Going to Louisville in a couple of weeks

[RedVette]

Staying at the Seelbach and I know that the bar there has a bunch of goodies on sale. Are there any liquor stores downtown (I won't have a car) where I can pick up some rareties. I have never had any of the Staggs, nor Pappy 23, nor Weller 19 or Four Roses Single Barrel. No Pogue or Noahs Mill or Hirsch 20, you get the idea. Any places near the Seelbach where I can fill out the collection?

[TNbourbon]

Pricey, but you can probably find all those at the bar by the glass. If not, certainly at D Marie's atop the Galt House nearby.

[cowdery]

I know there are a couple of liquor stores downtown, but I think they're mostly bulletproofs in the "bad" parts. You'll probably still find a better bourbon selection than in most places (and the "bad" parts of downtown Louisville aren't really all that bad) but you'll need to get out of downtown to get to Liquor Barn or Old Town. Old Town, in the Highlands, would be a short cab ride and it's a very nice neighborhood, if you want to see something other than downtown.

[Dave_in_Canada]

Pick up a yellow pages and find the tel# for the Liquor Barns in the area (Lexington too). Call them and ask for the spirits buyer. Buy all you want and have it couriered to your hotel for the price of a bad lunch out. Bourbon heaven at your doorstep. Better yet, do the research now and arrange delivery while you are there.

[cowdery]

That, Dave, is a brilliant suggestion.

[Gillman]

It brings the reminder that once, liquor stores in city centers used to deliver packages to hotel rooms. You still see signs in stores in New York City offering to deliver to area hotels without additional charge. I doubt many people order to their rooms these days, though. I think today the hotel guests bring in their own supply or use the hotel or mini bar. But Dave's suggestion brings back a time when guests would open the yellow pages and a fifth or quart would soon be on its way to their room. I may even have seen such signs (or probably it was ads in the yellow pages not changed for decades) advertising delivery to, "liners". Ah yes, the days when a quart of I.W. Harper or Beam's Choice or Mount Vernon Rye would be sent wrapped in a white napkin to a stateroom on a sleek Cunard liner off Chelsea Piers. Image of a bygone time ... "Mary, darn they forgot the cherries how will we make Manhattans?". "Oh Fred don't fret there's some sugar on the tray over there for coffee, use that and we'll do Old-Fashioneds, don't tarry now". "Yes dear..".

Gary

[ratcheer]

Really? When I was at the Plaza, last fall, I asked my wife if she would like to walk a half block to a bar that looked interesting, to me. She said no, but she would go to the hotel's bar. So, I did.

A Wild Turkey 101 on the rocks was $9.50. Maybe that is within the norm, but to me it was absurd. I didn't have a second and I never found out what a drink would have cost at the bar up the street.

Tim

[Gillman]

Well, hotel bar prices are never the best value.

These days, my sense is, if people want a drink in their room, they bring up the bottle themselves. At one time, they ordered it from area liquor stores. Maybe at the time hotel guests did not want to be seen carrying a bottle to their room (although it would be easy to disguise it).

But check the yellow pages in the larger cities, you will still often see in the box ads, "we deliver to hotels and ships"..

Gary

[TNbourbon]

But check the yellow pages in the larger cities, you will still often see in the box ads, "we deliver to hotels and ships"...

It also, of course, depends on local laws. It wouldn't be legal in Memphis or Nashville, for example, for any liquor store to deliver anywhere.

[Gillman]

I was mainly thinking of New York City in this regard. The stores in that city are mostly smaller and have an old-fashioned look. Some are marketing-oriented, with explanation cards or other accompanying information (e.g. the excellent Sherry-Lehman) but many seem unchanged from how they must have been in the 1940's and 50's and sometimes their ads reflect that. I have never had the time to get over to LeNell's store in Brooklyn, I am hoping to do so on the next trip. Her bourbon selection is second-to-none and unlike most retailers she has a genuine interest in, and extensive knowledge of good bourbon and rye.

Gary

[Dave_in_Canada]

Local liquor laws notwithstanding, I find this discussion interesting. A few months back, many SB.com members admitted to bringing a flask into a bar or restaurant to avoid high priced cocktails. That seems a further stretch than ordering your own bottle up to your room.

