The Importance of Knowing People

I know that's a weird title for a blog entry on a site dedicated to food and drink, but it is applicable. As I've stated before, I am an enthusiast of the distilled spirits; mainly Whiskey. Being from Kentucky and growing up less than 20 minutes away from the Bourbon Trail, I have grown to love Whiskeys, Bourbons and Ryes. I fancy myself a collector (although my "huge" collection is about 12 bottles strong right now). Still, I am not one of those collectors that never opens his bottles of Whiskey. Quite the contrary. I believe no one ever made a bottle of Whiskey to keep and never be openned. They're made to enjoy. So I enjoy them (although not nearly as often as I would like to... as it stands right now, I probably have 1 a month and that is being liberal).

I got off on a tangent there... sorry. I do that when I speak of Whiskeys. Back on track...

I heard recently through the internet that Woodford Reserve was coming out with a new permanent line extension of their already great stable of products. I was elated to hear of this (Woodford is my go to "everyday" bourbon). The new expression is Woodford Reserve Double Oaked. It is just that, a twice aged bourbon and I must say that I cannot wait to try it. To that end, I sent a note to the Spirits Manager at my local liquor store (Lucas Liquor). In the note I simply asked about ETA on availability and whether or not they would be doing a reservation process (like they did with another offering that I wanted in late 2011). He replied almost immediately telling me that it will be there in early March and he would be happy to put a bottle aside for me and call me when it came in.

I tell you this because there is an important lesson to learn here. It is good to be able to say, "I've got a guy" or "I know somebody" when it comes to procuring things that may be in high demand. It also helps to get to know people who work at the places where you shop and dine so that you may be able to get the insiders scoop on certain products or events. This is a good lesson to learn if you are into food and drink but also in most any other situation as well. It is invaluable to have a person that you trust "on the inside" when it comes to finding or buying things that are hard to find or buy.

And it doesn't hurt that Lucas Liquor has the best staff of any liquor/party store that I have ever run into. They are always friendly, knowlegable and attentive to their customer's needs. In a world where the art of customer service is dying quickly, Lucas Liquor and their staff just plain get it.

Consequently, if you live in St. Louis and are in need of any information on any knowledge having to do with alcohol (or you just want to buy some good beer), go to Lucas on Manchester. You'll be happy you did.

And I'll let you know what I think of the new Woodford Reserve. It sounds outstanding.