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800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
They have tastings too, and they're just off I-5 at N 45th.
I hope they're stocking local spirits, since they have a diverse selection ...
Now let's find something else to privatize.
Sounds like we are paying a negligible amount more (today, let’s see where prices go with competition) for more convenience, but less selection (today, let’s see where selection goes with completion) and a significantly greener method of distribution.
Not quite the end of the world yet…
Totally agreed about the limited selection. I'm hoping these are the Day 1 choices and things only improve. Or even better, that the 10,000 sq ft restriction gets lifted later.
People, people, people.
and a note to anybody planning on having a rancorous child custody battle - be sure to subpoena the ex's grocery / costco membership club records.
I checked your math and I think your method of comparison is slightly flawed. If you adjust for the actual costs of each liquor type (averaging the PERCENT increase/decrease of all the types you listed), the average PERCENT change in prices was +8.82% at Safeway, and +14.7% at QFC over state liquor prices.
HOWEVER, even with the more accurate adjusted method being higher, your implied conclusion is somewhat misleading as the price changes vary wildly depending on what you're purchasing. If you only buy Bacardi, you save nearly 24% at Safeway against state liquor prices, but Jager buyers will end up spending 36% more.
The standard deviation of the price change is fairly high here (around 19% at Safeway, and 15% at QFC), so it's difficult to draw as general a conclusion as you have. Savings/expenditures are likely to be highly individualized depending on preferred products, and prices are likely to change as the market adjusts.
I'm a big fan of the government handling many things where it makes sense (mass transit, utilities, infrastructure, health care, etc), but selling liquor is not one of those things. This law isn't perfect, but it's a good first step towards ridding WA of the prohibition era mentality. Fear not, doomsayers, the market will adjust, and the laws will progress.
21: The state didn't write the initiative. Blame Costco.
Did anyone besides me note that Costco wrote the law so they could be their own distributor?
We've gone from a transparent system to a system filled with hidden costs.
@25, taxes didn't go up. They just got unbundled from the shelf price. The liquor tax has always been huge, and the liter tax is likewise not new. Look it up on the price sheet at http://liq.wa.gov/publications/liqpurcha… (make a copy, it's unlikely to stay there much longer).
As for prices, I have been to Wine World. I was able to pick up some stuff I've not seen before -- Saint James rhum agricole from Martinique, Salers Aperitif La Bounoux (fantastic, the closest thing to Suze I've found), a peculiar rhubarb amaro, Rabarbaro Zucca, and a kind of Luxardo I've never had, Amaro Abano. But the prices are very, very high for some things.
I have been taken to task by mouthbreathing turd fondlers for saying "75%", but if you compare liquor price to liquor price, a bottle of Ron Zacapa Centenario is $66.95 before any taxes at Wine World, versus $38.28 at the state store. That's + 75%. Shut the fuck up if you don't know how tax works.
My favorite rum, Zaya, was $34.95 at the WSLCB AFTER tax, $26.67 before; at Wine World it is $49.99 before tax, which is an EIGHTY SEVEN PERCENT INCREASE. Sad Fnarf. Fortunately I grabbed a bottle before today.
Also, who the hell shops at Safeway? I gave up on that place back in the late 90's when they started using that extremely annoying club card which you had to have to get the exact same price before the card. They have shit selection. And QFC? That place also blows.
I will never miss having to go to the DOL or whatever the hell it was.
If you really miss the old system, move to Utah.
@31, even in Seattle, I'm lucky to be close enough to them to make a trip. If I lived in West Seattle or Laurelhurst or Mt. Baker, to say nothing of Bothell or Burien, Wine World is a long, long ways away.
And talk about pompous? Who shops at Safeway? Speak from the condescending vantage of privilege, do we?
"More convenience" may have been a factor for those of you who live out in the sticks, but I for one had THREE WSLC stores within walking distance of my home and work (two of which were open until at least 8:00 p.m., and two open on Sunday), so that was never really a factor for me.
And despite what many of you are saying to the contrary, it's glaringly obvious to me that the new retail outlets (based on the two QFC's I visited this evening at least) are NOT carrying anything close to the selection I could get at State liquor stores - and probably won't be anytime soon.
See, here's the thing: I tend not to drink bottom-shelf swill, so price and selection ARE important to me. The two QFC's I stopped at tonight didn't even have several of what I consider STANDARD stock, and the post-tax prices on those they did were pretty much in line with the approximately 15% increase others have noted. When your taste trends towards well liquor that probably doesn't seem like much difference, but add that amount to a decent bottle of Islay single-malt or Anejo Reserva or Jamaican estate-bottled rum, and it starts hitting your pocket book pretty damned fast. (Although, given the relatively sparse selection, I'll be lucky to even SEE anything besides the merest handful of potables of that caliber anytime soon.)
