NIGHTCAP: September
Some nightcaps are better than others. Also, when Amber sees this it might be my last nightcap. Probably.
September was Bourbon Heritage month, and of course I slowed it down a bit as I had a lot of things going on. A pal visited for her bachelorette party (we flasked some Sagamore, and Barrell Rye, and had cocktails everywhere), I toured Seven Three Distilling here in New Orleans (feature in the works coming soon), my non-whiskey job was exploding with activity, and I had to plan for my much needed vacation to San Francisco and Hawaii in October. Yeah, I know, woe is me. There’s a lot to get to so let’s begin with some nerdy analytics.
There were some new international visitors this month, say hello to Japan, Ireland, and Australia! I’m continually wowed by the internet and it’s ability to connect people from practically anywhere to one another. This tool is mind-blowing. In the United States, we added a few more to the map below, there are only 10 remaining states that haven’t yet shown up. Any bets on which state will be the last? Funny, the only states I can visually identify that haven’t show up yet are Alaska, Hawaii, Oklahoma, and Maine. What’s that square state? And the yin-yang pair? I suppose if I spent less time researching whiskey I could find out. Anyway, enough nerdy analytic junk.
Let’s get to the Nightcap!
We’re kicking things off with arguably one of the very best podcast episodes that I’ve ever listened to. It’s from Key in the Lake, and it features Dixon Dedman (formerly the wizard behind Kentucky Owl, and now 2XO), and Nick Maas from Dancing Goat Distillery. If you’ve ever wanted to be a fly on the wall while two whiskey makers riff off of one another like a masters jazz jam session, this is the episode. Click here to listen to it.
Bourbon crime continues….. The lengths that people will go to acquire “desirable” whiskey is astonishing. I’m glad that I don’t hunt anymore, there’s just too much good whiskey to be had to stand in line for hours, or I dunno, pay someone for insider information to find out where something will land. What I find the most hilarious is that these criminals are ALWAYS snitched on by the behaviors of the dumbs. Imagine if you will, that you are selling information to people so that they can purchase rare bourbon. Imagine those people going to a store and then telling the clerks exactly what bottles were landing on that day. Imagine how stupid those people have to be that they can’t keep their mouths shut because OMG WELLER RED! Imagine the clerks being so dumb (except they aren’t) that they don’t wonder how these clowns know exactly what is arriving and when. GAWD, how do people not foresee this happening every damn time. People are always caught, because the dumbs just can’t shut up. Also, criminals are greedy, so even if they start small, they always end up with too many dumbs to manage, and when you have too many dumbs, you become the Falcons.
I am struggling to understand why Wild Turkey would release their new Camp Nelson warehouse bottling with a green label. This makes zero sense. Even though it’s not against any rule unwritten or otherwise, it’s directly at odds with their own labeling strategy, green is for rye, red is for bourbon. This would likely have confused the buying public were it ever going to actually be found on a shelf, so I suppose it won’t matter in the long term, at $275 a pop MSRP, don’t get me started here, ok, it’s started, how is this any better than the stellar Russell’s single barrels that were once ubiquitous at less than $70? Fact- it won’t be. This is a smart money grab by Campari, a surgical targeting of the super-insaniacs and their scratch. Also, isn’t it interesting that the Russell’s single barrel picks aren’t ubiquitous anymore?
Whistle Pig released a bourbon. Good for them I suppose, but they were one of the few Rye-only companies out there and this makes me a little emo cry cry. I hope Sagamore never puts one out, but I would understand if they did. Rye is still a tough market, even though it’s growing rapidly. Any clown can sell a ton of bourbon, but it takes commitment, deep pockets, and patience to sell Rye only.
This is where Oakland A’s fans are at right now. The best thing for us to cheer, is a couple having adult fun in the nearly empty stands. I hate saying this, but move to Las Vegas already.
Bourbon Heritage Month is over, and all of a sudden, everyone will magically rediscover Rye. Unforgivable really that Rye takes a backseat during Bourbon Month, but soon everyone on social will remind us how much they love it on f-RYE-day. I despise “hashtag holidays” as much as 90-day Fiancé, neither serving any meaningful purpose. Also, it’s almost time for 31derful Days of Rye. I wear the hypocrite label quite well don’t you think?
