Liquor Store "Huh?" Moments

[PaulO]

Kroger has been on a mission over the past several months - raising prices several dollars or more on many items.  I really got wowed last visit.  They like doubled the price on EW 1783.  I don't think I've ever seen such a price hike on a (let's be frank) bottom shelf Bourbon.  This isn't something I buy anymore, but holey cow.

[Bourbon_Jeeper]

On 5/6/2016 at 2:54 AM, mortre said:

Not quite the same, but there is a liqour store down the road from my house that has multiple bottles of Stagg Jr for $200 a bottle and OWA was something like $45.  That's before the 20.5% sales tax.  Another has a bottle of William Larue Weller for $700.  Those made me double take.

You should buy the Old Weller Antique. Now! As for the other ones, those are the going prices. Actually low on WLW by a little. I would say $800 is normal. 

[GeeTen]

1 hour ago, Bourbon_Jeeper said:

You should buy the Old Weller Antique. Now! As for the other ones, those are the going prices. Actually low on WLW by a little. I would say $800 is normal. 

 

Normal?  For secondary market, maybe.  But don't go playing that game.  Get lucky in a lottery - MSRP is $129.99ish.  Or have great bourbon friends . . . .  just sayin'.  JMHO.   

[fishnbowljoe]

3 hours ago, Bourbon_Jeeper said:

You should buy the Old Weller Antique. Now! As for the other ones, those are the going prices. Actually low on WLW by a little. I would say $800 is normal. 

 

1 hour ago, GeeTen said:

 

Normal?  For secondary market, maybe.  But don't go playing that game.  Get lucky in a lottery - MSRP is $129.99ish.  Or have great bourbon friends . . . .  just sayin'.  JMHO.   

I was offered a WLW back in December. Being the Weller Whore that I am, I graciously accepted. It was priced @ $99.99. While I was checking my receipts, I found one from the same store from December of 2018. It was also for a WLW @ 99.99.

[PhantomLamb]

3 hours ago, Bourbon_Jeeper said:

You should buy the Old Weller Antique. Now! As for the other ones, those are the going prices. Actually low on WLW by a little. I would say $800 is normal. 

Even $45 is a little high, but worth it if you've never tried it.  WLW for $800 is garbage.  Don't get me wrong, it's incredible but not worth over $150 IMO.

[Sgtspitter101]

On 4/9/2021 at 12:42 AM, PaulO said:

Kroger has been on a mission over the past several months - raising prices several dollars or more on many items.  I really got wowed last visit.  They like doubled the price on EW 1783.  I don't think I've ever seen such a price hike on a (let's be frank) bottom shelf Bourbon.  This isn't something I buy anymore, but holey cow.

I noticed this as well. I stopped in a kroger wine and spirits last week and the prices are creeping.

[mbroo5880i]

On 4/9/2021 at 12:42 AM, PaulO said:

Kroger has been on a mission over the past several months - raising prices several dollars or more on many items.  I really got wowed last visit.  They like doubled the price on EW 1783.  I don't think I've ever seen such a price hike on a (let's be frank) bottom shelf Bourbon.  This isn't something I buy anymore, but holey cow.

I know.  I notice several brands have jumped 20% or more recently.  On the flip side, I am finding Meijer's prices more competitive and the selection slightly better.  I wonder if distillers are experiencing higher prices on raw materials as demand from a recovering economy increases.

[0895]

On 4/10/2021 at 6:40 AM, Bourbon_Jeeper said:

You should buy the Old Weller Antique. Now! As for the other ones, those are the going prices. Actually low on WLW by a little. I would say $800 is normal. 

Just FYI,

you quoted a post originally from 2016.

That Weller is probably gone by now.

[PaulO]

53 minutes ago, mbroo5880i said:

I know.  I notice several brands have jumped 20% or more recently.  On the flip side, I am finding Meijer's prices more competitive and the selection slightly better.  I wonder if distillers are experiencing higher prices on raw materials as demand from a recovering economy increases.

Now with Kroger - wait for the big sale, so you can pay the normal price from three months ago - not.

Might as well just go to a liquor store.

Meijer has some things like OGD and Rittenhouse and prices are decent.  Sometimes they have interesting Scotch too.

[Kepler]

2 hours ago, 0895 said:

Just FYI,

you quoted a post originally from 2016.

That Weller is probably gone by now.

I dunno, it may have changed hands 3 times by now with dudes with beards and still unopened 

[flahute]

23 hours ago, Kepler said:

I dunno, it may have changed hands 3 times by now with dudes with beards and still unopened 

Highly likely!

[PaulO]

I noticed something odd to me while checking the TW website for whiskies.  It's fairly consistent that a 1.75L bottle is a better deal than a 750ml of the same brand.  I was surprised to see in brand after brand, if a 1L bottle was offered, it was by far the most expensive (per volume).  I didn't even have to whip out the calculator. 

[0895]

5 minutes ago, PaulO said:

I noticed something odd to me while checking the TW website for whiskies.  It's fairly consistent that a 1.75L bottle is a better deal than a 750ml of the same brand.  I was surprised to see in brand after brand, if a 1L bottle was offered, it was by far the most expensive (per volume).  I didn't even have to whip out the calculator. 

 

What rock have you been shopping under for all these years? 

I feel like this has been true in most stores, for most liquors,  since I turned 21, which was awhile ago.

[PaulO]

In Indiana, stores generally do not offer 1L bottles.  On rare occasion they do have 1L, price seemed proportional to other sizes.  Now we recently got a TW store, so I've been looking at their site.  I guess then the 1L price bump is not my imagination.

Indiana also does not allow booze shipped in the mail.  I never had much incentive to shop out of state websites.

