Bourbon

[Yev Kassem 1026]

1 hour ago, Longhornfan1024 said:

TW Arboretum had W12, OA, ER, and Blanton's as if 20 minutes ago.

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk
 

I got a W12 at my TW here in SA. $34. 

[ISUCyclones 216]

Lucky bastards able to buy Weller 12s at a store

[Longhornfan1024 1707]

1 hour ago, Yev Kassem said:

I got a W12 at my TW here in SA. $34. 

Ours apparently had CYPB, Full Proof, and Elmer T Lee as well, but there weren't any left when I was there.

[Bert Orange 1115]

4 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Probably a dumb question, but how does the NASA's Old Scout pick compare to Total Wine's pick? 

Didn’t grab a TW pick as I’m flush with NASA picks. 

[Bert Orange 1115]

Newest bourbon porn

 

[Scooter Monzingo 820]

1 hour ago, Bert Orange said:

Newest bourbon porn

 

Man, it would take a special occasion to bust that seal.

[Chewbacca 7727]

5 minutes ago, Scooter Monzingo said:

Man, it would take a special occasion to bust that seal.

Or in Bert's stash, it's a Tuesday.

[Bert Orange 1115]

1 hour ago, Chewbacca said:

Or in Bert's stash, it's a Tuesday.

Even in my stash this one is pretty up there. 

[Neonmoon 38127]

I scored a 4 Roses single barrel today. Picked it up right off the shelf. So I got that going for me, which is nice. 

[billfromlaketravis 11352]

I just read about Little Book Chpater 4. I’m out, all the way out. 4 year brown rice bourbon, 7 year old bourbon, and 8 year old rye. 

What made Little Book Chapter 3 awesome besides the taste was the uniqueness. 11 year Booker’s and 9 year cask strength Basil Hayden’s are pretty tough to find unless your last name is Noe. 
 

 

[huge 3788]

I just read about Little Book Chpater 4. I’m out, all the way out. 4 year brown rice bourbon, 7 year old bourbon, and 8 year old rye. 
What made Little Book Chapter 3 awesome besides the taste was the uniqueness. 11 year Booker’s and 9 year cask strength Basil Hayden’s are pretty tough to find unless your last name is Noe. 
 
 

Fine I’ll have a nip

[billfromlaketravis 11352]

7 hours ago, huge said:

Fine I’ll have a nip

Cheers! 

People seem to like it. Pretty positive reviews, but I just don’t see on it paper. 

I assume it’s 4 year old Jim Beam Signature Craft Brown Rice Bourbon, 7 year old Booker’s, and a 8 year Basil Hayden’s Cask Strength or Knob Creek Rye. Just not enough meat on the bone for me. 

[huge 3788]

I was having Book 3 of course

[smwhorn 481]

20 hours ago, Longhornfan1024 said:

Ours apparently had CYPB, Full Proof, and Elmer T Lee as well, but there weren't any left when I was there.

Was able to purchase CYPB yesterday at TW in Houston.

[Smax 3799]

Hate that I am excited to find ER on the shelf, oh well 2 nice scores at TW

[Yev Kassem 1026]

Big Buffalo Trace drop at Total Wine this week in SA. In the last two days I picked up a Weller 12 and OWA at retail, so not a bad haul. Those ahead of me in line got the few ETLs, WFPs and Weller CYPBs that came in the shipment. 

I cracked open the W12 last night and man, I cannot see how someone pays $150 for it on secondary. It’s fine for MSRP ($34 is what I paid for it), but damn, you’ve gotta be a sucker if you pay secondary price for that bourbon. 

[Neonmoon 38127]

Counterpoint: W12 is delicious 

[Longhornfan1024 1707]

1 hour ago, Yev Kassem said:

Big Buffalo Trace drop at Total Wine this week in SA. In the last two days I picked up a Weller 12 and OWA at retail, so not a bad haul. Those ahead of me in line got the few ETLs, WFPs and Weller CYPBs that came in the shipment. 

I cracked open the W12 last night and man, I cannot see how someone pays $150 for it on secondary. It’s fine for MSRP ($34 is what I paid for it), but damn, you’ve gotta be a sucker if you pay secondary price for that bourbon. 

Agreed.  The thing I've found with bourbon as I've started drinking it more is that there is just so much good stuff in the $30-60 range that it's hard to fathom dropping $150 for something, especially if it's just to pad the pockets of some jackass who got a tip and bought up a whole shelf of the stuff.  I opened mine too, and it's great, but I would never pay $150 for it.  

