Attention: Binny's Customers

[bluesbassdad]

Today I received an exciting email message from Binny's. Those of you who can buy from Binny's, whether in-store or out-of-state, have the opportunity to buy their various proprietary, single-barrel bourbon bottlings (and numerous non-bourbon spirits, as well) at a 10% discount. In addition, when I called I learned that they have in-stock the entire BT Antique Collection (except for the Saz), including both the early and late releases of the current Stagg.

EC18, WT KS, WLW and spring GTS will arrive at my doorstep next week.

Call Brett at 888-817-5898 to place your order.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[Joeluka]

Brett is the BEST!!! He was even honored by The Malt Advocate this year. When I order from him I always make sure to get a AAA 10 yr and Old Fitz 1849. Might as well make the shipping worth it. Between Binnys and Lenell's, I can get most everything I need here in NY. Now if I could only find someone in Kentucky to get me the Kentucky only stuff for me. I would try to get that person a gift or two for the orders they put together for me. (Old Charter 12, Old HH 10yo, Four Roses SB, and whatever else)

[ThomasH]

My bottle of WLW along with some Pappy 15,Old Potrero, Eagle Rare 101 and a bottle of Signatory Edradour will be arriving on my doorstep next Wednesday from Binny's. Brett from Binny's should be made into a saint. Thanks for the heads up Dave Morefield!

Thomas Harper

[T47]

can I ask how much is shipping to CA. Dave?

[Virus_Of_Life]

can I ask how much is shipping to CA. Dave?

I was just looking at making an order so I know this off my notes in front of me:

1 bottle $13.10 , 2 - $13.96 , 3 - $15.88, 4 - $18.27 , 6 - $22.72 Obviously it wouldn't be worth ordering just one, but 3 or more is fairly economical.

Those are of course UPS or FedEx (think both are the same) GROUND rates to SoCal...

This truly incredible news as I was looking at an order of about 6 bottles, and that 10% would almost cover shipping! Is there anything you have to do to get that discount? Special code? Password? Buy Brett a bottle?

Thanks!!!

[bluesbassdad]

As of August, 2004 I live in AZ not CA. You may need to make a small adjustment to the following information.

For four bottles shipped to Prescott, AZ the shipping cost is $16. That works out to be much to my advantage for higher priced bottlings, whether on sale or not, due to absence of sales tax and lower prices compared to local.

I believe all one must do to get the special pricing is to contact Brett directly, as opposed to using whatever online ordering setup Binny's may have.

This link may be helpful.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[DrinkyBanjo]

I order from Binny's about twice a year. I usually try to go for 12 bottles so I can take advantage of shipping costs. What I usually do is buy 3 or 4 bottles I cannot get around here and then fill the rest up with stuff like AAA, Weller 12, or other things like that which sell at $15 or below.

Also, I used to ask friends if they wanted things and share the order but I like my new way better!

[bluesbassdad]

My order arrived today. I met the delivery man on the front landing. As I was reaching for the carton, I could smell the unmistakable aroma of bourbon. "This cannot be good", I thought to myself.

I rushed the carton to a safe spot, opened it and carefully began to feel around in the plastic peanuts, fully expecting to find a broken bottle. The first bottle I encountered was Eljah Craig 18 y/o, which is packaged inside a cardboard, elliptical cylinder. It felt only slightly soggy. I assumed the liquid escaped from one of the other bottles.

The other three bottles were individually wrapped in bubble wrap, which I carefully removed from each bottle in turn. All three were intact, no liquid to be found.

I removed the lid from the EC18's cardboard package and found a brown stain inside the package. When I removed the bottle from the cardboard, I felt liquid around the seal. Fearing broken glass or at least a crack in the vicinity of the closure I carefully broke the perforation around the seal and pulled the cork. The glass was intact, as was the cork, which fit very loosely inside the bottle -- loosely enough to allow leakage.

If the four bottles had been packed vertically in relation to the panel that bore my address, I suspect there would have been no leakage in transit. However, in fact the bottles were placed into the box on their sides. Normally that would not be a problem; I wouldn't expect any corking to happen during a four-day trip. However, the loose cork made it a problem.

I called Brett and left word as to what I had found. I'm not sure why I bothered. Although I haven't sampled the EC18 yet, I am confident that it will prove to be unaffected by the poor seal.

BTW, even though there was a problem in this case, I admire the ingenuity that went into the design of the EC18 seal. When the cork is replaced, it's difficult to tell that the bottle has ever been opened.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[BourbonJoe]

I, too, have had the same problem with EC-18. I think Heaven Hill either uses cheap cork or undersized cork for their EC-18 bottles. I would much prefer a screw cap.

Joe

[DrinkyBanjo]

So what did Brett say? Are they going to replace the bottle? BTW, I've ordered from Binny's at least 5 or 6 times and have yet to have any issue whatsoever.

[bluesbassdad]

I did not speak to him directly. In the message I left I did not request a replacement. Perhaps I'll regret that when I get around to tasting it; however, the quantity of liquid lost is certainly not an issue.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[ThomasH]

I bought a bottle of EC 18 about 3 years ago and had the same problem. on the ride home from the liquor store, about 30 minutes, the bottle tilted to one side in the bag and started to leak. I also had that happen to a bottle of WT RR101 about 6 month's ago. Just this past Wednesday, I received a 5 bottle shipment from Binny's, 4 out of the 5 bottles were cork tops and while non leaked during the 2 day journey to my house, all were on there side in the box. Mine weren't even wrapped with bubble wrap but rather sandwiched between those bottle dividers. My last order from Binny's wasn't like this. This order was placed online while Wednesday's order was placed over the phone and shipped from a specific store. I guess this was because one of the bottles was a WLW and they had to ship from the store it was at. Last summer, I placed an order for 12 bottles of Stagg with Mission liquor in Pasadena, CA and it arrived upright in styrafoam bottle dividers. I figure if you order from Binny's online website, your order will probably have a better chance of being shipped upright as these orders seem to ship out of a more central location. I have been very pleased with my 2 purchases from Binny's and have also dealt with Brett on the phone and have nothing but good to say about their organization!

Thomas

[bluesbassdad]

This just keeps getting stranger.

Although I hadn't planned to open this bottle any time soon, I decided I'd better take a small taste, just in case the loose cork might have allowed some off flavors to creep in. I gently grasped the top and slowly twisted and pulled. The wooden top separated from the cork without dislodging it even slightly. Thankfully, the cork protruded far enough to allow me to get a secure grip on it. I slowly removed it with no further mishap.

Inspection revealed that the glue was still intact on the cork but had not adhered to the inside of the wooden part. My first thought was that the alcohol might have softened the glue. However, I detected no trace of stickiness on the glue on the cork.

At first the characteristic Heaven Hill eucalyptus was prominent in the nose, but it subsided. Over time heavy char and caramel did a do-si-do. Eventually some softer, floral notes emerged. They were most noticeable when nosing several inches from the Glencairn blender's glass.

The palate is dominated by char, with just a touch of hazelnut. The finish starts sweet but quickly turns ash-dry, almost acrid.

This bottle seems more like my memory of my very first bottle, which I didn't care for, and less like more recent tastings. I just wish I trusted my tasting ability sufficiently to believe what I think I taste. However, I know from experience that my impression may be different the next time I taste it.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[bluesbassdad]

As part of Binny's celebration of the opening/acquisition of their 17th store, their 10%-off sale of their exclusive single-barrel bottlings is continuing.

Here is a segment of the announcement that arrived in my mail box today.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield