What's happening in Whiskey?! Barrel Craft Spirits and Barrel Market Crash! 

At this point I'mprobably gonna just drink my collection down to 5 or 6 bottles and then just stay at that number and only buy things I know I'll like.

I think this represents the fatigue and problem in the current bourbon market. After pappy/btac/allocated/etc. stuff became impossible to find, everyone started looking for “hidden gem” replacements that were readily available, and that meant all these new random labels with low age mediocre whiskey finished in random crap for $80+ started showing up everywhere and people are tired of blowing this much money on disappointments. Anecdotally, friends who used to buy every new release at MSRP are just burned out and are buying less bourbon, and just paying secondary for the rare stuff with all of the money their saving not buying a bunch of random new stuff no one has ever heard of.

Anxiously awaiting the "Spill Survivor Batch" that goes for $1200 on secondary...

Breaking news: Heaven Hill releases Old Fitz power outage edition for $1500. Slated to sell out in minutes.

I have purchased some $150 bottles over the past couple years and tbh have been under whelmed by them. They were good, but not worth the price to me. I would have been just as happy with Rare Breed , JD SB BP etc. and so I have really shifted over to lower priced quality offerings. Maybe that means I will never have a Four Gate or another 2 XO etc, but I am ok with that. Makes you wonder what will happen to Buffalo Trace? That billion dollar expansion, might have been ill timed, but hopefully not. I am finally seeing BT and Baby Saz on the pretty often sitting on shelves now. Hopefully that happens to some of their other products as well.

Too many available options. And shady store owners keeping bottles hidden for their friends. Hunting isn't worth it anymore. Not to mention, tequila is making a surge. Last huge store I was in, the tequila and mezcal aisle was just as big as the whiskey.

Dudes a couple a hundred gallons is maybe only 4-5 barrels of product. It's not a big loss. The probable reason why we know about it is it would have been an EPA "Recordable" spill. Usually anything over 10 gallons is required to be recordable.

I was probably trying/ buying a new barrel pick or interesting bottle once a month 2 years ago. Now my local shops are so bloated with barrel picks I have no interest in at astronomical prices that I’m just priced out of the market unfortunately.

You guys were Spot On with why I never bought anything from Barrel - they had a million different products and I couldn’t tell them apart! If I’m dropping good $$$ on a bottle I want to know what I’m getting.

I've turned into basically a value buyer where I'll buy good bottles heavily discounted, as well as consistently re-buying my crushed bottles from my favorite distillery regardless of price, Jim Beam. I recently purchased Dickel BiB for 29.99, and a Whistler Irish Whiskey store pick cask strength single barrel for 25.00 flat, and other such high value picks. FYI, Jim Beam Black 7 year is my new daily.

I’m honestly here for a correction in the market as a whole. I do not wish ill for any producer, distiller nor NDP… but the $80 “entry” bourbons got old incredibly fast. I’m so ready to go into a store with $50 again and get something good and maybe new to me. Right now, I’m focusing on the $30-$50 range again. I’m sick of burning $70-$120 on a bottle that I go “sure it’s good but… not that good.” Let the market correct. Let the bubble burst. Then let’s get back to regular old slow and steady market growth, no more of this explosive lightning in a bottle type growth that sucks for everyone.

I appreciate these videos that sort of recap the situation in the whiskey world

Welcome to the club. Stopped hunting 2ish years ago when bourbon started to get ridiculous and stay with a few I really enjoy that I can always get like rare breed, 1910, 1920, EC barrel proofs. Hopefully the market continues to correct back to some normal levels

Barrel got way too mismanaged they had the stellum line which was supposed to be cheap but then they went too high end with those and got it even more confused with their batch offerings. Hopefully they make it but like you said they need to redo their whole line up

I'm going to continue buying and showcasing what's on the shelf. No chase, no worries.

I'm in a control state, and I'm not willing to stay in line for 5 hours for a bottle of alchohol. But apparently others are, so i buy the shelfers i enjoy and forget about the line. Not really a hunt when its the same dudes every single week going to multiple stores and getting all the rare bottles.

I stopped buying in total.. I have a vast amount of inventory that takes a poop on most of what’s coming out today (besides highly allocated) so I see no point in continuing to buy more.

I'm reminded of the tulip bubble in Holland around 1637....lol

I have slowed way down. Honestly after collecting for years I've just got a lot of great stuff at home. Still exploring new bottles, but not so eagerly with prices being where they're at. It'll be painful for some companies but as a consumer I'm looking forward to the market normalizing a bit. This is happening in many other industries right now, we are certainly feeling it at my job in a completely unrelated industry. Inventory is more available and prices are coming back down

For me, Knob Creek 12 freely available at $68 a bottle and/or McKenna 10 for the same price and conditions is irresistible. And that’s the way it is now in north Texas.

