Buffalo Trace shortage/allocation

[mbroo5880i]

7 hours ago, GeeTen said:

OK, just so you folk don't think I'm pulling your collective chains about prices and availability, here's my receipt from this morning's purchase of two (2) ETLs & a bottle of Blanton's (since I needed another for the bunker):

 

 

 

 

 

And no tax on alcohol in Taxachusetts?  Oh man...

 

I haven't seen Blanton's in the low $40s for about 5 years!

[mbroo5880i]

I don't get out as much as I used to but...

 

except for the occasional dry spell, BT still shows up regularly and is reasonably priced. ER shows up in big slugs and stays on the shelf for a while.  Occasionally, a store may run out but usually you can drive around and find a bottle if one is so inclined.  CEHT SmB is always around but, except for a few stores, typically overpriced.  Stagg Jr. is harder to find but can be found.  Rarely see ETL or RHF.  They show up but not often.  Blanton's does show up more frequently but disappears for short periods of time.

 

Weller products do show up but never rarely hit the shelf.  There are few places that hold onto Weller longer because they overcharge for it.  However, they still don't overcharge like some of the prices on see in the "Pass" thread.

 

The other Indy guys might have a better read on what they see in our area.  I usually buy in spurts and only hits stores every few weeks or so.

[robertckim]

Cannot find any blanton's or weller in Las Vegas - i haven't search high and low, but I do shop around and never ever see them.

[Harry in WashDC]

8 hours ago, GeeTen said:

OK, just so you folk don't think I'm pulling your collective chains about prices and availability, here's my receipt from this morning's purchase of two (2) ETLs & a bottle of Blanton's (since I needed another for the bunker):

 

 

 

 

MOTHER DUCK and all her ducklings!!  I missed this the first time around.  I don't even see ETL let alone get to buy it.  About the only prices I get to brag about are KC around $23 and JB BIB around $17.  meh.

[miller542]

On June 16, 2017 at 7:00 PM, robertckim said:

Cannot find any blanton's or weller in Las Vegas - i haven't search high and low, but I do shop around and never ever see them.

Lee's on flamingo at pecos has both, albeit at outrageous prices, 200 for blantons and 100 for Weller 12

[robertckim]

That's why i stopped shopping there entirely.

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

[JTaylor]

On 6/16/2017 at 0:55 PM, GeeTen said:

OK, just so you folk don't think I'm pulling your collective chains about prices and availability, here's my receipt from this morning's purchase of two (2) ETLs & a bottle of Blanton's (since I needed another for the bunker):

 

 

 

 

NICE!! Those three bottles would have cost me $150 at retail!!

[RWBadley]

We have a Total Wine here and they are nowhere near those prices or availability. Wowza!

[Madhatter]

On 6/15/2017 at 2:48 PM, BES_Hunter said:

I live in Alabama and as of this past week multiple liquor stores are putting up signs with "limit 2 per customer" on most buffalo trace products, BT, Eagle rare, Blantons and possibly a few others soon. According to several managers BT products are now allocated and they are receiving small quantities at ABCs. 

 

So out of pure curiosity, is it just Alabama that experiencing a BT shortage so far? 

Thanks

 

Buffalo Trace/Sazerac is (in)famous for erratic distribution.  Conspiracists think it is done to create buyer anxiety and panic buying.  Even if that is not the reason, that is the consequence.  

[mosugoji64]

In the Phoenix area, I can generally find BT if I look around. Someone usually has it on the shelf. ER and Blanton's come and go but are around regularly enough that I wouldn't have to wait long if I wanted it. Weller is pretty rare and our allocation seems to be tiny as I've heard reports of big retailers receiving 2-3 bottles at a time. I was told a while back that AZ does receive ETL and RHF but the allocations are so tiny it may as well be unavailable. I've never seen either. Stagg Jr., EHT SmB, SB, and BP come and go and I've been able to pick those up relatively easily. The rye is almost always around as demand seems low for that one, and I've been seeing Saz around more regularly. As a TW Spirits Direct brand, Hancocks is almost always around. On the bottom shelf, Benchmark and AA are always available, and we still have pockets of age-stated 8yr OC around.

