Hey Free Rangers,
Two of my dearest friends in the world and decade plus neighbors from the Greenpoint days now run the coolest gaming shop in Palo Alto. The high level nerds out in CA love the place, and as a small business owner, what they’ve built is rather impressive. All this to say that while I was trying to better understand the nature of today’s collectibles market(s), said friends turned me on to a YouTuber who discusses these things as if equal parts CNBC and an open mic comic of wealth and taste, who never honed the craft. Like an aristocratic Bart Simpson who may have made it through business school. In all collectible markets (including Bourbon) for products that are still being released, there are those who refuse to pay a penny above MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price). And many of them proudly quote these numbers out loud, whether they have accurate statistics or not. This guy, let’s call him Rudy, refers to these particular fellows who expect MSRP as birthright (yes, this one is ALWAYS perpetrated by a male human) as the MSRPenis Gang.
So, we’ve been having this fairly crazy whiskey sale ONLINE ONLY which includes 25 of the most sought after brown bottles in the game. Normally we do these things only through this e-mail, to reward all you fine folks who are already here with us. But noticing the uptick in tourists waltzing Mathilda about the avenue, we decided to put a sign out front with a QR code and a partial list of said deeply coveted bottles. Unfortunately, most people are just coming in asking (often pointedly), “Why online only?” and “I have to order online?” [Because it’s a lot easier to put 25 bottles on one web page than to put 25 bottles in the same place here in the shop. And Yes.] So this one ganger comes in with a whiskey bro chip on his shoulder and neither eye contact nor friendly banter for any of us- fairly unbecoming of a Coloradan as I’ve come to know them. Guessing he didn’t bother to get on the list, but even if he’s reading this right now, it’s doubtful he’s capable of picking up what we’re laying down so, “Hey Don from CO, who bought a bottle of Michter’s Barrel Strength Rye BELOW MSRP: you are no fun to talk to, and no retailer has ever enjoyed your company. Free drinks and handshake deals are generally reserved for the friendly.” Here’s a brief snippet of what he considers conversation:
Proprietor: “That’s the lowest price in town.”
MSRPenis King: “MSRP is $120.”
Proprietor: “Okay, but when was the last time you saw this bottle at this price?”
MSRPenis King: “About six months ago, but not in the City.”
He’s being salty while we actively sell him the bottle he wants at the lowest price in town, and the above is the closest thing we get to a ‘hey thanks, you guys are alright’. I tell him that if in the future he leaves out the MSRP bit he’d automatically be higher up in a shop’s book as far as favors and freebies go. “Yeah,” he mutters flatly, his tone rapidly salinating toward supersaturation. He begrudgingly places the order on his phone, wearing his shiny new Mr. Pouty Face costume and likely deciding whether or not to leave us a shitty review while he’s still standing here. I offer him a taste of our Elijah Craig 11yr which he clearly considers refusing out of sheer spite before registering the “11 Year” and the implied “Free” and he accepts it as if he’s handing over his sister’s phone number. He tastes, ponders, sniffs, and looks up to where I pointed it out on the shelf. “That’s right bro, 11 year single barrel Bourbon unavailable anywhere else in the world for under $60 per bottle. When was the last time you saw that? Never?” He says nothing. Picks up his Michter’s Rye and leaves. …
For those of you who have more than a grayscale 2D perspective on the world around you, but have never worked in retail, MSRP assumes all products are equal. Now, if you were proprietor of a small business and certain products cost you more money, you get very few of them per year, and you have to put extra time and money into acquiring these items, would you charge the same mark up as items that you can get any time you want with no effort at all? Yeah, neither would I. Also ignored in the myopic view from MSRP are all the fixed costs that are greater here in Historic Boerum Hill, Brooklyn over just about anywhere else in the world. This includes the cost of each bottle, which is greater in NYC than anywhere else in the country, but they don’t do MSRP by region or cost. In short, quoting MSRP to a hardworking brick & mortar retailer on expensive real estate is very much like negating our experience and life’s work from the equation off the bat. This is not the way to get yourself a deal, a free taste, or a heads up when the next rare bottles land. If you are reading this, you are clearly not that guy. Thanks for that.
Now, this week’s FREE in-store tasting is a big one too! Ever heard of a little CA outfit called Ridge Vineyards? They happen to be one of the largest producers of organic grapes in the land, they own many of CA’s oldest vines and most historic vineyard sites, and their iconic label has looked the same since the ‘60s. Classic is always classic. That being said, Ridge Vineyards has never stopped innovating, while always respecting their usual pre-industrial methods. With the sweltering temperatures lately, we thought it would be cool (pun intended) to show the brand spankin’ new Ridge Chenin Blanc and the fresh and the dry, mineral driven Ridge Grenache Blanc. But since it’s Ridge, we can’t not open one of their most classic old vine zin-based field blends, and this round that will be Ridge Geyserville 2023. Please join us this Thursday, June 11th (5-7pm), for FREE tastes of all of the above. As always, enjoy 10% off all tasting day bottles, in-store on tasting day only!
And let’s again talk about those aforementioned crazy ONLINE ONLY sales. The response has been so notable that we’ve decided to replace the sold out items and post ‘em live again for another week!
Derek is updating the wine list as I type, removing the sold outs and adding a few new additions, including some fairly serious cellar selections such as Le Piane Boca 2018, Josko Gravner Ribolla 2014, Buisson-Charles Meursault VV 2020, and Calera Pinot Noir Jensen 2007. And don’t sleep on Paolo Bea, Andre Mack’s Lamb of God Pinot Noir 2019, and 2 x Leflaive white Burgundies, all available to you ONLINE ONLY at 20% off everything, or 30% off 6+ bottles (mix & match) ONLINE ONLY! Click below to check out the full list:
(!) Click here for 20% – 30% off wine sale (!)
And The Big Whiskey Sale roars forth! Here you’ll find the deepest discounts of the year on 25 of the most popular and sought after whiskeys we own! Hibiki and Michter’s and Pappy, oh my! Any discounts that look lighter than others are likely that way as our regular price is already amongst the best in town (if not on Earth). We’ve just replaced the sold outs with exciting new (old) bottles including Widow Jane 15, Van Winkle 12, Yellow Spot 12, and the long extinct Balvenie 17 Doublewood. We’ve also added our own exclusive Buffalo Trace Free Range Single Barrel Bourbon 9yr and Elijah Craig Free Range 8yr Single Barrel Bourbon 2-pack, the latter being 2 x 8yr barrels from different floors of different rickhouses that we originally released simultaneously in 2020.
* And as always, if you’re out of town, please feel free to buy now while price is right, and we’ll hold your bottles until you’re back!
(!) Click here for The Big Whiskey Sale page (!)
For anybody who went online in between, the new items were showing without sale pricing until it went live just now!
Happy hunting!
Cheers,
Jack
Proprietor
Free Range Wine & Spirits
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