there is one thing that costs me a ton of money, its not actually a scam though. its just watching whiskeytube and then wanting to buy ALL THE BOTTLES.
The hidden distillery is one of my personal biggest hated. I love supporting local businesses. So when I got into real bourbon (not just jack and coke) I would try and do the local distillery thing. Not knowing that the high priced whiskey wasn’t made in the distillery I just walked around (not all are this way but so many). I still frequent places that do source but now I try and ask where they source from and try and remove that vail for others around me.
I finally saw a bottle of Pappy 20 last night $2500, Weller Special Reserve $110, Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel $95, ECBP $99, Blantons single barrel $225.... Bad Liquor store is an understatement!!!!! That being said. In my area of MA I’ve gotten all of those bottles for retail at my local mom & pop. It was just my first Pappy sighting!
Yeah I just paid $85 for toasted Elijah not too long ago. Thought it was pretty pricy but I still bought it because I never see it in Ohio. I don’t even think it’s released here
I've seen some liquor stores get creative with their unicorn allocations, like doing charity auctions and in store tastings of their Pappy/BTAC bottles just to keep it out of the hands of scalpers.
A liquor store local to me just puts them in a glass case for outrageous prices. I’d much prefer a lottery even if they sold tickets to make the markup they’re after.
Amen. It's absolute bullshit. I don't spend enough time or money at a single mom and pop liquor store to build enough of a connection to ever have an allocated bottle sold to me. Most of the bottles in my collection are from large chain grocers and some from Costco but of course that way of purchasing will never score me an allocated.
Great video! When you mentioned celebrity whiskies I felt really bad thinking about Nick Offerman’s Lagavulin and I’m very pleased he was given a pass. The video of him drinking Lagavulin next to a fireplace plays on my TV for much of the holidays.
Strongly concur with scam #5. Just as bad as marking it up in store is holding it in a back room and placing a phone call to someone the retailer has a "relationship" with. That person is just as likely to "flip" the bottle on the secondary market instead of drinking and enjoying it. I know a dude who brags he drinks for free because he gets the allocated bottles and then just flips them. He claims everyone does it and I say BS. Best retail practice is put all bottles on the shelf, fair retail price, first come, first served.
Dudes! I've been wearing Into the AM for about 8 months now, I'm not sponsored by them and I'll tell you it's some of the best t shirts I've ever had! Great stuff!
#5, the whole system is screwed. In my area there are people who follow the delivery trucks and allocated whiskey is always gone in 20-30 minutes. Guarantee at least 50% of that is going to secondary. So why wouldn’t the stores jack the prices at the max? I saw eagle rare on the shelf this week....for $69. Oof
One bad thing about the secondary market is you could unknowingly trade someone a counterfeit and if they get sick from it, your family could be in danger...Best just buy from licenced dealers and protect yourself....
I went into a small boutique looking liquor store here in Miami Fl. Owned by Columbians who i could tell don't know the first thing about whiskey, yet they had one bottle of T.H. Handy Sazerac behind the counter up on a shrine of a glass box with lights shining on it and the bottle was nestling on a plush pillow (true story) the price tag.... $899.99 I actually laughed out loud as i walked in and saw it. Maybe why they weren't helpful to me at all while i was there
Lol damn sounds like a store I need to completely avoid when I go down to Miami I went to a store a couple weeks ago in west palm beach and they had blantons for $180 when they had it on their website for $80 and that’s the only reason I drove half an hour to their store and then I saw a blantons gold for $999.99 up top behind the counter right next to a pappy and didn’t even want to look at the pappys price my girl told me to bring up the website and they said it was google putting that price and a bunch of bullshit I looked at the guy laughed in his face thanked him for wasting my time pointed at the blantons gold laughed even harder and walked out rip off scammer
@@michaellazo5363 wow man smh.. Yea worst part was the bait & switch on pricing. That is truly F'd up. I know another spot where the guy doesn't even label the allocated bottles he hides in a cabinet. And if you ask he'll pull a blantons out and say ummmmm.. $150? He told my 2 friends and myself, all different prices on different days. Needless to say, we don't go back anymore. Just don't sit well doing scummy business but to some they couldn't care less
I found a liquor store our here in the Chicago Burbs that plays the distribution game uniquely. You can A) Buy an allocated Bottle (say OWA) for $150 solo OR B) Pay $75 net in a package with 3 or 4 other bottles ($120 total) they have to move in order to get allocated stuff. They are shifting some of the burden on the customer which I'm okay with. If I get OWA for a reasonable markup and also get to try some other stuff while helping out the store move some product at the same time, thats a win-win.
I think what also needs to be taken into consideration is are they being honest? It comes back to transparency. If they were paid for the review and they've been known to pad reviews/be paid off then that's for sure a scam if they aren't mentioning they are being paid for the review. If you trust them whether they are paid or not then I'd so no, it's not a scam. Dads Drinking Bourbon has bottles and samples sent to them from distillery's and they are VERY open about it and often they don't like what they get and are honest, so I trust them completely when it comes to things like that.
The allocation game sucks for the consumer and the honest sellers. It's so much worse in a large market (I'm in SoCal) where there are a lot of consumers with a lot of money. The local asking prices for BTAC, Blanton's, EH Taylor, Elmer T. Lee, Old Forester Birthday, etc., are obscene. You don't want to know about Pappy. Even the more reasonable allocated bottles can have big spikes. I picked up a bottle of ECBP (C919) for $70 at my local shop, but I've seen others asking $90, $99, $129. Not happening. The shops that try to hold the price down get played out quickly, of course, or they simply don't get much product. I try to patronize those stores that keep the prices down, even if it is hard to catch them when the allocated bottles are on the shelf.
Love you guys and pretty much go along with your choices. I caught my local store trying mark up a bottle of BT. They wanted $100 for a bottle of BT. Keep the content coming. It also doesn't hurt that you're Michigan guys.
“You need to buy a bottle at least once a week here before we will even consider selling you an allocation” - So, I need to be an alcoholic for you to give me what I want?
@@dylanvickers7953 from experience a majority of stores that tell you this are just trying to weed out the people that come in, look around, ask for Pappy/Weller, and buy nothing unless they get something allocated. I will say though man I am anything but rich and don't take a ton of time "hunting" bourbon. Doesn't stop me from stopping into my local once every couple of weeks and chat up the owner a bit. If I buy a bottle great, if I dont buy anything also great. Guess what still get a chance at getting allocated bottles. Kindness goes along way at most stores. Sure you may run into the store that will only sell bottles to their whales but hey they decided its worth it to them to not lose out on 5k-10k of sales for the couple hundred bucks me or you are going to spend, but clearly that isnt the store for you.
I try to buy a bottle weekly plus bring samples. They call and text me when the bottles I’m looking for come in. Also, let me try their picks before I buy one. I mean the term “regular” isn’t a new concept. Frequent flyer miles, punch out cards, store rewards. Buy more and you get the perks and you make new friends. Maybe get invited to a barrel pick.
I came here for the intros... LOL you guys are so entertaining and informative. Keep up the excellent work because I've already learned so much in my early journey.
