Love the first sips section....you are so real and honest, I'm new to the whiskey/ bourbon family...less than a year and I'm just growing the collection of my own..very small now, but enjoyable
I'm big on EAGLE RARE, but wasn't as impressed by Weller 12; Weller 12 so hard to get, usually marked up, but ER at $32 at my local store is a buy every time!
In the past 2 years I've seen Eagle Rare on the shelf 3 times, and bought it every time. The third time I saw it was literally 2 days ago for $29.99. I felt like I won a price. I like it a lot! On the other hand, 3+ plus years and counting and I have not seen a W12 on the shelf at retail. I also like but will not pay secondary, don't really mind not having it.
Eagle Rare is a solid ~35 bottle. As for the Weller 12 Ive never seen it either. I do have the Weller Special Reserve and it was a great buy at ~40. Personally I feel like everything from Buffalo Trace is overhyped due to the "undersupply". They are all solid pours at retail, secondary markup on any of them is way too much for what you get.
I love Eagle Rare. I've never seen the Weller 12 but I have had the special reserve. I would take Eagle Rare every day. I'd pay $60 for it (never have; it's $40 here). But I only get about one chance a year for it. Love seeing how your channel is growing 👍
I’m a big fan of Eagle Rare. The retail price is excellent for the pour. If it was readily available it would be my daily pour. Never had Weller 12….unicorn here. Great episode guys. Well done.
Thanks so much! We're not far off from the same boat. Definitely wish Eagle Rare was more available. We'd enjoy it a lot more often than we currently do if it were.
Nice job! My first bottle of ERare was 50 bucks, really liked it! Found three bottles of it a few weeks later at the local grocery store on sale for 32 bucks, store has zero bottles and I have three more! Weller 250-300 around me so no bueno!
I love W.L. Weller 12, but I refuse to pay the price it commands today. I'm glad I stashed a couple bottles I bought when it was an everyday $25 bottle. For future reference of course! Cheers!
Great comparison here! These are easily my two favorite easy sippers. Completely agree with your assessment here, and it’s really unfortunate to see Eagle Rare as an allocated bottle now. Here in SoCal it used to sit on shelves everywhere… Even at places like Target. Now, it’s just another bottle on every flipper’s radar.
Yes Erin you are quite right about the availability of Eagle Rare in the UK. I can walk to the local supermarket and pick up a bottle pretty much anytime for £35 so around $44 with £30/$38 being the best price I have seen on sale which it is quite regularly. It's one of the few bourbons that we have excellent availability at a comparable price to the US.
@@stuffandwhiskey certainly don't do that for the bourbon! I think it is just Eagle Rare and Buffalo Trace that we have a fairly priced good supply of. We do have a lot of good Scottish and Irish whisky though and a lot of non alcohol related things to see too so I hope you make that trip soon!
Love Eagle Rare - we have been able to find it here in IL, but have never seen any of the Wellers yet besides SR which is just OK. At $30 each, I would go Eagle Rare every time. If I see Weller 12 year, now I know not to pay over $60. Thanks!!!!
Amazon is our go to. They're called 2 oz Boston rounds and are usually sold by GlassBottleOutlet. The Avery 3/4" circular labels fit the bottom of them perfectly as well. It's a ton of fun to pour a bunch of your bottles in, label them on the bottom, mix them up, and try them at random to see if your blind experience with a bottle lines up with your non-blind thoughts. We'd highly recommend buying some good funnels though. The small metal one that comes with the Boston rounds is a pain to use.
I personally love Weller 12, but when I factor in that I have only ever found it once.... makes me put it into perspective. It is HARD to find. And getting harder.
@@stuffandwhiskey You mentioned being able to get a similar whiskey experience as ER and W12 at 100 proof and is much easier to get. What Whiskey(s) were you thinking of?
I had Eagle Rare at my local store for $99.00CDN and it was the same price at the store where I get bottles shipped from (bigger store with usually better prices) so for the same price I bought a bottle of E.H. Taylor because it was a once in a four or five year occurrence. Welcome to Taxanada!
I sometimes see the ER around me and will buy it if its MSRP. The only Weller12 I've seen is behind the counter on a shelf with a $300 price tag on it. So, right now, I have the Weller SR I sip on and will call it good. Cheers and great review.
I feel like I comment to much on your videos! I really like watching you too. Always make me smile. I am in Nor Cal and as you commented Josh, Eagle Rare is findable. Usually around $30. Weller 12 is tougher but I have gotten a few. One from TW at about $45 and one from a small shop that seems to like me at $80. (Figured if the offered I should not be ungrateful). Since both are 90 proof and to me that is breakfast bourbon (my wife groans when I say that) neither are bourbons I pursue. Both are good. But that is it. For $40-50 there is better including a bottle called Rare Breed. Have heard you might have tried that one. Anyway, great video.
No such thing as commenting too much, Chris. We love it and it's a huge help to those that comb the comments. Cheers and thanks so much for the support!
We can get Eagle Rare over in Ireland for about €50, including tax, and considering the same stores stock Benchmark at €30, that makes ER a steal in my book! Haven't managed to find Weller 12 though as so few places will import any of the 'non-standard' bourbons.
Eagle Rare is solid and way easier to find than Weller 12. I look for the Eagle Rare store picks, there are some SOLID ER store picks out there!! Great episode as always!!
