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2015 btac


KyleCBreese
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Yeah, likely true. I guess the hype's just gotten beyond annoying to me this year.

Its just stupid at this point. I'm not hunting at all this year - if I get a call from my local shop, I'll pounce, but if not - no big deal.

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hey, the map is fun!

I've been offshore for the BTAC release two years in a row, so I'm on the sidelines watching the map fill in. It's something to do.

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So BTAC has hit the ABC Stores here in NC this week. Since we moved here I have tried to get on a few lists and hope for the best since things are different back in KY. Anyway, hit the local place the other day, see 5 cases have arrived and get excited that I might actually get a bottle this year. Talk to the salesperson I usually on this day of the week and tell them my name is first on the store "list" and can I go ahead and get my bottle now. Told he wish he could, but the manager is talking about now doing a raffle for the bottles instead of using the list. WTF??? So I go from being at the head of the class to hope we draw your number. So what is the point of keeping a list if you are not going to follow it!!?? So my question to you all is, has this happened to any of you before and how did you handle it?

On a side note, when to another store that I was told got some by the first store and was lied to saying they had not gotten it in yet. Oh and some how my name had disappeared from that list that I put it on back in November as well. Almost not even worth trying to get the LE's anymore. Store clerks would rather not have to deal with the fuss with them and I am tired of getting jerked around by being nice and following the "rules" to obtain a bottle or two.

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Elmossle, you are experienceing something that has become all to common.

The whole process(es) has become arbitrary, at best and, cutthroat/crooked at worst. ...Which is too bad for those of us who just want to drink some great and 'special' whiskey. And, some of these unicorns are really excellent whiskey.

But, it's all the 'side Bull___t' that rubs away all the shine.

Then, to make it worse for those of us who just want to drink some good Bourbon, the secondary market pushes the chance to own a special bottle out of reach for many of us.

Ah well, plenty of great Bourbon still available ON SHELVES, AT RETAIL.

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So BTAC has hit the ABC Stores here in NC this week. Since we moved here I have tried to get on a few lists and hope for the best since things are different back in KY. Anyway, hit the local place the other day, see 5 cases have arrived and get excited that I might actually get a bottle this year. Talk to the salesperson I usually on this day of the week and tell them my name is first on the store "list" and can I go ahead and get my bottle now. Told he wish he could, but the manager is talking about now doing a raffle for the bottles instead of using the list. WTF??? So I go from being at the head of the class to hope we draw your number. So what is the point of keeping a list if you are not going to follow it!!?? So my question to you all is, has this happened to any of you before and how did you handle it?

On a side note, when to another store that I was told got some by the first store and was lied to saying they had not gotten it in yet. Oh and some how my name had disappeared from that list that I put it on back in November as well. Almost not even worth trying to get the LE's anymore. Store clerks would rather not have to deal with the fuss with them and I am tired of getting jerked around by being nice and following the "rules" to obtain a bottle or two.

If your hobby gets you this hot under the collar, step back and press the reset. No LE is worth getting stressed, pissed or worked up about. Go get some Private Selection 4RSB, OGD 114, HH6YrBIB, or whatever makes you happy and ignore the annual BS.

Trust me, it's so worth it.

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...On a side note, when to another store that I was told got some by the first store and was lied to saying they had not gotten it in yet. Oh and some how my name had disappeared from that list that I put it on back in November as well. ...
a lot of ABC's will do list and when name comes up, they get, but sometimes it might be name doesn't come till next year. some states do suggest/instruct sales personnel to "mollify" customers with "oh we didn't get any" when they did get 3 cases to dribble out
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a lot of ABC's will do list and when name comes up, they get, but sometimes it might be name doesn't come till next year. some states do suggest/instruct sales personnel to "mollify" customers with "oh we didn't get any" when they did get 3 cases to dribble out

they could manage to be a little more creative (or even truthful) with their mollification. wonder what they are instructed to say when irate customers call back and want to know how, if they didn't get any, their acquaintance/coworker/friend/whatever bought some from them.

guess it kind of sucks to be on either the retailing or the customer end. lucky for me I can't stand that BTAC swill. :cool:

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Saw on the twitter this morning that The Party Source (in Covington, KY - very large store for those that don't know what it is) got such a small allocation of BTAC that they aren't even releasing it this year. They're saving what they got for their tasting library. This store usually gets a sizable allotment so it's unclear if this is just a Kentucky distributor decision (more to on premise perhaps?), indication of a larger trend, or more being sent out of state and/or overseas. The season is young and time will tell.

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The Stagg numbers are way down this year, but the total numbers for the entire line aren't substantially less than last year's. As you note, flahute, the season is young, but overall the early reports don't sound promising for those who want to get a bottle (at a reasonable price).

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I got a call from the Binny's that is near my relatives in Illinois today to let me know he had WTMK, and PH9. He was also kind enough to let me know that the BTAC had come and gone. "...thanks..."

