Blathering about Blanton’s and other overpriced shit

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Blathering about Blanton’s and other overpriced shit

Post by Badfellow »

Blanton’s.

In truth, my knowledge of whiskey doesn’t hold a candle to some of the fine Drunkards who have passed through these virtual halls of old, and there are many. People who could identify a whiskey in their sleep, let alone blindfolded. My own familiarity with whiskey is sufficient in that I know to drink it, or not as the case may be.

Case in point: Blanton’s Bourbon.

Over the years, I’ve watched Blanton’s go from an affordable (and relatively available) niche whiskey to something of mythical status, a golden fleece to be claimed at the end of a long quest and displayed amongst one’s trophies of greatest prestige. Yeah, right. The only people getting fleeced are the dupes shelling out the inflated costs for a bottle which routinely exceed $100.

Remember when you could get a bottle of Blanton’s for under $40? I do. It was on the shelf right next to the Knob Creek and Maker’s Mark.

Of course, it’s a simple matter of supply and demand as the distillery waits patiently for more aged product to bottle.

But it’s also a more clever and somewhat insidious matter of product placement in television and movies. When you see that can of Coca Cola in the shot, it is by no coincidence or random act of artistic direction. You can rest assured good money was paid for the opportunity and that a good deal of corporate thought went into it’s placement. Many obscure brands have risen to the top this way by appealing to target audiences willing to adopt the brand as part of their consumer identity.

In the case of Blanton’s, I’m not personally privileged to the details behind the executive decisions made. But it becomes apparent that around 2010, the Blanton’s brand started showing up in clever places such as the FX series Justified and later the John Wick film franchise. It’s since become a favorite of television producers who aren’t quite sure if art imitates life or vise versa.

Is Blanton’s a good whiskey? Most certainly. But does it justify the lofty price? My answer would be a resounding fuck no, although I would be curious to hear how y’all feelin’ about this here shit.
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Re: Blathering about Blanton’s and other overpriced shit

Post by Nausea »

Badfellow wrote:
Thu Jul 22, 2021 10:59 am
Is Blanton’s a good whiskey? Most certainly. But does it justify the lofty price? My answer would be a resounding fuck no, although I would be curious to hear how y’all feelin’ about this here shit.
I'll try some this week to see what all the fuss is about. I can get a dram pour for $13, which is acceptable.

What's your opinion on Elmer T. Lee? This is another of those bourbons that run in the several hundreds on the secondary.
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Re: Blathering about Blanton’s and other overpriced shit

Post by scream ale »

I love Blanton's but the price and availability suck royal ass. Never seen it priced in excess of $100 though. That shit is absurd. I've had two bottles of it in my life, both times in the $70-$80 price range. Still high in my opinion but what hell tax refunds only come once a year.

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Re: Blathering about Blanton’s and other overpriced shit

Post by Patchez »

Blanton's back in the day was $45 around here. It was a good price point for what it is. Tasty but kiss my rosey red ass if it's worth $60 or more.

Elmer T. Lee was right at $40 during this time. Better price point and for me a better bourbon. Impossible to find now.

Both are reputedly from Buffalo Trace's Mash Bill #2 which is thought to be a higher rye bourbon. They keep the exact mash bill pretty close to the vest but folks with a pallet for these things are saying in the 15% range for the rye.

As for the Justified collection at one time I had most of them. Raylin's Blanton's. Boyd's E.T. Lee, Raylin's Dad was WT 101. Never could find the Cheif's Pappy though.
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Re: Blathering about Blanton’s and other overpriced shit

Post by benitobeast69 »

i remember someone on here telling me about Blanton's prices skyrocketing and feeling smug as you could still get it here for like £40 (about a fiver more than we would pay for say Knob Creek....

anyway I just looked and those days are apparently long gone...well over £100 a bottle now. I don't think I'd pay that much for a bottle of anything to be honest....i mean i'd rather just buy 2 x £50 bottles hah.

I did once pay £30 for a single pour of 15 year old Pappy....it was probably the best whiskey I've ever tasted but I still don't think it was worth £30 for shot.....could have bought a full 70cl of Woodford for that price and got a full nights fun out of it. hah
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Re: Blathering about Blanton’s and other overpriced shit

Post by DrunkinEurope »

Both Blanton's and Pappy sound like something I'd love to taste, on someone else's tab. If I'm paying, I'd much rather use 110 euro to get five bottles of Four Roses from the local liquor store than spend them on a single bottle I'd still drink in one night.

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Re: Blathering about Blanton’s and other overpriced shit

Post by Badfellow »

Patchez wrote:
Thu Jul 22, 2021 12:58 pm
As for the Justified collection at one time I had most of them. Raylin's Blanton's. Boyd's E.T. Lee, Raylin's Dad was WT 101. Never could find the Cheif's Pappy though.
Yeah, Justified did an interesting thing by incorporating different kinds of whiskey into the identity of the characters. It’s also a comment on the economic stratification often found in rural, impoverished areas and in the fictional county of Harlan, Kentucky.

There’s also a rumor that the executive producers (mainly Elmore Leonard, Graham Yost and Timothy Olyphant) were gifted multiple bottles of whiskey including a bit of the coveted ol’ Pappy Van.
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Re: Blathering about Blanton’s and other overpriced shit

Post by benitobeast69 »

Badfellow wrote:
Sat Jul 24, 2021 7:55 am
Patchez wrote:
Thu Jul 22, 2021 12:58 pm
As for the Justified collection at one time I had most of them. Raylin's Blanton's. Boyd's E.T. Lee, Raylin's Dad was WT 101. Never could find the Cheif's Pappy though.
Yeah, Justified did an interesting thing by incorporating different kinds of whiskey into the identity of the characters. It’s also a comment on the economic stratification often found in rural, impoverished areas and in the fictional county of Harlan, Kentucky.

