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Kentucky Trip - Haul Recommendations


SteveoT
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So I have a work trip planned to Cincinnati in the coming weeks.  I’m going to take a day and head down to Kentucky to search out some good bourbons.  I have heard that store shelves there are much more loaded (especially than here in New York) and am looking for any recommendations on how to best use my time to get a great haul.  Some friends have said stop by Buffalo Trace gift shop as they often times have some good bottles?  Is this true?  Are there any other good spots to stop?   Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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To be more clear... I have to work in Cincinnati, but will have a whole day/night to travel to Kentucky to shop.

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5 minutes ago, PaulO said:

Are you flying or driving?

How many bottles do you intend to get.

Driving so I can bring back as many as I find.  I’d like to come back with quite a few.  Some I can’t get here in New York and hopefully get lucky with some more “rare” stuff as it’s that time of year.

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The last time I went to Kentucky, there wasn't an abundance of "rare" bottles, but the store picks were everywhere. Take a glass with you, if you find a PS of a brand you like, ask for a sample, if they don't offer samples, go ahead and purchase the bottle & try in the parking lot. If you like it, load up. This method allowed me to pass on bottles that didn't suit me & load up on the very best WTKS I've ever tasted. Needless to say, I backed the truck up. 

Above all enjoy your trip to Kentucky, it is awesome. 

 

Cheers

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47 minutes ago, Wedelstaedt said:

. This method allowed me to pass on bottles that didn't suit me & load up on the very best WTKS I've ever tasted. 

 

Cheers

That WTKS is in my top three WT products, coming in ahead of WT8, dusty WTKS, RR2002,  WT Tradition , all  of the RRSiB I've tasted, but short of WT12 & WTMK Decades.  

It was 11yrs old. Amazing whiskey. 

 

Cheers

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A word to the wise, depending on where you stop, be prepared for some sticker shock. I’ve heard that many stores in KY are charging  more, sometimes a lot more. I have witnessed this myself. I once bought a bottle of Weller SR at a store for $25.99. A few weeks later, they‘d raised the price to $49.99.

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2 hours ago, fishnbowljoe said:

A word to the wise, depending on where you stop, be prepared for some sticker shock. I’ve heard that many stores in KY are charging  more, sometimes a lot more. I have witnessed this myself. I once bought a bottle of Weller SR at a store for $25.99. A few weeks later, they‘d raised the price to $49.99.

Yeah, keep in mind that a bottle of Weller will never make it to the shelves here in Western New York and if it ever did they would be asking $100+ for it.  I paid $62 or so for a bottle of Antique 107 a week or two ago and that was a steal but also was never put on the shelf.  Those prices are the reason I am making the trip haha!

 

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If I were you I'd temper any expectation of finding LEs or allocated stuff while in KY. What I would do is seek out some store picks of Wilderness Trail, RR SiB, and KY only releases from HH

Every fall KY gets an influx of people that go hoping/expecting to find limited stuff on shelves. Will you find Blanton's or EHT SmB at the BT gift shop? Possibly. If you do there may be a 1 bottle limit. 

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Shop as much of the bottom shelf KY-only releases.  You can get some killer RR or KC store picks there for cheap.  Party Source is a good call really close to Cincy.  If you are going into Louisville, Keg Liquors isn't bad.

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2 hours ago, PhantomLamb said:

 If you are going into Louisville, Keg Liquors isn't bad.

In Lexington, we gas up at the Costco, check out the bourbon offerings and then go 1/2 mile up Man o War Blvd to Liquor Barn and across the road to Total Wines. Three good options within spitting distance.

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On 10/9/2020 at 12:47 PM, PhantomLamb said:

Shop as much of the bottom shelf KY-only releases.  ...

Yes indeed, that would be my strategy.  Hit the big stores, keep an open mind. Make sure to get some Heaven Hill 6 year 90 proof.  I usually bring home beer from KY too.  They have some brands we don't get.

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Early Times Bottled in Bond

Heaven Hill 6 year/90p (green label)

JTS brown Bottled in Bond

Very Old Barton (comes in 80, 86, 90, & 100p, but all the varieties are NEVER at the same store at the same time)

Store pick single barrels (most stores have sample bottles hidden around somewhere if you ask nice and plan to buy something)

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Ditto pretty much everything said so far:

 

- Total Wines in Louisville and Lexington for best prices (just don't be fooled by their store brands), many Liquor Barns also in both (all LBs are NOT the same as far as stocking) for much better BT label choices and prices are generally within $5 or so of TW.  Party Mart in Louisville is a good stop for store picks and best R. Ruth bourbon ball prices I've seen,  Party Source in Newport is a must stop as well with reg prices @ LBs and some great sale prices (the dollar-off ones don't fit that category) . Many Kroger W&S stores all over are worth a drop-in - sale prices can be excellent although stocking is huuuuugely variable.  Westport Wine in L-ville usually has many store picks but prices are typically a tic higher than all of above.  DO NOT buy bourbon from local LS in Bardstown unless it's from Kroger's or maybe from the outlier stores (Keystone on the east side or Bardstown W&S south of the Parkway, and even then be careful as they gouge on some too).

 

- don't waste time looking specifically for LEs, if you stumble on one that's within your price expectations grab it as you see fit, otherwise don't feed the price gougers.