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My store got case (6 bottles) of WTMK. 3 bottles of PH9. Hasn't seen the first bottle of BTAC, and we've purchased 5 different barrels (ER, BT, OWA, and 2 1792s) from Sazarec this year. Have been told we're getting 2 of the John E. Fitzgerald 375's. From what I'm told, on premises businesses (bars) are getting the majority of the bottles.

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From what I'm told, on premises businesses (bars) are getting the majority of the bottles.

You're a store owner if I recall correctly. If that's what you are hearing, it could be indication of a larger trend. Fingers crossed it's not.

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You're a store owner if I recall correctly. If that's what you are hearing, it could be indication of a larger trend. Fingers crossed it's not.

Oh, I can confirm it. Distributers and store owners here (as well as most everywhere else) are getting fewer and fewer every year.

I bet 1/2 of the collection ends up in Vegas (and not all of it by legal means)!

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I got a call from the Binny's that is near my relatives in Illinois today to let me know he had WTMK, and PH9. He was also kind enough to let me know that the BTAC had come and gone. "...thanks..."

really? I was under the impression it hadn't hit the Chicago area yea? or are ya talking about Southern IL?

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I was at a Chicagoland Binny's, leaving, right around 11:30 a.m., when I noticed the exact distributor of BTAC (a popular Chicago distributor) truck show up. (I noticed a car closely followed it into the parking lot, whom now, I can only imagine followed from the distributor.)

I turned around and when back in, waited a few minutes and inquired, just on the chance that this was the time. I notice the guy in the car behind the truck as goes somewhere in the back and disappears.

After a few moments I inquired if there was anything from BTAC available, after seeing the truck pull in, and I was told no. I asked them specifically to check, just in case and since I was already there. Again, no. I took him at his word and figured it was just a weird coincidence, as this Binny's was always pretty decent for me.

Then I get home and read multiple, multiple posts of BTAC arriving at all Binny's this afternoon at the exact time I happened to be there. Needless to say I'll never shop there again.

It's just gotten stupid, now.

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really? I was under the impression it hadn't hit the Chicago area yea? or are ya talking about Southern IL?

It was the Bloomington location.

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Oh, I can confirm it. Distributers and store owners here (as well as most everywhere else) are getting fewer and fewer every year.

I bet 1/2 of the collection ends up in Vegas (and not all of it by legal means)!

I know the guy who owns the place I shop at most often was told (back when Cured Oak was shipping) that the distributors were leaning very heavily toward sending the majority of the '15 BTAC/PVW bottles to on-premise clients. He did think they were backing off that a bit recently though.

He is definitely not expecting any JF20 though.

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well crap... that sucks (I was there earlier today but didn't ask about it), but then again, in the last couple years of hunting BTAC, Binny's has never been reliable, altho some of them do a lottery system, so I guess I'll have to get in on that. was definitely not expecting to get it from Binny's, so that's fine with me.

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I know the guy who owns the place I shop at most often was told (back when Cured Oak was shipping) that the distributors were leaning very heavily toward sending the majority of the '15 BTAC/PVW bottles to on-premise clients. He did think they were backing off that a bit recently though.

He is definitely not expecting any JF20 though.

hey kjbeggs. When you say "on-premise clients", are you referring to bars, restaurants, hotels, etc...these distributors I guess are charging these businesses much more than they would charge a retailer. Is that correct?

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hey kjbeggs. When you say "on-premise clients", are you referring to bars, restaurants, hotels, etc...these distributors I guess are charging these businesses much more than they would charge a retailer. Is that correct?

Yes, on-premise means bars, restaurants, etc. Though I don't know for sure, I don't believe they charge them more. HOWEVER, they do sell to them with conditions such as they must carry certain other products that the distributor represents and wants to move to the exclusion of other products from competitors.

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Yes, on-premise means bars, restaurants, etc. Though I don't know for sure, I don't believe they charge them more. HOWEVER, they do sell to them with conditions such as they must carry certain other products that the distributor represents and wants to move to the exclusion of other products from competitors.

Yeah, I never understood how this is legal. Doesn't this violate the Sherman Act?

  • Sherman Act 1890 §1, covers making purchase of goods conditional on purchase of other goods, if there is sufficient market power

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Yes, on-premise means bars, restaurants, etc. Though I don't know for sure, I don't believe they charge them more. HOWEVER, they do sell to them with conditions such as they must carry certain other products that the distributor represents and wants to move to the exclusion of other products from competitors.

I hate how they do this. most bars around me seem to sling a lot more tequila and cheap well shots than they do high-end whiskey. There are a few exceptions, but I would think the liquor stores could move a lot more BTAC than would get ordered in even the nicer places. (I suppose the distributor wants his flavored vodka and cheap tequila carried in those bars).

The store I mentioned earlier did try and participate in several barrel programs this past year, so maybe he will get a few nice bottles.

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I posted in the "what did you purchase today..." thread that I picked up a THH from my main store. This is a place that has more bourbons than any other store within a 100 miles, right in the middle of bourbon country, and they only got a complete case of WLW and a bottle or two of the others. Much less than years past for sure.

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