Costco Really Used To Sell Jack Daniel's By The Barrel

Getting a great deal at Costco isn't, well, a big deal. But once in a while, the membership retail chain puts up offers that are truly memorable. Sure, these product deals don't stick around forever and many customers still bemoan things like Costco's discontinued combo pizza, not to mention those Polish hot dogs we probably won't get back. Add to that list the time when you could walk into select Costco outlets and buy an entire barrel of Jack Daniel's.

To be clear, you wouldn't actually have gotten a barrel full of whiskey. However, in 2013, you could buy a barrel's equivalent of Jack Daniel's whiskey (which is different from whisky) and also get the emptied and refurbished barrel in which the spirit had been aged. Apart from the bragging rights of having an original JD barrel and being stocked up with whiskey for the next several months, it was also cheaper in the long term. In fact, Costco wasn't the only place to offer the JD barrel — even Sam's Club reportedly had them at a few outlets. 

If you're one of those who wish they'd picked one up, you still can. The procedure's a little different, as you won't be heading to Costco, but you can get a barrel's worth of Jack Daniel's directly from the distillery.

Unless you own a bar, it's probably a good thing that the barrel of Jack Daniel's comes portioned in 750 ml bottles. Not only is it difficult to extract liquor from the heavy wooden container, but properly storing it would also require significant effort. Therefore, having bought the JD barrel at Costco or Sam's Club around 2013, you'd have gotten 40 cases of whiskey –about 240 bottles – in special Jack Daniel's decanters. 

Prices for these barrels varied, from just under $10,000 at some Sam's Club outlets, to a little over $8,500 as reported at some Costco and Sam's Club stores. One store even appeared to be selling the barrel for $7,660! According to the promotion, along with the barrel and swanky bottles for your whiskey, you'd also get a personalized plaque for the barrel and tasting notes of your particular batch supplied by the Jack Daniel's master distiller.

While currently you can no longer buy a barrel's worth of Jack Daniel's at membership retail outlets, you can get it straight from the distiller as a more curated experience. You can visit the distillery in Tennessee and taste different barrels before picking, or receive three samples at home from which to choose. You'll still get some JD goodies like decanters, glassware, and personalized signage, but the barrel itself is not included ... unless you purchase a barrel of the Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof whiskey.