Cheers to that Jeff! We do get Eagle Rare store picks on rare occasion here, but the few we've had have all been funky and worse than the regular offering. We're hardly drawing from a large pool though and will always buy an Eagle Rare store pick if we see one!
Hi Josh and Erin. If you find it in Virginia it is 40 for W12. I can get it for 50 in Memphis if I can time it later this year. Either way stick with ER which I can find all over Memphis when I go there.
Cheers to that OMB! We're a buy all day on Weller 12 at $40 and probably even at $50 too, and some of that is due to the rarity, but we don't buy anything that we don't drink and share with others. Eagle Rare is hard to beat for sure though.
I love ER and can usually get it for $45 in Atlanta. It's my favorite 90 proof whiskey. Weller hype is more out of control, but I would buy ANY allocated whiskey at close to retail.
Love both… I have both and honestly Eagle Rare is better balanced IMO. I’ll probably get roasted for my opinion here… Weller 12 is a solid pour but Eagle Rare is a much better low proof sipper. Weller 107 and Full Proof on the other hand are probably my favorite of the Weller line.
July 14, 2022 I visited two liquor stores today in north Georgia, both had Eagle Rare on the shelf. The price was over $50. I can't find Weller at all.
Good to know! Out of curiosity, what’s your feeling toward Eagle Rare at $50+? That’s one we got back and forth on, as the age is up there and it is a quality pour, but it’s hard to justify those higher prices when we’re used to it being $30-35 in the past.
@@stuffandwhiskey I would buy a .75L bottle of Eagle Rare for $50+ about once a year, just for the sake of variety. I like Eagle Rare. However, I would much prefer to buy two bottles of Buffalo Trace for around $30.
Weller 12 for $50 LOL! The only time I saw Weller 12 on the shelf was 2 years ago @ $120. Fortunatley Eagle Rare is usually available, I just grabbed a 1.75L @ $60! Great comparison, cheers!
I am new to the hobby. I enjoy your shows and live the blinds. It is amazing watching you both declare having trouble buying it over MSRP- until you find out what it is. This is my problem now, I am developing my nose and pallet, but know what I like. A lot of the "should be in your collection bourbons" like ER and some Wellers( only tried SR and 107) don't seem worth the money.
Glad you're enjoying Jerome! And we agree--many of the hyped up, "must have" bottles just don't impress us totally blind. We hope that showing our honest reactions to pours here on the channel BEFORE we find out what we're drinking is helpful in curbing some of the FOMO of not being able to find these bottles for viewers (it certainly has done that for us).
It has made me more comfortable in not overpaying for bourbons that I have not tasted. There are some that I will pay "extra", but it makes me loss the FOMO anxiety.
I talked a liquor store owner down from $300 to $250 on the weller 12 here in Los Angeles (what a steal, right?🙄) The ONLY reason I got it was because I had a bottle of OWA 107 and I wanted to make poor man’s pappy. Filled up a whole empty a mid winters night dram 750ml bottle of it. W12 is good, but mixed with 107 it’s fantastic. I will probably never buy another W12 because I can’t justify that price again.
I did pay $60 for my first bottle of ER. I'm glad that I have it and I do enjoy it. Sweet fruity and pleasant! But I found another this past weekend for $60 same store. I passed on it if that tells ya anything. I slao got to try the Weller 107 and a pour of Blantons this past weekend. Both are excellent but I'm not gonna pay secondary for either of them. I was gifted the 107 and bought the pour of Blantons at a restaurant.
Funny enough, out of those three bottles, we'd most readily pay $60 for Eagle Rare. We do wish it had more proof but the nose alone continues to impress us. It would be such a great "ambassador" bourbon for newcomers to the hobby if Buffalo Trace ever gets their act together and makes it readily available again.
I enjoy Eagle Rare. Haven't seen a Weller 12 in so long, still haven't even had it yet and it's "Retail" is like $250 here in the ATL area. I've learned Retail /= MSRP a lot of the time. I say Eagle Rare would be PHENOMENAL at the $40 price point at 100 proof!
If Buffalo Trace released an 10 year age-stated 100 proof whiskey for $50-70 there'd be pandamonium! Now let's hope they do it *and* find a way to make it available. We're in!
In my home state of Ohio, ER is $35 and W12 is $40. ER is hard to find, but does seem to come around once a month. W12 on the other hand is a lottery bottle; I won one once several years ago. The black market price on W12 around me is $250, lol. ER is around $60.
That's a great bottle to have easy access too. We wish it were that way everywhere. It's a great intro bourbon that still stands up for seasoned whiskey drinkers.
I haven't cracked my w12 yet but I'm not sold on eagle rare as many are. There are inconsistent bottles. The one I have open now very mellow across the palate. I keep waiting for it to come back to life
There's some definite grape soda vibes in there. Not always our personal preference on the soda or bourbon front, but we certainly see the appeal. Cheers Jared!
Had the choice of Eagle Rare for 38 or CH Taylor for 42... No brainer CH... If ER was 30 might be a harder decision, the owner said ER retail creeping up lately... Shocked to see, both were on the shelf a week later
Both on the shelf is pretty wild in this day and age. As much as we do enjoy Eagle Rare for what it is, for 42 it's definitely hard to pass up EH Taylor. Good call Phil!
Eagle Rare is one of my top 4 favorite bourbons. It just hits the right sweet spot. Luckily I stock it at $35. Tho here in EU we don't have much to compare it to anyway)))
I bought two bottles of Eagle Rare at a CVS for 29.99 a piece on sale. It was a surprise to me just seeing them in their glass liquor cabinet. I called the person who opens those cabinets and yes I will take those two bottles. And by the way do you have more. No they didn't but a steal either way
Eagle rare is £35 and easy to get in England (in our local grocery store). If you have a store card, you can get it for £30. It's going to be in my bar all the time.
Eagle Rare definitely offers a ton of value and a fair bit of flavor even at it's low proof point. So happy to hear it's easy to get you for. It's a very good go-to bottle!
Congrats Adam! We know some folks down that way that got the same deal. Seems like Specs got a big supply. It's a good bottle for sure, and arguably a great bottle at $38. Enjoy!
Been doing bourbon a long time and W12 was under $30 before they did the label change. Eagle rare price has not changed much at all where i live around 30 if you can find it. W12 was my go to when you could find it. ER not so much
The prices of those old squat bottles before the label change have gone bonkers locally. It's wild what folks are willing to pay for $30 whiskey. Cheers and thanks for watching William!
I paid $250 for Weller 12 and $80 for Eagle Rare. Both are delicious, but not worth the price. The bottles look nice on the shelf. I’m new to bourbon and wanted to try it. It’s only money 💰
We do like Eagle Rare but we agree--Buffalo Trace isn't far off. Especially if you find a store pick--one of the few Buffalo Trace products we enjoy a great deal (but then again we admittedly do love some single barrel picks). Cheers Kenny!
@@neilsmith8839 thanks so much for the kind words! Luckily the blinds don't lie so all we can be is honest to how any given pour hits us on any particular day. This bottle has been very solid, and while we'd much rather have spent $50 than $90, it's a nice bottle to have around.
My son-in-law brought me a bottle of Eagle Rare. I was so excited. But I wasn't impressed. Too low proof and not deep enough flavors for my taste. I prefer Weller 12.
Eagle rare is a home run below $40. A 10 year age stated BT masterpiece IMO. I’ve been lucky to find a few bottles at retail with some hunting. Including a 375ml supermarket store pick. It doesn’t burn my nose hairs nor is it a flavor bomb like a barrel proof bourbon. However, It always tastes great. You just can’t beat a well aged bourbon. It is good for the summer time as well. I actually had a “Rare Eagle” blend tonight. That’s 50/50 Eagle Rare and Rare Breed. Yum! I own a bottle of Weller 12 I got a year ago. I can’t bring myself to open it. I’ve set it aside as a collector’s item. Sadly, I overpaid for it. I had not seen it for less than $200 for years. So, when I came across a bottle for $130, I bought it on impulse. Sites I respect such as Breaking Bourbon have given it 4 stars. I’ll probably crack it open at some point for a special occasion. It’s as close as I’ll probably get to a Pappy. I did pass on a bottle of WA 107 for the same price. I’ve learned to keep my impulses in check. These days, I’d rather pay $100 for the awesome OF SBBP I got recently. If I do open the W12, I hope it’s not just meh. Thank You.
Weller 12 has definitely rated higher for us than we'd have thought, but that said, it's solid $50 bourbon. Love the Rare Eagle blend idea, and you are spot on that Eagle Rare is very solid for it's suggested retail price (especially in today's market). That's one we wish were available for all new bourbon drinkers so that they could experience an approachable high aged bourbon.
While you’re technical correct, we don’t think 99% of palates could detect subtle mashbill differences with ease and accuracy when totally blind, so we like doing these specific types of comparisons to prove just that. It’s a fun test if you grab a dozen sample jars, label them on the bottom, and then taste through at random to see if you can detect wheated bourbon vs rye bourbon blind with accuracy over time.
both of those bottles are hard if not impossible to find in VA. They are "Allocated" which means on raffle or mystery ABC store drops and gone in 2 minutes by insiders. So.. the whole point of this video is ?? what?? They do not call it Eagle Rare fer nuthin... lol. Good review on flavor of both.
Fair questions Mike. We did want to see if either completely blew us away a blind, and warranted all the hype. We hope the video shows what we think about some of these hyped bottles and their equally inflated price tags.
Josh here. Fair point David, but what we’ve found through hundreds of blind tastings ourselves and with other people is that most people can’t accurately detect small mashbill differences like the difference between these two bottles when tasting blind. Things on paper don’t always translate to the glass, and that’s what we like to show through blinds.
Hi Josh, well, as a bit of a whiskey fan, and having blind tasted my fair share of the stuff, I think you’re over generalizing when it comes to tasting differences. Could a lay person tell the difference between say Buffalo Trace mashbill #1(eagle rare), and #2?…well, given similar aging conditions(time, environment, etc…), Most likely not, however if one is drinking analytically, even a novice whiskey enthusiast should be able to discern a wheated mashbill vs. one with a moderate rye content. An oversimplified example would be like different cars. If you removed the badging/insignia and little details, it would be hard to tell if you’re sitting in a Volkswagen or an Audi. They’re made by the same company, have a similar feel, drive the same, all the buttons, etc… but now let’s compare a Audi/VW to say a Lexus…two different planets. I’m only nitpicking because the title of your video has the word “comparison” in it. And it’s hard to compare apples to oranges. Both fruits, but completely different experiences. Have a good one.
