I’ve been talking a lot about Anchor Distilling’s Old Potrero whiskey in this blog because it’s not only finely crafted by a visionary in the craft distilling movement, Fritz Maytag, but also extremely difficult to get your hands on. All 3 Old Potrero whiskies — the 18th-century Single Malt, the Straight Rye, and the Hotaling’s — are in and out of stock in Bay Area spirits stores.
So what’s a man to do? Well, equipped with a personal computer and a 28.8 dial-up modem setup (or better), you can purchase Old Potrero on the World Wide Web and have it shipped to your door!
I did some web research and narrowed it down to a few vendors for you. The prices below are for the 750 mL 18th century Single Malt and for shipping to the Bay Area:
Angelbeck’s Fine Wines, Spirits & Beers from NJ: $59.99 + $23.90 shipping = $83.89
Mora’s Fine Wine & Spirits from NY: $62.99 + $15.33 = $78.32
DrinkUpNY: $76.99 + free shipping over $100
I ended up going with DrinkUpNY because even though the Old Potrero is more expensive, when you factor in the free shipping, it actually ends up being the best deal. Of course, you need to spend another $23 to get the free shipping, but that’s just a great excuse to pick out another bottle of something else (seriously, most of us have more than a few bottles in his or her wish list!)
Personally, I figured my Old Potrero would need a couple traveling buddies, so I picked up a bottle of Rittenhouse 100 Straight Rye Whisky and the Casa Noble Anejo Tequila. Am I too old to buy myself birthday presents? I think not. The Rittenhouse 100 was just featured in the Mar/Apr 2011 issue of Imbibe Magazine, getting 4.5 out of 5 stars and providing excellent value at just $20.99. DrinkUpNY is also a go-to merchant in Imbibe, and has an extensive selection. For comparison, the other 2 sites didn’t carry the Rittenhouse or the Casa Noble.
Happy shopping!
