Nice try, but not convinced! 😂 In that particular spirits competition did they have a category for "single barrel-ish"? NO! Since we all can agree it is NOT a true single barrel, it would have to enter competitions as a small batch. ... I will continue to believe the myth I ignorantly perpetuated in spite of your great evidence and production value! (great job! keep up the great work)
Love it. There was internal debate about whether or not this would piss anyone off, but when I was able to cut everyone together sharing the story it was way too perfect to pass up on. We're here to make friends! plus: It's not anyone's fault. It's a funfact that just happened to get printed on EVERY written article about one of the most popular bottles.
Excellent video! Very innovative and different from all the other whiskeytube content! I am definitely looking forward to your future content. Keep it coming!
Thank you, this means so much. The goal is to create content other people aren't. Not every week will be this deep in the weeds, but I have some really crazy stories coming in the next few weeks/months that I haven't seen anyone talk about on youtube.
In Australia, Eagle Rare is a USD $100 bottle, and Buffalo Trace is a $35 bottle for us. There's no comparison, dollar for dollar, Buffalo Trace is the better product. When the price discrepancy is that large, it doesn't matter how prestigious the product that ends up in Eagle Rare is, Buffalo Trace wins.
Just my experience... as a long time purchaser of Eagle Rare... every bottle I buy is different... I've actually hated a few.. That you found a second bottling line that could change everything. For over 20 years I could always find Eagle Rare for 29 to 33 $ in stock... The last three years can't find a bottle. Can't find a bottle of Buffalo Trace. But I do believe the fact was it was poured a barrel at a time years ago... and now could very well be small batch.
The Smooth Ambler Contradiction is a very high rye mash bill and taste completely different than the Eagle Rare and Buffalo Trace as those two are from the BT low rye mash bill. The best word I use to describe Eagle Rare is delicate, it's like a fine wine in smoothness and it's floral-ness. And Buffalo Trace is very good too.
As I am an adult, I do appreciate videos like these LONGER than ten minutes...I don't have time to change videos every 10 minutes when I'm doing things, which is ALL THE TIME ;)
I thought the first part where you covered eagle rare it was an thought provoking piece. I thought your voice sounded a little too soft and slightly hard to hear. The blind tasting on the other hand was interesting but I dint enjoy it in the same way I would separate the two and maybe do the blinds on a stream or something and then release the uncut video, but this is all my opinion. Hope something in there helps!
While I do agree with the small batch I would say its an small enough the each bottle you own is slightly different like a single barrel. During one of the videos featuring Freddie on a tour around the facility he mentions Eagle Rare is dumped on its 10th birthday. So to me that means it is that days distilling run that would be in your bottle. Sure it is definitely not as unique as an individual barrel, it is however far more unique then regular old Buffalo Trace I would be led to believe.
On a road trip I found two bottles each of ER and BT. Up until then I hadn’t had ER. My take? They both have the same flavors but BT gives them to you all at once while ER gives them to you in stages making it the better sipper but I LOVE both! As far as the small batch vs single barrel I say GOOD! That means the bottles will be a bit more consistent. Single barrel always scares me.
I was at BT last week and they said Eagle Rare is a small batch of what they would consider internally to be a 'medium' size batch. (BT would be a 'large' batch).
Thank you! I'm glad they acknowledge it. I'm pretty sure I could have emailed someone at Saz or BT and gotten the same confirmation, but I'm a nobody and I think the way I had to piece everything together was pretty fun.
Funny/misleading title, considering they dropped the single barrel as soon as they started bottling on the second and larger facility. Also funny is every time I side by side 2 or 3 Eagle Rare bottles, they taste different. Hmmmm - thought small batch was finding the exact same flavor in any bottle you buy. So no lie at all....😂😂
how bad you talk about Contradiction and it being $40 I will never try it since Rare Breed, Russel's 10yr, Buffalo Trace, Long Branch, Evan Willams vintage single barrel are less or a little more than $40 and my grocery store has rows of them at MSRP.
You said in the video that in 2014 Eagle Rare stop saying "single barrel" on the front or anywhere on the bottle? I bought a Eagle Rare that said 10yr and Single Barrel on the front from a liquor store this year and I threw away the bottle not knowing it was a very rare bottle. If I would have known it was no longer produced for over 10yrs I would have sold it online. I paid $70 for it, so yeah about double MSRP but I was new to the bourbon game and I wanted it because of its reputation
small batch doesn't have a real definition either.. So them winning the LA WHiskey small batch comp doesn't mean it's small batch either. But good video though
Just found this, always fun seeing whisk(e)y lore being debunked. I don't really care one way or the other, it's what ends up in my mouth that counts, but I do enjoy seeing the absolute nonsense spread by distilleries and being repeated by poor saps on TH-cam actually being challenged. If you don't know that it's true then why mention it?
In the description it says you filmed on location in hell. Is that Hell, Michigan by chance? I live over in GR, and was just curious. Great content! Subscribed and looking forward to more
I like long videos, deep dives into information. If you have the knowledge on a subject, I would prefer to get it in larger videos, not spread across 20 5 minute videos. I would be happy to have beginner videos alongside deep dive videos, or you could start with basics and go into the deep info in the same video. In any case share with us what you know! Love the investigator theme at the beginning of your video, can definitely tell you are putting a lot of effort in to your video! Good luck, subscribed!
Wow this is a really done video. Love the whiskey bill nye thing. Id take a russells 10 over any of these personally but interesting results nonetheless.
