Collectors come in all shapes and sizes. Some hunt for each new vintage of their favorite white burgundy while others pine for a can (or 4) of the Green Mountain State's famed Heady Topper. And yet others shak their local liquor retailers for spirited unicorns like Kentucky Owl, Yamazaki 18, or EH Taylor Four Grain or Warehouse C Tornado Surviving. Whatever category you currently fall into, we all know the thrills and disappointments of snagging that hard-to-find-bottle but any retailer will tell you that you're up against a tsunami of dram-seekers who all at least want that bottle as much as you do. Fortunately for you... THEY'RE ALL DOING IT WRONG.
Most people who call or visit a liquor store looking for allocated items don't even TRY to hide the fact that they're after one and only one thing, so
DON'T BE A CHERRY PICKER
In the booze business, a cherry picker is a person who loves to buy only the most sought-after bottles, of course, at the cheapest price possible. Cherry pickers often come right out and ask "what hard to find bourbons do you have in stock?" Or they clumsily "stumble" over the pronunciation of an item (ex. Poppy Vanderwonk) in a failed effort to make the retailer think they actually ARE trying to buy the bottle for a dying uncle or Medal of Honor recipient. And they can become irate when they don't get what they're looking for and are happy to tell you how overpriced a retailer's stock is compared to someone else's in a market so far away that shipping would make the overall price 30%. Bottom line: you're not doing the retailer a favor by purchasing a bottle that 400 other people would buy in a second, without whining about the price.
Clearly, store owners and managers LOATHE a cherry picker but if you're hell-bent on your entitlement, I can't dissuade you. If, on the other hand, this is admittedly a wake-up call for you, read on. There's hope for you yet!
BECOME A FRIEND OF THE STORE
Retailers are beset on all sides, day in and day out, by suppliers and wholesalers who want favors and shelf space and by difficult customers who seem like they'd be happier any place besides the store they're in but can't seem to find their way any place else. This is your chance to stand out as a friend of the store. And who doesn't like to help a friend out from time to time?
It's not uncommon for a liquor retailer to have regular customers who purchase thousands or tens of thousands of dollars worth of product from them annually. These customers frequent a small number of stores to get their party supplies and daily drinkers. They introduce themselves to store managers and make sure they see them picking up a case of Macallan 12 or special ordering bottles of Dom Perignon to be delivered to clients during the holidays. They, and really any regular customer, are the kind of folks that owners and managers LOVE to dig deep for when it comes time to track down an allocated wine or spirit - or when some out-of-market phone calls are needed, in order to locate a case of Funky Buddha Nib Smuggler Chocolate Milk Porter that's no longer available locally. These favors take some effort to fulfill but it seems like a lot less effort when they're being doled out to a familiar face.
EXPAND YOUR LIST OF TARGETS
Don't stick to the "usual suspects". The numbers are against you, if you only try for the most highly allocated and sought-after items. God only makes so much Montrachet each year. At the same time, limiting your list is limiting your palate. Retailers love to guide customers down new paths toward interesting products that are cool AND a good value. Beverage alcohol is so much about the story of the product and of the producer. Attend local tastings, take notes and seek out new products whose future will reward those who squirrel away a case now. Don't blindly covet thy neighbor's Old Fitzgerald. Look for offerings that are making a mark today and will hopefully increase in mystique and value down the road. Five years ago, you could have filled your crawlspace with Japanese whiskey at less than 1/2 of what you'd pay today... IF you can find the more highly prized bottles at all.
Need an excuse to get out of the house? Join a wine quaff group or whiskey bottle share club. In these groups, enthusiasts bring a bottle or two of their most interesting beverages and crack them open among friends. Everyone gets to try a far greater range of rare and interesting (and often highly allocated) wines or spirits than most ever could on their own and build and strengthen relationships with other collectors who can be invaluable resources over the years.
Hopefully, you gather that the world of allocated beverages is one best navigated with kid gloves, rather than a baseball bat. It's a world ruled by relationships that can both enhance the depth of growing collections and enrich social experiences. Be a giver, not a taker. Your collection will reap the benefits.