Just was in a store today in northern IL and they had E. H. Taylor barrel proof for $600. 😱. Regular Blanton single barrel $189. Blantons Green label $400😱Even a normal Buffalo Trace bottle was $50. Yeah crazy prices.
Any time I comment on any bourbon post on Instagram about wanting to get a bottle of pappy, Elmer... someone always comments and says” we have that send us a dm for details” I always go look at their profile and see that they just created their profile 2 days ago.... so I never fall for any of those scams
So I am laughing. My local store had a special bottle sales event for Fathers’ day. I payed $99 for the Stag you just said you can’t get for $100,I love it. Got so lucky! Can’t find any antique 2020 near me yet....trust me I am looking.
We have a case of #5 (in fact all our stores fit this bill in one case or another) on some of the liquors. Issue is that if you want to get it anywhere near MSRP you have to drive 4 1/2 hours round trip to the nearest big store. The nearest "mid-size" liquor store is 1 hour round trip away, and they have some of their stuff marked up at higher than what one would consider normal (over MSRP). In Texas we have wet and dry counties. I happen to live in a wet county, but all the surrounding counties are dry and the nearest larger stores are in Dallas so they have a fairly captive clientele. Case in point, only 1 store (within an hour drive) has E.W. Taylor Small Batch, and they had it priced at $99.99. Nearest other store that had it in stock was in Dallas, and it was $60 there. By the time you account for the gas, wear & tear on your vehicle and time it's just as cheap to buy it locally - but you are still getting gouged. It really takes away from your enjoyment of the juice at times.
I think the market price for Buffalo trace sazerac rye in most states is ridiculous. In CA it’s $22 for 750ml but in AZ it’s $42, absolutely ridiculous
Local store in my area trying to sell normal Blantons on "sale" for $180 down from $240. I showed her a website where I could have it delivered to my house for $160 (still a ripoff), and she just scoffed. I find Blantons at other local stores for retail often enough that I'm in zero danger on going dry.
There is a store here in Daytona Beach, FL that has Elmer for $500, Blantons for $150, Stagg jr. is $300 and Pappy 20 is $2500. When I told him I would do no more then $75 on the Blantons he laughed and said if you don’t buy it someone else will. So until people stop paying these crazy prices they will remain ridiculous
Same with California. $300 for a green label toasted bottle of Michters. It's normally $90. I want it but am not stupid enough to buy it at that price. They have a lot of big named bottles for 3-4 more times expensive than regular price.
You're right. In a local group people were falling all over themselves to find GTS for $500. Blame the secondary all you want, but it's no different from paying it in a store. I'd rather have it delivered to my house than spend time and money driving all over to see secondary prices.
@@LeatherDaddy97 I wouldn't either, but some local people here will. It's their money, but until people stop doing that the prices won't come down. It's a perfect demonstration of market economics at play.
The bad stores is a hit or miss. There are 3 big chain stores in my area Wb liqour Feldmans And specs Wb shoots the price of even cheap whiskies by $5 Don't even think of buying a higher end there. Feldman and specs are the same company specs just has more high end items They keep their stuff fairly balanced unless they're on a shortage.
One of the stores I went into while on the hunt yesterday had Weller Special Reserve at $109, Weller Antique 107 for $199, Blanton's Single Barrel for $249 and Pappy 12 Yr Lot B for $1549. Never going there again. Store owner seemed offended with how quickly I was in and out.
Speaking of sounding like a scam (but isn't). Not sure if you guys have a line on the 2020 BTAC yet but I was able to score a 2020 GTS this week from a local raffle and would be happy to send it out with a return label for an early review if you both are interested. Keep up the great work gentlemen!
Club / Group Barrel Picks - need scrutiny - Most are great but been a burned a few times from the final product being hot garbage because the people picking them don't know what they are doing or some collect money but can't legally get the pick because of state liquor laws. Do your research on these picks and who is picking them!
After some of the reviews I've read, starting to wonder if some "duty free exclusives", are just whiskey that didn't make the grade. Won't stack up in the stores, so we'll make it "exclusive" and bam...problem fixed. Maybe not a scam, but feeling scammed lol.
So agreed with celebrity whiskey. I bought and thought I loved wild turkey longbranch, even made a comment on your channel. Lol, what a newbie I was cause then I had wild turkey 101 which is half the price and it blew me away.
Really gotta go take a picture of that George t stag the guy has tagged at a grand lol, also was in another store and was told very firmly that Evan Williams bib doesn't come in a 1.75 so i left and came back with one to prove his ass wrong. By far bad stores are the worst thing on this list for me.
Templeton Rye "small batch" "prohibition era" "Al Capone's favorite" comes to mind. It's MGP. They got sued. Had to refund a couple million dollars and agree to put "Distilled in Indiana" on the bottles after claiming to have been made in Iowa for years.
Sometimes I hate the "package only" items. They get there allocated bottles n just like u said they have to buy 20 cases of their other stuff that is not high movers. I'm ok with it sometimes, but after a while u can only have so many reg BT, very old barton, ECSB, etc.... That's why I never understand why BT is sold out all the time.... I have 7 of them in the bottom of my closet I use it as mixers now!
Wrong place, I know, but I'm trying to decide on a choice of Wild Turkey MK Revival, Knob creek 25th anniv, or Knob creek 2001 LE... found a place that has all 3 around same price. Dont know which one I should grab because never had any of them... thoughts?
Longbranch is my favorite introductory bottle to recommend to people who are beginners in Whiskey variety. "Do you like Jack D? Do you like Wild Turkey? Try some Longbranch and see what you think."
Lol first 30 seconds was the funniest commercial I’ve seen. Your #5 is the one that scares me the most. A Yelp review of a liquor store here in southern CA said filling an old bottle of Blantons with something else and selling it for $150 happened to them.
Totally agree on all of your points. Furthermore, I am all for the "free market" doing its thing. If a store owner has BTAC and people are willing to pay $500 for GTS then God Bless em. I won't patron that store, but if they can survive that way then great.
The way I look at it, is you took a bottle of GTS away from an enthusiast (not always but it's likely) since the enthusiast may know it's value and someone with a ton of money walked in and was told it was special. It's great for the store but it's bad for the community of whiskey enthusiasts who open/drink/love their whiskey. That being said when a store sells a stagg jr for $200 and someone flips it for $500 that sucks for the store owners... There are definitely two sides to the situation.
@@BourbonJunkies I've heard of a few rare stores that will sell allocations for near retail/reasonable markups or whatever, but the catch is you have to agree that they break the seal after you buy it but before you leave with it so its not as easy to flip on secondary. As someone who drinks and enjoys my whiskey, I wish this would become more common
@@BourbonJunkies Agree!!! Also, Buffalo Trace could actually make / produce great quality juice that isn't allocated. You can't tell me that Rock Hill, ETL, Any EH Taylor other than small batch, and BTAC all have to be allocated and produced at such small offerings. I just can't believe that around 10-12 of their offerings have to be allocated. I know BT hates the secondary market, but how can they not make ETL as plentiful as Buffalo Trace Bourbon?
