This week's most interesting new labels from the federal TTB database:
A label cleared for a 45 year old 1969 Tomintoul from Duncan Taylor.
A Chicago importer cleared two labels for Fat Dram, which appears to be a house label for their Scotch picks. They include a 15 year old Laphroaig and a 6 year old Caol Ila, both of which look to be cask strength. No telling who the bottler is.
Berkshire Mountain Distillers in Massachusetts cleared a label for Shays' Rebellion Whiskey, a whiskey made from Sam Adams Cinder Bock beer aged in Sam Adams Utopias casks.
Diageo cleared a label for The Hilhaven Lodge, a blend of bourbon, rye and Tennessee Whiskey.
Note: The fact that a label appears on the TTB database does not necessarily mean it will be produced. In addition, some details on the label, such as proof, can change in the final product.
I continue to be amazed that all these different labels manage to sell. Presumably Diageo has at least some inkling of the market (yes, I know that is asking a lot) but will Hillhaven Lodge really sell to anybody? On the shelves of the stores I frequent the number of brands of mystery NDP whiskey seems to be increasing exponentially but not very much of it seems to be selling. They just fill the shelf space once occupied by the major distillers (not just BT/Sazerac although they still seem to be having the most trouble) who now can't seem to keep their brands on the shelf on a regular basis.
ReplyDeleteAnd just how many more barrels of presumably non descript whiskey does Diageo have in the bowels of the old S-W warehouses that they need to find some way to unload? That alone is pretty fascinating.