I enjoy good, single-pot still Irish whiskey. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of good options in…read morethis category locally available, save for 12-Year Redbreast and Green/Yellow Spot (and Spot deviants).
I've been looking for a bottle of 15-year Redbreast for a while without having to wait weeks for it to arrive, and decided to check Drizly to see if there were any stores with it in stock. Lo and behold, La Vista Liquor had it! The price was right, so I placed an order for a bottle of 15-year, along with a bottle of cask-strength 12-year (which is also rarely in stock at places like Bevmo or regular liquor stores). Drizly's fees and tip were pretty expensive, but considering how much you have to spend for good whiskey anyway, I shelled out the cash.
The delivery driver arrived right on time, handed me the bag, and I headed inside to check out the 15-year, which was absolutely incredible.
The other bottle, however... I'd been delivered regular 12-year Redbreast, not cask. I wasn't too upset - I prefer the flavor of cask over regular Redbreast, but figured I'd call the store and let them know about the mix-up and to double check before bagging up an order, as it's easy to mix up the cask with the regular. I didn't ask for a refund or replacement as it's only a $15 difference in cost.
Much to my surprise, the clerk that picked up told me that he'd personally come pick up the 12-year and refund me. He simply needed to wait for his manager to return for approval and promised he'd call back. 30 minutes later I get a call from the owner, who told me that while they typically stock 12-year cask, there wasn't any in the store, but he was positive there was stock in a neighboring store, and promised he would pick it up and hand-deliver it to me. If in the event the 12-year cask was not available, he promised he'd drive to his warehouse in Santee tomorrow and grab a bottle for me. Luckily, the neighboring store did have cask in stock. This man left his store to go to another, buy a bottle out of pocket, and hand-deliver it to me in exchange for the regular 12-year. An hour and a half later of him having to sit in traffic on the 78, I received a call letting me know he was waiting outside my house with my bottle.
If that's not top-notch customer service, I don't know what is. These guys really cared, went well out of their way, and deserve every ounce of credit I can give. They'll certainly be earning my return business, especially if they keep this 15-year in stock. I would never expect a liquor store to go so far above and beyond. These guys are awesome.