@@davidheid3210 again, fair points, but we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one. Your palate may just be lightyears beyond ours, but in our experience there’s just not as much difference as people think (and we believe most of it is attributed to non-blind tastings where people’s biases impart, well, bias). On an amateur hobbyist level, ADHD Whiskey’s Matt Madness tournament shows this every year when whiskey channels can’t correctly identify wheated bourbons blind (ourselves included). And it’s not just us amateurs. www.fredminnick.com/2020/03/30/wheated-bourbon-challenge-that-one-time-old-rip-lost-to-an-everyday-bourbon/
Real world and MSRP are antonyms when it comes to bourbon you can’t get. While I can get Eagle rare for $45 to $50 every day around here I have yet to see Weller 12 under $100.
Goes to show you why we do it blind, otherwise it would be grape Nerds from the get-go and likely not much else. 😂 Cheers and thanks for watching Pete!
Prices arr higher know. I can only coment on eagle rare. 10 year age statement but it's only 90 proof. I would like to see an eagle rare at 100 proof for $50. Right know retail is about $40 for it. I do like it though. If I ran out, and was having a hard time finding it I would go as high as $60.
Eagle Rare is starting to hit the shelves again. Doesn't last longer than a day. Buffalo Trace is lasting a week or two, depending on the place. The major expansions are starting to pay off, but going to take years for it to age.
Josh here. Correct. Color us confused--Eagle Rare is Buffalo Trace's rye-based mashbill, Mashbill 2 is their "high rye" mashbill, and Weller is their wheated. I'd have to rewatch but did I misspeak? I wouldn't think so as I knew that info, but I also wouldn't want to spread any misinformation.
That's a fair point. If we ever feature anything allocated we try to pair it against something available, but sometimes seeing how two allocated pours compare (and come across double blind) can be informative in and of itself (or at least we hope). Cheers and thanks for watching Michael!
They're pretty rare in our market. We do have one that's pretty funky and we don't like it nearly as much as every standard bottle we've ever gotten, but that's single barrel store picks for ya. We'll buy another whenever we get the chance and suspect it'll be a very solid pour for $40ish.
Thanks for the comment Kevin! We've heard as low as $38.99 but $60 seems to be the price most markets sell for before the jump into the heavily marked up bottles at price gouging stores for $200+.
Love the first sips section....you are so real and honest, I'm new to the whiskey/ bourbon family...less than a year and I'm just growing the collection of my own..very small now, but enjoyable
I'm big on EAGLE RARE, but wasn't as impressed by Weller 12; Weller 12 so hard to get, usually marked up, but ER at $32 at my local store is a buy every time!
Especially in today's bourbon market, that sort of age statement for that amount of money is definitely hard to beat!
Loved this video. Great job!
In the past 2 years I've seen Eagle Rare on the shelf 3 times, and bought it every time. The third time I saw it was literally 2 days ago for $29.99.
I felt like I won a price. I like it a lot! On the other hand, 3+ plus years and counting and I have not seen a W12 on the shelf at retail. I also like but will not pay secondary, don't really mind not having it.
Eagle Rare is a solid ~35 bottle. As for the Weller 12 Ive never seen it either. I do have the Weller Special Reserve and it was a great buy at ~40. Personally I feel like everything from Buffalo Trace is overhyped due to the "undersupply". They are all solid pours at retail, secondary markup on any of them is way too much for what you get.
ER at retail price is tough to beat on value - great comparison as always!!
Spot on. If it were readily available at retail, we may never buy another bottle of anything else at 90 proof or less.
Just got a Weller 12 for Xmas. Definitely going to do this blind. Eagle Rare is available near me all the time.
Both was the correct answer Erin.. I agree
I love Eagle Rare. I've never seen the Weller 12 but I have had the special reserve. I would take Eagle Rare every day. I'd pay $60 for it (never have; it's $40 here). But I only get about one chance a year for it. Love seeing how your channel is growing 👍
Thanks so much! We appreciate you being a part. Cheers!
I’m a big fan of Eagle Rare. The retail price is excellent for the pour. If it was readily available it would be my daily pour. Never had Weller 12….unicorn here. Great episode guys. Well done.
Thanks so much! We're not far off from the same boat. Definitely wish Eagle Rare was more available. We'd enjoy it a lot more often than we currently do if it were.
I have has both of these, but definitely prefer the Eagle Rare. It's become my go to bottle.
Eagle Rare certainly has a lot to offer. Cheers and thanks for watching!
Interesting comparison - both of these are at the top of my drinking list, but super hard to find Weller 12 because I won’t pay more than retail.
Nice job! My first bottle of ERare was 50 bucks, really liked it! Found three bottles of it a few weeks later at the local grocery store on sale for 32 bucks, store has zero bottles and I have three more! Weller 250-300 around me so no bueno!
Great show!!!
I love W.L. Weller 12, but I refuse to pay the price it commands today. I'm glad I stashed a couple bottles I bought when it was an everyday $25 bottle. For future reference of course! Cheers!
Eagle Rare is my jam. If I could find it at $35-$40 I'd buy it all day long. Also Weller 12 at $50 would be a buy for me.
Great comparison here! These are easily my two favorite easy sippers. Completely agree with your assessment here, and it’s really unfortunate to see Eagle Rare as an allocated bottle now. Here in SoCal it used to sit on shelves everywhere… Even at places like Target. Now, it’s just another bottle on every flipper’s radar.
It's a sad state of affairs for sure. Eagle Rare should be a great intro to properly aged bourbon accessible by everybody if you ask us!
