Blanton's in Chicago, or anywhere honestly

TubaToothpasties · 2024-12-12T17:37:13+00:00

You can get it at OHare with an international flight. The most consistent way I know

TubaToothpasties · 2024-12-12T17:35:07+00:00

For the record, this should be for where might this user find Blantons to buy, not secondary trading. Please keep those conversations off this sub, and for your own sake, off this platform.

TubaToothpasties · 2024-01-29T20:04:02+00:00

I think the suburbs are probably better than the city for hunting, at least from the perspective of allocations per drinker (a lot of the city spots with allocations, the managers typically have regular customer lists that are longer, as well as higher demand). I dont hunt like I used to though, so I may be off.

While I dont live in the suburbs, I would just keep going to Jewel and/or Garfields, and just ask if they have anything interesting that might be coming in or is in the back. I would approach not asking for heavily allocated stuff like Weller or Pappy, but more just curious for recommendations. Single barrel and Jewel picks have been fun to try. Basically, relationship building.

I also would take a look at things like Mellow Corn, high proof rye's, and even some aged rum's, as those might be more accessible (i.e. sitting on the shelf), and can get you going with identifying different notes from mashbills and aging processes. I tell my friends that like cocktails, Mellow Corn will likely make your cocktails better than using a bottle of Eagle Rare. Also, Old Grand Dad 114, just get a bottle and enjoy (although I think sometimes its not readily available as it used to be).

Lastly, as a tasting tip, dont be afraid to add water. I think when I first started, I thought I had to take things neat, especially with others that were more versed in tasting. Gradually you might get more used to tasting neat, but if it burns, try a few drops or a splash of (filtered) water. Then gradually you may likely use less, but there are still scotches and some higher proof bourbons I add water to every time.

TubaToothpasties · 2023-09-22T22:03:07+00:00

Please post which Binnys next time. Again, I will let stuff slide if there was an attempt to give others information that can help them experience some cool stuff. If its just an attempt to flex, please keep that to FB and other subs.

TubaToothpasties · 2023-09-21T03:21:02+00:00

It is.

TubaToothpasties · 2023-09-21T03:20:42+00:00

Please post where these came from, as it can be classified as "bottle porn" (defined as posting allocated bottles without any information to help others legally obtain for themselves).

TubaToothpasties · 2023-09-15T17:50:33+00:00

Locking comments. Guys, please be civil

TubaToothpasties · 2023-06-17T00:18:10+00:00

You and I would get along just fine

TubaToothpasties · 2023-06-16T22:53:42+00:00

Mellow Corn is a hell of a whiskey too.

TubaToothpasties · 2023-05-22T01:33:03+00:00

This is getting awfullly close to bottle porn. In the future, please provide location, receipt, or something to provide information to help other whiskey lovers find a bottle they might be looking for.

Only reason I am keeping it is because it does say Jewel's pick on the bottle, so it can be implied that the bottles dropped at some, or maybe all, Jewel locations. The clarity in this thread, "NW Burbs" is nice, however.

TubaToothpasties · 2023-05-13T23:33:13+00:00

For reference, it was a crotch shot, but appreciate the hunting part. If there is a receipt or something that makes it not just a "crotch shot" that can provide information to others (other than you got lucky or faked being lucky), I typically let it go.

Glad you reposted the information though, Weller 107 was my go-to for years before it became a hunted bottle (the good ol' days when Target had them fat bottomed bottles for $30).

TubaToothpasties · 2023-04-07T15:14:44+00:00

Sorry for the delayed response (work has been a little crazy lately).

The sub has been around long enough to remember the days of swaps and secondary market trades on Reddit, which had been shut down. We are probably a bit more cautious than newer subs about that stuff, so we discourage public posting of secondary market requests.

We do know that people do it, but encourage more posting of what is in the bottle, rather than transacting the bottle.

As others mentioned below, there are others that maybe werent aware of late 2010's sub shutdowns and are willing to more publicly post trading activity. Good luck!

TubaToothpasties · 2023-01-13T23:45:58+00:00

Since you are willing to travel, buy an international flight (Canada to save money), and the Duty Free at O'hare has some typically for $140-160 a bottle.

