IamMatt Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 My son is driving to visit friends in Grand Rapids later this month, and I have observed that there are some bourbons that are available in Michigan that are not readily available here in California, or some that are available at or near retail there where they are two or three times retail here. We thought I might be able to place on online order at a liquor store (or two) there that he could pick up and bring home. But almost none of the Grand Rapids liquor stores I found online have online ordering (they don't have any inventory online). Is this a Michigan thing, and can anyone recommend a good liquor store in Grand Rapids that has a) online ordering; and b) good stuff at reasonable prices? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulO Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 I lived in MI for about eight years. People there like Busch Lite and blended Canadian Whiskey. If your son's route comes near Indianapolis, I may be able to help. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverc Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 I am from the Grand Rapids area originally, live out of state now, but go back to visit each year. Grand Rapids has a few good shops worth visiting. Check out MegaBev (in the old Russo's building on 29th street), Rishi's on 28th street, Smitty's in Eastown, or Riverside on Northland Dr. They tend to have the best selections of stuff, including store picks. Michigan has a state-mandated minimum pricing so there really aren't good sales, but the prices may be cheaper than what you are used to in CA. Don't expect unicorns, but I did see plenty of ECBP B520 there in August at $60 a bottle. A few other stores worth checking are Martha's Vineyard, The Crushed Grape, and Bellacinos. Meijer grocery stores also have a pretty nice selection too, so don't overlook those either. I don't think any of these places have online inventory that is up to date, and the only one I know of that keeps any kind of regular inventory is Rishi's Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/ribgr/ Here are a couple of pictures of the selection at MegaBev from early August. Good luck. Hopefully your son can mule some good stuff back for you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kepler Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 I know a lot of people from Michigan originally but have yet to meet anyone from somewhere else that moved there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarSurfer55 Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 I agree with the recommendations provided above. If your son is traveling up US 131, a stop in Kalamazoo at Tiffany’s may be helpful. The owner has a lot of harder to find bottles behind glass in the back. In GR, I really like the selection at Rishi’s. I am one of those that did move from somewhere else (Louisiana) to Michigan 30 years ago for employment reasons. I still miss the South. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornmuse Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 If he's going through Detroit on the way, stop at Valentine Distilling in Novi and get a bottle or three of Mayor Pingree. I like the black label 10yr best. Definitely a good sip - MGP distilled and aged/bottled at Valentine. Also check out their gin. I was impressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamMatt Posted September 20, 2020 Author Share Posted September 20, 2020 I didn't realize MI has state-mandated pricing so that helps. I assume that means most stuff is about MSRP (?). With all the Covid-related "order online and pick up at the store" going on I figured most stores would have online ordering set up, but none of the top MI stores (per Google, Yelp, and Reddit) seem to. Maybe I need to call a couple. silverc, the stores you mentioned are the ones that came up in my searches and none of them have any sort of online inventory or ordering other than Meijer. If I were going, I would just take a half-day and visit a half-dozen stores and look around, but my son is going with a friend and doesn't have that luxury. My hope was to place an online order for him to pick up (like I could do with a state store if he were going to VA instead of MI). We have friends in your neck of the woods (Galax). Thanks for posting the bourbon porn, BTW! PauO, StarSurfer55, and CornMuse, Thanks for the tips. I'm not sure what his route is; I'll check with him. He may not have the spare time for side trips, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverc Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 8 hours ago, IamMatt said: silverc, the stores you mentioned are the ones that came up in my searches and none of them have any sort of online inventory or ordering other than Meijer. If I were going, I would just take a half-day and visit a half-dozen stores and look around, but my son is going with a friend and doesn't have that luxury. My hope was to place an online order for him to pick up (like I could do with a state store if he were going to VA instead of MI). It's probably worth calling stores to see if you can purchase via the phone and pay for it with a credit card. Some of them may let you do that if you know more or less what you want to get. Then if they are okay with that, you can leave your son's name as the pickup person. Send me a PM if you want more pictures from some of the stores in Grand Rapids area. I have others from MegaBev from my previous trip in November 2019 that could give you better idea of their normal selection, which unless you are looking for store picks or more obscure stuff, is likely to be the selection at most of the other stores in Grand Rapids too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamMatt Posted September 20, 2020 Author Share Posted September 20, 2020 Thanks. I don't now if he has planned his route, but looking at a map, it may take him close to a Binny's before (or after) Grand Rapids so that may be an option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewberg Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 (edited) I live in Grand Rapids... What were you hoping to find??? I can give you a rundown of what you are looking for and if it will be available... While there is a state minimum price, some of the stores that catch allocated stuff will up the price... DM me if you want but there is a decent selection around the area... Mega Bev is the only store that shows "inventory" or online shopping but the inventory doesnt show a lot of the better/less seen items Edited September 22, 2020 by jnewberg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamMatt Posted September 24, 2020 Author Share Posted September 24, 2020 It's not so much that I am looking for something specific, more that I know some things are abundant in one market and rare in another, so I hoped to be able to just peruse a couple of stores' websites and put together an order if I found things that are rare or expensive in CA. Turns out my son said he wants to spend some time at a few stores so I may just give him some of the names everyone has recommended, and maybe a list of a couple of things to look out for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamMatt Posted October 4, 2020 Author Share Posted October 4, 2020 I got a text from my son, he found a couple of bottles but I won't hear all the details til he gets back. I know that the Elijah Craig 12-year listed on Meijer's website (on sale for $27 I think) turned out to be a false alarm; they have the current stuff but their web listing has not been updated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewberg Posted October 13, 2020 Share Posted October 13, 2020 Any updates on what he grabbed for you??? There have been some good store picks that were available in the past few weeks along with Mayor Pingree 13yr showing up randomly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamMatt Posted October 13, 2020 Author Share Posted October 13, 2020 I gave him a short list to buy if he found them at around retail: Henry McKenna 10-yr; Stagg Jr; Ezra Brooks Distillers Collection or Old Ezra 7 117 proof; Elijah Craig or Larceny Barrel Proof; Elijah Craig 12-year Small Batch; Knob Creek Barrel Picks/Store Picks. He went to Meijer and Smitty's, I think, and only scored Eljah Craig and Larceny BPs. He was visiting friends so I couldn't expect him to spend a lot of time hunting. In retrospect, I might have asked for some Pingree but I didn't think about it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewberg Posted October 13, 2020 Share Posted October 13, 2020 14 minutes ago, IamMatt said: I gave him a short list to buy if he found them at around retail: Henry McKenna 10-yr; Stagg Jr; Ezra Brooks Distillers Collection or Old Ezra 7 117 proof; Elijah Craig or Larceny Barrel Proof; Elijah Craig 12-year Small Batch; Knob Creek Barrel Picks/Store Picks. He went to Meijer and Smitty's, I think, and only scored Eljah Craig and Larceny BPs. He was visiting friends so I couldn't expect him to spend a lot of time hunting. In retrospect, I might have asked for some Pingree but I didn't think about it. Gotcha... KC SP's were late spring around here... Havent seen Stagg Jr Batch 14 yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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