Of Pot Stills and Poltroons

[compliance]

I don't think the general public even knows or cares about pot stills, column stills, or whatever their whiskey was distilled with. They are uneducated (which is fine, not everyone has/wants to be a geek) and looking at price and packaging only in so far as it is visually appealing. My guess is the Willett bottle is more identifiable as a bong than a type of still to most people.

[squire]

I credit the average consumer with having more than a passing interest in the brands but also think price and appearance are the main decision forces. We might paint the placards and lead the march but they are the ones with the votes.

[cazolman]

My guess is the Willett bottle is more identifiable as a bong than a type of still to most people.

[Gillman]

I'm not talking breaches of law, Squire. I'm talking about standard business practices in America. Anyone in business has to judge how far he can go, and if he goes too far and someone does something about it, he will pay the price. But the whole panoply of brand advertising that puffs isn't against the law, it may violate standards personal to yourself, and fair enough, but I am not persuaded that the terms "fresh", say, which you see in the food business every day (what about "fresh frozen" for that matter?) violate a black letter law. "Mere puffery" is permitted under Canadian advertising law at any rate and I'd think a similar rule must exist elsewhere since our systems derive from similar basic principles. I am not drilling down here and talking specific cases, I am talking in general terms in response to your original question. What is important to me is not a still that may or may not exist at a specific location as long as one does exist there (or somewhere) that is functionally equivalent and delivers the promised standard of whiskey.

Gary

Edited December 1, 2013 by Gillman

[squire]

I'd say there's more than one functioning still involved and they're all located in Indiana.

[theglobalguy]

I credit the average consumer with having more than a passing interest in the brands but also think price and appearance are the main decision forces. We might paint the placards and lead the march but they are the ones with the votes.

[Fodowsky]

I credit the average consumer with having more than a passing interest in the brands but also think price and appearance are the main decision forces. We might paint the placards and lead the march but they are the ones with the votes.

[B.B. Babington]

... I have often been asked to make a recommendation within a price range or flavor profile. More often than not, the decision is made according to which bottle will look best on the counter. ...

[Restaurant man]

It's a 'pot' still bottle. So the bong shape is natural. Isn't it?

[PaulO]

I went into a store not long ago. They actually had some decent whiskies and fair prices. I started chatting with the clerk, and told him I liked bourbon. I had to suppress my laughter and be polite when he told me how good this stuff is. :slappin:

[squire]

Yes, it can be trying and sometimes one can't resist commenting. Playing the older chap who knows some stuff helps, if done with humor.

[TheNovaMan]

My question is do we really care what sort of still they claim to use, does the size and type matter to anyone here?

Yes. I'm sick of all the technically legal but intentionally misleading shenanigans pulled by ad men.