PLCB "Guide To Better Product Knowledge- Spiritous Liquors" Some PA Spirits History!

 Here's a little piece of PA spirits history. This handy little guide was published December of 1964 by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board for employee training and knowledge. I've found it to be quite comprehensive and accurate even today. I've chosen to scan it in its entirety and display it here for other's learning and also as an example of PA spirit history. Enjoy!

Some early Michter's advertising.

Going through some of my files, in search of an answer to a question from a friend, I came across some early examples of Michter's advertising. These represent the era where Lou Forman envisioned Michter's as the "soft" whiskey a refined gentleman over 40 may prefer. While there is much Pennsylvania Dutch flavor to the advertising, it was clearly also a product of it's era- when people were looking for "smooth" or "soft" whiskies. This was the era of blended whisky, Canadian whisky, gold rum, and vodka. You had to cater to the masses looking for easy sippers, versus today where people are looking for strong flavors and higher proofs in their spirits.

Below we see three early examples of simple black-and-white advertisements.

Changing gears to 60's-70's lounge culture, we have this little drink recipe book:

These are promotional advertisements for distributors:

Lastly, an awesome photo postcard of Michter's first glass bottles. These were directly styled after Jack Daniel's and Jim Beam bottles of the era:

Comparison of the new "prototype" Wines & Spirits store to others....

With all the media hype, I had to go and check out the new prototype PLCB Wines & Spirits store in downtown Harrisburg- 333 Market Street to be specific. This is the second prototype store that the PLCB has opened, the other being New Hope, PA. To learn more about what the PLCB has to say about the store and a description of what it supposedly has to offer, check out this link:


PLCB PROTOTYPE STORE

Now, I am going to review this in a different manner. Instead of giving goods and bads, I am going to compare and contrast it against the Manheim, PA store and Lancaster/Fruitville Pike store. The Fruitville Pike store is a "Premium Collection Store" while the Manheim store is just your average small town store. So here it goes:

-Location/Parking:
---Harrisburg- Terrible parking situation, even on a Saturday. It's on a good part of Market Street with other nice restaurants and businesses surrounding it. I felt safe there.
---Manheim- Excellent parking and location. It's in a small strip plaza that contains a hardware store, grocery store, and other smaller businesses. Well lit for those evening runs to the liquor store.
---Fruitville Pk.- Again, in a strip plaza, albeit busier and more cramped. Easy access from most locations north of Lancaster City. A traffic light at the entrance to Fruitville Pike. Can get a bit busy and cramped for parking in the evenings and on weekends.

-Interior Store Layout/Appearance:
---Harrisburg- Very nice, convenient, open in the center, nicer looking shelving. Good easy to read markings of locations of your favorite beverages. Comparable to a higher-end liquor store in Maryland or Delaware. Laid out well, but may become a bit cramped during busy hours.
---Manheim- When you walk in, you know you're in a "state store." What can I say? Little signage, cheap metal shelves, basic checkout facilities. No decor. But hey, it's Manheim, not a big city!
---Fruitville Pk.- A step above Manheim. More registers and a premium wines collection area that's mildly posh for Lancaster. Laid out pretty basically, but it works well and still allows for navigation of the store during busy hours. Still, not much for atmosphere.

-Employees:
---Harrisburg- Friendly crowd for a Saturday and for being in inner-city Harrisburg. I didn't get any "May I help you?" but I think they could tell I was on a mission! I did get a "Thank you." and smile at the check out, which was nice. All employees were well dressed and manicured.
---Manheim- Some employees seem nice, others seem like they'd rather be doing other things. Most have a basic knowledge and know what's in stock and what's not. Casual, but nice clothing is usually worn. Fine for a small town store.
---Fruitville Pk.- Employees often seems a bit overworked or stressed. Most are pleasant and seem to know about wines. Some employees look like they are dressed for a wedding. Nice sport coats and ties. Impressive and makes them look smart (I don't know if they actually are, but giving that impression makes me feel a little more comfortable when I ask questions). Usually pleasant at the register as well. Again, no complaints.

