NiGHTCAP: February
It’s been a month, and yes I’m obsessed with cats smoking cigarettes. I don’t even smoke cigarettes. We do feed the neighborhood strays though.
Welcome to Nightcap : February. If you didn’t know, we had a Super Bowl here in New Orleans and I’m really sorry the Kansas City Chiefs weren’t able to join us, I think they really would have enjoyed the terrific party the city hosted.
Fred Minnick had a Big Game Party during Super Bowl LIX week and it was pretty cool with a but-
Like any live taping of any show, it was boring as hell. Everything televised essentially comes down to the editing.
The party itself was quite fun, it was a mini-tasting festival that featured some really talented non-major distilleries and that was refreshing.
Vampire Diary dude signed autographs for every last person that waited for one. Brothers Bond also got a bit of funding (not from the party).
Weller Millenium is a tasty bastage. Not worth the money, but it is tasty.
I did not enjoy the new Bombergers PFG, Matt called it rancid.
Overall the party was great and I got the chance to taste some things I never would’ve paid for.
Touchdown Terry Bradshaw. Steelers great. Money grab whiskey brand.
People think I hate Buffalo Trace, so here’s my occasional reminder that I don’t hate on them all the time.
Sazerac 18 is my favorite product out of Buffalo Trace, yes, I prefer it to the Van Winkle Rye. I can easily replace every single Buffalo Trace offering with something equal or better from other companies, save for Sazerac 18. A truly unique thing that bottle.
And here’s my reminder that I do hate on them most of the time-
Buffalo Trace Prohibition set is a cash grab. I had the opportunity to try the lineup, and well, while fun to try, it’s just not great in any way shape or form. Even the labels look like they were laser jet printed and affixed at the company Christmas party. Frankly articles like this that breathlessly fawn over this release (to protect their access) and not call it out for what it is irks me no end. I’m irked ok? IRKED.
This was the best of the lot, and it wasn’t close, but it wasn’t better than EH Taylor Rye.
Quick brand hits-
Bulleit’s new self-made bottled in bond release should be very interesting. Tom is still undoubtedly an asshole (click here in case you forgot).
The amount of Rare Character labels is astonishingly overwhelming. And people couldn’t figure out Pinhook?
Remember when Blue Run was the hot new brand on the market? Only to be replaced by Penelope, and now Rare Character? I wonder who will inevitably replace them? Definitely not Frank August. “This generations Black Maple Hill” my ass. That article is still one of the worst takes I’ve ever seen.
The soon to be released Pinhook Tiz Rye Time 9yr vertical is very bourbon drinker friendly. This one should prove extremely popular. Only 35 cases coming to Louisiana, so act accordingly. Also, the single barrel Tiz Rye Time we picked for Louisiana, is definitely for Rye fans.
100% Rye whiskey cask strength single-barrel. Not a banger, it’s better than that.
In the “not all Texas whiskey sucks” news-
Still Austin’s new cigar blend Tanager is a very interesting release. 6000 bottles, sold out quickly. WENT INSANO on auction sites. That price won’t hold though, because while the first six listings all closed at north of $415, this only ensures that multiple listings will appear shortly to depress the take. Regardless, this is impressive for a bottle that retailed for around $150, and has very limited distribution (Still Austin isn’t even available nationally).
Still Austin also released a single-barrel 100% Rye whiskey here in Louisiana, and my thoughts on it will be on IG shortly. If you’re interested in acquiring one, here’s the link. I bought one with my own scratch if that matters to ya.
When Tanager is around, you stand tall before the man!
Random whiskey things that I found interesting-
Ever wonder where you could find a complete listing of every registered distillery in the United States? I did, and I found it. Check it out here.
I spent a lot of time over at the Our Whiskey Foundation and I know that a lot of the “dudes and bros” won’t take this seriously, but there is still an awful lot of work to do to break down the barriers facing people that aren’t “manly men” who love and know a metric shit ton about whiskey. There’s several really good articles, but the one that brought me to their site was this Survey titled “do you even like whisky?” The results are illuminating, and frustrating at the same time. I urge you to take a look.
