Liquor Store "Huh?" Moments

[mbroo5880i]

Actually, when I look on their website, it appears Bower Hill is $40.  I must have mistaken the price label.  I will say they have several KCSBs on sale for $40.  Several with good age and all with solid proofs in the mid-to-high 120s.  If nothing else, these are single barrels so several tasting participants may not have tried a specific barrel.  

 

 

[Clueby]

1 hour ago, mbroo5880i said:

Actually, when I look on their website, it appears Bower Hill is $40.  I must have mistaken the price label.  I will say they have several KCSBs on sale for $40.  Several with good age and all with solid proofs in the mid-to-high 120s.  If nothing else, these are single barrels so several tasting participants may not have tried a specific barrel.  

 

 

I thought all KCSB (store pick or not) is bottled at 120 proof?? From my experience the stickers only indicate the proof of the barrel they pulled from before proofing down to 120 for bottling.

[fishnbowljoe]

Well, I heard a new one. My wife and I went for a drive yesterday just to get away for a while. On the way home, we stopped at a liquor store that I/we only visit maybe  two or three times a year, just in case.   As I was checking out their fairly meager bourbon selection, the clerk asked if I was looking for anything in particular. Of course I asked him if they had any Weller. His response.  "Not at this time. No Weller in winter. We get Weller in summer."  

 

Biba! Joe

[Surtur]

Not bourbon but I was looking at scotch and a woman came up and said she had a British friend coming to visit and he is very snobby about his whisky. She asked if she should buy him Johnnie Walker Blue Label or Macallan 18 and I said he probably won’t come back to visit if you get him the blue label but she was in love with the bottle and the box. I told her Macallan is one of the great single malts of all time and Johnnie is a blend. She bought the Johnnie Walker and I bet the friend never came back.

 

I have also had countless individual experiences with other customers wanting recommendations based on their taste. Usually their favorite bourbons are Honey Jack Daniels, or maple something or whatever. I have never worked in a liquor store but people ask me for help constantly. 

[Kane]

This past Saturday, was at a local LS browsing when an older couple walked up to me and asked if I'm familiar with whisky. I said yes. Then they said that they didn't know a thing about it but tried a peated whisky and loved it, showed me a $80+ bottle of Armorik recommended by the owner, and asked if they should go for it. I told them that I'd rather take the $60 Laphroaig 10 CS sitting there on the shelf. They thanked me, bought the Laphroaig, and left.

 

Just like that. This was the only time in my life that a clueless shopper actually took my advice without snarky remarks and stupid comebacks. I dropped everything, went back home, and shed tears of joy.

[HoustonNit]

I’m so happy this thread is back from the dead.

[kevinbrink]

12 hours ago, Kane said:

This past Saturday, was at a local LS browsing when an older couple walked up to me and asked if I'm familiar with whisky. I said yes. Then they said that they didn't know a thing about it but tried a peated whisky and loved it, showed me a $80+ bottle of Armorik recommended by the owner, and asked if they should go for it. I told them that I'd rather take the $60 Laphroaig 10 CS sitting there on the shelf. They thanked me, bought the Laphroaig, and left.

 

Just like that. This was the only time in my life that a clueless shopper actually took my advice without snarky remarks and stupid comebacks. I dropped everything, went back home, and shed tears of joy.

Hope you prepared them for the proof, this warms my heart, particularly because I can't think of another bottle I can easily find that I enjoy more.

[GreggJ]

3 hours ago, kevinbrink said:

Hope you prepared them for the proof, this warms my heart, particularly because I can't think of another bottle I can easily find that I enjoy more.

Love Laphroaig CS one of my absolute favorites.  I started bunkering them starting with batch 1. 

[Dabbings]

16 hours ago, Kane said:

This past Saturday, was at a local LS browsing when an older couple walked up to me and asked if I'm familiar with whisky. I said yes. Then they said that they didn't know a thing about it but tried a peated whisky and loved it, showed me a $80+ bottle of Armorik recommended by the owner, and asked if they should go for it. I told them that I'd rather take the $60 Laphroaig 10 CS sitting there on the shelf. They thanked me, bought the Laphroaig, and left.

