Costco Bourbon?

[Josh]

I believe that distilling happens at Clermont and Boston, bottling is done at Frankfort and aging at all 3, but how are Beam products usually labelled?

I also think Clermont is always listed and Boston never.

Is Frankfort listed along with Clermont on all, most or just a few labels?

IIRC just the OGD labels.

[sku]

Looking at the history of assumed names, it looks like before the Clear Springs brand was owned by Buffalo Trace, it was owned by Barton, so perhaps it came over with the purchase.

[tehbeardman]

It's Beam whiskey friend, FYI

I've been punk'd

[callmeox]

So, it's 7yo Old Taylor stock that BT got from Beam?

[DeanSheen]

Well hopefully I'll be drinking some on Thursday night.

I can't believe no one on here has tasted it yet.

[squire]

Could be some leftover plonk that even Beam was too embarrassed to bottle. But for $20.00 . . .

[TomH]

Hard to taste it if you haven't seen it yet....I checked with our local Costco spirits guy and he was not even aware of it.

Tom

Well hopefully I'll be drinking some on Thursday night.

I can't believe no one on here has tasted it yet.

[DeanSheen]

Hard to taste it if you haven't seen it yet....I checked with our local Costco spirits guy and he was not even aware of it.

Tom

[proof and age]

So, it's 7yo Old Taylor stock that BT got from Beam?

[sku]

No, it is Beam stock directly from Beam, no BT involvement at all.

What's your source for that. As pointed out above. The distillery name being used on these products is owned by BT.

[proof and age]

What's your source for that. As pointed out above. The distillery name being used on these products is owned by BT.

There was a TTB label approval that came through around January 11th, that is where I first saw it. Sorry I did not mention that before.

[proof and age]

What's your source for that. As pointed out above. The distillery name being used on these products is owned by BT.

The Clear Springs designate was sold recently to BT from JB I believe, now I see why that was confusing.

[Virus_Of_Life]

I'm going to Costco this evening so I'll check to see if they have it in my area.

[Josh]

What's your source for that. As pointed out above. The distillery name being used on these products is owned by BT.

Check out proof and age's member profile under "occupation".

http://www.heaven-hill.com/pr-recent.shtml?article=MTAzNTlzdXBlcjEwMzU2c2VjcmV0MTAzNjM%3D

[sku]

There was a TTB label approval that came through around January 11th, that is where I first saw it. Sorry I did not mention that before.

Interesting! Are those available on-line?

[Virus_Of_Life]

I grabbed one tonight, couldn't turn it down once I saw it was a full Liter bottle; at only $20. First impressions are positive, definitely Beam whiskey but nothing off putting at all. I haven't had knob creek in a while, but from what I recall this is quite similar.

I was told by my costco this was likely a one time deal, seems kind of hard to believe but she said anything, especially alcohol, that comes in as Kirkland brand is likely a one or two shipment thing then gone.

[tehbeardman]

I guess that makes sense. At my Sams club (same difference) that is about the price KC is. Interesting its kind of a one off. Wonder if it was ever made with a costco in mind our if they bought whatever beam had left from something else and bottled it. Just speculation obviously.

[p_elliott]

Check out proof and age's member profile under "occupation".

http://www.heaven-hill.com/pr-recent.shtml?article=MTAzNTlzdXBlcjEwMzU2c2VjcmV0MTAzNjM%3D

Well now that cat is out of the bag

[TomH]

I was told by my costco this was likely a one time deal, seems kind of hard to believe but she said anything, especially alcohol, that comes in as Kirkland brand is likely a one or two shipment thing then gone.

From what I have seen with scotch, it is more of an annual release rather than a year round carry item. The Kirkland scotch (Macallan) seems to always arrive around Nov-Dec and is quickly sold not not to be seen again until around the same time next year.

[Josh]

Well now that cat is out of the bag

I wasn't trying to "out" anybody, just pointing out that p & a is one of those folks who is going to have inside knowledge on some things.

[squire]

And willing to post it which is appreciated.

[Josh]

And willing to post it which is appreciated.

Much appreciated.

[p_elliott]

I wasn't trying to "out" anybody, just pointing out that p & a is one of those folks who is going to have inside knowledge on some things.

I wasn't saying you did anything wrong Josh. He has it on his profile who he is.

[cowdery]

A great many conclusions have been jumped to in this thread.

Although proof and age's profile says "American Whiskey Ambassador- Heaven Hill Distilleries," no name is listed. HH may very well have multiple brand ambassadors and I find it suspicious that this person posts a very specific job title without posting a real name.

Let's also be realistic about what a "brand ambassador" is and does. They are field marketing representatives and not necessarily privy to any inside information. In fact, for them to do their jobs well it is useful for them to be almost perfect mushrooms, i.e., kept in the dark and fed excrement. Their job is to sell the company line, not to tell secrets.

As for Clear Spring, the Sec. of State assumed name records are pretty definitive and make it very safe to assume that Buffalo Trace produced this product for Costco, although that doesn't necessarily tell you who made the whiskey. For that purpose the assumed business name is irrelevant.

The "Clear Spring" name does have a long history with the Beams, as you can read for yourself on pages 128 and 129 of your Cecil.

But the name and the whiskey have nothing to do with each other, and BT could be reselling whiskey made by Beam that BT acquired in the Old Taylor deal or some other transaction, or it could be whiskey from just about anyplace else or even from multiple sources.

If proof and age wants us to believe it's Beam, much better evidence needs to be provided.

[Josh]

A great many conclusions have been jumped to in this thread.

Although proof and age's profile says "American Whiskey Ambassador- Heaven Hill Distilleries," no name is listed. HH may very well have multiple brand ambassadors and I find it suspicious that this person posts a very specific job title without posting a real name.

Let's also be realistic about what a "brand ambassador" is and does. They are field marketing representatives and not necessarily privy to any inside information. In fact, for them to do their jobs well it is useful for them to be almost perfect mushrooms, i.e., kept in the dark and fed excrement. Their job is to sell the company line, not to tell secrets.

It certainly is suspicious and I find it more suspicious still that he has not replied to my "outing" of him. It also doesn't follow that someone who works for Heaven Hill would be privy to the details of Beam's or BT's business.

On the other hand, I'm sure brand ambassadors are what you say they are, but even a perfect mushroom would be more in touch with what was going on inside a whiskey company than most of us here.

As for Clear Spring, the Sec. of State assumed name records are pretty definitive and make it very safe to assume that Buffalo Trace produced this product for Costco, although that doesn't necessarily tell you who made the whiskey. For that purpose the assumed business name is irrelevant.

The "Clear Spring" name does have a long history with the Beams, as you can read for yourself on pages 128 and 129 of your Cecil.

But the name and the whiskey have nothing to do with each other, and BT could be reselling whiskey made by Beam that BT acquired in the Old Taylor deal or some other transaction, or it could be whiskey from just about anyplace else or even from multiple sources.

If proof and age wants us to believe it's Beam, much better evidence needs to be provided.

Maybe I'm just thick, but it's clear as mud to me. Proof and Age's identity aside, the state records on Clear Spring say one thing, while the locations on the bottle (Clermont & Frankfort) seems to point to something else. The scenario you and Scott are getting at, that this is Beam-made whiskey being sold by Sazerac is plausible, but there are problems with that scenario too. The current label for the OT 6 y/o (I have a bottle sitting in front of me right now) reads

Distilled and Bottled Under United States Government Supervision by Old Fashioned Copper Distillery, Franklin County, Frankfort, KY.

No mention of Clermont (or Boston) is made on the label at all even though it is clearly Beam whiskey, based on the details of the deal between Beam and Sazerac and the distictive Beam nose and taste. Why would Saz/BT put Clermont on the Kirkland bottle but not on the OT bottle? To distance themselves from the brand, maybe, but it still seems odd to me.