BT shortage?

[JayMonster]

As far as I know, the Van Winkles have historically been released once a year, with the exception of last year when a spring release was tried for the first time, and this year, which they say will be the last.

And I wouldn't say they underestimated as much as the popularity of high quality bourbon has grown beyond their expectations.

I hope the ORVW 10/90 gets converted to more 10/107.

So what your saying is, they didn't underestimate... rather the popularity of bourbon was greater than what they estimated they needed?


I must admit, I do enjoy the 10/107, so I would not be upset if it was more readily available at the expense of the 10/90... though I won't hold my breathe.

[luther.r]

So what your saying is, they didn't underestimate... rather the popularity of bourbon was greater than what they estimated they needed?

Well, I'm sure they forecasted based on growth trends, then the trends changed. That's all I'm saying.

[Brisko]

Is it just me that finds this unsurprising considering the dropping of the Age Statement off of OWA and WSR?

Clearly (to me), they underestimated some years back and now just don't have enough juice to fill their own needs, never mind selling off barrels to others.

Could this also be part of the reason for rumored demise of the ORVW 10/90 and/or the change to once a year allocations of other Van Winkle products? Or am I misunderstanding this?

Well, all of the brands the newsletter mentioned are rye-recipes, not wheaters, FWIW. Don't get me wrong, BT is short on aged stock and have been for a while, but the OWA/WSR label changes are just the latest strategic shift. They've already done a lot to ease their supply issues over the last ten years (eliminating Weller Centennial, OCPR and OC12, diluting Eagle Rare, and so on). And it's hardly just BT that has this problem. Heaven Hill and Wild Turkey have already taken similar steps.

On a different note, this line from the newsletter caught my attention: "Why would a distillery ever sell their casks off?" I asked at one point. I can think of 5 reasons just off the top of my head (there are probably more), and the fact that the writer fails answer his own question makes me wonder how well he really understands the industry.

[Wall Eye]

There was a different brand served up at one point this week, but I couldn't quite tell what the bottle was. Something squatter than WT or PVW.

Boyd was enjoying a little Elmer T Lee this week from what I could see.

I think this has all the makings of a new weekly game - spot the bottle(s) of the week. So far Pappy has been well represented.


Rich

[bad_scientist]

Boyd was enjoying a little Elmer T Lee this week from what I could see.

I think this has all the makings of a new weekly game - spot the bottle(s) of the week. So far Pappy has been well represented.


Rich

Good call! The writer of that particular episode is on record saying he loves ETL.

http://warmingglow.uproxx.com/2012/0...ter-jon-worley

Look for Black Maple Hill in the future when he writes.

[Brisko]

By the way, to answer the question posed ("why would a distillery ever sell off their casks?") here are the reasons I came up with, in no particular order:

• convenient way to liquidate barrels that don't meet brand profiles
• frees up valuable warehouse space
• immediate realization of profits (bird in the hand vs. two in the bush)
• eliminates cost of handling/bottling
• hedge against future oversupply

It also occurs to me that there may be tax benefits to selling off new make or partially aged product rather than fully aging it on premises (maybe someone in the know can clarify?). The other thing that he doesn't touch on at all is the difference between bulk sales and contract distillation.

There might be other reasons why a distillery might sell off stocks. Anyone have any others?

[stevegoz]

Then again...wasn't there something about a highjacked shipment of Pappy during talk of the fall allocation? Maybe Devil was behind it!

No decent human being would drink it like Quarles did, either, just shooting it. What a douche. I mean, he does a lot of bad things on the show, but that is just the worst

But, considering who was working for Boyd while he was in the clink (and perhaps missed the Fall release), you have a point - I doubt they could have gotten Pappy.

[CorvallisCracker]

No decent human being would drink [Pappy] like Quarles did, either, just shooting it. What a douche. I mean, he does a lot of bad things on the show, but that is just the worst.

Now, now, don't let it bother you. It's all Make Believe. The part of Robert Quarles is played by Neal McDonough, and the part of Pappy van Winkle is played by Lipton Tea.

[bad_scientist]

Now, now, don't let it bother you. It's all Make Believe. The part of Robert Quarles is played by Neal McDonough, and the part of Pappy van Winkle is played by Lipton Tea.

Ah, I was wondering how the same guy could be a hero in WWII and a Yankee villain 70 years later and appear to be roughly the same age...

[JayMonster]

By the way, to answer the question posed ("why would a distillery ever sell off their casks?") here are the reasons I came up with, in no particular order:

• convenient way to liquidate barrels that don't meet brand profiles
• frees up valuable warehouse space
• immediate realization of profits (bird in the hand vs. two in the bush)
• eliminates cost of handling/bottling
• hedge against future oversupply

It also occurs to me that there may be tax benefits to selling off new make or partially aged product rather than fully aging it on premises (maybe someone in the know can clarify?). The other thing that he doesn't touch on at all is the difference between bulk sales and contract distillation.

There might be other reasons why a distillery might sell off stocks. Anyone have any others?

He does actually answer the question in the same paragraph, explaining some of the same points you have here (sell off excess during slowdows, predominantly).

I'm not sure about things like "freeing up space"... For what? New stock that is further from being salable?

The point he was trying to get at was simply, "why sell to somebody else at wholesale only to make a fraction of the profit? "

And the answer as is friend (and you) point out is that there my be a short term profit gain ny starving off the non-distillers during good times, but they would then also be killing their future glut hedge.