Found this today at a local 'boutique' liquor store for $36, guy said he just got it in and only 3 bottles left. Checked online Total Wine - nada, checked PA Wine&Spirits and it looks like 1 bottle left in the state.

Thought it was fantastic at this price point and will likely go back tomorrow and get those remaining bottles.

Went back today and got the last bottle. From barrel 5963 12/17/08 curious if people are noticing any variation in quality

Found a single 4777 in BIL basement storage and just had a friend procure 3 bottles locally of 5531 barrel from 8-4-08. Local price has shifted up to $40.

That's just a white whale in my state. It never hits the shelves.

PA does a residents only lottery where you have to give the credit card to charge to when you submit your entry. That adds a fun wrinkle to using a straw purchaser

It's $200+tax around here where it's in stock ($149 at TotalWine but never actually on the shelf) It would have to be pretty flipping good to make anybody's best value list

This was a great tip! Picked up some WT101 with the GH date and it definitely exceeds its price point of $28

Random thoughts on these 5 'value' bourbons I picked up and tasted today:

Eagle Rare 10Y - $34 Everything I want in a daily sipper. Might be the next 10Y to go from everywhere to hard to find
WT101 (GH date) - $28 Cant believe I've been missing out on this. Will be getting plenty more
Elijah Craig SB - $28 A little harsher than the first two, still a value but no desire to stockpile it

Larceny $23 - Hmmm. Not as good as the first 3 but also a bit cheaper. Reviews seem good for this but not feeling it. Will still drink it but probably reserve it for mixing

Jeffers Creek $16 - Was a trusted store's 'value buy' so I figured "how bad can a 6Y bourbon be" well, it drinks thin and shallow with no warmth and no aftertaste. It's just not good and will likely sit forever before I can pawn it off on somebody. Waste of money

Stateline Liquors in Elkton, MD has a huge bourbon selection and probably 20 different ones available in 1.75L size. They had three 1792 on the shelf today but no Willett

I haven't had their Double Troubled but found Painted Stave lacking overall.

Trying to enter the boutique bourbon markets at $36-38 dollar range with an immature 2 year is a non-starter for me. I did tour their facility in Smyrna and met the owners who were friendly, informed and eager but you just cant fake the 6-10Y in a barrel

Their "Off the Hoof" scrapple flavored vodka is disgusting, but I have their "Scarlet" cranberry vodka and it's fine

Did a quick accounting tonight bottles vs open bottles with the following results:

19 bottles of bourbon 12 open 7 sealed
11 bottle of scotch 11 open 0 sealed
4 bottles of rye 3 open 1 bottle sealed
everything else(rum, tequila, cognac, gin, Sambuca, Ouzo, Drambuie etc ) 45 bottles opened 11 sealed

TOTAL open 71 out of 90

Can anybody top 71 currently opened bottles at your home bar? Tallying up sure show the shortcomings I have for tequila (only 2 bottles) and gin (only 2 bottles) Will probably have to take care of that this week

Found Eagle Rare on the shelf locally for $29.99 - guess I am forced to stock up.

Normally $36 around here if you can find it, or $35 at Total Wine which is a joke because its never there.

Good question. I am still seeing GH and GI around here but noticed the high volume seller in Maryland had HB code on the shelf.

I went to a local bar last night and they had Stagg for $17/2oz pour - couldn't believe my luck. Had the bartender bring the bottle over to verify it wasn't StaggJr.

They had maybe 25 bourbons but for price compare a few that I remember- Jim Beam $7, ER10Y $10, Knob Creek $11, Angels Envy $14

Good price too - that's $80-85 around PA/DE

Found OFC 1993 on the shelf at retail. Any of you Pinside Pimps want a 2.5k bottle of bourbon? Maryland tax will add about $150

Old Forester 1920 is very tasty,actually having it now - it runs $60 here
Old Grand-Dad 114 has to be one of the best bourbon values out there at $23

This is probably the hottest of hot takes but reading Reddit reviews of Confiscated makes me wonder if lack of age statement and source information are valid concerns.

Gonna get some Maker's cask strength

As of now still making do with Grandnational007 recommendation of WT101 GH code

I grabbed a bottle of Mellow Corn today because it's cheap at $14, 100 proof, BIB and 90% corn mash. The plastic screwtop is there as warning so you know what you are getting.

Initially smelled like rubbing alchohol, then it would die off, swirl glass again and the ethanol whiff was back. Odor was gone completely after about 10mins.

Undeterred, I moved to tasting. Surprisingly not bad at all. Not a deep flavor, light with just
a bit of burn. Nowhere near the worst whiskies I've had; it feels like a nice change of pace to heavier and way more expensive bourbons and ryes.

C'mon Chad. Rookie move not bringing your own bottle to NYC

yeah - doubtful you will have any complaints with those

I hate to be Mr Price Tag but there are some good deals and quite a few not so good deals on those shelves:

Deals:
Rittenhouse Rye looks like $23 - load up
Sazarac Rye at $31 is about right but its often out of stock in Delaware/PA/MD still performs at or above its price - load up
Widow Jane $60 that bottle could run 75 or 80 here. i see its on sale but even at regular price i don't buy it. at that price i add to collection - load up ( i have never had this but for this price i would take my chances
Eagle Rare $33 usually between 30-36 so i would def buy those on the shelf - i would get that bottle if you don't normally see ER10 on shelves
RRoses SB selling less than $40 -i would take that too!

