Apparently the Palindome quest name is currently broken. I've given it a quick fix and commented out the 'right' name lines, so that we can easily fix it when TPTB notice that there's a quest named "No Quest Name (palindrome)" but for now, at least it shouldn't mark it as done without even unlocking it.
Edit: Also, I've run the 'shortcut' version of the cellar 3 times now with 50-65% item drop bonus. It's been:
1) 20+21+1+~15=57 (didn't get exact counts on final heating, since I was getting the Wine Bomb manually)
2) 13+12+1+10=36
3) 7+32+1+19=59
In no case was it better than doing the 'long' quest at a guaranteed 36-37 adventures. In most cases, it was worse. For people with >100 +item drop, it might be better, but for the low-skill purposes of BCA, I think I'll be coding the guaranteed system instead.