In case you weren't aware (I wasn't), grand openings at Costco are treasure hunts for a certain band of whiskey lovers and wine aficionados, with certain labels getting stocked just for opening events.
Costco has a deep well of connections in the wine and spirits world, and they try to put this on display whenever they have a new store opening to promote. And we have another new Costco opening tomorrow in Pleasanton, where some rare whiskey hounds tried to camp out to be first in line as early as Saturday.
This Reddit thread exemplifies this enthusiasm, with several posters discussing how they got kicked off the property on Saturday after attempting to camp out for four nights — in the rain! — to be the first to get a crack at whatever hard-to-find whiskeys might appear in the booze aisle at Wednesday's opening.
Buyers were looking for the kinds of labels that Costco will often only stock during an opening event and which typically sell out in a day or two — whiskeys like Pappy Van Winkle and Buffalo Trace OFC vintages that can retail for thousands of dollars, as well as lesser but still sought-after deals like Eagle Rare 10 Year Bourbon for $33, when a bottle typically goes for $60 or more.
There was apparently a trespassing issue, or something, with the area where the campers were camping, and as Redditors noted, they were told to come back at 6 am on Wednesday.
"I was just there and got kicked off the property," wrote one Redditor. "A guy paid me $800 to hang out in his 4 person Coleman tent and watch Netflix with him. He said it wouldn’t be weird and all I had to do was buy whiskey he had hand written on the first page of a composition book."
That person continued to say that this whiskey lover, who apparently had hired several people to do his bidding, "said he’d give us all another $800 plus pay for our hotel rooms at the SpringHill Suites right by the Costco property if we promise to stay there and be back to the Costco at 5am sharp on Wednesday morning."
Whiskey fans won't know exactly what the array of finds would be until the doors of the Pleasanton Costco open on Wednesday morning, as the Chronicle notes — Costcos traditionally stock a few cases of special stuff, but not always the same brands. Still, the mayor-elect of Pleasanton, Jack Balch, offered up an Instagram post and a Facebook post with photographic evidence after getting a tour inside the store. The Facebook post showed Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon on sale for $59.99, about half of what it typically retails for, and Eagle Rare 10 Year for $32.49.
The Instagram post seen below also shows a special edition 10-year Whistlepig rye, dubbed Piggybank Rye, which appears to be bottled in a gold piggy bank. The price of that one is unclear, but it retails for $300 to $400.
Also on sale at this new Costco is a sought-after super Tuscan wine, Sassicaia, that was set to go for $220 per bottle, versus the $300 it typically sells for.
Selman Medina, who works as a wine steward at the recently opened Costco in Napa, tells the Chronicle that these opening-day events are lucrative for the company, with the Napa location selling a half-million dollars worth of wine and booze on Day One alone.
We'll have to wait to see the social media evidence of the whiskey-hunters' finds at the new Costco, which may make their way to Reddit or X.
For everyone else, this Costco at 7200 Johnson Drive will be open at 9 am Wednesday following a 7:30 am ribbon cutting. They'll be closed on Thanksgiving Day, but back open on Black Friday at 9 am.