Bad deals i might still take:
ECBP probably the best bourbon on the shelf @75$ is easily $10-$15 more than i pay. might still be worth getting if money not a concern

Bad deal i'm def passing on:
Angels Envy about $10 more than we see around here. i usually pass on their stuff , its good but its probably overpriced everywhere

No values here:
$20 too much for Old Overholt still see it for $15
$29 too much for Larceny - generally $23
$29 too much for BT - usually about 22-23 here

The standards, knob creek, 4 Roses, Woodford, Makers all seem to be priced right around what i would expect

Would be kinda cool to have one of those use full-sized barrels if you have a good spot for it at your bar or porch. i see one stamped 'Templeton Rye'

2nd pic, lower right hand side Evan Williams single barrel $21 is on the shelf at my local Total Wine for $32
reviews are mixed between 'best stuff ever!' and 'its ok' but I would be tempted to try it

Never had it but I would leave them on the shelf. PA state stores have those on 'sale' for $35 and $20 and they cant move it.

Never seen Weller on the shelves in DE/PA/MD. Pennsylvania is all state controlled stores and they had Weller Special Reserve as 'online only' for $24.99 plus $7 to ship (within the state to your local store) with a limit of 3 but it sold out immediately

Only you know how much 1k means to you. I don't think a $20 markup is that bad for someone else doing all the legwork. Blantons is about $63 at the absolute cheapest when you find it on the shelf, which is not often. My BIL found it at a boutique liquor store for $70 and happily paid that.

PA got a shipment a couple weeks ago - looked like 600 bottles total and you could watch it online as it hit the shelves in western PA and moved east. Probably 50% sold day 1, 80% day 2, then almost all gone on day 3. By day 4 it was really only available for licensees or random 1 off bottles in rural places too far to drive.

I grabbed two bottles a couple months ago from the West Grove store and the clerk remarked how lucky I was - apparently the same customer would come in and buy all 6 bottles every time their allotment arrived.

I tend to migrate to vodka and tequila in the summertime. Proud of you guys for..........

R-1693137-1242980185.jpeg (resized).jpg

$69.99 at Kreston's in Wilmington (95 & 202) if you get up this way, or check their Middletown store.

Woe is you is right if you are drinking that beer. Not enough Stagg jr left in that bottle to wash down 16 Bud Lights

Went with McKenna tonight, not disappointed.

Prices in that display case are ridiculous. Looks like OF 1920 is $57.99 which would be cheaper than I see around here

I can bring a bottle on Saturday if you want to try it. I have found it (in the last 3 months) at Premier on Limestone Rd $40 and Swigg on 202 for $36. Total Wine on Namaans had it in bulk last year for $32.

No chance I'm spending $100 for McKenna, would get 5 handles of Kentucky Gentleman @ $17 each and spend the change on aspirin and Wawa Sizzlis

I have a 1792 on my shelf labeled 'High Rye' probably rates an 'OK'; have also seen one out there called 'Sweet Wheat' and it was forgettable

Not sure "too much Blanton's" is a thing.

Seems like a decent price if you wanted to try some of the better varieties from Maker's Mark

At our local Total Wine those 3 bottles in 750ml would run $157 so $70 represents a pretty decent Costco discount.
Also, no sales tax added in Delaware

What a bizarre take. I agree PA prices are a couple dollars more than I can find in Delaware or Maryland but...

1. PA has online real-time inventory that is correct every morning
2. PA has online sales where you can have harder to find stuff shipped to your local store for pickup
3. PA is one of the few states (in know VA also does this) where residents have an honest lottery chance to score very high end bottles. If you create an account and give your email they will notify you whenever there is a drawing, sign up for all of them and worry about how to pay for the $3000 Pappy package if they pull your name.

As far has McKenna being $50 when it was $30 last year, that extra $20 is probably going to Heaven Hill, not the State of Pennsylvania

Not bad, listened for about 20 mins, got bored and put on some real bourbon drinking music

That certainly qualifies as a find, I don't think you can do much better for $29.99.

PA seems to get ER by the semi load. Its more difficult to find in Delaware and the price will be higher, even Stateline in MD has moved this to $39.99 and they are competitively priced on almost everything

Is that the four grains mashbill from Revival? I scored a bottle of their Jimmy Red bourbon last year when they bottled it to Le Creuset crockery, it was quite good for an immature bourbon.

Went to a friend's house for the first game, all scotch - Balvenie 21, Balvenie 15 and Macallan 15 then as a parting gift he gave me a McKenna SB 5531 bottled 8-4-08b that only had 1 pour and he "didnt like the strong taste"

C'est la vie! It's good to have friends!

Got this as a gift, not sure what to think here.......

On one hand its small batch, single source 100% corn whisky @ 90proof. On the other hand I doubt I would drink the water in Manila.

20200114_163046 (resized).jpg

Don't get discouraged. Tons of good stuff out there that doesn't get the same level of buzz. Gotta stay one step ahead of the Bourbon Hipsters and focus on what tastes good to you and is in your price range.