Bourbon in Washington State

[Togenerous]

Those Liquor Nazi's in Olympia, WA don't have the smarts to carry many Bourbons in the state run sliquor stores. So I was wondering are there any helpful hints in getting the "Better Bourbons" here?

[wadewood]

First, Welcome. I think this brings the WA state contingent up to about 5 members.

WA state does have a decent web site. To see what stores stock what: WA State website

The store on 1702 4th Ave has the best selection. Also, you can special order products; forms are available in the stores. You have order by the case. I ordered a case of WT Tribute and received product. However, my request for Stagg was turned down.

There are other alternatives. Both Sams and Binnys (online retailers) will ship to WA state. With lame duck Governor Locke trying to bump up the taxes on liquor (as well as soda pop), outside sources are a great choice:.)

[clayton]

Wadewood nails all the important points.

The liquor store on 4th Ave S definitely has the best selection of harder-to-find bottles (which is not to say "rare" bottles). They service the fancy downtown restaurants and keep their stock up. It's located by the stadiums, and is worth a drive up from Oly if you're looking for bourbon.

If you're coming to the big city, you might wish to make a stop at FX McRory's bar downtown. They have an impressive bar that must be seen by all whiskey aficionados, with a set of ladders the bartender climbs to reach the higher shelves. Their liquor list has more pages than most restaurant food menus.

I've mail-ordered from both Binny's and Sam's with success. Shipping is spendy if you're just getting one bottle, but if you buy a few things at once it's not so bad.

And, strange as it seems, give thanks that we can get any good bourbon here. Some other liquor-control states have far less on the shelf than we do, and some of them don't allow shipments from other states.

[wrbriggs]

And, strange as it seems, give thanks that we can get any good bourbon here. Some other liquor-control states have far less on the shelf than we do, and some of them don't allow shipments from other states.

I live in a liquor control state. Very little bourbon is carried on the shelves, but there is a decent special-order selection. Only problem is that most special orders take weeks or months to arrive.

And I can't mail-order in any liquor at all. On the plus side, New Hampshire is 1.5 hours away, and they have better prices and some items that aren't available here.

[angelshare]

I ordered a case of WT Tribute and received product.

Hey, Wade-

At the risk of breaching the bounds of propriety, how much did a case of Tribute set you back in WA? Is a case six bottles?

The silver lining for control states as I see it is that if you're lucky enough to land a rarity, it won't be priced as the market will bear, but rather at the price the bureaucrats bought it plus some outrageous tax.

Being in a control state, I look for the silver lining a lot. Then I drive out of state to shop!

[wadewood]

This was the first time I used the WA state special order form. A case was 6 bottles and the price was in line with what others have payed; I think it was $89.75 per bottle. I kept 3, sold 2 DaveM and 1 more to another friend.

The process was weird in that I did not know the price before I ordered it. I really thought my request would be turned down.

[greenbob]

I find this state liquor store talk depressing. And I don't like the fact that some states don't allow mail order importation. It seems unfair to the whiskey lover. To put it into context I'll tell you a story about what I saw today.

I was in Modesto, California and happened to see a Beverages and More store. B & M is a California chain of liquor superstores. I walked in and saw some Hirsch, some type of high falutin Maker's Mark I've never seen before with gold wax, Kentucky Spirit, and 3 bottles of Stagg standing next to 3 bottles of Sazerac.

I was also in the Sacramento B & M store today, and I was talking to the manager. It seems that B & M gets its Stagg in a 3 bottle case. So it looks to me like the entire Stagg shipment is intact and collecting dust in Modesto. And you're not going to find a Hirsch in the Sacramento store. So it kind of looks to me like all this good stuff is sitting around in Modesto while people in the states with state control stores and no mail order can't get it.

But what do I know? Maybe there are whiskey lovers in Modesto who will buy this stuff tomorrow. On the other hand, the Northern California people on this board might consider taking Highway 99 instead of I-5 the next time they go down to L.A.

[wadewood]

I was in Modesto, California and happened to see a Beverages and More store. B & M is a California chain of liquor superstores. I walked in and saw some Hirsch, some type of high falutin Maker's Mark I've never seen before with gold wax, Kentucky Spirit, and 3 bottles of Stagg standing next to 3 bottles of Sazerac.

I made a post under the Premium Bourbon topic about ordering 3 bottles of Stagg from Bevmo. I wonder if they shipped me these bottles you saw?

[jbutler]

I doubt it Wade. I just scored three bottles of GTS at my local Bevmo tonight. They had Hirsch 16, and Saz rye, and ER17, and the limited edition Booker's as well as some other bottlings that were out of (previous) character for the store.

Now if they'd just bring their prices down about 15% ...

[TNbourbon]

...And I don't like the fact that some states don't allow mail order importation.

Actually, it's most states -- there are only 11 or 12 that allow unrestricted wine/liquor shipments into/out of state. This group is frequently referred to as the 'reciprocal' states, because they reciprocally allow shipments between/among them.

The rules, enforcement and penalties vary in the remaining 40 or so jurisdictions, from non-existent to felony (aren't I lucky -- TN is one of them!) status.

[Togenerous]

Wow! I guess the Liquor Store on 4th in Seattle is the place to go. Thank you very much! I'll check out online ordering too.

[greenbob]

They [beverages and More]had Hirsch 16, and Saz rye, and ER17, and the limited edition Booker's as well as some other bottlings that were out of (previous) character for the store.

B&M is getting very interesting. Today I noticed they have their own single barrel versions of Van Winkle Special Reserve and Eagle Rare. And they've recently started carrying Elmer T. Lee. So I just sent them an e-mail suggesting that they be like Sams and Binnys and start selling single barrel BT. I told them they could be selling a premium bourbon at an inexpensive price, and be doing it before BT hits California in the scheduled 3 to 5 years.

[BrbnBorderline]

The 4th Ave S store in Seattle has Buffalo Trace in stock. I stopped in today and bought one bottle for my Dad for Christmas, and a 1.75 liter bottle of Weller Antique 107[for me ].

They also have WT Rye, Van Winkle 12 YO Lot "B", Hirsch 16 YO, 1 bottle OGD 114, and some others.