Big Island Bourbon Survey

[marco246]

Over the last few days I've trekked around the island of Hawaii (as opposed to the State of Hawaii) on a bourbon reconnaissance. Its purpose was to discover where bourbon is sold, which brands, and for how much. I hoped, also, to find some "dusties". I visited liquor stores, supermarkets, drug stores, but not convenience stores. This island has about 4000 sq. miles, but it is thinly populated by some 160,000 souls.

Below is a list of whiskeys at the best prices I could find. All the bottles are 750s.

--Joshua Brook (80p, plastic bottle)-----$9

--Ten High------------------------------9

--Early Times----------------------------9

--Evan Willians (86p, NAS)--------------10

--Jim Beam White-----------------------11

--Jack Daniel's--------------------------20

--Wild Turkey (80p)---------------------21

--Wild Turkey (101p)--------------------22

--Fighting Cock-------------------------23

--Jim Beam Black------------------------23

--Gentleman Jack-----------------------25

--Maker's Mark--------------------------25

--Bulleit---------------------------------26

--Evan Williams SB 1996-----------------32

--Woodford Reserve---------------------33

--Knob Creek----------------------------34

--Wild Turkey Rare Breed-----------------40

--Blanton's SB---------------------------40

--Baker's--------------------------------43

--Basil Hayden's-------------------------44

--Jack Daniel's SB------------------------48

--Booker's-------------------------------60

--Jefferson's Reserve (15 y/o)------------65

Some observations:

--There is only one Buffalo Trace product on the list--a real shame as I'd like to get to know the Wellers and Van Winkles.

--On this recon I bought a bottle of Evan Williams, Bulleit, and WT Rare Breed, all of which are new to me. In retrospect I should've picked up the one bottle of Evan Williams SB (it really was dusty) listed as well as one of the Blanton's SBs, which also appear to have been sitting forlornly for some time. I'll be in the town where they're sitting next month and hope to find them still there.

--As for costs, they are considered the "price of paradise" and reflect shipping, taxes, and whatever the market will bear. My only complaint is that on this island the merchants don't like to keep much inventory on hand either in volume or in variety.

--The islands of Oahu (Honolulu) and Maui are probably better stocked, and eventually I'll check them out.

What are your comments?

Cheers,

Mark

[mozilla]

I would give Binny's a call and place your order. They have a great sellection and don't charge an arm and leg to ship.

Do y'all have any ryes?

[robbyvirus]

Convenience stores, especially of the "mom and pop" variety, are in my experience the best hunting grounds for dusties! They might be worth exploring!

[marco246]

Jeff,

There were a handful of ryes such as a yellow-labeled JB and a WT and an Old Overholt, but I didn't pay much attention to them as I don't care for ryes. A friend a few months ago gave me a 21-year-old Rittenhouse and I drank it knowing it was something special but without truly appreciating it. I'll check out Binny's on the internet; I've also been thinking about approaching the folks at Kadota's Liquours in Hilo just to see if they can order stuff for me.

Robby, I looked at only one convenience store and it had just a few plastic 375s on hand, so I ignored them thereafter. As I'm out and about I'll poke my nose into others just to see if there's anything interesting. Thanks for the tip.

Cheers,

Mark

[HighTower]

Mark,

I would suggest emailing Buffalo Trace and asking them if they distribute to Hawaii. They should be able to let you know who distributes their brands there and what is available.

Welcome to SB.com!

Scott

[mozilla]

There were a handful of ryes such as a yellow-labeled JB and a WT and an Old Overholt, but I didn't pay much attention to them as I don't care for ryes. A friend a few months ago gave me a 21-year-old Rittenhouse and I drank it knowing it was something special but without truly appreciating it.

I really like the WT rye! I have not had the RH21, but I doubt that it resembles many of the younger versions of rye. Give the WT a try...and remember that almost every bourbon has some rye in it.