tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082156144028140004.post3101578769124509168..comments2024-03-13T04:04:32.568-07:00Comments on Sku's Recent Eats: Tempest in a Tennessee Teapotskuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00487419662314518931noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082156144028140004.post-55566776791689058462014-03-20T05:54:16.909-07:002014-03-20T05:54:16.909-07:00If the proclamations from the famous shareholders&...If the proclamations from the famous shareholders' meeting still hold, Diageo really intends to boost bourbon sales. It's also partnering with Beam, which may result in a vastly increased supply.<br /><br />However, there's also a barrel shortage, and Diageo doesn't own its own cooperage (while Brown Forman does and likely won't share). Put these together and it just seems like Diageo wants to make expansion easier, while still being able to trade on the novelty of the label "Tennessee whiskey".<br /><br />Admittedly, this would work only with Dickel's production. I don't know if they intend to put Bulleit in used barrels and just call it "whiskey" instead of bourbon. <br /><br />It just seems smart if they anticipate their sales to keep increasing. Currently, "getting wood" seems like their biggest weakness.BMchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05036354965069864586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082156144028140004.post-11483175180216544582014-03-19T06:52:11.290-07:002014-03-19T06:52:11.290-07:00"Diageo is The Man. Why enable and enrich The..."Diageo is The Man. Why enable and enrich The Man? Drink something else. Noone's holding a gun to your head to drink their "products" or "brands"...yet."<br /><br />What do you think Bulleit Bourbon is all about? They will be holding the Bulleits to our heads soon. Its already happening in India. They don't call it frontier whiskey there, its called drink Bulleit or eat lead.<br /><br />On a serious note... Diageo is going for world domination, there's no doubt about that. To achieve this they have to weaken JD. Weakening the name of Tennessee whiskey will do this. In India they don't know that JD is JD, they just see tennessee whiskey next to bourbon whiskey next to scotch whiskey, and if all the tennessee whiskey sucks, it hurts JD and helps Diageo. But little micro-distilled Tennessee whiskey is not available in India? Diageo can fix that.Lazernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082156144028140004.post-40883730284217362742014-03-19T06:49:06.574-07:002014-03-19T06:49:06.574-07:00I agree with the idea that the legislature likely ...I agree with the idea that the legislature likely never should have become involved in this matter and just left "Tennessee Whiskey" undefined by State law. They didn't, however, and specifically codified the commonly-accepted industry definition of the term into State law. Now that the legislature took that action, I think its ridiculous that Diageo and other distillers want to come in a year later and have the term redefined to mean something no one in the industry understands it to mean. <br /><br />And as to whether this is a big deal or not, Diageo and the independent distillers obviously feel there is enough cache behind the term "Tennessee Whiskey" to push forward with modifying the term to encompass whiskey falling outside the lincoln county process. In other words, the distillers want to trade off the goodwill the term "Tennessee Whiskey" engenders in a consumer to increase sales of their product without having to do the work/spend the money required to fall under the commonly-understood meaning of the term. If I worked at JD, I'd be pissed off at that move as well. adnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082156144028140004.post-3941386861748960382014-03-18T23:12:54.800-07:002014-03-18T23:12:54.800-07:00Diageo is The Man. Why enable and enrich The Man?...Diageo is The Man. Why enable and enrich The Man? Drink something else. Noone's holding a gun to your head to drink their "products" or "brands"...yet.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082156144028140004.post-83751364564435996492014-03-18T19:57:56.356-07:002014-03-18T19:57:56.356-07:00Josh C., Exactly! I'm with you on that.
