Are Restaurants and Bars Getting More Bourbon Savvy?

[The Black Tot]

41 minutes ago, gcdc said:

The Volstead in Jacksonville only charges $9 for the Michter's bourbon or rye, but I imagine the Jacksonville market is significantly different than Seattle 

That's about $4 too much.

[Dannabis]

Denver area bars tend to carry overpriced local bourbons, which is nice for the local distillery economy and they aren't bad whiskey, but finding anything exciting is difficult to impossible. No barrel proof or LE ever anywhere. Maybe someone knows a certain spot that is good but I don't yet.

The price for most neat single pours of bourbons seems to be about 9-12 $ for the local stuff and anything by name. While whiskeys like Jameson and Kentucky Deluxe tend to be a little cheaper 5-7$

 

For the first time last night I saw a Weller 12 open some where but it was late and I didn't ask what a pour cost.

 

It seems like they have more whiskeys, but they are not trying to encourage whiskey drinkers too much, as they don't have much variation in which bourbons are in the bar selection and the prices are not encouraging.

[Dannabis]

On 2/1/2018 at 9:16 AM, bayouredd said:

I have to agree with the "I Think So", although it seems that you have to begin the conversation. They don't seem to volunteer the level of liquor available. You have to have done a bit of homework to realize what you are seeing on the shelves. If you want better than well drinks, they will suggest Bulleit or BT. I t you want a shot, a little better to taste, they offer Woodford, etc. When you get into a discussion about Boubon, the better stuff gets the mention.

 

We also have Old Hickory Whiskey Bar, that has BT as their well mixer. They are the biggest game in town, with most any pour you can think of, at a price & other bars/restaurants seem to have stepped up their game because of them...

this is pretty accurate

[Dannabis]

I also believe the high pricing scam is sometimes couched in a belief that low prices encourage overserving, so by overpricing all the drinks, folks won't drink as much.  I only drink a few drinks regardless of price, and I thought part of bartending was knowing when not to serve someone.

[0895]

1 hour ago, Dannabis said:

 and I thought part of bartending was knowing when not to serve someone.

Don't bring you're antiquated logic and job responsibilities in here... 

[FacePlant]

On ‎2‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 9:37 AM, FacePlant said:

usually the same high-end places have several of the tough pours, but something good is brewing at our favorite spot.

 

I want to revisit my original post 3 months down the road. I stated "something good is brewing" and now I'm having to chew on those words somewhat. I would like to think I was responsible for a heighten consumption of the ETL for a while. When this particular bar brought ETL in for the first time it was priced at $9, and the pours were generous. For this bar/restaurant that was a low-end price, and me and my buddies would have several each time in. Once they "fancied the place up" with some hard to find bourbons ETL went overnight to $19. There was no increase price to them. Early on they were pricing the W12 at $30 while the antiques were at $34? Really? CEHT SiB went from $12 to $17. I still enjoying going in and so far they've missed OGD114 and it's still at $9, so I have something good to drink. I spoke with one of the owners and he was quite deceptive about the pricing. After calling his hand he then admitted "the other owner" was responsible for the new choices and how they were priced. Maybe now...instead of getting more savvy...I'd go back and say buyer beware.  

By the way they don't and haven't posted a priced whiskey menu.

[Dannabis]

On 4/30/2018 at 11:54 AM, FacePlant said:

 buyer beware.  

By the way they don't and haven't posted a priced whiskey menu.

 This.

 

I hate not having a priced whiskey menu. 

 

Cant get served forever cause theyll only price out one whisey for me at a time before disappearing forever.

[Old Hippie]

The short answer is yes. My work takes me to Charleston SC quite often. This is a walking city with a remarkable number of great restaurants and bars. The Bourbon selection is great and several bars have some whiskies that are not available for distribution in the state. Ryes are lagging way behind and Single Malt distribution is still lacking. Overall prices are fair. It is also encouraging that many of the bar staffs are ramping up their product knowledge as well.