by Strayed » Sun Jan 08, 2006 4:21 am
Amen to all of the above.
HOWEVER!!!.....
Ohio DOES offer an opportunity to prove just how dedicated a collector you really are. This is one of only a very few control states where you can purchase -- in the supermarket -- distilled spirits such as bourbon and rye whiskey, vodka, rum, brandy, and many others that you cannot find anywhere else.
There is a reason you won't find them anywhere else. Although they often have familiar labels, this is a category of liquor that is so far away from what anyone would consider "spirits" that even the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms folks don't have a definition for it. The labels all contain the word "diluted". That's because the contents cannot exceed twenty percent alcohol. That's 40 proof. There are WINES that have more alcohol in them than that! Pennsylvania and Virginia (just two examples I'm familiar with) may have cockamamie liquor laws, but at least the whiskey you can't buy is (or at least would be, if you could get it) a decent 80+ proof. And of course, since there's no reason to do such a horrible thing to your good whiskey, the brands that ARE available in diluted form are not exactly top shelf, either.
Nevertheless, if you are a TRUE COLLECTOR of American spirits, you don't wan't to miss the diluted brands found in most Ohio supermarkets. You won't find them in state-licensed liquor stores, just supermarkets. Liquor stores have the real, full-proof versions of Beam white label, Maker's Mark, Jack Daniel's, and Wild Turkey.