The city of Bardstown is replacing its trash receptacles with Bourbon barrel themed cans.. This is a pretty cute move, and further showcases to visitors just how important Bourbon is to the area. This isn’t just a short-term gimmick, as these barrels are being transformed so that they’ll last a long time. I hope that other cities will do themed trash cans as well. New Orleans could make giant hand grenade or frozen daquiri bins, NYC could use BIG Apples, Miami could do a gator theme, Las Vegas could do a slot machine, and Atlanta could just slap a Falcons sticker on their existing cans because everyone already equates that logo with trash.
This is still the best thing I’ve had in my glass in all of 2022.
2-year-old Blue Run spirits is opening a $51 million (that’s at least ten garbage trucks full of Euro’s) facility that will include a distillery. Read it again with me folks, out loud- TWO YEAR OLD BLUE RUN SPIRITS IS OPENING A $51 MILLION FACILITY THAT WILL INCLUDE A DISTILLERY. If this isn’t proof of a continuing Bourbon boom, then I don’t know what is. Fifty-one million dollars. No way they are spending that scratch unless they are certain they’re going to make it back, and MORE. It’s cool to see them make their hot sauce rather than source, but I expect we will continue to see their sourced releases for quite some time. It’ll be interesting to see how they transition in the future, and to see who is financially backing them.
It’s really nice to see Rye Whiskey getting articles like this more and more. Rye generally pairs well with BBQ, better than Bourbon even, and it only makes sense to use it to make a good sauce.
North American Football season started, and I need the Bills to win the Super Bowl this year. I need it.
Former Jack Daniel’s distiller Jeff Arnett launches Company Distilling with a sourced 3-6yr. Bourbon that is NOT a TN whiskey as it doesn’t use the the Lincoln County process. They have a gin too, that they make. I find it fascinating that so many people are leaving what we all believe to be very prestigious positions at distilleries to exercise their entrepreneurial spirit (PUN INTENDED).
I know that I’m a year late to this show, but my girl discovered Reservation Dogs and it’s charming, funny, reflective and is immediately quotable- “shitasses.” It follows a group of teens and adults on a modern day reservation in Oklahoma. I won’t spoil it for you, but it’s truly great, and I love truly great charming shows. If you enjoyed Letterkenny, this is your show.
This Rye was a very pleasant surprise this month. Does it have whiskey of the year potential? Time will tell.
Look, I get it, a Jack logo on a race car will look pretty sick, but the message really is at odds with “don’t drink and drive.” Perhaps I’m being an old fart about this, but frankly I think that if things get too far out there, one day there might be a push to restrict alcohol advertising once again. I wonder what the internal discussions were like and if anyone brought this up or if it was just CARRSSS COOL!!!
Typically I scoff at any celebrity whiskey brand as it’s not their primary passion or focus, often involving little more than slapping their name on it and posing for some photographs for the marketers. Consider this is a scoff at Kings of Leon and their “brand extension” with a very big caveat. Willett is the partner distillery for this release. This one will likely be a big deal, simply because of that. Here’s the link to the website. Good luck finding this. I’m sure that this will sell out fast, the band will pat itself on the back and be amazed at their amazing entrepreneurial prowess in being whiskey makers, and we’ll be subjected to the inevitable expansion (perhaps they’ll build a distillery….) and dilution of the product. Time will tell.
And if you think my scoff was too scoffy, then you’ll love this next bit- ZZ Top just announced their second release of their Tres Hombres Bourbon (it’s Balcones) because their first release was so successful. I had somehow always pictured ZZ Top as a tequila shot kind of band, but hey, it’s a band from Texas, and it’s Texas whiskey, so match made in Texas and all that. I’m waiting for them to take some barrels on the tour bus and call it road killed bourbon. When will these celebrity bands end? Oh there’s more, some rapper I never heard of is putting out an ultra-aged rye, I’m not including that in a bit, because it’s too limited a release to matter Scoff mode enabled.
