nickynick Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 Yesterday I was at Jewel, I was about to check out when something caught my eye. It was a bottle called Origine Bourbon on sale for $22.99. Whats this I thought. I grab the bottle to take a look. The bottle was shaped pretty close to that of a bottle KC. It said 10 year old Kentucky straight bourbon. I flipped the bottle over to try to get more info, but there wasn't much. Then at the bottom of the label it said bottled in California. What? Now I was really curious and a bit confused. I walk over to the spirits section only to see Origine Scotch. What the heck is going on?So I did some research on the internet this morning and after a while I found their website. www.originespirits.com The bourbon is not listed on the website. But there was 2 SMS, vodka, gin, rum, tequila. The parent company of Origine Spirits is a company called Winery Exchange. It appears to be a company that makes supermarket label wines. So this leads me to a few questions. One, where are they getting there bourbon from? If I had to make a guess I would think either Beam or HH. But what is the point of Beam or HH selling bourbon to this supermarket brand? Are the supermarkets trying to cash in on premium spirits? Jewel has their bottom shelf brand Heritage. Why would a distiller sell to this brand? They can't be selling them their best stuff. It just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Who are they trying to market to? I don't buy spirits or wine from the supermarket. I go to the liquor store, and my guess is that other people who enjoy fine wine and quality spirits also go to a liquor store. One, its cheaper and two, I like knowing if I have a question about a product, someone at the liquor store can give me an educated answer. I was tempted to buy this purely out of curiosity. But for $23 I can go to Binny's and get ETL for about the same price. Plus it was only 80 proof. It was just strange to see this at the supermarket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jono Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 Very interesting private label stuff....http://originespirits.com/ORIGINE. A curated collection of the worlds finest ultra-premium spirits.ORIGINE is a portfolio of select, ultra-premium, small-batch spirits and Champagnes - a unique concept – a single brand spanning several spirit types and a Premier CruI think you are just going to pay a premium for the same booze...if you knew where it came from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubleblank Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 Origine no longer lists a bourbon in their product list. Do a search here on "Origine" and you'll see several threads......and a lot of unfavorable comments on what it tastes like......ie avoid at any cost.Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickynick Posted May 2, 2008 Author Share Posted May 2, 2008 I think you are just going to pay a premium for the same booze...if you knew where it came from.Thats my thought. Why would I buy from this company. I mean I would rather have the real stuff. I don't think it would too difficult to figure out who they are getting their stocks from. I mean their French Vodka...the bottle is almost the same a Grey Goose bottle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jono Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 I think the market is the uninformed liqour buyer...someone looking for what appears to be a fine choice...nice bottle, label etc...and it may indeed be good stuff...just at a premium. It may represent a fairly safe purchase for someone confused about the standard brands...but wants to buy for him/herself...or as a gift.I think they also have a food company....fine selection of salad dressings etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickynick Posted May 2, 2008 Author Share Posted May 2, 2008 Origine no longer lists a bourbon in their product list. Do a search here on "Origine" and you'll see several threads......and a lot of unfavorable comments on what it tastes like......ie avoid at any cost.RandyThanks. This might be a new attempt by them at bourbon. Everything I read on this site was talking about the 8 year version. This was a 10 year. Either way having read what I read, I'm not going to pick it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barturtle Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 Heck a 10yo...$23...I'd buy it just for the heck of it. Of course I bought the 8yo and took it to the KBF just for the heck of it too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funknik Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Yup. They duped me and I knew it even before I bought this bottle. You see, in my defense, I live in an area where my bourbon selection is limited (oh, sooo painfully limited!), so when I see something new I am going to lean towards buying it. It said "small batch" but when I saw 80 proof, I knew they were lying, still, I thought, "10 year, why not." I was disappointed, but I expected to be disappointed, so no big loss, plus I had a gift certificate. As for the bourbon, it ain't terrible -- it's smoother than Beam or Ol' Grandad, good with a beer. It's not really a sippin' whiskey and I can't imagine anyone who's into good bourbon buying more another bottle, but my curiosity is satisfied, my suspicions are confirmed and I can choke this stuff down...it has a nice long finish -- that's one of my favorite parts anyway. Bottom line: if you have a huge selection at your disposal, there's no need to delve into this crap, but if you're a completist (like myself), you'll want to know what this is about. Honestly, it's not worht the price, but I wouldn't kick it out of bed for eating crackers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funknik Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 On second thought, this stuff sucks...Beam or Grandad or almost anything kicks its ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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