Booker's MSRP and allocation?

[Thig]

The fact is these companies are all in it to make a profit and they don't OWE us anything. To think they owe us something is just socialist thinking. We are free enterprise, if you don't like the price move on. They are not required to sell to you at a certain price and you are not required to buy it.

[Saul_cooperstein]

Just a point of reference that no more bookers in my local Costco. Was in stock for last few months in big quantity but no more. 

[BottledInBond]

12 minutes ago, Saul_cooperstein said:

Just a point of reference that no more bookers in my local Costco. Was in stock for last few months in big quantity but no more. 

I saw one of my regular stores was cleared out recently, and had been well stocked for as long as I can remember. Beam already upped the price to $70 at their place in Downtown Louisville too

[grantsi]

Just a point of reference that no more bookers in my local Costco. Was in stock for last few months in big quantity but no more. 

Same here in chicago


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[Limegoldconvertible68]

Beam has the right to price Bookers at $100. Beam has the the right to discontinue OGD 114 and Beam has the right to drop the age statement on KC. Thankfully I have the right to discontinue buying every single product Beam/Suntory makes. I was probably one of the few people to view Beam as his favorite distillery. That has now officially change and I now despise them.  

 

For the record I bought slightly more than two dozen bottles of Beam products this year.  Two of which were Bookers.  From here on out I plan to buy none. 

[mosugoji64]

There were 4 bottles of Bookers left at our local Costco (at $49.99) and Mrs. Mosugoji, ever the enabler, said, "Just get them all since the price is going up." Who am I to second guess her wisdom?  I will likely gift 1 or 2 of them leaving me with 3 or 4 total bunkered, which is a good supply for me and likely the last of it I will buy. I like Bookers and have had it on hand for some time. At $50-55 it has been a worthwhile pour for me but I tend to go through them pretty slowly so 3-4 bottles will keep me stocked for a few years. While I'm not happy with the decision to boost the price, I don't begrudge Beam for doing so. I'm simply not a buyer at $100. As others have said it's theirs to do with as they wish and I'll move on. That said, I think the better move would have been for them to leave Bookers alone and introduce a new allocated or LE whiskey at that price point. My feeling is that straining an existing customer base in such a short period of time is pretty risky but I'm sure they've considered that and see the risk as acceptable. Since Bookers is not one of my regular pours, I'm content with sitting back and seeing how this plays out. However, if it's successful, I'm a bit concerned about how the other distillers will react with their pricing strategies for existing brands.

Edited December 12, 2016 by mosugoji64

[miller542]

Wow, just found out about this price increase and read most of the comments here.

 

Yes, Beam can re-position Booker's, can chase the $ of the trendy new buyers entering the market, and can match the pricing of a lot of the NDP products on the market today.  Good for them.  Hope that works out.  Maybe fewer batches of Booker's will help the quality of other small batch items?   Maybe Beam will "find" some magical barrels a year or so from now and come up with another line extension (after everyone forgets about this event and doesn't realize its actually just re-allocated Booker's)

 

No doubt about it, such a huge increase all at once is a slap in the face for the regulars and those that have supported the brand over the years.  Combined with how Beam Black, Knob Creek, Basil Hayden, and OGD have been handled, nothing Beam has done in recent years has earned them any good will with anyone at this point.  Seems like Suntory is trying to squeeze every bit of revenue out of this boom.  And seems like they just took a big fat stick to the current bourbon bubble.  As much as I love my Beam products, I've been buying less and less Beam and Booker's at $100 is just one more I won't be buying.  Not because I'm protesting anything, but simply because I don't buy anything over $80.

[IowaJeff]

I'm all for the free market and Beam has every right to raise prices in response to the bourbon boom.  I can also see why it is an affront to loyal Bookers customers.  With such a drastic price increase current Bookers 'regulars' are unlikely to continue buying.  Beam is relying on new entrants into the bourbon customer base to support that price point.  If you are a regular Bookers customer you have every right to be angry that Beam went in that direction.  You can fully understand free markets, recognize Beam's right and incentive to raise prices, and still be unhappy about their decision. 

 

New customers may pay more in the short term, but may also be more fickle.  It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. 

 

I really hope this is just a repositioning of Beam's line and not an indication of increases across the price spectrum.

