Area retail options

Contrary to anything you might hear from others, there really are a lot of things to love about living in Charlotte. Among them: temperate winters, proximity to the beach as well as the mountains, professional sports teams, and a vibrant night life. However, the presence of the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission is not one of them. In a nutshell, the NC-ABC system is the state-run agency that controls what spirituous liquors are sold, bought, and manufactured in North Carolina. The complexities associated with the existence of the NC-ABC are beyond the scope of this Blog, but the bottom line is that they and they alone control the selection of what you can buy in their stores, which is the only retail option in the Old North State. And for obvious reasons, the NC-ABC Commission have decreed that the only spirituous liquors they will stock are the most popular (i.e. well advertised) spirituous liquors.

This, of course, isn’t much of a problem if all you are interested in purchasing is the stuff from the big distributers with monstrous marketing budgets like Beam Global or Diageo. And I’m hardly implying that the selection available at your friendly neighborhood ABC store is akin to a Pick-4 scratch-off lottery ticket. But for the most part, your average ABC store whiskey selection is only slightly better than the selection available at a steakhouse restaurant chain, and folks who are seeking more artisanal spirits with limited production are often left wanting or are forced to order on-line.

So here’s the skinny: most NC-ABC stores will carry Beam’s small batch bourbon line and a number of selections from Buffalo Trace and Heaven Hill. Non-bourbon American whiskeys include the full range of Tennessee’s, typical blends, and some stores may stock a limited number of ryes. All stores will have 3 of the 4 Scotch regions represented as far as Single Malts go, and some even have some from the 4^th. Many of the more popular Single Malt Scotches are sold in various age statements and/or oak expressions. Scotch blends and Canadian whisky selections are numerous without being notable. Irish whiskeys are almost all limited to those distilled by Bushmills or the Irish Distillers Group. Don’t expect anything from any other countries like Japan, India, or any where else.

Every single liquor sold in the state is listed right here. So if you want to know which stores are stocking what prior to getting in your car, go here and look it up. And technically, you can special-order certain limited-edition liquors listed here like Parker’s Heritage Collection bourbons, Buffalo Trace’s Antique Collection, or A.H.Hirsch whiskeys, but the problem with special orders is that you have to order a whole case of what you want, so mere mortals of average income (like me) can't even entertain the thought.

Fortunately, there is a beacon of light in the wilderness of shadows located just across the state line. Unfortunately, I won’t be discussing it until a later Blog entry.

Salud.