This is the beauty of doing bottle focused episodes. There's 15 bottles in proximity I consider above eagle rare, but that's a less interesting episode. I've got to admit, from a performance standpoint I think I was shooting for Alton brown, but I think you're totally right and we landed closer to Bill Nye. Cheers
Stupendous first video. Super unique and added a lot to whiskey tube. Loved the detective angle and researching actual sources to confirm or deny common myths. I understand this production can’t be every video but I loved the first half for sure. You’ll get better at the blind I think as you continue and it seems like you’ve already seen some feedback from other comments but I would agree that calling the glasses “A, B, C” is much more helpful than “1, 2, 3”. And I also would prefer to hear tasting notes and see a ranking as opposed to you guys trying to guess. Guessing can be fun but “unbiased” ranking seems more informative. I’m not really a newbie anymore so I can’t help you with that feedback but I personally felt the video was aimed well for my level. I don’t mind videos aimed at newbies (I can’t be selfish lol) and I understand if that’s what you think you need to do to grow your channel but for me personally I hope not all your videos will be newbie focused. Keep up the good work. You earned a like, comment, and sub and I’m excited to see more from you in the future!
Fantastic video, super informative. Your blind gives me confidence that you guys know what you’re doing and talking about. This feels like it’ll be a channel I can trust for all things whiskey and I’m looking forward to more uploads!
Thank you for noticing. 44 comments, almost 7k views, and you are the first to say something about my favorite joke. In my head it was funnier since the jacket disappears, but you can never tell if the pants followed suit...
Q&A Mistake: Sazerac bought Eagle Rare from Seagram in 89, not 87 Note: I found the noise of the Glass on glass super annoying so we'll tape the bottom of the Glen's next time or get pads to avoid that. Is this what every episode is going to be? Absolutely not. This episode was the result of months of researchand weeks of production. I have several other big stories like this to cover, but not every episode will be this high effort Who are you? Hi. I'm Sonny W. I spent around a year at one of the nations top whiskey bars as the "expert" on staff. This doesn't mean as much as some people pretend it does, but I did have thousands of conversations about whiskey, and the job drove me to research whiskey every day. I also have spent most of my life wishing I could be a youtube, but I needed something I knew enough about and it took me about 12 years of practicing video production to get to the point that I feel like I'm contributing to a community as opposed to just generating noise. Questions for you, the viewer: Did you like this format or was 20 minutes way too much? This obviously could have been made into two separate videos, would you have preferred that and having 2 uploads a week? Do you know any whiskey myths? Ie. something you have heard a lot of people say, but can't find a source for why Was this video beginner friendly? or should I focus on creating videos to serve as the ultimate beginner resource in the next few weeks/months? Finally, Did I get something wrong? Correct me with a source!
Like to hear some of your experiences and observations working in the whiskey bar. For myself, I wouldn't watch videos focused on beginners; I'm a few years into my journey. Twenty minutes is too long. Fifteen minutes is the limit. Regarding the flight, should call the glasses A, B, and C instead of 1, 2, and 3. Avoids the problem down the road of doing a flight and giving the results as "#1 is #3 here today, #2 is #2, and #3 is #1" Gets confusing. Much better is "A is #3 today, B is #2, and C is #1." Dislike the *guessing* as to what is in each glass. Just give tasting notes and come up with the winners as first, second, and third place. Keep the glasses in a neat order. The guy you were with kept his in order but you shuffled yours around the table. For the viewer, put up what is in each glass in graphics/lettering underneath each glass such as "ER," "BT," and "C" so that it's easier for the viewer to keep track of what is in each glass.
Format was great, I think as a seasoned whiskey collector, it was easier for me to follow, however I think beginners might have a tough time following along considering that this video is so very specific to a certain bottle.
Look again. Bottle is extra thick at the bottom. The front is not a sticker it is etched followed by a sticker on the back with a black inside that puts a great contrast on the etching. 10 years aged and a great bottle for less than $40
OK...I mute almost every new whisky channel I see. They're all wanna-be Bourbon Junkies or Whisky Vault people (along with the usual larger well-made channels). For some reason I didn't skip yours. Then I kept watching. Nice video...different approach. Well done. Subbed.
More importantly ..... Who the hell cares . As long as they don't change what's IN the bottle they can put any label on the outside. It's good stuff, buy it , drink it, enjoy it. I would still buy it if it said "blended " on the label .
that's the thing about too much information,, it's just too much useless information. If people like it, nobody really cares about all the useless BS... just saying
If they’re blending barrels to get the ER profile then it’s small batch. If they’re dumping single barrels, based on profile, one after the other and getting an uncontrolled mixing in the process then is it “batched”?
I find the posed question of "beginner friendly" concerning for your channel. Content is great, but the production side doesn't compete with the heavy hitter channels. Don't lose your content chasing after mainstream though. You don't have the setup to be the best "beginner friendly" channel. As others have commented: lighting, mics, cinematography, etc aren't up to par. HOWEVER, you're producing content that's outside of what other creators are doing. Obviously you can't put the same LOE into every video as you did with this one, but you can still distinguish yourself with nuanced information, nerding out, etc. Recognize the market that this video will succeed in, hone in on that, and you'll have a loyal and ever growing following.
I enjoyed the video. And learned a couple of things. Perhaps it suggests some future content - the multiple lives some of these distillery locations have lived?
100% yes. I had a section called "the brief history of buffalo trace" but when the script for that portion hit 9 minutes I figured it deserved it's own video. I think one of the most interesting things about the current scene is the difference between distilleries with real heritage and distilleries trying to convince you they have history even though they were spun up last year.
The history of distilleries, their name changes, and who owns them would be fascinating. We may need a flow chart to keep track of it all. It is even more complicated when you consider a new company moving into an old distillery with their own yeast strain and mash bill but using the old stills, but definitely worth a few videos. I don't think you could cover it in one.
Great fun & investigation ! I've been wondering for a long time about the "single-barrel-ish"' question regarding a lot of US brands, tbh, so it made my day !