 

- KY is the land of BiBs, stock up on them.  My person favs that come back from time to time are JTSB, JWD, New Riff (also SiB picks), Wilderness Trail (the rye version has been much better than the wheater so far IMHO), to name some.

 

- know the prices of your personal favs you normally get back home and stock up on them if the prices are considerably cheaper - I don't buy Old Forester labels down here in AR (unless on a big sale) because I can save $10-15 a bottle at TW when I pass thru KY a time or few each year.  If I liked Bulliet I'd do the same, and I also grab an occasional Belle Meade and Michters (standard offerings) because they're $5-10 cheaper.  On a side note, Makers across the board is cheaper down here (again $5-15/ bottle) so likely no consistency in price savings from your area.

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  • 2 weeks later...

You will more likely find  Weller (SR and Antique) at Krogers in Cincinnati than Louisville area. 

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Much good advice here already. I spent 17 years going to KY regularly as my wife’s parents lived there until very recently. over those years I saw an extreme shift. As others have said, currently you’ll be very lucky to find anything rare at all in a regular KY liquor store, unless it is at a crazy gouge price.

 

If you want some higher end bottles that you won’t find anywhere else, a trip to Bardstown is a good start. At the Heaven Hill Heritage Center gift shop you can often get the latest William Heavenhill or Select Stock releases. Sometimes they’ll have an OFBIB or PHC as well, but it might not be out to see so be sure to ask an employee. Just across a valley like a mile or two you can hit Willett as well. They do have WFE bottles in their gift shop somewhat regularly, but it’s really hit or miss. It’s a scenic place but if you’re only interested in bottles I’d call ahead to see if they have anything good that day. 
 

Another place you might find tasty bottles would be at the Four Roses gift shop. But make sure you go to the Lawrenceburg distillery again if you’re interested in bottles, as you won’t find anything interesting at their Cox’s Creek place. But at the distillery hopefully you’ll find barrel strength picks from multiple recipes and sometimes Brent will have autographed bottles, etc. 

 

Likewise if you go to Wild Turkey, you can get good RR single barrels and often one of the Russells will be around and will sign a bottle for you, etc.

 

If you end up in downtown Louisville, at the Evan Williams Experience you can buy the Evan Williams 12 and 23 year bottles, although they’re pricey. 
 

If you want a tour experience, I have always liked the Maker’s Mark tour. The BT “hard hat” tour is also recommended, and the next one on my personal to do list is Castle & Key, which I hear good things about. 
 

Enjoy! It’s a really relaxing area to drive around with the rolling hills and lots of trees, etc. 

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As you only have a day certainly stop by New Riff and see what they have. The 4R distillery store in Lawrenceburg is a solid choice too. Wilderness Trail isn't far from there and you can try before buying, I find their rye to be excellent. A newer distillery I haven't tried but plan to is Limestone Branch run by a couple of Beams. There are I believe distillery only bottlings that may be worth a taste as I don't know how widely distributed their stuff is.

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10 hours ago, BottledInBond said:

If you want a tour experience, I have always liked the Maker’s Mark tour. The BT “hard hat” tour is also recommended

This in a nutshell. Opposite ends of the spectrum. MM Is good. It has wonderful, beautiful grounds. Their back story may be a little suspect, but I’d still highly recommend it. Nice people, beautiful place. BT on the other hand, has more of an old school, factory complex setting with so much history. There’s not much glamour or glitz, but it’s my favorite distillery and tour. My being a Weller whore is of no consequence here. ;) 
 

Biba! Joe

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8 hours ago, kcgumbohead said:

As you only have a day certainly stop by New Riff and see what they have. The 4R distillery store in Lawrenceburg is a solid choice too. Wilderness Trail isn't far from there and you can try before buying, I find their rye to be excellent. A newer distillery I haven't tried but plan to is Limestone Branch run by a couple of Beams. There are I believe distillery only bottlings that may be worth a taste as I don't know how widely distributed their stuff is.

Really like the limestone branch tour, and yes they have distillery only bourbon and rye.   

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On 10/21/2020 at 3:50 PM, fishnbowljoe said:

This in a nutshell. Opposite ends of the spectrum. MM Is good. It has wonderful, beautiful grounds. Their back story may be a little suspect, but I’d still highly recommend it. Nice people, beautiful place. BT on the other hand, has more of an old school, factory complex setting with so much history. There’s not much glamour or glitz, but it’s my favorite distillery and tour. My being a Weller whore is of no consequence here. ;) 
 

Biba! Joe

I'm not a Weller whore by any stretch but I have to agree with you that the BT tour is probably the best one.

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  • 3 weeks later...
13 minutes ago, steven s said:

what did you end up getting?

Work trip Cancelled...  We can’t go anywhere really from New York so until those restrictions are lifted I’m probably stuck home :(

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Bummer. I just did a big road trip and will share some experiences I had as a relative newb driving around looking for Bourbon on the Midwest Cities thread here soon.

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13 hours ago, steven s said:

Bummer. I just did a big road trip and will share some experiences I had as a relative newb driving around looking for Bourbon on the Midwest Cities thread here soon.

Please do - I am headed down on Wednesday next week.

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