 

Just like that. This was the only time in my life that a clueless shopper actually took my advice without snarky remarks and stupid comebacks. I dropped everything, went back home, and shed tears of joy.

This is the kind of public service missing in today's public servants

 

Quality advice, kudos!

[kemosabe]

During the Holidays a nearby LS had a lottery to be "fair" about handing out their allocation of LE bottles.  Place your name & number on a sheet of paper and toss it in a box.  The Mgr. tells me, "If someone decides not to purchase a bottle they win - I'll sell it to you".  I'm thinking, "Great - I might get lucky after all".  The day after the drawing (I was not a winner), I stop in the store and the Mgr. tells me I lucked out - someone decided against buying the ORVW they had won. 

 

He fetches the bottle - and rings it up for $400.  "What - are you joking?", I asked.  No - he explained he was doing me a favor by allowing me to purchase the ORVW for only $400.  I told him he's crazy, and he'd never see my face in there again.  What good is a lottery at secondary prices????   Made me think, "Huh".

 

[musekatcher]

2 hours ago, kemosabe said:

During the Holidays a nearby LS had a lottery to be "fair" about handing out their allocation of LE bottles.  Place your name & number on a sheet of paper and toss it in a box.  The Mgr. tells me, "If someone decides not to purchase a bottle they win - I'll sell it to you".  I'm thinking, "Great - I might get lucky after all".  The day after the drawing (I was not a winner), I stop in the store and the Mgr. tells me I lucked out - someone decided against buying the ORVW they had won. 

 

He fetches the bottle - and rings it up for $400.  "What - are you joking?", I asked.  No - he explained he was doing me a favor by allowing me to purchase the ORVW for only $400.  I told him he's crazy, and he'd never see my face in there again.  What good is a lottery at secondary prices????   Made me think, "Huh".

 

Disappointing.  Find another LS. 

Edited January 16, 2018 by musekatcher

[flahute]

8 hours ago, kemosabe said:

During the Holidays a nearby LS had a lottery to be "fair" about handing out their allocation of LE bottles.  Place your name & number on a sheet of paper and toss it in a box.  The Mgr. tells me, "If someone decides not to purchase a bottle they win - I'll sell it to you".  I'm thinking, "Great - I might get lucky after all".  The day after the drawing (I was not a winner), I stop in the store and the Mgr. tells me I lucked out - someone decided against buying the ORVW they had won. 

 

He fetches the bottle - and rings it up for $400.  "What - are you joking?", I asked.  No - he explained he was doing me a favor by allowing me to purchase the ORVW for only $400.  I told him he's crazy, and he'd never see my face in there again.  What good is a lottery at secondary prices????   Made me think, "Huh".

 

There is a local store who did this a few years ago - a lottery for the privilege of buying at secondary or higher.

 

I have not been back to that store since then.

[FasterHorses]

I was getting the hard sell by an old lady today who kept pushing the overpriced HW on their shelf. I remember her asking me about them back in November and I gave her a little education. This time she was repeating my info back to me as if it were her own..except she told me the Double Rye had Scotch in it. After I corrected her, she kept trying to get me to buy any of it, telling me how good they are. I had already told her I have them. Then she tells me that she'll have to try them sometime. (weird).

Then her friend who was even older, came over to try to push the Larceny and proceeded to let me know that it was really good and is what they make into Pappy. I thought of this thread immediately. 

Another old short, cocky bumpkin  needed me to explain what MSRP stood for.

[Kane]

42 minutes ago, FasterHorses said:

I was getting the hard sell by an old lady today who kept pushing the overpriced HW on their shelf. I remember her asking me about them back in November and I gave her a little education. This time she was repeating my info back to me as if it were her own..except she told me the Double Rye had Scotch in it. After I corrected her, she kept trying to get me to buy any of it, telling me how good they are. I had already told her I have them. Then she tells me that she'll have to try them sometime. (weird).

Then her friend who was even older, came over to try to push the Larceny and proceeded to let me know that it was really good and is what they make into Pappy. I thought of this thread immediately. 

Another old short, cocky bumpkin  needed me to explain what MSRP stood for.

Apparently anything can be made into a Pappy these days. It's time this phenomenon got its own meme.

[flahute]

5 hours ago, Kane said:

Apparently anything can be made into a Pappy these days. It's time this phenomenon got its own meme.

This is so true that actual Pappy is no longer Pappy.

[EarthQuake]

Speaking of Pappy, a few weeks back I was talking to a LS employee about bourbon, asking if they were likely to get in any Orphan Barrel stuff (Barterhouse is one of my favorites), and he said "I don't think we'll be able to get any Orphan Barrel, you know the deal right? Once it's gone, it's gone!". He then suggested I try a 2 year old craft whiskey, I believe it was Breckenridge bourbon, which he proceeded to tell me scored better than Pappy in some review or another. I simply nodded and said "oh interesting", my wife complimented me on my restraint after we left.

 

I left with a bottle of CEHT small batch.

Edited January 19, 2018 by EarthQuake

[jvd99]

Not an LS moment, but a bar menu.  Notwithstanding the prices, I just don’t understand the “surcharge” notice at the bottom, I mean is there any other common way of ordering off the Whisky menu I don’t know about?

[Spade]

20 minutes ago, jvd99 said:

Not an LS moment, but a bar menu.  Notwithstanding the prices, I just don’t understand the “surcharge” notice at the bottom, I mean is there any other common way of ordering off the Whisky menu I don’t know about?

 

That's pretty funny. I also like that Japanese whisky is listed in the Scotch section, while Cutty Sark isn't.

[Clueby]

41 minutes ago, jvd99 said:

Not an LS moment, but a bar menu.  Notwithstanding the prices, I just don’t understand the “surcharge” notice at the bottom, I mean is there any other common way of ordering off the Whisky menu I don’t know about?

So how do you order it to avoid the $2 surchage?  With water or soda I guess?

[flahute]

42 minutes ago, jvd99 said:

Not an LS moment, but a bar menu.  Notwithstanding the prices, I just don’t understand the “surcharge” notice at the bottom, I mean is there any other common way of ordering off the Whisky menu I don’t know about?

Order it with one drop of water added since that isn't listed in the surcharge description.

[Kane]

Actually this is not the first time I am seeing this surcharge. There must be a secret "members-only" way to order drinks I suppose.

[DCFan]

1 hour ago, jvd99 said:

Not an LS moment, but a bar menu.  Notwithstanding the prices, I just don’t understand the “surcharge” notice at the bottom, I mean is there any other common way of ordering off the Whisky menu I don’t know about?

It's because you get a healthier pour when ordering neat or with ice. Most bartenders will take care of a neat/ice drinker. With a mixed drink the actual quantity of liquor is hidden with the mix.

[flahute]

34 minutes ago, DCFan said:

It's because you get a healthier pour when ordering neat or with ice. Most bartenders will take care of a neat/ice drinker. With a mixed drink the actual quantity of liquor is hidden with the mix.

I've heard that before, but since this is a whiskey list and not a cocktail list that price should be baked in.

I could be wrong but how many people look at a whiskey list for cocktail ordering purposes?

[PowderKeg]

2 hours ago, DCFan said:

It's because you get a healthier pour when ordering neat or with ice. Most bartenders will take care of a neat/ice drinker. With a mixed drink the actual quantity of liquor is hidden with the mix.

So is this a case of an establishment unable to control their bartender on straight pours so they shaft the customers instead, or a case of a dishonest establishment screwing over customers expecting an honest pour because they can't hide a short pour?  The cantankerous side of me, upon seeing an insult like this, would be tempted to call over a manager and LOUDLY question the honesty and integrity of the establishment, before  LOUDLY exiting to an adjacent competitor...

 

[Mako254]

2 hours ago, DCFan said:

It's because you get a healthier pour when ordering neat or with ice. Most bartenders will take care of a neat/ice drinker. With a mixed drink the actual quantity of liquor is hidden with the mix.

 

Back in the day, South Carolina was a mini bottle state. No open bottles in the bar. Kind of a pain if you are a bar back (I was). As a consumer, nice knowing you were getting a solid, consistent pour.