A Tale of Bourbon Today

Bourbon/Tennessee Whiskey sales were up 9.6% in 2014. The super premium sector saw a 19.2% growth as well as exports topping $1.2B. Bourbon is everywhere. It’s at every bar and restaurant I visit. While checking for abnormal heart rhythms, my Doctor discusses the upcoming Pappy Van Winkle release. I can’t even walk down the frozen food aisle of a grocery store without seeing bourbon. Every time I walk into a store to buy a bottle I’m surprised with an increased price tag or an empty shelf. Or, maybe I’ve become accustomed to increased costs its hard to tell. I don’t blink at a $150 price tag for a bourbon I was paying $50 for a few years ago. I assume every limited edition bourbon will exceed the $80 mark. read more

Bourbonr Notes

*I’m not a retailer. There’s no list on this site to buy Pappy. I think some people may have Bourbonr confused. This is just a blog that talks about bourbon.

• Less 15-year-old Pappy Van Winkle than usual, and far less 20-year-old and 23-year-old. About half as much as last year. Seems to be the theme for Buffalo Trace this year. Fewer bottles will mean insurmountable odds for a lot of Bourbonr’s. However, I’m not one to back down from a challenge
• “We have not raised prices and do not intend to do so drastically in the future.” – Julian Van Winkle “Drastically” is an interesting word here since BT/VW has always commented that they won’t be increasing prices. The biggest jump seems to be the rye at an additional $30 per bottle. Nothing too drastic in my opinion. Either way retailers have the right to charge what they want. Hopefully, this doesn’t mean gouging. I still consider anything 1.5X or less the listed retail to be “retail” pricing.
• Available starting in November. That’s about a week later than last year. It will be interesting to see if any distributors jump the gun and release in October.
• The Bourbonr Pappy release map is coming soon! Probably the beginning of next week.

            FRANKFORT, FRANKLIN COUNTY, KY (Oct. 14, 2015) – The long anticipated annual release of the Van Winkle bourbons is nearly here, but unfortunately some of the angels were extra greedy over the past two decades, leaving us less bourbon than in previous years. read more

Bourbon Curious by Fred Minnick

In Bourbon Curious: A Simple Tasting Guide for the Savvy Drinker, award-winning whiskey writer and Wall Street Journal-best-selling author Fred Minnick debunks bourbon myths, provides distillery production methods (such as recipes and barrel-entry proofs!) and creates an easy-to-read interactive tasting journey that helps you select bourbons based on flavor preferences and bourbon styles. Using the same tasting principles he offers in his Kentucky Derby Museum classes and as a judge at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Minnick’s Bourbon Curious cuts to the chase, dismissing brand marketing and judging what’s inside the bottle. read more

Last month a judge dismissed a class action lawsuit against Jim Beam Co. The lawsuit claimed that Beam’s use of the word “handcrafted” on the label of their bourbons mislead consumers. Beam responded that the TTB label approval protected them from any wrongdoing. Beam also stated that “handcrafted” is just puffery and no reasonable consumer would make a decision based on this word. What’s interesting is the judge agreed that “handcrafted” is not misleading but “mere puffery”. It’s also interesting that the “we relied on the TTB” defense was rejected. read more

In case, you missed the last few Bourbonr posts the 2015 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection has been announced and started to release (track the BTAC release here).  I was able to talk with Buffalo Trace Brand Manager, Kris Comstock, about this years release as well as some other BT questions that have been burning in my mind. read more

You Can Drink Limited Edition Bourbon

Bourbon is not just for collecting anymore. Whether you just won a Pappy Van Winkle lottery or made a trip to the Willlett Gift Shop feel free to peel back the perforated foil around the top of the cap and pour yourself a glass. This PSA is great news heading into the fall bourbon season. Your new bourbon score doesn’t have to sit on your shelf or go straight to Craigslist! read more

If you didn’t know, in 2007, September was named Bourbon Heritage Month by the US Senate. If you’re a frequent reader of this blog every month is probably a celebration of bourbon but it never hurts to make it official. How will you celebrate? Maybe crack open a special bottle from the back of your cabinet? Get your fall bourbon hunt started by searching for Buffalo Trace Antique Collection? Fred Minnick has some great suggestions for a Bourbon Heritage Month checklist. read more

Bourbonr Cliff Notes 2015 BTAC

– I talked about this last week, but the amount of evaporation loss in the 2015 George T Stagg is incredible.

– Good news, William LaRue Weller will release almost double the amount of 2014 bottles!

– Eagle Rare 17 is fresh and once again 17 years old after a couple of years of tanked 19-year bourbon. read more