Yes Erin you are quite right about the availability of Eagle Rare in the UK.
I can walk to the local supermarket and pick up a bottle pretty much anytime for £35 so around $44 with £30/$38 being the best price I have seen on sale which it is quite regularly.
It's one of the few bourbons that we have excellent availability at a comparable price to the US.
Yet another reason why we need to visit the UK!
@@stuffandwhiskey certainly don't do that for the bourbon! I think it is just Eagle Rare and Buffalo Trace that we have a fairly priced good supply of. We do have a lot of good Scottish and Irish whisky though and a lot of non alcohol related things to see too so I hope you make that trip soon!
Love Eagle Rare - we have been able to find it here in IL, but have never seen any of the Wellers yet besides SR which is just OK. At $30 each, I would go Eagle Rare every time. If I see Weller 12 year, now I know not to pay over $60. Thanks!!!!
Where do I get a bunch of those little bottles, what are they called? Amazon I'm guessing? Links please?
Amazon is our go to. They're called 2 oz Boston rounds and are usually sold by GlassBottleOutlet. The Avery 3/4" circular labels fit the bottom of them perfectly as well. It's a ton of fun to pour a bunch of your bottles in, label them on the bottom, mix them up, and try them at random to see if your blind experience with a bottle lines up with your non-blind thoughts. We'd highly recommend buying some good funnels though. The small metal one that comes with the Boston rounds is a pain to use.
I personally love Weller 12, but when I factor in that I have only ever found it once.... makes me put it into perspective. It is HARD to find. And getting harder.
It’s wild how difficult Weller 12 is to come by. If it were readily available and $40 like it used to be, it would be a great bottle to keep around.
@@stuffandwhiskey You mentioned being able to get a similar whiskey experience as ER and W12 at 100 proof and is much easier to get. What Whiskey(s) were you thinking of?
I had Eagle Rare at my local store for $99.00CDN and it was the same price at the store where I get bottles shipped from (bigger store with usually better prices) so for the same price I bought a bottle of E.H. Taylor because it was a once in a four or five year occurrence. Welcome to Taxanada!
To be fair, you made the right call. Eagle Rare is a great pour but we'd pick Taylor every time.
I sometimes see the ER around me and will buy it if its MSRP. The only Weller12 I've seen is behind the counter on a shelf with a $300 price tag on it. So, right now, I have the Weller SR I sip on and will call it good. Cheers and great review.
Cheers and thanks for watching Mike!
I feel like I comment to much on your videos! I really like watching you too. Always make me smile. I am in Nor Cal and as you commented Josh, Eagle Rare is findable. Usually around $30. Weller 12 is tougher but I have gotten a few. One from TW at about $45 and one from a small shop that seems to like me at $80. (Figured if the offered I should not be ungrateful). Since both are 90 proof and to me that is breakfast bourbon (my wife groans when I say that) neither are bourbons I pursue. Both are good. But that is it. For $40-50 there is better including a bottle called Rare Breed. Have heard you might have tried that one. Anyway, great video.
No such thing as commenting too much, Chris. We love it and it's a huge help to those that comb the comments. Cheers and thanks so much for the support!
We can get Eagle Rare over in Ireland for about €50, including tax, and considering the same stores stock Benchmark at €30, that makes ER a steal in my book!
Haven't managed to find Weller 12 though as so few places will import any of the 'non-standard' bourbons.
That IS a steal! That's awesome!
Eagle Rare is solid and way easier to find than Weller 12. I look for the Eagle Rare store picks, there are some SOLID ER store picks out there!! Great episode as always!!
Cheers to that Jeff! We do get Eagle Rare store picks on rare occasion here, but the few we've had have all been funky and worse than the regular offering. We're hardly drawing from a large pool though and will always buy an Eagle Rare store pick if we see one!
Hi Josh and Erin. If you find it in Virginia it is 40 for W12. I can get it for 50 in Memphis if I can time it later this year. Either way stick with ER which I can find all over Memphis when I go there.
Cheers to that OMB! We're a buy all day on Weller 12 at $40 and probably even at $50 too, and some of that is due to the rarity, but we don't buy anything that we don't drink and share with others. Eagle Rare is hard to beat for sure though.
I love ER and can usually get it for $45 in Atlanta. It's my favorite 90 proof whiskey. Weller hype is more out of control, but I would buy ANY allocated whiskey at close to retail.
That's a fair point. If given the opportunity at retail or very near, it's tough to pass up specifically due to the rarity.
Love both… I have both and honestly Eagle Rare is better balanced IMO. I’ll probably get roasted for my opinion here… Weller 12 is a solid pour but Eagle Rare is a much better low proof sipper. Weller 107 and Full Proof on the other hand are probably my favorite of the Weller line.
July 14, 2022 I visited two liquor stores today in north Georgia, both had Eagle Rare on the shelf. The price was over $50. I can't find Weller at all.
Good to know! Out of curiosity, what’s your feeling toward Eagle Rare at $50+? That’s one we got back and forth on, as the age is up there and it is a quality pour, but it’s hard to justify those higher prices when we’re used to it being $30-35 in the past.
@@stuffandwhiskey I would buy a .75L bottle of Eagle Rare for $50+ about once a year, just for the sake of variety. I like Eagle Rare. However, I would much prefer to buy two bottles of Buffalo Trace for around $30.
Weller 12 for $50 LOL!
The only time I saw Weller 12 on the shelf was 2 years ago @ $120.
Fortunatley Eagle Rare is usually available, I just grabbed a 1.75L @ $60!
Great comparison, cheers!
A 1.75L for $60 ain't bad at all! That's an all day buy in our book. Thanks for watching!
Eagle Rare is a fav! It’s the last affordable/findable BT bottle outside of the regular label. Sad days 😩
I am new to the hobby. I enjoy your shows and live the blinds. It is amazing watching you both declare having trouble buying it over MSRP- until you find out what it is. This is my problem now, I am developing my nose and pallet, but know what I like. A lot of the "should be in your collection bourbons" like ER and some Wellers( only tried SR and 107) don't seem worth the money.
Glad you're enjoying Jerome! And we agree--many of the hyped up, "must have" bottles just don't impress us totally blind. We hope that showing our honest reactions to pours here on the channel BEFORE we find out what we're drinking is helpful in curbing some of the FOMO of not being able to find these bottles for viewers (it certainly has done that for us).
It has made me more comfortable in not overpaying for bourbons that I have not tasted. There are some that I will pay "extra", but it makes me loss the FOMO anxiety.
I talked a liquor store owner down from $300 to $250 on the weller 12 here in Los Angeles (what a steal, right?🙄) The ONLY reason I got it was because I had a bottle of OWA 107 and I wanted to make poor man’s pappy. Filled up a whole empty a mid winters night dram 750ml bottle of it.
W12 is good, but mixed with 107 it’s fantastic. I will probably never buy another W12 because I can’t justify that price again.
Sounds like both bottles are in the “friend zone!” 😜 You know I’m an ER fanboy. Would love to find Weller 12 some day.
I found a W12 once and wasn't impressed
Hahaha, "friend zone." Love it and love the accuracy too!
I did pay $60 for my first bottle of ER. I'm glad that I have it and I do enjoy it. Sweet fruity and pleasant! But I found another this past weekend for $60 same store. I passed on it if that tells ya anything. I slao got to try the Weller 107 and a pour of Blantons this past weekend. Both are excellent but I'm not gonna pay secondary for either of them. I was gifted the 107 and bought the pour of Blantons at a restaurant.
Funny enough, out of those three bottles, we'd most readily pay $60 for Eagle Rare. We do wish it had more proof but the nose alone continues to impress us. It would be such a great "ambassador" bourbon for newcomers to the hobby if Buffalo Trace ever gets their act together and makes it readily available again.
I really hope blinds like this will help bring down the hype of some of these bottles. One of my local stores now has Weller 12 for $700!
I enjoy Eagle Rare. Haven't seen a Weller 12 in so long, still haven't even had it yet and it's "Retail" is like $250 here in the ATL area. I've learned Retail /= MSRP a lot of the time. I say Eagle Rare would be PHENOMENAL at the $40 price point at 100 proof!
If Buffalo Trace released an 10 year age-stated 100 proof whiskey for $50-70 there'd be pandamonium! Now let's hope they do it *and* find a way to make it available. We're in!
In my home state of Ohio, ER is $35 and W12 is $40. ER is hard to find, but does seem to come around once a month. W12 on the other hand is a lottery bottle; I won one once several years ago. The black market price on W12 around me is $250, lol. ER is around $60.
It's wild how much their price and availability differ despite being so close on paper, isn't it? Cheers and thanks for watching ranman!
Loved ER when I was getting it at $32…now that it jumped to $58 in my area…no way! There are better options for the higher price.
Well said. We're out on it at $58 as well, Juan. Cheers and thanks for watching!
Eagle rare fairly available here in Mass. Pricing 34-40 all day
That's a great bottle to have easy access too. We wish it were that way everywhere. It's a great intro bourbon that still stands up for seasoned whiskey drinkers.
I haven't cracked my w12 yet but I'm not sold on eagle rare as many are. There are inconsistent bottles. The one I have open now very mellow across the palate. I keep waiting for it to come back to life
Bad news on the W12 then. 😆 In subsequent sippings since, it’s even softer and more mellow on the palate than Eagle Rare.
@@stuffandwhiskey tough to see. At $40, I'll take it, makes a nice conversation piece!
Eagle Rare is my fav bourbon 🥃🦅I always get a grape soda profile
There's some definite grape soda vibes in there. Not always our personal preference on the soda or bourbon front, but we certainly see the appeal. Cheers Jared!
My everyday Eagle Rare and special occasion Weller 12
Had the choice of Eagle Rare for 38 or CH Taylor for 42... No brainer CH... If ER was 30 might be a harder decision, the owner said ER retail creeping up lately... Shocked to see, both were on the shelf a week later
Both on the shelf is pretty wild in this day and age. As much as we do enjoy Eagle Rare for what it is, for 42 it's definitely hard to pass up EH Taylor. Good call Phil!
New subscriber 🤙🏻
Cheers and welcome aboard!
When will the stinky feet bourbon apparel hit your merchandise line?
Hahaha! You put smiles on our faces with this one Brian. Sounds like we need to find ourselves a talented graphic artist to make some magic happen!
Eagle rare is good, but the last time I saw it on the shelf it was marked up to $199.00! Also, garlic knots for me 😊
$199!? Lawd hammercy!
Eagle Rare is one of my top 4 favorite bourbons. It just hits the right sweet spot. Luckily I stock it at $35. Tho here in EU we don't have much to compare it to anyway)))
For that price it’s a no-brainer. Cheers and thanks for watching Smash!
I bought two bottles of Eagle Rare at a CVS for 29.99 a piece on sale. It was a surprise to me just seeing them in their glass liquor cabinet. I called the person who opens those cabinets and yes I will take those two bottles. And by the way do you have more. No they didn't but a steal either way
Congrats on that score! That’s where Eagle Rare should be priced in our minds. Enjoy and cheers!
Just snagged some eagle rare for $32. It is one of my favorites that I always have a bottle of.
Eagle Rare at $32 is a great buy for sure. At that price we'd always keep one around!
Eagle rare is £35 and easy to get in England (in our local grocery store). If you have a store card, you can get it for £30. It's going to be in my bar all the time.
We can't get anything Weller, unless you buy it in auction for stupid prices.
Eagle Rare definitely offers a ton of value and a fair bit of flavor even at it's low proof point. So happy to hear it's easy to get you for. It's a very good go-to bottle!
Snagged a weller 12 last week at retail here in Houston and it was $38 at specs.
Congrats Adam! We know some folks down that way that got the same deal. Seems like Specs got a big supply. It's a good bottle for sure, and arguably a great bottle at $38. Enjoy!
Totally agree n the 2nd glass being a lower number. Makes me cringe EVERYTIME. LOVE YALL THO
I see Eagle Rare regularly in Seattle, even in grocery stores. Weller 12? Impossible without paying $240 or more (After tax).
Never had the Weller, but I can get ER at $45. No brainer! I’m drinking the ER as an easy sipper!
Been doing bourbon a long time and W12 was under $30 before they did the label change. Eagle rare price has not changed much at all where i live around 30 if you can find it. W12 was my go to when you could find it. ER not so much
The prices of those old squat bottles before the label change have gone bonkers locally. It's wild what folks are willing to pay for $30 whiskey. Cheers and thanks for watching William!
I paid $250 for Weller 12 and $80 for Eagle Rare. Both are delicious, but not worth the price. The bottles look nice on the shelf. I’m new to bourbon and wanted to try it. It’s only money 💰
I get a lot of oak on Eagle Rare. Not my jam. I prefer a regular Buffalo trace, or spend the extra couple bucks for Rarebreed.
We do like Eagle Rare but we agree--Buffalo Trace isn't far off. Especially if you find a store pick--one of the few Buffalo Trace products we enjoy a great deal (but then again we admittedly do love some single barrel picks). Cheers Kenny!
Can you guys check the laser code and see what year your W12 is?
We're no laser code experts but we think it's a 2021 best we can tell
@@stuffandwhiskey You guy are da best! I always get really mixed reviews on this one!
@@neilsmith8839 thanks so much for the kind words! Luckily the blinds don't lie so all we can be is honest to how any given pour hits us on any particular day. This bottle has been very solid, and while we'd much rather have spent $50 than $90, it's a nice bottle to have around.
We get Rare in San Antonio occasionally, but u have to hunt it. Weller 12, never seen it.
Sounds like the same boat we're in here in Nashville. Maybe one day the tides will turn (but we won't hold our breath).
Got 8 bottles…good story if you hear about some luck and good hunting network.
WHISKEY CHEERS 😎😎😎😎
My son-in-law brought me a bottle of Eagle Rare. I was so excited. But I wasn't impressed. Too low proof and not deep enough flavors for my taste. I prefer Weller 12.
Eagle rare is a home run below $40. A 10 year age stated BT masterpiece IMO. I’ve been lucky to find a few bottles at retail with some hunting. Including a 375ml supermarket store pick. It doesn’t burn my nose hairs nor is it a flavor bomb like a barrel proof bourbon. However, It always tastes great. You just can’t beat a well aged bourbon. It is good for the summer time as well. I actually had a “Rare Eagle” blend tonight. That’s 50/50 Eagle Rare and Rare Breed. Yum! I own a bottle of Weller 12 I got a year ago. I can’t bring myself to open it. I’ve set it aside as a collector’s item. Sadly, I overpaid for it. I had not seen it for less than $200 for years. So, when I came across a bottle for $130, I bought it on impulse. Sites I respect such as Breaking Bourbon have given it 4 stars. I’ll probably crack it open at some point for a special occasion. It’s as close as I’ll probably get to a Pappy. I did pass on a bottle of WA 107 for the same price. I’ve learned to keep my impulses in check. These days, I’d rather pay $100 for the awesome OF SBBP I got recently. If I do open the W12, I hope it’s not just meh. Thank You.
Weller 12 has definitely rated higher for us than we'd have thought, but that said, it's solid $50 bourbon. Love the Rare Eagle blend idea, and you are spot on that Eagle Rare is very solid for it's suggested retail price (especially in today's market). That's one we wish were available for all new bourbon drinkers so that they could experience an approachable high aged bourbon.
I can get both here in Cali
That's some awesome access. Cheers to that, Dustin!
Eagle Rare great all round. Weller 12 hard to find and legendary bias as poor man's Pappy.
Wheated vs low rye two different taste profiles. Both good products though.
While you’re technical correct, we don’t think 99% of palates could detect subtle mashbill differences with ease and accuracy when totally blind, so we like doing these specific types of comparisons to prove just that. It’s a fun test if you grab a dozen sample jars, label them on the bottom, and then taste through at random to see if you can detect wheated bourbon vs rye bourbon blind with accuracy over time.
both of those bottles are hard if not impossible to find in VA. They are "Allocated" which means on raffle or mystery ABC store drops and gone in 2 minutes by insiders. So.. the whole point of this video is ?? what?? They do not call it Eagle Rare fer nuthin... lol. Good review on flavor of both.
