First we had the Pappy Van Winkle debacle, where the PLCB didn't know that when you have a monopoly on a product that is in very high demand for that product, and you tell everybody all at once that the product is available...there will be a rush to get said product. It seems nobody in Harrisburg went to business school or understands basic demand.
Now we have the picks for the top malt whiskies of the year being released, and like with the wine lists that I chronicled on the blog starting back on Nov, 11th, it doesn't look good for PA.
Top Speyside Single Malt - Craigellachie 17 - NOT AVAILABLE IN PA.
Top Islay Single Malt - Signatory 1998 bottling of Laphroaig - NOT AVAILABLE IN PA.
Top Islands/Highland Single Malt - Arran The Devil’s Punchbowl III The Fiendish Finale -
NOT AVAILABLE IN PA.
Top Lowlands/Campbeltown Single Malt - Rosebank 21 - NOT AVAILABLE IN PA.
Top World Whisky - Broger Burn Out - While also not available in PA, they get a pass, since I can't find it anywhere in the U.S.
The PLCB slogan should be - "Only the rest, never the best"
This is to be expected. A former manger in product management would tell people that wine drinkers will try different labels but not the spirit drinker. People who drink dark spirits drink what their father drank and don't want to change. There was no interest in introducing or carrying new labels.
ReplyDeleteSo how do you explain the explosion of new whiskey if nobody is buying them becau7se their father didn't drink them?
ReplyDeleteOr how can other chains have hundreds of whiskies in stock on the shelf while the state stores have comparatively little? Who is buying this stuff besides me?
What you say may have been true at one point in time....say when the PLCB was started which might explain why they have such a poor selection now. They never advanced with the times.
That is the current thinking unless they brought in experienced people that have worked outside of the PLCB system. Historically they have not paid attention to what was going on outside of their world. Their banner accomplishment is the Chairman's selection and there has been nothing new/successful ever since.
ReplyDeleteWhile they have brought in some outside people none are or were executive level in the industry. Heaven forbid that they hire somebody who is qualified.
ReplyDeleteIn your research does any state have all of these items? If so, which state is it. My guess would be no state has access to every brand, but I could be wrong.
ReplyDeleteDave
To tell the truth I didn't look if any one state had every brand. As I stated in the case of the Burn Out I couldn't find it at all. However, the free market - that thing we don't have here - does make the others available. We don't even get that chance.
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