[Yev Kassem 1026]

1 hour ago, Neonmoon said:

Counterpoint: W12 is delicious 

Yeah, I agree. It’s a great $35-40 sipper. I’d maybe go as high as $50 if I really wanted it and hadn’t seen it in a year.

My argument is that it’s worth nowhere near $150 when there are several replaceable options out there. Rebel Yell 10, for example. It’s higher proof and a bit higher MSRP (around $60). But it’s something you can find much easier than W12 and it’s on the shelf when it’s available. It’s also a wheater, so it has a similar flavor profile, though not as oaky as W12. 

[Yev Kassem 1026]

1 hour ago, Longhornfan1024 said:

Agreed.  The thing I've found with bourbon as I've started drinking it more is that there is just so much good stuff in the $30-60 range that it's hard to fathom dropping $150 for something, especially if it's just to pad the pockets of some jackass who got a tip and bought up a whole shelf of the stuff.  I opened mine too, and it's great, but I would never pay $150 for it.  

Yeah, it’s always the same bottle flippers that are at the front of the line when the stores open. Today they started lining up around 8am. I’ve already started seeing WFP and W12 popping up  this afternoon in Fireball contests in the local SA bourbon group. 

[billfromlaketravis 11352]

1 hour ago, Yev Kassem said:

Yeah, it’s always the same bottle flippers that are at the front of the line when the stores open. Today they started lining up around 8am. I’ve already started seeing WFP and W12 popping up  this afternoon in Fireball contests in the local SA bourbon group. 

Do these people have jobs? 

[conVINCEd 21468]

4 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Do these people have jobs? 

Bourbon entrepreneurs.

[Neonmoon 38127]

1 hour ago, Yev Kassem said:

Yeah, I agree. It’s a great $35-40 sipper. I’d maybe go as high as $50 if I really wanted it and hadn’t seen it in a year.

My argument is that it’s worth nowhere near $150 when there are several replaceable options out there. Rebel Yell 10, for example. It’s higher proof and a bit higher MSRP (around $60). But it’s something you can find much easier than W12 and it’s on the shelf when it’s available. It’s also a wheater, so it has a similar flavor profile, though not as oaky as W12. 

I mean, I don’t think any Bourbon is worth $150. Pappy isn’t worth $150 dollars. 15 years ago, it would sit on the shelf for $100. But its a supply/demand issue and not a ‘worth’ issue. There are many bourbons that are great, especially in the $40-70 range. I drink them all. My most recent post above shows how I purchased a 4 Roses Single Barrel. It’s a great bourbon in that price range. I like drinking it. But some bourbons are hard to find because of the increase in demand. So if a person like me wants to taste W12 or Blantons, or ETL, or whatever occasionally, I have to pay $100 or $120 for it. 
 

 

[AustinMT 952]

5 hours ago, Smax said:

Hate that I am excited to find ER on the shelf, oh well 2 nice scores at TW

Good choice on the Ruinart. Of the NV rose champagnes, it’s my favorite, followed by Laurent-Perrier or Billecart-Salmon.  A vintage Taittinger Comtes is my top for rose. 

 

[RichUT 1790]

I mean, I don’t think any Bourbon is worth $150. Pappy isn’t worth $150 dollars. 15 years ago, it would sit on the shelf for $100. But its a supply/demand issue and not a ‘worth’ issue. There are many bourbons that are great, especially in the $40-70 range. I drink them all. My most recent post above shows how I purchased a 4 Roses Single Barrel. It’s a great bourbon in that price range. I like drinking it. But some bourbons are hard to find because of the increase in demand. So if a person like me wants to taste W12 or Blantons, or ETL, or whatever occasionally, I have to pay $100 or $120 for it. 
 
 

That’s a pretty slippery slope. The consumer ultimately dictates what something is worth, and you can’t discount the role available inventory plays and determine worth in a vacuum. People have a tendency to hang on to what things used to cost, but the product is improving at an aggregate level, which is increasing the customer base, decreasing supply, and driving up what the commodity is now worth. The tube is out of the toothpaste and we aren’t going back to the old days unless the quality of the product takes a massive downturn or inventory increases by a factor of 10x+. Given the lead time to produce product at the quality level that has stimulated demand, I would not expect supply to catch up any time soon.

I’d argue that the legacy distilleries are pricing behind where the category sits on the S-curve and forgoing profit while creating a secondary market for the product. If they would all increase pricing across the board (say 30-35%) it would actually be a net positive in terms of accessibility of the product for the average consumer, as it would serve to discourage the grey market behaviors that have become so prevalent over the last several years.

[4th&Five 41457]

59 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Do these people have jobs? 

I have that thought daily just driving around Austin. 