Fair questions Mike. We did want to see if either completely blew us away a blind, and warranted all the hype. We hope the video shows what we think about some of these hyped bottles and their equally inflated price tags.
Fine to say whether you like each example, but can’t really compare the two given completely different mashbills, with one being wheated.
Josh here. Fair point David, but what we’ve found through hundreds of blind tastings ourselves and with other people is that most people can’t accurately detect small mashbill differences like the difference between these two bottles when tasting blind. Things on paper don’t always translate to the glass, and that’s what we like to show through blinds.
Hi Josh, well, as a bit of a whiskey fan, and having blind tasted my fair share of the stuff, I think you’re over generalizing when it comes to tasting differences. Could a lay person tell the difference between say Buffalo Trace mashbill #1(eagle rare), and #2?…well, given similar aging conditions(time, environment, etc…), Most likely not, however if one is drinking analytically, even a novice whiskey enthusiast should be able to discern a wheated mashbill vs. one with a moderate rye content.
An oversimplified example would be like different cars. If you removed the badging/insignia and little details, it would be hard to tell if you’re sitting in a Volkswagen or an Audi. They’re made by the same company, have a similar feel, drive the same, all the buttons, etc… but now let’s compare a Audi/VW to say a Lexus…two different planets.
I’m only nitpicking because the title of your video has the word “comparison” in it. And it’s hard to compare apples to oranges. Both fruits, but completely different experiences.
Have a good one.
@@davidheid3210 again, fair points, but we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one. Your palate may just be lightyears beyond ours, but in our experience there’s just not as much difference as people think (and we believe most of it is attributed to non-blind tastings where people’s biases impart, well, bias). On an amateur hobbyist level, ADHD Whiskey’s Matt Madness tournament shows this every year when whiskey channels can’t correctly identify wheated bourbons blind (ourselves included). And it’s not just us amateurs. www.fredminnick.com/2020/03/30/wheated-bourbon-challenge-that-one-time-old-rip-lost-to-an-everyday-bourbon/
I was surprised I got weller 12 for retail for Renee’s bday l ask the store 3 months In advance to find me something good for Renee’s birthday
That's a great score! We're honestly enjoying the bottle we have more than we thought we would.
Real world and MSRP are antonyms when it comes to bourbon you can’t get. While I can get Eagle rare for $45 to $50 every day around here I have yet to see Weller 12 under $100.
$80 Eagle Rare - buy every bottle available
$150 Weller 12 - buy every bottle available
We’ll have to agree to disagree on that-need a good 40% off for us to be a buy all day-but either way we appreciate you watching. Cheers!
Like both - but Eagle Rare is $40 to $50 and Weller 12 is $150 plus here. No brainer.
At those prices, there's no second thought necessary. Cheers and thanks for watching Doug!
No comparison btw these two bottles! And of course after Josh hears it’s Buffalo Trace he gets Grape Nerds!.
Goes to show you why we do it blind, otherwise it would be grape Nerds from the get-go and likely not much else. 😂 Cheers and thanks for watching Pete!
$250.00 Weller with a screw top!
Prices arr higher know. I can only coment on eagle rare. 10 year age statement but it's only 90 proof. I would like to see an eagle rare at 100 proof for $50. Right know retail is about $40 for it. I do like it though. If I ran out, and was having a hard time finding it I would go as high as $60.
Eagle Rare is starting to hit the shelves again. Doesn't last longer than a day. Buffalo Trace is lasting a week or two, depending on the place. The major expansions are starting to pay off, but going to take years for it to age.
I just saw a Weller 12 for $229.....wtf?
Yikes! Easy pass at that price.
Eagle rare isn't high rye mash bil,l its mash bill 1 which is low rye, Blantons is 2 which is higher rye and weller is wheated mash bill.
Love me the Weller Antique... Mmm
Josh here. Correct. Color us confused--Eagle Rare is Buffalo Trace's rye-based mashbill, Mashbill 2 is their "high rye" mashbill, and Weller is their wheated. I'd have to rewatch but did I misspeak? I wouldn't think so as I knew that info, but I also wouldn't want to spread any misinformation.
Give me Antique 107 over either of these any day of the week.
Agree
Especially if it's a store pick. Some of those can be quite nice!
Both fine bourbons, but when I read the title my initial thought was overrated vs really overrated.
That's a fair point. If we ever feature anything allocated we try to pair it against something available, but sometimes seeing how two allocated pours compare (and come across double blind) can be informative in and of itself (or at least we hope). Cheers and thanks for watching Michael!
EAGLE RARE STORE PICK👌
They're pretty rare in our market. We do have one that's pretty funky and we don't like it nearly as much as every standard bottle we've ever gotten, but that's single barrel store picks for ya. We'll buy another whenever we get the chance and suspect it'll be a very solid pour for $40ish.
$50? no way I paid $220 for Weller :(
oh, $90
It definitely goes for that in many places. How did you like it?
Srp on 12 yo is 59.99
Thanks for the comment Kevin! We've heard as low as $38.99 but $60 seems to be the price most markets sell for before the jump into the heavily marked up bottles at price gouging stores for $200+.
IMO Proof is over-rated. It tends to mask flavor.