Great video of the event and even better wrap up in the last four minutes. Well done.🥃

I'm a huge Barrell fan and what always drew me to them was their ability to be different, to take chances, to blend in a wild manner. Half of the fun sometimes is trying to zero in on exactly where each bit came from. I think the information on their bottles is plenty honestly. There's too many out there hung up on the same old same olds. I have yet to have a poor out of the so many different expressions they've released that have been anything but stellar.

I am buying Evernorth and your picks only mostly now. Your guys palates are just about right for me.

Awesome segment thank you guys so much

After Cam at Drums and Drams broke the story about the Barrell facility being up for sale, I think it was the guys at Pursuit who got a call from the Barrell guys claiming it was a mistake and the listing was taken down. Maybe they took the sale private, but who knows?

The market for high priced bourbon has fallen way off. People now have to decide on what to use their money for and a $200 bottle isn’t in their budget. I’ve even seen secondary markets drop prices because the demand isn’t there anymore.

That is where I am at guys, EverNorth, values, and a Unicorn if I can run across it. I'm not going to chase shit I can't find at MSRP, from the ones I have purchased its not heads and tails better than the 50-70 dollar I bought from people I enjoy.

Very relatable with the "been burned" too much comment. Thus, yes, I do try to stay with brands I know I like, but I do venture out to get a bottle or so, especially if a store pick, just not as much as I used to.

Please do more of these!

I am buying old Scotch bottlings on auction sites now, gave up chasing new stuff a few years ago.

Pursuit United do great blending! Big fan of what they are doing. They are a prime example of brand loyalty for me cause I’ll always buy from them. Cheers

I personally have stopped buying… with the little one I find myself just wanting to go to bed once she is asleep

I still watch and enjoy the WhiskeyTube community, but now I have over 300 bottles (all open, except bunkers) so I've really gotten quite picky and would basically say I've stopped buying since the great sticker price increase of 2023...

Love your channel, you have both inspired me to buy several new bottles, all good ones. Keep up the great work! Bourbon market is getting overworked, will be interesting to see how things shake out over the coming 6-12 months. With loan rates, margin rates at levels that we have not seen in 35 years, there will be pain ahead for those that did not plan properly.

I'm not brand loyal yet, as I'm still in the exploration phase (enthusiastically so). I only got serious about whiskey about 9 months ago. However, I don't just buy random stuff, I look for repeated positive reviews and put those on a list, and I only buy whiskey that's on my list.

I 'Paused' buying I ended up with 150-200 bottles of bourbon & whiskey... So outside of daily drinkers WT101 OF100 etc.. I haven't bought a new bottle of anything in about 6 mos.Been enjoying all of the bottles I've bought over the years

I mostly buy Newholland nowdays. Its on another level. Cant wait for their single barrel release this weekend.

Whoa, love the new set, first time i've seen it

The reaction to Cookie must be the same reaction you all heard in the drive-thru at McDonald's on your way to River Roots. Absolutely hilarious reaction Dan and impeccable timing.

My home state Driftless Glen SBBP rye/bourbon, Barrell Seagrass and rye batch 4, JD SBBP rye/bourbon, Russell’s reserve sb store picks, and always some OGD 114 and Jack Triple Mash.

I do really love Barrell Armida though...

I completely agree. Give me more cask strength blends and less single barrels!!

TL;DR, i can't be bothered so i just stick to OF (credit to you guys for turning me onto them) from a newish bourbon person, it feels like there is WAY too many things to pick from and most of it being average to terrible. often times, the things i like become allocated and i have to go begging like a simp or go jump back into the pool of unknowns. in my state, the "good customers" are always described as "well, there's a guy that spends well over 100K per year so you know....." which translates to "piss off, i sell to my golf buddies first and if you're a good boy i might sell you a bottle of buffalo trace for 60 bucks" now i do OF 86 as a daily and 1910 as a treat and haven't looked back.

I'm still figuring out my favorite brands. My intention is brand loyalty. My favorite brands right now are Heaven Hill products, Brown Foreman, Jim Beam (KC & Bookers), Buffalo Trace, & Makers Mark. There are too many choices, so brand loyalty is how I narrow things down. Great video, cheers

I stopped buying Virtue Spirits and only buy EverNorth now.

Hey great show .. love the cat

Great video! Very informative. I am still buying new bottles but have a few bottles that I always replace. You know, the standards: Rare Breed, OF 1920 that sort of thing. I'm a little leery of craft distillers though. When will your product be available and can you ship to New York state?

