Civilized said:

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Bell Tower Grey said:

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My inner Johnston County raised its' redneck head today. I picked up two quarts of lineage moonshine from the family of someone whose granddad and my granddad made whisky together on occasion. I'd heard that some of them were producing occasionally, so while I was in the area, I made a call and got an invite to stop by. I'll just say that the visit was worth my time. As good a batch of shine as I've had in years.

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Flavored?

Or just straight lightning?

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Straight up. Smooth as a newborn baby's skin. Burns as blue as Elvis' shoes.

Agree on getting excited to hunt was thinking of areas I am considering visiting in the fall to hopefully find a couple of bottles.

I haven't been to successful with the Weller collection but Michters has been my go to. Really hoping to score some toasted and barrel strength this year.

I would be curious in random bottle others are hoping to find this year.

The only limited release bottle I really want is William Larue Weller, but it's not very likely I ever get one. I typically track down the new releases to try, but I'm fairly over the allocated stuff. The only one on my list each year is Master's Keep, which I got this year again, so I'm satisfied with that, though I long for the days when there wasn't anyone else looking for those. Unfortunately the Turkey is out of the bag it seems.

wilmwolf, just curious, how much do the Elijah Craig Barrel Proofs usually run out the in NC?

If y'all have never seen it, please look up the documentary movie "Neat: The Story of Bourbon". Ran across it early this morning. Fascinating and enlightening piece about bourbon.

$50

Also a lot of times those are sitting on the shelf in NC but people don't look for it as much since it's not a Buffalo Trace product.

Went to a total wine in South Carolina and buffalo Trace was in a locked cabinet and ECBP was on the shelf.

wilmwolf80 said:

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$50

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Thanks!

Having a little eagle rare post-call right now

WolfpackCPA said:

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Also a lot of times those are sitting on the shelf in NC but people don't look for it as much since it's not a Buffalo Trace product.

Went to a total wine in South Carolina and buffalo Trace was in a locked cabinet and ECBP was on the shelf.

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It's interesting reading these perspectives from where I'm at. Buffalo Trace is readily available most places here. Reading this thread, makes it sound like it's a diamond in the rough there.

Stores in NC get Buffalo Trace once a quarter. Normally just a few cases per store. For the most part sells out in a few hours. Less in the populated areas. Used to be that guys like me that knew about delivery schedules and distribution were few and far between, but with social media and the different bourbon Facebook pages, everyone knows when and where everything gets delivered. Some of the ABC boards even post it on Facebook or send emails. There's so many people in the game now that it's not really worth my time anymore to chase the trucks around.

wilmwolf80 said:

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Stores in NC get Buffalo Trace once a quarter. Normally just a few cases per store. For the most part sells out in a few hours. Less in the populated areas. Used to be that guys like me that knew about delivery schedules and distribution were few and far between, but with social media and the different bourbon Facebook pages, everyone knows when and where everything gets delivered. Some of the ABC boards even post it on Facebook or send emails. There's so many people in the game now that it's not really worth my time anymore to chase the trucks around.

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If it was legal to ship it to you, I would! Haha

Appreciate it! Fortunately I've got a big stash and still have my lesser known spots if I needed to pick any up. Can't give away all my secrets.

wilmwolf80 said:

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Stores in NC get Buffalo Trace once a quarter. Normally just a few cases per store. For the most part sells out in a few hours. Less in the populated areas. Used to be that guys like me that knew about delivery schedules and distribution were few and far between, but with social media and the different bourbon Facebook pages, everyone knows when and where everything gets delivered. Some of the ABC boards even post it on Facebook or send emails. There's so many people in the game now that it's not really worth my time anymore to chase the trucks around.

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Yeah Wilmington is doing the email system and I am basically done hoping to get any rare bottles here.

I wish they would turn it more into a lottery system to help this mysterious reason for why NC is considered the worst of all 50 states for bourbon hunting.

WolfpackCPA said:

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wilmwolf80 said:

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Stores in NC get Buffalo Trace once a quarter. Normally just a few cases per store. For the most part sells out in a few hours. Less in the populated areas. Used to be that guys like me that knew about delivery schedules and distribution were few and far between, but with social media and the different bourbon Facebook pages, everyone knows when and where everything gets delivered. Some of the ABC boards even post it on Facebook or send emails. There's so many people in the game now that it's not really worth my time anymore to chase the trucks around.

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Yeah Wilmington is doing the email system and I am basically done hoping to get any rare bottles here.

I wish they would turn it more into a lottery system to help this mysterious reason for why NC is considered the worst of all 50 states for bourbon hunting.

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The New Hanover county ABC board is a joke. I've posted part of this anecdote in this thread before I think, but I'll repeat it again. This is a primer for my larger post about how messed up the system is in NC that I will write one day.

NHC has a list for allocated bottles. I asked around several years ago and was given an email address to contact to get on the list. The response I received was that the list was too long, so they had stopped taking names. They wouldn't tell me how many names there were, just that it was too many (I have been told that there are enough names on the list to stretch 10 years or more). I was advised by this person, who is a high level person, that I should look to neighboring counties and try to get bourbon there. Their official response was that I should take my $$$ to a different county. I had to laugh. I've taken them up on that advice, and in the years since, I buy very little bourbon here in NHC.

The messed up part is that I know with first hand knowledge that they only go by that list when they want to. NHC received three bottles of one of the recent EH Taylor limited releases, 18 Year marriage I think. Two of those bottles went to one person, one to his business through the liquor by the drink side of the ABC, and one to him personally. The other went to a local politician. Those types of allocated releases are supposed to go to the next person on the list, but they did not. The reality is, when some bottles come in, certain people get a call and an opportunity to buy that bottle, before it gets to the list or the shelf. I happen to know one of those people, which is how I know a lot of what I know about the inner workings of this stuff. Over the years I've benefited by getting some of his scraps that he didn't want, but that doesn't make the backroom politics at play any less infuriating for me.

wilmwolf80 said:

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The New Hanover county ABC board is a joke. I've posted part of this anecdote in this thread before I think, but I'll repeat it again. This is a primer for my larger post about how messed up the system is in NC that I will write one day.

NHC has a list for allocated bottles. I asked around several years ago and was given an email address to contact to get on the list. The response I received was that the list was too long, so they had stopped taking names. They wouldn't tell me how many names there were, just that it was too many (I have been told that there are enough names on the list to stretch 10 years or more). I was advised by this person, who is a high level person, that I should look to neighboring counties and try to get bourbon there. Their official response was that I should take my $$$ to a different county. I had to laugh. I've taken them up on that advice, and in the years since, I buy very little bourbon here in NHC.

The messed up part is that I know with first hand knowledge that they only go by that list when they want to. NHC received three bottles of one of the recent EH Taylor limited releases, 18 Year marriage I think. Two of those bottles went to one person, one to his business through the liquor by the drink side of the ABC, and one to him personally. The other went to a local politician. Those types of allocated releases are supposed to go to the next person on the list, but they did not. The reality is, when some bottles come in, certain people get a call and an opportunity to buy that bottle, before it gets to the list or the shelf. I happen to know one of those people, which is how I know a lot of what I know about the inner workings of this stuff. Over the years I've benefited by getting some of his scraps that he didn't want, but that doesn't make the backroom politics at play any less infuriating for me.

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Fascinating stuff and unfortunately not surprising; the ABC store system in NC seems to be one of the most corruption-laced aspects of our state government.

Some combination of these localized county-based fiefdoms, huge salaries, "vice" products, huge and unwavering liquor demand, monopolized industry, etc. just breeds malfeasance.

That is very insightful and I realize I am probably not going to get an opportunity at a EHT 18 year.

What I find really frustrating in NC is that I have never heard of people buying. Weller 12 & full proof which is popping up everywhere in Texas and Georgia. How about some of the Michter's collection like toasted barrel or barrel strength. I have never heard of anybody finding Elmer or Old Fitzgerald in NC.

Last year there was a lottery at a Johnston county ABC stores, and I believe one of the allocated bottles was ECBP. I picked up that bottle a couple of weeks ago in SC for 60 bucks, that shouldn't be an allocated bottle.

NC needs to change and be more transparent like VA or other state run states where you can search online to see which stores are receiving bottles.

NC is killing the hunt if all the allocated bottles never hit the shelf.

Weller 12, Elmer, and Old Fitz are all included in the holiday time lotteries for the most part, or in New Hanover "the list", and never go on the shelves. I know people who have gotten all of those things through lotteries. The Michter's may be included in the end of year allocation, or not. Part of the larger problem is that the individual boards, of which there are way more than counties, pretty much do as they please, so there is no unified policy. In some areas, typically the more rural ones, they just keep those kinds of things behind the shelf or in the back room, and call people that they know are looking for those kinds of things to come get them. Full Proof has worked that way for some areas, same with Weller Single Barrel. I know people that got calls for both of those. Same with Old Forester Birthday. Some of those people have worked very hard for those relationships, and I respect that, but the lack of a unified policy and lack of transparency makes it very frustrating. It is even more frustrating because a very large number of those bottles end up on the secondary market at a huge markup. If you get a bottle of Pappy in NC at retail, you can sell it for 10x the minute it is in your possession. As someone who buys bourbon to open and drink, I find that very frustrating. That's another part of the way things are in this state that open the process to corruption.

I'm not sure which group in NC is more corrupt, the ABC board or the DOT.

Perhaps,in this day and time due to the flood of media available, we're seeing just how corrupt this state really is. I've lived here over 61 years, and while you always knew there were some things "going on", it never seemed to this extent....maybe it was, and it wasn't really public knowledge?