I travel alot and can afford neither the time nor money to import the "treats" that I find en route. So i buy them when I can and carry them home. It only make sense to "buy locally". Often that includes "mail order" to a location where I will be in the future. Hotel managers, UPS stores, etc. are all too happy to take a $5 or$10 note to help the process.

[Ken Weber]

Since you staying in the Seelbach, which is one of the three best hotels in the state, I suggest you let the hotel staff take care of you. There was an article in the Courier Journal (Louisville daily newspaper) last year about how well the luxury hotels were able to take care of their guests' requests. Some reporters went undercover, checked into the hotel, and requested flowers and specific brands of spirits. They then clocked the staff to see how quickly and accurately they filled the order.

I know you can purchase bottles of selected spirits at the hotel, but as I recall, it was over $100 for a bottle of Jack Daniel's. I believe they calculate how much they would have sold the bottle by the drink and charge you that amount. If you are like me, this is a bit steep.

Ken

[BourbonitisBlues]

As a native Louisvillian and Bourbon enthusiast let me make one suggestion. Get in a cab at the Seelbach (pronounced Seel-back by us natives) and give them the address and name of Old Town Liquors, 1529 Bardstown Rd. The cab fare should be about 5 to 7 bucks. Old Town has the best bourbon selection in this city and a knowledgable staff to boot. They are the store that hosted Chuck Cowdery's book signing a few months back and just last week after appearing on my afternoon radio show, Julian Van Winkle did an in-store tasting and book signing as well. Old Town supports the local bourbon industry and they are a locally owned independant store. So if you want a taste of local Louisville go to Old Town, not one of the big, generic chain stores. Plus Old Town is surrounded by cool stores, restuarants, bars and clubs.

Scott Mullins

[jvanwinkle]

Call Gordo at Old Town Liquors in the AM on Bardstown Road. He'll deilver.

502-451-8591. Tell him I told you to call him. (He's out of 23-year Pappy)

Julian

[RedVette]

Call Gordo at Old Town Liquors in the AM on Bardstown Road. He'll deilver.

502-451-8591. Tell him I told you to call him. (He's out of 23-year Pappy)

Julian

Thanks everybody for the excellent suggestions. Julian I will absolutely call Gordo and see if he wants to make a sale. I guess the next question is will I have any troubles with Delta airlines with a half a dozen plus bottles of Bourbon in my luggage.

Have I mentioned how much I like this website and all who frequent it?

[BSS]

I had a couple bottles in my checked luggage from Chicago to Louisville and they didn't say a word about it. It probably depends on what guy is working the luggage scanner at the time. I was flying Southwest and didn't even tell them either.

[cowdery]

I think the only issue carrying spirits in your luggage on a domestic flight is hazmat, and I think Stagg is the only problem there, maybe not even in the current iteration. What else would be an issue? Internationally there is a limit but it's a customs issue, that doesn't apply domestically. Theoretically, your state may have a limit as to how much alcohol you can carry into the state, but it's not the job of the TSA or airlines to enforce that, and it is strictly a taxation issue anyway.

I, too, endorse trading with Old Town. Good people. Their stated goal is to have in stock every American straight whiskey that is available to them, although apparently not Pappy 23 right at the moment. I also endorse the idea of going there yourself if you have time. It's a cheap cab ride and I nice neighborhood, one of Louisville's finest.

[jvanwinkle]

Here's my experience on flying with bourbon. If you get a styro wine shipper, pack the whiskey in that and check it. Delta doesn't care about it.

If you carry it on, it depends upon which burger flipper you get at TSA when you pass through security. Some care and some don't. I have not have any problems(knock on wood).

Julian

[RedVette]

Well, the best laid plans...

No shopping, but lots of sipping and schmoozing, got to try a whole bunch of Bourbons, many that I had never had before.

Friday

Four Roses Single (Seelbach)

Pappy 23 (Mortons)

EC 12 (Mortons)

Noahs Mill (Seelbach)

Saturday

Sazerac Rye (Seelbach)

Makers (Hyatt)

Old Pogue (Makers Bar)

OGDBIB (Makers Bar)

GTS (Seelbach)

Sunday

Early flight home with medium sized headache. Pappy 23 was the best of the bunch, but it was priced like it. To my tastebuds Pappy 15 is every bit as good, and much more reasonable.