A BT scarcity rumor...

[EagleRiver]

...and I can go to 200+ local stores and get BT, ER, and Weller 12, by the case any time I want...

Texas is one of their biggest markets and is THE biggest Weller Market, so they get a larger allocation than other states. I saw hundreds of cases on a recent trip to Houston, yet I haven't been able to get a bottle all year in at my store in IL. I used to buy Weller SR by the barrel, now I'm limited to 3 to 6 bottles a week. I was also told by a Sazerac rep that my most recent Buffalo Trace Barrel would be my Last for a long time. Some people might be fortunate enough to live in a state where it hasn't impacted them yet, but it will at some point.

[P&MLiquorsEric]

They cut barrel selections off in KY in feb/march of this year. None until 2015 for us.

[EagleRiver]

I went to order Benchmark today and told it was on a case a week allocation! Fucking Benchmark! And while Mark Brown may claim they aren't raising prices, prices are going up because of these restrictions. Two examples, todays Benchmark order for me is usually a small 5 case or so deal with a better discount. That is no longer offered causing my 750 price to go up over a buck a bottle and the 1.75 price to go up $2 a bottle. Example number two, Weller SR is now being allocated by my distributor by the bottle, they charge an extra $1.50 or so for a split case charge per bottle, they won't send me a full case yet I'm forced to pay the split case charge and can't get any volume discounting. I have seen my Weller SR price go up about $4 a bottle in the last 6-8 months. Sure the distributor is probably wreaking the benefit in these cases, but ultimately they are chosen by Sazerac and limited by what they can get from them. Mark Brown would have to be pretty naive to think these shortages wouldn't drive prices up whether artificially or not.

[dcbt]

I went to order Benchmark today and told it was on a case a week allocation! Fucking Benchmark! And while Mark Brown may claim they aren't raising prices, prices are going up because of these restrictions. Two examples, todays Benchmark order for me is usually a small 5 case or so deal with a better discount. That is no longer offered causing my 750 price to go up over a buck a bottle and the 1.75 price to go up $2 a bottle. Example number two, Weller SR is now being allocated by my distributor by the bottle, they charge an extra $1.50 or so for a split case charge per bottle, they won't send me a full case yet I'm forced to pay the split case charge and can't get any volume discounting. I have seen my Weller SR price go up about $4 a bottle in the last 6-8 months. Sure the distributor is probably wreaking the benefit in these cases, but ultimately they are chosen by Sazerac and limited by what they can get from them. Mark Brown would have to be pretty naive to think these shortages wouldn't drive prices up whether artificially or not.

Don't retail stores have to make up this difference in revenue somehow? If you used to sell 5 cases a week but now can only get and sell 1 case, doesn't that leave you short on revenue? So to make that up, I can only assume prices have to go up, yes?

[callmeox]

Not the first time I've heard of the "can't buy a full case/must pay split case charge" gambit.

Distributors are a special kind of evil.

[EagleRiver]

Don't retail stores have to make up this difference in revenue somehow? If you used to sell 5 cases a week but now can only get and sell 1 case, doesn't that leave you short on revenue? So to make that up, I can only assume prices have to go up, yes?

Well hopefully in most cases I can sell the customer a similar item and make them happy and keep them as customers. Some will do that others are incredibly brand loyal and they will go looking somewhere else. Lucky the amount of sales being lost aren't in such huge numbers that they are affecting revenue enough to try and make it up with higher margins, still sucks to lose sales and customers to something completely out of your control.

[TunnelTiger]

Not the first time I've heard of the "can't buy a full case/must pay split case charge" gambit.

Distributors are a special kind of evil.

I can't even begin to imagine what it would feel like to have so much demand for your product that you could pick and choose who sell it to, how much they could have, and at max profit.

Just wow.

[dcbt]

I can't even begin to imagine what it would feel like to have so much demand for your product that you could pick and choose who sell it to, how much they could have, and at max profit.

Just wow.

You just described the current business arrangement (in many cases) between retail outlets and customers when it comes to premium bourbons. The entire business-consumer model is flipped on its head. No longer does the consumer choose who to give his business to; the business chooses the consumer he will sell the bottle to...

[squire]

I just noticed in my local a 1.75 of Benchmark is $4.00 a bottle higher than it was a year ago.

[cowdery]

Nowhere did I say there isn't a shortage of many Buffalo Trace products. Of course there is. The post was about what Sazerac is doing and referred to things like label changes and proof cuts, not allocation. All I said is that you can't blame Buffalo Trace for hyping it and deliberately generating lots of media stories about it because they haven't. I hate it when people quote me in a post and then go on to refute something I never said. It's irritating. In fact, I find the shortage rather stunning, especially since BT seems to be so much more affected than any other producer. I can only attribute it to an exploding popularity of their products, which explains why they're now running the distillery as hard as they can. Nice problem to have, so long as your disappointed customers don't forget you.

Edited July 24, 2014 by cowdery

[PaulO]

Weller Antique, and 12 were the BT brands I really took a liking to. Most of their other stuff doesn't interest me much. If there is no Weller to be had, or a big price jump; I'll get something else. My last bottle of Larceny was very nice. As a matter of fact, I plan on stocking up next time I'm down South. I feel that Heaven Hill's wheated bourbon has caught up to BT. So now it's just an issue of availability and price.

[squire]

I feel that Heaven Hill's wheated bourbon has caught up to BT. So now it's just an issue of availability and price.

Hope that turns out to be the case, for some reason Heaven Hill wheat recipe whiskies have struck me as being somewhat of a step child in the HH hierarchy.

[Harry in WashDC]

(Power went out during a storm last night, & I lost a great post I was writing.:skep: Here's some of what I think I wrote.) Apropos Chuck's post, recall 1973 when we had both a gas shortage and a toilet paper shortage.