[Neonmoon 38127]

11 hours ago, RichUT said:

I’d argue that the legacy distilleries are pricing behind where the category sits on the S-curve and forgoing profit while creating a secondary market for the product. If they would all increase pricing across the board (say 30-35%) it would actually be a net positive in terms of accessibility of the product for the average consumer, as it would serve to discourage the grey market behaviors that have become so prevalent over the last several years.

I absolutely agree. The won't increase price because they're scared of alienating their base or something. 

[RichUT 1790]

I absolutely agree. The won't increase price because they're scared of alienating their base or something. 

That may be part of it, but it’s also likely influenced by the role that product scarcity has played in the bourbon boom. I’m sure there are concerns that product being readily available on shelves would decrease the cachet that has driven the craze and increase in demand in the first place. If bro’s out there can’t get a high from scoring a bottle that their buddies can’t, that could have a material impact on purchasing behavior.

I know I’ve been guilty in the past of going into a liquor store to see if they had any “whales”, while completely ignoring quality bottles because I knew that I could get them any time.

[billfromlaketravis 11352]

I'll credit Total Wine for putting the allocated stuff out in the open, but it's the Wild West. I keep getting these frantic text messages from bourbon hunter friends telling me to go to far flung parts of Houston to get Weller or Elmer. It's just not for me.

 

[T’Boo Ted Marshall 2721]

Agreed, but if you have a 9-5 job or can’t immediately drop everything and haul ass to the store, you have zero chance unless someone gets you a bottle.

How about putting some out later in the day?

[billfromlaketravis 11352]

Elmer T Lee is flipper/tater crack. Buy it for $30, flip it for $250. 

Restaurants and bars are just as bad. Lord knows what they can buy Elmer for at wholesale, and then they turn around and sell it for at least $15 a pour. I saw it on the chalkboard for $10 once, and the bartender acted like he was doing me a favor. 

The Total Wine drop will be great for some enthusiasts, and that’s a good thing. I suspect Total finally applied enough pressure on Buffalo Trace and their distributors to loosen the kimono. It certainly sends a message to Spec’s that they won’t be the sole allocated Buffalo Trace big box store in the state. The competition should benefit consumers. 

[Longhornfan1024 1707]

11 minutes ago, T’Boo Ted Marshall said:

Agreed, but if you have a 9-5 job or can’t immediately drop everything and haul ass to the store, you have zero chance unless someone gets you a bottle.

How about putting some out later in the day?

Not sure if you're in Austin, but TW Arboretum has actually been putting some of their allocated stuff out later in the day.  I stopped by around noon while on my way into the office and got lucky that they'd just put out a bunch of stuff.  The same thing happened when I got Blanton's from that location last month.  I think it's location specific because Lakeline apparently had a line starting at 8 am yesterday and started handing out tickets so that there wouldn't be a mad dash.   

[T’Boo Ted Marshall 2721]

That’s my point. Most working people can’t get in line and wait for 2+ hours.
My schedule is very flexible but in no way am I doing something like that. It just isn’t worth it.

[El Tri 398]

On 8/4/2020 at 8:44 PM, Neonmoon said:

I scored a 4 Roses single barrel today. Picked it up right off the shelf. So I got that going for me, which is nice. 

my mortgage broker sent me one and a burnt orange yeti as a gift after i re-financed with her. man is it good

[Yev Kassem 1026]

1 hour ago, Longhornfan1024 said:

Not sure if you're in Austin, but TW Arboretum has actually been putting some of their allocated stuff out later in the day.  I stopped by around noon while on my way into the office and got lucky that they'd just put out a bunch of stuff.  The same thing happened when I got Blanton's from that location last month.  I think it's location specific because Lakeline apparently had a line starting at 8 am yesterday and started handing out tickets so that there wouldn't be a mad dash.   

Based on what happened here in SA, stuff was basically put out as it was unloaded off the truck. Deliveries arrive to stores at different times and days, even within the same big box stores. 

For example, one TW store here had all of the big allocated bottles ready for 10am opening because the truck had arrived early and they unloaded and stocked everything prior to opening. I got there within 30 minutes of opening and they were already cleaned out of the “prime” allocated stuff (WFP, W12, OWA, ETL). The guy at the store said there were 50 people in line prior to opening. 

Another location in town had their delivery truck arrive just before opening, so it took them until about noon to get that stuff out. I got lucky and snagged an OWA, but there were still at least 30 people ahead of me in the store.

The flippers have contacts in stores that tip them off when the big stuff is coming, so they’ll always be at the front of the line. The only real way to get ahead of them is to keep an eye out for local bourbon Facebook groups in the big Texas cities to see what may be hitting, and then be willing to line up at 8am.  Otherwise you’ll be paying secondary. 

