FacePlant Posted October 6, 2021 Share Posted October 6, 2021 NY Times Breaks News Appreciate BT choosing to protect brand and profile vs. just bottling what their tasters consider sub-par whiskey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlutz Posted October 6, 2021 Share Posted October 6, 2021 Just saw that article in the NYT and came here expecting to see something since I hadn’t been on the site in a while. That is serious clandestine effort to keep that news from this group! Hope y’all are good. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kepler Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 What the hell is going on in Frankfort? Someone should be demoted for allowing this to happen. Who is looking after their barrels anyway. Not impressed with how BT manages their stocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gurgalunas Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 NY Times article reports that the bourbon laid down in 2006 for this years GTS was a bust. Didn't meet the quality standards, so the 2021 BTAC will be without it's best (imo) bottle. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/06/dining/drinks/buffalo-trace-george-t-stagg-shortage.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemonman Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 I wonder who they will sell it to, and how much that NDP will then sell it for... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mal00768 Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 7 hours ago, lemonman said: I wonder who they will sell it to, and how much that NDP will then sell it for... “This is the bourbon that could have been Stagg.” 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LCWoody Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 BT is not going to sell the barrels, they have a great marketing team. We will see these barrels in about 3 to 4 years as the Stagg's 2021 lost batch, or something like that... And they will retail for $999.00 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markandrex Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/06/dining/drinks/buffalo-trace-george-t-stagg-shortage.html According to several store managers the whole line will be sparse this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mal00768 Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 For most of us the whole line is sparse every year. 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geclbxf Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 was always the largest quantity release - will just create crazy prices for the other 4 in the BTAC collection - sigh 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulO Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 On 10/6/2021 at 9:21 AM, FacePlant said: NY Times Breaks News Appreciate BT choosing to protect brand and profile vs. just bottling what their tasters consider sub-par whiskey. It never stopped them with Stagg Jr. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Black Tot Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 At least this happened in a year when no one was interested in American Whiskey. (Geez guys, sorry for the absence again, but I gotta come back to THIS!?!? ) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnbowljoe Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 The news about the 2021 GTS and the rest of the 2021 BTAC is openly available on the BT website. So are a couple of other noteworthy items. FWIW, I did not see the number of bottles for this years releases. Another well known website kinda took a shot at BT by posting that BTAC bottle counts weren’t available because BT omitted certain data points. Biba! Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnbowljoe Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 14 minutes ago, The Black Tot said: At least this happened in a year when no one was interested in American Whiskey. (Geez guys, sorry for the absence again, but I gotta come back to THIS!?!? ) Welcome back Paul. Having fun yet? Biba! Joe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Black Tot Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 Just now, fishnbowljoe said: Welcome back Paul. Having fun yet? Biba! Joe Thanks Joe. Another year of hot garbage in the seismic industry, so I've been sidelined a lot and I've been WAY off on the sidelines, steering well clear of the bubble. Finally back on a ship and hopefully at the start of a better run for 2022. Congratulations on your retirement! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzhead Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 Me? I could care less about BTAC. I'll never see it, and for that I blame the distillery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kepler Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 2 hours ago, fishnbowljoe said: The news about the 2021 GTS and the rest of the 2021 BTAC is openly available on the BT website. So are a couple of other noteworthy items. FWIW, I did not see the number of bottles for this years releases. Another well known website kinda took a shot at BT by posting that BTAC bottle counts weren’t available because BT omitted certain data points. Biba! Joe They haven't published bottle counts for a couple of years if I'm not mistaken. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kepler Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 (edited) Personally I'm bummed about the GTS news. It's not my favorite fall LE (that would usually be WLW) but GTS is the one BTAC bottle I am able to get from my local store reliably every single year. Now who knows. This news is going to cause some problems for retail liquor stores that rely on GTS (the highest volume bottle count within BTAC) to reward their regular customers like me with a special bottle every holiday season. I feel sorry for the store owners and clerks. Buffalo Trace company kinda sucks if you think about it. On the one hand they are capable of delivering a really outstanding product, perhaps best in class in their industry. On the other hand, their operations are obviously sub-par because they fail to deliver said product consistently (see the Weller product line but there are many examples). Perhaps this is done intentionally (my personal opinion) or perhaps not. I wouldn't know. Either way it really turns me off as a consumer. Edited October 8, 2021 by Kepler 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRich Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 (edited) I haven't gotten one in years so to me this kind of like saying "the production volume of luxury yachts will be way down this year" or "this year's Macallan 60 years just in price another $2,000 from $50,000 to $52,000." Good on you to the fellas that still have access to these but I just chuckle at these announcements now. Edited October 8, 2021 by BigRich 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FacePlant Posted October 8, 2021 Author Share Posted October 8, 2021 My local is a large volume W TN retailer and usually gets a good allocation of GTS. They play the game and buy the crap sellers to bump their #s, usually selling these slow movers in bundles with other desirable BT brands. Like other retailers they've adopted a monthly club to allow regulars to build cred and maybe get a BTAC in Dec? With the GTS news now the store will not be able to deliver the "club promise" to it's most regular buyers, patrons who have religiously bought club picks each month (half of the monthly pics real crap). The retailer never has enough to treat everyone fairly and now this year they will certainly make many additional enemies. I've always told them it's like handing out $100 bills and everyone stays pissed. The ones that didn't get more $, the ones across the street that couldn't get there before they ran out, and those that heard about the $100 bill give away and weren't around to participate. They all walk away really pissed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shizzy Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 BT Sales Rep: "How come George T. Stagg only goes for half of what ER17 and a third of what WLW go for?" BT Director of Marketing: "Hold my beer." (picking up phone) "Is this Rick in quality control? Yeah, we're gonna need you to shut the whole thing down this year for GTS and declare it unfit for bottling. What's that? No, we're creating some equality among our BTAC collection. Trust me, there's a raise and promotion in this for you. Just follow my lead. 2019 GTS will start selling on the secondary. Yeah, it will sell. And it will go for much much more than it's worth." 