@@ErikBlack Here in NC, and any other state that has their spirits "state controlled, we get all our stuff at MSRP. But because it is MSRP, you won't ever see anything quality juice on the shelf. Sometimes I like go to other states and actually see bottles of Pappy, ETL, and other unicorns...even if they are 2-4 times MSRP....it is nice to see the bottles and know they actually exist. LOL
How about the store owners that don’t clearly mark their price. When you ask the price and you know it’s a gouge and balk they say” oh I’ll let you have that bottle at a discounted price, but you need to buy an additional two bottles. And I need you to pay cash”.
I tried to do as much research as I could on Longbranch. I love bourbon but McConaughey seemed too "genuine" when pitching this product and all the late nights and correspondence with the Russell boys at Wild Turkey, etc., etc . I must admit, even though I truly hate jumping on the "celebrity" bandwagon, I really like Longbranch.
#6: Local FB groups where everyone thinks they're "friends" while they flip each other bottles at 2x the price. Often to the same people that helped them find it.
As far as celebrity whiskeys go, I actually like Longbranch and Heaven's Door. Got the former for $25 a couple months back and was pleasantly surprised. The latter is a bit overpriced but I enjoyed it.
A big part of this conversation is the existence of “state control” in some states and more free market, albeit distorted by distributors & allocation BS, in others. In Ohio Eagle Rare is fairly regularly shipped to liquor stores and the stores have no control over pricing. However, due to secondary pricing and the low quantities delivered to any one store the line sitters get all the ER or whatever other allocated stuff that comes in instantly. So in theoryI can buy ER for $32 but I’ve got to be willing to sit in line for it. Blanton’s is soooo much worse... so, I have every incentive to drive to Kentucky or Indiana to buy the stuff that is effectively unavailable here. All that just drives up prices in the free market states which is amplified by the distributor and allocation shenanigans. I think the liquor store owners may be getting the rawest deal here tho. My understanding is that the markup on liquor is peanuts compared to beer & wine in Ohio and, I assume, other “control” states. However, the stores have to take the merchandise because that’s what the state is sending them. If they want to sell higher margin wine, they need to sell the low margin stuff we want. In free market states the stores get strong armed into selling everything or shut out entirely... Makes me wonder if it’s even worth it for them. Getting 45 calls a day asking for Blanton’s, lines of profiteers outside their stores, getting bullied by your vendors, etc....
I visited a store in Grand Junction, CO that had Weller 12 and Weller FP for $299 each, Elmer T Lee for $399 and Pappy 12 for $699. PASS! Also, several Twin Liquors in Texas bundle allocated bourbons with expensive wine, rum, etc. Packaging a $30-40 bottle of whiskey with a $100 bottle of wine or rum is just shitty.
I bought a bottle of Blanton’s almost month ago now and I paid to much 89.00,the only reason I bought it was I never see it here in Syracuse,also it was my Birthday.I still have buyers remorse though!
Blanton's is one of my favorites so I would probably buy it for that much because I've gone a year or two without even seeing it on the shelf, but that's about my upper limit. Thankfully I've been able to snag it at $65 a few times recently.
The way allocation works and the amount of bullshit vodka and wine and shit store owners have to buy to get that one allocated bottle is probably one of the most misunderstood/unknown things in the game. A lot of people go into stores, see that Pappy or BTAC marked up and throw a fit that the liquor store owner is trying to"rip" them off, without understanding that the store probably bought 5 billion bottles of crappy vodka and fireball that theyll struggle to sell just to get that bottle and theyre just trying to make some money back. Getting to know a store owner and hearing from his side the absolute pain in the ass it is to deal with the distributors fuck-fuck games to get allocated bottles was super eye opening for me.
As a business owner, why buy 5 billion bottles of liquor that people aren't going to buy for the right to 1 bottle that people will, "just to make some money back"? No way the profit on that 1 bottle makes up for the others. Doesn't seem like a smart business decision if that's the logic
@@SchimShady12 Basically yea, the distributors force the stores to buy their crappy stuff like random wines and vodka and fireball etc, to get the stuff they really want. You want to get an allocation of Blantons every month? Better really push wheatley vodka. Want EHT bottles? better move a bunch of fireball. The stores are at the complete mercy of the distributors when it comes to getting the stuff they really want.
This is why I like dealing with Total Wine here in New Jersey. I have never paid over retail, and I have regularly gotten Blantons, Barrell, and plenty of other great whiskeys at reasonable prices. Have I gotten a Stagg? A Pappy? No. When I venture out for those, I'll have to watch for the incoming knives.
Yea big boxes can do that cause they're already buying a million other things so they can drop stuff off at retail and not get any pressure of selling other things.
I would firmly add any bourbon FB group with the name "finder" or "locator" in it. 99% of the time, it's used to brag about bottles likely received from an allocation or to ask if someone made the right decision in purchasing a bottle. And then you get the occasional scammer encouraging people to PM them for bottles on top of that.
So I still need to know where to find the good bourbon that I want if everything seems a scam and stores don’t ever get it! I need some good friends like y’all so I can come try these!
Can confirm about terrible stores first hand. I saw a bottle of blanton's (just the regular single barrel) at a liquor store near me, and it was marked at $200. I asked the clerk if it was a special release, and he said no. I was more than offended that they'd sell a $65 bottle for such an awful markup. They also had Eagle Rare at $70, and Henry McKenna 10 bib at $100.
As many downsides there are for the small producer, the "state stores" fix the whole allocation game. They put their quota in a lottery, and they're not allowed to gouge. The biggest problem with allocation is the big bullies are incenting the bad guys. The mom and pop usually wants to help people out and may not even be able to risk dead product. The large stores that sell that much anyway and yet STILL feel the need to sell $800 WLW are the ones that need to be straightened out.
I have stopped shopping at stores that hold back allocations or are opaque about it. Small shops can do what they want, but I'd rather shop at Total Wine and know that I need to spend a specified amount and enter a lottery, etc.
It's just simple supply and demand. Do your homework and set limits. Don't like the price, move along. In general, whiskey is cheap, but whiskey is also a BOOMING industry right now, prices will continue to inflate until there is a natural middle price. Find yo sleeper hitter bargins mang!
Love ur videos a lot one of my favorite Whiskies to drink is called creekwater and its only 26 and change for a bottle i am very interested what you like about it.
There is a liquor store near me where they get a lot of allocated bourbons but, the prices are a different story. For example, two months ago they had a Rock Hill Farms single barrel selling for $180. A bit overpriced in my opinion... don’t you think?
The markup on way aged bottles. I.e. Fancy marketing lines etc, its a 15yr but in actuality its not much better and might be worse than a 7 or 10yr but is double tge price? Why? Bc they kept tasting it, didn't fit right, years go by, then after the age gets really old, they say "hey lets sell it, market it to be fancy and over-priced" age/price isn't always a indicator of a good spirit. Are there good ones out there, sure, in all price points.
You know what's funny, I'd be willing to pay for lesser quality if it were priced right. What grinds my gears is the misrepresentation and inflated prices to match.
I am just looking for a good resource to know what the approximate msrp should be. I live in the middle of nowhere and am ok with paying some markup, but I just want to know how bad it really is.
