Are Store Selections worth a premium over regular releases?

[GerryM]

I'm new to the whole store selection game so I'd like to get peoples thoughts on it. My local guy just got in store selections of Eagle Rare, Blantons, Buffalo Trace and WA107 in various sizes from 375ml to 1.75. I already grabbed a ER10 in 1.75 because it was a good price but the others are priced at what I would believe is at a modest premium over regular pricing.

I'm curious over them since they are all single barrels but do peoples' experience tell them that there's a good chance these would be any better than the regular release product or is it just for the novelty? I guess I'm paying for the hope that the taster picked a few better than average barrels?

[The Advantage]

The OWA may be age stated, and the standard is not. I've found it's a bit better depending on the store / taster for that one.

[Jazz Nut]

I'm new to the whole store selection game so I'd like to get peoples thoughts on it. My local guy just got in store selections of Eagle Rare, Blantons, Buffalo Trace and WA107 in various sizes from 375ml to 1.75. I already grabbed a ER10 in 1.75 because it was a good price but the others are priced at what I would believe is at a modest premium over regular pricing.

I'm curious over them since they are all single barrels but do peoples' experience tell them that there's a good chance these would be any better than the regular release product or is it just for the novelty? I guess I'm paying for the hope that the taster picked a few better than average barrels?

[BonVivant84]

For the most part I have had good luck with store selects, and especially OWA which I have found to be better than the standard offering (I got them from Astor here). Places that do these I have found keep a bottle open for tasting so make sure you ask and see how you feel about it then. If it turns out to be a single barrel you really like and the mark up isn’t too bad you at least know where you can grab a few and not worry about variation from bottle to bottle.

[GaryT]

I've bought a store private barrel of 1792 RR that when a tasted blind with a typical retail off-the-shelf one . . . was indistinguishable I would say that probably more than half of the private picks I have tried have been what I would consider to be better, but depends who tasted and what they liked. I had one store whose signage implied "Smooooooothest bourbon of the bunch!" which talked me OUT of picking it up. I think it depends how much of a premium though - I might not mind paying a couple dollars more, but if they are asking for a huge premium - I would want to try it first (or have some past experience with how they picked).

[P&MLiquorsEric]

How long ago did they make the selections? It has been late winter since they were allowing new selections.

[Flyfish]

At TPS, the private selections tend to be the same price as regular releases. Sometimes even a couple bucks less.

[PaulO]

At TPS, the private selections tend to be the same price as regular releases. Sometimes even a couple bucks less.

That has been my experience too around Indy. I tend to like store selections, if it's a brand I already liked before. I think most selections stay pretty close to the standard profile. I have heard of some outliers.

[jonhalter]

I depends on who is picking. The Tallahassee boys at Market Square make great picks, and only charge a few dollars more than the standard. I will always choose one of their picks over an off the shelf bottle. Every sbs Ive done the Market Square has been the clear winner. I think tonight I may dig into their ETL pick from last year

[Grain Belt]

IMHO store selections should be a little less because the store buys in bulk and usually advertises a little bit. They can be incredible pours. I would be very interested in a reasonably priced Blanton's or Buffalo Trace store selection. If the prices are not in your wheelhouse I think you should vote with your wallet and move on. If they don't sell the store will drop their price.

[Richnimrod]

Short answer...

Some is; some ain't.

'Know your selector' is the best way to know if it's worth anything extra... or get a taste in advance!

[The Black Tot]

IMHO store selections should be a little less because the store buys in bulk and usually advertises a little bit. They can be incredible pours. I would be very interested in a reasonably priced Blanton's or Buffalo Trace store selection. If the prices are not in your wheelhouse I think you should vote with your wallet and move on. If they don't sell the store will drop their price.

I'm happy to pay a few bucks more, for the time the tasters put in to arrange a good one. Also the liquor store has to store far more inventory than they would usually need to keep while they are selling off their stock.

It's certainly not the easy road for a store, but I definitely appreciate the ones that go the extra mile and to this for us.

[fishnbowljoe]

Also the liquor store has to store far more inventory than they would usually need to keep while they are selling off their stock.

It's certainly not the easy road for a store, but I definitely appreciate the ones that go the extra mile and to this for us.

Not necessarily. A few stores that I know have a solid reputation for picking out pretty good barrels. In most cases, their private selection(s) will disappear before most other things they have on the shelves.

