I’ll admit it. I’m a bargain shopper. I love a good deal. I can’t resist a big sale either. It’s a problem I know. It’s not like I shop a lot, but when I do I look for value. So naturally, when I started looking at good bourbon, I looked for the best bourbon price I could find. You may be wondering where to find Wild Turkey bourbon prices or a good maker mark bourbon price, but where can you find this kind of information?
It’s not always easy to find the best deal in bourbons. In fact, for rare bottles you may never know for sure if you’re getting the best price. For more common bottles, then it’s a whole lot easier to shop around.
Most people just go to their corner liquor store and pay whatever they have to. If you’re lucky, you may have a favorite shop and the owner gives you a discount. I have a really good friend who drinks a ton. So when he goes to his liquor store, they give him anything he wants.
State Specific Liquor Stores?
In some states, like North Carolina, you have to go to a special store to buy booze. You can’t just go into any grocery store and buy liquor. You could get beer and wine that way, but not liquor. This can really make it hard to shop around because there’s only one option!
In NC, these are called ABC stores and they’re all over the place. These are not to be confused with the ABC stores that are all over Waikiki in Hawaii, although you can get liquor there, too.
It all started back in 1933 when Prohibition was repealed. After that, liquor regulation became a state function. So that’s why you can buy liquor on every street corner in California, but you have to go to a specific state run liquor store in Virginia.
Privately Owned Retail shops
Even in states that allow liquor sales by private businesses, like California, there are a lot of state laws that regulate these sales. In fact, these laws can be really variable.
For example, they may limit liquor sails to certain types of retailers or they may regulate the hours that liquor can be sold. Like in Hawaii you can only buy liquor until 2am, I think. At least that’s how it used to be.
But even when the state allows private retailers to sell liquor, there are some states that regulate the wholesale/distributor end of the process instead of the actual stores. This means that the state basically sets minimum prices and determines what you can get.
These are the states that use this system:
- Iowa
- Maine
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Montana
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Vermont
- Wyoming
- West Virginia
I feel like this system is particularly sneaky. Most people in Portland, for example, have no idea this is happening. They just see the prices and pay them. They may love their Bulleit Bourbon, but if they want more choices it’s not in their control.
ABC Stores
Most states allow private retailers to sell alcohol, but there are 8 states that don’t. They use ABC stores, which stands for “Alcoholic Beverage Control”. You’ll see them along the side of the road all over the place.
These are the most strict states when it comes to the purchase of liquor. I’ve already mentioned North Carolina. The other states include:
- Alabama
- Idaho
- New Hampshire
- Pennsylvania
- Utah
- Virginia
- Washington
So then where are the best bourbon prices?
Well, now that we’ve got the state regulated sales out of the way, let’s try to find the best prices we can. This is largely going to depend on what you’re looking for. The difference is going to hinge on whether you are in search of a rare bottle or a common bottle.
Rare Bottles
Rare bottles are going to be somewhat difficult to comparison shop. These bottles are rare for a reason: there are fewer bottles than there are people that want them. It’s simple supply and demand.
And since they are rare, some stores will charge a ton. The most important thing to realize is that the stores may be overcharging for these bourbons. For example, a lot of liquor stores will have a couple bottles of Pappy just to pump up their reputation. You might think that if they have Pappy, then they must have a lot of good stuff or they’re the well connected liquor store. Maybe this is true, but it does not mean that the Pappy is being sold for a good price. The store may just inflate the price of the Pappy because it’s worth something to them just to have on the wall. So they don’t really need or intend to sell it.
Of course, if you find something you really want, then you might have to pay for it. Some things you just can’t find elsewhere. Then they’ve got you! That’s the worst, but at least you probably know you’re getting something really good.
For rare bottles, you may have to do some searching online. There are places you can find rare bottles and have them mailed to you. The shipping could be a pretty hefty price to pay, but again if that’s the only way to get something then you may just have to pay it.
For example, if you want to try some Hillrock Estates Solera Aged Bourbon, these can be easy to find in New York State. But for those of us on the West Coast, we may need to have a relative send it over. Otherwise, we might have to pay the shipping from an online liquor store. I did this and I really the bourbon. More on that later, but you get the idea.
Common Bottles
Now here is where you will be able to save some money by shopping around. The more common bourbons can be found at many stores and they all set their prices differently.
Here in California, I’ve noticed that the grocery store selection of bourbon has really taken off. It’s getting really pretty decent. I think that’s a testament to how popular bourbons have become.
I regularly see a nice selection that includes Basil Hayden, Michter’s, High West, Bulleit, Elijah Craig, Eagle Rare, and Four Roses, among others. This is not to say that these are all the high end versions of these, but even the mid-range versions are pretty good.
However, that doesn’t mean the prices are going to be great. In the past, I’ve almost always seen better prices at the grocery store than I have seen at corner liquor stores.
However, that’s no longer a rule to live by. There are lots of times the grocery stores will inflate their prices so they can advertise a big discount. The big discount often catches people like me who love to see that and feel like they’ve saved a lot of money. You still need to get a feel for prices elsewhere before assuming a price is good. But never fear, read on for the shortcuts to finding good prices.
Liquor Stores
Liquor stores are so variable. Some of the stores with the best selections are also the highest priced. This is because people know they have good stuff, so the connoisseurs all go to them first. They pay the price because they want the extensive choice.
However, if you are shopping on price, then the place to go is the shop that has less of a selection, but sometimes get really good bottles. These are the stores that have a less discerning clientele. They sell more Titos Vodka and Jack Daniels than anything else.
People don’t go to these stores looking for really good bourbon, so they can’t price them as high. That’s where you’ll find some deals.
Even better, you could make friends with the owner and ask them to order certain bottles. Of course, you should ask them how much they would sell them for first. The owner will love that because you can guarantee them some sales. They’ll often give you a price break because they don’t have to sell those bottles. It’s like having a presale and they won’t even take up any shelf space. It saves them money!
So if you buy a lot of liquor, then this is the way to go. It’s like finding yourself a direct dealer.
Big Chain Stores
Stores like Bevmo and Total Wines and More can be a great place to get liquor. They often have sales that rotate through their product. If bottles sit on their shelves, then they will put them up for sale quickly. That shelf space is costing them money and they are right on top of their inventory.
In my experience, Total Wines and More has better prices than Bevmo, but they aren’t as convenient to my location. So location is always a factor of course. But it’s worth it to get on their email lists to get the specials emailed to you.
Also, sometimes you will find that they have a good selection of bourbon. I got a bottle of Orphan Barrel Barterhouse when they were first released several years ago. That was a great find of what turned out to be a very popular bourbon. It’s my wife’s favorite!
A Shortcut to Finding a Good Price
In the end, we really don’t care if we get our liquor at the grocery store, the corner liquor store, or a big box retailer. We just want to pay a fair price! So how do we know if we are getting ripped off?
Well, being the bargain shopper that I am, I’ve looked for places that offer good prices and still have a decent selection. I’ll show you a shortcut to making sure you are getting a good price.
There is a website called Wine-searcher.com. This website is hooked up with a bunch of liquor stores across the country. You can filter the stores by state and distance to you as well. They don’t have every liquor store in America, but they have enough to give you a sample cross section of the prices that are being paid near you.
You can look up any bottle you want on this website. They have a pretty extensive database of liquors of all kinds. It was originally a website where you could look up rare wine. Then you could go and get something specific at a store near you. However, I have had some definite success using it for bourbon.
Since they give you a list of retailers that have your booze in stock, you can see what each place is charging as well. This is a huge help because you can see which liquor stores are trying to rob people and which ones have fair pricing that will be kind to your wallet.
This helps in two ways. First, if you are looking at a specific bottle, then you’ll know if they have it in stock and the price. You can go straight to that source.
The second piece of information you get from the site is a general feel for the various liquor stores that are within driving distance to you. You can keep a mental database of the stores that carry the stuff you are like. Also, you can figure out which stores have decent prices. The idea is that their pricing practices may carry over to other products as well. Maybe you can also get a cheap bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label, too?!
In any case, once you have an idea for the high prices and low prices, then you can shop around at the local liquor stores and you will know if they have good prices, too. Remember, not all liquor stores are in the wine-searcher database, so the liquor store a block from your house may have prices that are just as good as any other.
So that’s how I take a shortcut to figuring out where to buy my liquor. Often times, I will pull up wine-searcher.com on my phone while I’m at a liquor store. It helps me decide which bottle to pick up. For very rare bottles, sometimes I still have to order the bottle and have it mailed to me, but those are usually reserved for special occasions.
I hope that helps you in your quest for the best bourbon whiskey out there. At least, I hope it saves you all some moolah!
Cheers!