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Brown Liquor Time


fredst

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54 minutes ago, ShocksMyBrain said:

Bourbon hounds are the worst. Because they would buy the Weller SR off the shelf and turn around and flip it. We have to do the same thing with our Weller SR.

They act like children moreso than beer and wine snobs.

Every single FB message we’ve gotten in the past two weeks has been about this stupid drawing we’re doing Saturday. My owner has about had it with the whole thing—so much bitching about it. She said we may just jack the s*** out of the price and let it be open season next year. 

Seems like there's no winning with the limited allotments. There's seriously no right answer. Not sure I've ever heard somebody say, "You know what, 123 Liquors did a great and fair job with that 1 case of Old Ultraprimo they received in this city of 3,000,000 people!" 

I still feel bad about the time I bought a store out of Mexican Cake when they were new to the beer game. Karma exacted its revenge. 2 years later they were gouging like mofos on anything limited. 

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3 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Seems like there's no winning with the limited allotments. There's seriously no right answer. Not sure I've ever heard somebody say, "You know what, 123 Liquors did a great and fair job with that 1 case of Old Ultraprimo they received in this city of 3,000,000 people!" 

I still feel bad about the time I bought a store out of Mexican Cake when they were new to the beer game. Karma exacted its revenge. 2 years later they were gouging like mofos on anything limited. 

Nah. You just look at that as the sun smiling on a dog’s a**. I knew about Pappy before everybody and their damn brother was looking for it but still had (obviously) a hard time finding it. Walked into a store and they had a bunch of 12 and 15 on the shelf, selling at MSRP...so I bought every bottle they had and never looked back, lol. Finally about to run out of that, didn’t resell but got to share with many friends. True story.....

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4 minutes ago, fredst said:

Nah. You just look at that as the sun smiling on a dog’s a**. I knew about Pappy before everybody and their damn brother was looking for it but still had (obviously) a hard time finding it. Walked into a store and they had a bunch of 12 and 15 on the shelf, selling at MSRP...so I bought every bottle they had and never looked back, lol. Finally about to run out of that, didn’t resell but got to share with many friends. True story.....

AWESOME. Like pissing in a stream and looking down at a fat nugget of gold. 

My brushes with Pappy have been star-crossed, to say the least. First time, we bought a bottle to share at a buddy's wedding. I threw out my back and was borderline nauseated with pain. Took one little sip and paid zero attention to what it tasted like. The next time was a somewhat similar setup, but I had to leave and didn't taste it at all that time. The 3rd time was the best, although it was drinking the Family Reserve out of a red Solo cup. It was hot. 

I haven't opted for any of the few chances to pay ~$50 for a shot. Anytime I've seen that, I've seen a really spectacular $15 shot right next to it on the menu. 

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8 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

AWESOME. Like pissing in a stream and looking down at a fat nugget of gold. 

My brushes with Pappy have been star-crossed, to say the least. First time, we bought a bottle to share at a buddy's wedding. I threw out my back and was borderline nauseated with pain. Took one little sip and paid zero attention to what it tasted like. The next time was a somewhat similar setup, but I had to leave and didn't taste it at all that time. The 3rd time was the best, although it was drinking the Family Reserve out of a red Solo cup. It was hot. 

I haven't opted for any of the few chances to pay ~$50 for a shot. Anytime I've seen that, I've seen a really spectacular $15 shot right next to it on the menu. 

Come by the house and I'll share a flight with you (hurry though, to much left, lol). I've enjoyed sharing it with people that might appreciate it. It's like wine though: you know you can get really good stuff if you pay a fortune for it but it's more fun to look for really good stuff that you don't have to mortgage your house for.

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1 minute ago, fredst said:

Come by the house and I'll share a flight with you (hurry though, to much left, lol). I've enjoyed sharing it with people that might appreciate it. It's like wine though: you know you can get really good stuff if you pay a fortune for it but it's more fun to look for really good stuff that you don't have to mortgage your house for.

Careful. I have people just down the road in Guntersville who I've been trying to visit for a long time. The good news is that they make beer...

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7 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Careful. I have people just down the road in Guntersville who I've been trying to visit for a long time. The good news is that they make beer...

We have some places brewing (I think) some pretty good stuff here in Huntsville. Pretty decent craft scene, but I think you’re much more of an aficionado than me

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33 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Seems like there's no winning with the limited allotments. There's seriously no right answer. Not sure I've ever heard somebody say, "You know what, 123 Liquors did a great and fair job with that 1 case of Old Ultraprimo they received in this city of 3,000,000 people!" 

I still feel bad about the time I bought a store out of Mexican Cake when they were new to the beer game. Karma exacted its revenge. 2 years later they were gouging like mofos on anything limited. 

