How to Get Your Hands on Those Hard-to-Find Craft Whiskeys

One of the biggest hurdles to tasting a small, sought-after craft whiskey is finding it. We’ve all been there: You hear about an interesting craft whiskey from a friend, or you fall in love with one at a tasting event, only to discover that these bottles are impossible to find at nearby liquor stores. It’s a problem that’s long plagued the craft scene.

Many craft whiskeys are small and lack national distribution, but the issue is also a symptom of the way alcohol sales are regulated in the U.S. After the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, the federal government left alcohol regulation up to the states, with one key stipulation: It mandated the establishment of the so-called three-tier system, under which the producer (Tier 1) sells to a distributor (Tier 2), who then sells it to a retailer (Tier 3). The problem is that today’s distributors have consolidated into mammoth companies that are too busy selling big-volume brands to devote much attention to tiny craft whiskeys. Craft distillers who can’t get their product to market often get squeezed out.

The good news is that brick-and-mortar stores are no longer the only places to shop. The internet is an exciting hunting ground for craft whiskey, and aficionados now have a few different virtual ways to navigate.

Direct Access Drams

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) shipping, as the name implies, allows producers in certain states to ship bottles to buyers without going through a distributor and retailer. In theory, all a drinker has to do is place an order on the distillery’s website and wait for the bottle to show up on their doorstep. While that may sound easy, the laws differ by state, and that presents challenges that make it hard to navigate.

The first issue is that DTC whiskey is fairly limited in scope. While interstate DTC is a privilege that the wine sector has used widely, with 47 states plus Washington, D.C. now allowing it, things are much more limited for spirits. Only nine states—Alaska, Arizona, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, and Vermont— and Washington, D.C. allow some sort of interstate DTC shipping of spirits. A handful of states are expected to consider DTC-related bills in the coming year. But even that number is a bit misleading, as not every state has all-encompassing laws. The American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA) CEO Margie Lehrman says “the devil is in the details” when it comes to DTC shipping. Some states put restrictions on what spirits can be shipped directly, with Vermont’s DTC provisions covering spirit-based ready-to-drink cocktails only. Other states require that distilleries fall beneath a certain production quota to qualify, which can theoretically exclude larger craft players or lead to coverage cut-offs as midsized ones expand. States like Alaska have very tight restrictions on how many bottles can be shipped directly to a customer per year.

Some of those challenges have made craft distillers turn away from relying on interstate DTC and have moved toward reinforcing local availability. “Distribution is down at the same time products are up,” says Lehrman. Since there’s more craft whiskey being released, and interstate distribution can’t easily accommodate that, many craft distillers are having a harder time getting their whiskeys to people in other states. So, they’re focusing more on their local markets, which is why ACSA is starting to call for a self-distribution market to local retailers, Lehrman explains.

For that reason, the ACSA has started to pivot toward a true self-distribution model, rather than just DTC, as a means of solving the availability issue. Under that proposed system craft producers would have the ability to sell their bottles directly to local bars, liquor stores, and consumers. “There’s no reason why a restaurant down the street from a distillery should not be able to get product from that distillery—it might take a distributor one or two weeks to get it there,” argues Lehrman. Naturally, the concept has gotten some pushback from the wholesaler tier.

Whiskey Over The Web

If you don’t want to be entangled in DTC, a great way to shop for craft whiskey is online retailers. Today, many websites like ReserveBar, Frootbat, Caskers, and Bourbon Outfitter carry a selection of craft whiskeys on their virtual shelves. But one retailer in particular that has really dedicated itself to the craft sector is Seelbach’s.

Seelbach’s was founded in 2018 by Blake Riber, a former accountant who ran a whiskey blog on the side. He was inspired after tasting some craft whiskey samples that he had received for review— he found a few that he really liked, but was frustrated to discover how difficult it was to locate and buy them. Riber got the idea to start a website that would cater specifically to these smaller hardto- find brands. In the early days he only worked with a handful of brands—namely King’s County, Chattanooga, High Wire, Pursuit Spirits, and Wyoming Whiskey. But that number has since exploded, and Seelbach’s has partnered with around 450–500 craft distilleries and blending houses over the years, by Riber’s estimate.

The secret to Seelbach’s success lies in its business model. About 70–75% of the website’s business comes from single barrel picks and bespoke blends made specifically for Seelbach’s. That means that Blake can effectively sidestep the wholesale tier entirely to work directly with distillers to bring these whiskeys to market. The remainder comes from distributors, some of which cover brands that Seelbach’s previously worked with directly, that have since gone national. Seelbach’s works with a shipping and fulfillment partner to mail its bottles out, and currently does shipping to around 25 states.