What the furthest you’ve traveled to purchase a specific bourbon?

[spectre]

I ask this, because I was drawn in a Florida ABC lottery for a bottle of ORVW10. The wife and I lived there briefly while waiting for our house construction to complete in Knoxville. The question was, do we drive 475 miles to the nearest ABC in Tallahassee to purchase it for $70? YOU BET WE DO!!

 

My wife and I like to travel a lot, and do “cancellation stamps” at national parks which is like a passport stamp that you get while visiting each park. We figured what heck, let’s do some stamping and pick up a stellar bourbon along the way. Win-win situation and we ended up driving over to St. Simon Island Georgia after Tallahassee, FL., and then back to Knoxville. It was a awesome trip, and a great excuse to visit some beautiful places and learn a little history.

[flahute]

I went to China to get some 8yr age stated Turkey.

OK, maybe that wasn’t the real reason for the trip. It did work out well though. 

[camduncan]

Approx 9500 miles one way.  Brisbane, Australia to Bardstown, KY to pick up a bottle of Bookers 25th a fellow member had sourced for me.  I might have had a 6 night holiday touring the Bourbon Trail and hanging out with fellow SB members for the Sampler weekend at the same time.... so does that count?

[The Black Tot]

Texas to Chicago.

 

But I'd go further.

[PowderKeg]

Lets see, did I go to Memphis for a train show, or to surf for bourbon....  Somehow it sounds better to claim both as the reason. 

 

Bourbon surfin' on road trips has become as common for me as Rest Stop stoppin'...  It was about the only way for me to find all the unobtainium when I lived in KY - unexpected and very pleasant scores in MD, WI, IL, IN, TN, GA, 'bama, Mippippippi...

[spectre]

36 minutes ago, camduncan said:

Approx 9500 miles one way.  Brisbane, Australia to Bardstown, KY to pick up a bottle of Bookers 25th a fellow member had sourced for me.  I might have had a 6 night holiday touring the Bourbon Trail and hanging out with fellow SB members for the Sampler weekend at the same time.... so does that count?

It counts in my book!

[Lance]

Around 378 miles

[briankeith513]

5 hour drive for 2 bottles of WLW.  Best bourbon I've ever tasted...with Pappy 15 being a close 2nd.

[Harry in WashDC]

For a bottle alone rather than as a detour for a bottle while traveling for some other reason - Less than 200 miles in one day hitting five Virginia ABC stores looking for (and finding) HMcK BIB 10yr SiB with the same barrel number as the single bottle I picked up and tasted and LOVED.

 

I also add side trips when traveling for other purposes in order to stop at stores along the way with websites listing some stuff I can't get locally OR that have store picks I am interested in.  For example, last May I added two hours to the normal four-hour one-way drive time from WDC to NYC; driving back by another route allowed me to hit more stores although that route added an hour of normal drive time and another three hours of search and rescue.

 

But I have this obsession under control - I don't do this more than three or four times a year.  On average.

[Charlutz]

One hour each way plus some time on the toll road to grab my first EC18 at a MoCo ABC a few years ago. 

[Mako254]

Expressly for bourbon? 1 hr 20 min one way trip (3 times) when a store got a barrel of 7 yr ncf owa. 

 

Now, have I suggested we take a trip to see family knowing that a store got a barrel in? I can neither confirm or deny. 

[BourbonGuy]

50.7 miles (1 hr 13 min) each way to buy Blanton's straight from the barrel for a special friend who was coming to visit.  Truth be told, I wanted to taste it too.

Edited March 6, 2018 by BourbonGuy

[BigRich]

For bourbon, however far it is from Marietta to Bardstown. For Whiskey...Atlanta to Elgin, Scotland via Orlando and Virgin Atlantic


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[beasled]

That would be whetever the distance is between Somerset in the UK and NYC to pick up a haul courtesy of @kevinbrink. And drop some off, of course. 

[camduncan]

To be honest, for may years now whenever my wife asks what vacation we want to take for the following year, bourbon availability has always been a primary criteria to my suggestions.  Trips to New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, UK and multiple returns to the US have all been planned based on the ability to get bottles not available in Australia.

[kevinbrink]

1 hour ago, beasled said:

That would be whetever the distance is between Somerset in the UK and NYC to pick up a haul courtesy of @kevinbrink. And drop some off, of course. 

Well Google tells me that you travelled 3,355 miles which beats my trip of 769 to get to Bardstown!

