K&L Fear Tactics?

[savagehenry]

3) Weller 12 shortage? Don’t take this to the bank, but with everyone learning that Weller 12 is the same wheated juice that goes into the Pappy Lot B, there may be another shortage on this soon. I had heard rumblings of this last week, then I checked with NorCal distribution and they said they had nothing with no ETA. That got me a little nervous. That’s very odd. We decided to clean out SoCal and buy another 200 bottles, so we’re stocked for now. However, there may be trouble on the horizon. Or not. Just sayin’

Should I buy a case or pallet?

The Red Coats are coming! (that was true though)

[MyOldKyDram]

Wouldnt surprise me. Been stocking up on that for quite awhile now. Doomsday preppin'.

[savagehenry]

Wouldnt surprise me. Been stocking up on that for quite awhile now. Doomsday preppin'.

Yeah, not the first time I've seen that rumor. May need to commandeer a case.

That sure would be a bummer though.

[Phil T]

You decided to buy 200 bottles, but are only stocked for now?

Cut out the middle man. Just call BT and tell them you'll take all they can produce

[savagehenry]

You decided to buy 200 bottles, but are only stocked for now?

Cut out the middle man. Just call BT and tell them you'll take all they can produce

Good strategery - I'll take warehouse 3, all barrels.

[CaptainQ]

You decided to buy 200 bottles, but are only stocked for now?

Cut out the middle man. Just call BT and tell them you'll take all they can produce

Too bad you can't get Weller 12 in the BT barrel program anymore.

[Rockefeller]

If someone offers you $50 for your bottle of Weller 12, DO NOT take it. It will be worth $100 in a month!

[Rockefeller]

People, I think things have gotten out of hand. You have to look in the mirror and decide if you want to a part of this irrational behavior anymore. I'm pretty close to just switching over and drinking Gin.

[LostBottle]

I take what I hear from K&L with a grain of salt. A few months back they were saying it is/will be impossible to get BMH SmB, which is just not the case at other places (I just loved this bit: "Make sure you load up when it's here because it never lasts long. Doesn't that just make you want it more?".

Whether it be news of Weller 12, BMH, Jefferson's Ocean, "placeholder prices" on the BTEC, or talk of a possible VW/BTAC auction, remember that K&L are in the business of selling whiskey for profit. As such, they probably find it in their best interest, and profitability, to add fuel to the fire that has overtaken the bourbon market.

[BFerguson]

People, I think things have gotten out of hand. You have to look in the mirror and decide if you want to a part of this irrational behavior anymore. I'm pretty close to just switching over and drinking Gin.

Soon, you will be talking about the latest yearly limited release bottles, special editions that use rare botanicals that only grow on the western mountain side between the 3700-4500 feet that are hand picked by children lowered down, because an adults weight would damage the plants, barrels aged gins from used Pappy barrels-The ultimate gift for any aficionado!

B

[jeffrey r]

You decided to buy 200 bottles, but are only stocked for now?

Cut out the middle man. Just call BT and tell them you'll take all they can produce

I think he was quoting K&L as buying 200 bottles, not speaking for himself, no? Nothing like a little fear to boost sales.

[jburlowski]

Weller 12 does have periodic shortages... this has been happening for several years now. (This may not be happening / apparent in markets that don't sell a lot of Weller 12.) The basic reason is lack of aged wheated bourbon stocks at BT. (This is the same reason they dropped the age statement on OWA.) Weller 12 now gets released roughly twice a year --- as distillations reached the twelve year mark. I'm sure BT has ramped up production and the shelf stocks will eventually level out.

I don't think Lot B has anything material to do with this. Compared to the Weller expressions, its sales are the proverbial drop in the bucket.

[savagehenry]

I think he was quoting K&L as buying 200 bottles, not speaking for himself, no? Nothing like a little fear to boost sales.

Correct. I just pasted that from the email. If I had 200 bottles I'd be set for 20 years.

[macdeffe]

Internet hysteria

If you can create the image that a bottling is rare then "everybody" will stock up and it becomes rare (in the shops that is). It's a self fullfilling prophecy

The recent price hike (especially for scotch) is caused by us consumers stocking up beyond any kind of sense. I am also guilty. The day we decide that the prices are high enough and that we just gonna drink our stock (we got enough in the cupboards for two lifetimes anyway) then the whiskycrash will be over us

Steffen

(Glad I got a few 12yo in stock :-) )

PS Don't confuse the 12yo Weller with Lot B quality. It's not even near. And I regard the 12yo Weller high

[frayed99]

The Van Winkle hysteria is already out of hand, but now a possible run on a mediocre bourbon due to its loose connection to the **5th tier** Van Winkle (if you include VWFRR)? Really? I mean, c'mon, how many years would it take most of us to run through our respective bunkers before we'd say, "Man, if only I'd bunkered more Weller 12?" How many chances would you likely have to bunker some in the meantime? This just makes zero sense.

