I guess these bars don't care about being fined or losing their liquor license. Doing a bar crawl will prove nothing

I can't see this happening. Too much at stake and enough enforcement mechanisms to make the bars hurt if they want.

Just a big publicity stunt in the end. An amusing publicity stunt though. Too bad they couldn't get Toby Keith to play to really put it over the top.

rsf0626 said:

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I guess these bars don't care about being fined or losing their liquor license. Doing a bar crawl will prove nothing

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Maybe it's all to-go for the crawl. I've done some bike rides to the Saucer and breweries with friends but we didn't consume on premises.

MiniShrike said:

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Texaggie7nine said:

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Diggity said:

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Abbott considering making alcohol to go a permanent rule change.

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Now, if we can get him to allow liquor stores to open on sunday.

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The Texas Package Store Association has been fighting that tooth and nail for decades. It'll most likely take grocery sales to change it, which lately has been lead by Walmart in other parts of the country.

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Why?

aTm2004 said:

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If you want to work out badly enough and don't mind driving to New Caney, DM me. I may know a gym that might or might not be operating.

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I appreciate the offer. I have a good buddy in Siena Plantation with an awesome home gym that was built out for him by Sorinex that I've been going to. It's a 30 minute drive for me, but has everything that I need.

Texaggie7nine said:

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They like having sunday off mostly

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Yup.

For the Mom & Pop stores, it's their only day off. For say, Spec's, that's not an issue. But supporting no Sunday sales saves a little on payroll, cuts down on out of stock issues (the distributors aren't going to ship on Sunday) but most importantly keeps the quid pro quo independent support in Austin for what they DO care about- preserving the Class B system in Texas which mandates that distributors cannot sell liquor (and only liquor) directly to restaurants, hotels, golf courses and bars like in 48 other sates. It has to go through a middle man, with the accompanying 15% margin which of course gets passed on to the consumer. The largest of these in Texas, by far, is Spec's.

David_Puddy said:

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chrisrrtx said:

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FYI - Got turned away from Total Wine yesterday evening for not wearing a mask.
That being said, anyone know where I can go buy some masks in person?

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That's ridiculous. I went to the new H-E-B off of Washington today and there were people in there without masks. F Total Wine......go to my boy's spot Premium Wine & Spirits in that little shopping center across from Sprouts.

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I think that's the place that delivers. Dude knocked on my door and handed me a back of rye/bourbon/vodka and when I asked what it was for he said my wife ordered it. Score.

MiniShrike said:

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Texaggie7nine said:

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They like having sunday off mostly

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Yup.

For the Mom & Pop stores, it's their only day off. For say, Spec's, that's not an issue. But supporting no Sunday sales saves a little on payroll, cuts down on out of stock issues (the distributors aren't going to ship on Sunday) but most importantly keeps the quid pro quo independent support in Austin for what they DO care about- preserving the Class B system in Texas which mandates that distributors cannot sell liquor (and only liquor) directly to restaurants, hotels, golf courses and bars like in 48 other sates. It has to go through a middle man, with the accompanying 15% margin which of course gets passed on to the consumer. The largest of these in Texas, by far, is Spec's.

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What's weird is, as stupid as our laws are. our liquor prices when I go to Specs or Total wine are cheaper than a lot of states I've been to. I'm in New Mexico now and 750 bottles of liquor are generally around $5 more a bottle.

drumboy said:

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David_Puddy said:

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chrisrrtx said:

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FYI - Got turned away from Total Wine yesterday evening for not wearing a mask.
That being said, anyone know where I can go buy some masks in person?

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That's ridiculous. I went to the new H-E-B off of Washington today and there were people in there without masks. F Total Wine......go to my boy's spot Premium Wine & Spirits in that little shopping center across from Sprouts.

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I think that's the place that delivers. Dude knocked on my door and handed me a back of rye/bourbon/vodka and when I asked what it was for he said my wife ordered it. Score.

