In Search of an Elusive Unicorn
Pappy Van Winkle, Weller, BTAC, highly allocated bottles from other distillers; these are the focus of many drinkers “unicorn hunt”. These products have taken on the mystique of the mythological unicorn… a beast that will appear to those found worthy, or a virgin, depending on your legend of choice. To acquire one of these treasures, these hunters are subjected to feats that rival the 12 Labors of Hercules.
Aside from the dollars many shops expect you to spend, only to have the opportunity to have your name drawn, and then to pay for the product; there is the abuse vendors and distributors force upon us for the opportunity to acquire one of these bottles. Then, the product rarely meets the overblown expectations you have placed upon it. When discussing the allocation system, a local liquor shop chain owner stated “We can have a raffle, but then you have one happy customer and about one hundred upset customers.”
I am not here to get you to stop your search, I am not here to change the system. I am here to give you an alternative. Think about it, if you take away the pretty bottle, Blanton’s is just a nice bourbon. I am an E H Taylor fan, but to locate it in the St. Louis area is as rare as clear traffic at 5:00 PM. Many of the unicorns are the same product year-after-year. There is little variation. That is by design. They are generally major brands that stay where they are by being consistent. I suggest, if you want to try those, find a well stocked bourbon bar and buy a flight. Try them side-by-side. Take a whiskey buddy. Discover them, discuss them and enjoy the experience.
I propose the true unicorns lie in the single barrels. (Yes, Blanton’s is a single barrel but the excitement over it has pushed into the realm of ridiculous.) A single barrel of the same mashbill, in a different location in the rick house, can produce a difference as diverse as having taste as if it had been stored in a wine keg, or the taste of a piece of Bazooka bubble gum on its finish. Both excellent whiskeys, both the same whiskey, just from different barrels..
I personally have not been a rye lover. Yesterday, I purchased my second bottle of a rye whiskey which was of one of the best whiskeys I had last year.
Why?
It was from a single barrel and there were only 4 left. When those are gone, it will never be available again.
My friends Steve and Jim at the ABV Barrel Shop in Arnold, Missouri, are the gentlemen that have shown me these are the true unicorns. With their expertise and knowledge, they are collecting some of the most unique whiskeys ever assembled.
The aforementioned rye, came from a distillery from Virginia. They are using heritage rye strains to make their whiskey, and finishing it a bourbon barrel that aged maple syrup. An amazing product I would never have had the opportunity to try had it not been for Steve and Jim. Anybody that looks hard enough or wants to spend enough, can find a Blanton’s. It’s only through the ABV Barrel Shop in Arnold, MO, that this particular bottle could be found.
You can continue to play the distributor games and buy more slow movers packaged with a unique release, or the liquor shop’s “Loyalty” program and buy more from them to get the products the mass media says are the unicorns, or you can come to the ABV Barrel Shop, sit a the bar, try a taste of their offerings, talk whiskey with Steve and Jim, and take home a unicorn that you can only find there. Surprise your friends with a blind taste and enjoy the experience of owning a bottle of whiskey that only a few people in the world will ever own.
That is a true unicorn.
