So, you want to work in a rick house?

[Mako254]

Really enjoyed this article. BS puts out good stuff IMO. 

 

https://t.co/YkGT32VjkO

[Mule Skinner]

Damn, that was a great read!  Thanks for posting that.

[GreggJ]

That was a good read.  Thanks for sharing.

[sheabird]

Thanks for posting. Sounds like a workout!

[Bourserker]

Cool article, actually did not know how much goes into the barrel positioning, and the work involved to get it there.

[Mako254]

2 minutes ago, Bourserker said:

Cool article, actually did not know how much goes into the barrel positioning, and the work involved to get it there.

 

It is amazing how labor intensive and cost inefficient making bourbon is and yet all the distilleries are dumping money into expansion. 

[smokinjoe]

On 1/25/2018 at 7:19 PM, Mako254 said:

 

It is amazing how labor intensive and cost inefficient making bourbon is and yet all the distilleries are dumping money into expansion. 

I’m not sure how you come up with this.  You’re missing one obvious and huge piece that compels them to do the third thing, despite parts of their operation that may be one and two...

Edited January 28, 2018 by smokinjoe

[EarthQuake]

1 hour ago, smokinjoe said:

I’m not site how you come up with this.  You’re missing one obvious and huge piece that compels them to do the third thing, despite parts of their operation that may be one and two...

Yeah, exactly. I mean sure, putting the barrels on the racks is hard work (after reading the article I'm a little surprised that they don't have some sort of mechanical device to help - maybe there isn't enough room?), but once they're on the rack it's not like someone has to take them down and put them back every day. For the most part they're going to sit there for 5 or 10 years.

 

If we do the math, average barrel = 280 bottles, the article mentions 300 barrels a day, that's enough juice for (eventually) 84,000 bottles in a single day. Thats $1.7m at a cost of about $20 a bottle. Obviously there are expenses and overhead to produce the mash, manage the facilities, bottle the product, market it, and the time to age the juice costs money, but that's a lot of revenue to work with.

 

This is a good read for anyone interested in who has been investing in more facilities: https://www.breakingbourbon.com/2017-the-year-in-bourbon.html. For instance, BT is investing $200m and building 30 new warehouses, the first of which will hold 55,000 barrels, that's enough for about 15 million bottles, and that's just 1 of 30 warehouses if I'm reading this correctly. I'm sure that every major player who is investing in production is putting a degree of focus on increasing efficiency as well. As long as bourbon continues to be popular, these seem like reasonable investments.

Edited January 27, 2018 by EarthQuake

[Mako254]

21 hours ago, smokinjoe said:

I’m not sure how you come up with this.  You’re missing one obvious and huge piece that compels them to do the third thing, despite parts of their operation that may be one and two...

 

I guess my overall point was making quality bourbon takes time and a lot of capital and even with automation during the distillinh process there is still a great deal

of skilled labor that requires knowledge that can only be gained ‘on the job’. 

[smokinjoe]

3 hours ago, Mako254 said:

 

I guess my overall point was making quality bourbon takes time and a lot of capital and even with automation during the distillinh process there is still a great deal

of skilled labor that requires knowledge that can only be gained ‘on the job’. 

Yeah, that’s different.  It read that you were surprised and seemingly questioning why distilleries would invest in expansion seeing how labor intensive and inefficient from a cost side producing bourbon is.  Even assuming that your presuppositions on cost and labor are correct (debatable, though), the answer is clear.  The net return on their investments is very positive, ie, they’re selling everything they have, future demand looks sustainably high, and they’re making good money on it.  

Edited January 28, 2018 by smokinjoe

[Mako254]

21 minutes ago, smokinjoe said:

Yeah, that’s different.  It read that you were surprised and seemingly questioning why distilleries would invest in expansion seeing how labor intensive and inefficient from a cost side producing bourbon is.  Even assuming that your presuppositions on cost and labor are correct (debatable, though), the answer is clear.  The net return on their investments is very positive, ie, they’re selling everything they have, future demand looks sustainably high, and their they’re making good money on it.  

 

Yes. I wasn’t particularly clear. I think it is a testament to the quality of bourbon. Despite being expensive and cost inefficient (charred new oak barrels, aging, paying taxes, product evaporating) folks are running those big ol column stills round the clock and Buzik has plenty of work. 

[kevinbrink]

23 hours ago, Mako254 said:

 

Yes. I wasn’t particularly clear. I think it is a testament to the quality of bourbon. Despite being expensive and cost inefficient (charred new oak barrels, aging, paying taxes, product evaporating) folks are running those big ol column stills round the clock and Buzik has plenty of work. 

Some of the Barrel Costs are subsidized by other industries, particularly because of the growing demand for barrels. In some cases Scottish distilleries are buying new charred casks and sending them to specific American distilleries to keep their flavor profiles consistent and in turn the American distillery is actually leasing barrels.  

[Mako254]

44 minutes ago, kevinbrink said:

Some of the Barrel Costs are subsidized by other industries, particularly because of the growing demand for barrels. In some cases Scottish distilleries are buying new charred casks and sending them to specific American distilleries to keep their flavor profiles consistent and in turn the American distillery is actually leasing barrels.  

 Was not aware of that. If i ever venture into scotch, I’ll have to figure out where the wild turkey barrels end up. 

[kevinbrink]

3 minutes ago, Mako254 said:

 Was not aware of that. If i ever venture into scotch, I’ll have to figure out where the wild turkey barrels end up. 

Many go to Ireland for Jameson actually.

[Littlericky]

Very interesting article, always wondered and now I know. Thanks for sharing