BOTM, 3/07: Old Pogue

[Pharaoh]

I for one am glad that more of the distinct profiles held within 1/2 of the world's well-aged whiskey can be made available to the public than the brands that HH markets under their own name(s) and distribution network.

Amen!

[nor02lei]

I like Old Pogue just fine. It has a nice sweetness and restrained rye spice, with just a touch of warming finish that are satisfying and especially accessible to those new to drinking bourbon neat. That said, the bottle I have will last me for some time..

I’m only had one pour of the Old Pogue brand. Got it for for free at the BBC bar in Louisville when I was there drinking beer. I didn’t particularly like it.

In this thread we learn that HH has had roughly 1/2 of the world's supply of bourbon that is 8+ years old. I for one am glad that more of the distinct profiles held within 1/2 of the world's well-aged whiskey can be made available to the public than the brands that HH markets under their own name(s) and distribution network. .

I am glad for this to and I like many brands from “bottling distilleries”, especially from van Winkle and KDB. The same goes for independent bottlers in Scotland as well. However I don’t understand the contrast of doing this even more effective by reviling the sores on the label in USA as they do in Scotland.

You participated in the thread where this was discussed about 3 months ago, here , in posts 12 and 17 through 29. You posted #24.

Believe it or not I did miss or possibly forgot the HH-thing in that thread. I can hardly believe it myself rereading it. Guess I have to begin reading the whole threads now witch isn’t always the case for me normally.

[Hedmans Brorsa]

Judging by some of the posts here, I draw the conclusion that if the people behind a certain enterprise are deemed to be nice and have a lot of middle men to pay, then we should refrain from criticism.

I seem to recall a track by the English punk band U.K. Subs. What was it called? Yeah, "Emotional Blackmail". That was the name.

[smokinjoe]

Judging by some of the posts here, I draw the conclusion that if the people behind a certain enterprise are deemed to be nice and have a lot of middle men to pay, then we should refrain from criticism.

I seem to recall a track by the English punk band U.K. Subs. What was it called? Yeah, "Emotional Blackmail". That was the name.

Sorry, Lennart, but I don't know where you're coming from on this. I see nothing in the previous posts that suggests that anyone should refrain from cristicism of Old Pogue, if that is what they feel.

JOE

[Hedmans Brorsa]

Sorry, Lennart, but I don't know where you're coming from on this. I see nothing in the previous posts that suggests that anyone should refrain from cristicism of Old Pogue, if that is what they feel.

JOE

Just a little facetiousness on my part, Joe.

I have to admit, though, that some of the members here display a curious, sort of, the-customer-is-always-wrong mentality, which I find a bit odd.

[AVB]

Not one of my favorites, at the price there is far better stuff out there.

[OscarV]

I went thru a bottle of Old Pogue about two years ago, I still have the bottle, it is one of the best design/look in bourbon bottles.
I do remember that I liked it, but then I was drinking all my bourbons on the rocks, so what's not to like?
There is still a tiny bit in the bottle, so I tried to open it to get a smell to refresh my memory but the cork broke.

[cowdery]

I have to admit, though, that some of the members here display a curious, sort of, the-customer-is-always-wrong mentality, which I find a bit odd.

I understood and agree with the first part of your post, but am not sure I understand what you are getting at here.

I'm as guilty as anyone, I guess, of being a little slower to criticize people I know or, if I do criticize them, I tend to choose my words more carefully. I try to remember to extend the same courtesy to everyone, but I fail from time to time. It's a good reminder, not necessarily that we should be tougher on people we know, but that we should be kinder to people we don't know.

Of course we (i.e., members of Straight Bourbon) like people who treat us as important tastemakers.

I have responded a couple of times to posts by people who have convinced themselves that Pogue is made by some little, artisan distillery. That's not the Pogue family's fault. They have, in fact, been a lot more honest than most when asked about the provenance of their product.

It's hard to criticize the DBA practice, since the distillers do it too. It's also not the fault of operations like KBD that there are so few sources for bulk whiskey in the USA. I only really object to operations like Thedford and McKlain & Kyne, that tell completely fictional stories about "their distillery" and "their founders." The Pogue family has never done that.

The observation that can't be avoided is that you do pay a premum to, as Rughi says, appreciate "more variety to come from the HH rickhouses than would have otherwise happened." But that's hardly a criticism, since everyone has the ability to pay that premium, or not, as they see fit.

[Hedmans Brorsa]

I
I have responded a couple of times to posts by people who have convinced themselves that Pogue is made by some little, artisan distillery. That's not the Pogue family's fault. They have, in fact, been a lot more honest than most when asked about the provenance of their product.

Agreed, but if you would take the time to go through my posts, you would find that, if my memory doesn´t betray me, I haven´t written one single word about Old Pogue or the Pogues, neither in positive nor in negative terms.

I wrote from a more general basis. What I reacted mostly to, was that, if someone thinks a brand is overpriced then I do not want to hear about all the middlemen that has to be payed. What has that got to do with me as a customer?

I still think there´s a the-customer-is-always-wrong mentality that pops up its ugly head from time to time. Or perhaps defend-the-businessman-at-any-cost would be a more apt description.

Then again, all this could have something to do with me being from Sweden, where customer rights are amongst the most developed in the world. I certainly don´t let anyone f**k with me.

In deepest respect.

[cowdery]

"Customer rights" being another term for "consumer protection" with the "protector" being the government and you're right, the USA is different in that regard. Though consumer protection has come a long way, we are still mostly a "buyer beware" society and skeptical when we hear, "I'm from the government, I'm here to help."

But I agree with you in not caring about the producer's cost structure. We often have conversations here in which people try to analyze a whiskey's price based on cost factors. While cost certainly plays a role in price setting, in that only a fool would set his price below his costs, pricing is really based on an assessment of what the market will bear and the most successful products and businesses are the ones that persuade consumers to pay for intangibles that have no relationship to cost whatsoever.