The store mark up thing happened with Macallan Edition No. 6 & it made me sick. All of the others from previous years editions were around $120 to $150 at total wine or another local store. Edition 6 was listed all over the internet to be about $130ish on release & total wine had all the stock because it was super allocated, at least in the beginning & the price is about $190 before tax. Irritating but, I wasn't going to have an incomplete set so I pulled the trigger but man it hurt. Also irritating because TW usually has pretty good prices compared to other stores around town.
Not exactly a celebrity endorsed bottle but what do you think about bottles marketed from movies and shows like old forester statesmen or the game of thrones line of scotches... ?
I avoided all that as obvious marketing slop whisky riding on some imaginary cache of GOT. Also goes back to one of my bad whiskey tells- watered down to 80 proof.
They need to let the demand and price meet in the open market. If the market price for a whiskey is $250 don't allocate it at $100 retail then have secondary sell it for $500. I'd rather see it on the shelf for $250 and if I can afford it I can buy it. That removes the incentive for people to follow the delivery trucks to the liquor stores and buy up stuff they can resell at a higher price.
Sadly guys, MSRP isn’t a a standard it’s a suggestion. Why should joe liquor who’s struggling, leave meat on the bone to someone who’s buying to resell. When he can just mark it up and make the money himself. Great example. Look at WhistlePig they said “we’re talking all the money” and people gladly hand over the cash. Is it sucky? Sure but if someone has the money to throw at a bottle let them and we can just laugh and walk out the store. 😉 cheers dudes🤙🏻
So I’m “back home” this weekend and as usual spend a day cruising different liquor stores looking for things I like. The markup... ugh. Any of the BTAC were st $1000-1300, old rip 10 yr $600. Lot B $1000+. The most baffling.. Eagle Rare I saw with it 20 miles of each other at $29.99, $49.99, and $89.99!l. Stores with “Limit 1 per” for Buffalo Trace, meanwhile the EC Batch Strength falls of the shelves. Back home, batch strength is nigh impossible to find. Now, I don’t begrudge the mark up.. to an extent. These owners are being fleeced by distributors (on told me to get 3 Weller Antiques he had to accept 10 cases of crappy vodka...). One of the more amusing price tags was on a bottle of Elmer T, $249 or $89 with the purchase of a case of 1.75 bottles of Wheatley vodka. The other thing owners tell me is they see the secondary market prices and think “I can get me some of that”. Can’t say I blame them as long as people will pay that. But it has truly gotten out of hand... there’s lots of good bourbons on the $40 and under shelf that just don’t have the “names”.
You guys missed the pedestrian rip off of living in an ABC state and wanting to buy regular, everyday whiskey at a fair price. Over the course of a year, you can easily piss away $100 in stupid mark-ups and tax.
Here is a question.....What mark up are you willing to pay? 99% of the time I am willing to pay $5-$15 over MSRP. I'm not gonna cry over ECBP at $70 if I really want it.
I have a liquor store near my office on Long Island that I pay $80 for blantons. I buy 2-3 a year. It’s the best I’ve found. 30 miles east on Long Island where I live, a liquor store sells blantons for 200. I was only in this shop because I was with a buddy getting some vodka and the blantons caught my eye. I inquired what is the best price if I pay cash. He tells me 190. I laughed. He said, it’s rare and that’s what it cost and people pay it. I feel bad enough I pay $80 for it. Can’t believe there are people paying 200 willingly
there is one thing that costs me a ton of money, its not actually a scam though. its just watching whiskeytube and then wanting to buy ALL THE BOTTLES.
No shit !!!!🤣
Wife: "Honey, which whiskey would you like for Christmas?"
Me: "Yes."
The hidden distillery is one of my personal biggest hated. I love supporting local businesses. So when I got into real bourbon (not just jack and coke) I would try and do the local distillery thing. Not knowing that the high priced whiskey wasn’t made in the distillery I just walked around (not all are this way but so many). I still frequent places that do source but now I try and ask where they source from and try and remove that vail for others around me.
I finally saw a bottle of Pappy 20 last night $2500, Weller Special Reserve $110, Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel $95, ECBP $99, Blantons single barrel $225.... Bad Liquor store is an understatement!!!!!
That being said. In my area of MA I’ve gotten all of those bottles for retail at my local mom & pop. It was just my first Pappy sighting!
Yeah I just paid $85 for toasted Elijah not too long ago. Thought it was pretty pricy but I still bought it because I never see it in Ohio. I don’t even think it’s released here
I've seen some liquor stores get creative with their unicorn allocations, like doing charity auctions and in store tastings of their Pappy/BTAC bottles just to keep it out of the hands of scalpers.
A liquor store local to me just puts them in a glass case for outrageous prices. I’d much prefer a lottery even if they sold tickets to make the markup they’re after.
Distributors are the biggest scam! Holding back bottles!
Amen. It's absolute bullshit. I don't spend enough time or money at a single mom and pop liquor store to build enough of a connection to ever have an allocated bottle sold to me. Most of the bottles in my collection are from large chain grocers and some from Costco but of course that way of purchasing will never score me an allocated.
Great video! When you mentioned celebrity whiskies I felt really bad thinking about Nick Offerman’s Lagavulin and I’m very pleased he was given a pass. The video of him drinking Lagavulin next to a fireplace plays on my TV for much of the holidays.
Nick Offerman is a legend and NAILED the "celebrity" whiskey category. If others would follow his lead it would be a great category!
@@BourbonJunkies what are your thoughts on the Matthew McConaughey WT collaboration, Longbranch?
Strongly concur with scam #5. Just as bad as marking it up in store is holding it in a back room and placing a phone call to someone the retailer has a "relationship" with. That person is just as likely to "flip" the bottle on the secondary market instead of drinking and enjoying it. I know a dude who brags he drinks for free because he gets the allocated bottles and then just flips them. He claims everyone does it and I say BS. Best retail practice is put all bottles on the shelf, fair retail price, first come, first served.
Dudes! I've been wearing Into the AM for about 8 months now, I'm not sponsored by them and I'll tell you it's some of the best t shirts I've ever had! Great stuff!
Dude we love their stuff
$600 for a big boy Stagg at a shop I walked in last week. $200 for a EH Taylor SB. That's absolutely insane.
Most I spent was $80
@@nicholasbrandimarte2712 idk if its worth the 80
Local store has Stagg jr, and all the Kosher bottles for $140. I've done it, but enjoy the hunt now...
Biggest Scam in WhiskeyTube: Dan telling people he is 31. We all know he’s double that.
And we all know Sean is like 15, lol.
Bahaha!
#5, the whole system is screwed. In my area there are people who follow the delivery trucks and allocated whiskey is always gone in 20-30 minutes. Guarantee at least 50% of that is going to secondary. So why wouldn’t the stores jack the prices at the max? I saw eagle rare on the shelf this week....for $69. Oof
One bad thing about the secondary market is you could unknowingly trade someone a counterfeit and if they get sick from it, your family could be in danger...Best just buy from licenced dealers and protect yourself....
