NIGHTCAP: August
Photo credit- Steve Chen Photography
Well, this little project has already become more than I expected it would be. It was intended to give me a place to do longer form writing that Social Media no longer values, and I’m doing that, but I didn’t expect that I would commit so heavily to it (I have 23 features in various stages of development). The features are taking so long, I had to I add shorts to get the quick things out, and while it’s becoming quite a lot of work, I’m having an absolute blast doing it.
In the first full month (yeah the virtual bar opened a few months prior) we have had 336 unique visitors, and 706 page views. The United States of course being the largest portion of readers at 380, Canada coming in a very distant second at 2. Breaking it down a bit for the analytics nerds out there, Louisiana not surprisingly had 103 visitors, Illinois 28, New York and my old home state of California tying with 25, Georgia with 18, Kentucky 17, Texas 16, and Indiana at 13. Several other states made appearances, but perhaps interesting only to me, no one from Alaska, Hawaii, New Mexico, Oklahoma, or the Dakotas has yet to visit.
During the month, we posted 9 shorts, and 2 features. The most popular page being our piece on Kentucky Owl Rye. We launched a new Naked City Kitty sticker that sold out in 2 days. Granted, it was for charity, so perhaps people just wanted to help World Central Kitchen, but still it was shocking and humbling to see it go so quickly. We ended up raising $800, which we matched, coming into a lovely $1600 donation. We will reprint this sticker only once to fill the demand, retire it, and then we will do a couple of future new-style releases.
Anyway, enough maths. Let’s nightcap August.
The anniversary for Hurricane Katrina, and Ida have quietly passed, thank goodness, the last thing we need is another storm. Still some time to go for Hurricane Season, but so far so good.
Netflix's Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist is a remarkable documentary of Mante Te’o’s catfishing and the people involved and impacted. It’s a reminder to spend less time online hating on people and watching media that’s designed to provoke outrage at the expense of others. The media clips of the usual chatterly talking heads making fun of a man who really went through it was a disgusting thing to witness. The online/media machine that continually feeds on the bitter cynicism for views and clicks is appalling. When will we all learn to be nice?
Still Austin has become a sponsor the Texas Longhorns. I know brands do this, and it is a corporate version of supporting local, but the Sooner fan in me has me feeling just a tad butt scorched. Don’t ask how a Californian living in Louisiana is an OU fan, or a Bills and Sabres fan. Just don’t ask.
Lock Stock and Barrel released their 21 year old rye, priced at $459 and I am already dreading the looming hole in my wallet. Yes I’m buying it, and while I know it’ll be worth every penny, it still hurts that we are now firmly in Scotch territory, and pricing will continue to escalate. A sarcastic “thank you” to the secondary market for showing brands that people will pay a premium price.
I got to taste Hardin’s Creek thanks to Bourbonfinds organizing a zoom tasting with Freddie Jr. and Tim Huisler. I shared the experience with Whiskey Spectre, and we were both blown away by how good and nuanced the 2 year is, although absolutely no one will be able to look beyond that price. We also shared the 15 and as big of a wow as it is, it’s yet another victim of Beam’s conflicting pricing strategies- 15 year Hardin’s Creek for $170, or Knob Creek 15 for $99? 2 year Hardin’s Creek for $80, or Old Tub for $22? It’s safe to say that Beam keeps on flexing but to the average consumer that doesn’t understand the reasons behind the price, it can be very confusing indeed.
Barrell released batch 33 of their Bourbon as well as their new Vantage blend, I am continually surprised by the excellent work they are doing, blending well is far more difficult than distilling after all. I think Barrell is on the cusp of really breaking through to the whiskey community at large, it’s becoming more and more difficult to ignore the greatness that they are routinely putting out. Our only question about Vantage is when is the grey label coming?
Denny Potter, master distiller of Maker’s Mark, has left the company to scratch the entrepreneurial itch. He joined MM in 2018 coming over from Heaven Hill. The press releases seem to suggest a reverential “always part of the family” parting of the ways which is refreshing. It will be interesting to see the new whiskey that Denny intends to make, and who will become the new Master Distiller at Maker’s (calling Marianne Eaves?)?
Whiskey pal Chris Blatner taped a segment with NBC Chicago Today it’s so good to see him continue to grow his brand and business. It’s worth the 5 minutes of your time to see the host of Fresh Pops, the Urban Bourbon Hour, and Sunday Night Fights, take his craft to morning television and getting the hosts buzzed before breakfast. He’s got a bright future this one.
It’s too soon for this nonsense already.
It’s too soon for this other nonsense already.
Gas prices have declined noticeably. I’m glad that more folks have a few more dollars in their pockets, gawd what a rough summer it has been. I confess to being ashamed that I personally view money saved at the pump as a buying opportunity for more whiskey, but that’s my life, what can I do but shrug?