Never done a side by side between the 2 BT products and the SA, but your conclusion is exactly what I would have guessed. Contradiction is solid, but it's just enough more expensive than bottles that provide comparable enjoyment to keep it from being something I drink regularly. But not by enough that I won't have a bottle around sometimes. I've done a number of side by sides with BT and ER, and neither I nor anyone else seemed to have much trouble distinguishing them. Regardless of the extent to which they are similar going into the barrel. Of course some of this is about BT's "unique" place in the market. ER at MSRP gives me no reason to drink much Contradiction. At the considerable markup you'd have to pay in some places, ER becomes the one not really worth it. This is coming from someone who has mixed feelings about BT products in general, has had a taste of all of them that are on the more available side, and some that aren't, and considers ER his favorite when you factor in price and availability. I think what I'm saying is I really like ER and think it's their best product relative to its similarly priced competition. At MSRP. At least out of the ones that aren't the unicorns that even the other unicorns never see.
I agree with pretty much everything you said. FWIW the blind was 45 minutes of BS-ing cut down to 6-8 minutes. We both figured out 2 was most likely eagle rare, but I changed at the end because he figured it out first and us having the same answer is a way less interesting conclusion. I really do think it's close enough that it shouldn't matter, but we also pulled out a buffalo trace store pick that kicked the shit out of our ER after this.
@@TheWhiskeyShow Oh yeah, regular BT is quite tasty and a great value at MSRP. I've also found that everyone I 've been with has a marked preference between BT and ER, with BT often coming out on top. Glad you got to enjoy that store pick. I bet it WAS good. I got a taste of an ER store pick once that was exceptional.
@@TheWhiskeyShow I'm envious of that store pick. I'm a big fan of ER and have yet to come across any store picks. Everyone who has had one seems to rave about them.
Just stumbled upon this vid. As a rookie/novice bourbon collector/drinker I have to admit I'm not a huge ER fan. Sure, it has a quality name from a quality distillery, but the proof is in the pudding, or glass in this case, and ER to me just doesn't measure up to some others from BT. I really believe the brand could benefit from being a little higher proof, or something...... Nice job on the video!!!!
I picked up a "store pick" of Eagle Rare from a large chain at their end of year allocation drop, which they described as a "Barrel Pick", but has no info about barrel details. Does anyone have knowledge whether this would have been bottled on the single barrell line or the batch line? My guess is that it is a batch of picked barrels that were bottled on the batch line. I estimate they had at least 4000 bottles which is a lot of barrels. (Or maybe Sazerac just a label slapped the bottle and called it a store pick?)
Only comment I would have on video is to watch sound levels and that glass Glen on glass countertop is harsh sounding. I think format and everything else was great!
Seeing as I’ve never had an Eagle Rare that tasted any different than the next (even store picks) I’d say it’s safe to assume they are a small batch product.
Wow. I'm blown away at the amount of research put into this video. Some of the major YTers don't put that much into their vidz. And you cite Brewzle and Whisky Tribe. If you had included ADHD Whisky, those are my fav channels. But based on this, you are now on that list ;) Keep it up!
You have to know Matt was on the list of people I looked at, but he never mentioned the "single barrel-ish" thing lol. Thanks for the kind words, bigger work is coming soon.
What I find is that Eagle Rare has a more grape and tea profile while Buffalo Trace has a more floral smell and lingering after taste, and both bottles cost more than ten bucks cheaper than the Smooth Ambler Bourbon, Contradiction. Current pricing in my region is Buffalo Trace priced between 22 and 28 dollars, Eagle Rare from 30 to 40 dollars, and the Contradiction priced from 45 to 60 bucks.
On Nov 5th 2022 I was at BT in Blantons bottling hall watching them bottle 1.75 bottles of Eagle Rare, also have a pic to prove it. So yes you clearly can still get Single Barrel bottles of Eagle Rare .
100% of store picks of Eagle rare are single barrels and are bottled in the Blanton's bottling hall, they're marked with round stickers for the retail partner. This video is in reference to the batched, regular shelf product.
Good job ! Saze does not out right comes out to say anything about "single barrel" myth and let the influencers/tubers blokes perpetuate it . Not a lie, just a lack of transparency.
Of course! Neither I or my lawyers would recommend ANYONE accuse the Sazerac corporation of lying. Daddy saz is our friend! Any misunderstanding would be a totally unfortunate coincidence!
If you work with an estate sale company or list online, this is 100% true. Most estate sales that find alcohol don't find anything worth going through a licensed dealer so if you ask they will often just give it to you, or they've already thrown it away. If you pay attention to dusty bottles popping onto the market a pretty significant amount come from estates in one way or another, but I'll be the first to admit labeling something as an estate sale bottle is a great way to explain how you "found" a forgery.
Great content and style! Please keep it up. For feedback: I'd rather see two 10 minute videos; the research/history, then the blind companion piece, and I'd watch them both. I think this was beginner friendly'ish simply by covering bottles popular and not too hard to find (tough combination I know), and covering an alternative for where/when they can't be found. I know some states are different than others, but when a beginner, being able to try what's in the vids is what was important to me. Myths? None off the top of my head, but on the subject of single barrels, I don't get why some have nothing unique on the label (e.g. Russel's 1B)... uniqueness is what makes me collect them! Evan Williams 1B printing barreled date AND bottling date was brilliant. Maybe can riff on that somehow? Why some labels do and some don't or related? Cheers.
Wonderful feedback. As for your question towards the end: I found an old forum post from the brand manager at Buffalo Trace talking about why Blanton's gets barrel and dump dates but Eagle rare doesn't. The shortish is that for consumers it really ends up being more of a gimmick than helpful. The original intention of the barrel # on blanton's was so that if a consumer found a bottle they liked they could stock up on the barrel. In practice, this hasn't been relevant to the consumer for a long time due to scarcity. In general, I think it helps obfuscate the actual number of bottles being released (implied scarcity is great) while also just cleaning up the front label.
So what is missed is where does Buffalo trace bottle their single barrels since they only have 2 bottling halls? I can't imagine all the single barrels are processed in the blanton's facility? or maybe there are?
So that we don't know for sure. For a long time all single barrel and craft products (BTAC and pappy) were handled at the Blanton's bottling hall exclusively. I could 100% believe that there are more bottling halls now, but I can't find anyone mentioning them specifically or any footage that proves they exist. It seems like that would be a bottleneck (lol) to only bottle in the Blanton's hall, but consider that Blanton's only comes out of warehouse H so there's actually a fixed limit of Blanton's that can be made per year. While it's total speculation I would assume that BTAC has moved to regauge and that pappy, SB's, and Blanton's are the only thing dumped at the Blanton's hall now.
Well done! I think there's an audience for this level of detail that whiskey nerds will appreciate. I don't love ER (i find it tannic and over oaked). BT is meh. (easy to find EC SB smokes it). Haven't tried Contradiction brbn but the rye is killer. (If the brbn is anything like it I'd choose it over ER and BT all day). Cheers!
Thank you. This video did 14 views in 3 days and I was starting to convince myself nobody else cares as much as I do (which may still be true). Pretty floored by the response today. Not every video can cater to whiskey nerds this much, but I hope at least once a month I can do a deep dive at this level. Most of the people who's opinions on whiskey I respect kinda hate boozetubers. I'd like to change that.
@@TheWhiskeyShow Really? I can see them hating the clowns that know nothing but there's a nice group of tubers that are plenty knowledgeable. Jealousy perhaps? Keep making them. Just a matter of time before the likes and you get in more feeds. I'll link to mine and some other FB groups.
@@philc1884 It's 100% jealousy because a lot of the people I'm referring to work in print media and are only able to do so as a hobby. I get it, if you're trying to be a real "journalist" and you are barely making a dime it's pretty upsetting to see people who know less than you making a legit living off of it; but that perspective 100% ignores that youtube is a totally different game, and if you feel like the content doesn't appeal to you then you have a huge opportunity to create your own content instead of complaining about it... Sorry for the rant, I love this community but there's so much gatekeeping from some of the most knowledgable people and it doesn't do anyone any favors. Thank you for sharing, Sonny W.
Great job! To be honest, I was trailing off a little from the whiskey Tubers due to redundancy and their sometimes odd attempts to keep viewers entertained but you might reel me back in. You put thought behind it and obviously did the research and that matters much more to those of us who are frustrated with some of the heavy hitters lately. Production value doesn't amount to much without content. The subscribe button has been "smashed". Keep up the good work and good luck.
Holy shit, you'll have to help us find something local in 2-3 years when we can afford to do a travel show down under... ~$90USD is definitely way too much for E.R.
Nice job guys, well done content! If you want to compete with the big bourbon TH-camrs, don't skimp on production value, ie, lighting, sets, microphones, sound, graphics, etc. This episode is very good, make the next one great.
Not gonna lie. You guys have some of the important ingredients for a watchable youtube channel, but without something even more unique you're late to the game. There are so many imminently watchable whiskey tube personalities I'm trying to follow. I do like the intro with the extensive research on the label, but it was way to stretched out (I know, I am sorry for how much work went into it for the little it mattered). But the bros tasting whiskeys that taste almost identical talking about the ridiculously subtle nuances between them doesn't do it for me. Especially when they're not terribly qualified nuances... Good luck, but I doubt I'll be back.
Nice try, but not convinced! 😂 In that particular spirits competition did they have a category for "single barrel-ish"? NO! Since we all can agree it is NOT a true single barrel, it would have to enter competitions as a small batch. ... I will continue to believe the myth I ignorantly perpetuated in spite of your great evidence and production value! (great job! keep up the great work)
Love it. There was internal debate about whether or not this would piss anyone off, but when I was able to cut everyone together sharing the story it was way too perfect to pass up on. We're here to make friends! plus: It's not anyone's fault. It's a funfact that just happened to get printed on EVERY written article about one of the most popular bottles.
It's funny, how myths like this perpetuate in this industry because of lack of transparency
I would go with small batch, as the bottles seem too consistant to be a single barrelish product
have to say, having the logos consistently showing in the top corner for which whiskey they're are drinking, is top notch and really cool!
First video of yours I've watched. I was one of the 10% that made it to the end lol. You earned my sub. Keep up the great work.
Excellent video! Very innovative and different from all the other whiskeytube content! I am definitely looking forward to your future content. Keep it coming!
Thank you, this means so much. The goal is to create content other people aren't. Not every week will be this deep in the weeds, but I have some really crazy stories coming in the next few weeks/months that I haven't seen anyone talk about on youtube.
I have yet to find an Eagle Rare that wasn’t a store pick. So I think those would be true single barrels….right? 🧐
In Australia, Eagle Rare is a USD $100 bottle, and Buffalo Trace is a $35 bottle for us. There's no comparison, dollar for dollar, Buffalo Trace is the better product. When the price discrepancy is that large, it doesn't matter how prestigious the product that ends up in Eagle Rare is, Buffalo Trace wins.
In Bulgaria, an eagle is roughly $40, a bison is $30, apparently the standard is higher in your country😄
Im sorry
I get eagle rare for 40 dollars. It's much better than Buffalo trace. It doesn't have that strong ethanol taste that buffalo has.
I can't find Buffalo for $35 USD and I only live a few hundred miles from the distillery. Count your blessings and bottoms up 🥃
I’m in California at Walmart they have buffalo trace for 24.95 and eagle rare is 37.95………
Just my experience... as a long time purchaser of Eagle Rare... every bottle I buy is different... I've actually hated a few.. That you found a second bottling line that could change everything. For over 20 years I could always find Eagle Rare for 29 to 33 $ in stock... The last three years can't find a bottle. Can't find a bottle of Buffalo Trace. But I do believe the fact was it was poured a barrel at a time years ago... and now could very well be small batch.
Love the video. Only way to do it, blind them against each other. ER always seems to come out on top for my wife and I when we blind it.
The Smooth Ambler Contradiction is a very high rye mash bill and taste completely different than the Eagle Rare and Buffalo Trace as those two are from the BT low rye mash bill.
The best word I use to describe Eagle Rare is delicate, it's like a fine wine in smoothness and it's floral-ness. And Buffalo Trace is very good too.
As I am an adult, I do appreciate videos like these LONGER than ten minutes...I don't have time to change videos every 10 minutes when I'm doing things, which is ALL THE TIME ;)
I thought the first part where you covered eagle rare it was an thought provoking piece. I thought your voice sounded a little too soft and slightly hard to hear. The blind tasting on the other hand was interesting but I dint enjoy it in the same way I would separate the two and maybe do the blinds on a stream or something and then release the uncut video, but this is all my opinion. Hope something in there helps!
This guy did 6 videos all at once summer 2023 then disappeared! Did he start a new channel WTH?
While I do agree with the small batch I would say its an small enough the each bottle you own is slightly different like a single barrel. During one of the videos featuring Freddie on a tour around the facility he mentions Eagle Rare is dumped on its 10th birthday. So to me that means it is that days distilling run that would be in your bottle. Sure it is definitely not as unique as an individual barrel, it is however far more unique then regular old Buffalo Trace I would be led to believe.
To be fair if you can get an eagle rare store pick it is a single barrel
On a road trip I found two bottles each of ER and BT. Up until then I hadn’t had ER. My take? They both have the same flavors but BT gives them to you all at once while ER gives them to you in stages making it the better sipper but I LOVE both! As far as the small batch vs single barrel I say GOOD! That means the bottles will be a bit more consistent. Single barrel always scares me.
This was, without a doubt, one of the most enjoyable whiskey videos I've watched. Great story telling. Liked and subscribed 👍🏻
I was at BT last week and they said Eagle Rare is a small batch of what they would consider internally to be a 'medium' size batch. (BT would be a 'large' batch).
Thank you! I'm glad they acknowledge it. I'm pretty sure I could have emailed someone at Saz or BT and gotten the same confirmation, but I'm a nobody and I think the way I had to piece everything together was pretty fun.
Funny/misleading title, considering they dropped the single barrel as soon as they started bottling on the second and larger facility. Also funny is every time I side by side 2 or 3 Eagle Rare bottles, they taste different.
Hmmmm - thought small batch was finding the exact same flavor in any bottle you buy. So no lie at all....😂😂
how bad you talk about Contradiction and it being $40 I will never try it since Rare Breed, Russel's 10yr, Buffalo Trace, Long Branch, Evan Willams vintage single barrel are less or a little more than $40 and my grocery store has rows of them at MSRP.
You said in the video that in 2014 Eagle Rare stop saying "single barrel" on the front or anywhere on the bottle? I bought a Eagle Rare that said 10yr and Single Barrel on the front from a liquor store this year and I threw away the bottle not knowing it was a very rare bottle. If I would have known it was no longer produced for over 10yrs I would have sold it online. I paid $70 for it, so yeah about double MSRP but I was new to the bourbon game and I wanted it because of its reputation
small batch doesn't have a real definition either.. So them winning the LA WHiskey small batch comp doesn't mean it's small batch either. But good video though
Can you investigate Wild Turkey Kline vs Russell Reserve vs Masters Keep?
Are you talking about the way a distillery can get so many different products out of the same mash-bill?
Even though they are a 10yr. they are not consistent. I found them a
“Hit’n Mis Bourbon. Some are great,
some just mediocre.🥃
Good luck with your channel...
Just found this, always fun seeing whisk(e)y lore being debunked. I don't really care one way or the other, it's what ends up in my mouth that counts, but I do enjoy seeing the absolute nonsense spread by distilleries and being repeated by poor saps on TH-cam actually being challenged. If you don't know that it's true then why mention it?
I can get Eagle Rare for $30 at the Saz House in Nola. It’s good for that price.
In the description it says you filmed on location in hell. Is that Hell, Michigan by chance? I live over in GR, and was just curious. Great content! Subscribed and looking forward to more
Great video. Eagle rare is still overhyped. I would take Russell's 10 all day over Eagle rare.
Same
I still think Wild Turkey 101 is a better bourbon and it's 1/2 the price (or less)
I like long videos, deep dives into information. If you have the knowledge on a subject, I would prefer to get it in larger videos, not spread across 20 5 minute videos. I would be happy to have beginner videos alongside deep dive videos, or you could start with basics and go into the deep info in the same video. In any case share with us what you know! Love the investigator theme at the beginning of your video, can definitely tell you are putting a lot of effort in to your video! Good luck, subscribed!
does it matter if eagle rare is a single barrel? nah...it would be mediocre either way....whoops
Eagle rare is okay but not worth hunting, if you come across it at close to msrp then pick it up
Wow this is a really done video. Love the whiskey bill nye thing. Id take a russells 10 over any of these personally but interesting results nonetheless.
This is the beauty of doing bottle focused episodes. There's 15 bottles in proximity I consider above eagle rare, but that's a less interesting episode. I've got to admit, from a performance standpoint I think I was shooting for Alton brown, but I think you're totally right and we landed closer to Bill Nye. Cheers
@@TheWhiskeyShow i actually thought of saying alton brown, but bill nye felt like more of a compliment
Meh, Rare Breed for me.
@@jolkraeremeark6949 also great
Stupendous first video. Super unique and added a lot to whiskey tube. Loved the detective angle and researching actual sources to confirm or deny common myths. I understand this production can’t be every video but I loved the first half for sure. You’ll get better at the blind I think as you continue and it seems like you’ve already seen some feedback from other comments but I would agree that calling the glasses “A, B, C” is much more helpful than “1, 2, 3”. And I also would prefer to hear tasting notes and see a ranking as opposed to you guys trying to guess. Guessing can be fun but “unbiased” ranking seems more informative. I’m not really a newbie anymore so I can’t help you with that feedback but I personally felt the video was aimed well for my level. I don’t mind videos aimed at newbies (I can’t be selfish lol) and I understand if that’s what you think you need to do to grow your channel but for me personally I hope not all your videos will be newbie focused. Keep up the good work. You earned a like, comment, and sub and I’m excited to see more from you in the future!
Geez, you’re blind just goes to show that bourbon is such a one trick pony 😂
So if my eagle rare has the single barrel label , and 10 year age on the front is my bottle worth more ?
Fantastic video, super informative. Your blind gives me confidence that you guys know what you’re doing and talking about. This feels like it’ll be a channel I can trust for all things whiskey and I’m looking forward to more uploads!
Eagle rare I find it. I buy it at a good price point then I drink it with Coca-Cola cherry
It certainly has the inconsistency of a single barrel product.
Too many times I’ve had eagle rare that was green - bad flavor like the barrel was green
good video but too much laughing.
its not really that funny.
Thank you for the Take Off Your Pants and Jacket reference 😂😂
Thank you for noticing. 44 comments, almost 7k views, and you are the first to say something about my favorite joke. In my head it was funnier since the jacket disappears, but you can never tell if the pants followed suit...
@@TheWhiskeyShow Hahahaha awesome man more than happy to subscribe! Cheers!!
So Eagle rare has been gaslighting me this whole time?
Yes. And your landlord. Check the carbon monoxide detectors ASAP.
Q&A
Mistake: Sazerac bought Eagle Rare from Seagram in 89, not 87
Note: I found the noise of the Glass on glass super annoying so we'll tape the bottom of the Glen's next time or get pads to avoid that.
Is this what every episode is going to be?
Absolutely not. This episode was the result of months of researchand weeks of production. I have several other big stories like this to cover, but not every episode will be this high effort
Who are you?
Hi. I'm Sonny W. I spent around a year at one of the nations top whiskey bars as the "expert" on staff. This doesn't mean as much as some people pretend it does, but I did have thousands of conversations about whiskey, and the job drove me to research whiskey every day. I also have spent most of my life wishing I could be a youtube, but I needed something I knew enough about and it took me about 12 years of practicing video production to get to the point that I feel like I'm contributing to a community as opposed to just generating noise.
Questions for you, the viewer:
Did you like this format or was 20 minutes way too much? This obviously could have been made into two separate videos, would you have preferred that and having 2 uploads a week?
Do you know any whiskey myths? Ie. something you have heard a lot of people say, but can't find a source for why
Was this video beginner friendly? or should I focus on creating videos to serve as the ultimate beginner resource in the next few
weeks/months?
Finally, Did I get something wrong? Correct me with a source!
Like to hear some of your experiences and observations working in the whiskey bar.
For myself, I wouldn't watch videos focused on beginners; I'm a few years into my journey.
Twenty minutes is too long. Fifteen minutes is the limit.
Regarding the flight, should call the glasses A, B, and C instead of 1, 2, and 3. Avoids the problem down the road of doing a flight and giving the results as "#1 is #3 here today, #2 is #2, and #3 is #1" Gets confusing. Much better is "A is #3 today, B is #2, and C is #1."
Dislike the *guessing* as to what is in each glass. Just give tasting notes and come up with the winners as first, second, and third place.
Keep the glasses in a neat order. The guy you were with kept his in order but you shuffled yours around the table.
For the viewer, put up what is in each glass in graphics/lettering underneath each glass such as "ER," "BT," and "C" so that it's easier for the viewer to keep track of what is in each glass.
I really enjoyed this format. Looking forward to your next video.
Format was great, I think as a seasoned whiskey collector, it was easier for me to follow, however I think beginners might have a tough time following along considering that this video is so very specific to a certain bottle.
I wouldn't buy this Bourbon based on it being in what looks like an old recycled cheap wine bottle and cheesy sticky label.
Look again. Bottle is extra thick at the bottom. The front is not a sticker it is etched followed by a sticker on the back with a black inside that puts a great contrast on the etching. 10 years aged and a great bottle for less than $40
OK...I mute almost every new whisky channel I see. They're all wanna-be Bourbon Junkies or Whisky Vault people (along with the usual larger well-made channels). For some reason I didn't skip yours. Then I kept watching. Nice video...different approach. Well done. Subbed.
I moved you off of 666 likes to give you faith!
This was hilarious 😂 had to subscribe
More importantly ..... Who the hell cares . As long as they don't change what's IN the bottle they can put any label on the outside. It's good stuff, buy it , drink it, enjoy it. I would still buy it if it said "blended " on the label .
that's the thing about too much information,, it's just too much useless information. If people like it, nobody really cares about all the useless BS... just saying
If they’re blending barrels to get the ER profile then it’s small batch. If they’re dumping single barrels, based on profile, one after the other and getting an uncontrolled mixing in the process then is it “batched”?
I find the posed question of "beginner friendly" concerning for your channel.
Content is great, but the production side doesn't compete with the heavy hitter channels.
Don't lose your content chasing after mainstream though. You don't have the setup to be the best "beginner friendly" channel. As others have commented: lighting, mics, cinematography, etc aren't up to par.
HOWEVER, you're producing content that's outside of what other creators are doing. Obviously you can't put the same LOE into every video as you did with this one, but you can still distinguish yourself with nuanced information, nerding out, etc. Recognize the market that this video will succeed in, hone in on that, and you'll have a loyal and ever growing following.
I enjoyed the video. And learned a couple of things. Perhaps it suggests some future content - the multiple lives some of these distillery locations have lived?
100% yes. I had a section called "the brief history of buffalo trace" but when the script for that portion hit 9 minutes I figured it deserved it's own video. I think one of the most interesting things about the current scene is the difference between distilleries with real heritage and distilleries trying to convince you they have history even though they were spun up last year.
The history of distilleries, their name changes, and who owns them would be fascinating. We may need a flow chart to keep track of it all. It is even more complicated when you consider a new company moving into an old distillery with their own yeast strain and mash bill but using the old stills, but definitely worth a few videos. I don't think you could cover it in one.