Got time for just one scoff? You know how these things come in threes….. scoff3 begins now… FOX has partnered with Next Century Spirits to release a bourbon inspired by the drama “Monarch” featuring Susan Sarandon. Titled “TruthTeller 1839,” it’s news release states- “This award-winning bourbon is made for those who never back down, keep their heads held high, and always speak their truth.” Forgive me for speaking my truth here, but….. What award exactly did this win? It’s pre-order only right now. So again, what award? I’m having difficulty finding it. It’s Truth Teller… so tell the truth. I will wait for it. This sounds very made up. Also, made for those who never back down? What about those of us that get our butts kicked sometimes? Are we left to drown our sorrows in Proper Twelve? /endScoff
Beam is going to increase their capacity at the Booker Noe facility by a whopping FIFTY-PERCENT, and is investing $400 million on the expansion that will include a renewable bio-gas facility to power it. It’s going to be using the spent spillage to turn into renewable gas, which will be used to power the facility. I really appreciate Beam for focusing on renewables, and I hope that other distilleries will follow. Also, FIFTY-PERCENT! The press release notes that the new capacity will be used primarily to produce more white and black label Beam, which sounds definitely un-sexy, but go with us here for a moment. The demand for the standards across most distilleries is so high that just about everyone is robbing from their aged stocks (THE PREMIUMS BABY!) just to maintain supply of their standards to all of their accounts. As they ramp up production, they’ll have increased aged stocks for us insaniacs in the future. This is really great news, and Beam isn’t alone with these expansions. The distillery that shall not be named is expanding with $1 billion set aside…. insane money folks.
This picture is huge I know. So is the bourbon inside the bottle. The image is not compensating for anything.
I’m finding the arms race to describe whiskey categories (and justify it’s increasing prices) is trending into the absurd. What is the difference between Premium, High-End Premium, Super-Premium, and Ultra-Premium? In a word? Money. As in, you’ll be spending MORE of yours.
A terrific article by Breaking Bourbon on Jack Daniel’s. Jack is no longer just for the masses, it’s now firmly entrenched in the insaniac community. I have a piece I’m working on that’s focused on the Jack Rye. Look for it soon. The article, not the Jack rye, you won’t find the Jack rye. The article you will.
In the “terrible terrible there goes Christmas” kind of news, Barrell Craft Spirits will no longer be releasing their under-appreciated 14-year old Canadian Rye whiskey as a standalone product. It will be solely used as a component whiskey in their ever expanding blended lineup. While this component whiskey is terrific (don’t believe me? Try the 16-year old grey label Seagrass.), it’s loss as a solo release is lamentable. For those of us that have experienced it, it is farging legend. Some of these are still out there on shelves, grab them now, or five years from now, you can add it to your list of things you should have bought and will now have to pay through the nose for. Some folks are recently discovering the Mammoth rye releases that are 16-year old Canadian ryes, and are having their mind blown, the Barrell releases are just as good and about the same price. Don’t let the $90-110 price tag keep you away, these are conversation bottles, as in, once you have one you’ll never stop telling people who won’t listen to you anyway how great they are.
I read a lot of articles about whiskey, and this one about collecting rare bottles activated HULK mode. Or maybe it triggered the rage virus from 28 Days Later… Here’s the excerpt that made me want to smash the keyboard while screaming “I HATE YOU TOM BRADY!”
“Brady Pedler is a wealth manager in the *Tampa, Fla., area. In his 8,000-square-foot home, Pedler has one of the most impressive personal whiskey collections I’ve ever seen, with over 2,000 bottles featuring such unicorns of unicorns like the 19 Year Old Corti Brothers, 18 Year Old Blue Smoke, and Red Hook Rye. Last year alone, Pedler claims he spent $400,000 on rare whiskey.
“I’ve been blessed. I grew up with nothing. I’m self-made, not some big swinging dick, but I spend money on what I enjoy,” says Pedler. “When I first came across [Kannell’s] bottles, I thought, ‘This is so cool.’”
His first acquisition was literally Kannell’s first piece of Pappy art; Pedler spent $5,000 on it. (Though a standard 10 Year bottle retails for $80, its actual market value is closer to $500.)
The funniest thing is, Pedler doesn’t even drink.”
This enraged me to no end, and I’m not sure why. Well, I have reasons, but whatever. Here’s the link to the article which is about custom artwork on bottles which was indeed a really cool thing.
* I included this bit prior to Hurricane Ian showing up. Regardless of my feelings on this topic, I hope he, and his collection are ok.
Florida took it in the teeth from Hurricane Ian, it’s gonna be a decades long rebuild there. If you can spare some scratch, donate some of it to your charity of choice, or my personal favorite World Central Kitchen.
That’s it for September, see you again end of October for another Nightcap.
- Mickey Pinstripe