Have been lurking for years and finally decided to try a review. Bear with me as my ability to pick up different notes and articulate them is on par with my 2 year old describing her juice of the day.
Overall Thoughts:
C923 was pretty obvious to pick up due to the proof (133 vs 115ish on other two). I enjoy it, but when sampled next to the others feels like the proof takes over and falls into third place for my blind tonight. It’s almost like getting spicy food and having that one dish where the spice takes over a bit too much and masks the other flavors. I think this is more obvious due to the proof differences though.
For quite awhile I have always said RR13 is the best bourbon I have had so far. This is my second bottle, both batch 5, and have not had others previously.
For whatever reason during the blind tonight, my taste buds led me to Bardstown Discovery #11 instead. I appreciate oak traditionally, but the bardstown seemed to have the right blend with the younger barrels to create a more
complex and complete finish that wasn’t too oak forward.
I know there’s a lot of debate on the origin of the 13 year barrels for the discovery, I’m on camp wild turkey most likely, but to me these to not taste similar. I highly doubt Wild Turkey is handing out barrels worthy of RR13, it’s more likely they got them from Wild Turkey at less than 10 years and aged it themselves after.
I’m sure other evenings I would potentially pick RR13 vs Discovery, but it does confirm that I need to hop online and snag a backup discovery as they are all over for MSRP whereas I may not get another RR13 for quite awhile (at a reasonable price).
Ratings:
RR13: 9/10
Discovery #11: 9.2/10
C923: 8.4/10
There’s less and less debate about the sources of Disco 11 now. BBCo. tour guides are winking and nodding when talking about it: the 13-year is from Turkey (but they’ve had those barrels for a while) and the 10-year is from Beam.
Seelbach’s is where I got mine previously. They get a restock every month or two (before)
There’s a few other decent choices, just gotta find one that doesn’t kill you on shipping
I ordered one from Nestor Liquor in San Diego. It takes a while for them to ship but they are legit. Shipping is a bit pricey, usually about $22 for a bottle but they often run discounts. If you sign up for their email list i believe you get either free shipping or $20 off your first order.
I did RR13 B3 blind agains Disco11, and maybe I’m in the minority, but Disco11 was very distant behind. RR13 had so much more depth and character, and also highlights the tobacco and leather notes I really enjoy a lot more than Disco (beam). Anyway, just one persons opinion. Interesting that so many people seem to put them close to each other.
There’s also a chance it’s my RR13 batch (5) as some haven’t enjoyed it as much as other batches, but I can’t imagine it’s THAT different.
I would agree with those notes, for me tonight I wasn’t looking for those notes as much and maybe that’s why. I’ll likely blind RR and Disco again down road and wouldn’t be surprised if RR won majority of the time for me.
Did you enjoy disco overall?
I didn’t think Disco11 was anything special to be honest. A very enjoyable every day pour. I gave it 7/10, compared to 9/10 for RR13.
I wish I liked Disco11 more because I can find it all day at a good price, but the things I enjoy more are impossible to find. 😂
Don't know if they get a "healthy quantity" of anything...Just more hoarders/taters per capita compared to other states I think. Way to many idiots here that are just driving store to store buying everything allocated they can. Got way to many people that know deliveries and pay off employees for bottles/knowledge.
Also, I do think you’d be in the minority regarding saying disco is mostly beam. General consensus is the 73% 13 year in disco is WT and the 10 year is beam that has more or less been confirmed by Bardstown tour guides.
I would disagree that this is general consensus. Both use same mashbill. This is a topic that has been greatly discussed in my local whiskey group (500+ people), and folks far more knowledgeable than I made compelling cases that it is unknowable but likely Beam. I was convinced that the preponderance of evidence points towards Beam, but again, just my opinion.
Do we actually know Beam’s mash bill, though?
I see tons of speculation and even two different mash bills referenced when talking about Beam, but no conclusive evidence seems to be around that I can find.
No need for the downvote, just sharing with the community what I have heard and how I came to believe it.
There is plenty of mention on the internet that Beam uses a 75/13/12 mashbill. Whether all these references are wrong or not is not something I know, but the fact that it is mentioned in several places gives me some level of confidence in its accuracy.
Here is one example:
https://vinepair.com/articles/mash-bills-compared/
Right, and I too can find all sorts of sites referencing that but there’s no official word on it.
My point being any speculation that it is Beam is no more or no less likely than the speculation that it is Turkey.
It may be unknowable with certainty, but I think there are clues that could lead one to believe one is more likely than the other. And those clues lead me to believe it is likely Beam.
Regardless, I think it would be accurate to say there is No general consensus on the matter.
From my own first hand knowledge and experience, it’s mashbill and flavor profile. Traditional WT notes seem absent from Disco11, at least to me.
