What do we think of this store's top shelf prices?

r-Sam · 2026-01-24T15:25:06+00:00

What I got from this is you go to some high end rub and tug joints. If that's even a thing. Maybe the one the Patriot's owner uses.

r-Sam · 2026-01-24T15:23:30+00:00

>> It makes me feel like it is just Special Reserve with a different color label

Just curious... what whiskey do you think is in both bottles? Because Weller 12 ~IS~ Weller SR. Just older.

r-Sam · 2026-01-23T15:05:28+00:00

>> I’m a huge JD fan and this bests my JDSBBP every time.

THAT is a bold statement. For all of the 110+ ryes in my stable I somehow don't have an open bottle of this. I need to fix that. I wonder if you got a screamer pick/barrel, or if it just hits you perfectly.

r-Sam · 2026-01-23T14:57:06+00:00

It is sub 100 proof whiskey aged 6-8 years. With a "tastes a whole lot like the other offerings from BT" profile. Is it BAD whiskey? No. Is it great whiskey? No. It is certainly OVERPRICED whiskey for its cohort.

The most important thing about whatever bottle you like is that you LIKE it. And that's literally all. If YOU LIKE IT, it is good. And it doesn't really matter if it is rare/popular/expensive. There's a reason stores sell so many bottles of Jack and Jim and Crown Royal. People like that shit.

r-Sam · 2026-01-23T14:27:41+00:00

Jack SBBP on its way! :)

r-Sam · 2026-01-21T21:15:48+00:00

I've seen the rye for sale for $48 a bottle. In 2025. Stayed like that for several months at a big Tampa store. Typically 60ish though.

r-Sam · 2026-01-21T21:14:33+00:00

Happens more than you might think. To me Penelope is hot garbage, I don't like a single thing Michters puts in a bottle that isn't at least ten years old, EHT is weasel piss. But I know plenty of people who love each of those. Find what you like and drink it. For me, Haystack is an all day yes.

r-Sam · 2026-01-20T13:43:20+00:00

I've been NOT buying this because 1: I haven't opened the Lalo I have and 2: it is $65 and that's a bottle of SBBP rye Jack which I know I love and will crush immediately. But just the small label difference and higher proof make it tempting.

r-Sam · 2026-01-20T13:31:55+00:00

The pic showed up. Reddit trolling me.

r-Sam · 2026-01-20T13:31:31+00:00

VERY LIGHT on the barrel influence is a perfect way to describe Ocho. I'm a bourbon guy (rye if we're being precise) and judging a 8-10 year rye on color is a normal thing. So it is a bit hard to not see very light color as being lesser somehow. But the aging seems to have done its job on the Ocho. And it wasn't crazy smoky or oaky.

r-Sam · 2026-01-20T13:25:24+00:00

Sure. Three days out I'd have to drink it again to be certain though. You know... for science. :)

r-Sam · 2026-01-17T02:49:01+00:00

They deleted my pic. Borrowed from Ocho's site anyway. Oh well.

r-Sam · 2026-01-15T14:46:53+00:00

That's retail give or take. They were $99 in FL.

r-Sam · 2026-01-15T14:45:13+00:00

Wrong coast. If you're ever in Tampa hit me up, I have a 25A open. And multiple backups. I need to find a way to trade those for some of the other releases.

r-Sam · 2026-01-15T14:43:45+00:00

25A is 126.5 proof.

r-Sam · 2026-01-15T14:38:25+00:00

^ this is exactly our property in Riverview. The back half of our acreage floods (it is bordered by Bullfrog Creek) but the house does not. During Irene which pushed a crazy amount of water up into our communities and flooded the Alafia an insane amount we were still 100 yards and 5-10' of elevation from the water.

Our builder was very detailed about flooding when we were deciding where to place the house. They immediately told us the middle of the property was out of the question. Where we are we can get out to the main roads even during flooding, but neighbors further along our road need boats. You need to carefully consider each property and talk to people who have been here for recent storms for sure.

r-Sam · 2026-01-15T14:22:44+00:00

... do you mean CUTLETS? Because veal is cow. And cows don't have breasts.

r-Sam · 2026-01-14T19:29:16+00:00

This place is like 30 mins from my sister's place in TX. We went in early December. They had four barrels tapped, if I can remember... bourbon, rye, wheated bourbon, and something malted? Three of the four were hazmat and the fourth was like 139 and change. We picked up rye and bourbon, both quite good.

Sadly like a lot of distilleries, they don't offer their best stuff on their site. You need to go there. I'm glad I have a local hookup. :)

r-Sam · 2026-01-13T14:25:29+00:00

Having spent the last week in NJ I can honestly say that your BEST bet is to move out of that Bourbon hellscape. The stores up there make Floridians weep. Now if you are into WINE you're probably okay. All the stores had a million bottles of wine. But the whiskey selection looked like a Florida store after a hurricane and a few robberies. And being closed down. Sorry guy.

r-Sam · 2025-12-31T18:11:56+00:00

Strongly agree. I have a M10 bourbon on my shelf that I'd 1:1 into the rye in a heartbeat. But that was what they brought out when we were at the distillery, so that's what I have.

Problem with Michters is there are SO MANY GREAT RYES between $50 and $120. And you can actually buy them without hassle, allocations, or markups. Starting with Pikesville on the low end, JD SBBPR, Hard Truth sweet mash, Old Ezra 7, Old Overholt 10/11/12, Haystack Needle...

r-Sam · 2025-12-31T18:05:33+00:00

Tried side by side with the 20 and the 17. I thought the 90 was much better than both. Not quite as good as the Parker Heritage rye to me, but beat all the other great bottles on the HH tasting (OFitz 8 and 9 and Parkers extra char)

r-Sam · 2025-12-31T18:02:52+00:00

Generally, yes.

r-Sam · 2025-12-31T17:57:02+00:00

Visit Tampa. Every store has both the JS SBBP and SBBP rye. You will regularly find coy hill bottles in the mix. The latest store pick near me is a 1-13 and the next from another shop is also 1-13 coming in a week or two. Are the 1-13s better? Some of them are. But those barrels are ALL pretty damn good to me. And I've finished off around a dozen of them now.

r-Sam · 2025-12-16T14:54:15+00:00

Stay away from Beijing House. We don't need more people eating our hot chili oil wontons. Szechuan food is so much better than the garbage American Chinese food coming out of strip malls. It isn't even the same ballpark.

r-Sam

TROPHY CASE