I mean I can drink up maybe a 750 a week if I'm having fun, but typically I burn a bottle every 2-3 weeks so that's maybe $1-2k a year depending on how much each bottle runs. Now you can spend more but eventually your total stock is going to get really big and you're going to get picky. What did I really enjoy, what will I keep buying? I'm definitely in the camp of burning down my "meh" bottles and just restocking my choice bottles. Seeking out high end exclusives will probably be something I pick one or two a year tops. That's definitely going to have an effect on the market and maybe 60% of what I've tried I wouldn't bother with again even though it came highly rated. I don't know about brand loyalty but certainly knowing what I like.

The market is definitely cooling off. Binnys in IL had 15 EC Toasted on regular shelf and about 6 boxes of Heaven Hill BiB sitting on the floor. Stuff that used to sit behind the counter/glass also now in regular aisle, like all the smoke wagon and blue run stuff.

Personally, I have gotten more brand loyal and picky about what I buy because I know what I like now and who distills or releases what I like. During the whiskey boom, I was discovering what I liked. Now that I'm several years into my whiskey journey, I'm not experimenting, hardly at all, with unknown whiskeys. I'm not limiting myself to specific brands, but I look at the mashbill, source, finish, age, and proof to get a very reliable idea of if I would enjoy that whiskey or not. For me, it's not so much over saturation or price, though price definitely limits my purchasing. It's the fact that I know what I like, so I'm not buying anything unknown unless the mashbill and such are in the ballpark of what I might enjoy. Great video guys, keep up the good work!

At the Stizel-Weller distillery there were huge oak trees along the main drive. The power poles came in along that drive. The squirrels would sit on the transformers and eat their acorns. Every fall the electric would go out at least once cause a squirrel got fried on one of the transformers.

Prices were getting out of control, too many options and have mostly stopped buying whiskey. It honestly reminds me of craft beer in its hey-dey

Sticking with local club picks and store picks right now. Also, I heard all that stock Barrell was getting rid of was Stellum. Apparently their plan might be to phase out Stellum and add cheaper options to their Barrell line. It makes sense too with Barrell introducing a lower priced item with their recent "Foundation" release.

It’s amazing…keep coming down!

I haven't been to a liquor store in months, and stopped actually "hunting" bottles closer to a year ago. Too many overpriced sku's on the market nowadays for whiskey that is meh. I get a monthly bottle from Barrel King and that's about it. I might occasionally buy an interesting single barrel here or there. All the price gougers can watch their bottles collect dust.

I love barrel Foundation! Buy it instead of hunting B T ! Same NY retail, resale price on a store shelf for both. Richer and smoother for me.

I've definitely become more selective on what I buy, my FOMO is gone which is a good thing. I now tend to buy only if I try it first and the flavor plus aging is worth the asking price.

Im all over the place. Im brand loyal to a few brands i will buy their juice when i see it, like found north and ry3, also rare character, but i slowed down not buying every rare character, but most. I also love single barrel store picks, im not as big into the limited releases, but i wouldnt turn one down as long as they arent stupid expensive. Basically i just keep buying, just a little more selective.

I joined Barrel King 4 months ago and have been blown away. Great product, great people, great service. The blending experiences they've managed to put in a bottle are stunning. Even if it's not a complete homerun for me, it's unique and I'm still going to drink it. I'll go out and snag store picks from my favorite shop, of course. If they have any of the unicorns at a close to srp, will I get it? Yes. I'm over the FOMO and being bent over a barrel chasing overpriced/overvalued bottles. By the way, if you love the hunt, I understand, you do you brotha.

I buy what I believe is good and can stay consistent in quality and price. On occasion when something blows up and is consensus great, I may seek to branch out.

I buy cheap and I don't mean bottom shelf either. I wait for sales or clearanced out bottles and so taking a $30 risk is ok with me. Im gonna go see about 2 single barrel store picks that have been marked down to $25 from thair original $60.