[Harry in WashDC]

On 12/9/2016 at 8:38 PM, Charlutz said:

 

Yes, it's 6 years old but it's also 128 proof. To me, it was a value pour at $50. Not many 6 year 125+ proofers available at $50. Stagg Jr. is all that comes to mind. Maybe 1792FP though I don't know its age. ECBP and KCSB get you better value and one of those is highly sought after and the other is also Beam. Booker's has a very defined niche and it will be missed at the current price point. 

Chas - the stores in WashDC I've mentioned to you before are still selling it @ current MSRP (around $50)- even the new "white" boxed Booker's.  At least when I was in them Friday, and I left quite a few on the shelves.

[Charlutz]

13 minutes ago, Harry in WashDC said:

Chas - the stores in WashDC I've mentioned to you before are still selling it @ current MSRP (around $50)- even the new "white" boxed Booker's.  At least when I was in them Friday, and I left quite a few on the shelves.

 

Thanks Harry! MoCo website says their stores are loaded too, but one store was supposed to have 21 on Saturday according to the website but had 4.  I'm not going to go crazy but I'll add to the 4 I bunkered every so often while the price holds. If it's just four I'll be good for a while. 

[Harry in WashDC]

22 minutes ago, Charlutz said:

 

Thanks Harry! MoCo website says their stores are loaded too, but one store was supposed to have 21 on Saturday according to the website but had 4.  I'm not going to go crazy but I'll add to the 4 I bunkered every so often while the price holds. If it's just four I'll be good for a while. 

Agreed.  I have sufficient, at the rate I drink it, to last quite awhile (found three I didn't know I had on an upper shelf when I was putting the last two I bought away).  I'm done.  All you other SBer's - have at it.  I am leaving the rest for you.

[Tony Santana]

I'm a Booker's fan, but it's not my go-to.  One open and a couple in reserve, I'll probably pick up another at current prices for the bunker, and with all my other options I won't even have to think about spending $100 on one for many years - if ever.

 

The biggest impact on me personally is when I drink in a bar.  Booker's is often available in bars that have decent but not spectacular selections, and it's a great value pour in that situation.  Jack the price to an unreasonable $100 a bottle, and the bar pour increases exponentially.  That's too bad.

[Ravensfire]

The biggest impact on me personally is when I drink in a bar.  Booker's is often available in bars that have decent but not spectacular selections, and it's a great value pour in that situation.  Jack the price to an unreasonable $100 a bottle, and the bar pour increases exponentially.  That's too bad.

Hadn't thought that through and couldn't agree more. It's usually one my wife and I both enjoy but in part it's because of a good price. Double the price and unless the age goes up a couple of years it's just not the same. Bottles were 50-60 here before this and I was okay getting a replacement for an empty bottle and it was always one I'd recommend. At the new price though, once the bunker runs out I'll be on KCSB. Kinda sad about it.


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[Ravensfire]

So a thought. With only 4 releases and I doubt they will be bigger, that's a decent number of barrels sitting around. I wonder if more Knob Creek special editions will be coming out.

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[Harry in WashDC]

28 minutes ago, Tony Santana said:

. . . The biggest impact on me personally is when I drink in a bar.  Booker's is often available in bars that have decent but not spectacular selections, and it's a great value pour in that situation.  Jack the price to an unreasonable $100 a bottle, and the bar pour increases exponentially.  That's too bad.

This is true.  For those bars that buy, primarily, the Beam line and JD and popular NDPs (like Bulliet), I had a go-to.  Now, it's Baker's or KC in those places, and I like KC better.  I have lots of KC at home, though, so it's not "special" when I'm out.  Does this mean I go back to cocktails?  Could be.

[Golzee]

I don't blame Beam for doing this.  When NDP's and new craft distilleries are charging more for their products than you are selling your premium bourbon for, it's a problem business wise.  I won't be buying Bookers at $100, but, I am sure people will buy it when it becomes less available.  I see this going one of two ways, it will either pop the bubble in bourbon or usher in the new era.  If the price hike is largely unnoticed, then the rest of the crowd will follow, $50 would be the new middle shelf.

[fishnbowljoe]

Just for the heck of it, I sent Beam an email asking what was up with the doubling of the price of Booker's. Below is the reply I received. Standard company line, and what we've heard and read hear and other places.

 

Hi Joe,

Thanks for reaching out to us with your question. As you know, Booker’s is a really special bourbon, and Booker Noe had high standards when it came to making it. This robust, full-bodied whiskey is culled only from barrels in the center floors of his favorite rackhouses, where the aging environment and resulting liquid profile were just right. As demand for Booker’s prized creation has continued to boom, our supply of these special barrels has diminished. As a result, there will be fewer batches of Booker’s Bourbon released in the coming years. We adjusted the pricing to reflect the premium nature of Booker’s and to offset the fact that our fans’ demand for the product, which we are so lucky to have, has limited its supply.

