Tanking instead of Bottling

[Rockefeller]

I've been reading up on the production of various bourbons/ryes and have come across several instances where a distiller will tank the whiskey to arrest the aging process (read that this was done for VWFRR or the Sazerac 18).

I was just wondering why they would tank the whiskey instead of simply bottling it. Are they saving the stock to create blends with whiskeys that are still in the cask?

[Jwilly019]

I was actually wondering about this myself the other day. My guess, and it is just that, a complete guess, is that the distillery doesn't have to pay taxes until the whiskey has been bottled.

[ILLfarmboy]

In the case of Saz 18, BT can claim each year's release is that year's release.

I just figured that's why anyone would tank a whiskey without bottling it; to arrest the aging process and to stretch the stocks out over time.

Their might be tax advantages and if pallets of bottles sat in a warehouse for several years while the distillery released them in dribs and drabs, cork issues may crop up to-wards the end??

[BFerguson]

Plus, it's much easier to store it in a large tank rather than thousands of bottles. Space issue.

[Lazer]

supply and demand my friends. supply and demand. If we drank more, there wouldn't be any tanks.

[p_elliott]

supply and demand my friends. supply and demand. If we drank more, there wouldn't be any tanks.

There is plenty of demand for what is in those tanks they just don't want to sell it all at once.

[cowdery]

For flexibility, you don't bottle until it's ready to sell. Bottling doesn't trigger the taxes. Also, tanking is not common. Any extra steps like that are to be avoided.

[luther.r]

It also seems like the producers would want the option of changing bottle designs/labeling down the road. If they bottled up 5 years worth of product now, but changed to a new bottle two years from now, the markers wouldn't be happy.

[tmckenzie]

It has been my experience that storing spirits that have flavor in bulk is tricky. Whiskey will imporve if aged. But stuff like corn whiskey will change, sometimes it will loose its nose.