Where's a good St. Bernard when you need one?

February 27, 2008 3:10 PM

My dad lives in New Bern, North Carolina, and he's been having a hell of a week. His liquor of preference is Jack Daniels--what's the best way to get him some?

I myself live in Chicago, and I'm assuming that I can't just FedEx him a bottle, right? I don't really know anyone in his neck of the woods, so I can't just call up a friend and ask them to buy it for me, either.

posted by Squid Voltaire to food & drink (7 comments total)

Liquor stores frequently deliver. Call around your dad's neighbourhood.
posted by Nelson at 3:19 PM on February 27

You can totally FedEx him a bottle, though it's quasi-illegal. Lotsa bubble wrap, tightly packed into a box.
posted by Roach at 3:20 PM on February 27

BevMo.com.
posted by katillathehun at 3:23 PM on February 27

We don't have liquor stores in NC. Liquor is sold only in the state run ABC stores. And they don't deliver. I'm a couple hours from New Bern, which is a little far, but maybe there's a mefite there who would make the delivery for you.
posted by hydropsyche at 3:44 PM on February 27

I also live in NC, and I've both mailed liquor and received liquor through the mail. I'm pretty sure it's not quasi-legal, but straight up illegal. Nevertheless, it's always worked out for me.
posted by solipsophistocracy at 4:02 PM on February 27

@katillathehun: I don't see that working out. From their FAQ:

What and where do you ship?

Accessories & Non-alcoholic Products: Shipped to all 50 states.

Beer & Spirit Products: Shipped only in California.

For details of states we can ship wine to, select your state next to the “Ship-to” drop down box. If your state prohibits direct wine shipments, you will receive a message in your shopping cart that we cannot ship to your state.

Jack Daniels is definitely a "spirit product", so that's a no-go. They do have the option of pick-up service, but the closest store to New Bern is nearly 2,000 miles away in Arizona. "Selected" BevMo stores have a delivery van for local delivery service, but, again, AZ ≠ NC.

The best BevMo could do in this situation is wine 8212; it appears they can ship wine to NC. But wine just won't hit the JD sweet spot, surely.

If it were me, I would get the bottle locally, put it in a large ziploc bag, wrap it in some bubble wrap, put that in another ziploc, wrap it in a bunch more bubble wrap, and put it in a box with plenty of padding (bubble wrap, newspaper, peanuts, whatever) so that it's nicely settled in and can't move about. Then I would head to UPS or FedEx and, if they ask if it's liquid/fragile/etc., say no.

However, it may not always be advisable to do what I would do.
posted by thatgirl at 4:06 PM on February 27

http://www.ncabc.com/stores/Default.aspx

Call them up, tell someone about your dad. Pay for it over the phone with cc. Tell your dad to pick up a present at *address*, but not name of place.

"Hey dad...can you do me a favor? Can you go to this address and pick up something for me? When you get there, just tell them your name? They'll have it ready".

Thats all. Good job being a good son (unless you're getting it for him because he fell off the wagon or was kicked outta rehab).

Good luck.
posted by hal_c_on at 5:47 PM on February 27