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When Maker’s Mark Isn’t
Posted by victor fiorillo on July 15th, 2009
Last week a bourbon-loving acquaintance called me at the office to tell me about his previous night’s activities. He’d gone to a popular Center City bar — one that’s been around for years — to watch the Phillies game and have a couple of drinks with a friend. They both ordered Maker’s Mark, neat, and he knew there was a problem immediately based on the color of the liquid alone. Then they took a sip. “They poured out of a Maker’s bottle, but there’s no way it was Maker’s Mark,” he told me. “It was disgusting.”
So last Friday I dutifully went to the bar during my lunch break and ordered a Maker’s Mark, neat. Sure enough, my glass was filled with an impostor that tasted more like something from Banker’s Club or Jacquin’s than from a small-batch distillery in Kentucky. The smell, the look, the taste, the mouthfeel. Everything was wrong.
Still, I’m not exactly a big bourbon drinker, so I wasn’t satisfied relying on just my palate. I ordered more “Maker’s,” surrepetitiously dumped it into a container that I just happened to have brought with me, and proceeded to another bar to enlist the help of a fresh bottle of Maker’s Mark and five willing participants. The verdict: unanimous that the spirit was not Maker’s Mark, but a cheap substitute. Just some of the comments: “So acidic.” “What the hell kind of bourbon is that?” “Nasty.”
Though I’d love to tell you the name of the bar, our lawyer won’t let me, what with the litigious nature of things in the Commonwealth — but I am filing a complaint with the PLCB. I’ll keep you posted — and let me know if something similar has ever happened to you.
UPDATE: If you want to file a complaint against a bar for watering down booze — or for any other license violation — call the local office of the State Police’s Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement at 215-726-6200. They told me they will investigate and get back to me.
Related Tags: Marigold-Kitchen, West-Philadelphia, Zahav
July 15th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Imangine in these HARD times – now you have wonder if the drink is the one you ordered – what next!!!
July 17th, 2009 at 6:49 am
[...] Philly Mag’s Restaurant Club blog posted a story about a Center [...]
July 18th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
My guess would be that you were at a popular Irish bar on Walnut. The owner has been doing it for years. Their beer lines are dirty too. Hold your pint up to the light and watch the dirt in the glass.
July 20th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
just name the bar you sissies.
i mean its like telling people there is a robber out there and not giving a description.
at least you are writing about a philly place and not a dumb main line establishment for once.
keep up the mediocre work.
July 27th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Mark: Go look up “libel” in the dictionary. OK, first, go buy a dictionary…
July 27th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Truth is an absolute defense to libel. Shouldn’t be a problem.
July 27th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
The very popular Center City bar in question was shut down by Licenses & Inspections this Saturday Eve, as were a few others.
More here:
http://www.philebrity.com/2009/07/27/looks-like-somebody-was-busy-this-weekend-li-shuts-down-drinkers-midtown-mcglincheys-others/
July 27th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Thanks, Meghan. But what if they reported it and it wasn’t true?
July 29th, 2009 at 11:46 am
[...] you haven’t been keeping up, I was the one who made the complaint after posting a story about my experience ordering a Maker’s Mark at the [...]
July 29th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
[...] was lots of speculation last week when Victor Fiorillo blogged about the potentially fake Maker’s Mark he had at a “popular Center City [...]
July 30th, 2009 at 1:47 am
The only one who’s right is C. Thompson. This guy obviously hates Oscar’s because he wasn’t treated right, by his standards. ASSHOLE, ASSHOLE, ASSHOLE
July 30th, 2009 at 2:07 am
Why do you hate oscar’s so much??? did some hot bike riding chick piss you off ’cause she wasn’t impresses with your car?? get a life, loser…
July 30th, 2009 at 3:58 am
I assure you that Oscar’s does NOT water down their liquor!!
July 30th, 2009 at 9:20 am
Hey C. Thompson, what if it is true? Do you enjoy getting rot gut bourbon when you ordered Makers Mark? If you answered yes, I can have my dog whiz in a glass and make a special whisky sour for you. Why don’t you wait to see what happens before accusing people of things you aren’t sure about.
July 30th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
what a loser!! will be a problem, im pretty certain, because it is not true, so go look up libel again victor assholio.
July 31st, 2009 at 4:20 am
Benny the slob, isn’t that what Victor did???
October 26th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
[...] couple of months ago, I reported my suspicions that Oscar’s, a popular hole-in-the-wall bar at 1524 Sansom Street, was serving cheap bourbon to [...]