Ohio: Bourbon desert or home of unappreciated brands?

[cbus]

In discussing this topic with a local retailer, in terms of the BTAC, I heard that this last year the great state of Ohio managed to get a grand total of three bottles of GTS... and that's it. No ER 17, no Handy, No W.L. Weller and certainly no Saz 18.

[clingman71]

In discussing this topic with a local retailer, in terms of the BTAC, I heard that this last year the great state of Ohio managed to get a grand total of three bottles of GTS... and that's it. No ER 17, no Handy, No W.L. Weller and certainly no Saz 18.

I think retailers tell some interesting tales in Ohio. I know of a few places in Dayton area that serve GTS and/or Saz. I've "heard" that Ohio gets WLW but only sends it to one county for a specific retailer. My local retailer had Saz but would not sell me one because they said they "had to sell it" to a specific restaurant. I called bullshit in this, said who they sold to was their decision, not the State of Ohio's. I emailed the state and the reply said , because of three tier, state has no input on where bottles go once they get to the retailer.

[Flyfish]

I know I can probably get "some" different stuff if I'm willing to travel 20 or more miles for it. I'm not willing to waste the gas or the time on it, so, I suppose that's on me. I can pretty much mail order anything I want, but... someone of age has to be available for delivery.

From Toledo, it is 200 miles to KY. I never drive that far just for bourbon but I pass through KY a half dozen times a year and always stock up at Liquor Barn and/or TPS. It is not just the rare bottlings of super premium that are unavailable in OH. I buy at least one handle of AAA 10YO every chance I get. In OH, they only sell 10 Star and the regular AA. As for mail order, the shipping charges are higher than the purchase price of most value pours. As a matter of principle, I object to the state limiting my access. In "free states," if one store doesn't have what you want you can go to another store. In OH, the other stores don't have it either.

[ebo]

I know I can probably get "some" different stuff if I'm willing to travel 20 or more miles for it. I'm not willing to waste the gas or the time on it, so, I suppose that's on me. I can pretty much mail order anything I want, but... someone of age has to be available for delivery.

From Toledo, it is 200 miles to KY. I never drive that far just for bourbon but I pass through KY a half dozen times a year and always stock up at Liquor Barn and/or TPS. It is not just the rare bottlings of super premium that are unavailable in OH. I buy at least one handle of AAA 10YO every chance I get. In OH, they only sell 10 Star and the regular AA. As for mail order, the shipping charges are higher than the purchase price of most value pours. As a matter of principle, I object to the state limiting my access. In "free states," if one store doesn't have what you want you can go to another store. In OH, the other stores don't have it either.

Exactly. I don't mail order much of anything anymore. It's the lack of availability in Ohio that pisses me off.

If we can have 10 star, why can't we have 10 year old? If we can have OGD BiB, why can't we have 114? If we can have HH Old Style, why can't we have HH BiB?

I guess I don't understand why we can only have certain offerings from a distiller/brand, but we can't get the rest of what they offer. Ohio is a whisk(e)y desert, IMO.

[soad]

I will give Ohio credit for having Old Ezra 101 for only $14.

I have made the hour round trip to buy a few bottles more than once.

(Ohioans should also be happy you can mail order bourbon, the Commonwealth of PA forbids such transactions.)

[portwood]

Ohio is a whisk(e)y desert, IMO.

If you think Ohio is a whisk(e)y desert you should cross to the other side of Lake Ontario. In our desert, oases occasionally appear where our local government monopoly requires the exchange of gold bars for adult beverages. In 2010-11 such gold bars translated into $4.7 billion in sales and $1.63 billion "dividend to the Ontario government, not including taxes". This is justified to "pay for health care, education and other important services".

... end of thread jack.

[ebo]

I went to the Fisher's store today. I went to get EC12, George Dickel Barrel Select and Ardmore traditional cask. None of those have been available for over a month. Fisher's is the best liquor store in the area. Are these no longer available in Ohio...... or just my area?

[steeltownbbq]

I've never seen any of the above in Ohio, or most of what is discussed on these forums for that matter

[ThirstyinOhio]

Ohio's selection sucks for the most part. While we may get most of the Beam products and other high production products from various distilleries, it is damn near impossible if not completely impossible to get a lot of the limited selections. I'm not even talking about Pappy or BTAC, but good luck trying to order in a PHC, willett, or even the LE Four Roses offerings. I am just lucky that I have been able to snag some of the offerings from PA (all thanks to a fellow SB'er) and my wife doesn't mind making a weekend (or longer, it takes about 5 hours to get to the border) trip down to KY for some bourbon hunting.

A part of me wishes that I could just walk into my local state store and pick up any bottle that my heart desired, but to be honest I like the thrill of the hunt as well. When I am finally able to track down a bottle I've been after, either by traveling to get it or through a contact I make on this site, and crack it open it adds that little bit extra enjoyment to that first pour.

[callmeox]

The state will order in anything that meets the following criteria:

The distributor will allocate a case of the product to the state.

You will buy the entire case.

If Ohio isn't on the allocation list, that's not the states fault. Especially when if comes to highly allocated products.

I have been a party to many special order attempts. Some succeeded, some did not.

[ebo]

Is there a reason why I can't find EC12 in my area? It's always been readily available untill recently. I'm hoping it's just a coincidence that every place I've purchased it is just out of stock at the same time.