That being said, I'm looking forward to hitting Costco over the weekend, just to gaze in awe at the 200 foot-long aisle stacked 20' high with carton after carton of double-packed 150 Liter plastic bottles of Kirkland Brand Vodka, Gin, and Whisky, and the credulous rubes grabbing it by the cart-load thinking they're in heaven.
Thanks a lot you penny-pinching fuckers...
Hell, I'm not above imbibing a little locally made moonshine when occasion permits, but you can bet your last dollar it's WELL-MADE moonshine, because the people who make it take PRIDE in crafting their product.
As my late grandfather taught me: "don't be ashamed if you can't afford to buy the best; be ashamed if you DON'T buy the best you CAN afford."
I've lived in CA; one of the most satisfying moments of my life was when UC Liquors in Alameda delivered a bottle of Jack Daniels and a bottle of Stoli - RIGHT TO MY FREAKING DOOR! And about five minutes later, the pizza arrived.
The opponents of 1183 warned everyone that it would mean higher prices and less selection. Fortunately not all the prices increased as much as predicted (65%), but some, as fnarf points out, did. When comparing prices, compare the price you paid walking out the door.
Costco not only screwed the consumer, it bought and abused the initiative process. They'll make billions though, so, cool for them right?
The only good news, is that not every bar's prices will go up, only the smaller independent bars.
I saw a (semi) local rum, from Portland, at Wine World, but didn't buy it. I wonder if it's any good.
Honestly, the number of retail outlets in the city and state increased exponentially overnight. They will be fighting for our business soon enough. Selection will eventually increase and prices will drop.
@40..I recall drive thru liquor stores and home delivery in San Diego many, many years ago. I too certainly miss those services.
Someone commented on the West Seattle Blog that the WS Thriftway has a decent selection of NW liquors. Plus we have Beer Junction (love) and a few wine stores. I think we've got it pretty good in the alcohol department, which will come in handy during our regular weekend-long viaduct closures.
Way to go John Stossel. Is this Fox god dam news! You might as well be working for them. Something about the Stranger working as the Morality police, bothers me.
In other news, it was cold this morning, and since it is June and still cold, we can safely rule that Global Warming is over! Next up global darkening!
How long did the WA state DMV or DOL or whatever have to operate their shit shops by comparison to the stores you mention? So 50 years compared to 1 day? That seems to be a safe comparison Mr. Stossel. Fuck you conservative douche bags. I am going to walk down the street and by some booze. You'll have to pry it from my cold dead hands!
Here is the thing, don't like it? Move the fuck out to Utah or Alaska.
Also, fuck Safeway, I think 20% of their sales go to support clubbing baby seals or some shit.
So the reason why Wine World and the small local stores will be charging more for liquor is b/c of the Costco Initiative.
I don't know how, exactly, he would respond to "Mouthbreathing turd fondlers", as he was a man of culture and taste. But I am sure he would privately appreciate the humor. Well done, Fnarf!
It is not a bad investment. Unless I share with friends, that $80 scotch will last several months. One does not make double-shot old fashioneds with it. And if I do share with friends, they also share theirs, out of the goodness of their boozy hearts.
I've plugged this before, but I'll do it again right here: Doug's Clearview Liquor, up on Highway 9 near Snohomish has an unbelievable selection of high-end brands (of all makes, not just scotch), and an especially good selection of single-malts. It is worth the trip north.
As impressed as I am with Zaya's richness/smoothness, do you ever find it to be just a little too much? Curious if you take it relatively straight, or if there's another ingredient with which you tend to mix it to provide balance and bring its excesses down a notch.
Thumbs down to Costco for lying to us about consumer benefits that are meager at best and thumbs down to the voters who believed them. They bought enough votes so the CEOs at Costco, Kroger, etc. can safely fill their swimming pools with your cash. Now we can all buy a fifth of Jäger at midnight at jacked up priced. Zippety-doo-dah!
And bullshit on comparing Washington State to other states. It is going to play out differently here given WHO wrote the initiative. And Costco didn't do it for the benefit of society. They did it to make more money and you get to pay the tab.
I drink all my rum on the rocks. I like to let it warm up on my tongue. The effort keeps me from swilling the stuff; if I wasn't paying attention I could pretty easily glug a half-pint of Zaya down before I realized what I was doing!
@60, I used to devour my friend's Road & Tracks back in high school, but I don't remember Henry N. Manney III. I must have read him, though. Perhaps I absorbed some of his style without noticing it.
