High West 16 yr and 21 yr?

[cowdery]

When someone says, "I'd like to tell you who made it but I can't because I'm bound by a non-disclosure agreement (NDA)," I tend to be skeptical but I can't say, "bullshit, no you aren't." I don't know. Maybe they are. It just seems unlikely. Why would the sellers even care?

I'm skeptical because take Templeton, for example. They hid behind an NDA at first, then when everybody figured it out they started to admit the source. Did Angostura suddenly lift the NDA? That doesn't seem very likely, does it?

I have also heard, not through official sources, that some of this whiskey was made by LDI but actually acquired from someone else who may have gotten it from someone else who got it from LDI. That allows the final bottler to say they "didn't get if from LDI," even though it was made by LDI. Anybody with the proper license can buy and sell this stuff.

More difficult, and admittedly purely subjective, is determining from the whole of their communication whether or not they're trying to give the impression they "made" the product. A little more objective is whether they were forthcoming out of the box or if they only told the truth when asked. Tipton, for example, hasn't really admitted they didn't make the Harrision bourbon. They said their distillery is in Lawrenceburg, which tells us where it was made, but unless Tipton is owned by Angostura (unlikely) it isn't their distillery, is it?

It's very hard to compare what happens here with what happens in Scotland because the businesses are so different, so for the most part those analogies are unpersuasive.

[ErichPryde]

One thing I've certainly learned from the American Whiskey business is that research is really important. It can be really interesting to try to figure out who made the whiskey in a bottle, or what the mashbill is, or if it's even the same stuff as another bottle from 10 years prior with the same name.

I'm still learning things about who makes what and where it came from. Probably always will be.

[nor02lei]

When someone says, "I'd like to tell you who made it but I can't because I'm bound by a non-disclosure agreement (NDA)," I tend to be skeptical but I can't say, "bullshit, no you aren't." I don't know. Maybe they are. It just seems unlikely. Why would the sellers even care?

I'm skeptical because take Templeton, for example. They hid behind an NDA at first, then when everybody figured it out they started to admit the source. Did Angostura suddenly lift the NDA? That doesn't seem very likely, does it?

I have also heard, not through official sources, that some of this whiskey was made by LDI but actually acquired from someone else who may have gotten it from someone else who got it from LDI. That allows the final bottler to say they "didn't get if from LDI," even though it was made by LDI. Anybody with the proper license can buy and sell this stuff.

More difficult, and admittedly purely subjective, is determining from the whole of their communication whether or not they're trying to give the impression they "made" the product. A little more objective is whether they were forthcoming out of the box or if they only told the truth when asked. Tipton, for example, hasn't really admitted they didn't make the Harrision bourbon. They said their distillery is in Lawrenceburg, which tells us where it was made, but unless Tipton is owned by Angostura (unlikely) it isn't their distillery, is it?

It's very hard to compare what happens here with what happens in Scotland because the businesses are so different, so for the most part those analogies are unpersuasive.

What reasons besides pretending that they have made the whiskey themselves does you believe different types of bottlers have to limit all types of accurate information on the labels Chuck? I must say it’s a big mystery to me, as I can’t see the benefit for them.

Leif

[sku]

While it goes against the main practice, there are some Scottish distilleries that don't like to have their brands listed on independent bottlings. Glenfarclas apparently has a policy against it, so you will see all manner of made up names to stand in for Glenfarclas.

In one famous example, Laphroaig refused to let one bottler use its name, so they called their Laphroaig bottling "Leapfrog."

[T Comp]

Their blended and bottled stuff is very tasty and well-done.

Except for that damn cork which broke apart on me after just a few openings and closings on a Rendezvous. Even the WT corks usually need a little age on them before they crumble. I hear I'm not the only one who has experienced this according to a Binny's friend. If they are bottling this at Park City, Utah, I wonder if the altitude there has any role in this?

[cowdery]

It's just a very different business here than it is in Scotland.

I thought the law in the UK was now pretty settled that independents can truthfully identify the producer of a bottling without trouble? Not true?

I suspect the biggest problem the producers would have, legally, is showing harm. Specialist bottlings certainly don't harm official bottlings and arguably add to the brand's prestige.

[ErichPryde]

Except for that damn cork which broke apart on me after just a few openings and closings on a Rendezvous. Even the WT corks usually need a little age on them before they crumble. I hear I'm not the only one who has experienced this according to a Binny's friend. If they are bottling this at Park City, Utah, I wonder if the altitude there has any role in this?

Mine hasn't broken yet. I hope it doesn't, I have nothing but bad luck with Turkey corks!

[bourbonNOOG]

[bourbonNOOG]

Went to the Nashville's Beer, Bourbon and BBQ festival over the weekend. Overall a great event. Some of the more notable pours were: EC 12 & 18, EW SB, WT RB, RR Rye 6 & RR 10, ER10, 1792, Blanton's SB, MM & MM 46, as well as all four of the High West products.

I was most excited about the High West products, since I had never tasted any of them but had always heard good things, with the exception of the negative banter about their business practices. I had the Rendezvous, 16yr. and Bourye. They brought the 21yr., but only one bottle. They said since it's so expensive they only bring one bottle, which I thought was a little tacky, but what you gonna do. Hated the Bourye, loved the 16yr. and Rendezvous. But for the price probably won't buy the two regularly.

All in all my brother and I really enjoyed ourselves, probably a little too much. Below is one of the many pictures I don't really recall taking, but the digital evidence remains, nonetheless. Enjoy.