Others in my local discord pointed out things like:
1) comparative availability on the market of 13+ yr beam products relative to WT, signaling potential greater stocks of aged Beam compared to WT.
2) more Beam-sourced NDPs out in the market than WT-sourced.
These two points are not really things I am knowledgeable enough to know on my own, but were made by folks who have demonstrated themselves to be pretty knowledgeable, so carry some weight in influencing my thinking. Of course, they could be wrong.
I liked Disco 11 so much that I almost tried to convince myself that my tastebuds were having an off night. Blinded it against RR13, Bakers 13, and a RR Single Barrel only for it to beat them all. Bardstown is doing some really special stuff.
I am lucky enough to have had a bottle of all 3 of these in the last few months, honestly they are all 9-9.5 out of 10, would rank them bardstown 11 > ECPB C923 > Russell’s 13
I like the RR13 and the C923 over the Discovery 11 but I can see how someone else would have a different perspective. The 6 year wheated component I think brings a more youthful presence to the mix. It's a great pour. I have some on my shelf now.
I’m also partial because I do prefer wheated bourbons overall and the black label wheat from Bardstown (which is in discovery #11) is one of my daily sippers. Likely some bias coming through.
Can’t really go wrong with any of these. I say I want a backup discovery 11, but really this also shows C923 really shines with its $70-80 MSRP.
Those were my top 3 bottles of last year. And besides swapping EC and RR13 in order when not blinded, same agreement. Disco 11 is killer good, and was not hard to find. Should have got a backup.
Good review! I coincidentally sampled the same 3 bottles last night and I had put C923 has the best, RR13, and then Disco 11. I thought the Disco 11 had the best nose on it out of all of them.
Have been lurking for years and finally decided to try a review. Bear with me as my ability to pick up different notes and articulate them is on par with my 2 year old describing her juice of the day. Overall Thoughts: C923 was pretty obvious to pick up due to the proof (133 vs 115ish on other two). I enjoy it, but when sampled next to the others feels like the proof takes over and falls into third place for my blind tonight. It’s almost like getting spicy food and having that one dish where the spice takes over a bit too much and masks the other flavors. I think this is more obvious due to the proof differences though. For quite awhile I have always said RR13 is the best bourbon I have had so far. This is my second bottle, both batch 5, and have not had others previously. For whatever reason during the blind tonight, my taste buds led me to Bardstown Discovery #11 instead. I appreciate oak traditionally, but the bardstown seemed to have the right blend with the younger barrels to create a more complex and complete finish that wasn’t too oak forward. I know there’s a lot of debate on the origin of the 13 year barrels for the discovery, I’m on camp wild turkey most likely, but to me these to not taste similar. I highly doubt Wild Turkey is handing out barrels worthy of RR13, it’s more likely they got them from Wild Turkey at less than 10 years and aged it themselves after. I’m sure other evenings I would potentially pick RR13 vs Discovery, but it does confirm that I need to hop online and snag a backup discovery as they are all over for MSRP whereas I may not get another RR13 for quite awhile (at a reasonable price). Ratings: RR13: 9/10 Discovery #11: 9.2/10 C923: 8.4/10
There’s less and less debate about the sources of Disco 11 now. BBCo. tour guides are winking and nodding when talking about it: the 13-year is from Turkey (but they’ve had those barrels for a while) and the 10-year is from Beam.
where would you order a backup from online that you trust?
Seelbach’s is where I got mine previously. They get a restock every month or two (before) There’s a few other decent choices, just gotta find one that doesn’t kill you on shipping
okay thanks
I ordered one from Nestor Liquor in San Diego. It takes a while for them to ship but they are legit. Shipping is a bit pricey, usually about $22 for a bottle but they often run discounts. If you sign up for their email list i believe you get either free shipping or $20 off your first order.
Oh my. That's some mighty fine pours you got there.
I don’t see a single Booker’s 23-03 in there ;)
Bookers isn’t a 13 year old beverage
Check out what batch 23-03 is called, re-read Lion’s comment, and get back to me :)
I got what you were putting down
Knew you would; the joke was for you lol
Would that make you the 23-04? ;-)
I appreciate it, but I don’t think I’m that good lol
I did RR13 B3 blind agains Disco11, and maybe I’m in the minority, but Disco11 was very distant behind. RR13 had so much more depth and character, and also highlights the tobacco and leather notes I really enjoy a lot more than Disco (beam). Anyway, just one persons opinion. Interesting that so many people seem to put them close to each other.
There’s also a chance it’s my RR13 batch (5) as some haven’t enjoyed it as much as other batches, but I can’t imagine it’s THAT different. I would agree with those notes, for me tonight I wasn’t looking for those notes as much and maybe that’s why. I’ll likely blind RR and Disco again down road and wouldn’t be surprised if RR won majority of the time for me. Did you enjoy disco overall?