My tastes have narrowed. I know the bottles and brands I love now and who offer me value. Im definitely more interested in picks now and batch releases from those I share tastes with. Definitely slowed down on buying bottles. Legacy/Bigger brands: Cooper's Craft, Old Forester, Maker's mark, Bardstown, Jack Daniel's, ECBP, Larceny BP, Rebel, 1792 BIB and Fullproof. ER, Early Times BIB. EHT. My local favorites KO distilling, Ragged Branch, Virginia Distillery Co, and A Smith Bowman. My craft favorites: Redwood Empire, Chattanooga Whiskey, Uncle Nearest, Sagamore, Lieper's Fork, Southern Star. I have many other bottles but at this point i dont really need to experiment with other priducers

I will only buy a new label of something I haven’t had if I’ve tried it cause someone else had it, lots of great reviews, or my local store has a barrel pick and I tried it and liked it

The shelf where I keep spirits is full, so I have to slow down simply due to lack of space. I like most kinds of spirits, and I'm always looking for something new. Bourbon, especially the classic Kentucky/Tennessee/Indiana style, has a rather narrow stylistic range. At present, I have enough bourbon in my collection, but if I see something interesting from Texas, I might pick it up. I like that Texas funk. My most recent purchases were Scotch, mezcal, tequila, and rum. As for American whisky, I'm more likely to be interested these days if I see a single malt, an unusual grain (I've bought millet and triticale whiskies recently), or an unusual blend or finish. I hope Barrell Craft Spirits keeps going; they get into some crazy blends and finishes, so their stuff appeals to me.

I, personally, don’t like spending my hard earned (and rapidly depreciating) cash on whiskey that isn’t very good. Even many of the “big guys” have juice that is just not great. So, when I find a bottle that I like, I tend to go back to it. I still try new bottles, but I will not pay a bunch of money for mystery whiskey, and there has been a lot of that out there lately. As far as the blending goes, I understand the art and enjoyment in it, but the chances of ever getting a bottle of such a limited batch are slim at best. I would never tell you guys to stop doing it, but I would really like to see you come up with a signature Evernorth whiskey that we (I) could find on a shelf nearby, and be able to keep buying well into the future. If you produce it, I will buy. Cheers fellas.

Take it for what it’s worth, but I visited Barrell two weeks ago and specifically asked them about the the rickhouse and facility listings. They told me the listings were “mistakes” and there was nothing to worry about.

Not only am I NOT brand loyal, I can't stay brand loyal. I started drinking whiskey about 2.5 years ago so I'm new to the game compared to quite a few others. But my thing is buy what I can, when I can, how I can without dipping too much into secondary. Why? Because now I have Irish, Japanese, Scotch, American, Bourbon, Canadian, Whiskey(broad strokes here likes states or ages), Single Malt, blends, cask strengths, different finishes, single barrels, a variety of ages, etc. My goal is for each brand to have the full line up so I can do blinds, but also SHARE with others! My biggest thing is finding stuff to share. I currently have zero duplicates of any bottle besides my 750ml vs 1.75 of Buffalo trace. So having a variety of jack, Johnnie, maker's mark, etc just means I can find something everyone enjoys or I can appease to. It also allows me to find new flavors. I have minimal bottles you'd see at a hole in the wall bar like WT101 or JB or JD, but I can't compare to anyone that has a good allocated collection either.

Hope you guys have the means to weather and capitalize on the dip. 🥃🥃

I've pretty much move to only club picks. I havent bought a store bottle in months. With the club I know it will be good and worth the costs.

I truly believe that the whiskey craze is on a down hill slide. I going to drink down my small collection and just stock a few bottles I like.

I have severely cut back on the number of bottles I am buying. Tired of chasing whatever the new release is and pricing was getting ridiculous for some pretty mediocre bourbon in a lot of the releases. I'm buying a lot more shelfers these days.

Just found an Old Forester single barrel store pick for $64, I keep getting a green asparagus note which is pretty unique.

Honestly even if I didn't watch the channel before you guys becoming an NDP, if someone gave me a pour of the pear brandy Essence I would be loyal till the fuckin end. One of my favorite whiskeys of all time!

Wow that backdrop

I buy whiskey to drink, not to collect, but I have in the past bought new things to try out. No More with the way pricing has been. I've currently got over 20 different bottles on hand & this uear quit buying new bottles unless it's a replacement for one I really like. I'm not into FOMO for the latest & greatest, I just want something good to drink.

Only 2 years into my whiskey journey, im still buying and trying everything!

My local shops keep getting great picks, and the allocated drops have been terrific this year. Im only buying the picks now and even that is keeping my shelves full.

Just found and bought a bottle of Barrell single barrel, Meijers super market pick, Indiana distilled 9 year 7 months on sale for $79 bucks. Haven’t cracked it yet but I’m betting it’s good.

The Bourbon Market is correcting itself.

Currently drinking Penelope Barrel Strength. It has quickly become an all timer for me. Cant wait to try the latest architect.

I personally have slowed down on buying but do buy some bottles mostly picks that have tried or know of. Out of curiosity, how are you guys getting the information regarding the bourbon news?

