SoCal: Any must-stop liquor stores or whiskey bars between the South Bay and Palm Springs?

[IamMatt]

I have to travel from the Redondo Beach area to the Palm Springs area toward the end of next month (91 to the 215 to the 10) so I thought I would ask if anyone has a must-see liquor store or whiskey bar in the desert or en-route?  Please message me PRIVATELY.  Thanks.

[BrokeCal]

Why privately?

 

There are a ton of well known liquor stores in Orange county that provide awesome selection that deserve advertising. 

 

So Cal Wine in Tustin is one.  Cypress Craft in Cypress is another.  Hi Time in Costa Mesa.

 

All three are fantastic and all 3 deserve more business. 

 

[smokinjoe]

19 minutes ago, BrokeCal said:

Why privately?

 

 

Probably, because the last time someone asked for recs on stores and bars, and the board kindly responded with them, one of the moderators threw a hissy fit…

[BrokeCal]

I totally do not understand that.  Is it seriously some kind of 'Honey Hole' nonsense? Or something else.

 

Bourbon is a community.  Stores and Bars are part of the community.  Good ones need to be celebrated, not hidden away.

 

That being said, It's a free country, if you don't want to give up your 'Honey Hole' then don't.

 

I'm just not seeing the problem here.

[fishnbowljoe]

3 minutes ago, smokinjoe said:

Probably, because the last time someone asked for recs on stores and bars, and the board kindly responded with them, one of the moderators threw a hissy fit…

Just doing my job. Thanks.

 

Trying to help out a fellow member isn’t a problem. Posting certain information about price and locations of certain items for anyone and everyone to see can be. I’ve said and explained this before. There are folks that have been members here for years, but have never posted. There are also lurkers/guests. I believe in many cases, all they seek is information on what and where to find certain items. I know for a fact that one time a shelf at a store was cleared of a particular product because of a post here. There’s also been several instances here where information was posted, but …“Appreciate the heads up, but by the time I got there, they were all gone.” Yeah I know. Just bad timing or ???
 

For any doubters or naysayers, all you have to do is click on “Browse”,  then click again on “Online Users”. There is a list of members and guests and the forums and threads they are viewing. At times, it can be very interesting to say the least. ‘Nuff Ced.

 

Joe

[smokinjoe]

15 minutes ago, fishnbowljoe said:

Just doing my job. Thanks.

 

Trying to help out a fellow member isn’t a problem. Posting certain information about price and locations of certain items for anyone and everyone to see can be. I’ve said and explained this before. There are folks that have been members here for years, but have never posted. There are also lurkers/guests. I believe in many cases, all they seek is information on what and where to find certain items. I know for a fact that one time a shelf at a store was cleared of a particular product because of a post here. There’s also been several instances here where information was posted, but …“Appreciate the heads up, but by the time I got there, they were all gone.” Yeah I know. Just bad timing or ???
 

For any doubters or naysayers, all you have to do is click on “Browse”,  then click again on “Online Users”. There is a list of members and guests and the forums and threads they are viewing. At times, it can be very interesting to say the least. ‘Nuff Ced.

 

Joe

Sorry Joe.  You’re on the wrong side of this.  

[HoustonNit]

Do honey holes even exist anymore?  The days of the small honey hole type store that gets quarterly shipments of W12 and puts it on the shelf doesn’t exist anymore.  
 

why not promote the stores that try to cater towards the whiskey community.  
 

Do agree to some extent with @fishnbowljoe don’t put out that a place just got in a popular PS barrel pick so that some lurkers can clear the shelf.

[flahute]

I don't remember the previous incident mentioned but I do see both sides to this. Moderator Joe is trying to protect the interests of anyone who has a favorite store with a good selection and/or prices. As he states there are, or at least were, groups out there that monitored sites like ours to get intel so they could go clear a shelf. Those tend to be more specific instances where someone mentions that they found something desirable at a particular store. 

This situation looks more like a general ask for some good stores. Anyone who does think they have a honey hole they don't want to give up won't do so publicly.

I also think we're at the point in bourbon where honey holes barely exist anymore. The allocated stuff doesn't go on shelves any more and store picks sell out the same day they are released.

I've been traveling for work a lot again and what I see in the stores is pretty sad.

[BrokeCal]

I didn't mean to bring anything up.  My bad.

 

My two cents, I see both sides of this.  Just giving the name of a store with a good selection and good people working there is of course a no brainer, I think everyone would agree to that.

 

As for giving exact information.... I can see where people could disagree with that.  So and so had this for retail, 8 left, hurry up.

 

That kind of thing is too local for a nation wide group like this.  That kind of stuff should probably be kept for local Facebook groups.  That being said, just as a general rule I don't like rules. So having a rule against posting stuff like that isn't appealing.

 

 

[GeeTen]

Hey guys and gals,

 

We have to remember "their Forum, their Rules".  You are free to agree or disagree, but arguing or expressing a dissenting opinion on what is or is not allowed for posting (while perfectly reasonable, maybe) is just a waste of breath and bandwidth (IMHO, of course).  Once we are required to pay-to-play on SB.com, then youe can try to change the Rules.  We have a great thing going here and I hope to keep it that way.   

 

IBTL.   

Edited August 8, 2021 by GeeTen

[smokinjoe]

4 hours ago, GeeTen said:

Hey guys and gals,

 

We have to remember "their Forum, their Rules".  You are free to agree or disagree, but arguing or expressing a dissenting opinion on what is or is not allowed for posting (while perfectly reasonable, maybe) is just a waste of breath and bandwidth (IMHO, of course).  Once we are required to pay-to-play on SB.com, then youe can try to change the Rules.  We have a great thing going here and I hope to keep it that way.   

 

IBTL.   

Of course.  But, that is not in question, here.  

Edited August 9, 2021 by smokinjoe

[BrokeCal]

7 hours ago, GeeTen said:

Hey guys and gals,

 

We have to remember "their Forum, their Rules".  You are free to agree or disagree, but arguing or expressing a dissenting opinion on what is or is not allowed for posting (while perfectly reasonable, maybe) is just a waste of breath and bandwidth (IMHO, of course).  Once we are required to pay-to-play on SB.com, then youe can try to change the Rules.  We have a great thing going here and I hope to keep it that way.   

 

IBTL.   

That really isn't in question here.  I just read the rules page yet again. There is nothing in there about helping guys out finding good stores.

 

If I'm traveling to, oh I don't know, let's say St Louis and I ask the members, hey any good stores I need to check out?  If a guy is in St Louis and says, "Oh yeah, you need to check out Dale's Liquor, he has a great selection, good pricing, he's super nice and his staff is super knowledgeable."

 

I mean, if that's not acceptable we have some serious issues in here.   Now, I read the rules and there is nothing in their banning such a thing.  If there was it'd be ridiculous.

 

That being said, if you wanted to add a line in the rules about posting exact prices and stock levels for stores, to avoid guys running out and 'cleaning out the shelf' then go ahead and add such a rule.  Such a rule would make sense.

Leaving it ambiguous only to delete certain posts isn't exactly a great solution.

 

 

Edited August 9, 2021 by BrokeCal

[MM818]

Honey holes exist 

[0895]

2 hours ago, BrokeCal said:

 

If I'm traveling to, oh I don't know, let's say St Louis and I ask the members, hey any good stores I need to check out?  

 

Don’t go worrying about what’s happening in Saint Louis… we ain’t got no good berbens here

[fishnbowljoe]

Okay, let's see if we can't clear this up and get back to fun and frivolity. First off, I apologize for any confsuson any of my posts or remarks may have caused

 

No one is being told they can't help anybody. Heck, I've helped members out here, and other have helped me out. It's just been done it in private. I saw a thread last week where this happened. One member posted they found ABC Bourbon and it was good. Another member from the same general area posted they wished they could find some. The first member posted back. "PM sent." That's it. Eezy Peezy.

 

Things have changed a lot over the years here. When I first became a moderator here, everything was mostly black and white. Along came the bourbon boom, private sites, secondary sites, splinter groups, and tater stores charging secondary prices. Now there's a lot of grey area. I took my cue on this from part of what The Boss posted in the "Help A Member Find A Bottle" thread. "Post that you want something, and then y'all can deal with it privately." 

 

Once again, I apologize for any confusion. Feel free to help people out. Please, just do it in private. That is all that is being asked here. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to send me a pm. The door is always open. Always has been.

 

Joe

 

 

 

[smokinjoe]

Pretty sure that the Boss’ directive you cite is for buying, selling, trading, etc., of bottles with member to member transactions, not the sharing of retail store locations or restaurants with good whiskey selections.  
What we’re dealing with here in the sharing of retail locations and your requested way to handle them, and reasoning to support it is plain silliness, if not entirely counter to the Community we have, and seek to continually build.   Regulating the sharing of information on liquor stores in an area in response to a request from a member is an overreach and overreaction. 

[IamMatt]

Wow, next time I'll post something less controversial, like ".45 vs 9mm, discuss."  Or "Was the 2020 election stolen?" 

 

I asked for private response because I had been chastised for being too public with one of my posts recommending local stores and bars.  I see both sides.  I have a local bourbon buddy with whom I have shared stores once or twice.   He came across a store with some ECBP B521.  He didn't know I was traveling but the night before I left he messaged me and the store is only about a mile off the freeway I was taking, so I stopped by and picked up a few things.  The bourbon gods were smiling on me.

[Shizzy]

Quite controversial considering there's really nothing to speak of anywhere between South Bay and Palm Springs except a couple long straight freeways and a bunch of farms.