I went into a small boutique looking liquor store here in Miami Fl. Owned by Columbians who i could tell don't know the first thing about whiskey, yet they had one bottle of T.H. Handy Sazerac behind the counter up on a shrine of a glass box with lights shining on it and the bottle was nestling on a plush pillow (true story) the price tag.... $899.99
I actually laughed out loud as i walked in and saw it. Maybe why they weren't helpful to me at all while i was there
Lol damn sounds like a store I need to completely avoid when I go down to Miami I went to a store a couple weeks ago in west palm beach and they had blantons for $180 when they had it on their website for $80 and that’s the only reason I drove half an hour to their store and then I saw a blantons gold for $999.99 up top behind the counter right next to a pappy and didn’t even want to look at the pappys price my girl told me to bring up the website and they said it was google putting that price and a bunch of bullshit I looked at the guy laughed in his face thanked him for wasting my time pointed at the blantons gold laughed even harder and walked out rip off scammer
@@michaellazo5363 wow man smh.. Yea worst part was the bait & switch on pricing. That is truly F'd up. I know another spot where the guy doesn't even label the allocated bottles he hides in a cabinet. And if you ask he'll pull a blantons out and say ummmmm.. $150? He told my 2 friends and myself, all different prices on different days. Needless to say, we don't go back anymore. Just don't sit well doing scummy business but to some they couldn't care less
Great information and advice. I just stay with my reliable supermarkets and liquor stores in my area.
I found a liquor store our here in the Chicago Burbs that plays the distribution game uniquely. You can A) Buy an allocated Bottle (say OWA) for $150 solo OR B) Pay $75 net in a package with 3 or 4 other bottles ($120 total) they have to move in order to get allocated stuff. They are shifting some of the burden on the customer which I'm okay with. If I get OWA for a reasonable markup and also get to try some other stuff while helping out the store move some product at the same time, thats a win-win.
What about buying a whiskey based on recommendations from a reviewer that may receive compensation or other considerations from the distilleries?
I think what also needs to be taken into consideration is are they being honest? It comes back to transparency. If they were paid for the review and they've been known to pad reviews/be paid off then that's for sure a scam if they aren't mentioning they are being paid for the review. If you trust them whether they are paid or not then I'd so no, it's not a scam. Dads Drinking Bourbon has bottles and samples sent to them from distillery's and they are VERY open about it and often they don't like what they get and are honest, so I trust them completely when it comes to things like that.
The allocation game sucks for the consumer and the honest sellers. It's so much worse in a large market (I'm in SoCal) where there are a lot of consumers with a lot of money. The local asking prices for BTAC, Blanton's, EH Taylor, Elmer T. Lee, Old Forester Birthday, etc., are obscene. You don't want to know about Pappy. Even the more reasonable allocated bottles can have big spikes. I picked up a bottle of ECBP (C919) for $70 at my local shop, but I've seen others asking $90, $99, $129. Not happening. The shops that try to hold the price down get played out quickly, of course, or they simply don't get much product. I try to patronize those stores that keep the prices down, even if it is hard to catch them when the allocated bottles are on the shelf.
Great video guys! It's unfortunate that these things happen. It's tainting the whiskey community and doing a disservice to the whiskey lovers.
Love you guys and pretty much go along with your choices. I caught my local store trying mark up a bottle of BT. They wanted $100 for a bottle of BT. Keep the content coming. It also doesn't hurt that you're Michigan guys.
“You need to buy a bottle at least once a week here before we will even consider selling you an allocation” - So, I need to be an alcoholic for you to give me what I want?
I mean to be fair, no one is saying you have to finish the bottle you buy within that week.
No just rich with lots of free time
@@dylanvickers7953 from experience a majority of stores that tell you this are just trying to weed out the people that come in, look around, ask for Pappy/Weller, and buy nothing unless they get something allocated. I will say though man I am anything but rich and don't take a ton of time "hunting" bourbon. Doesn't stop me from stopping into my local once every couple of weeks and chat up the owner a bit. If I buy a bottle great, if I dont buy anything also great. Guess what still get a chance at getting allocated bottles. Kindness goes along way at most stores.
Sure you may run into the store that will only sell bottles to their whales but hey they decided its worth it to them to not lose out on 5k-10k of sales for the couple hundred bucks me or you are going to spend, but clearly that isnt the store for you.
Yes actually!
I try to buy a bottle weekly plus bring samples. They call and text me when the bottles I’m looking for come in. Also, let me try their picks before I buy one. I mean the term “regular” isn’t a new concept. Frequent flyer miles, punch out cards, store rewards. Buy more and you get the perks and you make new friends. Maybe get invited to a barrel pick.
I came here for the intros... LOL you guys are so entertaining and informative. Keep up the excellent work because I've already learned so much in my early journey.
Just was in a store today in northern IL and they had E. H. Taylor barrel proof for $600. 😱. Regular Blanton single barrel $189. Blantons Green label $400😱Even a normal Buffalo Trace bottle was $50. Yeah crazy prices.
Any time I comment on any bourbon post on Instagram about wanting to get a bottle of pappy, Elmer... someone always comments and says” we have that send us a dm for details” I always go look at their profile and see that they just created their profile 2 days ago.... so I never fall for any of those scams
"Literally, with an asterisk, FREE" lmao good shit.
So I am laughing. My local store had a special bottle sales event for Fathers’ day. I payed $99 for the Stag you just said you can’t get for $100,I love it. Got so lucky! Can’t find any antique 2020 near me yet....trust me I am looking.
I mean it happens, but it's not something that everyone will experience. Our first bottle of stagg was $300, no regrets tho
We have a case of #5 (in fact all our stores fit this bill in one case or another) on some of the liquors. Issue is that if you want to get it anywhere near MSRP you have to drive 4 1/2 hours round trip to the nearest big store. The nearest "mid-size" liquor store is 1 hour round trip away, and they have some of their stuff marked up at higher than what one would consider normal (over MSRP). In Texas we have wet and dry counties. I happen to live in a wet county, but all the surrounding counties are dry and the nearest larger stores are in Dallas so they have a fairly captive clientele. Case in point, only 1 store (within an hour drive) has E.W. Taylor Small Batch, and they had it priced at $99.99. Nearest other store that had it in stock was in Dallas, and it was $60 there. By the time you account for the gas, wear & tear on your vehicle and time it's just as cheap to buy it locally - but you are still getting gouged. It really takes away from your enjoyment of the juice at times.
I think the market price for Buffalo trace sazerac rye in most states is ridiculous. In CA it’s $22 for 750ml but in AZ it’s $42, absolutely ridiculous
Local store in my area trying to sell normal Blantons on "sale" for $180 down from $240. I showed her a website where I could have it delivered to my house for $160 (still a ripoff), and she just scoffed. I find Blantons at other local stores for retail often enough that I'm in zero danger on going dry.
Where do you live? :) Thinking about moving!!
Good job, plus no whiskey juggling.I almost makes me cry thing about you guys dropping a bottle.
We haven't broken any yet though.
