We can't do wine (but we can't do whiskey, either!)

We recently did our annual look at how the PLCB did supplying the state with the top ten picks from Wine Spectator. But whiskey drinkers get screwed just as badly by the PLCB's inability to pick the best. Whisky Advocate is rolling out their best-of picks for the year; let's see how well the PLCB did in picking the hottest segment of the spirits industry.

If we don't have it then you don't need it.

Craft Whiskey of the Year 
Bainbridge Yama American Single Grain Barley Mizunara Japanese Oak Cask -- Not in PA, no SLO 

American Whiskey of the Year 
Booker’s Rye -- On-line only - Sold Out  

Canadian Whiskey of the Year 
Crown Royal Cornerstone Blend -- In Stock! Wow!

Irish Whiskey of the Year 
Redbreast Lustau Edition -- Not in PA, no SLO

Japanese Whiskey of the Year 
Yochi Single Malt -- SLO only

World Whiskey of the Year 
Amrut Spectrum -- Not in PA, no SLO

Blended/Blended Malt Whiskey of the Year 
Ghosted Reserve 21 year Old -- Not in PA, no SLO

Speyside Single Malt Whiskey of the Year  
Glenrothes Vintage Reserve -- Not in PA, no SLO 
(To me, as a Scotch drinker, it is unbelievable that the PLCB doesn't carry this.)

Islay Single Malt Whiskey of the Year 
Lagavulin 25 year old -- Not in PA, no SLO

Highland Single Malt Whiskey of the Year 
Brora 38 year old -- Not in PA, no SLO

Lowland/Campbeltown Whiskey of the Year 
Ailsa Bay -- Not in PA, no SLO 

So what do we end up with? One whiskey in stock, and actually on the shelf. Another that was online only, and one that you might be able to get SLO. Three for eleven is nothing to brag about -- especially for the PLCB's oft-touted vast buying power -- and further proof the bureaucrats in Harrisburg aren't very good at selecting what the entire state has to choose from. The PLCB claims to be "world class;" that might be true, as long as that world isn't the one of private retail.

When something doesn't work, or doesn't work well, and hasn't for 83 years, you replace it.  Pretty simple, really.

Apples to Apples

Philadelphia is a city of 1,550,000 people, with a metro area population of a hair over 6,000,000, making it the 7th largest in the country. 

San Francisco has a population of  864,000 (56% of Philadelphia's), and a metro area population of  4,656,000 (77.5% of Philadelphia's), making them the 11th largest metro area.

As anyone can tell you, they are very different cities geographically, historically, and culturally. One of the few things they have in common is that they both have whiskey festivals. One is controlled by unelected, unqualified bureaucrats who decide what the entire state is allowed to buy; the other is guided by the free market, where access to new and different products in response to consumer demand is the norm.

Which Whiskey Fest would you rather be at?

So how do they compare? The Philadelphia festival has 251 listed items of which 156 are whiskies of some form or another. That is about 62% whiskey and 38% other spirits. The San Francisco whiskey festival has 393 whiskies by my count. Nothing else needs to be said.

No PLCB means better selection: PERIOD. Full privatization is the only way it can be had. Accept no substitutes.