, spearmint, dusty oak and orange peel.
Ok, so now that I’m done tasting this, I’m guessing this probably falls into the 40 to 60 dollar category of quality whiskey. I then pull up my phone to do a quick search and “Holy Shitballs, Batman!” this thing is only 25 dollars for a liter. Honestly, I’ve paid 3 times more than that for a terrible bourbon and probably will do so again in the future. Is this going to blow someone away, no, but for the price it’s something inexpensive, easy to drink and nice to have around to pour for friends or even throw into a few cocktails.
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Yeah, good point @bigwhitemike. I suspect most of the money in the business comes from the lower-end, well-known stuff. Certainly the markup on this isn't very high and supply doesn't seem to be that high either, so it wouldn't be the big money-maker
@ContemplativeFox not surprising at all. I'm all for #bottemshelfbangerz but they usually don't really compare to middle shelf diamonds in the rough like this one one or true quality pours assuming one can afford them. I was mostly just commenting on the system shock of remembering that no matter what "connoisseurs" might think, it is still a business and moving big volumes of cheap stuff may speak louder than the boutique bottles at the end of the day (i.e. why Sazerac was truly interested in the ET portfolio, rather than a reputable bottling like this one).
@bigwhitemike Regular ET is (IMHO) fine for the money, but not something I'd stock. This is a HUGE step up.
Dang, thanks for the info @BDanner. Could be that once I can find this on shelves it isn't the same juice anymore :(
This is a great bottle. Helped reset my perspective back away from the market trend towards $35-$50 entry point for quality stuff. I had already stocked up but admittedly grabbed a few more for the bunker when the sale was announced. Have no idea how one "transitions" an existing brand's distillate but assume its a little bit at at time over the next half decade or do you just cut bait and start bottling something new? This is the bottle any enthusiast talks about, but Saz probably barely cares - no idea until i read up on the sale that the regular ET bottle is a top 10 seller, especially internationally. Not sure I've ever even had it.
@WhiskeyLonghorn the sale did include aging stocks, so it may be a bit before BT/Barton distillate is used.
@Ctrexman is right. This used to be a Brown Foreman product before the sale to Sazarac, so it shared many similarities to Old Forester. The OF 100 is very similar in price and quality. My guess going forward is that this will be Barton juice rather than BF since Saz now owns it.
After the sale of the brand to Sazerac, this disappeared from shelves around here.
Glad you enjoyed it! When I bought it, the guy at the register said it was the best deal in the store. At $20 after tax for a liter, I'm absolutely certain he was right. If this were available near me, it would replace WT101 as my mixing bourbon.
Old Forester 100 is related ,close in price and better imo
Wish they sold this in Virginia. Sounds like it could be a good option for an everyday drinker.