When I first started patronizing Costco, lo these many years ago, I stayed away from Kirkland products, figuring they were cheesy. No longer. It’s pretty obvious that many of them are name brands under the Kirkland label. Great deals.
Of course, there are mysteries. Is Kirkland Vodka Grey Goose in disguise at half the price? And now, more importantly what’s the “premium small batch Bourbon” they are flogging for eleven bucks? Knob Creek or, as the whiskey cognoscenti say, “KC” – or some lesser brand? A debate is taking place at Rowley’s Whiskey Forge (check the comments). I’ll crack our bottle in a few hours and let you know what I think.
UPDATE: Cocktail hour in the City of Angels and I toasted the sad end of Whitney Houston in a comparison test of the Kirkland Mystery Bourbon and Maker’s Mark, both over rocks. The Kirkland, at 51.5% alcohol, was definitely stronger and, if pressed, I would have to give my nod to the Maker’s Mark, which has been my bourbon-of-choice for some time. Nevertheless, I liked the Kirkland (probably some variant of Knob’s Creek) and, for the price, it’s not to be sneezed at. In fact, I’m about to pour a second round. Over to you, Steve.
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Indeed, Mr. Simon. I’m a Maker’s drinker myself (and the distillery is just 40 miles south of me here in Louisville). We asked our Costco liquor clerk about who is hiding under the Kirkland label. She told us they aren’t allowed to disclose the identity because of the contractual agreement between the “distiller” and Costco.
I’m having me some Canadian Mist myself. Sounds like a good one to try though
Fore those who wish to ascertain the origins of generic or discount products, I will offer you a few hardly ironclad, but generally good indicators to look for.
1) Packaging. Machines are built for a particular container. If the container type and shape are idendtical, that shouldclue you in.
2) Origins. Almost every product you buy must indicate in some way its origin, whether it be city, state, or country. Sometimes it is useless, but sometimes, it’s a clear tag. Smirnoff products always tell you the towns it’s bottled in, and they are a peculiar list (Paducah, Ky. for example.) Popov used to, once upon a time, be the runoff from Smirnoff (they were only licensed to sell a certain amount under the Smirnoff name). Sometime in the ’80s. though, they started buying in cheap ethanol from outside distillers and merely bottle it in their equipment. Popov is now for fraternity garbage can punch, even though it’s bottled by Smirnoff.
I’ve worked for many years around food canning equipment, and it is often surprising to see how many different brands come out of the same chute, with wildly diverging prices in the store!
FWIW.
Still, that’s a lot of booze to buy w/o knowing if you’re going to like it. A container of that size is a long term relationship, and I wouldn’t want to commit to one of those as a stipulation for a blind date.
(Y’know, Costco has a lot of “free sample” people throughout their stores. Do you suppose they might… No? OK. Just wondering.)
Mr. Simon,
May I ask a favor? I gave up drinking many years ago, but I would like to reverse that decision and I think I might like to try a nice bourbon. I used to drink beer/rum/vodka so I don’t know which bourbon to try or how to drink it. What would you recommend as a good entry point to the wonderful world of bourbons?
I of course also welcome the advice of other readers.
Thanks.
It looks like liquid Neutrogena.