As Tiny, your whiskey-wandering guide, I'm thrilled to share the essence of bourbon hunting and the vibrant whiskey culture that's been rapidly evolving in our very own Ohio. Imagine the glee of discovering a hidden gem on a dusty shelf, or the buzz from the crowd as we unveil the latest rare finds at a bottle share—this episode captures that and more. Join me on an exhilarating journey through the ins and outs of Ohio's transformed liquor landscape, from the state-run beginnings to the supermarket spirit giants, and how these changes have influenced my personal whiskey quest.
Delving into the heart of Ohio's whiskey revolution, we explore the state's innovative approach to democratizing bourbon access. Through a lottery system, fairness in distribution now reigns, giving enthusiasts a sporting chance at scoring those prized bottles. The episode recounts my experiences with Ohio's single barrel selection process, involving industry pros and social media influencers to curate exceptional offerings. We'll toast to the successes of initiatives like Single Barrel Saturdays and special release events that have helped even the playing field for bourbon lovers statewide.
Wrapping up our spirited discussion, we contemplate the deeper connections made possible through our shared passion for whiskey, emphasizing the significance of responsible enjoyment. From the longing for the next great whiskey bar to the warmth of camaraderie over a fine dram, this episode captures the poetic and communal aspects of our whiskey culture. So, pour yourself a glass, sit back, and immerse yourself in the stories, strategies, and soulful reflections of a true bourbon hunter's life.
https://www.scotchybourbonboys.com
As Tiny, your whiskey-wandering guide, I'm thrilled to share the essence of bourbon hunting and the vibrant whiskey culture that's been rapidly evolving in our very own Ohio. Imagine the glee of discovering a hidden gem on a dusty shelf, or the buzz from the crowd as we unveil the latest rare finds at a bottle share—this episode captures that and more. Join me on an exhilarating journey through the ins and outs of Ohio's transformed liquor landscape, from the state-run beginnings to the supermarket spirit giants, and how these changes have influenced my personal whiskey quest.
Delving into the heart of Ohio's whiskey revolution, we explore the state's innovative approach to democratizing bourbon access. Through a lottery system, fairness in distribution now reigns, giving enthusiasts a sporting chance at scoring those prized bottles. The episode recounts my experiences with Ohio's single barrel selection process, involving industry pros and social media influencers to curate exceptional offerings. We'll toast to the successes of initiatives like Single Barrel Saturdays and special release events that have helped even the playing field for bourbon lovers statewide.
Wrapping up our spirited discussion, we contemplate the deeper connections made possible through our shared passion for whiskey, emphasizing the significance of responsible enjoyment. From the longing for the next great whiskey bar to the warmth of camaraderie over a fine dram, this episode captures the poetic and communal aspects of our whiskey culture. So, pour yourself a glass, sit back, and immerse yourself in the stories, strategies, and soulful reflections of a true bourbon hunter's life.
https://www.scotchybourbonboys.com
Hey Scotchy Bourbon Boys fans, this is Alan Bishop, indiana's alchemist of the Black Forest, so I'm tuning in here today to tell you all about the One Piece of the Time Distilling Institute channel on YouTube. If you're at all interested in the art of distilling whether it be home distilling or professional distilling and the intense geekery that goes into that process, then check out the One Piece of the Time Distilling Institute on YouTube. I promise you're going to learn something you didn't know before about the art.
Speaker 2:That will continue at Lord's望. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Did we unfreeze? Alright? Welcome back to another podcast of the Scotchy Bourbon Boys Tiny here tonight in the house talking bourbon hunting. Anyways, I'm Tiny, I'm part of the Scotchy Bourbon Boys. Every once in a while I'd like to do these quick podcasts on subjects when I don't have a lot of my partners. The CT is busy tonight and Barrel Head is down in Florida, super Nash is really busy and all this stuff is happening, and also Whiskey is preoccupied with being super busy. So tonight I wasn't even sure if I was going to do a podcast tonight, but I decided that I'd go on and do a quick podcast on bourbon hunting, because that's something that everybody likes to do, right? Well, just remember, we're the Scotchy Bourbon Boys wwwscotchybourbonboyscom, for all things Scotchy Bourbon Boys. We have Scotchy Bourbon Boys T-shirts, glenn Caron's and then also we are on all of our favorite podcast formats. With our podcast formats, which are wow, let's try that again. We are on all the major podcast formats. We are on iHeartRadio, we are on Apple, we are on Spotify. If you have a format and you can listen to a podcast, we're on it. And we're also on all the major social media formats YouTube, instagram, x and Facebook. And also I would like to thank James Jacobs for being here tonight, but he also purchased the Scotchy Bourbon Boys T-shirt tonight that I hope that I'm going to drop off when I see him this Sunday.
Speaker 3:This Sunday there is a bottle share in Masaline. Through the group Bourbon Real Talk you can meet the person who runs it and, just so you know, it's just like Randall Sullivan Randy, he is going to be there here in Ohio. So if anybody's in that area wants to bring a bottle, it's 4.30 and I believe it's at the museum in Masaline. But you can check that out on the Real Talk channel. I should be there along with James Jacobs and then Randy is going to be there also, and then also we got a lot of stuff coming up. The Scotchy Bourbon Boys are busy.
Speaker 3:One. We are going to be in New Orleans for the New Orleans Bourbon Festival. That is the. We're going to be down there the 20th through the 24th for that festival, covering it through the Scotchy Bourbon Boys. I believe myself and Supernash Roxy is going to be there and then we'll also should have a little bit of time with Whiskey hitting us up a little bit during the weekend. I don't believe he's going to be down there for the whole thing, but he's coming down at least for the weekend. So check us out at the New Orleans Bourbon Festival, check out those tickets and everything. It's kind of cool. So then know also that we are right now in April.
Speaker 3:At some point the tickets for the Kentucky Bourbon Festival are going on sale. Look for that, keep looking on the Kentucky Bourbon Festival website or their Facebook page. Should be making an announcement soon on the tickets this year. You want to get them. It's a three, it's a four day festival. We're really three Friday, saturday, sunday. It is September 13, 14 and 15. You're going to want to go the tickets so fast. It's just a fantastic. If you're a Bourbon or Whiskey kind of sewer, you're just going to want to check that out.
Speaker 3:And then also, we just have so much going on. We're going to be in Kentucky for a couple barrel picks for the Kentucky Bourbon Festival and we're going to be in Starlight for an OHLQ pick, and that will get us into what we're talking about right now. Now on YouTube, we now have memberships. So once again, everybody go to memberships and we also have super chats. So if you check that out on YouTube, you can help us the memberships and that all go for either purchasing Whiskey so that we can taste it for you and let you know what we think about it, or it goes so that we can go around and bring you the trips and the events and put stuff up on YouTube on all the festivals and the places to go we tour distilleries. That's not cheap, we like to get it paid for. Also, we have one sponsorship opening right now that's come available. So if anybody's interested in sponsoring the Scotchy Bourbon Boys, contact me. I've had a couple of people contact me. I'm going to see what we're going to do right now. It's the spirit of French lick and Allen Bishop at this point and hopefully we get another sponsor coming up real soon.
Speaker 3:And then that brings me to things are going good social media wise. The YouTube channel is just exploding. The shorts are working, the Facebook lives are working. Everything's starting to work. I'm just hoping that we could get that rolling on some of the lives and also some of the stuff I upload to get a little bit more views. Tell your friends just if you like what you see, tell them to watch, tell them to listen. Like I said, we're on social media everywhere. You can see us live on Facebook. You can see us live on YouTube. Just let everybody know because it's starting. You get the feeling that this is going well and I'm just getting excited, so let's get that ball rolling.
Speaker 3:Now that brings us to. I want to pay attention on hey hey, andy, I'm gonna take it pay attention to the chat. So if you have questions, I'm gonna be looking the whole time and watching, but also know that we're gonna. We're gonna cover bourbon hunting and I hear it all the time bitching and complaining in the groups about how they don't like to Wait in line. I'm I don't want to wait in line for my bourbon. I I should be able to walk into the store, be able to buy what I want to buy. And you know that's what you hear all along. But what is bourbon about and what is whiskey about? Why is bourbon exploding? It's exploding because it's about people.
Speaker 3:The reason why I love bourbon and most of my friends love bourbon is one. We like to collect something. The bourbon is a collectible item. It also tastes good, it's a relaxing Thing and then it also looks good. You can see behind me I have shelves. I present it. It's a whole thing. People come over. They see it, it's like part of the whole culture. But then sharing bottles that you've acquired, or Some of them that are more expensive, it's also a cultural and A status symbol. So there's so many things tied into what bourbon is. But just like right now, andy Kamin and James Jacobs Andy did a happy then Winkle barrel head that we raffled off at Scotchie bourbon boys Christmas party where everybody was together and James won the Barrel head and Andy created it and it creates a friendship between People you know who got together based off of being part of the bourbon group. In society it's a social thing too, so acquiring the liquor is Very, very social.
Speaker 3:Now, when I first started I didn't really know how to acquire the liquor. I didn't know. I just knew that I couldn't get a lot of stuff and I had Super Nash sending me stuff that he would acquire. But he came up and Chara one the thing definitely yeah, robert, that was that is a good, good bottle on the Char one buzzer Drew's, but we kind of he showed me what you do and why it's fun to do it.
Speaker 3:One when you wait in line. You spend your whole life working and family time going in a line early in the morning there's a lot of people who are there with you. You pick your Liquor store that you like to go to and then, or two or three, and you get to know the people in line. Because when there's a drop and for here in Ohio, the, there are drops throughout the week, but the giant Eagles it was very difficult because Monday through Through Friday is when all the drops used to happen. Giant Eagle gets it on a Tuesday or Wednesday.
Speaker 3:But so I me having a shot at getting some of the bottles was difficult. I would actually have to take off work on a Friday or whatever, and there and I would do it when I was like on vacation I would be able to. I Would be able to, you know, on my vacation go over and get a bottle. So when Super Nash came up, we went over to I believe it was top shelf spirits In Jackson and we waited in line and he showed me what to do. You wait in line, you get there and I was able to get the first bottle of each Taylor small batch that morning that I had been able to. I hadn't been able to purchase one in five years, five years earlier. I didn't know what I was doing and it was on the shelf and when it disappeared I didn't know how to get it. Well, I finally got a bottle of small batch each Taylor that morning and made some friends and ever since then I have. What happened since then is giant Eagle Cross.
Speaker 3:The state drops there Wednesday or Thursday or Friday, do you know, when the truck comes, the allocated, the allocated bourbons on a Saturday morning. So that was a game changer, because the people who could do it on the weekdays some of them can't do it on a Saturday morning, so they don't get all though all the bourbon. But then on Saturday morning, people who work a nine to five, monday through Friday, you could get up early on a Saturday morning and get in line. And so what I did learn is is when you're bourbon hunting, what you have to do is keep it in perspective. There will always be Bottles that come to you. You're not going to get them all. It's something that you have to be able to accept. Um, you know Holly saying that. Uh, I she's agreeing with me that when you're in line, that's the best time for an alcohol or spirit discussion have with you. Know, you do talk to your friends and you talk to what they got and what they're getting and who has that Okay. So Paulie saying Kroger's does an 8 8 Saturday morning release to across the state of Ohio, and so that is one thing that was really kind of cool. That allowed some people who couldn't get off on the weekdays to be able to start to get some of the bottles. Now, what time you get in line depends on what and how important the bottle is. Now We'll just get right into it.
Speaker 3:In Kentucky they talk secondary market Okay, and secondary market online. There's websites for it and everything and some are illegal and some are okay and some of whatever. But overall, secondary Drives a lot of this, especially when you're. When you're in Kentucky, you'll be in line, let's say, at a distillery for a release and you're in line with just in your area. The line might be a hundred people, but in your area three or four people. They are there specifically to be in line for someone else and they buy the bottle and they're Compensated for getting that bottle for the other person to sell secondary. So that's what happens in Mainly. That's what people talk about flippers, that the flippers are always there, but you can be amongst the flippers and get stuff off the distilleries. That's the best place in Kentucky to wait in line, in my opinion. Now there are some big superstores that do special Graffles and they do big events, cookouts in their parking lot to release the allocated Bourbons.
Speaker 3:But a lot of liquor stores the state, because the state of Kentucky is not controlled. You walk in and I was just in the state of Florida. It's the same way. It's not controlled. You walk in and they have all the Pepe Van Winkles, 23, 20, but they're all nine, eight thousand, seven thousand, five thousand, I believe. Uh, each tiller barrel proof was 800. They're all there.
Speaker 3:If you had money and you were down in Florida, you can, you got money, you can drink it. It's there, they're on the shelf extremely high priced. I never would pay that and that is part of the secondary market in an uncontrolled state. I mean you can walk in in Kentucky and see a bottle of Weller green special reserve, right, and you see it and it's 125. I think it was a hundred. No, it was ninety nine dollars for a bottle of green special reserve, which is 2499 here. So that's the kind of stuff that happens in the state of Kentucky. So I Do a certain amount of hunting. I find that the distillery and the distillery releases in Kentucky because they have them all. Buffalo trace Releases Taylor, you can get Blanton's, you can get Weller special reserve and it's At MSRP, I mean they they're releasing it at the right price, so you can't go wrong going to Jim beam and getting bookers or getting the release of the day or getting Bakers 13 and Fred and Freddie are. That is an experience that for bourbon hunters in Kentucky, is unprecedented in Ohio.
Speaker 3:So but let's just get into the basic liquor store hunting aspect of Ohio, right? So the basic liquor store aspect. When I first got here, well, I was a I lived in Wisconsin my whole life, uncontrolled state, and I would Learned as I grew up that all the liquor stores were in the pick and saves or the grocery store. So when you go to the grocery store and you wanted a bottle of rum, you know, when you went grocery shopping got your liquor when you ran out. It was like when you ran to the grocery store. You didn't really have to go Specifically like I did when I was a kid to the beer people where they sold it all separately. It had all converted out of convenience.
Speaker 3:But when I moved in 2003 to the state of Ohio. The liquor stores weren't in the grocery stores, they were state liquor stores, separated, owned by people who own them for a while now. Now there's still of those still to exist in across the state, those type of. I can name a couple silver spirits up in Akron it's not a liquor, it's just a liquor store OHLQ lakes beverage up in Portage lakes. I mean, they're still there, but you still now have the giant eagles and the Kroger's there so that at least when you go to the liquor store, if you're short, you can pick up anything basic. If you need some Decerona or beer, what do what? Not, it's it's. It's changed.
Speaker 3:But when I first got here, if I went to the liquor store and I bought a bottle of Jim Beam, I was paying $5 more based off of taxes and everybody talked about how the taxes in Ohio's, the taxes in Ohio, were high because of OHLQ and it's a control state and they, they Do the whole. You know. So I would just go back to Wisconsin and pick on my liquor there. I would just go if I ran out of rum and vodka. I, when I was back, the three, four times I went back, I'd go to the pick and save and pick it up there. So when I started getting into Absinthe, I started paying attention to the liquor stores because I really was liking the different absinthe and they, whatever, and that kind of got me into it. And then I started looking at bourbons. You know I'd be looking for absinthe and I'd see an H Taylor. This was like 2014, 2015, 2014 I'd say, and that's kind of when I started to. What would you say, let me, I know it's working so I can go back to this. For that's when I started, um, you know, checking out liquor stores.
Speaker 3:So 2019, 18 is when I started getting the whiskey. I started seeing and hearing things about it and when I would walk into the liquor store and even with scotch or irish whiskey or, you know, bourbon american whiskey, it was like I was blind. I mean, I had no idea what, what was what? It was on the shelf. You'd look, you'd see, you didn't know and I didn't know what to get. But I usually would go up and I'd want to spend like $35 because that was a higher in bottle. So I bought some basil hayden, I bought a little bit of the H Taylor and when we started to get into this and we were seeing Ezra Brooks and we started Uh researching and then in 2019, we went to Kentucky bourbon festival and I was a fan of bakers and Bookers and I got to meet the distillers and and I did the Kentucky bourbon trail. I completed that. I really kind of got into it and started to know what was on the shelf, right. So, um, I just went to Ohio and got some pen holiday. I think that's one of the best new. One of the best new. So, yeah, I haven't tried been holiday yet, um, but in Ohio. So I'm doing this in Ohio, not knowing and and 2019.
Speaker 3:I believe Jim Canepa took over in 1817 or 18 and he was a bourbon lover. So one of the things was is there's a lot of stuff that wasn't available in this state that I could get in Wisconsin or or in Kentucky. So I noticed that I walked in for the first time and, um, I got a bottle of weller 107 right here. The weller Well, let's see where, where it's my okay, yes, right here, I was able to pick up a bottle of 107 right off the shelf.
Speaker 3:The guy, um, at my giant eagle, said I've seen the green label, but the red label I don't see. Asked him how much it was and I believe he sold it to me for 27. I want to say 27, 99, now I didn't check, I'm just so. I should be checking YouTube real quick. Hey, matt, thanks for driving up. Well, pretty much the only weller I'd choose anymore. Yeah, I've got, but but in the in the state of Ohio, we're gonna get into that. But let me just quick check my youtube channel, because I'm supposed to be live and I don't. I should be. It should tell me yep, we are live and I'm gonna press on it just to make oh perfect, all right.
Speaker 3:So, oh, yabu yo yo, it's good to see you, one guy in there. I'm gonna now Click back out, go over to facebook. Let's take this down. All right, that's good. So I was able to pick that up, and this is before Nash showed me how to hunt. So I was like, oh, you can get some good bottles, okay. So what I wanted to do is, once Nash came and showed me how to get in line and do what was happening, ohlq was starting to do things better. Now I'm gonna share real quick the OHLQ website. Let's see, that's oh, share, all right. So Ohio Liquor is a unique public private partner that ensures the safe and fair distribution of high-proof liquor across our state and directs profits from sales of liquor to fund economic development in Ohio. And everything we do advocating for responsible consumption is always top priority. And then here is OHLQ is a unique public partnership that ensures the safe and fair high-proof and that's the same.
Speaker 3:Let's see. Was that actually the same? Yeah, so that's what OHLQ does Now. It's a cross between Ohio Jobs and Ohio Liquor. They all have different. They have enforcement of the rules they have, and then the jobs and distribution to the liquor stores, the allocations. And so when I first got into it you I would say that when I first got into this I didn't know much about OHLQ, but they were in the process of reforming a broken system because what was happening was that there was a lot of old-boy networks at the liquor store. So anything that was allocated a lot of times didn't even hit the shelf or if it did hit the shelf, half of it hit the shelf or half of it hit the lines. So OHLQ was they had even stopped selling Pappy Van Winkle in the state.
Speaker 3:Buffalo Trace was frustrated that that network never did any Pappy Van Winkle or, for that matter, buffalo Trace products ever really get to the shelf. It was too much demand and the friend of a friend or the father-in-law or the cousin of the owner of the store, they were taking all the bottles, they were getting all of it. So when Jim took over he talked to Buffalo Trace and said what do I gotta do to get the stuff, get you to start shipping back. And they said well, the network. Until you change that network, how things get distributed, we're not doing it. It's not beneficial for us. So he basically said what do I gotta do? And they said do a lottery. So the state of Ohio, on the high, high allocated stuff not all of it, but most of the they still distribute some of the allocated stuff and special releases and that type of stuff which they've been doing lately which is fricking fantastic.
Speaker 3:But those bottles went to lottery. So the idea, when these are actually so, they went into the Pappy Lottery. The lottery starts in January and then that's distributed old fire coppers in the lottery, all the different. So there's some high-end stuff, it's all in the lottery. You sign up for the lottery and you then get picked. You pick your liquor store and you have the right to buy that bottle, get an email telling you you won. I know lots of people who have won, have been in every lottery, have not won a bottle. I'm not upset. I think when I might get on a roll at one point and something will happen, but as far as the lottery goes, not been lucky, but I'm just gonna keep playing.
Speaker 3:But as far as the releases, the state of Ohio has been doing a bunch of things. One, they've been releasing single barrels that they do the pick. So a lot of times liquor stores do picks and restaurants do picks and groups like ours do picks. You still could do that. The state of Ohio does picks. One of the reasons why it's so beneficial for the state of Ohio to do picks because they're gonna buy that barrel right off the bat, straight from right up front. They got the money. They could buy 20 barrels from a distillery, pay them and then get the bottles and then they'll distribute them. So it's a very beneficial thing for the state of Ohio to do the pick. Now, one of the things is well, if the state of Ohio is doing the pick, who's doing the picket? Well, one of the things they also do is they invite people like myself or people like Mash and Drum, social media people, people from the industry, and they also have a pretty good pick team with associated with jobs and family services. So we get to go on those picks, sometimes check and they're picking really good whiskey. Picking for a state is a lot different than picking one barrel for your group. There's no doubt about it. You understand as a state that there's about 30 different palette types. There's spicy blood, and all they're looking for is a good, well-made whiskey that doesn't have any negative or bad things about it, like the barrel, it doesn't taste moldy, it doesn't and they do some really good quality picks and then equally distribute them from across the state. Ohio is the number four urban market in the country, behind, I believe it's New York Actually I think we're three behind New York and Florida. But they're vying by what they're doing to become number one because they've come up with these single barrel Saturdays where they release across the state barrels from eight, nine different distilleries and different barrels all throughout the state. So, and then along with that they release a weller with it or some other special release, a tailor or you know. One year it was weller foolproof. Half of them were regular wellers and half of them were a barrel pick, and pretty much they had enough for whoever was showing up. Normally, if there's one case or two cases, there's six to 12 bottles. If you're beyond 12th in line you're getting something other than the main thing everybody's there for. But on that single barrel Saturday. They had 36 bottles, six cases and pretty much anybody who was in line by nine o'clock got a bottle across the state. It was that many bottles across the state, so you did have to get in line early. I mean, that's one of the things that you do because then you could go back in for the other single barrels there was. I mean, who participated in this was fantastic, they had wild too. So then they did a special Thursday afternoon release where you get it and you could go get. They put an email out. You could go get a voucher from your liquor store and then come back at seven o'clock and then get back in line based off your number. It was a fantastic thing that they're doing. So.
Speaker 3:This year alone I was able to get an EH Taylor OHLQ right there single barrel. I was able. Well, travelers everywhere. But I picked that up right away when it first released that. And then I was able to get a Weller 12 year. I was able. Well, weller 107 and Weller Special Reserve is regularly distributed across the state, not in a special way, but Weller 12 year. And I got a Weller CYPB which I never thought I would be able to get, and I was able to get that and also a Weller full proof. So that was based off of all these single barrels and waiting in line.
Speaker 3:Now I've always wanted a EH Taylor and, as a bourbon hunter, anywhere you always have that elusive bottle that you want. I'm not talking about the Pappies. The Pappies I mean, it's kind of like they're secondary Pappies. I feel that some day I've had enough Pappie where I've drank it, pasted it at the bar. I love it, I like it, but I don't need. I've had half a bottle me and Supernash split, a 12 year Van Winkle. But that Pappie 15 bottle is one that I've always wanted. The 20 and 23 has always been a little bit oaky for me. But that 15 is just the sweet spot for me and it would be nice to be able to pick that up. But I just look at it that I don't even hunt that. I just I gotta be in the right place at the right time.
Speaker 3:But as far as the EH Taylor barrel proof, I have missed that by one four years in a row. One year they had six. I was seventh in line. Same thing this year. I went in to get in line at 10.45. The latest I had ever gotten in line was I like to do little things by spending the night at and then do live Facebooks and YouTubes from the line. When I spend the night, I do it more for the channel than I do it for myself and what I get is what I get. But EH, taylor barrel proof I showed up at a 10.45, 15 minutes earlier than I had in the past, and I was number seven and I knew that there was six going to be released. So I just went back home and went to bed.
Speaker 3:Now I did hear there was another place in Barberton, further away, that I could have driven and I probably. The line filled up, I believe, by 430, I could have done that, but I'm not quite that dedicated to drive on a. What would you say? No guarantee, a half hour, 45 minutes. In the middle of the night I chose to go back to bed. It was a good choice, but it has eluded me.
Speaker 3:So the key is to this is to get in these lines on a Saturday morning or, if you could do it and you have the ability to go in the line on a Tuesday or a Thursday. Do it Because you're going to meet some really good, super friendly people who love bourbon You're going to. They are like you and that line is about friendship, it's about talking spirits, it's so much about that. So that's kind of how bourbon now, being a control state, will get into the last thing. When we get something here, we're getting an MSRP that even in a lottery at a place in a non-control state you might win the right to buy the bottle. It might not be as much as like $1,000 for something, but it's still going to be more than what we're paying for here, usually for those allocated bottles. I mean, it's just that simple.
Speaker 3:We get a stag that comes each Taylor Barrel proof I think that was 79.99. Everything on the shelf is MSRP as far as allocated. And what I like to say is that they used to say that if you come up here with the extra tax it's so much more expensive. But if it's allocated, I'm telling you, in a control state, you're getting it for the right price, a better price than you are going to get it in a non-control state, because those allocated bottles, the liquor store, wants to make some of their money. They might that 69.99 bottle might just be 99.99. And you're willing to pay that extra 30 bucks because you weren't going to get it. But at the same time someone picks it up and sells it for 200, 250 on secondary here in Ohio. You get it. You're getting it for the price it should be. It's an advantage over the other states.
Speaker 3:Plus, the state of Ohio is doing these barrel picks as a state. It's not something other states are doing. So they are bringing you know a well or full proof barrel pick. They're bringing you know different distilleries, a Colonel Taylor single barrel. That's barrel picks.