[billfromlaketravis 11352]

33 minutes ago, Yev Kassem said:

Based on what happened here in SA, stuff was basically put out as it was unloaded off the truck. Deliveries arrive to stores at different times and days, even within the same big box stores. 

For example, one TW store here had all of the big allocated bottles ready for 10am opening because the truck had arrived early and they unloaded and stocked everything prior to opening. I got there within 30 minutes of opening and they were already cleaned out of the “prime” allocated stuff (WFP, W12, OWA, ETL). The guy at the store said there were 50 people in line prior to opening. 

Another location in town had their delivery truck arrive just before opening, so it took them until about noon to get that stuff out. I got lucky and snagged an OWA, but there were still at least 30 people ahead of me in the store.

The flippers have contacts in stores that tip them off when the big stuff is coming, so they’ll always be at the front of the line. The only real way to get ahead of them is to keep an eye out for local bourbon Facebook groups in the big Texas cities to see what may be hitting, and then be willing to line up at 8am.  Otherwise you’ll be paying secondary. 

Maybe the best post of 2020. 

[billfromlaketravis 11352]

I do think Total's plan/scheme is working. Generate tremendous interest in their stores via social media posts of Weller/ETL, and get people to show up. This is 90% of the battle. Most people will see there's nothing allocated available, but they'll still buy something. 

Edited August 6, 2020 by billfromlaketravis

[TxTower 649]

I’ve read where Facebook is cracking down on any alcohol sales which has grown to be a big part of the grey or secondary market.

Good. Screw the flippers. Find a real job.

[UncleSonny 6520]

I'm very recent to getting into bourbon as a hobby so hopefully I get some dumb question amnesty, but what is keeping these distilleries from selling at a price point closer to what it goes for in the secondary market? A lot of people on this thread are pretty firm on the max they will spend for some of these bottles so they would just move on to other options but if hoarders are buying out shelves at the current price seems like they would see some wiggle room to increase it. 

Not that I necessarily want to see bourbon get any more expensive but from a business perspective it's wild to me they are cool with people turning big profits by quickly flipping their product. 

 

[Yev Kassem 1026]

1 hour ago, TxTower said:

I’ve read where Facebook is cracking down on any alcohol sales which has grown to be a big part of the grey or secondary market.

Good. Screw the flippers. Find a real job.

Yeah there are these “lotteries” the flippers run based on the Illinois Lottery Fireball game (done twice daily). It’s kind of like Powerball where there are multiple winning balls drawn and then a final “jackpot” ball. What the flippers do is take their secondary price for a bottle (say $100) and then assign 10 spots you can buy for $10 apiece. Whoever has picked the winning Fireball number (0-9) for that drawing wins the bottle and everyone else loses. You can buy multiple entries if you wish to increase your chances.  However, in the posts they’re very careful to note that you don’t make any mention of money in the original Facebook post as I’m assuming that’s what the algorithm is looking for  .

Yeah, you can win a Blanton’s for a $10 entry fee, but you’ll need to be willing to toss away dollars in losing entries in the long run.

Full disclosure. I have participated in a few of these contests and actually won an RHF for a $23 entry. It’s kind of fun to play every now and then, especially when you see something that you’ll never have a chance to buy in a store, but it’s definitely a slippery slope where you can lose a lot of money quickly if you’re not careful. I have seen guys drop multiple hundreds of dollars on entries and come away empty handed.  But I guess you can’t win if you don’t play. 

[Chewbacca 7727]

Yeah there are these “lotteries” the flippers run based on the Illinois Lottery Fireball game (done twice daily). It’s kind of like Powerball where there are multiple winning balls drawn and then a final “jackpot” ball. What the flippers do is take their secondary price for a bottle (say $100) and then assign 10 spots you can buy for $10 apiece. Whoever has picked the winning Fireball number (0-9) for that drawing wins the bottle and everyone else loses. You can buy multiple entries if you wish to increase your chances.  However, in the posts they’re very careful to note that you don’t make any mention of money in the original Facebook post as I’m assuming that’s what the algorithm is looking for  .
Yeah, you can win a Blanton’s for a $10 entry fee, but you’ll need to be willing to toss away dollars in losing entries in the long run.
Full disclosure. I have participated in a few of these contests and actually won an RHF for a $23 entry. It’s kind of fun to play every now and then, especially when you see something that you’ll never have a chance to buy in a store, but it’s definitely a slippery slope where you can lose a lot of money quickly if you’re not careful. I have seen guys drop multiple hundreds of dollars on entries and come away empty handed.  But I guess you can’t win if you don’t play. 