-THE SELECTION!
---Harrisburg- Severely lacking on whiskies (whiskys). Like all Wines & Spirits stores, there is a massive wall of Vodka, then the rest of the store is wine. I was expecting a lot more and really feel let down here. I was even hoping a few SLO "Special Liquor Order" items may be lurking on the shelves. Since I'm not a wine guy, I didn't pay much attention to the rows of wine, but it seemed to be the same selection as the Fruitville Pike store. One thing I did like was they had a list of all of the behind-the-counter small bottles at the register. That's nice since I'm always straining my neck to see what's lurking under the counter at other stores.
---Manheim- They have the basics. A few of each category of everything. It serves its purpose well and I know I can always go and find my Old Grand Dad 100 there!
---Fruitville Pike- This one beats the other 2 stores in square footage, so why shouldn't there be an excellent selection? It's also, as said above, a "Premium Collection Store" which means better selection of at least wines. This is one of my favorite stores (The other one being the East York store). Very good selection and at Christmas they are usually loaded with the special gift sets. While once again the emphasis is on wine and Vodka, good bottles of scotch, gin, bourbon, and other liquors crowd the shelves. Wonderful selection! Almost as good as a private Maryland or Delaware liquor store. Almost.

So there you have it. Hopefully the prototype concept gets refined and turns into something wonderful. For now, I'll stick with my local stores. The atmosphere may be spartan, but they have a good selection and they're a lot closer.

I'm not dead yet.

I know. No word from your fearless (blog) leader in just 2 days shy of a month! What have I been doing? Here's a list for those of you that like organization:
1. Getting a new job.
2. Shoveling snow. LOTS of snow.
3. Buying Michter's stuff (You have no idea.)
4. Buying whiskey and enjoying a shot each night of something new.
5. Making space for aforementioned Michter's stuff.
6. Apparently not blogging.

So now the actual update on my Michter's efforts:

The tours did not happen on Valentines Day due to snow and unsafe conditions. However, that gave me time to make contacts and get my hands on some colossal collections of Michter's items. Thanks to Mr. Mummert and his sister, Mrs. Foreman, I was able to secure over 50 decanters- most full with boxes for the collection. These decanters replaced empty ones in my collection which are being sold off. Mr. Mummert was a Michter's Collectors Society member and also provided me with a large amount of newsletters, mailings, advertising, and special event flyers. Several other individuals, EBay, and some local antiques dealers have also helped in securing rare pieces for my collection. I'm going to go out on a limb saying this, but as far as I can tell, I now have the most complete collection of Michter's memorabilia that exists. There are still several decanters out there that I do not have, but they are very rare (less than 500 made) and it may take some time to find them- if they even still exist today!


As for my whiskey for drinking collection, I am experimenting with "bottom shelf" and "middle shelf" economically priced whiskeys to see if there are some good bang-for-your-buck pours out there. Recently I've tried:
Banker's Club Blended Whiskey
Old Fitzgerald Bourbon 80pf
Pikesville Supreme Rye
Cabin Still Bourbon

For me, that standout was the Cabin Still. For being a 36 month old whiskey at 80 proof and only $8.50 a liter I was not expecting much. But I was amazed at how smooth it was. It presented itself as a more mature bourbon. It certainly did not have the oakiness and deep flavor that older bourbons have, but it was not harsh and bitter like so many other young bourbons are. I was really amazed at the flavor and that it even had a slightly sweet, lingering finish. If this stuff was made at 100 proof and aged 4 years, I'll bet it would be absolutely amazing. Only downside- it's not available in PA! From my list above, only the Banker's Club Blended Whiskey is available in PA at $8.50 for a liter. This is actually my second choice from the list above. But being a blended whiskey, one should expect it to be smooth and not so harsh already. It met, but did not exceed my expectations. A very good, easily found, inexpensive whiskey. I still recommend it for tight budgets. It would mix great in soda as well.

The Official PA Wine And Spirits Inventory Search!!

Two posts in one day. I have no life I guess. ANYWAY, the other day while tooling around on the State's website I came across the holy grail that many of us PA liquor drinkers can't ever seem to find. Posted below is the link to the PLCB website's inventory search. This allows you to not only see if the state handles your favorite wine or spirit, but also how it is available, where it is available, and how many units a store stocks (plus the store's hours and address!!). VERY easy to use and an awesome way to track down your favorite drink! Enjoy!


http://www.lcbapps.lcb.state.pa.us/webapp/Product_Management/psi_ProductDefault_inter.asp?plcbNav=|32369|

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