bobbyc Posted September 14, 2004 Share Posted September 14, 2004 Jim Beam Brands renamed the Boston distillery in honor of Booker yesterday. Story here. There also will be 3000 bottles of Bookers with a special label. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave_in_Canada Posted September 15, 2004 Share Posted September 15, 2004 Thanks for the link Bobby and recognition well deserved. It's too bad that these forms of recognition occur all-too-often posthumously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepcycle Posted September 15, 2004 Share Posted September 15, 2004 The last few seconds of video show someone with an amazing resemblance to Bobby Cox. Kin? or am I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted September 15, 2004 Share Posted September 15, 2004 It was at the Boston plant in rural Nelson County that Noe developed small-batch production techniques that industry observers say launched bourbon's revival. I'm pretty cynical about JBBCo honoring Booker, i.e., using a man's life and death as a commercial promotional opportunity. Crap like the above (Booker did no such thing) is one of the reasons. Using his death as another opportunity to lie to consumers certainly does a fine man no honor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbyc Posted September 15, 2004 Author Share Posted September 15, 2004 You don't disagree that he did in fact develop Bookers there? That statement you quoted may be off a little, it didn't strike as too out of place. Harry Kroll belabors the point about the old whiskey men who have their names on a Bourbon label and a Tombstone and the ones who only have their names on a Tombstone. Booker and Jim Beam are the only ones now with a Distillery named for them. The Bernhiem Distillery was so named in such modern time that there is no way one could construe that it is to honor I.W. Bernhiem. And by that I mean that unless someone is well read about Bourbon, it's not readily apparent who he was, and other than making a fortune in the trade, I'm not hearing any one point to him and recalling his contributions to Bourbon making.He is known more for his gift of a forest to the people of Kentucky, which is gladly shared with the entire world.Not meaning to quibble here, Chuck, But I can't imagine that the best marketing person Beam has available hatched a plan to name that Distillery for him and to make that statement to increase sales. They are only producing 3000 special labels bottles. Other than Jack Daniels which we agree isn't Bourbon, they are at the top of the heap, and will remain there until there's a further consolidation of the industry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave_in_Canada Posted September 15, 2004 Share Posted September 15, 2004 Chuck I understand your cynacism, (not that I agree with it in this case) but it's writers and media people (especially the writer of that article) that should be taken to task for publishing erroneous statements and perpetuating myths. That's a separate issue from honoring a worthy individual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musher Posted September 15, 2004 Share Posted September 15, 2004 I was just shocked to see, in the TV news video, the way Fred slammed back that shot of bourbon (presumably Booker's) after speaking tribute to his dad. I'd much prefer to sip and savor the moment (and the flavors). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr8erdane Posted September 16, 2004 Share Posted September 16, 2004 I wouldn't fault Fred too much for that. By making the moment pass quickly he probably saved himself from showing all the emotions he was feeling talking about his father. Some people are just not comfortable in showing a tear, especially when they are in front of a camera for millions to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted September 16, 2004 Share Posted September 16, 2004 "Booker's Bourbon" was literally the whiskey he took home to drink himself. Presumably, the only reason they even had 6 to 8 year old whiskey in those days was either because those particular barrels were maturing slowly, or because they have always combined some 6 to 8 year old whiskey with their 4 year old whiskey to give it a more mature taste. (And there is nothing wrong with that. It's a usual technique.) So Booker found some barrels he liked, and he took the whiskey out at barrel proof because he was taking it from the barrel, so he didn't have any choice about that. And it was unfiltered for the same reason. He shared some with a certain Beam VP (who is also a great guy, by the way) who decided to make a gift of it to some customers, who liked it so much it became a product. My quibble is specifically with the words "small-batch production techniques," because there are no "small-batch production techniques." And trust me, those words came from Beam's PR department, not from the WAVE reporter. "Small batch" is a marketing concept. The only thing "small" about it is that a relatively (relative to Jim Beam white) small number of barrels are selected to be bottled at a particular age and proof as a "small batch" product. I don't mean to take anything away from Booker, but it just seems unseemly to be milking the guy for every ounce of publicity value they can get from him, even from beyond the grave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbyc Posted September 16, 2004 Author Share Posted September 16, 2004 That's another good point, Chuck. I don't know the details of the arrangement made by Booker, But one would guess that a fee for each bottle sold may go to Him and now his estate, still it doesn't change the fact that it is JBB Worldwide that owns it and not the person whose name is on the label. I won't fault him for the way he came upon his bourbon, as you can imagine,he wasn't the first one to get bourbon that way. A friends dad used to roll barrels and he said that "the mule" ( a length of hose) was a piece of equipment that they all had, and one wouldn't go to work without it any faster than he'd leave his lunchbox at home. He said once the warehouse superintendent caught a guy hosing a barrel and marched him in the office and had him fired, the whole time this was going on, the story goes, the super had a mule in his pocket as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted September 16, 2004 Share Posted September 16, 2004 If you want to bet me that Booker's per-bottle royalty is any number higher than zero, I will gladly take that bet. Likewise the amount paid to his family or estate for the continuing use of his likeness.When Booker was an employee he was just that, an employee. He was paid a salary and maybe a bonus. I'm sure they were generous, but if there was any additional compensation for using his likeness, it was token.After Booker retired, I'm confident he was paid a fee for the work he did, like a consultant, and again maybe there was some kind of discretionary bonus, but a royalty is inconceivable. The Beams at Beam have always been good soldiers and, personal opinion here based on the stories I have heard, they have been exploited. This is another reason why I hate to see them make the guy work even now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbyc Posted September 17, 2004 Author Share Posted September 17, 2004 No thanks, I'm not a gambler, but I can spot a possiblility to lose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brendaj Posted September 19, 2004 Share Posted September 19, 2004 Chuck, This is another reason why I hate to see them make the guy work even now. I understand exactly what you're saying. Your remarks are coming from a perspective of respect. Respect he absolutely deserves. That would make Booker smile. However, he endured that marketing crap for so long, I'm sure he's somewhere just shaking his head and laughing. He knew they would do it... He really was an old line Kentucky Gentleman. Bj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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