[MyOldKyDram]

Makes plenty of sense considering it's a near daily pour for lots of people around here, I'd say. Makes even more sense when said pour is $30+ cheaper than that 5th tier VW offering.

It's good. It's cheap. It's occasionally difficult to find. I am unapologetic in grabbing it when I see it.

[frayed99]

I never said don't buy it if you see it, but, no, it doesn't make any sense to stock up far beyond what will keep a steady supply on hand per historical levels. Going beyond that based on nothing more than self-serving rumors (that likewise make little sense) is what creates artificial scarcity and drives reasonably priced bourbons into unreasonable price ranges. IMHO, it sounds more like some distributors/sellers are feeding off of the insane rush on certain brands to make some quick sales on other labels.

[David D]

I take what I hear from K&L with a grain of salt. A few months back they were saying it is/will be impossible to get BMH SmB, which is just not the case at other places (I just loved this bit: "Make sure you load up when it's here because it never lasts long. Doesn't that just make you want it more?".

Whether it be news of Weller 12, BMH, Jefferson's Ocean, "placeholder prices" on the BTEC, or talk of a possible VW/BTAC auction, remember that K&L are in the business of selling whiskey for profit. As such, they probably find it in their best interest, and profitability, to add fuel to the fire that has overtaken the bourbon market.

I don't think we've ever spoken for anyone but ourselves. I haven't had any BMH since early October, so am I lying?

I should also add that this was a private email sent to K&L customers only. The "fear tactics" started when someone posted it to this message board. You didn't see K&L posting this on our site, trying to start a riot. We were merely saying that "we" would be running out shortly. That's a pretty different message than what this post is making it out to be.

Edited December 3, 2012 by David D

[GOCOUGS2002]

I received the email and thought that BT had a marketing agreement with the new Red Dawn movie...you know communists hate Weller 12, and to my surprise Coors Light. I guess the term bunker is correct in this instance.

[LostBottle]

I don't think we've ever spoken for anyone but ourselves. I haven't had any BMH since early October, so am I lying?

If you want to pick up 40 bottles, let me know and I can point you towards your local SFO competitor that seems to have them on the shelf...even after the puff piece.

Edited December 3, 2012 by LostBottle

[David D]

If you want to pick up 40 bottles, let me know and I can point you towards your local SFO competitor that seems to have them on the shelf...even after the puff piece.

Who's talking about the Bay Area? You're picking off K&L emails that are speaking about our stores specifically and acting like we're speaking for other stores too. I'm not quite sure what your point is. At K&L, BMH does go fast. I have no idea what goes on in any other store, nor do I claim to know. Only person puffing here is you, it seems

Edited December 3, 2012 by David D

[David D]

I think everyone reading this thread deserves a bit of context here:

-This message was pasted from a K&L consumer email sent out to insider customers, not posted on a blog or website or spread to the masses. It speaks for K&L only and makes no mention of what will be facing customers who shop elsewhere.

-We sell about 12-14 bottles of Weller 12 a day (without the holiday rush).

-As of right now there are zero bottles of Weller 12 left in CA distribution with no ETA. I know this because I bought everything that was left on Friday.

-We now have 200 bottles, which will last us about 14-17 days if people don't start buying more to stock up (which they have). Many of our customers do not shop elsewhere. They like to be able to walk into the store and get their favorite bottle when they want to.

-Once these bottles sell out I will not be able to get any more until distribution gets more and, like I said, they have no ETA. Normally they'll have a memo in their system that says "12/15" or some other date when the next shipment is due. Like I said in the message, maybe it shows up next week, or maybe next month. Who knows?

-This is a courtesy to K&L customers who shop here. At no point does this say that people can't get Weller 12 elsewhere. It's merely to say "If you're in the habit of buying Weller 12 at K&L, then you might want to buy a few next time you're here." At no point does it say buy a case, or two cases, or three cases.

-If we never sold a bottle of Weller 12 again we wouldn't even notice the profit margin difference. There's not really a ton of cash in the $25 Bourbon market. While it might be nice to rake in the moolah from big sales, it's not going to happen with 200 bottles of Weller 12. Believe me.

I think this getting blown a bit out of proportion.

[Vosgar]

I think this getting blown a bit out of proportion.

Edited December 3, 2012 by Vosgar

[Tucker]

I think this getting blown a bit out of proportion.

[Rockefeller]

This board wouldn't be any fun if things didn't get blown out of proportion every once in a while. :grin: