We are entering a time of year when special bottles are bought to honor our loved ones or celebrate milestones. Stores will see an increase in demand preceding Father’s Day. Wedding seasons are next in the lineup as brides search for the special bottle for their grooms or the grooms look for the special bottle to enjoy with their groomsmen. Hopefully, we are seeing more of a trend in buying mothers their favorite whiskey. Fingers crossed? Then there are those special bottles we buy ourselves to celebrate milestones. Then there are the ones we buy in memory of a special person no longer in our lives.
“Would you please recommend…?”
“I need help finding…”
“Do you have…?”
“I need a gift for…”
“Which bottle would you choose?”
Anyone with any topic experience becomes the go-to resource when you need something. Yet, what do you do when the item is all based on preferences? How do you help when you don’t know the person receiving the gift? These are questions asked all the time by those who work in the whiskey section of any liquor store or who have extensive whiskey knowledge. One question turns into multiple questions asked back to help guide the buyer into a direction that would hopefully work out best for them. It is all the “Twenty Questions” guessing game where everyone has their own preferences, and the store associates must guess so that the giver comes out the winner.
The Twenty Questions game always starts with what is it that you are looking for? Why are you looking for a bottle? Price range? Transitioning into more questions about the receiver’s preferred brand, style of whiskey, or how do they enjoy it? All questions to get a glimpse of the direction to head towards the best choice among the available options. Being a detective and snooping around before heading to your favorite liquor store will make the experience easier and more pleasant for everyone involved. If not, you may be directed towards the dreaded store’s favorite selections that bring them the most profits or incentives or a store associate who has little knowledge in that section.
Sometimes, the buyer is highly prepared, knowing exactly which bottle they want. Unfortunately, it falls in the extremely impossible to obtain unless you want to search for smaller stores and pay obscene amounts over the MSRP. They can be bought if you are willing to add an extra digit to the end of what you think you should pay, some are even two digits! These bottles are nicknamed “unicorn” or “allocated”. Strolling into a large retailer is not going to get you the results you wish. Those places require loyalty points, lists, special emails, and special calls after spending significant amounts at the store over the year. Family members leave frustrated as they discover they are unable to obtain the special bottle they were so excited to be able to get for their loved ones.
The best customers are those who have pictures of their loved ones’ whiskey selections or know of other easily obtainable bottles that are on their wish lists. Being able to look at a picture and point directly to a bottle with solid confidence makes everyone involved happy. Knowing their favorite brand means helping direct them to possibly a special expression or a unique store pick to help them experience more of what the brand has to offer. Knowing they absolutely love American Single Malts helps direct them to an extremely specific section of the store to help aide in selecting a new or favorite bottle.
Whiskey enthusiasts have special bottles. They are usually valued due to rarity, age, or price. These bottles are saved for a specific special occasion such as weddings, retirements, birthdays, and other significant milestones. Every now and then, a bottle does not fit into the special category for any reason that a stranger would find. It is an average-looking bottle that can be easily replaced. No value is easily attributed to what is on the label, yet it is beyond the everyday grab. This bottle is attached to someone. It was that special person’s favorite brand. It was a bottle you were saving to enjoy with them when they went into remission. It was the bottle you shared with them, and only them, when they came to visit. The sentimental bottles have no price comparison, but they are secretly treasured, brought out to remember, and quietly replaced in hopes of keeping that person’s memory alive. No other bottle will ever compete. Never question the purchase or request for bottles from a whiskey enthusiast who knows what is on the shelf. They were kind enough to give you an easy to find bottle that they know they will enjoy in a price range they know you will be able to afford. Please do not deviate from this request!
In closing, I leave you with recommendations to take your favorite person to build whiskey memories to these local distilleries. Build memories while experiencing whiskey and supporting veteran-owned distilleries. Chapline Distillery is owned by a Navy Submariner veteran. Many of his barrels are named in honor of submarines. Ranger Creek Brewery and Distillery is military-owned and employs many veterans. Garrison Brothers Distillery in Hye honors veterans every Veteran’s Day and encourages Remember Everyone Deployed (RED) Fridays.
There are many in our community who have served or are still serving. Some of us have our loved ones actively deployed in the depths of the worst areas currently on the globe. This toast is to honor them: “To those who went, to those who are there still, to those who have returned, to those who never will.”