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evasive Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 I’m just annoyed that Fred is telling people to buy Rare Breed instead. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishnbowljoe Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 I firmly believe that distributors are the cause of most, if not all of the problems with the allocations of LE’s. I’m pretty sure that distilleries don’t have the time or where with all to do all the accounting associated with liquor stores sales all across the country that participate in the “point system” or whatever. The allocation was a s**t show around here last year. I don’t foresee the distributors here changing their tune. It’ll probably be the same old song and dance again this year. Let the games begin. FWIW, I also think that “shady practices” by distributors could be another issue. There are a couple of tater stores in my area that have outrageous prices. I find it hard to believe they have enough sales to qualify for the LE’s that they most assuredly get. We have one “nice” restaurant here where the owner has a fairly large collection of Pappy’s and BTAC’s and such. His restaurant was closed first because of Covid, and now for a major remodel. His restaurant will be the temporary home of a Hard Rock Casino, while the actual one is being built. Yeah I know, doesn’t sound quite right. Anyway….. even with his restaurant currently closed, I’d be willing to bet he still gets his allotment of Pappy and BTAC. Oh, btw, he almost didn’t get the proper licenses, because he was arrested in July of 2020 for shooting at a guy in a car in his driveway. Biba! Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shizzy Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 (edited) 13 minutes ago, fishnbowljoe said: I firmly believe that distributors are the cause of most, if not all of the problems with the allocations of LE’s. I’m pretty sure that distilleries don’t have the time or where with all to do all the accounting associated with liquor stores sales all across the country that participate in the “point system” or whatever. The allocation was a s**t show around here last year. I don’t foresee the distributors here changing their tune. It’ll probably be the same old song and dance again this year. Let the games begin. FWIW, I also think that “shady practices” by distributors could be another issue. There are a couple of tater stores in my area that have outrageous prices. I find it hard to believe they have enough sales to qualify for the LE’s that they most assuredly get. We have one “nice” restaurant here where the owner has a fairly large collection of Pappy’s and BTAC’s and such. His restaurant was closed first because of Covid, and now for a major remodel. His restaurant will be the temporary home of a Hard Rock Casino, while the actual one is being built. Yeah I know, doesn’t sound quite right. Anyway….. even with his restaurant currently closed, I’d be willing to bet he still gets his allotment of Pappy and BTAC. Oh, btw, he almost didn’t get the proper licenses, because he was arrested in July of 2020 for shooting at a guy in a car in his driveway. Biba! Joe LOL! Wild story. Distribution is certainly shady. I had a LLS in 2019 who had just gotten a bottle of GTS in that week. I asked if I could look at it, expecting it to be the 2018. Lo and behold it was a 2013! Since then, (I live in Bay Area, CA) I notice that ALL allocated and LE product is delayed in making it to the retail stores. The secondary market is often created and set on a price by the time it actually gets distributed in my area. Distributors are so in tune with the secondary market that they use this to their advantage when dealing with their retail clients. The three tiered system is broken for the consumer. Period. BT's sales model is set up to exploit all of this. So while direct blame is on the distributor, there's a wink and a nod as overall sales of Wheatly vodka and Fireball sales increase. BTAC is a carrot for these retailers and I can't say I blame them for charging what they do. After all, they are taking all the risk with that less wanted product. The problem is that in the end it only hurts the consumer. I digress. Edited October 8, 2021 by Shizzy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 2 hours ago, Shizzy said: LOL! Wild story. Distribution is certainly shady. I had a LLS in 2019 who had just gotten a bottle of GTS in that week. I asked if I could look at it, expecting it to be the 2018. Lo and behold it was a 2013! Since then, (I live in Bay Area, CA) I notice that ALL allocated and LE product is delayed in making it to the retail stores. The secondary market is often created and set on a price by the time it actually gets distributed in my area. Distributors are so in tune with the secondary market that they use this to their advantage when dealing with their retail clients. The three tiered system is broken for the consumer. Period. BT's sales model is set up to exploit all of this. So while direct blame is on the distributor, there's a wink and a nod as overall sales of Wheatly vodka and Fireball sales increase. BTAC is a carrot for these retailers and I can't say I blame them for charging what they do. After all, they are taking all the risk with that less wanted product. The problem is that in the end it only hurts the consumer. I digress. I don't understand how BT's sales model is set up to exploit this. Fireball is one of the hottest labels in the country, so they have no reason to push this on anyone. Hell, it's a slam dunk for them as it doesn't even need much age on it so the warehousing and taxing are minimized. WV is a micro-percentage of the market, and also requires little to no effort to produce, bottle and ship out. Neither of the two even require a new barrel. In all honesty, they don't really have much of a reason to push anything on anyone at the present, as they've proven year after year now that they can't keep up with demand, no matter what the product is. That is not the case for every distiller out there, but for BT you really can't count on finding anything at your local on a given day. Sure, the three tiered system sucks, but it's been around forever. The distillers certainly have not had much say in that, or it would have been eliminated years ago by a strong lobby and greased pockets. IMO, the distilleries only do what they've always done. Lay up whiskey until it's ready to go into a bottle. Once it hits whatever profile they're looking for, it's bottled, boxed up and out the door it goes... to the distributors. I guarantee you that the '13 GTS you came across wasn't hanging out in Frankfort all that time. So whatever changes in the secondary market you speak of, well... that's not on the distiller. He's sold that bottle and moved on, long ago. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts