Liquor Stores Around the World

Well I finally made it to a Total Wine, this one in Seattle. So nice to see a new selection of rums, and so funny to see the difference in price. I was under the impression liquor was cheaper in the states but in some cases, it was quite a bit more pricey. Funny how that works. Anyways, I got a Myers's Single Barrel & Zafra 21. Pumped to try them out! 

Wow.... I don't think anything l would call a favorite of mine (for straight up) can be had for $ 50 USD or less (other than Seleccion de Maestros)..... and that's the home country price, not import. 

Kevin:

Only 3 rums got my rating of 10. In order, they are: Selvarey Owner's Reserve, Flor de Cana 25 Year, and Dictador Insolent (which is no longer available). Hot on their heals at my top ranked 9 rating is Yolo Gold. I did a side by side taste test between the Selvarey and the Yolo Gold, since both are products from the legendary Don Pancho. The Yolo Gold has a slightly bitter finish, which is the only difference in taste. However, since I can buy 5 bottles of Yolo Gold for the same price as one bottle of the Selvarey Owner's Reserve, it is a no brainer on what is the best buy.

I only went sailing once, which was about 30 years ago in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Letting someone else to do all of the work is the way to go. I have also been watching weekly videos from SV Delos since 2018, mainly for their visits to exotic places and their underwater shots. There is a LOT to fix on a sail boat, which is why I will go no further with that.  I made 200 dives on scuba between 1988 and 1998, and those 10 years were the best of my life. I went all over the Caribbean, Florida, the Louisiana oil rigs, and one failed trip to Hawaii because of sinus problems. I have been to Kauai three times, by far the most beautiful place that I have ever been and with the nicest people. As for Hawaiian rum, forget it.

Paul, Love your road trip but I do sail trips when not at home, NYC. Maybe I got hooked on a long line, which happens quite often, LOL.  My local TW is getting boring like no top shelf unless  It's over a C-note or over and those are mostly Martinique & Jamaican. Although I do like that type  I've been through enough that I'm not willing to experiment spending over $50 a bottle. I keep going back to ElDorado and like that style.  Haven't had anything that beats in that $50 sweet spot range! By the way, still don't know what your favorite is?

The LCBO monopoly only carries the lower tier Havana Club Anejo Reserva, 3 year white(strictly mixers) and the slightly better Havana Club 7.....nothing like Havana Club Seleccion de Maestros or Santiago de Cuba 11/12 .....so l typically only get better offerings when l travel to the Caribbean a couple of times a year.

based in UK the rums in the supermarket don't have a good selection

but if u go online there is a very good selection I think it's easier to buy rums online in UK  with UK been a  small country 

Leo K, yeah I wondered this exactly when I went to Ontario. I thought maybe you guys are able to purchase online from overseas but I guess not either. I don't know how you are supposed to get rare or specialty items. I hope you like Appleton and Havana Club! 

I don't know what country/provivce (state) has the biggest selection, just the worst....Canada/Ontario. A total Provincial government monopoly with massively inflated prices and very poor selection of rum (even the online offerings ) plus ....for all practical purposes you can't buy from other online stores in other Canadian provinces let alone other Countries.....perfect example of why monopolies are bad for customers. 

In the UK amazon is usually decent especially on black Friday, rum auctioneer is the only place I could fine Foursquare's top range and I've found a website in Denmark called fine drams which are competitive but sending into the UK can incur duty and vat costs 

Yohobro:

That intense road trip came right after I got vaccinated against COVID-19. I was sick and tired of being cooped up in the house, so I took that road trip with my dog to get a few bottles of Chairman's 1931 and a lot of other ones that I could not get at home. That vaccination was my freedom, so I tell all of those anti-vaxxers that vaccinations will allow for your freedom. Would I make another lengthy rum running trip like that again? Hell no!

Total Wine has plenty of stores in the state of Washington, but none in Montana or Idaho.  I picked Spokane because that one is closest to Calgary. You can use their website to find stores by State.

Paul B: that is an intense road trip in the name of rum! That's a good call about Spokane though, I actually might be there for work in the near future. Very nice! Thanks! 

Jagsroy: I checked out the online stock. This is what I'm talking about; an incredible selection. I knew it existed somewhere, just didn't know where. Hoping to find myself in Boston at some point! 

If ever in the Boston area, drop by Burlington Wine & Spirits. They have a great selection of rums. Check their website!

https://www.burlingtonwineandspirits.com/websearch_results.html?kw=Rum&sortby=dbottle

Yohobro:

I am in the same rum boat as you, since I cannot have spirits mailed or sent to me where I live in Louisiana. The best method that I have found for obtaining rums that cannot be found nearby is to set up an account with Total Wine & More or any other liquor store that has a website. In your case, the nearest Total Wine is 364 miles southwest of Calgary in Spokane Washington. It is so wonderful to place your order and then make the long drive where it is waiting for you after you receive confirmation. This leaves nothing to chance. My longest rum running trip was 650 miles one way and I picked up rums from three different Total Wine stores. All orders were waiting for my curbside pickup in the pandemic.

My other choices are two stores from the same owner that are 25 miles away and neither one has a good website showing what rums they have in stock. However, since a Total Wine is also nearby, I check their website first to see if it is worth the 50 mile round trip.