I still like the hunt but i really try to get the things i know are gonna be great. Not that we get alot of small brands here anyway. Wonder if i could get my hands on some Evernorth in europe.

I’m pretty much done buying new bottles for a while, with the standing exception of certain allocated bottles if I happen to find them for retail. I already have more than I could possibly drink for many years.

Reports are everywhere of ‘younger adults aren’t drinking anymore’ too.

I would love to get my hands on some Ever North. It just hasn’t been in the cards.

I started drinking whiskey in 2016 when i was trying to drink and brew less beer. So many great bottles you'd see on a normal shelf back then. By 2020-2022 a lot of my craft beer friends also got curious about bourbon. By 2022-2023 i realized most people have a crazy back stock of whiskey and when their curiosity runs dry this market will drop hard. The amount of random never heard of whiskey brands is crazy. Craft beer rose and crashed like that and i realized bourbon certainly will too.

I buy store picks only at this point of my fav drinks. Just picked up 3 , Crittenden a cut above picks. Don't chase the allocation. Find the stuff u like and chase them store picks.

Blending is a true talent

Not buying right now as I am currently not working. But I do have more than enough open and bunkered. If I was working I would only be buying single barrels or store picks.

I still hunt, but only selectively for things I know are gonna be good. I try to get a pour before splurging on something over $100. Still plan at least one KY trip a year for distillery visits and to get the Buffalo Trace regular allocated stuff each morning through the trip. Being a lot more selective on where I spend my $$ though. Made good relationships with store owners to have a chance at more special releases. It isn't all about what bottles I get, its the journey and friends I have made along the way. Cheers everyone!

I’ve got so many bottles that I have become very picky on what I buy. I used to buy every single Bardstown release it seems and now I know I’m likely missing some great stuff. Overall I would like to see the median bottle price come way down. So many bottles are $80-150 and fear has set in I’ll get something that just meh.

I’m actually getting away from SiB’s. I have one store I trust and will buy their SiB picks, but too many are not good. Distilleries have flooded the market with not great whiskey all in the name of Single Barrel picks. And I get it, that’s what we the consumer said we wanted, but we should have been more specific that we want quality SiB, not a quantity of them. I’m also buying less and the ones I’m buying are not the shelfers. I don’t drink that often, so when I do I’d rather have some higher quality pours. Doesn’t mean I don’t have Rare Breed or 1910 on the shelf, but I have less of the new products, less of all these finished products.

In the last 30 days i have bought store pick ECBP it was a cherry bomb half gone. Four Gate Kelvin Colab VI not cracked. 1792 Bib store pick 1/2 gone. and a 1792 single barrel not cracked. All at retail. Oh crap, and Blood Oath Pact 10, not cracked. Good days ahead for bourbon drinkers.

I buy all sorts of brands. I like having the variety on the shelf. I bought a Jack Daniels Bonded today, only the second bottle of Jack I’ve ever bought. I’ve got several Trace products, Heaven Hill, Michter’s, Maker’s, Beam, etc.. Maybe I’m a legacy guy, now that I say this out loud. I would like to find some more products that I enjoy, but it’s tough to take a chance when bottles cost as much as they do

Barrell's sku's did have some issues that I believe they could have worked through. Their issue was debt and cost basis. Unfortunately, they were given some really horrible deals on whiskey. Their costs were so high, they couldn't be competitive on the shelf, especially when consumers softened. 99 became the new 60 and now 65 is the new 99. When you pay 3500 for a cask that others now can buy for 2500, you can't retail it at 65 but they can.

Can u send an Evernorth (and an Origin Honey) to NY? I used to go to U Mich twice a year while my daughter was there, but didn’t know about either of you then. Evernorth was only a conception in the 2000’s then!

I prefer RD1 Amburana over Barrel's version. They are very different and both excellent. Barrel's version is much lighter on the Amburana. I can see how RD1's could be too much for some palates but I love it. When I am in the mood for Amburana RD1 delivers - big.

I wanna hear more details of exactly what happened at Heaven Hill to cause the spill during the power outage…something seems amiss

I have enjoyed bourbon for 25 years. I am not a collector and the collecting craze was the start of the problem of the pricing rocket ship that launched bourbon into the stratosphere. I have switched to Tequila last year because I can try a bottle and if I like it, I can go back to the store and it is A. Available and B. Not 3x the price I originally paid for the first bottle. I get the bourbon notes and it's more available!

When I travel now I like to look at finding budget bangers that aren't available in Nebraska. Stonehammer, ET BiB, JTS Brown, OF 100 Rye, some of the Benchmark series, etc.