How Much Would We ACTUALLY Pay For These Hard To Find Whiskeys?

[@CPGumby]

I'm with Josh on my whiskey journey - I have SO MANY BOTTLES now (around 250) that I'm pretty much done buying lots of low-cost bottles that I won't drink regularly enough to warrant the space to store them and deal with them. I would rather spend more on special bottles for a special experience at this point.

[@ryansullada1361]

Dang, 250 bottles on hand? That's like 15-20 years supply. 😆

[@stacyellens2874]

I do keep a regular stock of OGD BiB and try to keep a backup of Buffalo Trace. Other than bourbon, my backups of Rye’s would include Pikesville and Rittenhouse! Soooo good neat or mixed, old fashioned is preferred for me. 🥃

[@bobczarnecki3479]

Josh is spot on regarding his celebrity whiskey. Erin's manipulating line of questions is not the same. Love it!

[@realdac7899]

I actually think Erin wasn’t listening to Josh. The nick offerman was good dispite of the endorsement. Celebrity endorsement should add zero to your buying decision or actually a negative that a good review has to overcome. It’s a big red flag that they need marketing to sell the product.

[@numanuma20]

@@realdac7899You nailed it. Any alcohol product that is endorsed by a celebrity should be ignored.

[@PhillipBriscoe27]

To say you don’t like something without trying it is absurd. Especially when you follow it up by saying you’ve recently purchased a celebrity bottle.

[@Lawnshrooms]

Came for the whiskey, stayed for the airing of laundry 🤣

[@justinwilliams7637]

I’m willing to pay a premium on bottles that (1) most of my friends can’t get, and (2) most of my friends would love to try. After all, the premium price is paid for a premium experience!

[@tommysimpsonandtheloadeddice]

I overpayed for a Stagg Jr just so I can try it. $200 Most I have spend on a bottle to date. Thanks, Josh for talking me into it. Hahaha

[@stuffandwhiskey]

If you like it and are happy with what you paid then that’s all that matters at the end of the day. Cheers Tommy!

[@johng5710]

Same here...I had never had one before or seen one going for less than $300 in my area. But I really wanted one and saw a bottle for $200 (Batch 23C), so I pulled the trigger and I'm not upset about it at all. That being said, I probably wouldn't pay that much again for a Stagg Jr in the future.

[@StevenWalt]

I enjoy Stagg so I am willing to pay up to $125. Even though my only bottle I bought for $70, GTS, WLW and ER17 I have never had and would go probably $350 one time just to have a bottle. Other than that I have zero interest in any other allocated bottles. Except maybe regular Eagle Rare. But I wouldn't pay over MSRP. Weller 107 is also really good but not over MSRP good.

[@jasonc.5718]

Erin has to be the only person on whiskeytube who isn't sure if they'd buy a BTAC @ $150. Everyone else would be doing backflips lol.

[@LeatherDaddy97]

Id only go for the wlw or a gts i know i love at 150, pass on any of the others

[@chipgar63]

I would pay 150 for any of the BTAC. And I have never spent more than 100 for a bottle. But of course the ones you mentioned are preferable. Also ER 17 year.

[@mikemueller99]

I'm willing to pay extra to get a hard to find bottle once, especially if i've had it before and love it. After that there are too many available bottles I haven't had yet so I'll focus on those first

[@christopherjohnson4550]

Agree on travelers. I bought a bottle not knowing much about it while on a business trip and I wasn't impressed. I am also Nathaniel Rateliff fan. Just recently saw him in an outdoor festival. Did not know he had a whiskey out. American singer-songwriter overly impressed. I'm also a

[@MJ-km3qz]

Erin, thanks for keeping it on track and I love your rewind sound effect lol.

[@jimidrammer4187]

I'm glad I got to try all the greats before the boom. Nowadays anything Bourbon $100+ I move to Scotch. Glad I got to try them, but my flavor profile definitely gets more out of a well-aged mid-proof Single Malt in the same price range.

[@Matt.L.L]

FYI, most (if not all) of the stuff coming from Willett now is directly distilled by them. The distinct cinnamon note is from their own distillate. The only new bottles that they are releasing that aren't theirs are any special purple tops that are older than 11 years old now.

[@customer9845]

I tend to be more of a scotch drinker and as such, I don't even blink at a bottle over $300 (in my younger days). The most I have spent on a bourbon is $259. I am a lot more frugal when it comes to bourbon.

[@ScottJones-ni7de]

As a newbie this was fun and educational with the few bottles i have purchased all are under $50.

[@kyliejohn3813]

I just found and subscribed to your channel. Nice content presentation! I’d like to get your cut on stores that price gouge on hard to find/in-demand bottles.

