Handcrafted bourbon?

[Flyfish]

Raise your hand if you have ever enjoyed a "hand crafted" bourbon. Raise your other hand if you know what that means.

[squire]

It usually means they haven't got enough money to buy the proper equipment.

[risenc]

It means hands were used at some point in the process -- for example, to write a check or, if you're looking at true authenticity, to paste on a label.

[hn4bourbon]

When I hear hand crafted, it reminds me of a craft center selling handicraft:)

[SmoothAmbler]

How about Small Batch?

[squire]

I'm reminded of the staff at Heaven Hill pitching yeast by hand into those 50,000 gallon mash tanks.

[squire]

How about Small Batch?

[wildrnesxperienc]

It means you probably shouldn't buy it.

[Flyfish]

It means you probably shouldn't buy it.

Oh, I don't know. There are some decent "small batch" bourbons--regardless of the indefinite quality of the term. 4R comes to mind. But the thread is drifting. Is there really any such thing as "hand crafted" when we come to industrial strength distilling? Can the master distiller be said to be hand crafting when he decides where to make the cuts? When he decides which barrels go into the batch, regardless of its size? The origin of the question was mere idle, alcohol induced curiosity but there may be an actual semi-serious answer.

[wildrnesxperienc]

I mean "hand crafted". There are some great "small batch" bourbons. For example, all the BTAC could be called small batch really.

[proof and age]

I'm reminded of the staff at Heaven Hill pitching yeast by hand into those 50,000 gallon mash tanks.

WHAT that yeast strain is and how long and accurately controlled (temperature) the set is means the world, the size if the fermenter is near irrelevant.

[squire]

p&a my point was the yeast is pitched by hand.

[squire]

There are some great "small batch" bourbons.

Yes there are and they would still be great if they didn't have 'small batch' on the label. Like 'charcoal filtered' on some Kentucky Bourbon labels 'small batch' is an implied meaning rather than a specific process or guarantee of quality.

[wildrnesxperienc]

Absolutely. Each distiller makes up their own definition of what constitutes a "small batch" anyway. It really only tells you that it's not "single barrel".

[The Black Tot]

I have a real resentment of using the term "hand" in advertising.

We have "hand dipped" ice cream, etc. I recently was on the Fender guitars website about their Masterbuilt custom guitar line, which apparently uses "hand selected" woods.

I'm not sure what alternate existence we were supposed to remember when machines scooped our ice cream and a robot selected woods for guitar building, etc.

Even if I like a bourbon, it always loses marks with me for stooping to using the "hand anything" in its advertising. It's an insult to the intelligence of the customer.

tbt

[squire]

Maybe they think we're hicks who don't know enough to be insulted.

[wildrnesxperienc]

I repeat- it probably means you shouldn't buy it. It's a marketing term to make you think it's supposed to be good before you even try it. Let the whiskey speak for itself, rather than try and sell me on how great it is beforehand. Seems like the whiskey can't stand on its own, seems like overcompensation. Course I do recognize that there may be some great whiskeys out there that say "handcrafted" on the label.

[squire]

Trying to remember here, I believe Barton at one time had a small label below the neck printed with the words 'Hand Crafted". As far back as print ads go there have been attempts to portray brands with a small, craft, old fashioned copper distilled, handmade angle even from large producers. This is part of what gave rise to a proliferation of labels using names of people who never had any connection with the distillery involved.

[TunnelTiger]

Absolutely. Each distiller makes up their own definition of what constitutes a "small batch" anyway. It really only tells you that it's not "single barrel".

True, could be two barrels or a hundred.

[wildrnesxperienc]

Trying to remember here, I believe Barton at one time had a small label below the neck printed with the words 'Hand Crafted". As far back as print ads go there have been attempts to portray brands with a small, craft, old fashioned copper distilled, handmade angle even from large producers. This is part of what gave rise to a proliferation of labels using names of people who never had any connection with the distillery involved.

Woodford comes to mind nowadays. Sure they aren't as big as some others, but they do a whole lot to sell their whiskey as pot still whiskey, casually omitting that there is also a lot of column still whiskey from their larger, less picturesque distillery blended in. And it's "small batch" too!

[dcbt]

Probably because of beer, I usually think of words like "handcrafted" to be synonymous with "micro" (micro-brewery, micro-distillery). Of course, that begs the question, what is "micro?"... It probably has an exact production quantity tied to its definition but I'm sure liberties are taken with that as well... Hell, the liquor industry can't even be consistent with how many bottles are considered a case...

Edited April 28, 2014 by dcbt

[squire]

Some States (Washington for instance) have defined micros by placing a cap on production. Less than 60,000 gallons a year your are a craft/micro, more than that you're not.

[Harry in WashDC]

The American Crafts Distillers Association (www.americancraftdistillers.org) and the American Distilling Institute (www.distilling.com) both represent their craft distiller members. Both define a craft distiller as one producing no more than 100,000 proof gallons per year. I could find no federal regulation and no TTB ruling or circular prescriptively defining a "craft" distiller or producer. There is a 1979 Industry Circular issued by the former BATF (IC 1979-8) discussing the use of "barrel proof" and related terms which is interesting but off point.

The federal regulations for beer taxes apply a reduced tax rate to the first 60,000 barrels (@ 31 gallons/bbl) if the brewer makes no more than 2 million bbls (@ 31 gal/bbl) per year. (See 27 CFR 25.152.) I guess one could argue that this is a "micro" or "craft" level.

I found nothing on "hand crafted".

How much, and what kind of, handwork must be involved in making a product for it to be "hand crafted"? Can one use power tools, or are only hand tools allowable? If both, what proportion is ok?

While some small distillers/producers may use "hand crafted" to accurately describe the subjective care and attention given to the product, others may use the phrase only to evoke the image of TLC while sticking hands in the process (yeast-throwing, bottle-labeling, label-signing, etc., and combos thereof) only enough to avoid charges by TTB, FTC, and State consumer protection offices that use of the phrase is "false and misleading" or "unfair and deceptive" and the civil-money-penalties associated with such charges.

How to tell whether use of the phrase is in good faith? Know the seller.

[The Black Tot]

I'm pretty sure there is no good faith use for "hand crafted" in the production of an alcohol

Maybe the designer bottle it comes in...

tbt

[Flyfish]

Absolutely. Each distiller makes up their own definition of what constitutes a "small batch" anyway. It really only tells you that it's not "single barrel".

Sometimes it doesn't even mean that. WT RR Small Batch Single Barrel is both SmB and SB.