Downtown whiskey bar now pouring rare vintage spirits thanks to new state law

A bar in downtown Houston is among the first statewide to take advantage of a new law that allows it to sell vintage spirits. Reserve 101, a whiskey-obsessed cocktail bar located near the House of Blues, has rolled out a vintage spirits program that gives its customers the ability to taste pours they could have only previously found via well-connected friends with extensive collections or by spending thousands at a whiskey auction.

Before diving into Reserve’s offerings, let’s look briefly at this new law that became effective September 1. SB1322 amends certain sections of the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Code to provide for the sale of vintage spirits, which are defined as any distilled spirit that has not been available through a wholesaler for at least five years. To be eligible, the bottle must be unopened. The law places limits on how many bottles any individual can sell to any single store (no more than “24 containers” per 12 months), and it limits how many bottles bars and restaurants may purchase from a retailer to six per 12 months.

Those purchase limits — and the higher prices some of these bottles will likely command at auctions, estate sales, or via other means — likely limits vintage spirits to a niche offering, but Reserve 101 has committed to making a limited selection of these rare pours available on a daily basis.

“It’s really important for us to do it, because, if we want to say that we’re the best whiskey bar — not just in Houston but in Texas — I want to be able to diversify ourselves. I’d like us to stand out beyond other bars that have a really great whiskey selection,” co-owner Sean Fitzmaurice tells CultureMap.

“Now that new opportunities are arising, we want to be on the forefront of that. As soon as we found out we were able to do something like this, that we start cataloging it. So that on September 1, when the law changed, we were able to hit the ground running.”

Fitzmaurice says he began planning for this moment since the law passed the Legislature in May. Reserve’s initial roster includes Wild Turkey from 1987 ($30 for a half ounce) and Old WL Weller Special Reserve from 1977 ($150 per half ounce).

Requiring that vintage spirits only be out of distribution for at least five years allows Reserve to do more than sell whiskey that’s older than many of its customers. Fitzmaurice has also sourced more modern releases such as a highly coveted bottle of ultra-rare Booker’s Rye ($125 per half ounce or $250 per ounce). Coming soon (and pictured above) will be a bottle of Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye from 2013. He’s got a long wishlist of spirits he’d like to offer at some point, including replacing a rare bottle of Yamazaki Mizunara 2017 that was stolen during a robbery.

“My favorite whiskey ever was a collaboration between Compass Box and Delilah's out of Chicago for their 25th anniversary. Those are the ones I’d like to bring back,” he says.

Fitzmaurice acknowledges the prices make trying these spirits a splurge for most people, but they’re also more accessible as a single pour than trying to source a whole bottle. To make the supply last as long as possible, a person will only be able to buy one ounce of any individual vintage spirit per day. Although the offering has only been available for a few days, initial interest has been strong.

“The amount of phone calls, the amount of texts I’ve gotten, I think it’s going to be a program that does really well for us,” he says. “What I think is cool, is that the only constant will be change. What we have today, once it’s gone, it’s gone, and who knows what will be available tomorrow?”