Is OGD a top selling bourbon?

[PAspirit1]

I've noticed that OGD 86 and BIB are available in almost every liquor store in and outside of PA. Many liquor stores will have them both available in nearly every size from mini to 1.75 L. Even stores where the bourbon section is tiny will usually still have them. Yet, they aren't mentioned on the Beam website. It just seems odd.

[Joshua]

I feel like it's some sort of marketing thing... Beam seems to be marketing the small batch stuff and ignoring OGD. Their target demographic seems to be younger, as seen with (ri)1.

That's fine with me though, personally the more Beam leaves OGD alone the better off I'll be.

[ratcheer]

The 86 proof is probably my favorite value-priced bourbon. The 114 proof is one of my favorites at any price. We don't get the 100 proof in my state. Well, we don't get the 114, either, but I make it a point to pick some up when I am out of state.

Tim

[PAspirit1]

I feel like it's some sort of marketing thing... Beam seems to be marketing the small batch stuff and ignoring OGD.

I agree and I also think that OGD really isn't a Beam whiskey. They just own it. It seems like a strange relationship - they don't market it at all but it is, I'm guessing, a big seller. I'd be curious to see where it ranks in sales amongst Beams other labels.

[cowdery]

I would guess that OGD sells in a similar range to Old Forester, which is something like 140,000 9L cases a year. That's not big but it's not tiny. Someone, for example, reported here that Old Taylor is 12,000 cases. OGD still commands a relatively premium price and since they don't spend anything marketing it, it's pretty profitable.

When Beam bought the brand in 1987, they piddled with it for a while. (I was one of the piddlers.) Nothing they did seemed to move the needle, so they stopped spending and let it find its own level.

[PAspirit1]

I would guess that OGD sells in a similar range to Old Forester, which is something like 140,000 9L cases a year. That's not big but it's not tiny. Someone, for example, reported here that Old Taylor is 12,000 cases. OGD still commands a relatively premium price and since they don't spend anything marketing it, it's pretty profitable.

When Beam bought the brand in 1987, they piddled with it for a while. (I was one of the piddlers.) Nothing they did seemed to move the needle, so they stopped spending and let it find its own level.

Based on the relatively small area in which I am looking, I would have thought that OGD outsold Old Forrester. Thanks for the replies.

[cowdery]

I can also tell you that, historically at least, OGD BIB was the #1 bond (like being the #1 buggy whip maker, unfortunately). The primary market was older African-American men.

It might be bigger than Forester. I was just guessing.

[PAspirit1]

The primary market was older African-American men.

I thought this might be the case. I was going to mention it but I felt that I didn't have enough info. I've heard OGD mentioned at work before. Sometimes it's part of a wild story.

[cowdery]

And my information is dated, as I worked on the brand in the late 1980s. I don't know the profile today, but things change slowly in the whiskey world.

[ILLfarmboy]

Based on the relatively small area in which I am looking, I would have thought that OGD outsold Old Forrester. Thanks for the replies.

I'd say the same thing, but it would just be a guess.

Personaly, I think OGD blows Old Forester clean out of the water.

Bourbongraphics sounds like an interesting subject, who drinks what and in what part of the country do they live.

[PAspirit1]

Bourbongraphics sounds like an interesting subject, who drinks what and in what part of the country do they live.

[PAspirit1]

I bet that here is how the bourbon labels that Beam owns are ranked in terms of sales in the USA.

1. Beam White

2. Beam Black

3., 4. and 5. too close to call: Knob Creek, OGD 86 and OGD 100

6+ everything else

[callmeox]

I bet that here is how the bourbon labels that Beam owns are ranked in terms of sales in the USA.

1. Beam White

2. Beam Black

3., 4. and 5. too close to call: Knob Creek, OGD 86 and OGD 100

6+ everything else

I assume you're not counting the label for the place that Beam owns in Loretto?

[PAspirit1]

I assume you're not counting the label for the place that Beam owns in Loretto?

[cowdery]

I wish the information was easier to get. The producers pay a lot for it, so they only give it out in dribs and drabs and, of course, spin it in a way most favorable to them.

It used to be that your brand had to sell one million cases plus to be taken seriously. Among American straight whiskeys, only Beam white and Jack Black sell more than a million cases, and they sell something like seven or eight million cases each. Evan Williams black label is third and I'm sure it sells a couple million, but I don't know if it's 5 or 6, or 3 or 4.

Believe it or not, Early Times is up there at maybe 2 million cases. Twenty years ago, it was within shouting distance of Beam.

When Wild Turkey was sold, it was announced that it sells about 800,000 cases a year. Maker's Mark, I know, is in a similar neighborhood.

I wouldn't even guess what Jim Black sells, but you may be right that OGD and Knob Creek are pretty close, though moving in opposite directions.

Maybe two years ago, I was told that Old Forester sold about 120,000 cases a year. At that time, I think Woodford Reserve was selling a similar amount, but Woodford was and is growing much faster than Forester.

Some of the boutique things we talk about here sell in the dozens of cases, just to put it into perspective.

Like I said, I wish we didn't have to guess.

[PAspirit1]

That is surprising about Early Times. I think Beam Black is a relatively big seller. Going by the numbers you have there I would gues 1 to 2 million.

[DowntownD]

I wish the information was easier to get. The producers pay a lot for it, so they only give it out in dribs and drabs and, of course, spin it in a way most favorable to them.

It used to be that your brand had to sell one million cases plus to be taken seriously. Among American straight whiskeys, only Beam white and Jack Black sell more than a million cases, and they sell something like seven or eight million cases each. Evan Williams black label is third and I'm sure it sells a couple million, but I don't know if it's 5 or 6, or 3 or 4.

Believe it or not, Early Times is up there at maybe 2 million cases. Twenty years ago, it was within shouting distance of Beam.

When Wild Turkey was sold, it was announced that it sells about 800,000 cases a year. Maker's Mark, I know, is in a similar neighborhood.

I wouldn't even guess what Jim Black sells, but you may be right that OGD and Knob Creek are pretty close, though moving in opposite directions.

Maybe two years ago, I was told that Old Forester sold about 120,000 cases a year. At that time, I think Woodford Reserve was selling a similar amount, but Woodford was and is growing much faster than Forester.

Some of the boutique things we talk about here sell in the dozens of cases, just to put it into perspective.

Like I said, I wish we didn't have to guess.

Any idea how many cases of BTAC are released per year?

Or ETLee, Baby Saz, etc?

[CygnusX-1]

I think wikipedia says its one of the top 10 selling straight whiskies, but can you really trust wikipedia?

[jburlowski]

...but can you really trust wikipedia?

No.... not really.