Alas and alack (for you), yes.

Update: I opened the bottle and sampled it. Delicious!

Nah, keep it around. Refill it with Malört. Place it in a highly visible part of your bar/cabinet and wait for your unsuspecting friends to ask to try it. Then ask them what they think with a straight face.

Hah, that's hilarious.

I actually tried Malort a few months ago. It was, to put it mildly, vile.

Bourbon Shortage?
 

Have major distilleries cut back or suspended bottling and shipping operations due to COVID-19? I've been in a couple of liquor stores in the past month and noticed that the shelves aren't as well stocked with many popular mid-shelf bourbons as I'm used to seeing.

I know that several distilleries have temporarily cut over to production of high strength grain alcohol for hand sanitizer usage but that would not impact bottling of juice that was entered into barrels for aging a long time ago.

Full shelves by me. And several barrel picks that my local stores weren’t expecting for some time yet showed up early.

Good to know. Maybe my timing was just poor relative to when the liquor stores I visited get their weekly deliveries.

Could be, especially if demand by you is anything like it is here. The manager of my usual store says they’re doing probably 30-40% more business than usual.

I was in the neighborhood of the "signature" ABC store (where they stock higher-end items than the regular ones in the area). Imagine my disappointment to see it closed with a sign suggesting it was due to a Covid-19 exposure and steering me to a couple of other locations (none of which have the selection I was interested in).

VA ABC is also limiting access to over half their stores, such that customers aren't allowed to browse the aisles and instead are steered to "ask the clerk for recommendations, or check inventory online before going to the store." IME, the signature location often has stuff not on the website, so it's doubly disappointing not to be able to browse.

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I picked up a Knob Creek single barrel store pick (Goody Goody) yesterday. I'm looking forward to cracking it open and giving it a try. Bottled at 120 proof and this particular one was aged 11 years, 3 months. Will be interesting to see how it compares to standard Knob Creek.

Edited to add: selection seemed to be back to normal yesterday.

Tasty stuff... one of my favorites. If you've got a good crew picking the barrels they can be really spectacular. I've had some that were over 14 years old. And $45ish for an 11+ year bourbon at near cask strength might be one of the best values out there today.

Went to the ABC store near me for the first time since quarantine and it was pretty well stocked on bourbon. Was actually pleased that they had a couple of bottles of Eagle Rare 10 which doesn't often make an appearance down here and was at a reasonable $35 price point

The other day I've picked up in DC Willet 4yo 107.6 proof, Elijah Craig Small Batch Barrel Proof (uncut straight from the barrel) 122.2 proof and Buffalo Trace. Haven't tried the first two yet. Went with BT to pretend that I'm in Polaris :)
On the other hand, yesterday I've picked up in local Costco chocolates with Singleton Scotch whiskey. I've tried couple of them and to my surprise I really like them. I will go to the local ABC to get one bottle of Singleton 12yo to have real tasting :)

Over 40 years ago, my boss asked me to pick up a bottle of bourbon for him while I visited my parents in NC. Rebel Yell, at that time and possibly still, was not for sale in Massachusetts. I bought my own bottle last week. It wasn’t on the bottom shelf, wasn’t sold in a plastic bottle and was priced at $17.99 but I didn’t have high hopes. Tastes like gasoline.

Picked up Woodford Rye at the ABC this go-around. Was on sale and the other ryes were meh. Wish they had the $35 Eagle Rare in stock that I got 6 weeks ago (and sadly am almost out of) but that was a no-go too.

Not bad but certainly not in the same league as the cheaper (but impossible to find in NC) Sazerac Rye that has become by go-to. Prefer straight Woodford but it wasn't on sale and the have always wanted to try the RYe.

I enjoyed two glasses of this over the weekend. It is a bit on the sweet side though so if you don't like that you won't enjoy it.

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