Allocated Bourbons becoming more readily available

[rzelinka]

Yesterday as I was out and about, the local Spec's had 23 cases of EH Taylor Small Batch. It's the second time in a month that I've seen cases of EH Taylor Small Batch in that quantity. The store manager shared that it's likely some of the harder to find bourbons from Buffalo Trace will become easier to find. He mentioned Blantons, EH Taylor and Eagle Rare. 

 

Oddly, as I was catching up on some you tube bourbon channels last night, one influencer essentially said the same. I'm curious if others have seen or heard something similar?

[natedawg]

I saw Blanton's and Eagle rare on the shelf yesterday for $89 and I think $45 respectively. That particular store sometimes puts them out on a special release table but these were on the regular shelf.

[MSB]

I've seen, as others have as well, HMcK 10yr, ECBP, EC 18yr SiB, KC 18yr,  Michter's 10yr Bourbon, all on the shelf at fair prices.  Saw a EHT smb for 60(passed), and some other "allocated" btls on the shelf. Not behind the clerk or in the back office. 

 

So, yes I have seen more "rare-ish" btls that now sit on the shelf instead of being hoarded by the LQ store or picked up by taters waiting for said btls to hit the shelf.

[fishnbowljoe]

“Our ongoing observation about whether the boom has peaked”  is another thread here where this has been discussed. Long story short, a while back I posted there that I contacted BT and asked them if supply was catching up to demand. The answer I received straight from the horses mouth was, “Yes, supply is beginning to catch up with demand.” I can’t say for other distilleries, but I’m guessing with all the expansions many have undertaken the last few years, most are pretty well set up now. 

[berto]

Do the math on when the expansion projects to meet new demand kicked off and the time in barrel needed for products in high demand.   

[MSB]

 

I found this to be interesting.  Is it true? IDK

[NDN98]

I too have noticed a lot more allocated bottles in liquor stores, particularly in the last 2 to 3 months. I started seeing it last year with some of the Heaven Hill brands and now I’m seeing it with the Buffalo Trace brands as well.  When I see it bottles more frequently, I’m less inclined to buy a back up and leave it for other people to purchase and enjoy.

[Kepler]

This should be in the pre existing  thread Ongoing Observations about the bourbon boom....

[Jazzhead]

Those BT products are,  as always it seems, unobtainium in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.   Saz Rye is about the only BT product I see in any quantity around here. 

 

And the bottom line is I do not care.   BT has used up its good will in this consumer's eyes,  and there are better alternatives from Wild Turkey,  Old Forester and,  especially these days,  Barton.   Barton juice has improved so doggone much.   

[smokinjoe]

I certainly have noticed better availability of certain bourbons in my area that had been missing from shelves for extended periods.  Great to see.  I almost get giddy when I see BT, ER, and others almost every week somewhere in my monger circuit, which previously had been obtainable for so long.  

[Clueby]

3 hours ago, Jazzhead said:

Those BT products are,  as always it seems, unobtainium in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.   Saz Rye is about the only BT product I see in any quantity around here. 

 

And the bottom line is I do not care.   BT has used up its good will in this consumer's eyes,  and there are better alternatives from Wild Turkey,  Old Forester and,  especially these days,  Barton.   Barton juice has improved so doggone much.   

You know that Sazerac owns BT and Barton, right?

[Jazzhead]

11 hours ago, Clueby said:

You know that Sazerac owns BT and Barton, right?

I did know that,  but I get your point.   When the products we consume are all made by multinational corporations,  the same company can produce both the brands I love and the brands that rub me the wrong way.    

 

While I have nothing against BT's bourbons other than the artificial shortages they inspire,  I will say that the stuff coming out of Sazerac's Bardstown distillery is singularly delicious.   So count my protest as ultimately silly;  I'm not about to stop giving Saz my money

[fishnbowljoe]

1 hour ago, Jazzhead said:

While I have nothing against BT's bourbons other than the artificial shortages they inspire,  I will say that the stuff coming out of Sazerac's Bardstown distillery is singularly delicious.  

BT hasn’t created an artificial shortage. The are many reasons for the “artificial shortage”. One reason is people perpetuating the myth of a shortage so they to won’t lose their cash cow. The taters buying in large quantities just to sell on the secondary market. Also with that are the people that buy products just as trophies. Believe me, I’ve seen pictures of some collections on different FB pages. Part of the blame also lies with “questionable” distributors. They might fill, or partially fill an order of allocated items, but you’ll have to buy a bunch of “other” products that don’t sell very well. I see this all the time at one store I frequent. After sitting on the shelf for too long a time, these bottles end up on sale in clearance carts. One local distributor won’t sell stores cases of a product so they won’t have to give a case discount. Then there’s the tater stores. They get allocated items, but mark them up at two or three times msrp. Other stores have allocated items, but not out on the shelf. You have to ask if they have anything. In many instances they’ll have them, but say they don’t. In order to purchase allocated items, you have to be a “preferred” customer. I know these to be facts. I have a friend that used to be the liquor manager at a grocery store. He tried to be fair and above board with his pricing, but kept getting pressured by the store owner/manager to keep raising prices. He finally had enough and quit. I also had a couple of other friends that used to work at a high profile liquor chain. On more than one occasion I asked  assistant managers if they had anything good. I was told no. I later talked to my friend(s) that worked there and found out I was lied to. Even though I spent a lot of money there over the years, I wasn’t good enough. Thank goodness there’s one local store that is honest and above board. It’s pretty much the only place around that sells allocated items at or just above msrp. 

