NIGHTCAP: November
Welcome to the Nightcap November (picture free because that’s what I want to do!). It’s been a light month as far as whiskey happenings, but we still have some things to go over as we head full on into the Holiday season.
Quick hit on social media and my use of it. I will be posting on social much less frequently. I have some projects I’m working on, this website included, that require more time, and time is precious. I’ve found less enjoyment of social media in general over the last year or so, finding myself doom scrolling more frequently and interacting with people less and less (outside of DM’s, which continue to pop, and are worthy of time spent). Social media companies have taught more people how to be content creators which is great, but then incentivizes them to become personalities and entertainers and media creators rather than active participants in conversation (the social part of it). There are less accounts out there that inform, or discuss things (emojis are not discussion) than there once was, and now it’s just dump trucks full of “left or right” or “what are you reaching for?” content. These questions are designed to provoke you the viewer into engaging, thus boosting their reach. I may have become too cynical for the current cycle of social media. I acknowledge feeling badly and wondering if my own “content” posting helps to keep someone on the other side of the internet in their own doom scroll habit. I plan to do more specific postings, algorithms be damned, at times I deem fit. I will continue to post about my friends, events, bottles I’m enjoying, when the mood strikes, not as an obligation to keep engagement up. I have never wished to monetize my social media use (however, I’m willing to sell out HARD for website sponsorship, probably), and I’ve long felt like an unpaid employee of Meta. So there’s that. Now let’s get in to the good stuff, a nice November Nightcap brought to you by the fine folks at Activia, a fantastic yogurt for cranky internet people like me.
The celebrity spirits craze shows no signs of abating with the Brothers Osborne collaborating with Whistle Pig, and Dr. DisRespect (who the hell is Dr. DisRespect? all due respect) releasing his own brand and now even notable crazy person Alex Jones is coming out with his own whiskey. Melissa McCarthy has Big Nose Kate Bourbon too. Where does it all end? (I’ll own that Kings of Leon Kiamichi is delightful and arguably the only great celebrity release so far, sorry Bob). Celebrity spirits are so saturated, that there are seemingly not many living celebrities left that don’t own or rep one. What’s next? Well, now we are experiencing the joy of an increase of dead celebrities with brands. We already have Elvis and Joe Louis, and Hemingway, who’s got next? Harry Truman Bourbon? Laugh if you will, but who saw Hemingway coming?
Speaking of celebrities diving into the world of spirits, Giancarlo Esposito is now a stakeholder in a spirits company, and is the face of a vodka brand. What does this have to do with whiskey? Nothing, yet. Here’s some marketing mumbo jumbo for us all to snark at-
“The devil is in the details of engineered science and technology. Gluten-free Dirty Devil Vodka® is the first spirit in the world utilizing St. Lucifer's proprietary hyper-oxygenated water process, which creates a uniquely opulent mouthfeel and smooth finish. The vodka is made with Canadian corn spirit distilled five times and filtered three times before blending with hyper-oxygenated water to a slightly devilish 42% ABV (84 proof). Leading independent spirits review firm BTI (tastings.com) recently lauded Dirty Devil Vodka® with a rating of 93 Points (Exceptional), one of BTI's highest vodka ratings in the past five years.”
Start the snark clock! All distilled spirits are GLUTEN FREE STOP IT RIGHT NOW OR I’M TELLING MOM! Hyper-oxygenated, it means it’s got more air, apparently of the high temperature kind. The oxygen itself isn’t wigging out like Beavis after 47 candy bars and a bump of blow. The scoring systems are bunk I tell ya, very few spirits don’t rank in the 90’s. I will give it this, 84 proof. That’s not insignificant in the vodka world.
/snark
The investment in capacity expansion is mind boggling, but the whiskey bubble continues to inflate so there’s a need for more line capacity and storage. Sazerac is investing $600 million in Kentucky operations. They are going to be adding 20 new rick houses, expanding their cooperage operations (yes, they own Robinson Stave and Cumberland Cooperage), and they bought a huge new industrial park (I think 198 acres is kinda huge right? Owl park is supposed to be 420 acres, but that includes silly things, Saz ain’t silly). With all of this expansion, you might just find that EH Taylor small batch sometime in 2042.
The details of the Campari Group’s acquisition of Wilderness Trail are pretty incredible. $600 million total cost, with $420 million up front, and the “option” to purchase the remaining 30% in 2031. This “option” is gobbledygook, it means the remainder of the money is deferred until then, there’s no way Campari put up that scratch to not fully acquire the whole thing. Alas Wilderness Trail is no longer indy. Period. The armada of money trucks backing up to Wilderness Trail was too much to ignore. Not a bad haul though for a distillery that started in 2012 and has sales expectations of $57 million this year. Clearly Capari is playing a very long game, and we are here for it.
Sagamore Spirit has released their new 5 year-old bottled in bond, and they continue to deliver excellent rye that everyone should just put on their bar right now. This is another feather in the cap of a company playing a long game. The rye renaissance is upon us, and three-diamond is a gigantic part of that. Ignore their fabulous finished products at your peril, they finish better than anyone in my book, even the Sherry finish (if you follow this blog at all, you know I loathe Sherry) is something special.
The secondary market confounds me still. Bad enough people pay $300 for Rock Hill/Elmer/Weller 12, but things like the Rabbit Hole Founders Edition Boxergrail selling, SELLING, not listed for, but SELLING FOR $4k over at Unicorn Auctions is beyond my comprehension. It’s a six year old rye. I know auctions are often outliers, but the estimated price range for it on the auction listing was $300-500. I’m unsure what’s going on here, but $4k can buy you an awful lot of really terrific whiskey.
Bardstown Bourbon Company, also known as BBC, which never fails to trigger the juvenile giggle reflex is planning to open a downtown Louisville whiskey brand experience sometime in 2023. Of course it will include a full bar, gift shop, and educational space to you know, educate the three people left on earth that don’t know that Bourbon has to be minimum 51% corn…. This is a smart move honestly, as not everyone going to Kentucky to visit will include BBC (giggle) on their must-do list. Everyone going to Kentucky however, does visit Louisville, and having a place on whiskey row makes sense. The renderings show a familiar theme from the Bardstown location and should increase BBC (giggle) awareness and brand recognition.
Even though it’s not a rye whiskey release, I’m happy for Dixon Dedman. He recently released his new venture 2XO (which means two times oak, see it’s MATH! Math can be FUN which is said far too frequently by math people). The initial release is the Phoenix Blend, a small batch blend that should retail for around $100. The two times oak is re-barreled Kentucky straight Bourbon, from two different (undisclosed until someone gets Dixon to go live on social and keep him online for an hour or two….) distillers. There are plans for a few releases a year, and while he hasn’t yet said so, I’m praying he does a rye sometime, those Owl’s were simply unbelievable.
Speaking of Owl, I know all things must change, but with Dixon gone, my relationship to that brand has cratered. Sure they keep putting out high end whiskey, but my relationship to that brand was dependent on the trust I had in Dixon to put out compelling blends. My relationship wasn’t with the label, it was with the artist behind it. I appreciate that there are people there working hard to continue to do good work, but I haven’t had anything from them post-Dixon that was super compelling enough for me to continue to distribute my scratch in their general direction. Owl is priced at a premium, but the blends don’t sing to me personally. This is a good reminder that master blenders are the true artists in the whiskey world, and when you find one you love, embrace them and shower them with praise they deserve. I wish Owl well, I do, but it’s not the same as it was and that’s ok. Just not for me.
In something to look forward to news….. sometime in 2023 New York Distilling Company (makers of Ragtime Rye) will be releasing a very interesting rye whiskey featuring an almost extinct heritage grain, Horton rye. It was widely used in the 1800’s, and it took until 2015 for NYDC to have enough grain to distill. It will be launched as a 7 year-old rye, and holy hell you know I’m selling someone’s kidney to get in on this.
Heaven Hill just announced the latest Parker’s Heritage release and it’s a 13-year-old age stated bourbon blend (67% of the blend) double barreled for four weeks in a new barrel charred at level 3. The other 1/3 of the blend is 15-year-old Kentucky straight. This is the traditional HH mash bill of 78/10/12. MSRP of $174.99, so expect to pay $400 and up, since it’s practically “toasted.”
