Bought 8 bottles of the gold on a cruise ship for $80 each. Cruise cost about $450 for each of us. I will not resell any of it and have gifted a couple of bottles to family. Consider a cruise if you are looking for some exotic spirits that you cannot get in this country.
For me and my palate, this is one of my favorite pours, I just love the over profile it offers. Now with that being said I think the extra proof on this over the regular release made all the difference. Oh, I add no water to my bourbon, I prefer mine neat. To each there own though. Cheers Bill!
99.9% of the time I don't add water if I'm drinking for myself. When I drink for the reviews I try neat and with water. That being said, this grew on me
How much water do you add to your whiskey (when you choose to add water)? * Be sure to visit my website! - www.thewhiskeydictionary.com * And Join Discord - bit.ly/2Ly34iZ * Maybe Patreon? - www.patreon.com/TheWhiskeyDic
Adding water: I am really whisk(e)y specific. For example, I add a bunch of water to Clynelish 14, even with low entry proof because it opens up a ton of flavors. Most cask strength bourbons I add just a few drops to take the alcohol sting out. I think the difference largely comes down to how wide the cuts are that the distillery takes. Clynelish, Edradour, and a few others definitely have more heads and tails in their new make.
Bill, Nice start to 2020. As you say, only see on-line for $200 or more and 700 ml. That's more than a back rub!! Happily, I'll have to be content with a couple of different Store Picks for about $67. I just add a couple of drops water with a straw when starting. CHEERS!!
I like the regular Blantons but have to say that I have never found one available for MSRP! Have only tried it at bars or through the generosity of my friends. Would certainly like to try the Gold ... but I am not going to go chasing after it or break the bank!
Haven't opened the Gold one yet but will later this month. Going to be interesting to see how individual pallets vary because the regular Blanton's is top notch. I also find it "interesting" that it has all 5 star ratings, this suggests to me that there is some subconscious thoughts affecting the reviews due to availability and hype. Good review!!
I'm the guy that bought Metallica's, GoT, Bob Dylan's, etc.... I am a fan of gimmick whiskies. I've yet to learn my lesson. Hype drinks on the other hand...I've learned my lesson. When someone builds something up so much, I have to stay away from it because it's always a disappointment and then when I do finally try it, it taste like anger and disappointment. Never ever buy something for hype, it doesn't taste good. All that being said, Gold is perfection for me and I hope it is for you. It's my sincere hope that when you try it, it does not taste like anger and disappointment.
In my short Bourbon journey, so far Blanton’s of any kind is a unicorn in PA. Thanx for the review.😎 Ps. I never add water. My taste runs closer to the bottom shelf drams. Evan Williams BIB, Jim Beam BIB, 1792, which I am sipping on now, Wild Turkey 101. Once in a while I look up to Bulliet, Four Roses, and Elijah Craig Small Batch. I look for sales mostly.
When I open a new bottle I do my tasting notes, first neat then 4 drops of water, then 4 more and if it's barrel proof maybe 4 more to about 1oz pour of whiskey. I use a glass straw for easy measure. When I drink casually I rarely add water. Regular Blanton's around here is behind the counter and usually $100+, only bottle I had was years ago and about $50.
Thanks for another honest review Bill. I've never had the gold but at a 100-150 price point if I could find it, it would be a VERY hard sell. I like, not in love with but enjoy a lot, the regular Blanton's but I think the hype for all things "rare" BT is extreme. For 150, I could get 2 bottles of Booker's. I would also be curious to see what those Whiskey exchange ratings would be in a blind taste test....
I love Blanton’s my grandpa actually knows someone who works at the distillery and I was able to get 2 bottles for $80 each some people in my area are paying up to $150-200 for them from resellers and $100 from the stores
I’m in Indiana near Louisville Kentucky and everywhere here sells it about $100 and that’s if you can even find it some places sell it for over $100 it’s crazy I might need to start driving to Ohio to buy it
OMG $500 for gold? Even on secondary I can get it all day long for a third of that! Not a fan of the chill filtering, but it is my favorite and that's after trying literally over 100 different whiskies. I like even numbers so I do 4 drops. Regular Blanton's is very nice, friendly even. I'll drink regular Blanton's when the mood strikes, but the gold fits my mood more often. LOL, if it's over $100 it should pour itself, hand you a cigar and rub your back. Love it.
Great review! I was gifted a bottle for my birthday. I know if I open it could be my last. Going to wait for a special occasion. Keep them coming brother
First time watching and very informative enjoyable. As a Scot/whisky drinker living now in Sweden I have limited exposure to Bourbon and this really helped in terms of whether to try this or regular Blanton's SB. Like that you talk whiskey geekery but also give a straightfowrd opinion on price v value etc. Will check out other vids.
Great review Bill - and great advice too. I do love the Blanton's Gold, but even over here in the UK and Ireland it can be quite expensive, which makes a purchase less frequent than it otherwise could've been. Cheers.
In Sweden we have these through the state monopoly going for USD 68.31 (649 SEK); avavible through free ordering to any shop location =) At that price it's amazing, and I'll be ordering another bottle within a couple of days, as I finished my last one upon viewing this. Have not done the side by side comparision, but seeing how the regular Blanton's goes for USD 57.79 (549 SEK) at Systembolaget, I would say it's certainly worth the extra USD 10.
Would love to try that someday. I see the classic Blantons regularly at a liquor store near me in MA. Bought a bottle last year and was definitely glad I did haha. Cheers
Taste is definitely subjective I like this pick reasonably priced spirits and like everything else I like to do my research to make my purchasing decisions as far as whiskey goes I like just about anything just as long as it tastes good I like to add a drop or two of water depending on where the whiskey came from and how strong it is as far as alcohol content goes but no matter water are you add keep in consideration it's like adding salt your food if you add too much it can really put things off I liked you tasted neat to get a gauge that's how much water I should add it's all subjective to whatever you like
This one is damn near impossible to obtain in Vancouver, BC. A year ago I picked up a bottle in Jasper Alberta for $107 which was a steal (especially when comparing it to something like Booker's after the price gouge).
"Buffalo Trace Distillery recently announced that they would be bringing their international-only Blanton’s Gold Edition to U.S. markets starting this summer."
Thanks for the review as always. I will try this in a bar if they have it. Have you tired the Blantons SFTB that also can only be purchased outside of North America? I looked in your library and could not find it. I would love to try that bottle as well. Thanks again.
I read Robin Robinson whiskey book.., disappointed, it was more like "these are the histories of each different type of whiskey" with less than 10 total pages about how to enjoy whiskey experience. Still have not cracked open the Glenmorangie Signet bottle yet. You will be first RU-vidr to know what I think
I purchased it online thinking it would be more of 3 chapters of history's.. and then chapter each on: how to nose whiskeys. How to read labels. Glassware for different drinks. How this effects this. How mixing changes this. Etc. which in fairness the author does put in book, but more of an afterthought than a focus. All is not lost, I have friends that I can share the book with. A side note. If you ever purchase a book (and are not a collector or using for research) give the book away to somebody after reading. A person that chooses not to read has no advantage over a person whom can't read.
Can the international market have at least one special bourbon release that the US don’t get, since we don’t get anything else? By the way, not to rub it in, just finished my second bottle of 131.6 Proof straight from the Barrel, can’t wait to try gold .... 😜
Benjamin, a couple places around Myrtle Beach have the standard Blantons at $67 but then a couple are over $90. But it may not be available except for 4 or 5 times a year. Hopefully some nice bars around you may have a bottle that you can try and see if you think it's worth $90. Good luck!!
I enjoy the regular stuff but the price keeps going up when they get it that I passed the last time. Would rather get cask strength scotch for the same price. I would love to try the barrel proof on this though.
Man you're lucky. I have not found any Blantons where I live. Ive gona to like 5 different liqour stores if not a couple more and have not found a single bottle of it. Im sure ill find a bottle sometime
It is the distilleries fault as to why the prices are so high on secondary because if they would release all the Bourbons they make at Buffalo Trace Jim Bean does then you could get it any where any time but they don't on purpose.
My local store owner friend might trade me a Gold for a Magnus cigar blend. Keep in mind that in my area all the stores sell Gold for 300.00-500.00 bucks
I also have 2 unopened in box bottles of Crown Royal XR Red the Waterloo ones. I bought them 8years ago and now they are discontinued and currently worth $1500 each. I wonder if they will still go up in value or will they taper off in value. Considering i bought them for $180 lol.
If people had any semblance of self-control and didn't buy from resellers, they'd crash the secondary market and prices would go down/resellers would go away. Can't fix stupid though.
The problem is, it's not only re-sellers. A few liquor stores in my area are selling Blanton's for as much as $115!!! I understand the whole "supply and demand" aspect of it. But it's nothing more than a cash grab for these stores. I now go out of my way to not shop at their stores anymore. I do (rarely) find Blanton's for $60, locally. My wife, (who is totally awesome), knowing that I've been trying to find a reasonably priced bottle for MONTHS, was out shopping one day. On a whim, stopped at a liquor store we frequent to see if they had any Blanton's in. They did and were selling it for retail, but would only sell one bottle per customer. She bought a bottle, then called my best friend and fellow bourbon drinker. He was at the gym working out. He hopped off the treadmill and bought a bottle. She called me at work and I literally ran to my car and got the last bottle they had. So, we scored three bottles between the two households. A pretty good "take" for her stopping on a whim.
Hope to get my hands on a sample one day, likely won’t end up with a bottle. Side note: your background music was too loud and distracting on this one. Friendly opinion
The Whiskey Dic I felt it throughout. It started super loud in your intro, then the lyrics played through, but I felt the instrumental background was loud throughout. Might just be me.
I've decided I won't be buying american whisky if it's over $60, preferably $50 or under. I've never seen even a regular Blanton's bottle and don't expect to, however there is plenty of commonly available bourbon that tastes great. If I'm going over $60 then it's only for scotch.
I love Blanton's and have a bottle. The problem is that, like some other bottles I have, finding a new bottle is nearly impossible. Therefore, I rarely drink it for fear of running out. I need to stop this attitude.
Got my bottle of gold last year out of the UK, and was disappointed. Good but pretty meh. Shared it in a blind tasting with 9 others, no one picked it as their favourite. Lost to Stagg jr. and in most, Makers 46.
I live in Japan right now and I've been disappointed by two different import versions. Four roses and blantons black label bourbon were just disappointing.
Steven, Where are you living in Japan? I was up around Fuji-San for about 7 months and then down in Kyushu and Kagoshima a number of times. But mainly drinking shochu and beer. Cheers.
Pennsylvania regulates pricing so there is no gouging. Just picked up 2 bottles of Blantons for $59 each a bottle of Eagle Rare for $29.99 and a 1.75 litre bottle of Buffalo Trace for $49.99. Secondary prices would have cost me much more
Like or Dislike: Neutral. I can appreciate what the intent was when editing in the music, but the fade-in overlapping the narration either was done too early or was too loud.
It’s ridiculous that a person who truly enjoys it, has to look so hard for something that was just always on the shelf. It’s also ridiculous that bourbon distillery’s are now taking the age off bottles of bourbon because it’s become so popular they are bottling before they use to so a 10 year may be now an 8 year.
Over priced hard to get & frankly isnt that good compared to much cheaper bourbons you can walk in to most stores & pick up I'll take EC small batch or Angel's Envy all day over Blantons
