While sitting in one of Barcelona's many tapas bars minding my own business and just being dumb and happy trying to get drunk on vermouth, I happened to chat with a local Spanish gent who turned out to be a (American) whiskey and bourbon enthusiast. I told him about the current bourbon boom in America and how it's becoming very difficult to find some premium bourbons, especially at reasonable prices. He noted that American whiskies have a strong following in Spain and encouraged me to visit local liquor stores as many carry good bourbon selection.
That night, I checked online for liquor stores around Barcelona and found three stores, which I decided to visit the next day.
Celler de Gelida is a charming little wine and spirits shop located in a quite residential street just couple blocks from Barcelona-Sants train station, which is one stop from Passeig de Gracia station. The shop seems to specialize in premium and old vintage wines (for example, the shop had Colheita Porto wines from 1900, 1910's and 1930's listed for well over €1,000) but also has a respectable spirits selection - for example, Yamazaki 12 and Hakushu 12 from Japan, various Jack Daniel's lines and assortment of bourbons, which among them I found Blanton's Original, Blanton's Gold and Blanton's Straight from the Barrel (SFTB)! From my experience, Blanton's Originals are somewhat readily available in the US, if you invest some time in the hunt, but the latter two are very difficult to find.
Blanton's Gold was released only internationally before finally being released in the US in 2020 (read about Blanton's Gold and its history here). Demand for Blanton's Gold far outstrips supply so these are heavily allocated, meaning that you can expect to pay far above suggested MSRP of $120 if you happen to find a bottle at your local liquor store. Celler de Gelinda was asking €200 for a bottle, which I thought was a reasonable price so I grabbed a bottle.
Next to Blanton's Gold, the store had Blanton's SFTB. I felt like I won a small jackpot seeing these two bottles on the shelf! Blanton's SFTB is just that - it's the juice that's straight from the barrel without being diluted with water; adding water proofs down the liquor to make it smoother for better drinkability but this process also dilutes intense flavor of the whiskey. These undiluted whiskeys are called barrel proof (or sometimes cask strength) and they can range from 120 to 140 proof (60% to 70% alcohol). I really enjoy these barrel proofs so was glad to have found these Blanton's here. The store was asking €220. Again, reasonable price, I thought, so I grabbed two bottles.
Other than Blanton's the shop carried lot of Jack Daniel's lines, including Jack Daniel's White Rabbit Saloon (€41) and No 27 Gold (€91). I decided not to buy these as I wasn't sure if these were readily available in the US and I also needed to think about transporting these bottles back to the US in my luggage.
The store is run by an elderly couple who spoke limited English so communication was bit difficult, but this was overcome by their friendliness and patience. Definitely check out this store for your drinking needs if you are in Barcelona!
Next, I went to La Fuente, which was located in the heart of the Gothic Quarter. Here again, all three lines of Blanton's were available. Other than Blanton's, Michter's, Jack Daniel's and Four Roses were also available along with some Japanese whiskies. I grabbed one Blanton's Gold for a friend back in the States.
La Fuente had another store in the heart of Barcelona. This one was conveniently located on Carrer d'Aragon, less than two blocks from Passeig de Gracia so near a very busy intersection. Here, the store only had Blanton's Original but I did find Jack Daniel's Bottled in Bond, which is Jack's newest line extension in 2018 exclusively for Travel Retail market. I'm not sure if this exclusivity has changed but I haven't seen any of these bottles in the States so decided to grab their only bottle on the shelf for €40.
The store clerk offer to have Michter's 10-Year bourbon (€250) delivered to the store overnight if I was interested, but I declined as I was running out of room in my luggage for bottles I already bought.
Overall, it was a good score. I got three bottles of two highly allocated bourbons that I would unlikely find in the States and Jack Daniel's Bottled in Bond that I'm looking forward to trying. Recent years, I've become a big fan of Jack Daniel's as I've really enjoyed it's Single Barrel and Barrel Proof lines. The latter is starting to get bit expensive (around $80+), but I think it's the best (relatively easy to find) American whiskey on the market today. That classic Jack taste of banana is undeniable and it's surprisingly smooth and drinkable despite being over 130 proof!
Update (08/2022): I saw Jack's Bottled in Bond at my local Bev-Mo today with listed price of $34 and I paid €40 in Barcelona ($/€ almost at parity). So I paid little more but at least I got the box to go with my bottle.
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