3 ms·

Yeah, the pricing is ridiculous. Any bottle that starts accruing accolades will either sell out or start seeing price increases. There's even a secondary market

Yeah, the pricing is ridiculous. Any bottle that starts accruing accolades will either sell out or start seeing price increases. There's even a secondary market where scalpers will buy as much of the local supply as they can and resell it. I remember asking a staff member at a Specs store in Dallas if they had any Weller in stock, and he just laughed and said that any time they get a delivery there's a line outside the door before they open. He couldn't remember the last time a bottle sat on the shelf for any amount of time. This is a bottle that has an MSRP of $50, but will sell for roughly three times that.

giantg2 3y ago
The best way to do it today seems to be finding local distilleries. Some have tasting rooms or bars attached. You can try out their offerings to find which you like. But it's still not cheap if they're good. The local one around me is about $50-60 and is usually good stuff (batches vary more at the smaller scale). Plenty of decent stuff at the big stores for cocktails or to occasionally try something new (the tasting search and adventure are half the fun). But it's tough to justify some of the prices to try things, and it's not much better at most bars that charge you 25% of a bottle price for a single drink.
- brendoelfrendo 3y ago
  Oh, yeah. I hardly drink at home these days, but when I did, my shelf staples were things like Old Grand Dad 114 and Wild Turkey 101. Local can be very hit-or-miss, though. Opening a distillery was a very trendy thing to do for a while after the craft beer market got saturated, and I feel like there were a lot of distilleries selling really sub-par young product because they realized they would run out of money if they waited for it to age properly. For the most part, though, I agree, especially now that it's been long enough for some solid local contenders to get their feet under them.
  - giantg2 3y ago
    That's why I especially recommend going to their tasting room/events or attached bar. On a side note, one local place sells white whiskey - aged the legal minimum of 1 day. But it was also less than 50% of the normal whiskey they sell. I got some just to try it. It is not mellow at all, but it is interesting to try it, and it mixes in many drinks just fine and makes them different.

giantg2 3y ago

The best way to do it today seems to be finding local distilleries. Some have tasting rooms or bars attached. You can try out their offerings to find which you like. But it's still not cheap if they're good. The local one around me is about $50-60 and is usually good stuff (batches vary more at the smaller scale). Plenty of decent stuff at the big stores for cocktails or to occasionally try something new (the tasting search and adventure are half the fun). But it's tough to justify some of the prices to try things, and it's not much better at most bars that charge you 25% of a bottle price for a single drink.

brendoelfrendo 3y ago
Oh, yeah. I hardly drink at home these days, but when I did, my shelf staples were things like Old Grand Dad 114 and Wild Turkey 101. Local can be very hit-or-miss, though. Opening a distillery was a very trendy thing to do for a while after the craft beer market got saturated, and I feel like there were a lot of distilleries selling really sub-par young product because they realized they would run out of money if they waited for it to age properly. For the most part, though, I agree, especially now that it's been long enough for some solid local contenders to get their feet under them.
- giantg2 3y ago
  That's why I especially recommend going to their tasting room/events or attached bar. On a side note, one local place sells white whiskey - aged the legal minimum of 1 day. But it was also less than 50% of the normal whiskey they sell. I got some just to try it. It is not mellow at all, but it is interesting to try it, and it mixes in many drinks just fine and makes them different.