Fearless Leader,
Here we must disagree. Let's begin with #1: You say it's overrated? I agree. You say "It is fundamentally a $40 bourbon at best who's great marketing and scarcity management has propelled it into a desirable thing" and I'd swear you must be "Rekt." That's not a bad thing but to say that this $55 whiskey is akin to any $40 bottle on the planet is, dare I say, lunacy. Take the cardboard packaging that it comes in. It's very nice. Let's remove the "felt-ish" bag from the cardboard packaging and then peel back that layer. Now to the bottle. Wow! Have you ever seen such a thing? No, you haven't because it's unique to Blanton's and ONLY Blanton's. I've eaten at high end restaurants across the globe that serve their signature cocktails in said bottle. It's bespoke..... It's the Blanton's signature and nothing on God's green earth compares. But we still haven't justified the hype so let's press on. Now I see there's a horse and a jockey atop this wax-sealed bottle to ensure the bottle hasn't been tampered with. You see that each jockey is in a unique pose with the horse's stride and a letter is assigned that will spell out the word "Blanton's" when the set is complete. This isn't a happenstance occurrence. This is Elmer T. Lee's tribute to the man that originated (purportedly) the single barrel offering which means variability exists depending on which barrel you're drinking. It might be exactly what the Master Distiller had in mind when he releases that barrel or it could be slightly off. That's the magic of it. Nevertheless, it was tasted by the guy that knows and deemed ready for release in it's raw format, never blended like the other you've mentioned to fit a profile. Are there more bottles more complex than Blanton's Single Barrel? Absolutely. Are there bourbons with a longer finish at $40? No. Are there bottles with a longer finish at $55? Nope. Are there bottles with a longer finish at TWICE the price? Maybe. The Weller 107 (more than twice the price) has a longer finish but Weller 107 doesn't exist in the wild unless you know somebody. Other than that, you're going to spend far more than twice the price to get that lingering on the palate twenty seconds after the liquid is long gone. I think there's magic in the "Mashbill #2" and the high rye content. It adds spice and complexity but more than that whiskey you're comparing it to.
Then you say "It is the epitome of what people who know nothing about bourbon desire." As Dr. Phil says, some people get it, and some just don't get it. I'd say that you're one of the ones that just doesn't get Blanton's. There's nothing wrong with that. You're more like me in that you're a purist. I want something to speak on its own merit. If you think Blanton's is a $40 bottle than you are missing what the rest of the world is buying. You don't care for the "accoutrement" of the golden liquid. I could sell endless bottles for $100 if it came in generic packaging. But the way they dress that golden elixer makes it command $200 on the gray market.
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And really that's only if they have one of the bottles to sell. No matter what, you can't tell me that this bottle doesn't look badass sitting on the bar. Anyone who says otherwise is selling something. I'm not going to get into the Straight From the Barrel, the Black Label or the Gold Label offerings. These are all whiskies from a very specific rickhouse, a specific mashbill, a designated timeline in a singular barrel and only once certain criteria are met are they bottled. To call this a $40 equivalent is blasphemy or worse. And just to show this isn't my personal opinion I'll go back to our dear friend from earlier this week:
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Now on to #2 and the Hancock's President's Reserve's (apostrophe edition) comparison....... There's just so much wrong with this I don't know where to begin.
Soulsea, the father of modern TRX Bourbon Threads, is a guru, no doubt. He despises the use of optional apostrophes, and commas, as do I, and therefore we must heed this modern-day predilection. Soulsea has passion for what we do, as do I. Is Blanton's overpriced? I think we established it's a $100 bourbon and not a $200 bourbon which the market today demands. I can't begin to comprehend the Submariner slam or the fact that he might have compared GOT to the Big Bang Theory but I digress. I think this is one of those multiple topics that is better discussed in person with a range of copitas in front of us containing many of our finest elixers. I very much enjoy our fearless leader and his fervor for life, fine whiskey and fast trucks. Soooo.... A toast.
Cheers, Gents,
Jackson
I meant bourbons! *runs out of the room*