[@stuffandwhiskey]

Thanks for joining in! Pricing and markups are a complicated subject. On the one hand, we wish everything was suggested retail only. On the other, free market economics makes perfect sense to us in pretty much everything, so treating whiskey otherwise would be a bit of a double standard. Sure, keeping prices as low as possible is awesome, but when that applies to rare/in-demand bottles, it really only benefits those who have the time to hunt those bottles (which isn't us and many others we know--we both have full time jobs, a family, and this channel which are all demanding of our time which make hunting impossible for us). Should only those with free time to hunt be able to find rare/in-demand bottles? Is marking them up to the point of them being "available" to everyone willing to pay the premium the solution? And from the standpoint of stores, they have bills to pay and employees to take care of, so we can't fault them for getting fair market value for bottles instead of selling them at suggested retail only to have some/many customers flip them for their own profit. At the end of the day, we always come back to the somewhat cliche "be the change you want to see in the world" approach. Sure, we could shake our fist at the skies regarding pricing, but it wouldn't change much. Letting the market work itself out feels like the best thing in our book, but to that point, we try to use blind tastings and our platform here to help dispel the hype around so many of the products that fuel people's FOMO. We feel like that's the best thing we can personally do on our side to combat price gouging, because at the end of the day consumer behavior is what will actually create change in the market, and we're glad there are stores that cater to both approaches so those who have the time can hunt for unicorns and those who don't have the time can budget accordingly to get the bottles they really want/value. Hope that makes sense. It's a big topic and we have a ton more to say on the matter. Previous videos in recent months in our Whiskey Talk series cover a lot of this.

[@brianclick7080]

You 2 crack me up. Josh is so serious at times and Erin is so chill. Josh takes this much more seriously than Erin does for sure.

[@RumCzar]

What's your opinion of High West Whiskey?

[@stuffandwhiskey]

Decent whiskey, beautiful bottles, but we’ve never been overly impressed with their stuff. Our favorite has been unique picks.

[@MJ-km3qz]

I really respect yawl for giving credit where it’s do. Good job! Oh! And great job ;)

[@ianreynolds494]

MSRP, done.

[@ehtater]

The 2022 GTS is one of the most fantastic and outrageous of the Stagg's in recent years. After I tasted it I didn't hesitate at dropping serious actual secondary dollars on it. That year will be sought after.

[@rodsjohnson5154]

Maybe if everyone stops buying secondary and over msrp, the prices would be where they should be

[@stuffandwhiskey]

As long as everyone only pays what things are worth to themselves, the market will take care of itself. Simple supply and demand, and it's good to see the market correcting itself to some degree these days.

[@natebranch1323]

Nathaniel Rateliff and the night sweats heck ya! Love them! You’ve peaked my interest in looking for that bottle now😂

[@thomaswilson9407]

I would pay up for gts or wlw. I also love the Stagg profile so I would pay up for that. As far as the celeb whiskey you were talking about earlier in the video some of the heavens door store picks I have are really good. I kind of want to try their cask strength Minnesota wheat. As always., you guys aced another video. This continues to be one of my go to whiskey tube channels. I hope you have a great day

[@p.daniels165]

I agree! Some of the Heavens Door store picks are very good. It’s the only celebrity whisky I will buy.

[@soyner]

I'm actually #TeamErin on the Travelers discussion. If anything, you have a bottle for guests to try. $40 is basically a nice dinner and having a bottle to No. 1.- Try to see how I like it ... and No. 2. Have for others that are curious (or review for others to see your take) would be worth the cost. PS: I bought it and it was actually better than I expected, but not worth more than $40 for sure.

[@BuffaloBourbonEnthusiasts]

I love the Michter's Toasted Rye ... I paid $139.99 for each of them and no regrets. One was on the shelf and the backup in a lottery. I paid $215 out the door for Michter's 10 bourbon and bought the rye bundle at the distillery. No regrets when the whiskey is that good! I rarely get things at MSRP because I rarely see them at that price. But I do like to get what I call decent prices. Side note. I have a chance to get HH18 for $315 cash OTD. Thoughts? I hear the juice isn't spectacular, but you know it's a coveted bottle and that's a good price for that bottle.

[@stuffandwhiskey]

HH18 is definitely well short of HH17 in taste and not a buy for us personally.

[@herschelpatel8199]

Great video

[@aldogomez2681]

Good podcast. Have you tried any of the hardin's creek?

[@stuffandwhiskey]

The first releases we've tried and have at least one blind head-to-head in the back catalog of Jacob's Well. Haven't tried to newer ones yet.

[@LeatherDaddy97]

I max out on 80 for a stagg jr. Ive yet to have one i thought was as good as an ecbp. Id go up to 150 hard limit on a wlw or a preferred gts. After that i dont see how its worth it.

[@weirdobeardoh]

Love the video guys. I ended up getting my unicorn bottle recently, but I would love to get my hands on a secondary one to actually open and share with friends. I won a bottle of birthday bourbon I am hanging onto till my son turns of age. Knowing that I have it and not letting myself drink it kinda does suck, but it is for a good cause in my mind. I would just like to get one to share with friends and enjoy till then.

