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Firemans4Horn

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This place has gone to shit.

 

I just made made a mixed 6 pack and 4 of the 6 beers were $1+ more when they rang up at the register than what they were listed for on the shelf. Laughable quality control. Bourbon selection has quickly morphed into 40% Texas garbage whiskeys. 

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6 minutes ago, Firemans4Horn said:

This place has gone to shit.

 

I just made made a mixed 6 pack and 4 of the 6 beers were $1+ more when they rang up at the register than what they were listed for on the shelf. Laughable quality control. Bourbon selection has quickly morphed into 40% Texas garbage whiskeys. 

Are we talking about the one on Smith St. in Houston?

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I’m done with Spec’s. No I don’t want to buy your shitty three year aged bourbon for thirty bucks a bottle. Stop fucking ask me. No I don’t want your fucking bourbon recommendations. Leave me the fuck alone when I’m in the bourbon aisle.

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My Spec's never has any allocated bottles for sale.  Whiskey guy keeps a notebook with names and phone numbers.  They have a decent enough beer selection, but the HEBs around me have really stepped up their beer selections and they are cheaper than Spec's.

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47 minutes ago, ERhine said:

I’m done with Spec’s. No I don’t want to buy your shitty three year aged bourbon for thirty bucks a bottle. Stop fucking ask me. No I don’t want your fucking bourbon recommendations. Leave me the fuck alone when I’m in the bourbon aisle.

Same goes for TW. They won’t leave me the fuck alone. No, I don’t want to buy your Lazy River bourbon. Yes, I googled it and of course it’s made by you. Fuck you. Can I not just browse the aisle without being attacked by three different salesman?

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Was at the voss/i10 location the other day to grab some tequila, walked over to the bourbon aisle to have a look and one of their sales associates asked if i needed help. I told him no was just looking but mentioned how empty the aisle looked, it was 1/3 empty. He went into some bit about how several brands are now allocation only and they are becoming very difficult to find blah blah, I mentioned ER and he said yes, then Blantons to which he replied you'll never see it on the shelf.  I told him its odd how its not like that in other cities, he looked at me funny and I explained how I just spent several months in northern California and both blantons and er is sitting on the shelves out there. He then asked me if I liked birthday bourbon, oh ya, he proceeded to walk down the aisle towards the front and I thought I might of just ran into a little luck only to see him stop and point at this

 

20180718_151936.jpg

 

Went on about how great this stuff and they bought the rights to the original birthday bourbon bottle design..... I told him no thanks, bought the tequila and left. Just shaking my head 

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Same goes for TW. They won’t leave me the fuck alone. No, I don’t want to buy your Lazy River bourbon. Yes, I googled it and of course it’s made by you. Fuck you. Can I not just browse the aisle without being attacked by three different salesman?


I have literally never been intrusively offered shit bourbon at TW, and I’ve probably stopped in 20 times this year.
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3 hours ago, Smax said:

Was at the voss/i10 location the other day to grab some tequila, walked over to the bourbon aisle to have a look and one of their sales associates asked if i needed help. I told him no was just looking but mentioned how empty the aisle looked, it was 1/3 empty. He went into some bit about how several brands are now allocation only and they are becoming very difficult to find blah blah, I mentioned ER and he said yes, then Blantons to which he replied you'll never see it on the shelf.  I told him its odd how its not like that in other cities, he looked at me funny and I explained how I just spent several months in northern California and both blantons and er is sitting on the shelves out there. He then asked me if I liked birthday bourbon, oh ya, he proceeded to walk down the aisle towards the front and I thought I might of just ran into a little luck only to see him stop and point at this

 

20180718_151936.jpg

 

Went on about how great this stuff and they bought the rights to the original birthday bourbon bottle design..... I told him no thanks, bought the tequila and left. Just shaking my head 

Yeah, went to this location last weekend looking for beer and bourbon. They didn’t have either (Celis and Weller) and I left without buying anything. 

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2 minutes ago, ERhine said:

I’ve been lucky I guess. I only see an employee on the bourbon aisle maybe 1/4 of my trips. Most intrusive comment I’ve run into is “need any help?”
 

I see the guy every time I go but he moves on quickly.  Their selection has basically turned into shit and 90% of my trips are to buy cheese or meats.  

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Spec's near me is ok.  I've developed a pretty good relationship with the bourbon guy and the manager.   And they typically don't try to push anything unwanted on me.
The bourbon selection is ok, shelves have pretty much what all the other stores have at any given time, but from time to time I'm able to get some good bottles from them.  So far this year I've been able to grab Old Weller Antique, ER, Blanton's, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof.  But they've passed me over on their shipments of Rock Hill Farms and EHT 4 Grain.  Guess I don't spend enough with them.  

The Goody Goody next door is a different story, I've developed a great relationship with the Manager.  He texts me whenever he gets anything allocated. I've been able to get OFBB, Rock Hill Farms, KOR, Elmer T Lee, numerous Blanton's, ER, W12 and OWA the past year.  He's a really good guy and I nurture the hell out of that relationship.  I will give him a bottle every now and then when I come across stuff.  He takes care of me because he knows I drink what I buy and don't flip it on the secondary market.

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Spec's near me is fine to really good.  (Dallas, Central and Walnut).  The two wine guys I use always haven't steered me wrong, the rye guy had some interesting thoughts, no one seems to know shit about mezcal, and beer is beer. 

They stopped carrying Cabotella which was my go to shitty Mexican cerveza.  So that was triste.

Never crowded and have never been pressured.  Guess I throw down a poor vibe.

 

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I shop the Spec's in Roanoke. They don't usually beat Beverage Depot's prices, but BD is 20 miles out of the way in FtWorth. All the Mom & Pop's out in the boonies where I live are $4 - 5 a bottle higher on nearly everything because they can't compete with the volume purchase price Spec's pays, plus their selection is shit.

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23 hours ago, wild_turkey said:

Specs in Fort Worth is decent. No one has ever tried to sell me anything and the shelves are stocked normally. Of course no Blanton’s (but no one else does either) and I have no idea about Eagle Rare because it’s mediocre and highly overrated.

The Spec's on Hulen? I don't know if they've fired the piece of shit racist lady who was a manager there yet. I am not interested in going back there to find out. I asked for bourbon recommendations, and instead she spent 5 minutes complaining about her millennial employees, and then moved on to describe her distaste for minorities when I decided I probably don't need to be seen standing there and listening to this bullshit. So I went down the road to Total Wine instead, which is a much better experience overall. 

 

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8 hours ago, TornACL said:

The Spec's on Hulen? I don't know if they've fired the piece of shit racist lady who was a manager there yet. I am not interested in going back there to find out. I asked for bourbon recommendations, and instead she spent 5 minutes complaining about her millennial employees, and then moved on to describe her distaste for minorities when I decided I probably don't need to be seen standing there and listening to this bullshit. So I went down the road to Total Wine instead, which is a much better experience overall. 

 

Yeah that's where I normally go but I had no idea about their manager. I guess I've been lucky to have minimal interactions with store employees. In and out in about 5 minutes usually.

I do like Total Wine but it's an extra 10 minute drive due to all the lights and the traffic around the mall area.

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On 7/28/2018 at 12:37 PM, ERhine said:

I’m done with Spec’s. No I don’t want to buy your shitty three year aged bourbon for thirty bucks a bottle. Stop fucking ask me. No I don’t want your fucking bourbon recommendations. Leave me the fuck alone when I’m in the bourbon aisle.

yep, their sales staff make it the worst

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On 7/28/2018 at 1:28 PM, Neonmoon said:

Same goes for TW. They won’t leave me the fuck alone. No, I don’t want to buy your Lazy River bourbon. Yes, I googled it and of course it’s made by you. Fuck you. Can I not just browse the aisle without being attacked by three different salesman?

they pimp the shit out of their shitty "direct" wines, too, but generally are more polite and respectful than the Spec's guys on Smith.

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On 7/30/2018 at 8:34 AM, Okie State said:

I agree that Total Wine is better and generally has lower prices.

Total Wine (at least the one in Denton) doesn't offer case discount on liquor. Both Spec's and Beverage Depot do (mix/match), plus Spec's give 5% off for cash or debit. TW seemed more focused on wine and had liquor as a side hustle.

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Total Wine (at least the one in Denton) doesn't offer case discount on liquor. Both Spec's and Beverage Depot do (mix/match), plus Spec's give 5% off for cash or debit. TW seemed more focused on wine and had liquor as a side hustle.
Was referring to beer as that's all I buy.
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Spec's in Kingwood is such a shit show that I'd rather shop at the smaller, pricier mom and pop shop closer to my house.   Twin Liquor opened a new store by the (rebuilt) HEB but it's fairly small and doesn't have a very good selection.  There's a good Total Wine over in Humble but kind of out of the way unless I want to deal with 1960 traffic.    

The Kingwood Spec's has a fairly shitty selection of real booze.   Wine is OK but TW kicks their ass and my local store has about the same selection of bourbon/whiskey.   Might be a bit more per bottle but the family who runs it is nice and super friendly.   

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Went to the new Specs in Belterra Village on Hwy.290 today. Smaller than the 290 & Mopac store so the beer selection was just ok, picked up a few cans of stuff I haven't tried yet. Wasn't looking for liquor but the shelves seemed to be adequately stocked, no sales people dogged me and there were only two other people in the store so I was in and out pretty quick. Prefer Total Wine when I'm near the Brodie store and Twins when they run their sales.

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I only go to Smith Street and the bourbon aisle guy knows not to ask me after I schooled him on how bourbon age statements worked (he was trying to tell me some bullshit bourbon was a 30 year). There is a ratty little guy in the wine section that has actually given me some good picks, but he is relentless. Whatever, I usually get 10 calls a year for allocated shit so I can’t complain too much.

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6 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

What’s the Arbor Walk Specs situation? I’ve only been once but seemed like a ghost town. I need to branch out because TW Arboretum bourbon selection seems pedestrian for its size. The TW on Mueller blows it out of the water easily 

 

TW Arboretum seems to have a smaller footprint than some other stores.  Selection at Lakeline location is better for both wine and liquor

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  • 2 years later...
On 7/28/2018 at 2:03 PM, Smax said:

Was at the voss/i10 location the other day to grab some tequila, walked over to the bourbon aisle to have a look and one of their sales associates asked if i needed help. I told him no was just looking but mentioned how empty the aisle looked, it was 1/3 empty. He went into some bit about how several brands are now allocation only and they are becoming very difficult to find blah blah, I mentioned ER and he said yes, then Blantons to which he replied you'll never see it on the shelf.  I told him its odd how its not like that in other cities, he looked at me funny and I explained how I just spent several months in northern California and both blantons and er is sitting on the shelves out there. He then asked me if I liked birthday bourbon, oh ya, he proceeded to walk down the aisle towards the front and I thought I might of just ran into a little luck only to see him stop and point at this

 

20180718_151936.jpg

 

Went on about how great this stuff and they bought the rights to the original birthday bourbon bottle design..... I told him no thanks, bought the tequila and left. Just shaking my head 

This stuff is apparently really good. The Bourbon Junkies just blinded the Southern Rye and guessed it was a $60-$80 bottle. I’m definitely going to pick up at least the rye, but apparently the entire line is a good value. 

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4 hours ago, Yev Kassem said:

This stuff is apparently really good. The Bourbon Junkies just blinded the Southern Rye and guessed it was a $60-$80 bottle. I’m definitely going to pick up at least the rye, but apparently the entire line is a good value. 

Yeah, @NOMAAA has mentioned to me that he likes this stuff. But it's still funny to use OF Birthday Bourbon as a comparison just because of the bottle design. 

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