[B.B. Babington]

1 hour ago, PaulO said:

I noticed something odd to me while checking the TW website for whiskies.  It's fairly consistent that a 1.75L bottle is a better deal than a 750ml of the same brand.  I was surprised to see in brand after brand, if a 1L bottle was offered, it was by far the most expensive (per volume).  I didn't even have to whip out the calculator. 

For a long time in virginny a Blanton's 375 was much better deal than 750, per ml.  Not sure why.  And not sure why I didn't stock up more 375.

[GeeTen]

6 hours ago, B.B. Babington said:

For a long time in virginny a Blanton's 375 was much better deal than 750, per ml.  Not sure why.  And not sure why I didn't stock up more 375.

 

2017. 

 

"Those were the days, my friend.  We thought they'd never end!"  

 

 

 

All eight (8) Blanton's "grenades" - wish I'd bought more, too.  

 

Edited April 26, 2021 by GeeTen

[0895]

22 hours ago, PaulO said:

In Indiana, stores generally do not offer 1L bottles.  On rare occasion they do have 1L, price seemed proportional to other sizes.  Now we recently got a TW store, so I've been looking at their site.  I guess then the 1L price bump is not my imagination.

Indiana also does not allow booze shipped in the mail.  I never had much incentive to shop out of state websites.

 

Gotcha.  The 1 liter bottles are historically (I believe) for bars/restaurants.

The non gouger stores here have them priced proportionately, but they are not really a deal per say.

1.75ml is almost always less (better deal) price wise than two 750's, and even if they are the same price total, you get an extra 250ml for free with the big boy.

It's been a better deal to get the 1.75ml since as long as I can remember.

We always got the big bottle of vodka for the weekend back in the day.  We were cheap college kids.... and 250ml for basically free was hard to pass up.

 

Now I find myself with a different problem.

My brain wants the 1.75, but I'm limited by shelf space.

[lcpfratn]

3 hours ago, 0895 said:

 

Gotcha.  The 1 liter bottles are historically (I believe) for bars/restaurants.

The non gouger stores here have them priced proportionately, but they are not really a deal per say.

1.75ml is almost always less (better deal) price wise than two 750's, and even if they are the same price total, you get an extra 250ml for free with the big boy.

It's been a better deal to get the 1.75ml since as long as I can remember.

We always got the big bottle of vodka for the weekend back in the day.  We were cheap college kids.... and 250ml for basically free was hard to pass up.

 

Now I find myself with a different problem.

My brain wants the 1.75, but I'm limited by shelf space.

Pricing on liters generally has nothing to do with price gouging by stores. Some products are priced proportionately by size, but most aren’t because the distributor or producer doesn’t price them that way. Accordingly, Liters are usually the worst deal in a store.

[fosmith]

8 hours ago, lcpfratn said:

Pricing on liters generally has nothing to do with price gouging by stores. Some products are priced proportionately by size, but most aren’t because the distributor or producer doesn’t price them that way. Accordingly, Liters are usually the worst deal in a store.

I rarely see liters here in NoCal but I recently picked up a few MMCS liters from K&L for $45 each.  That equates to $33.76/750 which is a steal IMO. 

[IamMatt]

Like laundry detergent or coffee, booze is cheaper in the "jumbo economy size."  The per-ounce price will be higher in smaller bottles and lower in larger bottles. 

 

 750 ml is 43% of a 1.75 l, so it is easy to compare prices.  My local TW has Knob Creek 1.75s for $40; .43 X $40 is $17.20, so buying the handle means I am paying $17.20 per 750 ml. 

 

BTW, I was a bartender for 10 years and never saw bars using 1.75s.  They would be cumbersome, slow, and take up too much space. 

[lcpfratn]

12 hours ago, fosmith said:

I rarely see liters here in NoCal but I recently picked up a few MMCS liters from K&L for $45 each.  That equates to $33.76/750 which is a steal IMO. 

Sounds like the distributor has an excess number of liters in inventory since restaurants and bars have been closed for so long, so they’ve discounted them to push them through retail stores. 

[fishnbowljoe]

8 hours ago, lcpfratn said:

Sounds like the distributor has an excess number of liters in inventory since restaurants and bars have been closed for so long, so they’ve discounted them to push them through retail stores. 

I agree with Jeff. 

 

On another note, when I first got into bourbon, I had the good fortune to be the recipient of a number of seriously discounted liters from a couple of area bars/restaurants. For some odd reason, they were getting rid of a few things from their spirits menu.   JB Black, Knob Creek and Woodford Reserve were what I bought. 
 

Biba! Joe

 

 

[fishnbowljoe]

Old picture of my liter bottle bounty.

 

Biba! Joe

 

[Harry in WashDC]

On 4/26/2021 at 6:20 AM, GeeTen said:

 

2017. 

 

"Those were the days, my friend.  We thought they'd never end!"  

 

 

 

All eight (8) Blanton's "grenades" - wish I'd bought more, too.  

 

Frank, I still have two left from the five I bought in that Richmond store you told me about back then including the five I found in Arlington a week later. All were in boxes.  Three made GREAT gifts.  The rest seem to have wandered off  . . .

[mbroo5880i]

On 4/25/2021 at 10:23 PM, PaulO said:

In Indiana, stores generally do not offer 1L bottles.  On rare occasion they do have 1L, price seemed proportional to other sizes.  Now we recently got a TW store, so I've been looking at their site.  I guess then the 1L price bump is not my imagination.

Indiana also does not allow booze shipped in the mail.  I never had much incentive to shop out of state websites.

The rare 1L bottles I run into are WR and WT101 Rye.  Not much else.