There is a store here in Daytona Beach, FL that has Elmer for $500, Blantons for $150, Stagg jr. is $300 and Pappy 20 is $2500. When I told him I would do no more then $75 on the Blantons he laughed and said if you don’t buy it someone else will. So until people stop paying these crazy prices they will remain ridiculous
Florida has a lot of insane markups on whiskey
Same with California. $300 for a green label toasted bottle of Michters. It's normally $90. I want it but am not stupid enough to buy it at that price. They have a lot of big named bottles for 3-4 more times expensive than regular price.
You're right. In a local group people were falling all over themselves to find GTS for $500. Blame the secondary all you want, but it's no different from paying it in a store. I'd rather have it delivered to my house than spend time and money driving all over to see secondary prices.
@@dewke67 imo you shouldnt pay either. Gts is not a $500 whiskey. I cant think of a whiskey i would pay 500 for
@@LeatherDaddy97 I wouldn't either, but some local people here will. It's their money, but until people stop doing that the prices won't come down. It's a perfect demonstration of market economics at play.
I whole-heartedly trust Nick Offerman to lend his name to a quality product, especially when it's Lagavulin. I need to get my hands on that.
The bad stores is a hit or miss.
There are 3 big chain stores in my area
Wb liqour
Feldmans
And specs
Wb shoots the price of even cheap whiskies by $5
Don't even think of buying a higher end there.
Feldman and specs are the same company specs just has more high end items
They keep their stuff fairly balanced unless they're on a shortage.
One of the stores I went into while on the hunt yesterday had Weller Special Reserve at $109, Weller Antique 107 for $199, Blanton's Single Barrel for $249 and Pappy 12 Yr Lot B for $1549. Never going there again. Store owner seemed offended with how quickly I was in and out.
Speaking of sounding like a scam (but isn't). Not sure if you guys have a line on the 2020 BTAC yet but I was able to score a 2020 GTS this week from a local raffle and would be happy to send it out with a return label for an early review if you both are interested. Keep up the great work gentlemen!
Email us at Bourbonjunk@gmail.com
Thanks for making this video. I scambait scammers on Twitter and go after fake websites to shut them down.
Club / Group Barrel Picks - need scrutiny - Most are great but been a burned a few times from the final product being hot garbage because the people picking them don't know what they are doing or some collect money but can't legally get the pick because of state liquor laws. Do your research on these picks and who is picking them!
Or getting a pick slapping a sticker and wax and its instantly x10 value on secondary
After some of the reviews I've read, starting to wonder if some "duty free exclusives", are just whiskey that didn't make the grade. Won't stack up in the stores, so we'll make it "exclusive" and bam...problem fixed. Maybe not a scam, but feeling scammed lol.
So agreed with celebrity whiskey. I bought and thought I loved wild turkey longbranch, even made a comment on your channel. Lol, what a newbie I was cause then I had wild turkey 101 which is half the price and it blew me away.
Yep.... NAILED IT
Really gotta go take a picture of that George t stag the guy has tagged at a grand lol, also was in another store and was told very firmly that Evan Williams bib doesn't come in a 1.75 so i left and came back with one to prove his ass wrong. By far bad stores are the worst thing on this list for me.
Store in NJ I saw last year have a bottle of Weller full proof for $700. I just looked at the price and said “hm”
I was at a store in backwater Missouri and saw the same bottle for 600.00. I want but not for that price!
@58lukum I live in NJ. I know which store you're talking about. I believe they have a CYPB for $600 too.
Templeton Rye "small batch" "prohibition era" "Al Capone's favorite" comes to mind. It's MGP. They got sued. Had to refund a couple million dollars and agree to put "Distilled in Indiana" on the bottles after claiming to have been made in Iowa for years.
So talking secondary pricing... What would be your top 3 juices in the $225 range to be happily getting at secondary price?
“$200 mystery whiskey. Bold move.” 😂😂😂
Sometimes I hate the "package only" items. They get there allocated bottles n just like u said they have to buy 20 cases of their other stuff that is not high movers. I'm ok with it sometimes, but after a while u can only have so many reg BT, very old barton, ECSB, etc....
That's why I never understand why BT is sold out all the time.... I have 7 of them in the bottom of my closet I use it as mixers now!
Yep this is what we're talking about
Wrong place, I know, but I'm trying to decide on a choice of Wild Turkey MK Revival, Knob creek 25th anniv, or Knob creek 2001 LE... found a place that has all 3 around same price. Dont know which one I should grab because never had any of them... thoughts?
If you like finished whiskey revival is by far the best of those 3
I also thought wild turkey longbranch was not bad at all. Got it as a gift and thought I'll hate it but it was good. About 35$ here South Fl.
Longbranch is my favorite introductory bottle to recommend to people who are beginners in Whiskey variety. "Do you like Jack D? Do you like Wild Turkey? Try some Longbranch and see what you think."
Hey this is fair, I forget about that bottle all the time. We have one and don't drink it often but I don't hate it. Cheers!
I also received it as a gift and yeah I like it. 40.00 here in STL MO
I guess I shouldn't be surprised people would buy unicorns off IG but that just screams stupid to me.
Weller 107 $250 on the shelf. $500 buy in to be able to buy BTAC at secondary markup prices at my local shop.
Lol first 30 seconds was the funniest commercial I’ve seen. Your #5 is the one that scares me the most. A Yelp review of a liquor store here in southern CA said filling an old bottle of Blantons with something else and selling it for $150 happened to them.
Totally agree on all of your points. Furthermore, I am all for the "free market" doing its thing. If a store owner has BTAC and people are willing to pay $500 for GTS then God Bless em. I won't patron that store, but if they can survive that way then great.
The way I look at it, is you took a bottle of GTS away from an enthusiast (not always but it's likely) since the enthusiast may know it's value and someone with a ton of money walked in and was told it was special. It's great for the store but it's bad for the community of whiskey enthusiasts who open/drink/love their whiskey. That being said when a store sells a stagg jr for $200 and someone flips it for $500 that sucks for the store owners... There are definitely two sides to the situation.
@@BourbonJunkies I've heard of a few rare stores that will sell allocations for near retail/reasonable markups or whatever, but the catch is you have to agree that they break the seal after you buy it but before you leave with it so its not as easy to flip on secondary. As someone who drinks and enjoys my whiskey, I wish this would become more common
@@BourbonJunkies Agree!!! Also, Buffalo Trace could actually make / produce great quality juice that isn't allocated. You can't tell me that Rock Hill, ETL, Any EH Taylor other than small batch, and BTAC all have to be allocated and produced at such small offerings. I just can't believe that around 10-12 of their offerings have to be allocated.
I know BT hates the secondary market, but how can they not make ETL as plentiful as Buffalo Trace Bourbon?
@@ErikBlack Here in NC, and any other state that has their spirits "state controlled, we get all our stuff at MSRP. But because it is MSRP, you won't ever see anything quality juice on the shelf.
Sometimes I like go to other states and actually see bottles of Pappy, ETL, and other unicorns...even if they are 2-4 times MSRP....it is nice to see the bottles and know they actually exist. LOL
How about the store owners that don’t clearly mark their price. When you ask the price and you know it’s a gouge and balk they say” oh I’ll let you have that bottle at a discounted price, but you need to buy an additional two bottles. And I need you to pay cash”.