[@Average_BourbonDad]

Traveler is just not great and you are absolutely correct. 1792 and hundreds of other bottles are better.

[@brettheiner7125]

I think the only celebrity whisky I am interested in and might buy is Eric Chruch’s Jypsi - only because I have heard it’s good from multiple sources. Still probably an to try it before I drop two bills on it. Michter’s 10s or BSs, I have zero problem paying for than srp. They offer an exquisite experience that is unlike any other whiskey or rye. Other bottle labs like RR15 are worth secondary and more, but the average bottle of bourbon is priced higher than it should be.

[@stuffandwhiskey]

Jypsi is good. $200 good? Ehhhhhh. It’s very unique, good and sweet, and has a dusty bourbon-like note to it.

[@chrisdunning5481]

Great video as usual. I think Erin was not tracking on the celebrity whiskey argument you were making. There is a difference between a whiskey that would be good without a celebrity endorsement and a mediocre whiskey that would only sell because of an endorsement. Also agree on GTS. Had a chance in December to buy one. Store started at $1400 but after it didn’t sell I offered $700 and suddenly owned it. Also got a Handy at retail in the total wine lottery. One thought I had is on your Coy Hill pricing. I love JDSBBP and also the BP rye. But with the CH being. 375 now (I believe) that is a lot. But then again, I have never had the chance so who knows….

[@stuffandwhiskey]

Spot on regarding the whiskey's quality separate and apart from any celebrity endorsement. Well said!

[@andrewbutler7681]

Availability and pricing are often very different on this side of the Atlantic, so that has to be taken into consideration in discussions like this. However, I can say that I paid the equivalent of $450-$500 (depending on the prevailing exchange rate) each for a 2016 Thomas H. Handy and a 2018 George T Stagg and thought they were both worth it. The only time I've paid an outrageous secondary price for bourbon it was for A.H. Hirsch Reserve 1974 16 year old (and there is a backstory to that...), but that's balanced by things like getting a Van Winkle Special Reserve Lot "B" 2018 for MSRP...

[@stanleysoroka4379]

Curious your thoughts on paying up for bottles at stores vs on secondary. I don't like to support flipping, so if I'd overpay for a bottle it would probably be at a store, but curious your take. Also, been looking for your free Patreon tier, but only see the paid ones via the link, please let me know if I'm missing something. Also, Willett is now mostly their own distillate and their prices really went up a couple years ago. Used to be cheaper to get, older stuff was sourced before like you were mentioning.

[@stuffandwhiskey]

Honestly, for us it doesn't matter much. We don't love liquor stores backdooring products to secondary flippers who sell en mass and split profits with store owners, but an individual who happens to stumble across a rare bottle that they might not necessarily want, but they buy it anyways to trade or resell at fair market value in order to buy something they **do** want of similar market value...that's just trading value for value and feels fair in our book. That said, we also know people who have had bottles of value that they've liquidated to help in the instance of a personal or family health emergency, and people are way more important than whiskey bottles, and we're not going to condemn them for getting fair market value for those bottles to help their family. So really it's all situational for us regarding stores vs secondary. For the free tier, click the three dots on the right side.

[@stanleysoroka4379]

@@stuffandwhiskey makes sense for it to be situational. I feel like more often then not it’s flippers who are doing it as a second job that get most of the bottles at SRP these days, but I definitely understand flipping to get another bottle or trading at market value. People before whiskey for sure, that’s totally different.

[@williamhancock9587]

I just picked up a Stag 23B for 79.99 plus tax. I never ever thought I would get one, especially for that price.

[@stacyellens2874]

I’d be willing to pay slightly more than SRP for an E.H. Taylor Single Barrel if it was like the pour I had in Traverse City. Pancakes and maple syrup for days!!! Courtesy of Low Bar, TC, MI. Soooo Good!!!

[@numanuma20]

Sounds like your fans of Dave Ramsey when I heard Erin said fun money. I’m looking to get Russell 13 and only want to pay MSRP. Got luck enough to find it in two stores but they were overpriced. I gotten more into whisk(e)y lately although it’s not my favorite so I mainly stick to what’s on the shelf in stores and store picks. I was in a store once and they had pick that was a 10yr rye high wheat from a local distillery and had to get it as a gift. That is one thing I like about store picks. I guess in the cask where the pick is a local distillery, I would pay more than the distillery’s regular offerings other wise close to MSRP.

[@Fbflath0313]

Just got a bottle of michter barrel strength rye and the bottle leaked out in my car 😢 but I did get to try it sooner than I expected. It was a really nice pour!

[@stuffandwhiskey]

Oh no! Glad you were able to save some of it at least.

