Surprised to hear it's that hard to find. I'm in Chicagoland as well and it seems to be pretty available (though I don't buy it so I don't pay super close attention). A connection at a store or restaurant is pretty sweet, especially if the price point is good. If it's too far north of $35-40 and you live near a Binny's they get their deliveries on the same days every week (Wednesdays or Fridays usually) and they get Eagle Rare on the regular, so that might be worth a phone call. Though there's also an argument to be made for supporting your local pub even at a higher price point because I'm sure they're struggling with COVID.

The Binny's we frequent (Evanston & Lakeview) will only sell one bottle at a time, and it's kept locked up. They do not always have it in stock, and you can't even find it on their website. Whole Foods occasionally has it on the shelf, and he's cleared them on more than one occasion. We're big supporters of our local pub, so he's happy to buy from them if they can supply it. Let me know if you see it in stock on the north side/near north suburbs because I know he would happily stock up. In the meantime, he bought a bottle of Kentucky Owl to get by :)

As an FYI, Van Winkle hits Chicago this week and the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection next week if you’re interested. Happy hunting.

There is a new law in Kentucky allowing distillers to sell across state lines directly to consumers who live where reciprocity has been granted. I emailed Angel’s Envy to ask what states are eligible and they responded:


“The states are Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, and Washington DC.”

Made a couple of Manhattans tonight.

Made one with Sazerac Rye and one with Single Barrel Sagamore Ragtime Rye (a nice Christmas gift). I usually love Sazerac Rye but the rye % is too low and makes the cherry flavor too dominant, the Ragtime Rye makes the better option here with the higher rye mash.

Fun to experiment at home to taste the differences.

The real question... what kind of cherries? :D

It was a spur of the moment decision to make Manhattans and I was already at Whole Foods, the only thing they had was Tillen Farm Bada Bing cherries.

Pretty solid IMO — I know Luxardo is the gold standard but the TF worked well and was a lot lighter on the wallet

I just read that 400 bottles of Pappy are up for grabs in PA, most direct to consumers. Must be a resident. It’s a lottery. Google for instructions.

I’ve entered! I have never been lucky in these things...maybe this time will be different.

Based on last year, odds are roughly 1% chance of winning (~1k bottles, ~120k entries)

That's actually better than I expected.

I'd take 1% odds. I've been entering the Durham, Orange, and Mecklenurg (NC) ABC Lotteries since 2014 (covers not only Pappy but BTAC and a few other "special bourbons") and nothing so 1% would be an improvement.

“True” Pappy is way down this year. Bottle counts for 23yr are down almost 75% and 20yr about 60%. Just like what happened with almost all of the BTAC products.

A lot more VW rye this year though, and the Van Winkle bourbons that aren’t Pappy are roughly flat (<10% change).

Early Times Bottled in Bond
 

I stopped by a liquor store today to see if they had anything interesting and I was shocked to find that Early Times Bottled in Bond ($25, if memory serves) was in the special cabinet where they keep "rare" and expensive booze and limit quantities you can purchase at one time.

Anyone know what's so special about this $25 bourbon that it must be hidden from the masses?

(Edited to add: forgot to mention that the bottle had two different DSP plant numbers printed on it. BiB whiskies must be distilled during one season at one plant so why the two DSP numbers on one bottle?)

Gosh do they still make it these days? It's been decades since I had "squirrely times" as it was usually one of the cheaper bourbons at local bars.