The end of Weller Centennial?

[spun_cookie]

It comes with great sorrow that I pass on the news (rumor - but a great source) of the end of BT producing the 10yr Weller (Centennial). There are various reasons for this more (as I understand it), but one is the need for additional bourbon at 12-15 yrs.

Does anyone else know anything about the details? This has been one of my favorites...

[jinenjo]

At first I thought, "What's with the black lettering?" Then I realized, "Oh yeah. Mourning."

Where'd you hear the news?

[spun_cookie]

The black lettering was unintentional... I use word for spell check and I have SB.com with a white background not black... somehow changed it one night by mistake (I know how now), but I like it...

Heard this today from the Owner of Julio's. He was trying to get there next barrel of the Centennial and they said... it is no more...

[barturtle]

Use the "remove formatting" button to make it viewable in all SB.com themes.

You could also switch to Firefox 2 as it has built in spellcheck (IE might too, but FF works better for me)

[TNbourbon]

This is of a piece with the discontinuance of Old Charter 12yo "The Classic" and OC Proprietor's Reserve 13yo -- they have both supply problems, and can make more money, with younger, established bourbons they're trying to take national.
You can hardly blame BT, which is a business to make money (isn't that the definition of a 'business'?), even privately-held. They don't have enough bourbon to go around, however they configure it. So, they do away with brands/labels that can be transformed to others which may be earning more capital.
We don't have to like it -- I don't -- but I have no philosophical problem with it. My problem with it is purely selfish.

[spun_cookie]

I do not have any problem with BT's decision... It is in all or our best interest that the Bourbon distillers ensure that they are profitable and are able to supply what the market demands...

I have a diverse collection of bourbons, but in this case I may need to purchase a supply of these... at ~$25 a bottle, it is an affordable, great everyday bourbon ...

[JamesW]

Spun, heard you were at Julio's last night. As soon as I found out about the centennial (yesterday) I called Ryan and had 3 cases set aside for a buddy and me. He just picked them up so I feel a bit relieved that I'll have this magnificent wheated for a while to come. The stuff is good enough that I bet it'll be used in the higher priced offerings like William Larue Weller and for Julian's labels. Oh well, it was great while it lasted at those prices.

[TBoner]

Based on sales of Stagg, William Larue Weller, et al., I'm guessing most people don't have a personal problem with this. If we did, we'd quit buying the overpriced barrel proofers and extra-aged whiskey and allow more to go around for standard bottlings. Centennial may not have as much tradition behind it as Old Charter 12, but it's a sad thing, nonetheless. Fewer choices in the marketplace everyday (unless you enjoy paying $50-80/bottle)...

[cowdery]

Centennial was probably doomed the moment Diageo sold the Weller, Charter and Fitzgerald brands, while retaining Dickel and Harper. It was created for the Bourbon Heritage Collection (BHC), which effectively died when the components were split up among three different companies. BT continued Centennial, cut its price to bring it more in-line with the other Wellers, but it was always the odd bottle out. If the handwriting wasn't on the wall at the moment of the sale, it certainly was when BT introduced Weller 12, which they then upgraded with new packaging. All of that left Centennial more isolated and more likely to be discontinued.

Guinness was doing a number of things with its American whiskeys that effectively stopped when Diageo was formed, way before the big sell-off. It's hard to know what they were thinking, in terms of how the BHC expressions were supposed to knit with their respective brands. The BHC was inspired by the Classic Malts Collection, and although I don't follow scotch as closesly as I do American whiskey, it seems like everything they did with the Classic Malts brands subsequently flowed from the Classic Malts positioning, not from anything those brands were doing previously. Maybe they had something similar in mind for the BHC. It's impossible to know.

I wouldn't be too surprised if Antique goes too. It's just a high-proof version of Special Reserve, after all, and high proof is a supply pressure issue, just as age is.

I must say, considering what I've seen in this business over the past 30 years, the one thing I never expected to see was a bourbon shortage.

All of that said, lovers of Centennial should have ample opportunity to bunker up if they just can't live without it. Based on the experiences of our dusty hunters, it'll probably remain on store shelves for the next 20 years or so.

[ILLfarmboy]

...
I wouldn't be too surprised if Antique goes too. It's just a high-proof version of Special Reserve, after all, and high proof is a supply pressure issue, just as age is.

Dear God........that hits close to home