Who watches the Watchmen? I’ve been a long time listener to Bourbon Pursuit, and I’ve learned a lot from them. Lately I’m having a hard time with them owning and relentlessly promoting their brand Pursuit United on their podcast while reviewing other brands releases. It’s a delicate thing to be sponsored by brands and maintain integrity as it is, but to own your own and be sponsored by brands, and also reviewing said brands? It’s difficult for me to reconcile. Plus, the episode about influencers was just distasteful and I’m about ready to move on and just come back for the less frequent and most excellent round tables.
I miss Fred Minnick’s writing. His e-mail newsletter is a hot confusing mass of dreck and “list-icles” and his YouTube programs could benefit by having an editor. I love his long form work, he’s an excellent writer for chrissakes, but he’s just not my cup of tea as a video personality or social media influencer. I understand that whiskey is his profession, and this is how he pays his bills, but I feel his talent is truly in writing and I wish it paid well enough that he didn’t have to side-hustle with video.
I know it’s just another influencer complaining about the algorithms, but the backlash to reels is ahem, real. Instagram had to address the heavy push to video and suggested posts once America’s royalty (the Kardashian’s) got loud about it. IG swore it was still a fan of photos, and was going to backtrack a bit and balance the photos/video experience. A year ago, and even prior to the 19-blip, I was getting 10 times the engagement I get today on a single photo. A throwaway reel, (you know the ones), can get you thousands of plays and huge engagement. Comments and conversations have become so mundane that it’s hardly social anymore (old man rant- emojis are NOT conversation). Instagram and TiK Tok have turned us into mindless doom scrolling drones that consume content like Wu’s Pigs in Deadwood who can barely be bothered to post a meaningful comment or even click like. Where I once went to learn from others and share my own thoughts, has become a rotating circus of mildly humorous videos. Instagram for whiskey fans is no longer an educational tool. Oh, a new whiskey release, let’s see what so-and-so thinks about it…. oh yep, there’s the bottle, yep, the cork is pulled, oh nice there’s the pour, and then nothing about the experience, just another video behind it, and another behind that one, wait why am I still here what time is it am I even human anymore? I don’t know that we’ll ever get what we once had with IG, there just aren’t any good alternatives. Backlash or not, the people are voting with their habits, video is here to stay. Also, I may just go black and white for my IG page, hmmm… I think I might.
Parents do the wildest things for their kids, some going way beyond what is legally permissable. I will take my own advice and not pass any judgements or make sarcastic comments about another human being and their decision quality, but I’m still fascinated by what people are willing to do when it comes to their children.
I don’t understand verbiage branding for bars. If I’m at a speakeasy, I find it jarring to see the word “speakeasy” or “prohibition” on the wall. Yes, I’m at a speakeasy you don’t have to keep telling me, what kind of sap do you take me for? Interesting fact on the word sap, it’s no longer commonly used to describe a “gullible” person, but is now slang for a heroin user. Who knew? Thanks Urban Dictionary!
Why do people make Bourbon Manhattan's? Even with high-rye Bourbons, it’s still too sweet for me. Frankly, I’m at the point in my life where I prefer 100% rye for my cocktails, the 51% ryes just not having the spice I crave.
I’m tired of the term “Bourbon drinkers rye.” I’ve used it in the past, but now it’s seemingly used as a marketing term to appeal to the Bourbon drinker to drink something different but somehow still close to the same thing they already drink. When I hear it being said now, I think, “rye with training wheels for people that still mix jars of Gerber bananas into their oatmeal.” How about we just call it rye and expect people to not be thickheaded dullards who never want to break out of their monolithic drinking preferences. Give rye the sophistication is deserves, “this rye is a Maryland style rye, which is a bit sweeter than than the ubiquitous spicy and dirty style from Indiana.” While being a bit more wordy, it’s a far better representation to those curious about expanding their horizons without insulting them along the way.
Are toasted barrels still exciting? There was a time when a toasted barrel release was a big deal. Michter’s toasted rye was a real game changing release, and it showed what was possible, but with seemingly everyone bouncing one out into the market these days, are they even special anymore? Has the mass of releases watered down what made it special to begin with? Is Michter’s with their sour-mash toasted brown label at risk of diluting their own brand? Trends are trends I suppose, and time will tell if toasted is sticky, but right now, there have been precious few great toasted finishes and they no longer intrigue me as a consumer.
Lastly, Bourbon Heritage month kicks off today. I hate this month. It’s worse than a hashtag holiday, but since we’re all here and it will be as inescapable as Pumpkin Spice in October, I recommend subscribing to Key in the Lake podcast. They have some really excellent work showcasing the month.
That’s it for August, see you again end of September for another Nightcap.
- Mickey Pinstripe