Economic stuff-
I’ve been saying for awhile that the expanded production capacity won’t benefit the consumer in the way they think it will. People seem to think this will mean that Weller red/black label will somehow be on shelves everywhere in 5 years. I said that this production was mainly for emerging markets like India. Well, India just cut the tariffs on American whiskey from 150% to 100%. And while the tariff still increases the cost of whiskey in India (tariffs are paid by the consumer), this cut is likely to have a very big impact on Bourbon. Buffalo Trace launched Weller 12 in India late last year, and if it catches on……. Did you know that Bourbon exports to India in 2023-2024 was less than $3 million? That’s million with an M, not billion with a B. It’s a fart in the wind when it comes to India’s whiskey imports, and consumption ($32BILLION).
MGPI had their earnings report, and it was not good. Their own brands were in decline (How do you go down from insignificant?) and Penelope is saving what’s left of their ass. “Elevated” barrel inventory nationally is impacting their contract distilling business, so this isn’t going to be a momentary earnings blip. Their stock was trading at over $100 per share half a year ago. It’s lost 66% of its value in two quarters, and there’s a lawsuit proceeding from disgruntled investors that claim the company withheld the bad news that was coming.
When times are tough, what does MGP do? Lay off employees, marginalize their own marketing people, hire a social media personality to be the brand ambassador, reduce marketing budgets, and buy back a shitload of shares at the lower price. You know, typical short-sighted, tiny minded, corporate America shit.
In disappointing celebrity whiskey news-
Ja Rule has his own whiskey and of course it’s honey flavored, because it has to be sweet to be an effective money grab.
Bradshaw Bourbon rises from the ashes, somehow, with a new release. I’m wondering if Terry hit it with a personal cash infusion, and if it’s a reason why he’s not retiring.
Night Songs with cats smoking cigarettes for no discernible reason.
Shameless self-promotion-
Louis and I host a little live show on Instagram that we call Night Songs. It’s always on a Sunday night (not every week) and we’ve done a pair of shows so far. Check them out.
Episode 1 (no not the phantom menace trash, also calm down fellow nerds) Topic: Should Influencers Be Paid?
Episode 2 Topic: Influencer Etiquette.
I did a deep dive review on IG for a Redwood Empire Haystack Rye single-barrel. This particular barrel is located at Sips in Benicia, California. They don’t ship, but there are always Riverboat Captains to be found.
February’s cocktail recipe-
For those of you that need the recipe for the La Louisiane that I order relentlessly at Will and the Way, here it is.
Lastly, a bit of a rant-
I think we’re in trouble when influencers are becoming elevated national brand ambassadors. We have already moved so far from actual expertise to perceived expertise in the social media world that I am less trusting of what I see on accounts I’ve followed for years. The talking heads (and I’m aware I am one) are no longer just passionate fans of things, they’ve shifted to collecting titles and labels to lend credence to their “expertise.” This pivot into expertise is a prime example of Big Hat-No Cattle. There’s only one Kentucky Colonel I take seriously, and that’s Sanders. Certified Bourbon Steward? I trust that as much as I trust someone with an MD from the University of Phoenix. Hell, I could print you a certificate without even using AI to create it.
Brands are finding it cheaper to lay off higher paid employees with metric ass tons of ACTUAL experience in the bar/restaurant/spirts world, being on tasting/blending teams, and replacing them with proverbial guy who is occasionally funny on TikTok. It’s all so superficial, and I am finding it increasingly unbearable.
An actual text exchange before the Super Bowl. I was very close. Yeah, I’m a bitter Buffalo Bills fan what’s it to ya?
Lagniappe-
If you ever wanted to shit your soul out, then the Flaming Hot Cheetos Malort shot is made for you.
That’s it for Night Cap February, thanks for joining us, and see you again in March where we will have some takes on the New Orleans Bourbon Festival, and our occasional and not very often Podcast will be launching.
- Mickey Pinstripe