[rzelinka]

16 hours ago, Jazzhead said:

Those BT products are,  as always it seems, unobtainium in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.   Saz Rye is about the only BT product I see in any quantity around here. 

 

And the bottom line is I do not care.   BT has used up its good will in this consumer's eyes,  and there are better alternatives from Wild Turkey,  Old Forester and,  especially these days,  Barton.   Barton juice has improved so doggone much.   

so strange as they're almost always available in my part of Texas..

[smokinjoe]

2 hours ago, rzelinka said:

so strange as they're almost always available in my part of Texas..

Texas had long been Sazerac’s largest market for the Weller brand.   Sounds like that may still be the case!

[Jazzhead]

I can still find Bowman products,  and their Bowman Bros small batch is an effective substitute for BT.   Their single barrel is hard to find but not impossible.   And they make a good port cask version which considering price and quality is unique in the market.

 

I get that the "villains" may more fairly lie with the middlemen and the retailers,  although making money off a shortage in supply (or a surge in demand) is not villainy.

 

Surges in demand happen because of cultural factors, including manipulation by influencers.   It's refreshing that there is,  nowadays, ready access to influencers not in the pay of,  or the recipient of advertising  by,  the distilleries and the companies that own them.   Resources like this board.

 

Shortages in supply, however,  are still susceptible to corporate manipulation.  Here the three tier distribution system presents a problem.  When a retailer buys its product from the manufacturer, the manufacturer can, if it gives a darn,  effectively police a retailer that would sully its products' reputation by price gouging.  But can a distillery have any influence over a price gouging retailer when it can only sell its product to a middleman distributor who doesn't give a darn?

 

I understand why things are as they are with the allocated stuff.   But why is BT unique with respect to the unavailability of its mainstream producr? 

 

 

 

 

 

[rzelinka]

16 minutes ago, Jazzhead said:

I can still find Bowman products,  and their Bowman Bros small batch is an effective substitute for BT.   Their single barrel is hard to find but not impossible.   And they make a good port cask version which considering price and quality is unique in the market.

 

I get that the "villains" may more fairly lie with the middlemen and the retailers,  although making money off a shortage in supply (or a surge in demand) is not villainy.

 

Surges in demand happen because of cultural factors, including manipulation by influencers.   It's refreshing that there is,  nowadays, ready access to influencers not in the pay of,  or the recipient of advertising  by,  the distilleries and the companies that own them.   Resources like this board.

 

Shortages in supply, however,  are still susceptible to corporate manipulation.  Here the three tier distribution system presents a problem.  When a retailer buys its product from the manufacturer, the manufacturer can, if it gives a darn,  effectively police a retailer that would sully its products' reputation by price gouging.  But can a distillery have any influence over a price gouging retailer when it can only sell its product to a middleman distributor who doesn't give a darn?

 

I understand why things are as they are with the allocated stuff.   But why is BT unique with respect to the unavailability of its mainstream producr? 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm just amazed at how challenging it is to find buffalo trace products. I see this from many you tube influencers. While I don't have all of the Buffalo Trace offerings, I do have the 4 EH Taylor varieties, All of the Weller's minus Single Barrel, Eagle Rare, Stagg Jr, and a couple Benchmarks. At the same time, one can buy Elmer T Lee, George T Stagg, Sazerac Rye, Rock Hill Farms fairly easily, and much below the typical secondary market. 

 

At the same time, there are many bourbons that are easier to find elsewhere that I have been thus far unable to find.

 

As the commercial used to say, location, location, location

[flahute]

On 6/5/2025 at 1:43 PM, Jazzhead said:

.............. But why is BT unique with respect to the unavailability of its mainstream producr? 

Two reasons that I can see.

 

1) - due to the enormous popularity of Van Winkle and BTAC, BT is considered to be the most premium and desirable brand. Not necessarily to us here and other old timers but certainly to the new blood that have come into bourbon in the past 11-12 years. What I've noticed about this cohort is that they are not interested in (at least not right away) trying a broad range of bourbons to determine what they really like. Instead they want to be know "what is the best?" and they then want to go straight to the top no matter the cost so they can be seen on social media and get all the virtual kudos. Along with this group are the flippers who recognize what is going on and cater to them.

2) - when this many people come into bourbon with that mindset and find out they can't get VW and BTAC they do exactly what I did back in 2012 - I would buy anything else from that same distillery because it must be the best of what's regularly available. When that many people have that mindset it doesn't take long for everything (including even standard BT for a while) become just as hard to find as the allocated products. 

 

In 2012 to 2013 I could buy any of the standard BT bourbons including all the Wellers. By 2014 only BT and ER10 were regularly available in Washington State. From 2014 on every local facebook group was full of dudes posting their crotch shots of Wellers, ETL, etc. Never saw those on the shelf at TW again. 

 

In those early days I was sure that I was a BT guy. Over time as I branched out I eventually realized I was a Turkey and Four Roses guy. While GTS remains my singular favorite bourbon with PVW15 up there as well, I don't really miss the BT range any more. Great for me but it sucks for guys like Joe who were all in on BT long before the boom.

[PaulO]

100% agree with flahute above.  I can add, BT only makes the wheat mash bill (Weller/VW) a small proportion of their overall production (like one month out of the year).  So as it is, until supply or demand changes, that stuff will be relatively scarce.

Add to that, BT is always releasing variations on the different brands.  It gets to be like all the different Pokémon.

 

I used to be a big fan of OWA and W12, but since it's no longer available, have come around to the higher rye Bourbons of the other legacy distillers instead.  My wheat fix is some version of MM.