We do it about as fair as possible without playing favorites. We allow you to sign up for the drawing for 2 weeks prior to the actual event. No special treatment for regulars, anyone can sign up. When your name gets called, you get to come up to where we have it all laid out and can buy one item. If there’s still bourbon left over after all the names have been called, everyone’s name goes back into the hat and we start going again until it’s all gone. This prevents people lining up and general madness once the doors open.

However, we don’t announce when we’ve started taking names. We also don’t tell people to sign up(unless they’re regulars). But if a rando asks about the limited stuff, we tell them to put their name in. This allows people who actually shop at our store regularly to get a chance at something special—not someone who just runs around town hunting bottles that they’ll most likely sell on secondary.

After about two weeks, which is ample time imo, we close the submission of names and send out an email announcing when the drawing will be held and what all we will have on hand(no prices or quantities). Of course that hits a lot of people on our email list that didn’t sign up, so we get constant bitching about “wahhh I was in there last month and you didn’t tell me” type s***. If we told everyone who came through the doors about our drawing, we’d have a thousand people in our store—and we don’t have the space nor the staff to accommodate something like that. 

Anyway, that’s just a glimpse from my side of the table. 

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41 minutes ago, fredst said:

Nah. You just look at that as the sun smiling on a dog’s a**. I knew about Pappy before everybody and their damn brother was looking for it but still had (obviously) a hard time finding it. Walked into a store and they had a bunch of 12 and 15 on the shelf, selling at MSRP...so I bought every bottle they had and never looked back, lol. Finally about to run out of that, didn’t resell but got to share with many friends. True story.....

I was able to walk into the store that I now work at 10 years ago and snatch a Pappy 20 for $100, 23 for $199. I was able to buy Old Rip 10 for $50 whenever I wanted. Because no one was interested in dropping that sort of coin on whiskey.

Ever since that Men’s Journal article(or whatever publication it was) that came out in 2010(or whenever it was) lauding over Pappy, the bourbon scene just exploded and I’m pretty much over it by this time each year. 

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39 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

AWESOME. Like pissing in a stream and looking down at a fat nugget of gold. 

My brushes with Pappy have been star-crossed, to say the least. First time, we bought a bottle to share at a buddy's wedding. I threw out my back and was borderline nauseated with pain. Took one little sip and paid zero attention to what it tasted like. The next time was a somewhat similar setup, but I had to leave and didn't taste it at all that time. The 3rd time was the best, although it was drinking the Family Reserve out of a red Solo cup. It was hot. 

I haven't opted for any of the few chances to pay ~$50 for a shot. Anytime I've seen that, I've seen a really spectacular $15 shot right next to it on the menu. 

It’s not worth $50 a shot ever. Spend $30 on a shot of Whistle Pig Boss Hog/Black Prince instead. Avenue Pub in NOLA has it for this price.  

Or $20 for a shot of Don Julio 1942. 

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36 minutes ago, fredst said:

We have some places brewing (I think) some pretty good stuff here in Huntsville. Pretty decent craft scene, but I think you’re much more of an aficionado than me

I hear and assume that Huntsville has a very good Brewing scene. A bunch of scientists from other places. Pretty much a perfect recipe for both supply and demand.

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30 minutes ago, ShocksMyBrain said:

I was able to walk into the store that I now work at 10 years ago and snatch a Pappy 20 for $100, 23 for $199. I was able to buy Old Rip 10 for $50 whenever I wanted. Because no one was interested in dropping that sort of coin on whiskey.

Ever since that Men’s Journal article(or whatever publication it was) that came out in 2010(or whenever it was) lauding over Pappy, the bourbon scene just exploded and I’m pretty much over it by this time each year. 

It was Wall Street Journal. I had just bought that bunch then opened the Saturday WSJ to a full page pic of a bottle of Pappy with a title  something like “The Bourbon Revolution”. I told my wife that day- “I guess I won’t be getting Pappy anymore”. I had tasted the 15 for the first time about 3-4 years prior which was my “Eureka” moment for bourbon.

And, you’re right, that Boss Hog is the bomb. And, a good anejo or superanejo is as good as a fine bourbon any day.

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15 minutes ago, fredst said:

It was Wall Street Journal. I had just bought that bunch then opened the Saturday WSJ to a full page pic of a bottle of Pappy with a title  something like “The Bourbon Revolution”. I told my wife that day- “I guess I won’t be getting Pappy anymore”. I had tasted the 15 for the first time about 3-4 years prior which was my “Eureka” moment for bourbon.

And, you’re right, that Boss Hog is the bomb. And, a good anejo or superanejo is as good as a fine bourbon any day.

We’ve got a Patron 5yr extra anejo collaboration with filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro if you’re interested—for $500. 

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There’s a plastic cover over the bottle, but the presentation is cool. Also comes with a little book about how GDT designed the packaging, as well as a little 50ml orange liqueur you can only get in this package. 