There’s also a rumor that the executive producers (mainly Elmore Leonard, Graham Yost and Timothy Olyphant) were gifted multiple bottles of whiskey including a bit of the coveted ol’ Pappy Van.

i really enjoyed justified...at first i thought it was gonna be a poor mans.modern day deadwood...but it had its own thing going for it. was a good show to drink bourbon to as well. couldn't watch an episode without fancying a dribble could you.
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Re: Blathering about Blanton’s and other overpriced shit

Post by Nausea »

I was totally underwhelmed by the pour of Blanton's I had yesterday. I think I posted about this in the "what are you drinking" thread, but I'll reiterate here.

The Elmer T. Lee was nice, boasting as much honey notes as Blanton's but with a much longer and satisfying finish.

I don't think either of these should command the outrageous prices they're at, but who am I to argue with the willingness of the people.
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Re: Blathering about Blanton’s and other overpriced shit

Post by Savage »

Badfellow wrote:
Thu Jul 22, 2021 10:59 am
Blanton’s.

In truth, my knowledge of whiskey doesn’t hold a candle to some of the fine Drunkards who have passed through these virtual halls of old, and there are many. People who could identify a whiskey in their sleep, let alone blindfolded. My own familiarity with whiskey is sufficient in that I know to drink it, or not as the case may be.

Case in point: Blanton’s Bourbon.

Over the years, I’ve watched Blanton’s go from an affordable (and relatively available) niche whiskey to something of mythical status, a golden fleece to be claimed at the end of a long quest and displayed amongst one’s trophies of greatest prestige. Yeah, right. The only people getting fleeced are the dupes shelling out the inflated costs for a bottle which routinely exceed $100.

Remember when you could get a bottle of Blanton’s for under $40? I do. It was on the shelf right next to the Knob Creek and Maker’s Mark.

Of course, it’s a simple matter of supply and demand as the distillery waits patiently for more aged product to bottle.

But it’s also a more clever and somewhat insidious matter of product placement in television and movies. When you see that can of Coca Cola in the shot, it is by no coincidence or random act of artistic direction. You can rest assured good money was paid for the opportunity and that a good deal of corporate thought went into it’s placement. Many obscure brands have risen to the top this way by appealing to target audiences willing to adopt the brand as part of their consumer identity.

In the case of Blanton’s, I’m not personally privileged to the details behind the executive decisions made. But it becomes apparent that around 2010, the Blanton’s brand started showing up in clever places such as the FX series Justified and later the John Wick film franchise. It’s since become a favorite of television producers who aren’t quite sure if art imitates life or vise versa.

Is Blanton’s a good whiskey? Most certainly. But does it justify the lofty price? My answer would be a resounding fuck no, although I would be curious to hear how y’all feelin’ about this here shit.
Under 40 dollars? OMG. I think I paid about a hundred bucks a couple of years ago, and this year, while pre Christmas shopping, I believe the lowest price I saw was 98.00 and it think it was all the way in New Jersey.
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Re: Blathering about Blanton’s and other overpriced shit

Post by whiskeyprick »

SupposedlyI I'm getting a bottle on my order tomorrow. was gonna raise the price to $80, if it shows up. Last one I had was in the store 20 minutes about a year ago.
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Re: Blathering about Blanton’s and other overpriced shit

Post by Nausea »

whiskeyprick wrote:
Thu Jul 29, 2021 12:19 am
SupposedlyI I'm getting a bottle on my order tomorrow. was gonna raise the price to $80, if it shows up. Last one I had was in the store 20 minutes about a year ago.
$80 is a steal these days. Not that I want to encourage you to mark it up more, but we sold several bottles for $300.

It always feels kind of dirty to tell customers that price.
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Re: Blathering about Blanton’s and other overpriced shit

Post by benitobeast69 »

Nausea wrote:
Thu Jul 29, 2021 11:07 am
whiskeyprick wrote:
Thu Jul 29, 2021 12:19 am
SupposedlyI I'm getting a bottle on my order tomorrow. was gonna raise the price to $80, if it shows up. Last one I had was in the store 20 minutes about a year ago.
$80 is a steal these days. Not that I want to encourage you to mark it up more, but we sold several bottles for $300.

It always feels kind of dirty to tell customers that price.
if they're daft enough to pay that much for it then.....
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Re: Blathering about Blanton’s and other overpriced shit

Post by Badfellow »

Nausea wrote:
Thu Jul 29, 2021 11:07 am
It always feels kind of dirty to tell customers that price.
Yeah, you say that like it’s a bad thing.
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Re: Blathering about Blanton’s and other overpriced shit

Post by Badfellow »

The first time I encountered Blanton’s on the shelf was in 2006. The price was $39.95. I remember thinking how elaborate the bottle looked, even as it sat next to the likes of Booker’s, Basil Hayden’s and Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye (which was $54.99 at the time). Just to give you some idea price relativity, for you see that Bourbon— though popular enough— hadn’t quite gone nuclear at the time.

I distinctly remember speaking to the white haired fellow who was proprietor of the store and asking him if he’d had Blanton’s yet. "It’s a good sipper," answered the man. "But it’s not as fancy as the bottle."

I ended up getting a bottle of Handy which has long since joined the many ghosts of empties left in the wake of thirst.
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