Highballs in West Bushwick

A highball has two ingredients: whiskey and ginger ale. So this post will have two parts about my quest for both.

Yesterday after work I wanted whiskey, so I went to Warehouse Liquors on Broadway and 8th St. The whiskeys are crowded into a corner when you first walk in and an employee was standing in front of them. I hate being eyed by employees. Because Astor is a block away, I didn't put any effort into looking and just went there. Astor is moving down the street so its stock is running low. No Evan Williams! It's cheaper at Warehouse anyway. I wanted some Irish whiskey, but that's only because it's going to be on sale on St. Patrick's Day for 17% off. It'd be dumb to buy it early. So I left there too.

Today I wanted whiskey again, but didn't want to go back to the same stores I was at yesterday. I decided to walk around my neighborhood to try the liquor stores. Unfortunatley, most of the stores are the type with plexiglass separating you and the worker. I like to browse and pick up the bottles and read the labels, just like I do when I shop for groceries. So I didn't even go in any of those types. I went in only two liquor stores. The one on Lorimer, a block north of Grand St. had high prices and not much selection. The wine store on Graham had price tags on all the bottles but didn't have prices on them. The only thing I hate more than a high price is an uncertain price. This store was even worse because they said hi to me when I walked in and bye when I left.

So I have no whiskey.

The story of the ginger ale has a happier ending. This afternoon when I was buying the ingredients for chili at Key Food, I noticed that ginger ale was 4 for $4 (must buy 4) and Sprite was 4 for $4 and buy 4, get a 5th free if you use your card. I didn't buy any then, but I came back when I was wandering around because I assumed I'd actually get some whiskey and would need ginger ale. I picked up 1 bottle of Sprite and 1 of ginger ale. I realized that I didn't get enough to get to use my credit card, so this story isn't completely happy. However, the next thing I knew, the total came to $1.58. The sprite rang up as $1, the ginger ale as $1.29, and I used my key food card and it said "coca-cola coupon -$1.00." So I think I got the Sprite for free except for tax and deposit.