Stuff we see

Today was one of those days.  Given that I don’t get out as much as I should (working from home and living in the sticks has it’s disadvantage), my exposure to the things you see at the Liquor store are fairly limited.

Well, tonight we are going to C&T’s for dinner and we are going to do a taste test of Gin while we are at it (Hendrick’s vs Caorunn).  Since we are the guests, we decided to hit HyVee and restock a little.  

Here are a few observations.

The first one that jumped out at me was a marketing program for Jack Daniels….the end cap/display for their “Go-To” line. 

I don’t think I need to go into much description, other than “Jack and Coke”.  The cocktail is so famous that it is synonymous for Whiskey and Cola.  

What I think is funny about it is the name “Go-To”.  While I agree that these are the two primary ingredients of the drink…..I wonder if this is also a slight subliminal message for “To Go”.  Considering the display location, the ease of purchase (everything in one spot) and the play on words….it’s definitely a possibility.  I give someone in Marketing a B+.

Next I went out of my way to check out the Wine Section.  Not that I was looking for any, but to play to a comment that Jeremy made on my post “Making Alcohol Eco-Friendly” and regarding Tetrapaks -

Anyhow, the days of crappy box wine are gone. You can already get decent wine in boxes, and some mid-tier wines are going to tetra paks.

Box wine is not normally on my Radar, so I thought I would take a look to see what was available. 

To my surprise, there was literally an entire isle devoted to it.  While I don’t think there were many mid-tier wines, there was defiantly a wider selection than I had anticipated.  I still don’t think it will replace the bottle, but I do realize it is an upward ticking market trend. 

I would love to still hear from TommyG (my plastics expert) and possibly some of you wine experts out there on the industry impact and/taste of some of these products.

Also, I’m sure some of you are wondering what a restock looks like here at S&B – Well here you go (Sorry for the bad picture)

Basically 12 different kinds of beer, some mini-bottle samplers, a couple bottles of wine and a couple bottles of liquor (Hendrick’s Gin and Devil’s Cut Bourbon) for tonight.

The beer samplers (you can pick and match at HyVee…which is an excellent service, you should check it out) are to hopefully entice Mike and/or TommyG over to help me (as if I need it) sample. The  Gin is for tonight, and the Jim Beam Devil’s Cut is to get Alby out of the house.

The best though was a bottle of 2011 Samuel Adams Utopia.  This is the bottle that looks like a brass pot still and is a 27% ABV “Beer” that has matured in Portuguese muscatel finishing casks, as well as sherry, brandy and Cognac casks.  I’m hoping to get Debi to help me review this one. 

Overall it was a great day spent out and about (thanks to a break in the heat).  Stay tuned for reviews….hopefully with other people’s help.

Finally, here are some classic pictures others have sent….ones that fit my “Stuff we see” theme….enjoy.