Nick Conti( right) and his son Nick at Conti ' s Wine & Spirits in Southington, CT.
“ If you have any questions about how you might want to handle your allocated whiskeys, please do feel free to reach out,” he added.
Garfield ' s in the greater Chicago area places many allocated items on their in-store bars.
HIT THE LOTTERY
Some states permit lottery programs at retail stores, where entrants win the right to buy rare items. This is another system where everyone has an equal chance at nabbing a bottle.
The New Hampshire Liquor Commission, which operates 67 NH Liquor & Wine Outlet locations throughout the Granite State, operates a best-inclass lottery with its biannual Limited Release Raffles. In 2024, more than 28,000 consumers and licensees digitally entered the spring and fall drawings. Nearly 13,300 individuals received the opportunity to purchase hard-to-find spirits.
Individuals can purchase these products through a randomized process by using NHLC’ s Sips Platform. Customers enter the drawings by filling out an online form, and are sent a confirmation email following their submission. The Sips Platform uses a proprietary algorithm to evenly distribute the winnings among entrants, according to the NHLC, and also prevents users from entering multiple times by using address verification.
Other rare items go out in ghost drops, unannounced SKU offerings where large amounts of allocated bourbons become available, suddenly, at suggested retail price. Each drop is announced via email to more than 24,000 subscribers interested in allocated whiskeys, and shared across NHLC’ s social media channels, reaching a combined audience of more than 191,000 accounts. Information on these limited-edition product drops and the participating outlets is not announced until the items are available in stores. Products are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and remain available until all stock is sold out. To ensure fairness, each customer is limited to six bottles.
“ We are always listening to customers for advice on how we can get better, and while the feedback on the ghost drops has been 99 % good, one thing we decided to do the most recent time based on customer feedback was hold the drops on the weekend,” says Mark Roy, Division Director of Marketing, Merchandising, and Warehousing. A veteran of the NHLC, Roy is the father of the commission’ s worldclass whiskey program.“ People told us that getting these bottles had been tough logistically when we did them during the week, because people were at work. The initial customer feedback about the recent Saturday ghost drop has been incredible.”
CHARITY AND CHALLENGE
In Greenfield, IN, Chilly ' s Liquors uses many allocated items for charity.
" We try and tie allocated items to our annual Whiskey for Warriors event in November and a live auction for BTAC and Pappy bottles," explains Matt Coram, VP, Director of Operations at Chilly ' s Liquors. " Since we don’ t receive that many, we put them in there to raise a lot of funds for the VFW post in Greenfield. During this event we have a right to purchase lottery on items that are still allocated but easier to come by."
" We don’ t have any plans on changing the way we handle allocated items at this time," Coram adds. " Maybe one day we will just put these items out on the shelf. I really do think if your state allows you to do so, holding a right to purchase lottery and tying in a local charity is a great way to handle allocated products. I would be interested to hear what other retailers are doing to handle allocated items."
Which is also to say that no system is perfect, naturally. Each program has its drawbacks, presenting different ways that people might get upset. At the end of the day, your regular customers will let you know whether your system is working fairly and effectively.
“ There is no right or wrong way to do it,” says Silverstein of Garfield’ s.“ You have to make the decision predicated on what is best for your individual business. No matter what you do, someone will say that you are doing it wrong. At the end of the day, any retailers focus should be customer satisfaction. If your customers are telling you something, it ' s normally best if you listen.” •
16 Beverage Dynamics • Winter 2025 www. beveragedynamics. com