In the “trust me you should try this” category, grab yourself one of the new vatted Lock Stock and Barrel ryes which has one of the best marketing angles for whiskey that I’ve long yearned for. What is it? Put down the pep pills I’ll get to that in a moment. What is this vatted whiskey? It’s about $72 roughly depending on your market, it’s a wild blend of Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Iowa, and Alberta straight ryes (yes all of them are straight) aged from 4-18 years-old. It’s easy to understand that the 18-year-old is from oh Canada, and it shines in the blend. Now what is the marketing magic I spoke of? Lock Stock claims it has the heart of a 9-year-old. Which is marketing gobbledygook for average age. The labeling laws of the United States require that the age statement must be based on the lowest age in a blend, even if you simply put one drop of 4 year into a 12 year blend, it’s a four year. While that has worked for some time, and it does benefit consumers, it prevents the whiskey insaniacs from truly understanding what they are buying. This tells you right here, that there is a lot of that 18 in there, if one assumes that most of the rest of the whiskey used is 2-3 years of age. And THAT my dear friends is why I love this whiskey. It’s got that good Canadian rye in it. So get some, and enjoy the stunningly gorgeous bottle and label design while you’re at it.
An interesting look at the method in which Blue Run Spirits is going to finance their growth. It sure sounds like barrel futures, but I’m no financial whiz.
Local New Orleans News that may only be interesting to me..
The Avenue Pub on St. Charles avenue is reopening this week under new ownership. Blue Oak BBQ ownership. While it will not be a Blue Oak 2.0 (that’s opening soon in another state…) it will have some influences and will be yet another great local (tourists welcome) place for me and my friends to spend time. Between Barrel Proof, the Rusty Nail (no link, sorry their web page is FB ew gross), and the Avenue Pub, one might never need to leave that area in search of good food and drinks.
Miracle Pop up is back, and at Barrel Proof on Magazine. Perfect place if you like it when elves throw up Christmas decor all over the place. I do, and it’s brilliant. Check your local listings as Miracle is an international thing.
If you prefer a more subtle Christmas experience with Tiki, I suggest Sippin Santa at the French Quarter Tiki Bar, Latitude 29, also, nationwide so check your local listings.
Very quickly The Will and the Way has become one of my favorite French Quarter bars. It has some yummy food, god if you don’t order the Loaded Korean Hot Fries…… and my now favorite cocktail the La Louisiane. It’s got a great location, and it’s right next door to the equally great Peychaud’s. When you visit ditch the Bourbon House and try some new joints.
Non-whiskey things that may only be interesting to me….
Wednesday on Netflix is fun. It will inevitably be compared to Sabrina, but they are both very different even though they both dabble in the occult. Also, the actress playing Wednesday looks like Pete Davidson’s daughter (no real relation, but trust me, you can’t unsee this). This show has already apparently broken all the streaming records (yes, more viewing hours than the insanely popular Stranger Things) and while I haven’t finished it as of this writing, I surely hope it gets another season. It’s just too good.
The Bills won’t win the Super Bowl this year. It pains me to say this, but the 49ers look damn good, and so do the Chiefs/Dolphins. The misery it seems, shall continue.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney+ is fun little holiday diversion. I get it, some people don’t like the holiday movies (I personally cannot stand the Hallmark vomit) but if you prefer your holiday films to feature the kidnapping of Kevin Bacon, then this is your jam.
Non-alcoholic cocktails have a legitimate place in the drinking world. Bars that don’t have at least one really good booze free cocktail (or three) that aren’t the dated Shirley Temple, are risking groups of people going elsewhere. Not everyone drinks, but most everyone loves to socialize. When non-drinkers have a good reason to join their party of friends at a bar, they will go, and they will pay. Which means that party will be less likely to be a one-and-done table as they move on to a more non-drinker friendly establishment or activity. It makes my job of organizing group dining experiences for my friends much easier when restaurants offer compelling vegan options, and bars should do the same with non-boozy cocktails. The days of soda water and lime are over, it’s time to cater to all walks of life, and open up another revenue generating lineup.
Speaking of non-alcoholic drinks, Pepsi wants you to consider drinking Pilk. I’m just going to say not a farging chance.
That’s it for this months nightcap, as always I appreciate you dropping by for a drink or two. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, and every other possible Holiday you celebrate the world over. May we all survive the onslaught of gift guides, peoples most listened to music lists, bad whiskey gifts, and best of lists for the remainder of the year.
- Mickey Pinstripe