Good way to get in a lot of trouble is running illegal raffles.

[ISUCyclones 216]

4 hours ago, Yev Kassem said:

Yeah there are these “lotteries” the flippers run based on the Illinois Lottery Fireball game (done twice daily). It’s kind of like Powerball where there are multiple winning balls drawn and then a final “jackpot” ball. What the flippers do is take their secondary price for a bottle (say $100) and then assign 10 spots you can buy for $10 apiece. Whoever has picked the winning Fireball number (0-9) for that drawing wins the bottle and everyone else loses. You can buy multiple entries if you wish to increase your chances.  However, in the posts they’re very careful to note that you don’t make any mention of money in the original Facebook post as I’m assuming that’s what the algorithm is looking for  .

Yeah, you can win a Blanton’s for a $10 entry fee, but you’ll need to be willing to toss away dollars in losing entries in the long run.

Full disclosure. I have participated in a few of these contests and actually won an RHF for a $23 entry. It’s kind of fun to play every now and then, especially when you see something that you’ll never have a chance to buy in a store, but it’s definitely a slippery slope where you can lose a lot of money quickly if you’re not careful. I have seen guys drop multiple hundreds of dollars on entries and come away empty handed.  But I guess you can’t win if you don’t play. 

Great summary, but this is also how bottle secondary values are all jacked up. It starts out at Blantons for 10 a spot because the value is 100, but soon goes to 11, 12, 13 a spot because "its only 3 dollars more" and when they fill the value of Blantons becomes 130 because "fireballs fill at 13." Rinse and repeat over time until we get to the jacked up secondary pricing where Rock Hill Farms sold for 275 a bottle the other day. The gambling aspect setting pricing is a little ridiculous.

[Chewbacca 7727]

What are everyone's thoughts on Old Ezra 7 Barrel Strength? Picked up a bottle today for 70, which felt high but I've never seen it on the shelf before.

[Yev Kassem 1026]

9 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

What are everyone's thoughts on Old Ezra 7 Barrel Strength? Picked up a bottle today for 70, which felt high but I've never seen it on the shelf before.

I have an open one and a backup. It’s really good. 

[Yev Kassem 1026]

35 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

4 hours ago, Yev Kassem said:

Yeah there are these “lotteries” the flippers run based on the Illinois Lottery Fireball game (done twice daily). It’s kind of like Powerball where there are multiple winning balls drawn and then a final “jackpot” ball. What the flippers do is take their secondary price for a bottle (say $100) and then assign 10 spots you can buy for $10 apiece. Whoever has picked the winning Fireball number (0-9) for that drawing wins the bottle and everyone else loses. You can buy multiple entries if you wish to increase your chances.  However, in the posts they’re very careful to note that you don’t make any mention of money in the original Facebook post as I’m assuming that’s what the algorithm is looking for  .
Yeah, you can win a Blanton’s for a $10 entry fee, but you’ll need to be willing to toss away dollars in losing entries in the long run.
Full disclosure. I have participated in a few of these contests and actually won an RHF for a $23 entry. It’s kind of fun to play every now and then, especially when you see something that you’ll never have a chance to buy in a store, but it’s definitely a slippery slope where you can lose a lot of money quickly if you’re not careful. I have seen guys drop multiple hundreds of dollars on entries and come away empty handed.  But I guess you can’t win if you don’t play. 

Read more  

Good way to get in a lot of trouble is running illegal raffles.

True, but Facebook doesn’t exactly have the best track record cracking down on content. At worst they’ll just shut the page down and they’ll create a new one. 

[Chewbacca 7727]

True, but Facebook doesn’t exactly have the best track record cracking down on content. At worst they’ll just shut the page down and they’ll create a new one. 

It's not Facebook they need to worry about. It's the state.

[billfromlaketravis 11352]

Wow. What a score today. Weller Single Barrel, Blanton’s Gold, and Elmer T. Lee.

[ISUCyclones 216]

Wow. What a score today. Weller Single Barrel, Blanton’s Gold, and Elmer T. Lee.

Damn, you rob someone?

[billfromlaketravis 11352]

1 minute ago, ISUCyclones said:

2 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Wow. What a score today. Weller Single Barrel, Blanton’s Gold, and Elmer T. Lee.

Damn, you rob someone?

Yes. I caught @Bert Orange while he was cleaning out his garage. 

[ISUCyclones 216]

Yes. I caught [mention=573]Bert Orange[/mention] while he was cleaning out his garage. 

You dun messed up if that's all you got from his stash.

Hell of a day for you on a serious note.