Interesting story on Bourbon

vt_shooter

vt_shooter

US Veteran
Bronze Supporter
Joined
Mar 22, 2010
Messages
1,760
Reaction score
4,758
Location
New England
Interesting story on bourbon. After watching the story (link below), it would appear my goto Wild Turkey 101 is distilled by Wild Turkey, whereas my favorite Woodford Reserve is not distilled by Woodford, but my Buffalo Trace bourbon is distilled by Buffalo Trace. I don’t have a bottle of Bulleit, but I’d bet a bottle of bourbon that Bulleit is not distilled by Bulleit is instead a sourced bourbon, distilled by MGP of Indiana. All interesting marketing and branding stuff; many of the images we have in our minds of who actually makes our favorite labeled bourbons fantasy.



The lies, half-truths and guarded secrets fueling bourbon'''s boom - NBC News
 
Register to hide this ad
attn OP

Thank you very much for this VERY interesting piece on bourbon whiskey. I was unaware that bourbon has been flourishing for a decade or more, but I have noticed numerous new brands on the shelves even in small retailers and supermarkets. Thanks again!

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103
 
no way around outsourced product in whiskey startups.
stuff is aged for years. This means the investment as made years ago for what is in your glass today. To try to go it as a stand alone distiller is exceedingly difficult. Most would collapse waiting on product maturity.

another way is to prop it up on a short turn around product.
Rogue Brewing / distilling seems to have the sauce for it
 
if you're drinking an American Rye whisky there is way more than a good chance it was distilled by MGP. They distill 90 plus percent of the rye whisky bottled in the US. What didn't come form MGP likely comes out of Alberta Canada (If you like Whistle Pig you are drinking Alberta Springs Canadian whiskey)
 
vt_shooter said:
Interesting story on bourbon. After watching the story (link below), it would appear my goto Wild Turkey 101 is distilled by Wild Turkey, whereas my favorite Woodford Reserve is not distilled by Woodford, but my Buffalo Trace bourbon is distilled by Buffalo Trace. I don’t have a bottle of Bulleit, but I’d bet a bottle of bourbon that Bulleit is not distilled by Bulleit is instead a sourced bourbon, distilled by MGP of Indiana....
Click to expand...

That is an excellent video and summarizes the situation pretty well, but don’t get carried away :)

Whiskey is a hobby about as complex as Smith & Wesson, and I don’t mean getting drunk. But the history and corporate shenanigans of the whiskey business, not just bourbon but also in other countries, are quite fascinating once you get hooked.

As for your mentioned bourbons, Woodford Reserve is indeed distilled at the Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles (DON’T pronounce it the French way!), Kentucky, although the standard bottling is supplemented by barrels distilled at Brown-Foreman’s other bourbon distillery, Old Forester, in Louisville; the recipe is the same but the old-fashioned pot stills at Versailles limit capacity there.

Bulleit is indeed a fantasy label, although it does have its own distillery since recently, in Shelby County, KY. But it’ll be several years until juice from there will be ready. The whiskey in Bulleit bourbon bottles right now was still distilled at Four Roses (which is why it’s so good), while Bulleit Rye has always been MGP 95.
 
I had a shot of what I thought was Wild Turkey after coming back in the mid 60's. Smooth as silk. Never tried it again because I wasn't sure what to buy. Is it really that smooth, this was almost like a sweet brandy.
 
In this new moonshine this and moonshine that fad it reminds me of a brand of bottled-in-bond and sold-in-a-jar corn likker that guaranteed, right there on the jar, that it was at least 30 days old. As I recall you just about had to keep it in the freezer to get past the smell and get it down but when it warmed up in your belly and hit you in the bloodstream LOOK OUT!
 
Last edited:
On a general note:

Most of the “sourcing” issue affects so-called “craft” distillers or micro-distillers, as well as what are called NDPs, non-distiller producers.

When I originally got into whiskey, like a lot of people I was all gung-ho for a lot of the ox poop about local, hand-made, craft, passion, yada yada. No more. The old traditional industrial distilleries like Beam, Daniel’s, Barton, Buffalo Trace, Wild Turkey, etc., will always produce a better whiskey at a much better price.

Basically, a lot of the craft distillers tried to ride the coattails of craft brewers. In brewing it works. Bluntly put, all you have to do to brew better beer than the big industrials is to, well, brew beer.

With whiskey that does not work. As the video points out, making good whiskey takes not only expertise and experience, but time. And time is money. So all too many craft distillers either sell too young whiskey for too much money with charming marketing, or cheat by sourcing.

It’s not just whiskey, by the way. Take Tito’s Vodka. The guy buys industrial grain spirit from MGP or ADL in bulk, runs it once through his pot stills so he can claim it was “hand-made” and “made in Texas”, and sells it for a significant mark-up. And people swear it’s “better”. Nothing but psychology.
 
Last edited:
That was an interesting video on bourbon. And I actually learned a little by watching it. Thanks for the link! :cool:

And I see my 2 favorite bourbons are labeled "distilled and bottled by" Wild Turkey and Knob Creek.
 
I have so many stories about Burbon. But none since 11/09/07 when I stopped drinking. Ok, more often than not it was Jack Daniels, except when the company was buying. Sometimes I daydream about having only a short time to live - so I can drink again. Yeah, I got stories.
 
Last edited:
johngalt said:
4 Roses makes their own, plus they contract out several other labels. I can't name them, I'm not sure who. Bulleit might be one of them.
Click to expand...

Four Roses ended the contract with Diageo (the owner of the Bulleit brand) in 2014. Apparently they needed the capacity because their own brand is growing so fast. The standard edition of Bulleit is 7 years old, and Diageo is sitting on some reserves. But they'll run out before their own Bulleit distillery is ready to bottle, so for a few years in the early 2020s, Bulleit bourbon will have to be sourced from someplace else. No credible info yet from where that I've heard.
 
My father would only drink, Bottled-in-Bond "Yellow Stone",
with a twist of lemon back in the 50's to 80's.
I don't even know if it is made, now?

My wife will not let me drink, that "Fire Water".
Just a glass of wine now and then.
 
The bourbons I've preferred are W.L. Weller, Wild Turkey, and Maker's Mark. I think all distill in-house. BTW, the late custom knife maker R.W. Loveless was a bourbon man and he recommended Maker's Mark. He sought excellence in all things and was a consummate craftsman. That speaks well of Maker's Mark.

I know more of this sort of thing about wine. In Bordeaux, be sure to look on the label for the words, "mis in bouteilles au chateau", meaning bottled where grown. This is true estate bottling.

In Burgundy, the famous vineyards have multiple owners, and your best guarantee is the name of the negociant (businessman/shipper.) Learn the top names. Wine books by Hugh Johnson and his peers are the best intro, I think.

It is important to know that in France and some other countries, the law demands that wine called by a certain famous name must actually be made there. Chablis must really be from that area, just to the north of Burgundy. Cognac brandy must be from Cognac. In Italy, Chianti must be from the designated chianti zone, although it comes in various grades. The best is Chianti Classico Riserva. It comes in bottles like Bordeaux, not in straw baskets. Look for the black rooster on the bottle's neckband.

I think Bourbon should legally be limited to that really made in Kentucky. TN whiskey is a variant, and worth labeling as such, if valid. BTW, the difference between green label Jack Daniels and black label is that that black has an additional year of aging. I had to call them to learn that. None of the bartenders or liquor store clerks I asked knew.
 
Last edited:
Which proves once again that the "Cheap Stuff" should be cheap. 'Distilled and Bottled' might be better flavor, but will certainly cost more.

Once again on my next trip to the shed, I will pick from the bottom shelf -- and I think it tastes good. I guess I bought that expensive bottle of "Genuine Wisconsin Bourbon" for the bottle and two 12-paks of Leinenkugel's (it's in spell check!!) because it was cheap. The bourbon tasted awful, but I have a cheap palette, Bourbon Whiskey | Bourbon Tours | Distilled Spirits I Wisconsin Straight Bourbon | Bourbon Whiskey J. Henry & Sons .
 
kaaskop49 said:
Thank you very much for this VERY interesting piece on bourbon whiskey. I was unaware that bourbon has been flourishing for a decade or more, but I have noticed numerous new brands on the shelves even in small retailers and supermarkets. Thanks again!

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103
Click to expand...

Bourbon in the super market?? Oh yeah, you're in Vegas!!! :D
They don't even sell liquor in my county, I have to drive across the line! :eek:
I do enjoy Weller but they can't seem to keep it on the shelves.
 
When I wrote a column for, The Dallas Morning News and sold a couple of articles to the Food Editor, she asked me to try a whiskey that she'd concealed in a brown bag.

"What does that taste like to you?" asked Leigh.

"More like Bourbon than anything," I replied. "What is it?"

She explained that it was a Japanese attempt to make Scotch! They copy many things, but real Scots whisky (their spelling) needs to be made in Scotland, and not just for honesty reasons. The water, peat, and method all produce distinct whiskies.

I don't think anyone will fake good Scotch.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

V
Favorite Holiday Bourbon
2 3
Replies
55
Views
2K
MetalMan
MetalMan
oldbrownhat
Interesting info on cyanoacrylate glues
2
Replies
35
Views
1K
oldbrownhat
oldbrownhat
DWalt
Unusual dog story
Replies
9
Views
686
jeffrefrig
J
chief38
Preparing for our first "annual" (hopefully) Bourbon tasting and cigar night.
2
Replies
26
Views
566
alwslate
A
U
Bourbon glaze for fish
Replies
3
Views
424
Golddollar
Golddollar

Latest posts

Back
Top