1000000% this is another one for this list!
Cline's swapping out that $300 AE with Malort was a pretty impressive whiskey scam!
Longbranch is a solid celebrity juice. As for store owners, someone will buy it at that price! and that too is a scam. #fireSean #nailedit
I tried to do as much research as I could on Longbranch. I love bourbon but McConaughey seemed too "genuine" when pitching this product and all the late nights and correspondence with the Russell boys at Wild Turkey, etc., etc . I must admit, even though I truly hate jumping on the "celebrity" bandwagon, I really like Longbranch.
Long Branch & Wild Turkey are legit! "Alright, alright, alright..."
Alright Alright
@@charlest8373 Is Longbranch a unique pour? I've eyeballed it for a few months now but haven't pulled the trigger
#6: Local FB groups where everyone thinks they're "friends" while they flip each other bottles at 2x the price. Often to the same people that helped them find it.
As far as celebrity whiskeys go, I actually like Longbranch and Heaven's Door. Got the former for $25 a couple months back and was pleasantly surprised. The latter is a bit overpriced but I enjoyed it.
I know many hate in long branch but I just tried a pour and wondered what all the hate was for. It’s good neat and simple
We're not large fans of the heavens door
I love Heavens door.
Most silent flex I've seen! Just sliding a bottle of High West Wasatch Rye across the bar like its another day. Congrats gents
Dan has done dirty things to get a bottle
A big part of this conversation is the existence of “state control” in some states and more free market, albeit distorted by distributors & allocation BS, in others. In Ohio Eagle Rare is fairly regularly shipped to liquor stores and the stores have no control over pricing. However, due to secondary pricing and the low quantities delivered to any one store the line sitters get all the ER or whatever other allocated stuff that comes in instantly. So in theoryI can buy ER for $32 but I’ve got to be willing to sit in line for it. Blanton’s is soooo much worse... so, I have every incentive to drive to Kentucky or Indiana to buy the stuff that is effectively unavailable here. All that just drives up prices in the free market states which is amplified by the distributor and allocation shenanigans.
I think the liquor store owners may be getting the rawest deal here tho. My understanding is that the markup on liquor is peanuts compared to beer & wine in Ohio and, I assume, other “control” states. However, the stores have to take the merchandise because that’s what the state is sending them. If they want to sell higher margin wine, they need to sell the low margin stuff we want. In free market states the stores get strong armed into selling everything or shut out entirely...
Makes me wonder if it’s even worth it for them. Getting 45 calls a day asking for Blanton’s, lines of profiteers outside their stores, getting bullied by your vendors, etc....
Great video guys! Thanks for keeping it real like always
Thanks for being here dude!
I visited a store in Grand Junction, CO that had Weller 12 and Weller FP for $299 each, Elmer T Lee for $399 and Pappy 12 for $699. PASS! Also, several Twin Liquors in Texas bundle allocated bourbons with expensive wine, rum, etc. Packaging a $30-40 bottle of whiskey with a $100 bottle of wine or rum is just shitty.
I bought a bottle of Blanton’s almost month ago now and I paid to much 89.00,the only reason I bought it was I never see it here in Syracuse,also it was my Birthday.I still have buyers remorse though!
Open it, pour your self a four finger glass, and the remorse will fade away. I cap out at $75 for Blanton's.
Blanton's is one of my favorites so I would probably buy it for that much because I've gone a year or two without even seeing it on the shelf, but that's about my upper limit. Thankfully I've been able to snag it at $65 a few times recently.
Everyone is allowed the occasional lapse into Taterland.
I would put Whiskey Tasting Channels as #6. Definitely a scam. :)
Fair enough!
The way allocation works and the amount of bullshit vodka and wine and shit store owners have to buy to get that one allocated bottle is probably one of the most misunderstood/unknown things in the game. A lot of people go into stores, see that Pappy or BTAC marked up and throw a fit that the liquor store owner is trying to"rip" them off, without understanding that the store probably bought 5 billion bottles of crappy vodka and fireball that theyll struggle to sell just to get that bottle and theyre just trying to make some money back. Getting to know a store owner and hearing from his side the absolute pain in the ass it is to deal with the distributors fuck-fuck games to get allocated bottles was super eye opening for me.
Ive heard to just get Henry McKenna you have to carry about 20 different brands and pass a survey for 12 bottles!
As a business owner, why buy 5 billion bottles of liquor that people aren't going to buy for the right to 1 bottle that people will, "just to make some money back"? No way the profit on that 1 bottle makes up for the others. Doesn't seem like a smart business decision if that's the logic
So of you don't wanna play their game they stop sending you stuff all together. They put the screws to store owners to sell their crap or none of it.
@@BourbonJunkies That makes more sense. So, it's not buying for the right to an allocated bottle, it's buying for the right to keep buying
@@SchimShady12 Basically yea, the distributors force the stores to buy their crappy stuff like random wines and vodka and fireball etc, to get the stuff they really want. You want to get an allocation of Blantons every month? Better really push wheatley vodka. Want EHT bottles? better move a bunch of fireball. The stores are at the complete mercy of the distributors when it comes to getting the stuff they really want.
This is why I like dealing with Total Wine here in New Jersey. I have never paid over retail, and I have regularly gotten Blantons, Barrell, and plenty of other great whiskeys at reasonable prices. Have I gotten a Stagg? A Pappy? No. When I venture out for those, I'll have to watch for the incoming knives.
Yea big boxes can do that cause they're already buying a million other things so they can drop stuff off at retail and not get any pressure of selling other things.
I would firmly add any bourbon FB group with the name "finder" or "locator" in it. 99% of the time, it's used to brag about bottles likely received from an allocation or to ask if someone made the right decision in purchasing a bottle. And then you get the occasional scammer encouraging people to PM them for bottles on top of that.
So I still need to know where to find the good bourbon that I want if everything seems a scam and stores don’t ever get it! I need some good friends like y’all so I can come try these!
Can confirm about terrible stores first hand. I saw a bottle of blanton's (just the regular single barrel) at a liquor store near me, and it was marked at $200. I asked the clerk if it was a special release, and he said no. I was more than offended that they'd sell a $65 bottle for such an awful markup. They also had Eagle Rare at $70, and Henry McKenna 10 bib at $100.
Ew
Got Henry McKenna 10 BiB for $40 at my military store (no markups, no tax)!
They should shut a place down that is trying to sell Eagle Rare for $70.
@@asko2677 that is a markup
@@LeatherDaddy97 what’s the msrp on it? $40 seems a great deal.
Awesome video, guys. Really enjoyed this one. Great editing, meaningful content, and 2 decent looking dudes delivering the goods. Appreciate ya.
I’m in Delaware and was in a store 2 months ago that had Weller single barrel for $1500.
Things are just a little on the wild side these days
I agree, celebrity liquor anything is trash. Dwayne Johnson's (The Rock) tequila brand is GARBAGE.