[ldugsjr1986]

I've tried many store selects of different things at no less than 6 stores in Nashville. The best example was some time ago all 6 had store selects ER10s. I sampled one from each store, and while many were similar to the standard, 2 had choices I deamed far superior to others and the standard ER10. With that experience and some good and bad experiences trying out other store picks, I've basically narrowed it down to which store's tasters like stuff that lines up with my palate, and I choose to purchase from those stores.

With that being said, I've never seen a store pick that wasn't the same price as the standard.

Edited October 31, 2014 by ldugsjr1986
grammar corrections

[bourbonfoot]

Short answer...

Some is; some ain't.

'Know your selector' is the best way to know if it's worth anything extra... or get a taste in advance!

My thoughts exactly.

I've had some fantastic luck with EC12 private selections, and had a really outstanding OWA. Otherwise most have been very similar to their regular counterparts.

[TunnelTiger]

In my area we don't get a huge amount of store selections but I have them all to be as good or better than regular releases. That being said they are always less expensive because my dealer has bought and passes the savings on to his customers.

[jeffrey r]

Right now, I have store selections of many of my staples--ETL, OWA, ER10, BT, EWSB, Blanton's, EC12, etc. They've all been excellent to my taste, and in most instances I have paid regular price or less. I have noticed with some regularity, that when the store bottling runs out and they switch over to the basic offering, the price often goes up.

It is particularly interesting in the case of the EC12, as my different store bottlings give the floor location. So, I have 3rd floor, 6th floor and 7th floor bottlings. The higher, hotter floors should give more interaction with the wood, and it is interesting to taste the differences. All in all, I am a huge fan of the trend of private store bottlings.

[dcbt]

I wish I could answer the question in the topic. But Texas must have a state law against any store selects of any sort. I'm sure there's a very good reason for this, too.

[nd2005]

Every one I've bought has cost the same as the regular retail bottling. Excepting obviously the Four Roses Barrel Strength, since those are a unique product that doesn't compare to the retail offering.

I'd probably pay a small premium for the picks at my favorite store, as they have done a pretty good job in the past finding some solid barrels.

I find that Buffalo Trace barrels stray the least from the "traditional" flavor profile, so probably wouldn't pay more for those.

[ramblinman]

I don't think I've ever paid a premium, and usually a bit of a discount at the stores I frequent.

The latest one I've been enamored with is a barrel proof old scout rye that they're selling at ~MSRP for the non barrel proof expression, which is why I've probably picked up 5 of them over the last couple months.

[Kalessin]

It's even better when it's great stuff at a steep discount!

At the infamous Julio's Liquors in Worcester, MA, they've occasionally discounted their store picks, and two of my favorite bottles ever came to me that way, a Rock Hill Farms at something like $26 (I bought three bottles and should have bought a case or two, they had something like 15 cases on display with big price-cut labels on them), and a Henry Mckenna 10-year in the old arts-and-crafts-project label style, for under $25 that was just fantastic, and I bought two bottles of it and should have gotten more.

[sutton]

At the infamous Julio's Liquors in Worcester, MA, ....

Infamous? ... (and it is in Westborough, but close enough)

[gblick]

I wish I could answer the question in the topic. But Texas must have a state law against any store selects of any sort. I'm sure there's a very good reason for this, too.

The Spec's here in downtown Houston is now getting store selected barrels from Four Roses. I've only seen them at the one store so far, but it's a start. They also got some Dickel which I've seen at several of their stores, but I'm not sure if the Dickels are selected by Specs or not. Edited November 4, 2014 by gblick

[GerryM]

The Spec's here in downtown Houston is now getting store selected barrels from Four Roses. I've only seen them at the one store so far, but it's a start. They also got some Dickel which I've seen at several of their stores, but I'm not sure if the Dickels are selected by Specs or not.

The store select of FR that my store brought in is one of the best bourbons I've had regardless of price and I'm happy I grabbed four bottles before they ran out. I only hope they do it more often

[Kalessin]

Infamous? ... (and it is in Westborough, but close enough)

Gah! Bad typo; I used be over there all the time to visit a datacenter: exit off Route 9 at Computer Drive (that's an actual street, friends) and then turn onto Connector Road. (Drive? Connector? Get it? :-D ).

Unfortunately, that job ended long before I found Julio's. I'm about a 50 minute drive away, so visiting there does take a bit of time..