Quoted from Chisox:I’ve given up of the unicorns like Pappy, WLWeller, Stagg etc. and focus on Blanton’s, Elmer T., W12, Rock Hill Farms and the like. I’ve overpaid trying all the unicorns at restaurants and bars and was underwhelmed for the price. Give me a couple fingers of Elmer T Lee or EH Taylor neat and I’m a happy man.
ETL, W12, OWA, RHF, even WSR are all basically unicorns in the New England area at this point. Regular old BT is getting scarce. Blanton's is usually around (and priced decently at $50 in most places), as is the Taylor line, minus bp and the annual releases.
The distributor of the BT line here in CT and RI essentially rations out at random the above to stores (though I've heard rumors the more FireBall they sell, the more they get...) without them even being ordered. Essentially, they send bottles and the owner/permittee can refuse them or take them.
I am absolutely convinced liquor store owners and employees snatch anything of relevance up, and immediately flip it on the secondary market. It's crazy at this point, far worse than even this hobby. PVW23, which retails for $299, easily fetches $2k. I guess if the market will bare it...
Similar to this hobby, it's just frustrating when profiteers figure out that people are very passionate about something, and combined with hype, are able to exploit long time enthusiasts/new hobbyists. That said, it's not like anybody is forcing anyone to pay top dollar for a luxury/entertainment item.
I'll stick with my $30 ER.
If anybody wants to work out a pins-for-bourbon trade, pm me. I'm looking for Nascar, BSD, FT, T2, Sopranos...