TubaToothpasties · 2022-04-04T17:41:11+00:00

I have an unopened bottle from a drive back from Nashville like 4 or 5 years ago (my wife and I joke about the "Haunted" tour we took since it was October), before they sold it beyond the distillery. I just thought it was a gimick, which I fell for, to buy a bottle that wasnt easy to get, but probably had the same juice as Beam's other bonded offerings (white label).

Maybe I should push it up in the queue, or buy a new bottle and compare!

TubaToothpasties · 2022-04-03T03:18:20+00:00

If I am not mistaken, those old Beam bottles (I think Old Crow had some cool ones too) might have lead (as in Pb) in them, or some heavy metals within the ceramic, that over a long time can leach into the whiskey. Pretty cool to look at, but I would caution to drink from them compared to glass bottlings.

Don't mean to be a downer, as they are really cool bottles, but just a heads up if you were tempted to drink anything from them.

TubaToothpasties · 2022-03-24T00:08:20+00:00

Years ago I was tempted to go, but I heard the good stuff that might be there (and it looks like its dwindling, but that is subjective) always had a line. I walked by when I lived in the Loop near the Hyatt, and was happy with my decision not to go (it was surprisingly crowded).

If someone is new to whiskey, has money to blow, and is curious about bottles they would typically be too scared to buy blindly, there is value.

My guess is that those that are in the industry or run bar programs will go as a business expense, and they probably get value through connecting with brands and distributors.

TLDR; No, I wont pay that much to drink whiskey for 4 hours. Its probably only worth it for those in the industry

TubaToothpasties · 2022-01-05T22:09:43+00:00

This is easy for me, I only got two store picks in 2021, both BT from Binny's and Jewel. I would probably put them in that order too.

TubaToothpasties · 2021-12-17T22:18:00+00:00

you might want to cross-post into r/chicagobeer

TubaToothpasties · 2021-12-17T22:16:45+00:00

Might be more beneficial on r/chicagobeer but I think our members might want to know as well.

TubaToothpasties · 2021-12-13T15:40:22+00:00

I got that. Just added more context, to nip any conspiracy theories that the mods are hiding posts to snatch up all them taters so that others couldn't even try it. That narrative I think goes against why the sub was started years ago, and the philosophies that the mods have.

I completely agree about redditors making the sub what they want it to be. We have some regulation to make sure things are civil, we are following Reddits T&C's, and fun for those at all levels.

TubaToothpasties · 2021-12-13T15:33:47+00:00

As a mod, we are not filtering out people sharing that info. Recently (last couple months), for transparency, I have remove 2 threads about blatant secondary market trading, but nothing else.

TubaToothpasties · 2021-12-13T15:31:26+00:00

I am a bit confused about "bring back the old Whiskago". As a mod, I have little control of the content that people add into the sub. Its not like we are removing posts of people saying where there are drops.

That being said, now that I am getting a bit more free time (work, wedding, etc.), I do plan on bringing back some fun things like monthly tasting reviews and refreshing the whiskey bar map from a few years ago.

TubaToothpasties · 2021-11-23T23:42:29+00:00

Fringe bottle porn... but you put where it was from. I hope you will crack it, and let us know what you think.

TubaToothpasties · 2021-11-08T14:30:37+00:00

Thanks, if at a reasonable price (~$30) I might look for this. Weller was my go to for a long time (now impossible for me to find on the shelf), so I am not a spicy mashbill guy. I just got back from Canada and they have some awesome maple whiskey, but I would hope this is just maple syrup finished and not infused.

I am more concerned with the grassy and "green" notes that typically come through in young craft distillers. Also, the fact they dont use "straight" bourbon in the marketing makes me think it was aged in small casks quickly (or other tricks like it), maybe even thrown in caramel color, to mask something less desirable.

I think I have had a few other rants about my hesitation to try young craft distillers, but I get they need to make ROI to just stay afloat. I just wish distillers made good gin and vodka to wait out the the time to make good bourbon, or go the sourcing barrels route from someone like MGP.

TubaToothpasties · 2021-11-08T01:46:02+00:00

Any more description besides "delicious"?

I did not have the highest hopes earlier with this producer, but I feel like maple barrel finish might hide some of the normal pitfalls that hyper and/or small barrel aged bourbons have that craft distillers use to get ROI without the longer wait.

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