(I have found reviews that recommend balancing out Zaya's decadence with dry vermouth and bitters, or even mixing it with ginger beer.)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/detai…
If I sell directly to the retailer (whether store or bar) I have to pay the same 10% distributor "fee" that any other distributor has to pay. No break there.
If I sell directly to the consumer, I have to pay the same 17% tax that every other retailer has to pay. No break there.
With the new (voter-approved) taxes and fees provided for in I-1183, in order to come anywhere close to my former shelf price, I had to narrow my own margin uncomfortably and beg my distributor to do the same. Now it's up to the retailer to decide whether to use their standard pricing formula or not.
So far—in spite of both my distributor and myself both taking narrower margins, the total retail price for my product is, on average, 30% higher than it was under WSLCB. Fortunately the price to on-premise retailers (bars) is pretty much the same as it was.
Yes, it's possible that things will even out eventually, and yes, there are some good points to the new system, but my fervent wish and advice to you all is:
The next time an initiative comes around making attractive promises, READ THE WHOLE THING instead of watching commercials and repeating unverified anecdotes about it. Find out who is paying for it and think about what their motives might be.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/detai…
You're right. Having refined taste ALONE doesn't make one a snob. You have to be willing to judge those without it as inferior to become a snob. See all the sections I bolded for that.
And look at your privileged whining. Oh noes, I can't walk to three different liquor stores any more. The people of Omak shed copious tears for you. Jackass.
All the retailers are buying from the same distributors. If you want Jameson you get it from Southland -- doesn't matter if you're OFC, Safeway, Costco or the bar down the street, you only can get that product from one place.
And THEY are the ones setting the prices now.
@70, as a vermouth aficionado as well, I find the idea of putting some in my Zaya rum to be completely insane, like putting milk in my whisky or M&Ms on my pizza. I love the taste of it as it is.
One ice cube is about right; it depends on the weather and how I'm feeling (and how much I've had). I usually go with three. If I pace myself, the first two melt into the glass (and open it up, as you say), while the third one remains for licking and sucking after it's dry. No, you probably don't want to watch me drink! I make soft moaning and grunting sounds, too.
If you're looking to step up from Barbancourt, you could always try the Barbancourt 15 Year Old, the one in the colorful box. They have it at Wine World. Expensive, though. It's definitely a step up, though regular Barbancourt is pretty good, probably the best in its price tier.
The weirdest thing of all is seeing The Glenlivet for sale in Bartell's Drugs. $44.95 after all taxes (shown on the shelf tag, yay), which is only $5 more than WSLCB.
Well said, @72.
Currently, the Seattle Costco warehouse carries roughly 40 (maybe 50) different brands of liquor, including (from memory) Johnny Walker Red, Seagrams, Jack Daniels, Southern Comfort, Jägermeister, Absolut (in a couple/few variants), Skye, Cointreau, a silver tequila and a dark tequila, an amaretto, a Korean mash vodka, and an artisanal Washington State vodka and gin. Plus, a premixed margarita with an alcohol content roughly the same as wine; I wonder if liquor taxes apply nonetheless. The special sales tax and liter tax are NOT included in the price, although there are stickers here and there stating what those tax rates are. Actually, I did see one "demo" price card for Kirkland Signature vodka showing the retail price, the sales tax, the liter tax, and the register price. (For a 1.75 liter bottle, it was around $27 retail and around $43 at the register. I wish they would do this for all of their liquor. The excuse is probably that purchases for restaurants and bars incur a lower liquor sales tax and they would have to post two different register prices, one for consumers and one for restaurateurs. Weak excuse, especially for not including the liter tax.) I overheard a Costco employee telling other shoppers that all of the liquor Costco carries is priced lower at the register than it used to be at state liquor stores.
Anyway, Costco's selection is a small fraction what the old state liquor stores carried, but its prices are -- supposedly -- lower. If you guys want detailed brand and price reports, you'll have to get the Stranger to send one of its lavishly compensated interns to do the job.
I still think getting the state out of the liquor business was a smart move for Washington State. Just give it a little time to settle in.
Also, the WSLCB has (had?) all their liquor store prices online if you wanted to compare tequilas.
I am a Costco member but was seriously disappointed by their shitty selection and the 'lets beat the WS liquor prices by 5 cents' attitude. We dont like Absolut, Bacardi, Makers or any of the other meh brands, and I'm not risking $45 for a 1.75L bottle of mystery tequila. I can get 0.75L of Espolon for $20, incl shipping mail order over the interwebs. That $4 less than WS stores had it, and its damn tasty. Better than overrated Herradura, let alone Jose.
I am just going to mail order stuff until the real liquor stores come in - fuck the greedy retailers.
At that point Costco will probably have to compete for reals, like they do in Cali.