[@allenbt11]

RE: The Celebrity Whisky conversation, I think it would be fair to make distinction between the Offerman Lagavulin products and something like Travelers. The Lagavulin's are marketed with Offerman, but it isn't really "his whisky." These are extensions of the Lagavulin line, they fun endorsement.

[@StevenWalt]

I was going to buy a bottle of Travellers just to try it. But I have yet to see anyone say there is anything memorable about it. I mean $40 just because it's Buffalo Trace and has Stapleton's name attached to it?? There are plenty of other bland, boring blended whiskeys I could buy for half that price.

[@Best_Served_Neat_On_Ice]

You know there's no Buffalo Trace juice in there, right?

[@smokinbulldog6997]

It was blended by Harlan. Thats what people associate with it being BT.

[@StevenWalt]

@@Best_Served_Neat_On_Ice Fully aware. It's still a BT product though.

[@StevenWalt]

@@smokinbulldog6997 That and most stores are trying to push it on the unsuspecting by saying it's a BT product.

[@umami0247]

I’ll agree with you on most of this however one has to be careful and not be sucked into Fomo. Yes there are special occasions that one may want a special bottle and that’s great but you have to stay within your budget and not be driven to overpay for it. Again you have to do you but don’t let peer pressure influence your decisions. Great video. Enjoy!!

[@stuffandwhiskey]

Very well said!

[@Dustbrother1099]

Another great video Josh and Erin. I would challenge you to make another video at some point in time to take other factors involved. I think chief among them are those people that are now getting into whiskey. Since you've tasted or have owned all of the bottles you . If you're getting into whiskey and hearing all about these whiskey's, you have a different perspective and you want to really get your hands on them. I know when I first started, my unicorn bottle was Eagle Rare. I really wanted to get my hands on one and I only ever had a pour at a bar and really liked it. I wound up finding it one day for $70 and I pulled the trigger on it. Would I do it again? No, but I really wanted one. And if it was my first time trying to snag one and I really wanted it, there are worse prices to pay. Another example is I was travelling for work a couple months ago and ran into my first Old Carter for $279. I pulled the trigger on it because it's not sold in my State and I've never seen it in the wild. Also, one of the KZbinrs I follow paid $250 for it and I thought it wasn't a terrible price knowing that I will likely not see it in the wild unless I drive to KY. For me, paying up depends on availability, I won't pay up for bottles that are "findable" in my area and are consistently released. If there's a bottle that isn't distributed and it's a unique store pick or single barrel then yeah I would pay more, within reason. Another great video yawl. Oh and Kryptonite is pretty amazing as well as that Hard Truth pick.

[@stuffandwhiskey]

Great points about trying things for the first time. So glad you're enjoying Kryptonite and Castle Strength as well! We're over the moon with those two picks. Can't wait for more fun picks coming up in the very near future!

[@matthewslaughter7693]

Where I live nearly anything allocated comes at a significant premium. Often it will be as much as 5x MSRP. the good news is that you can find some of those allocated bottles. The better news is that non-allocated bottles will be less than MSRP. When I visit my in-laws who live in a control state, I almost never find anything allocated, and the non-allocated stuff is more expensive than what I pay at home. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@apollyon7573]

The question "How much would I pay for something I have never had?" is a loaded one. Trying something out at a Bar it can cost 12-30 a pour for things that range from 40-150 and if you like it you're out that money and have nothing to show for it. On the other hand if you buy something for 150+ and don't like it then you're out that much but at least you have a mostly full bottle still and someone might be willing to trade...

[@ikeyeet8312]

have you tried jacobs well 211? just got a bottle for 149

[@Scott-co4dq]

That's a fantastic price! I wish I was that fortunate.

[@stuffandwhiskey]

We haven't tried the 211 yet. It's in the blind sample pool for the channel though.

[@LeatherDaddy97]

I mean josh is right on traveller. Its components are several times cheaper in other places than what traveller costs.

[@jmsparger4339]

METALLICA was once my favorite band (the first 3 1/2 albums) and IS my sister's favorite. I saw BLACKENED (a song I love) on the shelf but it was finished and $75. I've never had BLACKENED before and wasn't going to start with that bottle.

[@slvrbach]

This video convinced me to subscribe!

[@stuffandwhiskey]

Welcome aboard! These topical Tuesday conversation videos are a lot of fun. Cheers!

[@markwood2452]

This will sound crazy but I had a chance to try the Heaven Hill 18yr at a recent Whiskey event. It was really good. ECBP A124 was better IMO. No way I would pay up for the 18yr if I can find a few A124s for $80-90. Now George T Stagg? Maybe worth paying up for at least once. With Josh on that one.

[@stuffandwhiskey]

We weren’t fans of HH18 ourselves. We’d pass even at retail. Shame because HH17 was a masterpiece.

[@BuffaloBourbonEnthusiasts]

I would put a cap on $400 for any BTAC. Prefer closer to $300. Obviously, lower is better.

[@craiglsu72]

I wanted to check out the rocks glass you drink water out of, I didn’t see it in the merch!

[@stuffandwhiskey]

We’re working on high quality drop ship solutions so we can include glassware on the website but currently the glassware is all special order for our Patreon community. Stay tuned.

[@craiglsu72]

@@stuffandwhiskey ok thank you for the reply! Geaux Tigers 😉

[@SHHDADDYSWORKN]

Question what're you sippin neat at or just a little above 40$ bourbons only!

[@stuffandwhiskey]

Rare Breed, easy. Best value bottle out there for us.

[@mistermom310]

I enjoyed this...I'll spend wisely 🥃🥃

[@brendenkutchko9668]

I love Nathaniel Rateliff! I’ll go find a bottle and let you know if it’s worth it, Erin haha

[@jmalen123]

Words are hard but you do them good.

[@mathewketner1029]

You had Erin, up till $1000 😂

[@BillHead-o7s]

it’s nixed with Alberta Springs Canadian whisky. It’s not low end at all. It’s basically the same whisky in the 10 year old Whistle Pig.

[@bigchimpin4215]

I can confirm traveler whiskey is a gimmick. It’s actually bad. It surely isn’t worth the hunt or the price people are charging for it.

[@chads5968]

Wow Erin, we're ALL learning a lot about Josh today. 😂

[@travisrobeson306]

We need to find another Batch 17 Stagg Jr! All joking aside, EHTBP is the one I wand and would go up to $150, not found that yet. The Parkers Double Barrel I would do 250-300. Cheers yall!

[@sideshowonacid]

EHTBP is arguably better than Parker’s double barrel….i would pay 250-300 for either. If see a EHTBP for between 150-300 I would grab it immediately

[@j.b.6855]

On my budget, $60-$70 is the top price I will pay for any bottle. I would have to be close to sure I would love it before paying that by trying other bottles from the same brand and also good reviews. There is so much fantastic bourbons below that, and in a choice of two bottles or one, two wins every time. Fomo is insanity.

[@WhiskyForBeginners]

My budget limits me to $40 except in special circumstances. The most I've ever paid is $58. That means that some things I'll only taste in samples. But those samples have persuaded me that there is whisky that runs $60 or below that is just as good as a lot of the expensive stuff, if not better. Shoot, I like some stuff that runs $20-25 better than some of the expensive samples I've had. 🙂

[@CruiserDawg]

Great Video. I hate that we have to pay a premium for nice bottles. Why can't they meet the demand?😢😢😢

[@stuffandwhiskey]

We’re with you on that!

[@kingkrow420]

The prices on Willett are absolutely stupid. I haven’t been try a purple top rye yet, but man I find it hard to believe that its THAT much better than something like Sagamore 8 year to justify the price

[@rpredl]

I’m in agreement with Erin on you have to try it to have an opinion on something.

[@LeatherDaddy97]

Yeah but you dont need to try something to know if a price is artificially high either

[@GorillaGlueEnthusiast]

I feel like Josh has been waiting to get all this off his chest for a while!😂

[@stuffandwhiskey]

Less that and more thinking out loud based on the bottles patrons wanted to see us speak to. Definitely yes to getting the “things are what they are” off my chest though. 😆

[@jhw_3]

Which batches of Stagg (Jr) do you each particularly like and dislike?

[@stuffandwhiskey]

Everyone differs. Erin actively hates 17. I like every batch I’ve tried but 16 is by far my favorite followed by 12, 15, 14, and then 22A. Those are the only ones I’d consider paying up for.

[@jhw_3]

I’ve only tried 18, 22A-B, and 23A-C. I liked all but 18. I’ll look out for some of the earlier batches you mentioned. Thanks.

[@Kiyoti]

Nathaniel Rateliff..."Mavis" @ Red Rocks...!!!

[@bryanrasche4595]

Sounds like you need to get some Travelers in a blind.

[@prtube1]

Oh, I am with you buddy. Celebrities probably don’t know what they are putting in those bottle, which is a shame. There is a Big track record that their product, being either tequila or bourbon is just bad. If you believe the juice is good because their music is good, you are a very naive individual. The only bad thing about this episode is that you might hit the couch tonight for holding your ground the way you did. And yes she is mad, no doubt about it. 😂

[@mikeypee2365]

How are you sourcing anything? I live in CA and would not be able to get anything allocated, without using the secondary market, and it is a CRIMINAL enterprise out here

[@stuffandwhiskey]

The only options are lotteries, raffles, hunting, relationships, and/or secondary. We value our time too much to hunt and we've been down relationship road only to do the math and realize secondary was cheaper in the long run. Raffles, lotteries, or simply biting the bullet on the occasional bottle that we know we love on secondary is really the only options for us.

[@claydoug]

I do like Heavens Door, so back to the video.

[@customer9845]

I have never purchased or sampled any Michter's. Something about that brand rubs me the wrong way.

[@Roman_Carter]

1k definitely would have to be something I sampled before

[@CharleyCarey]

I found Eagle Rare for the first time ever last weekend but it was $80 so I passed.

[@Lithanify]

PA we get Eagle Rare, Blantons, and BT... and basically nothing else... It's all either lotto'ed (and you might win 1 bottle in your lifetime through our lotto)... or put online where it sells in SECONDS to bots. I've heard of two bottles of EH Taylor EVER in my region (20+ stores)... mostly it seems to get sold online... but once in a great while they drop some in stores it seems. But Delaware has all the other stuff at the tater prices... and I've yet to find a bottle I'd even consider at secondary, other than when I paid $95 for an ECBP from 2022 and regretted it. Not bad... but it was a $65 bottle, not a $100 bottle. I'd much rather buy a Knob Creek Select (which are easy to get here @ MSRP). "We're not gonna talk about Traveller"... proceeds to spend 2 minutes talking about Traveller.

[@Josh_Stringer]

Speaking of celebrity whiskey, have you seen Jim Gaffigan's upcoming release, Father Time? I like his videos of his bourbon journey, but he's releasing a non-age stated, 92.4 proof, bourbon that seems to come from small barrels. The cost? 149.99. Insane. With a name like Fathertime and that price point, you should release and market the age. I like Gaffigan as a comedian, but this is a hard pass for me.

[@stuffandwhiskey]

That’s an easy pass for us due to all the reasons you mentioned (proof, age, barrel type, and price).

[@johnwill7962]

So basically buy anything with trade/resell value got it

[@stuffandwhiskey]

Sounds like you didn’t watch the video at all because that isn’t at all what we said.

[@LeatherDaddy97]

What does that have to do with the video

[@ianreynolds494]

Okay, Serious question. Who is getting the money when you overpay? Not the actual maker of the product, but someone who is taking advantage to make a profit. Don't care if it is a store or an individual. The store is most likely trying to dissuade scalping so I kind of understand, but it is all completely out of whack. Honestly the sooner the bubble pops and secondary/markups go away the better for the whole industry and especially the actual whiskey consumer (not collector/speculator).

[@danawollam1805]

When Josh said $1000 I shut the TV off. If people would just stop contributing to the madness of the flippers in the secondary market the bubble wound pop sooner than later. We got to admit to ourselves we are talking about a brown liquid that isn't going to change our lives. Yeah, it's tasty but come on really a $1000 or even $200. I really find it hilarious when I see a "Fight the FOMO" shirt being worn. I like this channel and have seen every release but here lately (mainly Josh) the nod toward giving in to the secondary market has me baffled. I don't have any bottle over $100 and I'm perfectly happy with over 50 delicious pours to choose from. Still going to be a fan of this channel with the opinion to turn it off when needed.

[@stuffandwhiskey]

Ian, great question. The distillers should get the money, but that's not how the system works unfortunately. It's the distributors, stores, or individuals who benefit--but we don't necessarily have issues with "mom and pop" stores upcharging if demand is there, because they've got bills to pay and employees to take care of, and you never know why individuals may be selling bottles either. We've seen some people sell for fair market value just to get a bottle of equal value that they'd like more (which is just trading one thing for the other essentially) and we've seen some people liquidate desirable bottles in the event of a family medical emergency to help pay bills, which we're not going to condemn either. The market will only bear what the market will bear, and people trying to gouge above and beyond that may get one or two people to fall for it, but by and large they won't get any takers. That said, demand is high on some products and supply is low, which means higher prices. That's just the free market at play, and it'll sort itself out. Dana, as we said in the video, it's all personal. You're more than free to disagree with our opinions--and you should--but that doesn't mean either of us are right or wrong. It's all personal taste, perspective, and sensibilities. Some people spend $5K annually on vacations. Some people spend $1K monthly on vehicle loans or leases. We can't justify either of those, but paying up once a year for a special bottle to share with friends and loved ones **which will create memories a dozen times over**...that holds value to us. It's not FOMO because we've actually tried these products and know which ones we're willing to pay for, which ones we aren't, and we're not trying to catch them all. Most importantly, I have come to realize that I value my time with family and loved ones WAY more than wasting that time hunting bottles, and I was also wasting hundreds of dollars a month (thousands of dollars a year) to "build relationships" with stores just in hopes of getting a "special bottle" annually, and the math simply didn't add up. I spent $4000+ and 100+ hours building relationships just to get a bottle of Stagg Jr at $100 at the end of each year. I could've gotten the same bottle for $200 secondary (either from an individual or a store that marks up prices) with ~15 minutes of time invested. Which of those two approaches makes more sense economically? Especially for someone who values time with their family and loved ones FAR more than anything else? For what I've paid building relationships at my local store, I could've bought the entire Buffalo Trace Antique Collection in one afternoon via secondary. We like having special bottles to share with loved ones, and it's FAR cheaper for us to simply pay whatever the fair market price is for those bottles than to play the silly games of hunting or relationships with stores. We're actually saving money with this approach. It's fine to talk about bubbles and to hold strong opinions regarding what one will or won't pay--we've been there and done that ourselves as is evident by years of content in the back catalog--but then I did the math, and it simply didn't add up. Of course we could simply not buy those kinds of bottles, which is an option as well, but again we enjoy having those types of bottles to share with others, and for us that's worth paying for.

