Dango Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 On 8/9/2017 at 11:05 PM, Mako254 said: Sounds like y'all have it worse than we do in SC. Anything BT one per just about. Hardly ever see E H Taylor. Weller green label every now and again. People drive all over town on a Blantons rumor. I decided to go against local herd mentality. I've been able to bunker 4 Elijah Craig barrel proof B517. There are three shops w/ four roses barrels. Evan single barrel is still $21 and McKenna 10 easy to find. In the NFL, they say the best ability is availability. I agree when it comes to bourbon. I dont really care how good weller 12 is if I cant get ahold of it. I have a house in NC right on the border of SC, went down there for the 4th of July and went shopping for a good bourbon couldn't find much of anything decent in either SC or NC. I did finally find Blantons SB at a place in North Myrtle Beach. I paid almost 100 bucks for it. Up here in Boston area its everywhere and I'v seen it as low 47.00. I enjoyed it perhaps a little more knowing what I paid. I also shared too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musekatcher Posted August 12, 2017 Share Posted August 12, 2017 On 8/11/2017 at 8:20 AM, Madhatter said: Is there any way to identify Specialty ABC stores other than walking thru the front door of each one? Yea, Alabama doesn't list them on any website. Some have a sign, but not all. I asked a salesperson in my area, and she identified them for me. I was looking for a certain bourbon, and she called around and found what I was looking for too. Just googled, and it turned up the three in my area, correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackinbox Posted August 14, 2017 Share Posted August 14, 2017 On 8/12/2017 at 10:46 AM, musekatcher said: Yea, Alabama doesn't list them on any website. Some have a sign, but not all. I asked a salesperson in my area, and she identified them for me. I was looking for a certain bourbon, and she called around and found what I was looking for too. Just googled, and it turned up the three in my area, correctly. I just downloaded and looked through the AL ABC Price List. There's the retail list which contains the more mainstream stuff followed by the wholesale list which is made up of either items that typically are limited distribution (or less popular sizes). So would I be correct to assume that the items on the wholesale list are only available at private package stores? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musekatcher Posted August 15, 2017 Share Posted August 15, 2017 On 8/14/2017 at 0:23 AM, Jackinbox said: I just downloaded and looked through the AL ABC Price List. There's the retail list which contains the more mainstream stuff followed by the wholesale list which is made up of either items that typically are limited distribution (or less popular sizes). So would I be correct to assume that the items on the wholesale list are only available at private package stores? Yes, you'd be incorrect Alabama likes to make it fun. Most of the list will be in most of the stores. Lots of the premium stuff will be in the specialty stores. Lots of other premium stuff not listed in the pdf, is ordered and stocked in specialty stores. Some regular stores stock some premium stuff. Simple. <sigh> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madhatter Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 13 hours ago, musekatcher said: Yes, you'd be incorrect Alabama likes to make it fun. Most of the list will be in most of the stores. Lots of the premium stuff will be in the specialty stores. Lots of other premium stuff not listed in the pdf, is ordered and stocked in specialty stores. Some regular stores stock some premium stuff. Simple. <sigh> And to add further insult to the aggrieved, the AL ABC approved a 5% markup to all liquor beginning Nov. 1. The actual arithmetic is a bit arcane, but it will add about 1$ to the cost of a $30 bottle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insanityabounds Posted August 16, 2017 Author Share Posted August 16, 2017 On 8/6/2017 at 11:00 AM, Insanityabounds said: Hi all, I recently found this forum and have been gobbling up info and reading others experiences with gusto. I dont see a lot of posts about experiences in the deep south. I live near Birmingham, AL and if you are not aware AL is a controll state. I feel like my area and Montgomery, Huntsville and Mobile are all pretty much good Bourbon deserts. Any and all BT products are distributed one per customer from behind the Counter. We get no EC private selections and ECBP is a ghost. Most good Heaven Hill products are pretty hard to find actually. Ive noticed EWSB is about 7 years old now and the price has gone up 10 to 15 %. Bookers is getting bought up faster at $70 than $60 as far as I can tell. Things like Rittenhouse BiB dissapear for months on end and finding a regular bottling of Buffalo Trace is almost as likely as finding a CEHTBP or some other more allocated BT product. Never seen a RY10 and havent seen a RHF in probably two years. I talked to an ABC employee recently, (not a clerk), and she was telling me about 40-45% of all allocated products will never make it to the shelf in Alabama, that one made me pretty mad. I could go on but it gets monotonous. Any of yall having different experiences? Cheers. So I found a liquor store not far from me that has several of the bottles I have been looking for for right around twice what retail is. Talking StaggJr for $100-120 type deal. Knowing they get it from the ABC and what the bottles cost a citizen it was hard to believe I was hearing him correctly. Made an offer on a few and he starts telling me about taxes this and I paid that for em and so on. This is the kicker, I used to by Blantons in this store for about $55-65 regularly. They still pay about the same now as they did then for a bottle from the ABC wholesale, except now Blantons is $99.99. Mania! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken_mays Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 Sounds like you need to take the road less traveled. I've been to a couple stores in AL and the situation was fairly bleak, to be sure. Look for the hidden gems, or at least, not overhyped gems. Baker's, OGD 114 (if still around), Old Granddad Bonded, Evan Williams Bonded, Henry McKenna BIB, JW Dant BIB and JTS Brown BIB, OF Signature or 1920, 4 Roses Small Batch or Single Barrel, Knob Creek (any iteration). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FacePlant Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 I'm headed to AL early next week. I have a client and friend that I'll be spending some time with. After this thread, plus my own experiences with the ABC in the quad-cities where he lives, I have stopped by my local LS and bought presents. A family jug of BT & WSR, and a 750 of ER. Harlen would be proud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musekatcher Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 6 hours ago, FacePlant said: I'm headed to AL early next week. I have a client and friend that I'll be spending some time with. After this thread, plus my own experiences with the ABC in the quad-cities where he lives, I have stopped by my local LS and bought presents. A family jug of BT & WSR, and a 750 of ER. Harlen would be proud. Yes, those are hard to find. You made the right decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insanityabounds Posted August 18, 2017 Author Share Posted August 18, 2017 6 hours ago, FacePlant said: I'm headed to AL early next week. I have a client and friend that I'll be spending some time with. After this thread, plus my own experiences with the ABC in the quad-cities where he lives, I have stopped by my local LS and bought presents. A family jug of BT & WSR, and a 750 of ER. Harlen would be proud. Yea, you likely wouldn't have put hands on any of that in Alabama for anywhere near retail right now. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts