![]() Will I reconsider my stance on an unknown bourbon? Can I find good value in the whiskey equivalent of a generic brand product? Let’s find out! Bank Street Bourbon – Review I’m genuinely curious how this is going to turn out. That last characteristic tells us it isn’t MGP juice, so I’ll be curious what flavor profile this has and what, if anything, I can tell about the mash bill. The Total Wine website lists this product at $34.99 where I live, so I’ll base my review on that price point.īased on only what I can tell from the label, Bank Street Bourbon is 80 proof, at least five years old, and Kentucky straight bourbon. He’s not a whiskey guy, so my guess is that he found a price point he was comfortable spending and grabbed the first decent-looking bottle he could find. They do, however, have a line called Banker’s Club, which seems suspiciously similar.Īfter talking with my friend, this bottle was something he grabbed for me off the shelf at Total Wine. Perusing their website, Bank Street Bourbon isn’t even listed as one of their offerings. A little more digging tied this brand to Laird & Company, a company mostly known for their apple brandy products. ![]() Why buy a bottle with no information about it?Īs a gift, however, I had no reason to keep looking. Had I been holding this in my hand debating a purchase, I would have stopped here and walked away. I often do a quick search when I see a new bottle on the shelf in a store. A quick internet search revealed no distillery by that name, nor a business location, or even a website. However, there is no discernible company or brand name other than a small section on the back label connecting this brand to Regent Distillers Products Company out of Scobeyville, New Jersey. Knowing how many craft spirits distilleries are out there (over 2,000), my first guess was that this was from a small distiller or independent bottler. This bottle took me by complete surprise. Today’s review will be of a bourbon I received as a gift: Bank Street Bourbon. I do, however, occasionally receive whiskey as a gift from friends or family thinking of me (which I love, so I hope they keep doing that). I don’t have the same confidence in a new (to me) distillery or producer, so I rarely buy a bottle of whiskey I’ve never heard of. Even with my penchant for buying generic, I trust that the generic brand is from a reputable company. On the other hand, it’s human nature to be suspicious of products, brands, and companies about which you know nothing. How does this relate to whiskey? Does the brand behind the label matter, or is the level of quality out there right now generally good enough to trust whatever bottles are on the shelf? With legislation to ensure safety and certainty of the products we’re buying, we no longer live in an age of whiskey rectifiers adding unsafe chemicals to pass off as bourbon. While she has no problem opting for the generic brand of anything, she recognizes that the brand name version often comes with a difference in quality a difference that she is happy to pay to get. To her, being able to afford the brand name products is a position she’s grateful for. She grew up in a home that had to use generic and off-brand items to save money. My wife, on the other hand, sees this slightly differently. To me, buying off-brand is a strong exercise in frugality. I buy generic and off-brand consumables of all types, and rarely do I see a demonstrable difference that makes me reconsider paying more for brand recognition. I, like many others, grew up on Kroger and Wal-Mart brand versions of most items at home and never knew the difference. In my experience, often the generic brand of something is a perfectly fine substitute. I’d argue, though, that the difference between frugality and cheapness makes itself most apparent with your opinion on generic brand grocery items. When preparing for financial decisions like home repair or car maintenance – or any costly purchase, really – I struggle with the balance of spending my hard-earned money or my precious free time. In most things outside of whiskey, I sit precariously on the line between frugal and cheap. People who are cheap try to spend as little money as possible.” – Frank Sonnenberg “People who are frugal understand the value of a dollar and make informed and thoughtful decisions.
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