About gas: AAA I think it was did a survey and determined that, pre-shortage, people on average filled up when their tanks went below 1/4. During the shortage, people filled up on average when their gauges got close to 1/2 or even 3/5. With an average tank holding, say, 12 gallons, that's 3 gallons times millions of cars more gas than people used to carry around. PLUS, they went to the gas station more often - instead of, say, 24 times a year, they were going 36-40. Same number of stations with more visits = longer lines. I'm not saying gas was NOT in short supply, I'm saying we exacerbated the problem of long lines with our behavior.

Toilet paper was Johnny Carson's fault. Apparently, somebody reported that the Federal Government had asked for bids for toilet paper but was late in picking a winner so there could be a shortage of TP in some federal buildings. Johnny Carson made a joke about it sometime in October 1973 (search the internet for the actual bit- it's pretty funny). A couple weeks later, he apologized for causing a run on TP. Seems that stores don't put a lot on the shelves because it takes up so much valuable shelf space. Hence, if people buy a lot, it "LOOKS" like there isn't any when it's probably in a storeroom someplace, thus making doubters of a shortage into believers in a shortage. Several months later, TP was falling out of closets and off shelves everywhere.

Moral of the story: BT puts out ONE PR about how they are trying to keep up with growing demand, the story gets picked up by blogs and traditional media, and people (like me) start bunkering, thus aggravating what started as a distribution issue. Result? INSTANT shortage! If there's none on the shelves, it has to be because of a shortage and not because, when stores restock, pigs like me (AKA, enthusiasts) buy multiple bottles instead of one or three. I admit I probably have a year's supply (if I drank nothing else) of BT handles. Found one this past weekend I'd completely forgotten about sitting with some old paint cans. I know I have another out in the garage but I'm not sure of its actual location. This isn't to say the stores have trouble keeping on the shelf. Rather, it's saying demand is outstripping supply BUT consumption isn't keeping up with demand which makes the unavailability worse. Or, I could be in the parking lot instead of in the game. But, I got those handles to keep me company.

Edited July 24, 2014 by Harry in WashDC

[PaulO]

Hope that turns out to be the case, for some reason Heaven Hill wheat recipe whiskies have struck me as being somewhat of a step child in the HH hierarchy.

Yes, I agree with the step child analogy concerning the Old Fitz line for many years. Larceny gives me a lot of encouragement. I really would put it up against Weller or Makers.

[TunnelTiger]

There is a lot of love on here for Larceny and I've bought an emptied two bottles but to me it just doesn't measure up to any other wheater.

It's good for us that we all like different bottles or we would be in a mess.

[393foureyedfox]

larceny really picks up the slack that OFitz leaves behind

[bananaslug]

The nose on Larceny is butterscotch sundae. Its quaffable, and a great buy for low 20s.

[Creggor]

I agree. In my opinion there maybe a shortage.. But way overblown in my opinion. BT in my mind makes some very good bourbons.. But if and when they are not available in my S.W. Florida market. There are plenty of other good bourbons available.. Four Roses has moved ahead of BT in my opinion for producing some of the best bourbons available on the market today.. I find the Local ABC Wine & Spirts stores here in my area playing games with the better BT Bottling's.. You have to spend a lot of $$$ or know someone to even get a chance at any of the Pappy Bottlings right now.. Not sure how available the Antique collection will be when it comes out.. If the ABC stores want to play games I will take my $$$ to more local friendly stores that take time to try and find what I like and take some time to try and help.. I spend many thousands a year on bourbons I like. Some for drinking and some for setting aside for special ocassions.. Let BT keep there stuff..

[chrisg]

It just feels weird to walk into TPS and see ER10 and Blantons in the locked case with a Limit 1 sign. I realize they go through a lot but every few months it is something different; before it was W12 and AAA 10 Yr now those are all but gone. I lament the shortage of some products but there's always something else I'm ready to spend on.

[Mickbourbon]

Bought a BT 750 mil today in the Twin cities they had a full shelf of it for 23.99 and also a full shelf of ER10 Sb for 32.99.

[Creggor]

yeah, Blanton's and BT was everywhere in FL and GA last week. no signs of shortages there

Hello. I agree. I live is S.W. Florida and all the stores I go to have Blanton's, Buffalo Trace. Most all of the Weller's stocked all the time.. Today 08/06/14 I even found some bottles of Elmer T. Lee SB and bought them.. The BTAC and all the Pappy Bottlings do not seem to be available in our local stores.. I am not going to go out anymore and chase these and then find the local retailer when they do have them seem to be price gouging.. There are plenty of other good Bourbons available.. Besides.. I have had plenty of the Pappy Bottlings many years ago.. I do miss 16 Year Hirsch.. One of my all time favorite bourbons..

[Flyfish]

I bought a bottle of BT in Gardiner, MT last Saturday. The clerk said it was very popular but they could only get a case a month because "it is made by a small distillery that can't keep up with demand." No point in arguing with inside information like that.

[squire]

Spoken with an assured self confident authority as well I suppose. There is something about the liquor trade that sprouts these rumors like mushrooms.

[ethangsmith]

Stopped by one of the local state stores here in PA. In the place where there is normally BT bourbon, there is a little sign informing the customer that Sazerac is currently unable to keep up with demand and there will be shortages of products. It lists the PLCB products numbers of all the affected products. I will add that there was still plenty of Eagle Rare sitting on the shelf right above this sign.

[smokinjoe]

Yep, that seems in line with the rolling temporary stock-outs that the rest of the country has been seeing, and which BT/Saz said would be occurring for the foreseeable future. We experienced ours here in Georgia, earlier this year.