We understand that this new price can be difficult for our loyal fans to adjust to. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time of change, and hope to have you as a fan for many years to come.

Megan
Small Batch® Customer Care Representative

[Limegoldconvertible68]

For some odd reason I seem to be lacking the "patience and understanding" she refers to. 

[Ravensfire]

For some odd reason I seem to be lacking the "patience and understanding" she refers to. 

So is my wallet. I hope they'll be patient and understanding when I'll not be getting another bottle of Bookers with a price north of 50ish.

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[dSculptor]

More costly..... less of a product,(which will be the next step for Bookers as well) the way of the future my friends. Ok so here's what we do, everybody here stops buying  bourbon for a month or two, and we all live off of our bunkers. Think that would have any effect on them?

 

 

[FacePlant]

I know this is a repeat statement (pg 4 of this thread) but it is a brilliant move on Beam Suntory part. They took a really good quality product that NEVER in it's history was a must have bourbon, one that was collecting dust on shelves across American, has never seen the balance between supply and demand disrupted, and created this ploy to empty the shelves of every bottle in every LS in a month! And from the posts I'm reading this false "low supply ploy" is succeeding. I think we all know if they don't sell it at $100 then prices will come down until they find the sweet spot where they can move this great whiskey. BUT for December 2016 it's created a near Pappy frenzy. By corporate standards---Brilliant!

[lcpfratn]

The only boom they've had in the demand for Booker's in these parts is the one they just created with the recent price increase announcement. Otherwise, there is not a single store in my area that carries it that hasn't had to sit on it for fairly long periods to sell it. Most stores are still sitting on 2015 or early 2016 named batches on their shelves. I even found a store with 2013 batches on the shelf yesterday that I hadn't paid attention to because I wasn't looking for it in the past when I was in that shop. And I really wasn't looking for it yesterday either in that store. I was looking for OGD114, which I found one of, but decided to grab a couple of the older Booker's too while I was there, just so I have enough that I will never be bothered about Beam's price increase since it will never affect me.


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[jvd99]

I can't stand "corporate speak."  That BS from Beam Joe posted just reinforces my dim view of this situation.  They clearly don't give a crap about their loyal customers, because, in reality, they're giving their loyal customers the middle finger.  Apparently all they care about is cashing in.  Beam must have confidence in a new breed of customers, who are plentiful, and are the types who probably don't know much about bourbon, but see a $100 price tag and pull the trigger without hesitation because if it's expensive, it must be good, worth it, prestigious, or something to impress whomever said person may drink with.   The loyal customers, who've been drinking the product for some time, will surely now hesitate when faced with a $100 price tag, and say "screw that," it's not worth it, I don't need to impress anyone, and proceed to find a nice BIB at a reasonable price.  Hey, it's their business and they can do what they want, but I kinda hope Bookers just turns into an expensive shelf turd so Beam can eat it down the line.  They can sit right next to the KC2001 that are still languishing all over the place.

[lcpfratn]

I know this is a repeat statement (pg 4 of this thread) but it is a brilliant move on Beam Suntory part. They took a really good quality product that NEVER in it's history was a must have bourbon, one that was collecting dust on shelves across American, has never seen the balance between supply and demand disrupted, and created this ploy to empty the shelves of every bottle in every LS in a month! And from the posts I'm reading this false "low supply ploy" is succeeding. I think we all know if they don't sell it at $100 then prices will come down until they find the sweet spot where they can move this great whiskey. BUT for December 2016 it's created a near Pappy frenzy. By corporate standards---Brilliant!

I think you hit the nail on the head. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they announce sooner than later that they've heard the message from their loyal customers and have decided to only increase the price by a much smaller amount along with the fewer releases. In the mean time, they cleared the shelves of inventory on store shelves so they can now sell more at wholesale to reduce their own current stocks. Typical corporate gamesmanship to work the numbers for the next reporting quarter or year end, while generating some cash now to help service their debt load.


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[smokinjoe]

If folks settle to find a nice BIB to go to, Beam's got that covered.  And, a new reasonably priced Double Oak, to boot.  The last couple of years have seen them take care of the buyers of their low tier portfolio.