Stuart W.
Yelp
As a certified bourbon addict, I make certain to visit liquor stores in every town I visit. One never knows when one may see a new bourbon not available in Tennessee due to our arcane and insipid Bible-Belt inspired liquor laws. Many people rate liquor stores based on their wine selection, the helpfulness of their staff, etc. For me, its all about the small section of brown goodness and how well the staff understand that particularly important piece of their store.
As California sells liquor almost everywhere, OK bourbons are easy to find - the standards, Makers Mark, Woodford, etc. A small place, Del Mar Liquor has a decent selection of bourbons that I did not see in the neighborhood grocery store - Knob Creek Single Barrel, Four Roses Barrel Strength, and so on, but what amazed me was that they had - on the shelves - no less than 4 bottles of Pappy Van Winkle 15 year old.
For those in the know, there is no bourbon more highly sought after than Pappy Van WInkle. A delicious piece of bourbon history, I have stood on line on Black Friday at 6:30 in the morning just to be one of the few lucky ones who is allowed to buy a bottle. To see 4 bottles - not hiden away behind lock and key, but open and on the shelves is, to a bourbon-a-phile- like seeing a unicorn and then realizing you are seeing an entire Herd of unicorns.
But then, reality hit. I looked at the bottle. Pappy is rare and as such, its pretty expensive. A 15 year old bottle will sell for anywhere from $80 to $150. But at Del Mar? I had to do a triple take to make certain my eyes were reading right. FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS!
I asked the man, is that really right? He told me that in California, people who want it, want it, and so they will pay that for it. He and I had a long talk about the different bourbons he stocks, what he likes and why, and he had a pretty good grasp of the subject.
So if you are in San Diego and want to buy an almost unseen bottle of bourbon, check this place out - but bring your checkbook.