[@danawollam1805]

@@stuffandwhiskey my intention wasn't to offend you or anyone who has a different opinion regarding the secondary market. In fact I would say your thoughts on "time well spent" is valid. Had I not retired recently I might just have the same approach in some ways. I actually have a friend that does a bourbon channel himself and has a very similar take on the subject and is working with me to help me see the light so to speak. He told me about someone he knows who doesn't drink all that often so he found that the bourbon he reached for was not lower end bottles but the nicer ones. So this guy was selling off everything except the bottles that gave him pleasure. You know, I do like that mind set and wished I had thought about the real goal here. Since I'm not a content creator and don't drink all that often, I don't really need to have 60 or 80 bottles to choose from but to have a few really great bottles. Being from a very frugal family mindset, when I think about paying 1 or 2 hundred dollars on brown consumable liquid it's hard for me to justify the purchase. Not about the money but more about the fact that I know it's not going to change my life. I can say "so far" none of the high end samples I have gotten from my friends have blown my hair back enough to change my buying habits. I must say, when your channel first started and you were truly "Stuff" and Whiskey my wife really enjoyed your content. In talking to my KZbinr friend and getting into the whole algorithm issues associated with building a channel, I can understand a little better of why you stopped the stuff part. Please... keep up the great work and we wish you all the best.

[@stuffandwhiskey]

@@danawollam1805 oh no offense taken at all. You had just mentioned that you didn't understand my shift in perspective, and I wanted to provide some context as I feel that it's more important now than ever to talk about these things. The realizations that I've spent hundreds of hours away from from family and friends hunting bottles--not to mention the thousands of dollars spent trying to build relationships--has been pretty eye-opening to say the least. It honestly makes me feel like the "build relationships" or "hunt for the good stuff" advice we all hear so often is a bit of a false bill of goods. If you're feeling that you didn't understand my shift in perspective, and you're commenting about it, then there are surely dozens if not hundreds of others watching that feel the same way and aren't commenting about it. My hope in responding is to 1) provide the context, and 2) not just reply directly to you but to hopefully have something here that others may read and ponder even if they never comment. That said, when we drink things ourselves away from the channel, we rarely drink anything more than a $50-60 bottle most days, often times closer to $30-40, and maybe up to $100ish bottles on the weekends. I think that's something VERY important to note. These special bottles we're talking about splurging on here are saved exclusively for the very rare occasions when we have a milestone (anniversary, birthday, etc) or when we want to share something special with company. For instance, we had a handful of people over last night, and we shared King of Kentucky and Coy Hill with those friends. Could we have just as easily shared Rare Breed and a great Knob Creek single barrel store pick? Sure we could, but there is no doubt that we were able to provide a much more special experience for our friends last night because they got to try things they otherwise wouldn't have. When we're talking about splurging here, we're not talking about paying a premium for the whiskey itself, but for the experience with loved ones that we know it will provide. For us, that's almost priceless (within the limitations of our budget, of course). Hopefully that makes sense and provides some context, but again, we don't expect that everyone will agree with that approach. All we can do is speak to our feelings on the matter and we of course welcome others to do the same. Seems the world has lost the art of respecting differing opinions, but that's not how we roll, and we welcome the comments and conversation.

[@raymonddonahue7282]

I'd pay 20 dollars for Old Barton 100.

[@877-MASH-NOW]

WHISKEY CHEERS 😎

[@johnq4396]

Erin be like...Josh just buy some rare breed and then we can save some cash 😅

[@stuffandwhiskey]

It do be like that!

[@thecougarexperience]

I love you guys but this video lost me at 7:52.

[@stuffandwhiskey]

Not a peat fan? Or were we tangenting too much for you on this one?

[@thecougarexperience]

@@stuffandwhiskey you guys were so off topic for a while!