As many downsides there are for the small producer, the "state stores" fix the whole allocation game. They put their quota in a lottery, and they're not allowed to gouge. The biggest problem with allocation is the big bullies are incenting the bad guys. The mom and pop usually wants to help people out and may not even be able to risk dead product. The large stores that sell that much anyway and yet STILL feel the need to sell $800 WLW are the ones that need to be straightened out.
True but the State Store can select which of their locations sell what .
Only tho in Ala. sell Buffalo Trace and they are in the same county .
I have stopped shopping at stores that hold back allocations or are opaque about it. Small shops can do what they want, but I'd rather shop at Total Wine and know that I need to spend a specified amount and enter a lottery, etc.
It's just simple supply and demand. Do your homework and set limits. Don't like the price, move along. In general, whiskey is cheap, but whiskey is also a BOOMING industry right now, prices will continue to inflate until there is a natural middle price. Find yo sleeper hitter bargins mang!
Thanks for this video and your others - great content
Love ur videos a lot one of my favorite Whiskies to drink is called creekwater and its only 26 and change for a bottle i am very interested what you like about it.
Where's it from?
Which online seller would you guys recommend?
We've used seelbach's in the past along with caskers. Can confirm that markups are a thing.
There is a liquor store near me where they get a lot of allocated bourbons but, the prices are a different story. For example, two months ago they had a Rock Hill Farms single barrel selling for $180. A bit overpriced in my opinion... don’t you think?
Sadly that's under secondary now but I wouldn't pay that for a RHF
The markup on way aged bottles. I.e. Fancy marketing lines etc, its a 15yr but in actuality its not much better and might be worse than a 7 or 10yr but is double tge price? Why? Bc they kept tasting it, didn't fit right, years go by, then after the age gets really old, they say "hey lets sell it, market it to be fancy and over-priced" age/price isn't always a indicator of a good spirit. Are there good ones out there, sure, in all price points.
You know what's funny, I'd be willing to pay for lesser quality if it were priced right. What grinds my gears is the misrepresentation and inflated prices to match.
Found Reserve Bar, Most Prices are fair but Weller Special Reserve 150 for a liter, WTF . I picked up a case of handles for 40 a bottle I think.
I was truly hesitant to buy the Offeeman.
But that scotch with a steak is heaven on earth.
Peppery, smokey heaven
I am just looking for a good resource to know what the approximate msrp should be. I live in the middle of nowhere and am ok with paying some markup, but I just want to know how bad it really is.
Usually states have "shelf minimums" online. We use LARA all the time to check the prices in Michigan.
I like the subvert flex on the Rocky Mountain Rye. 😂🥃
The store mark up thing happened with Macallan Edition No. 6 & it made me sick. All of the others from previous years editions were around $120 to $150 at total wine or another local store. Edition 6 was listed all over the internet to be about $130ish on release & total wine had all the stock because it was super allocated, at least in the beginning & the price is about $190 before tax. Irritating but, I wasn't going to have an incomplete set so I pulled the trigger but man it hurt. Also irritating because TW usually has pretty good prices compared to other stores around town.
Not exactly a celebrity endorsed bottle but what do you think about bottles marketed from movies and shows like old forester statesmen or the game of thrones line of scotches... ?
The GoT scotches we're pretty meh for me, statesmen isn't bad at all and it helped the hell out of OF.
I avoided all that as obvious marketing slop whisky riding on some imaginary cache of GOT. Also goes back to one of my bad whiskey tells- watered down to 80 proof.
Thought the whole accelerated aged whiskey market would be a scam. Bought a bottle just to try it. It was undrinkable, so I gave it to my son in law !
They need to let the demand and price meet in the open market. If the market price for a whiskey is $250 don't allocate it at $100 retail then have secondary sell it for $500. I'd rather see it on the shelf for $250 and if I can afford it I can buy it. That removes the incentive for people to follow the delivery trucks to the liquor stores and buy up stuff they can resell at a higher price.
Sadly guys, MSRP isn’t a a standard it’s a suggestion. Why should joe liquor who’s struggling, leave meat on the bone to someone who’s buying to resell. When he can just mark it up and make the money himself. Great example. Look at WhistlePig they said “we’re talking all the money” and people gladly hand over the cash.
Is it sucky? Sure but if someone has the money to throw at a bottle let them and we can just laugh and walk out the store.
😉 cheers dudes🤙🏻
What did he say about Sazerac and Fireball? Y'all should visit the Sazerac House in New Orleans. Haven't seen any other whiskey YT'er visit there.
Yeah like the blanton's at a liquor store in Lennox ma going for over 200 a bottle.
Very agree with whoever mentioned Longbranch 👌
Sweetens Cove is George Dickel BiB 13. Identical flavor profile, including the Flintstones.
which we hate, so we weren't about it at all
short, sweet, to the point. Good job.
So I’m “back home” this weekend and as usual spend a day cruising different liquor stores looking for things I like. The markup... ugh. Any of the BTAC were st $1000-1300, old rip 10 yr $600. Lot B $1000+. The most baffling.. Eagle Rare I saw with it 20 miles of each other at $29.99, $49.99, and $89.99!l. Stores with “Limit 1 per” for Buffalo Trace, meanwhile the EC Batch Strength falls of the shelves. Back home, batch strength is nigh impossible to find. Now, I don’t begrudge the mark up.. to an extent. These owners are being fleeced by distributors (on told me to get 3 Weller Antiques he had to accept 10 cases of crappy vodka...). One of the more amusing price tags was on a bottle of Elmer T, $249 or $89 with the purchase of a case of 1.75 bottles of Wheatley vodka. The other thing owners tell me is they see the secondary market prices and think “I can get me some of that”. Can’t say I blame them as long as people will pay that. But it has truly gotten out of hand... there’s lots of good bourbons on the $40 and under shelf that just don’t have the “names”.
What about the fb groups or market pages that are by the month clubs. The ones that clam to send you samplers and a bottle ones a month
Need a coin that covers the top of a Libbey or a Denver & Liely :P
I think that's called a plate
You guys missed the pedestrian rip off of living in an ABC state and wanting to buy regular, everyday whiskey at a fair price. Over the course of a year, you can easily piss away $100 in stupid mark-ups and tax.
Here is a question.....What mark up are you willing to pay? 99% of the time I am willing to pay $5-$15 over MSRP. I'm not gonna cry over ECBP at $70 if I really want it.
I'll go up to 15% over on shelfers unicorns I've decided I'll pay x2
It's really a per bottle situation really. There are some I won't spend $1 more than retail and others I'll spend several hundred over value.
I have a liquor store near my office on Long Island that I pay $80 for blantons. I buy 2-3 a year. It’s the best I’ve found. 30 miles east on Long Island where I live, a liquor store sells blantons for 200. I was only in this shop because I was with a buddy getting some vodka and the blantons caught my eye. I inquired what is the best price if I pay cash. He tells me 190. I laughed. He said, it’s rare and that’s what it cost and people pay it. I feel bad enough I pay $80 for it. Can’t believe there are people paying 200 willingly
when you get towards coast lines for some odd reason prices sky rocket, solid find for the $80. About the max I'd probably pay to keep one on hand.
Don’t mind me…just fillin up some empty Balvenie 50s with some Ole’ Smokie