Slate bourbon

[Vange]

I have a friend looking for this one. Anyone has any info? I found this post back from 2006. Some of the info seems untrue to me though.

"If you are scouring the web looking for Slate bourbon you won't find much
about it... the reason for this is because Diageo (UDV)has launched it as a
brand new style of bourbon and is looking torwards Australia as its test
market globally, before launching this product in other markets. The reason
for this is because Australia has the largest bourbon market on the planet.
The bourbon itself is a great innovation, in the fact that it is blended. All
other bourbons except for Jim Beam Small Batch are 'straight' bourbons which
means that they come from only one distillery. Slate Bourbon is blended in
Chicago from various bourbons in order to create a smoother mouthfeel to the
whiskey. As such it is a very innovative product.Comparitively if you look at
the scotch whiskey market, 95% of all scotches sold are blends versus single
malts... with blends being much smoother on the palate. Not taking anything
away from the malts, it is just each has its own place. Slate will be
difficult to get for awhile because of the selected distribution as Diageo
tries to build this brand. If you can get it, try it straight, it's
fantastic... mellow, sweet vanilla / honey. Great for mixing drinks with!!!"

[OscarV]

So this is only available in Austrailia?

Hey HighTower you know anything about this stuff?

It doesn't sound appealing to me.

[mozilla]

If you are scouring the web looking for Slate bourbon you won't find much
about it... the reason for this is because Diageo (UDV)has launched it as a brand new style of bourbon and is looking torwards Australia as its test market globally, before launching this product in other markets. ...The bourbon itself is a great innovation, in the fact that it is blended. All other bourbons except for Jim Beam Small Batch are 'straight' bourbons which means that they come from only one distillery. Slate Bourbon is blended in Chicago from various bourbons in order to create a smoother mouthfeel to the whiskey. As such it is a very innovative product.

Where are you getting this information?

Unless a bourbon is bonded....there is no regulation that says you can't use other distilleries distillate. Straight, when referring to bourbon has to do with the amount of time it was in the barrel. It is a minimum of two years to obtain the Straight designation.

Blended means that it was mixed with GNS or other blending agents. I believe you are thinking of married or batched bourbons, where you use bourbons from different barrels.

Also, there is nothing innovative about blended whisky.

[Vange]

It wasn't my post. It was a cut and paste job from a post on webtender from 2006. A lot of this info is untrue, but the parts pertaining to Slate's availability is the reason I even included it in my original posting.

[mozilla]

Oh, I see, now. I missed the quotes at first.

Whoever wrote that was way off base.

I also noticed that it is only 74 proof. Good luck, Diageo.

[OscarV]

I also noticed that it is only 74 proof.

I was under the impression that no matter in what part of the world, that to be called "Bourbon" it had to 80 proof.

[StraightBoston]

Those are the US regs for "Straight Bourbon Whiskey", but search sez that there is a waiver down to 37% abv (74 proof) for export.

[cowdery]

It's not so much untrue as it is about turning lemons into lemonade. While a straight can be a combination of straights all made in the same state, but at different distilleries, it's certainly true that most bourbons on the market are the product of a single distillery. Diageo doesn't have any active distilleries in Kentucky so it's buying bulk white dog from three or four different producers and aging it at Stitzel-Weller. It's also not true that blended bourbon is a new thing. It's been around forever.

As for Chicago, Diageo does have a facility of some kind in Plainfield, a suburb. I'm not exactly sure what they do there, possibly bottling, possibly blending, possibly both.

As for the regs, keep in mind that the U.S. Standards of Identity only apply within the United States. Presumably, Australia has its own standards, but they aren't necessarily the same. They might, however, have to call it "blended" under U.S. standards because some of the "bourbon" comes from Diageo's George Dickel Distillery in Tennessee.

[mozilla]

Oscar,
Each countries regulations supersede the US regs. Just as our regs are used for other countries exports to the US.

[Vange]

My friend who is a collector/consumer "likes the bottle". Sighhh....