A store pick is a single barrel we tasted, chose and bought whole. The distillery bottles that one barrel under its own label with our name on it, and when those bottles are gone the liquid doesn't exist anywhere else. A barrel yields somewhere between 150 and 250 bottles, which is the entire run. This is the part of the shop that can't be replicated by a bigger retailer with better buying power, because the barrel was ours. We ship to most states, with an adult 21 or older required to sign at delivery.
What a Store Pick Actually Is
Standard bourbon is blended from many barrels to hit a consistent house profile, so a bottle of it tastes the same this year as last. A single barrel skips that step. Two barrels filled on the same day and aged in the same warehouse can come out noticeably different, because position in the rickhouse, temperature swings and the individual stave wood all change how the whiskey pulls flavor from the oak.
That variation is the whole point. A store pick is a bet that one particular barrel is more interesting than the blended average, and the reason to buy one is that you get a version of a whiskey you already know, pushed further in some direction than the standard bottling would ever be allowed to go.
How We Pick Them
We taste samples from the distillery, usually three to five barrels from the same run, and buy the one we'd want to drink rather than the one that most resembles the standard release. Sometimes that means a higher proof. Sometimes it means a barrel that's gone somewhere odd. If none of the samples are better than what's already on the shelf, we don't buy any of them.
What's Available Now
The TLB series. Cream of Kentucky x TLB is cask strength and the most approachable entry point. W.L. Weller x TLB Full Proof is a wheated barrel at full proof, which is not a combination that shows up often.
Single barrel selections. Old Ezra 7 is the value pick of the group, and Weller Antique 107 Single Barrel Select is a single barrel version of a bottle most people only see blended.
Paired with something familiar. If you want a reference point to taste against, Buffalo Trace with the Old Ezra pick and E.H. Taylor with Cream of Kentucky both pair a standard bottling with a barrel selection. Tasting them side by side is the fastest way to understand what a pick does.
Beyond bourbon. Blanton's with a Caribou Crossing barrel pick brings in Canadian whisky, and Lalo Blanco is here on the tequila side.
Store Picks FAQ
What is a store pick?
A single barrel selected and purchased by a retailer, bottled on its own rather than blended with others. The store tastes samples, chooses one barrel, and the distillery bottles that barrel under a label naming the shop.
What's the difference between a store pick and a barrel pick?
Nothing. The terms are used interchangeably, along with private selection and single barrel select. All of them mean one barrel chosen by a buyer outside the distillery.
How many bottles come from one barrel?
Typically 150 to 250, depending on the barrel's size, its age and how much evaporated during aging. Older barrels yield fewer bottles, which is part of why aged picks cost more.
Are store picks better than regular bottles?
Different rather than better. A pick is one barrel's character instead of a blended average, so it can be more interesting or simply more unusual. The upside is that it won't taste like anything else.
Can I get the same store pick twice?
Only while the barrel lasts. Once those bottles sell through, that particular whiskey is finished. A later pick from the same distillery will be a different barrel and will taste different.
Can store picks be shipped to my state?
We ship to most U.S. states, typically within a few business days. Someone 21 or older has to sign at delivery. Availability is confirmed at checkout, since a handful of states restrict direct spirits shipments.