[kevinbrink]

9 hours ago, Harry in WashDC said:

For a bottle alone rather than as a detour for a bottle while traveling for some other reason - Less than 200 miles in one day hitting five Virginia ABC stores looking for (and finding) HMcK BIB 10yr SiB with the same barrel number as the single bottle I picked up and tasted and LOVED.

 

I also add side trips when traveling for other purposes in order to stop at stores along the way with websites listing some stuff I can't get locally OR that have store picks I am interested in.  For example, last May I added two hours to the normal four-hour one-way drive time from WDC to NYC; driving back by another route allowed me to hit more stores although that route added an hour of normal drive time and another three hours of search and rescue.

 

But I have this obsession under control - I don't do this more than three or four times a year.  On average.

The real question Harry is how long do those bottles stay in the trunk or maybe neatly tucked in next to the spare tire  

[fishnbowljoe]

Hmmmmmm???????

 

It's 93 miles from my driveway to Binny's South Loop store. I've made that trip a few times in the last 10 years. For the most part, these trips were either casual or to get together with a few folks from SB. On at least one occasion though, it was to pickup something specific. 

 

It's roughly 425 miles from my driveway to the GN in Bardstown. Again, I've made that trip quite a few times in the last 10 years. Along with getting together with SB folks for the Sampler or KBF, the last two or three years have also been cause to restock on some BIB's. HH 6yr amongst others.

 

It's 1072 miles to my step brothers house in MA. My wife and I went there for a family get together a few years ago. While it wasn't a bourbon specific trip, I knew there'd be a little bourbon hunting along the way there and back. I also knew some drinking would be involved. My step brother and I have birthdays only three days apart.  (He's three years older FWIW.)  We were in MA at birthday time.   A ps BT, Blanton's, ETL, and probably a couple of others I forgot were enjoyed over the course of a week. Of course a few bottles of ETL and a bottle of Blanton's, amongst other things, made the trip home with me. 

 

Biba! Joe

 

 

 

 

[spectre]

45 minutes ago, fishnbowljoe said:

Hmmmmmm???????

 

It's 93 miles from my driveway to Binny's South Loop store. I've made that trip a few times in the last 10 years. For the most part, these trips were either casual or to get together with a few folks from SB. On at least one occasion though, it was to pickup something specific. 

 

It's roughly 425 miles from my driveway to the GN in Bardstown. Again, I've made that trip quite a few times in the last 10 years. Along with getting together with SB folks for the Sampler or KBF, the last two or three years have also been cause to restock on some BIB's. HH 6yr amongst others.

 

It's 1072 miles to my step brothers house in MA. My wife and I went there for a family get together a few years ago. While it wasn't a bourbon specific trip, I knew there'd be a little bourbon hunting along the way there and back. I also knew some drinking would be involved. My step brother and I have birthdays only three days apart.  (He's three years older FWIW.)  We were in MA at birthday time.   A ps BT, Blanton's, ETL, and probably a couple of others I forgot were enjoyed over the course of a week. Of course a few bottles of ETL and a bottle of Blanton's, amongst other things, made the trip home with me. 

 

Biba! Joe

 

 

 

 

Sounds like some good times and a great excuse to bourbon hunt!

[beasled]

9 hours ago, kevinbrink said:

Well Google tells me that you travelled 3,355 miles which beats my trip of 769 to get to Bardstown!

I need to do that trip one day!

[GeeTen]

MetroWest Boston to Richmond, VA - had breakfast with Harry in WashDC and his bride.   The bourbons were good, but the breakfast and company were great!   

 

[JTaylor]

My LS is about a 30 minute drive and I make it probably too many times per month. But the furthest I've traveled specifically to pick up a bottle was 108 miles into Detroit (Down River). Once for a Store select KC that a fellow SBer had a hand in picking and recommended highly, and again for their store pick 1792 FP.

 

[fishnbowljoe]

10 hours ago, GeeTen said:

MetroWest Boston to Richmond, VA - had breakfast with Harry in WashDC and his bride.   The bourbons were good, but the breakfast and company were great!   

 

 

And that folks, is basically what this all about. Cheers to Harry and Gee! 

 

Biba! Joe

[Kane]

35 miles. On foot. Netted me a GTS and THH.

[Dango]

I'm always up for a good road trip, for a bargain or a reasonable priced bottle. Drove to Albany NY once to buy a used infrared sauna. I suppose 300 miles one way may be my limit.

Edited March 8, 2018 by Dango