Great fun & investigation ! I've been wondering for a long time about the "single-barrel-ish"' question regarding a lot of US brands, tbh, so it made my day !
Never done a side by side between the 2 BT products and the SA, but your conclusion is exactly what I would have guessed. Contradiction is solid, but it's just enough more expensive than bottles that provide comparable enjoyment to keep it from being something I drink regularly. But not by enough that I won't have a bottle around sometimes. I've done a number of side by sides with BT and ER, and neither I nor anyone else seemed to have much trouble distinguishing them. Regardless of the extent to which they are similar going into the barrel. Of course some of this is about BT's "unique" place in the market. ER at MSRP gives me no reason to drink much Contradiction. At the considerable markup you'd have to pay in some places, ER becomes the one not really worth it. This is coming from someone who has mixed feelings about BT products in general, has had a taste of all of them that are on the more available side, and some that aren't, and considers ER his favorite when you factor in price and availability. I think what I'm saying is I really like ER and think it's their best product relative to its similarly priced competition. At MSRP. At least out of the ones that aren't the unicorns that even the other unicorns never see.
I agree with pretty much everything you said. FWIW the blind was 45 minutes of BS-ing cut down to 6-8 minutes. We both figured out 2 was most likely eagle rare, but I changed at the end because he figured it out first and us having the same answer is a way less interesting conclusion. I really do think it's close enough that it shouldn't matter, but we also pulled out a buffalo trace store pick that kicked the shit out of our ER after this.
@@TheWhiskeyShow Oh yeah, regular BT is quite tasty and a great value at MSRP. I've also found that everyone I 've been with has a marked preference between BT and ER, with BT often coming out on top. Glad you got to enjoy that store pick. I bet it WAS good. I got a taste of an ER store pick once that was exceptional.
@@TheWhiskeyShow I'm envious of that store pick. I'm a big fan of ER and have yet to come across any store picks. Everyone who has had one seems to rave about them.
Just stumbled upon this vid. As a rookie/novice bourbon collector/drinker I have to admit I'm not a huge ER fan. Sure, it has a quality name from a quality distillery, but the proof is in the pudding, or glass in this case, and ER to me just doesn't measure up to some others from BT. I really believe the brand could benefit from being a little higher proof, or something......
Nice job on the video!!!!
I picked up a "store pick" of Eagle Rare from a large chain at their end of year allocation drop, which they described as a "Barrel Pick", but has no info about barrel details. Does anyone have knowledge whether this would have been bottled on the single barrell line or the batch line? My guess is that it is a batch of picked barrels that were bottled on the batch line. I estimate they had at least 4000 bottles which is a lot of barrels. (Or maybe Sazerac just a label slapped the bottle and called it a store pick?)
Eagle Rare is overrated
I missed the question?
I love the contradiction… and can’t ever find eagle rare… plus a relative works for smooth ambler… ☺️
Only comment I would have on video is to watch sound levels and that glass Glen on glass countertop is harsh sounding. I think format and everything else was great!
Great job with the mash and drum on steroids information.
Liked, subscribed and commented.
Only regret not finding this channel sooner!
👏🏿👏🏿
lol good stuff man
9%
How is your channel at only 587 subs? This is better quality than many established whiskey channels produce
The 2 bottles of eagle I’ve just got have the 10 year age statement on the front of the bottles still! Is that unusual??
Seeing as I’ve never had an Eagle Rare that tasted any different than the next (even store picks) I’d say it’s safe to assume they are a small batch product.
Great video
Great video, thank you, different angle/vibe to other bourbon channels. I love ER btw
Be cooler if you reviewed Oreos, but I had a good time none-the-less. #fountainglen Cheers 🥃
I got to try a cask strength eagle rare pulled straight from the barrel the other .. exquisite
I just had that the other day and it was foul to me. By the third sip it was so hot and there's really no dimension in it.
A liquor store near me calls benchmark “Baby Eagle”
Thank you for putting the effort into this video and information.
I appreciate it.
i loved this video and i think more whisky myths videos would do great if u can think of content for it
meh my only bottle of eagle rare i could find was a barrel pick so it is a single barrel
I enjoyed your fresh take on these familiar products. I’ll be looking for more of your vids. Good mics help make good content better. Well done! 👍
Wow. I'm blown away at the amount of research put into this video. Some of the major YTers don't put that much into their vidz. And you cite Brewzle and Whisky Tribe. If you had included ADHD Whisky, those are my fav channels. But based on this, you are now on that list ;) Keep it up!
You have to know Matt was on the list of people I looked at, but he never mentioned the "single barrel-ish" thing lol. Thanks for the kind words, bigger work is coming soon.
Well you earned my like and subscribe. Great content.
What I find is that Eagle Rare has a more grape and tea profile while Buffalo Trace has a more floral smell and lingering after taste, and both bottles cost more than ten bucks cheaper than the Smooth Ambler Bourbon, Contradiction. Current pricing in my region is Buffalo Trace priced between 22 and 28 dollars, Eagle Rare from 30 to 40 dollars, and the Contradiction priced from 45 to 60 bucks.
That's nuts. Around us Buffalo Trace is $28-$35, eagle rare is $33-38 and contradiction is right around $40.
On Nov 5th 2022 I was at BT in Blantons bottling hall watching them bottle 1.75 bottles of Eagle Rare, also have a pic to prove it. So yes you clearly can still get Single Barrel bottles of Eagle Rare .
100% of store picks of Eagle rare are single barrels and are bottled in the Blanton's bottling hall, they're marked with round stickers for the retail partner. This video is in reference to the batched, regular shelf product.
Good job ! Saze does not out right comes out to say anything about "single barrel" myth and let the influencers/tubers blokes perpetuate it . Not a lie, just a lack of transparency.
Of course! Neither I or my lawyers would recommend ANYONE accuse the Sazerac corporation of lying. Daddy saz is our friend! Any misunderstanding would be a totally unfortunate coincidence!
This guy's Big Lie....you CANNOT purchase alcohol at an estate sale.
If you work with an estate sale company or list online, this is 100% true. Most estate sales that find alcohol don't find anything worth going through a licensed dealer so if you ask they will often just give it to you, or they've already thrown it away. If you pay attention to dusty bottles popping onto the market a pretty significant amount come from estates in one way or another, but I'll be the first to admit labeling something as an estate sale bottle is a great way to explain how you "found" a forgery.
Great content. More research, less tastings.
Great content and style! Please keep it up.
For feedback:
I'd rather see two 10 minute videos; the research/history, then the blind companion piece, and I'd watch them both.
I think this was beginner friendly'ish simply by covering bottles popular and not too hard to find (tough combination I know), and covering an alternative for where/when they can't be found. I know some states are different than others, but when a beginner, being able to try what's in the vids is what was important to me.
Myths? None off the top of my head, but on the subject of single barrels, I don't get why some have nothing unique on the label (e.g. Russel's 1B)... uniqueness is what makes me collect them! Evan Williams 1B printing barreled date AND bottling date was brilliant. Maybe can riff on that somehow? Why some labels do and some don't or related?
Cheers.
Wonderful feedback. As for your question towards the end: I found an old forum post from the brand manager at Buffalo Trace talking about why Blanton's gets barrel and dump dates but Eagle rare doesn't. The shortish is that for consumers it really ends up being more of a gimmick than helpful. The original intention of the barrel # on blanton's was so that if a consumer found a bottle they liked they could stock up on the barrel. In practice, this hasn't been relevant to the consumer for a long time due to scarcity.
In general, I think it helps obfuscate the actual number of bottles being released (implied scarcity is great) while also just cleaning up the front label.
You and bourbon bill should collab
loved this video. can't wait for more!
Good stuff , I subscribed.
Does it taste good?
So what is missed is where does Buffalo trace bottle their single barrels since they only have 2 bottling halls? I can't imagine all the single barrels are processed in the blanton's facility? or maybe there are?
So that we don't know for sure. For a long time all single barrel and craft products (BTAC and pappy) were handled at the Blanton's bottling hall exclusively. I could 100% believe that there are more bottling halls now, but I can't find anyone mentioning them specifically or any footage that proves they exist. It seems like that would be a bottleneck (lol) to only bottle in the Blanton's hall, but consider that Blanton's only comes out of warehouse H so there's actually a fixed limit of Blanton's that can be made per year. While it's total speculation I would assume that BTAC has moved to regauge and that pappy, SB's, and Blanton's are the only thing dumped at the Blanton's hall now.
Thanks! And strong first video! Well done.
Well done! I think there's an audience for this level of detail that whiskey nerds will appreciate. I don't love ER (i find it tannic and over oaked). BT is meh. (easy to find EC SB smokes it). Haven't tried Contradiction brbn but the rye is killer. (If the brbn is anything like it I'd choose it over ER and BT all day). Cheers!
Thank you. This video did 14 views in 3 days and I was starting to convince myself nobody else cares as much as I do (which may still be true). Pretty floored by the response today. Not every video can cater to whiskey nerds this much, but I hope at least once a month I can do a deep dive at this level. Most of the people who's opinions on whiskey I respect kinda hate boozetubers. I'd like to change that.
@@TheWhiskeyShow Really? I can see them hating the clowns that know nothing but there's a nice group of tubers that are plenty knowledgeable. Jealousy perhaps? Keep making them. Just a matter of time before the likes and you get in more feeds. I'll link to mine and some other FB groups.
@@philc1884 It's 100% jealousy because a lot of the people I'm referring to work in print media and are only able to do so as a hobby. I get it, if you're trying to be a real "journalist" and you are barely making a dime it's pretty upsetting to see people who know less than you making a legit living off of it; but that perspective 100% ignores that youtube is a totally different game, and if you feel like the content doesn't appeal to you then you have a huge opportunity to create your own content instead of complaining about it... Sorry for the rant, I love this community but there's so much gatekeeping from some of the most knowledgable people and it doesn't do anyone any favors.
Thank you for sharing, Sonny W.
Great job! To be honest, I was trailing off a little from the whiskey Tubers due to redundancy and their sometimes odd attempts to keep viewers entertained but you might reel me back in. You put thought behind it and obviously did the research and that matters much more to those of us who are frustrated with some of the heavy hitters lately. Production value doesn't amount to much without content. The subscribe button has been "smashed". Keep up the good work and good luck.
Good video
Eagle rare
Nearly $130 aus a bottle in Australia
Your 471 st sub
Keep at it
Holy shit, you'll have to help us find something local in 2-3 years when we can afford to do a travel show down under... ~$90USD is definitely way too much for E.R.
@@TheWhiskeyShow2024. Eagle rare is now about $90 aus. Go figure
Nice job guys, well done content! If you want to compete with the big bourbon TH-camrs, don't skimp on production value, ie, lighting, sets, microphones, sound, graphics, etc. This episode is very good, make the next one great.
Zzzzzzzzzz 😴
eagle rare, Buffalo trace, blantons are great whiskeys !!!!
Not gonna lie. You guys have some of the important ingredients for a watchable youtube channel, but without something even more unique you're late to the game. There are so many imminently watchable whiskey tube personalities I'm trying to follow.
I do like the intro with the extensive research on the label, but it was way to stretched out (I know, I am sorry for how much work went into it for the little it mattered). But the bros tasting whiskeys that taste almost identical talking about the ridiculously subtle nuances between them doesn't do it for me. Especially when they're not terribly qualified nuances...
Good luck, but I doubt I'll be back.
Eagle Rare hasn't claimed single barrel in a while. Not sure what the point of the video is.
I think the point of the video was explained in the intro... 🤔
Bourbon is checkers as to where Scotch is chess.