Speaker 3:And then we get this out of Makers Mark. They do picks. This is a toasted marshmallow. It basically says toasted marshmallow, private selection, laredo, kentucky, and it's like says it's an OHLQ pick. So what you're doing is they're going to and picking out like six, seven flavors of Makers Mark. They name them stuff like toasted marshmallow and chai tea, latte and caramel bomb. You know it's funny because the first selection this year did not name them, those flavors. It was like the autumn fire or whatever. They didn't do as well. So they went back to naming it these flavor bombs of what are in there, and these are once again MSRP.
Speaker 3:It's only the state of you could go to Makers Mark and some of the places around there on their private selects and they have some stuff. But the state of Ohio is picking six, six, seven different variations twice a year and distributing it to the people here. So from Makers Mark, buffalo Trace, lux Row, heaven Hill, they're doing these special picks and going and releasing them to the state of Ohio. And then they're doing these special days where they save up the really cool single barrels and release them to the state of Ohio. So it's so exciting right now to be actually hunting bourbon in the state of Ohio. Now, like I said, we've got a couple of distilleries that you can go and get distilleries. Watershed does a really good job. I really think that Middle West will be doing this type of thing real soon.
Speaker 3:But the other thing that the state of Ohio is doing and it's coming up now and it's unprecedented they went to Ireland and did a bunch of Irish whiskey barrel picks and those are gonna save up a bunch of money for Irish whiskey barrel picks and those are gonna start to be released into the state of Ohio starting, I believe, the first weekend in March. So we are gonna be at the Burns Pub with Pat Burns and Martin Kennedy and we are gonna be podcasting on Sunday October, not Sunday March 2nd, it's not. It'll be not this weekend, but next weekend we're gonna be live at a 930 to 1030 AM podcast with Pat and Martin for their single barrel release of Bua, which is their brand Irish Whiskey. It's made in Ireland and they release it. It's from the bar. And then there's going to be Teeling is going to be there, jameson is going to be there on a special release party that the state of Ohio is going to be putting out and leading up to St Patrick's Day. The state of Ohio will have something that hasn't been done before. It I mean, it's never been. It's a state doing Irish.
Speaker 3:They went to Ireland and picked the barrels and they got those distilleries so excited that they got some damn good whiskey and CT was able to go to the first I believe it was February 13th last Tuesday and he was able to taste some of the whiskey. He was so excited about some of those different expressions. So just know that the state of Ohio is just getting so creative in what they're doing. I mean this is something that's unprecedented. I don't think a state ever went to Ireland. I felt like it was funny because if you watch Boardwalk Empire, the mayor Nookie Thompson, played by Steve Buscemi. He goes to Ireland to work it out with the Irish distillers. Also during prohibition he wants to work out deals.
Speaker 3:I really felt that, even though this was this is OHLQ, it was very similar feeling of OHLQ going over there and dealing with those different distillers to bring their product which was already here. Now it's a control state and Ann Demick is a friend of us. She works for Ohio Jobs and Services and she definitely has been told me that when they went over there and how they're coming here that definitely the Irish distilleries don't really know how product has to be checked. The state of Ohio has a very strict service on how you can have something to taste. It has to go through all the right, proper channels to get there. You can't just bring it with you and taste it. It can't just come with you on the boat. It can't just come with you. It has to go through the proper channels and be ordered to be there for a tasting. So she's been having a lot of fun making sure that all the distilleries and the people coming over I mean you are talking about it's gonna be pretty cool.
Speaker 3:Ct was there. I wish he could have come on this week but he's busy. Maybe we'll get him on next week, but we got so much going on leading up to this start of this. They've already released the first PX Sherry Irish whiskey and PX Sherry barrels that they did for the Valentine's. But as we're going forward now, the rest of those I believe it was 16 different distilleries and I don't even know how many I'll be able to get the details.
Speaker 3:I'm gonna first be on Saturday, March 1st, up in Cleveland in the streetsboro, ginegal, for anybody who wants to meet me up there. But Fred Minnick is coming too. He's excited about this. This is a whiskey thing that hasn't happened. So Fred's gonna be there. He's gonna be there in Columbus on that Sunday with and I did invite him to be on the podcast. I don't think he's gonna make it, but I invited him come over to Burns and see us there right before we go to that event that's happening in.
Speaker 3:I wanna say Berlin, is it Berlin? Yeah, not Berlin, it's something else, but anyways, it's right now. I've been down there right next to Columbus, so this should be a blast. All right, everybody. It looks like a lot of people were on tonight and people were enjoying this. If there's any questions? Real quick you can do that. But we're getting ready. I mean hunting in Ohio with Ohio kind of really got getting your back. I mean they even try to have these releases. Be all fair. You can't be fair to everybody so that everybody can get the distribution and you got a shot at it Based off it.
Speaker 3:But step one if you pick a couple liquor stores, go in and talk to the liquor store manager, find out who the manager is, talk to them, show them that you're in this for the love of the whiskey or whatever spirit, because they like us. They like the people who aren't in it so that they can make a profit. They're trying to make a profit by flipping a bottle for double the price. Those people are not what they're in it for. So if you go there and form a relationship with the people of the store, but also the people, the cashiers I mean at my, at my giant eagle I know the manager, I know all the cashiers. I talk about bourbon and whiskey all the time. They know there's never a thing that I'm gonna be selling it or whatever. I might pick one up for a friend here or there, but overall they know I'm in it for the love of bourbon, and then that's how you can find things out. I'm not talking about behind the scenes or whatever, but it's just a friendly kind of thing.
Speaker 3:So if you're there, they wanna help you get the whiskey that you want. So that's the first thing you wanna do is have a relationship with the people working. You just wanna do that. And then two, I mean it's like even if you go in at night and you love bourbon, talk to your guy. They know so much about the whiskey and how it sells that the manager of those stores are very up on what they have to order, what's being bought. They know about the allocated, they know about the people who are annoying and the people who aren't, and so you wanna be one of those that aren't form that relationship and then you know, go from there. That is one of the main things about hunting anywhere. So there you go, if anybody else has any questions.
Speaker 3:But, like I said, I wanted to cover OHLQ, what they've been doing, how they flip this state from a negative bourbon or collecting state or hunting state to the most positive. You know it's so positive. Now I mean there's a lot of groups who just rip on OHLQ, that they do this and that. But you know I do have a little bit inside information Been on. A couple of barrel picks met the people. You know it's just. You know it's not what you think it is.
Speaker 3:They are on our side trying to get us the best whiskey and bourbon available to the shelves and distribute it equally amongst the people. So I mean that is their goal. So this is if you're ever in Ohio, know that this is how it goes down. And I mean one of the really cool things lately is Ohio has so many of the new places and they allocated Some of that's going. You see it more and more Kentucky Owl.
Speaker 3:Right now you can walk in and get the maester, you can get the St Patrick's Day, you can get confiscated and I think there was one, oh, takomi, all four of the all four are available for Kentucky Owl. I mean it's on the shelf almost anywhere you go. So there's a lot of stuff out there that you can pick up. And then also, you know, do your Saturday morning or your Friday morning, you know, drop day line and get to know some people. All right, everybody, I'm gonna stay on a little bit Facebook and YouTube a little bit. I'm going to end this podcast for the audio. I am Tiny and we are the Scotchy Bourbon Boys. I want to let you all know wwwscotchybourbonboyscom for all Scotchy Bourbon Boys merchandise. Glen Caron's T-shirts, scotchy Bourbon Balls. We even have these really cool refrigerator magnets which I think.
Speaker 3:I gave it away. It used to be right here, but I do remember giving somebody it, so I don't have it, but it's a magnet and a bottle opener that's in the shape of a barrel head. Check out the website. And then also www no, not www. Also, check us out on all the major podcast formats YouTube, instagram, facebook and X. And then also all the major. Did I say social media? All right, let's try this again. Wwwscotchybourbonboyscom for all your Scotchy Bourbon Boys merchandise and things. Find out all about us, bios, anything. And then also we are on all the social media formats Facebook, instagram, youtube and X. And then also we're on all the major podcast formats. Check us out Ask Siri, ask Alexa, the Play the Scotchy Bourbon Boys or iHeartRadio, apple Podcasts, spotify. We're on it. You listen to it. We're there Now. Remember good bourbon equals good times and good friends. Make sure that you drink responsibly. Don't drink and drive and live your life dangerously and Little Steve will take us out.
Speaker 2:Oh, show me the way to the next Whiskey Bar. Oh, don't ask why. Oh don't ask why. Show me the way to the next Whiskey Bar. Oh don't ask why. Oh don't ask why. For if we don't find the next Whiskey Bar, I tell you we must die. I tell you we must die. I tell you, I tell you, I tell you we must die.