[fishnbowljoe]

Here we go again.  There are already numerous posts and threads about this subject. In a nutshell, several years ago when the bourbon boom really started getting serious, BT made an announcement about all the rumors and innuendo concerning their products. In a nutshell, they stated that the rumors of several bottlings being discontinued were untrue. They also stated that some items were going on strict allocation, and that there would probably be "rolling blackouts" of these and other items as well. I could go on, but I won't. However, I will say that we have a search function here, and it's a great tool. 

 

Also, and FWIW, I just so happened to get an email from BT today. In it they announced that they have ricked out two of the warehouses that they bought back from the state, and they have been filled. Another warehouse they bought back from the state has been ricked out, and should be filled by the end of the month. A fourth warehouse bought back from the state should be ricked out and ready to be filled by the end of the summer. In addition to this, construction has begun on the first of 30 new warehouses. The foundation has been poured on one warehouse, and the ground is being prepared on two more. I see this as a good sign, and maybe in the not too distant future, we'll start seeing some of their products more readily available. As a perceived light at the end of the tunnel/easing of the bourbon boom, one of my hopes in all of this is that (some) distributors and liquor stores will "fall in line" and not play games with things to their benefit, as some of them seem to be doing presently. 

 

Cheers! Joe

[Insanityabounds]

On 6/15/2017 at 1:48 PM, BES_Hunter said:

I live in Alabama and as of this past week multiple liquor stores are putting up signs with "limit 2 per customer" on most buffalo trace products, BT, Eagle rare, Blantons and possibly a few others soon. According to several managers BT products are now allocated and they are receiving small quantities at ABCs. 

 

So out of pure curiosity, is it just Alabama that experiencing a BT shortage so far? 

Thanks

Out of curiosity where in Alabama do they even have bottles on shelves to sell two per person? Im in B'ham and its a BT desert here. 

[Jackinbox]

On 6/20/2017 at 6:57 PM, fishnbowljoe said:

Here we go again.  There are already numerous posts and threads about this subject. In a nutshell, several years ago when the bourbon boom really started getting serious, BT made an announcement about all the rumors and innuendo concerning their products. In a nutshell, they stated that the rumors of several bottlings being discontinued were untrue. They also stated that some items were going on strict allocation, and that there would probably be "rolling blackouts" of these and other items as well. I could go on, but I won't. However, I will say that we have a search function here, and it's a great tool. 

 

Also, and FWIW, I just so happened to get an email from BT today. In it they announced that they have ricked out two of the warehouses that they bought back from the state, and they have been filled. Another warehouse they bought back from the state has been ricked out, and should be filled by the end of the month. A fourth warehouse bought back from the state should be ricked out and ready to be filled by the end of the summer. In addition to this, construction has begun on the first of 30 new warehouses. The foundation has been poured on one warehouse, and the ground is being prepared on two more. I see this as a good sign, and maybe in the not too distant future, we'll start seeing some of their products more readily available. As a perceived light at the end of the tunnel/easing of the bourbon boom, one of my hopes in all of this is that (some) distributors and liquor stores will "fall in line" and not play games with things to their benefit, as some of them seem to be doing presently. 

 

Cheers! Joe

 

That's good to know.  I'm still a little perplexed as to why BT got so far behind compared to everyone else. 

[The Black Tot]

I'm not so sure they're behind everyone else. Who ramped up rack houses earlier, apart from maybe Willett?

[flahute]

1 hour ago, Jackinbox said:

 

That's good to know.  I'm still a little perplexed as to why BT got so far behind compared to everyone else. 

The major run occurred on their products first. They weren't "behind" everyone else, they were more or less in the same position. Their regular products became highly desirable before everyone else's because many of their products suddenly became targeted substitutes for Limited Editions that no longer could be found.

[DCFan]

1 minute ago, flahute said:

The major run occurred on their products first. They weren't "behind" everyone else, they were more or less in the same position. Their regular products became highly desirable before everyone else's because many of their products suddenly became targeted substitutes for Limited Editions that no longer could be found.

 

BING-GO! It all starts with the big kahuna- Pappy. Everything below that was labeled as the stuff that didn't make the cut as Pappy. And then as the upper tier became unobtainium the demand kept shifting downward. Unless things change Ancient Age will have the 1 limit sign.