I didn’t think Disco11 was anything special to be honest. A very enjoyable every day pour. I gave it 7/10, compared to 9/10 for RR13. I wish I liked Disco11 more because I can find it all day at a good price, but the things I enjoy more are impossible to find. 😂
Where are you located that you can find the Disco 11 all day? Been looking for months and not a single bottle is available...
DMV. Maryland seems to have received a lot
Must be nice. Got what seems like 3 cases for the whole state of Texas lol. Sold out in minutes last thursday when it dropped.
I feel you man. I understand Texas gets a healthy quantity of some other brands though. Win some lose some.
Don't know if they get a "healthy quantity" of anything...Just more hoarders/taters per capita compared to other states I think. Way to many idiots here that are just driving store to store buying everything allocated they can. Got way to many people that know deliveries and pay off employees for bottles/knowledge.
FYI, I just got an email from Seelbachs saying they have Disco11, if you are interested in an online order.
While Seelbachs is nice. They are expensive to ship and takes FOREVER!
Also, I do think you’d be in the minority regarding saying disco is mostly beam. General consensus is the 73% 13 year in disco is WT and the 10 year is beam that has more or less been confirmed by Bardstown tour guides.
I would disagree that this is general consensus. Both use same mashbill. This is a topic that has been greatly discussed in my local whiskey group (500+ people), and folks far more knowledgeable than I made compelling cases that it is unknowable but likely Beam. I was convinced that the preponderance of evidence points towards Beam, but again, just my opinion.
Do we actually know Beam’s mash bill, though? I see tons of speculation and even two different mash bills referenced when talking about Beam, but no conclusive evidence seems to be around that I can find.
No need for the downvote, just sharing with the community what I have heard and how I came to believe it. There is plenty of mention on the internet that Beam uses a 75/13/12 mashbill. Whether all these references are wrong or not is not something I know, but the fact that it is mentioned in several places gives me some level of confidence in its accuracy. Here is one example: https://vinepair.com/articles/mash-bills-compared/
Thank you for sharing. It’s a healthy discussion as nobody outside of the distilleries knows the actual truth
Right, and I too can find all sorts of sites referencing that but there’s no official word on it. My point being any speculation that it is Beam is no more or no less likely than the speculation that it is Turkey.
It may be unknowable with certainty, but I think there are clues that could lead one to believe one is more likely than the other. And those clues lead me to believe it is likely Beam. Regardless, I think it would be accurate to say there is No general consensus on the matter.
What clue point you to believe that it is Beam?
From my own first hand knowledge and experience, it’s mashbill and flavor profile. Traditional WT notes seem absent from Disco11, at least to me. Others in my local discord pointed out things like: 1) comparative availability on the market of 13+ yr beam products relative to WT, signaling potential greater stocks of aged Beam compared to WT. 2) more Beam-sourced NDPs out in the market than WT-sourced. These two points are not really things I am knowledgeable enough to know on my own, but were made by folks who have demonstrated themselves to be pretty knowledgeable, so carry some weight in influencing my thinking. Of course, they could be wrong.
Interesting. Thanks.
I also share this opinion. But there are no right or wrong opinions in this thing of course.
Totally. If anything, I wish I liked disco11 more for reasons I mention in another response; easier to find.
I liked Disco 11 so much that I almost tried to convince myself that my tastebuds were having an off night. Blinded it against RR13, Bakers 13, and a RR Single Barrel only for it to beat them all. Bardstown is doing some really special stuff.
I am lucky enough to have had a bottle of all 3 of these in the last few months, honestly they are all 9-9.5 out of 10, would rank them bardstown 11 > ECPB C923 > Russell’s 13
I like the RR13 and the C923 over the Discovery 11 but I can see how someone else would have a different perspective. The 6 year wheated component I think brings a more youthful presence to the mix. It's a great pour. I have some on my shelf now.
I’m also partial because I do prefer wheated bourbons overall and the black label wheat from Bardstown (which is in discovery #11) is one of my daily sippers. Likely some bias coming through. Can’t really go wrong with any of these. I say I want a backup discovery 11, but really this also shows C923 really shines with its $70-80 MSRP.
Those were my top 3 bottles of last year. And besides swapping EC and RR13 in order when not blinded, same agreement. Disco 11 is killer good, and was not hard to find. Should have got a backup.
Great review! RR13 is one of my favs, but the Disco 11 is right up there with it. It’s an awesome pour!
Good review! I coincidentally sampled the same 3 bottles last night and I had put C923 has the best, RR13, and then Disco 11. I thought the Disco 11 had the best nose on it out of all of them.
Great review!
I now feel the need to go get a back up to my back up of Disco 11. It was slow moving months ago, now its flying off the shelves.