[@danawollam1805]

Hey look guys, My wife and I have been watching your channel since the beginning and sit down in the morning over a cup of coffee and usually find your content entertaining. But I'm sorry to say this one episode was just too much in the way of rambling. We always thumbs up and watch to the end to help your KZbin algorithm with the exception of this offering. Hope this is just a fluke on our part and your content will in the future be more enjoyable. Still going to be watching. Dana And Angle' Wollam So-Cal

[@TheWhiskeyRambler]

I’d find it hard to spend 100 bucks on anything

[@rajoconnor]

Traveler = water

[@Faisalhossain-s5h]

Bath water tbh

[@johng5710]

I would probably go as high as $400 for a George T Stagg

[@paulgrace1279]

I'm starting to question the value of these exercises. Realistically, the VAST majority of us will not see most of these bottles at the "price we're willing to pay" - because many others have the same desire and therefore the bottles are not available. It's almost like to you need to ask yourself - "would I pay and additional 20-30% on TOP of the price I'm willing to pay" because that is most likely the opportunity that will be presented - at least in my experience in the DC metro area.

[@LeatherDaddy97]

I mean ive never paid up for a bottle and i have tons of allocated bottles, and many ive passed on. Its just whiskey in the end, id still be happy with a rare breed or still austin or wt 101. Mileage varies.

[@paulgrace1279]

@@LeatherDaddy97 That's fantastic, but I don't think your experience and ability to get allocated products at MSRP is common - in fact very uncommon probably. I love Rare Breed, JD SBBP, OF1920, etc. But we're talking about getting these allocated/lottery items.

[@LeatherDaddy97]

@@paulgrace1279 yes, im aware, and its still very common actually. Every day you hear about people who bought an allocation for msrp, sometimes below. The easiest way to get prices to go down is to not pay them. My main point was that allocations arent necessary or necessarily better than shelfers. Theres tons of good whiskey for great prices on the shelf everyday.

[@stuffandwhiskey]

We still think there's value in the exercise. What someone is willing to pay will always vary person to person, so it's hard to put a concrete number on it, but our hope is that the conversation is thought-provoking for others. I think it's important to see some people say they won't pay up for the "standard allocated" Buffalo Trace products **and** some of the higher end products that people pay up for, but to highlight that there are a select few bottles that we each may splurge on. That'll all be different for each individual person of course, and some people just get eaten up with FOMO and want to have every bottle ever, but hopefully this gets the gears turning for others to consider what their spending habits may be regarding these types of bottles.

[@dgsutube01]

Absolutely no offense meant to Erin, but it probably would have been okay if she sat this one out.

[@stuffandwhiskey]

Definitely a more nerdy video. She’s not the shopper in the family. Does go to show that she’s tried all of these bottles and few stand out in her memory, but the ones that do REALLY stand out.

[@gknepper01]

I can speak from experience. Traveller is not good whiskey.

[@shaytprevost]

Traveler is the worst bourbon buffalo trace has ever released. Buffalo makes some of my favorite bourbon ever, and I can not believe they released that product. It's a total money grab.

[@GorillaGlueEnthusiast]

Cause it's not bourbon.

[@LeatherDaddy97]

Well tbf, its not a bourbon, and buffalo trace didnt make it, they had their master distiller blend it. Still definitely a cash grab

[@realdac7899]

I am all for try before you buy. But you do have to understand you are trying on the back of someone else’s time and money. You have to contribute to the trying in your group. Bourbon people love to share but if everyone on your bourbon circle had Erin’s mentality no one gets to try anything.

[@stuffandwhiskey]

Everyone should buy and share at the level at which they're comfortable. For Erin, that's lower than it is for me, but we both still share everything we have with others. I get your overall point, but calling Erin out on this is frankly off base.

[@markgale1644]

Buffalo trace is better we blinded it and every other channel says do not waste your money

[@Redacted-Information]

S.O.B

[@stuffandwhiskey]

???

[@Faisalhossain-s5h]

Big fan of your channel but either Erin doesn’t know whats the real world bourbon prices or she doesn’t like to spend money on bourbon! She’s just unrealistic !

[@stuffandwhiskey]

The later. She’s incredibly frugal and doesn’t ever want to spend more than $50 on a bottle if she can help it. The voice of reason and balance amongst the more nerdy of us. It’s good perspective to have at times.

[@CowboyWhiskeyAdventures]

🤣😂🤣😂

[@kmf600]

Sucks a little you have to go on a 5 minute explanation about the price you would pay might not be what someone else would pay.

[@stuffandwhiskey]

We hear ya. That’s video content creation. You just say it and people complain because they don’t understand. You provide context and people tune out. At the end of the day the “why” is always important to us, and we’d rather address that and hopefully spur some discussion or thought rather than not address it and have the comments section devolve into people talking at-and arguing with-each other like a Facebook group.

[@brianclick7080]

I will be in Bardstown next month. I will have to stop at Willet

[@stuffandwhiskey]

Make reservations well in advance and be sure to get the egg salad sandwich!

[@sideshowonacid]

I don’t believe any of the Nick Offerman Lagavulin are cask strength. I’ve had 3 of the releases and they are all 46%

[@stuffandwhiskey]

Spot on! That was an error on my part. I knew they were 46% but in the moment mixed them up with a different offering.