[Jackinbox]

18 minutes ago, flahute said:

The major run occurred on their products first. They weren't "behind" everyone else, they were more or less in the same position. Their regular products became highly desirable before everyone else's because many of their products suddenly became targeted substitutes for Limited Editions that no longer could be found.

 

That's certainly the case with things like Weller and ETL and I understand those being hard to get.    

 

The standard BT doesn't really fit that mold though.   I can't imagine that the Pappy Craze has anything to do with a shortage on their flagship bourbon.

 

According to Ed Bley at Cork N Bottle, every item made at BT is on allocation.  That just seems crazy to me when products made at Wild Turkey, Beam, HH, and Four Roses are easy to find everywhere.   

[Clueby]

I recall about 1.5 years ago there were notes in the stores about a shortage of regular BT.  Since then though it has been back pretty much everywhere.  Every store big or small seems to have tons of regular ol BT as many as you'd care to purchase.  Never seen it on "allocation" at a store.

[flahute]

8 hours ago, Jackinbox said:

 

That's certainly the case with things like Weller and ETL and I understand those being hard to get.    

 

The standard BT doesn't really fit that mold though.   I can't imagine that the Pappy Craze has anything to do with a shortage on their flagship bourbon.

 

According to Ed Bley at Cork N Bottle, every item made at BT is on allocation.  That just seems crazy to me when products made at Wild Turkey, Beam, HH, and Four Roses are easy to find everywhere.   

Though it doesn't fit the mold, the effect is real. It all trickles down. When you can't find Stagg or Pappy, and then you can't find one of the written about substitutes, you turn to the basic brands thinking that there must be something to it.

How do I know? I was once that guy and did exactly that.

[The Black Tot]

But come on now, let's be real - If you can't find regular BT, you're not really trying

[garbanzobean]

How to create bourbon hysteria:

 

1.) Famous people say a product you make is "the best", thus focusing attention on that Distillery.  Also have good product placement in popular TV shows.

 

2.) Announce rolling blackouts in response to increased demand even over a market that is already heating up.

 

3.) Sit back and watch as people who didn't give a crap about bourbon--or only had a casual interest in it--scramble to buy up all the BT product they can.  Stuff like misinformation about the ETL being discontinued after Mr. Lee passed did not help either.

 

The important thing to note in all this is that Stagg Jr. is terrible bourbon.  You should all definitely fight over EHT BP, ECBP, etc instead.  All kidding aside, it would be nice to see RHF on shelves again.  I'm about ready for another bottle of that, but I haven't seen it in a good while.

[Charlutz]

6 minutes ago, garbanzobean said:

All kidding aside, it would be nice to see RHF on shelves again.  I'm about ready for another bottle of that, but I haven't seen it in a good while.

 

It's here Eric. Several stores. I'll pm you. 

[Jackinbox]

2 hours ago, flahute said:

Though it doesn't fit the mold, the effect is real. It all trickles down. When you can't find Stagg or Pappy, and then you can't find one of the written about substitutes, you turn to the basic brands thinking that there must be something to it.

How do I know? I was once that guy and did exactly that.

 

I was that guy once too, although I didn't quite take it that far.  I went after the Weller line after buying into the "it's the same juice as Pappy" line.  Luckily for me, Indianapolis was swimming in Weller 12 in 2013.  

 

Having said that, I'm sure you are right.  I guess the big question is if that kind of thing is still going on or not (in terms of BT Mashbill #1).  

 

 

 

[Jackinbox]

2 hours ago, The Black Tot said:

But come on now, let's be real - If you can't find regular BT, you're not really trying

 

Around the midwest, that seems to be true, but I keep reading reports that it's either hard to find or "Limit 1" in parts of the West and the South.  I have a good friend in Raleigh who really likes BT and when I went to visit him he asked me if I could bring a few bottles of BT and ER.  He told me it was impossible to find.  I didn't believe him, so to prove his point he took me to 3 different ABCs.  He was correct.  I even asked about BT at one of them and was given the "shortage" explanation.  Perhaps it is available now, I'll have to ask him.  

[Paddy]

^^^^FWIW, standard BT is limit 1 at many stores in the motherland.