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Awesome.....the owner is a super nice dude. I didn't realize they delivered

Costco is beginning to require masks for entry.

Interesting......I read on here that H-E-B was too so I wore mine but saw people in there without them, including some of their workers.

After Abbott's conference Monday HEB said they would like customers to wear them but they aren't required. They are supposed to be required for their employees.

drumboy said:

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David_Puddy said:

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chrisrrtx said:

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FYI - Got turned away from Total Wine yesterday evening for not wearing a mask.
That being said, anyone know where I can go buy some masks in person?

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That's ridiculous. I went to the new H-E-B off of Washington today and there were people in there without masks. F Total Wine......go to my boy's spot Premium Wine & Spirits in that little shopping center across from Sprouts.

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I think that's the place that delivers. Dude knocked on my door and handed me a back of rye/bourbon/vodka and when I asked what it was for he said my wife ordered it. Score.

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Total Wine delivers as well. Just had a few bottles of bourbon and a bottle of grain alcohol delivered. Now I can have a nice drink and clean my countertops for the next 20 years!

Take it FWIW, HEB has been just about breaking even during this event. Any additional revenue they may have brought in early on has been plowed back in to ops for additional cleaning materials and higher pay for staff.

Texaggie7nine said:

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MiniShrike said:

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Texaggie7nine said:

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They like having sunday off mostly

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Yup.

For the Mom & Pop stores, it's their only day off. For say, Spec's, that's not an issue. But supporting no Sunday sales saves a little on payroll, cuts down on out of stock issues (the distributors aren't going to ship on Sunday) but most importantly keeps the quid pro quo independent support in Austin for what they DO care about- preserving the Class B system in Texas which mandates that distributors cannot sell liquor (and only liquor) directly to restaurants, hotels, golf courses and bars like in 48 other sates. It has to go through a middle man, with the accompanying 15% margin which of course gets passed on to the consumer. The largest of these in Texas, by far, is Spec's.

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What's weird is, as stupid as our laws are. our liquor prices when I go to Specs or Total wine are cheaper than a lot of states I've been to. I'm in New Mexico now and 750 bottles of liquor are generally around $5 more a bottle.

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A couple of things are happening with the pricing. One, the state taxes in NM are (it depends on proof, origin, etc) around 2.5x those of Texas. Also, location and infrastructure (Port of Houston, significant rail and trucking hubs) make shipping goods to H-Town cheaper than to NM for most items.

Two, Spec's and Total are in a price war in the stores where they are in direct geographic competition. Both make their largest margins on house brands that they own, so they essentially sell the top 2 brands per category at cost as loss leaders and push the other stuff. There are 164+ Spec's stores in TX and 22 or so Total Wine stores.

What brands do they own?

Been there. Good liquor store.

David_Puddy said:

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chrisrrtx said:

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FYI - Got turned away from Total Wine yesterday evening for not wearing a mask.
That being said, anyone know where I can go buy some masks in person?

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That's ridiculous. I went to the new H-E-B off of Washington today and there were people in there without masks. F Total Wine......go to my boy's spot Premium Wine & Spirits in that little shopping center across from Sprouts.

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Shh...

David_Puddy said:

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chrisrrtx said:

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FYI - Got turned away from Total Wine yesterday evening for not wearing a mask.
That being said, anyone know where I can go buy some masks in person?

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That's ridiculous. I went to the new H-E-B off of Washington today and there were people in there without masks. F Total Wine......go to my boy's spot Premium Wine & Spirits in that little shopping center across from Sprouts.

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Premier Fine Wine & Spirits is terrible. Nobody should ever go there.

Its usually that brand you never heard of when the specs or total wine employee wants to point you in the direction of something that "tastes just as good as the name brand but is a bit cheaper." The only one I can think of off the top of my head is Tower Vodka. Its packaged and labeled to looks a lot like Titos and its usually on an endcap in bulk at Total Wine. Its made by Western Son Distillery yet you cant find it on the distillery's actual website as a product they sell. So it leads me to think either Total Wine or another shell company owns the brand.

Back in October I "won" a bottle of scotch at a fundraiser gala even by donating $40 for some random draw a chip out of the bag game. I had never heard of the brand and the only website I could find that sold it was Total Wine.

That makes sense on why Western Son is in so many bars. Some friends are investors in it and I started noticing it at more and more bars but I'd only ever heard of it through them.

I would guess Total Wine is pushing it to bars while they push their house brand vodka made by Western Son in stores.

Texaggie7nine said:

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What brands do they own?

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if a bottle is in a conspicuous place, like an end cap or other prominent place, and you can't buy that product at the competition, that is a dead giveaway. Specs has been pushing this High Ridge canadian lately. Pretty sure that is one of theirs. Pretty damn good too, if you like canadian.

cajunaggie08 said:

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The only one I can think of off the top of my head is Tower Vodka. Its packaged and labeled to looks a lot like Titos and its usually on an endcap in bulk at Total Wine.

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Question....is there a difference in tastes with Vodka? My wife usually get Tito's but it all tastes the same to me. I can tell a big difference in whiskey or rye, but I can't tell the difference with vodka, but maybe it's because the red bull/orange juice covers the flavor.

J.D. c/o 05 said:

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From COVID-19, to masks, to workouts and now to booze.

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We're that bored.

We might as well have a chat about cigars or something while we're at it.

blindey said:

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J.D. c/o 05 said:

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From COVID-19, to masks, to workouts and now to booze.

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We're that bored.

We might as well have a chat about cigars or something while we're at it.

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I got an assortment 10 pack of cigars arriving tomorrow from holts.com. Pretty pumped about that.

My mind plays tricks on me if I ever drink premium dranks - I've never done a vodka tasting. I've done whiskey and bourbon tastings and you can definitely tell differences in flavors, age, etc.

Cold grey goose better than Stoli? Can I tell if it is mixed in juice? Not really on either case, personally.

drumboy said:

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cajunaggie08 said:

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The only one I can think of off the top of my head is Tower Vodka. Its packaged and labeled to looks a lot like Titos and its usually on an endcap in bulk at Total Wine.

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Question....is there a difference in tastes with Vodka? My wife usually get Tito's but it all tastes the same to me. I can tell a big difference in whiskey or rye, but I can't tell the difference with vodka, but maybe it's because the red bull/orange juice covers the flavor.

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https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2018/02/23/588346329/episode-826-the-vodka-proof

drumboy said:

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cajunaggie08 said:

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The only one I can think of off the top of my head is Tower Vodka. Its packaged and labeled to looks a lot like Titos and its usually on an endcap in bulk at Total Wine.

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Question....is there a difference in tastes with Vodka? My wife usually get Tito's but it all tastes the same to me. I can tell a big difference in whiskey or rye, but I can't tell the difference with vodka, but maybe it's because the red bull/orange juice covers the flavor.

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I don't drink vodka for taste really. Brown liquor I will discriminate on flavor all day.

To me, with vodka, the higher $ like Grey Goose isn't about actual flavor, it's about how smooth it is. If I drink a Grey Goose on the rocks by itself, it taste like I'm drinking ice water. Tito's is damn good for the price too.

If you want to see the difference, get a cheap ass vodka and get a Titos next time you go to the liquor store. Try em straight up and it's pretty easy to tell.

drumboy said:

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blindey said:

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J.D. c/o 05 said:

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From COVID-19, to masks, to workouts and now to booze.

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We're that bored.

We might as well have a chat about cigars or something while we're at it.

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I got an assortment 10 pack of cigars arriving tomorrow from holts.com. Pretty pumped about that.

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Cigarbid.com is my go to.

Scored a Oliva 5-Star Sampler #3 for $15 not too long ago.