Edited by ShocksMyBrain
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18 minutes ago, fredst said:

It was Wall Street Journal. I had just bought that bunch then opened the Saturday WSJ to a full page pic of a bottle of Pappy with a title  something like “The Bourbon Revolution”. I told my wife that day- “I guess I won’t be getting Pappy anymore”. I had tasted the 15 for the first time about 3-4 years prior which was my “Eureka” moment for bourbon.

And, you’re right, that Boss Hog is the bomb. And, a good anejo or superanejo is as good as a fine bourbon any day.

I had just started getting into bourbon via my dad in 2008 or so. Buying Old Rip, Bookers, Rock Hill Farm, etc. I had been into craft beer for a little while longer, which I turned him onto. But I was 24 and started realizing there was a whole new world of great tasting alcohol that didn’t have to be mixed with anything to be enjoyed. My wine tastes developed a while after, and I still can’t afford the wines I like to drink—but my buddy who has access to his parents credit card(still) will splurge on those, so I’m grateful to have him in my life(no homo).  

Back to bourbon pricing lately, we’ve been getting a lot of people asking what to buy as a gift. My first response, “how much are you wanting to spend?”

”$30”

*sigh*

It’s kind of hard to find a good bourbon in that price range nowadays. Henry McKenna, our staff selection barrels of Buff Trace, and Pinhook are about all I can ever offer. The good stuff for the price starts right around $50. 

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The McKenna 10 is a damn fine affordable whiskey. I still think single barrel 4 Roses is pretty good. But you’re right, it’s creeping up to $50 in today’s market.

On another note, this is a great “club”, the best club I’ve ever joined where I didn’t know the people’s names or what they looked like, lol.

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40 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

I hear and assume that Huntsville has a very good Brewing scene. A bunch of scientists from other places. Pretty much a perfect recipe for both supply and demand.

Yes, Huntsville a little different than the stereotype of Alabama. Educated and reasonably affluent. Still a bunch of practical engineers so chain restaurants thrive and fine dining options remain limited. Sigh....

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38 minutes ago, fredst said:

The McKenna 10 is a damn fine affordable whiskey. I still think single barrel 4 Roses is pretty good. But you’re right, it’s creeping up to $50 in today’s market.

On another note, this is a great “club”, the best club I’ve ever joined where I didn’t know the people’s names or what they looked like, lol.

Our store barrel 1792 Full Proof for $46 is(was)every bit as good as any $65-$120 bottle I’ve ever had. It was fantastic, and now it’s all gone. :(

We got in our barrel of Elijah Craig 9yr last week, and it’s solid. Got a 14yr coming soon. 

We also have a store barrel OBSV 35% rye 4 Roses. It’s kind of meh. 

Still waiting on our Blanton’s and Weller 107 Antique barrels. We tasted those barrel samples 6+ months ago.

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On 12/12/2018 at 5:30 PM, ShocksMyBrain said:

Our store barrel 1792 Full Proof for $46 is(was)every bit as good as any $65-$120 bottle I’ve ever had. It was fantastic, and now it’s all gone. :(

We got in our barrel of Elijah Craig 9yr last week, and it’s solid. Got a 14yr coming soon. 

We also have a store barrel OBSV 35% rye 4 Roses. It’s kind of meh. 

Still waiting on our Blanton’s and Weller 107 Antique barrels. We tasted those barrel samples 6+ months ago.

Nice! Im a huge fan of Weller picks. Let me know if you ship and I'll take one. I know everybody loves Blantons but Im just a wheater guy. 

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2 hours ago, ChrisH said:

Nice! Im a huge fan of Weller picks. Let me know if you ship and I'll take one. I know everybody loves Blantons but Im just a wheater guy. 

Our store can’t ship(illegal) and I’ll probably only be allowed to purchase one bottle for myself. If things change I can ship you one. We sold out of the barrel in 24 hours last year. 

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Had a pour of the EC 18 last pm. That is a very nice whiskey- nice vanilla, toffee kind of notes with a long smooth finish. Highly recommended....

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My buddy opened his bottle of OFBB that he picked out, and it’s fantastic. 

Also tried the Nikka From the Barrel, great whiskey for just $60. Would I say it’s the #1 whiskey I’ve had of 2018 according to Whiskey Advocate? Unsure. OF 1920 and Knob Creek Cask Strength Rye are definitely up there. 

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On 12/14/2018 at 9:45 AM, ShocksMyBrain said:

Our store can’t ship(illegal) and I’ll probably only be allowed to purchase one bottle for myself. If things change I can ship you one. We sold out of the barrel in 24 hours last year. 

No worries. Ive got a bunch of them already. I just like to compare the barrels. I lucked into a WLW this year on allocation day. May crack it for my birthday next month. 

 

PM me your store and I'll try to stop by when if I ever make it to town

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