What I know is that this isn't the Variety Vacationland state that I grew up knowing. Politics and politicians on all levels make me sick.

The Elijah Craig toasted barrel is rolling out starting this week. Should be a few cases per store based on the amount in stock. Probably will go fast for you Raleigh guys but may stick around in the more rural areas.

Look forward to trying to pick that up. Picked up a crown peach so interested to see why everybody gets excited for that flavor.

Now, I've had a bunch of crown in my day, and I've had some peach flavored moonshine on occasion, but the popularity of that product amazes me. I was in a store when some people came in looking for it, but they were sold out. Guy behind the counter told me you would think it was Blanton's with the way people were looking for it. Said they were going to put a limit of one per customer when they got more in. Damnedest thing I've heard of.

If you are in Wilmington, the Maker's Mark wood finishing series limited release for 2020 is on shelves.

Elijah Craig makes a pretty good old fashioned for a Sunday evening

Agree, Elijah Craig and Turkey 101 are go to old fashioned bourbons. If I want to drop down a few dollars, Evan Williams White label BIB, and Old Granddad BIB do great in cocktails as well.

Mormad said:

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Elijah Craig makes a pretty good old fashioned for a Sunday evening

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Highly underrated cocktail.

You make yours pretty traditional?

I usually do 3 shots bourbon, 1 shot simple syrup, 4- 5 shakes orange bitters, 4-5 shakes traditional bitters, a filthy cherry and a few drops of cherry juice, and ice. That, to me, is a great OF. You?

Mormad said:

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I usually do 3 shots bourbon, 1 shot simple syrup, 4- 5 shakes orange bitters, 4-5 shakes traditional bitters, a filthy cherry and a few drops of cherry juice, and ice. That, to me, is a great OF. You?

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Love it.

I prefer dryer, more bitter flavors to sweet flavors so I'll often cut back altogether on the syrup but you nailed it. Making sure to get some good cherries is key.

About half an ounce of simple syrup, a few fingers of bourbon, about five dashes of bitters. I don't really measure anything anymore, I know how I like them and can eyeball it pretty darn accurately. I like mixing up the bitters, and combining different ones, doing a few dashes each of aromatic, cherry, and orange gives me a nice depth. My goal in any cocktail is accentuating the spirit, not covering it up. Sometimes to mix it up I'll use maple syrup instead of sugar, and I've also made a honey syrup. A little sweetener goes a long way, and you don't want to overpower it, but those offer a nice nuance to the flavor. I don't typically garnish, not even a cherry, unless I have someone over and I want the presentation to look better. I've done quite a bit of reading on the subject, and I believe the evidence suggests that most of these original old time cocktails didn't use garnish when they were created like we do know. I've ordered a few at bars over the years that came out looking like a fruit salad. Plus, it's added time to make the drink, and I'm making something to consume, not look at. Ultimately there's no right or wrong way, and the cool part is there are thousands of variations you can do on the basic theme, and in fact, most other traditional cocktails are a riff on the basic theme of the old fashioned- spirit, sweetener, and herbs or bittering agent.

Yep, went with 3 shots of JO and 1/2 shot of simple syrup, and 4 shakes each of aromatic and orange tonight... Really nice. Did garnish with a filthy ass cherry tho. I prefer my bourbon neat or with a splash of water, so this OF with less sweet stuff was really quite nice.

Mormad said:

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Yep, went with 3 shots of JO and 1/2 shot of simple syrup, and 4 shakes each of aromatic and orange tonight... Really nice. Did garnish with a filthy ass cherry tho. I prefer my bourbon neat or with a splash of water, so this OF with less sweet stuff was really quite nice.

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That sounds fantastic. Happy Friday!

Whelp, I took the bait. Made mine with Maker's cask strength and two dashes each of aromatic, orange, and cherry. I did leave off the fruit. The wife is fond of Luxardo cherries so I made her's with one of those and Eagle Rare.

Nice! Both those make great old fashioneds.

Mormad said:

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Having a little eagle rare post-call right now

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My wife is pregnant with our first kid, so I face a dilemma. Do I continue drinking the bottle of wine a night all by myself or develop a new vice. The choice was obvious & the wine shop I'd inherited from her happened to have quite the whisky section. So, I jumped in with both feet & one of my first loves was Eagle Rare, 17 yr old that they sold for about $70. They also sold a lot of Pappy for pretty good prices. Had I had any idea, I should've bought them out and could be a rich man today. What's crazy is that this was just 11 years ago!

Around 2007ish I started drinking Blanton's regularly. It was always available, and every week when I bought a bottle, the clerk would always say something like -"getting the expensive stuff, must be a special occasion". It was sub $50 then. These days, darn near everything on my shelves cost more than $50, and Blanton's may as well be Bigfoot in NC. The game has changed, and even in the last few years gotten crazier, which I didn't think was possible.