Ric...Josh C., Exactly! I'm with you on that.<br /><br />Rich, thanks for your comments. You're certainly right that Prichard's doesn't care for the LCP. I was more wondering why BF, which touts it for JD went after Diageo on used barrels and not LCP.<br /><br />As to the barrels, you're absolutely right. The amendment gets rid of the requirement that TN Whiskey be aged in new barrels. And you're absolutely right that it's a fundamental part of American whiskey, but before the 2013 law, there was no requirement for new barrels in TN Whiskey since TN Whiskey wasn't defined and the TN Whiskeys didn't choose to label themselves as bourbon, which would have required the use of new, charred oak. <br /><br />Don't get me wrong, I would hate to see Dickel start using used oak. It's just seems odd that this has become a big issue now, and one full of histrionics on both sides, when this law has only been on the books for 10 months. skuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00487419662314518931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082156144028140004.post-68948210732346019022014-03-18T18:48:30.142-07:002014-03-18T18:48:30.142-07:00B-F is closing in on a 50% increase in sales overs...B-F is closing in on a 50% increase in sales overseas in 6 years. If Diageo is scared of B-F's growth, does it make any sense at all that they would use Popcorn Sutton to tarnish the TN whiskey lore that threatens J. Walker when Popcorn Sutton will probably never see European or Asian soil? How will Popcorn Sutton's quality influence the buying habits of some guy in love with James Dean, the Ford Mustang, and Marlboro Reds in Belgium, Dubai or Macau? I am lost.Josh Cnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082156144028140004.post-57953331667950920602014-03-18T17:27:55.445-07:002014-03-18T17:27:55.445-07:00Sku,
I think there might be two reasons so few co...Sku,<br /><br />I think there might be two reasons so few comment on the attack on the Lincoln County Process. First, some Tennessee distillers, like Prichards, don't use it and oppose the 2013 law for that reason. Second, some scorn the entire notion of "Tennessee whiskey" as a meaningful distinction in the first place, and therefore would prefer to ignore the Lincoln County Process.<br /><br />As for the used barrels aspect, what strikes me about that is how it strikes down the new oak requirement. If I understand this correctly, the 2013 law doesn't prevent finishing any more than the 1964 Federal law does, so that isn't what this is about. New oak is one of the core, consistent features of American whiskey, and that's what makes the used barrel proposal so bizarre, if not to say worrying.Rich Thomashttp://whiskeyreviewer.com/2014/03/tennessee-state-house-wrangles-over-whiskey-laws_031814/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082156144028140004.post-34360742526375602562014-03-18T17:17:54.464-07:002014-03-18T17:17:54.464-07:00Good point, stilldaddy.
The thing that bugs me mo...Good point, stilldaddy.<br /><br />The thing that bugs me most may be the least influential, the fact that aging no longer needs to take place in Tennessee. Shouldn't aging in-state be a point of pride for these brands?<br /><br />I'm also disappointed that the Tennessee legislature, like os many others, is obviously for sale. Wear it with pride!<br /><br />And so it goes...sam knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082156144028140004.post-79345671404672309892014-03-18T14:57:04.840-07:002014-03-18T14:57:04.840-07:00I'll say one thing. Regardless of Diageo'...I'll say one thing. Regardless of Diageo's reasons, or the pros and cons of passing said amendment, the George Dickel name is certainly being passed around more lately. Publicity, maybe?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082156144028140004.post-79884379153981659182014-03-18T13:41:35.642-07:002014-03-18T13:41:35.642-07:00Chuck, I get what you're saying, but I think t...Chuck, I get what you're saying, but I think the prohibition analogy is a bit extreme. Sure, if Jack were forced to stop producing for ten years and the gap was filled by terrible stuff, it would have an impact. But Jack will remain the most important TN whiskey regardless of what Popcorn Sutton or anyone else does. <br /><br />There's tons of crappy bourbon out there, but I don't think it has damaged the credibility of the good stuff.skuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00487419662314518931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082156144028140004.post-56364381929355927822014-03-18T13:37:38.664-07:002014-03-18T13:37:38.664-07:00Before Prohibition, Irish whiskey was more popular...Before Prohibition, Irish whiskey was more popular in the US than scotch. During Prohibition, the east coast was awash with fake Irish whiskey, i.e., illegally made fake whiskey posing as Irish, because that's what people wanted. This ruined the good name of Irish whiskey and, after prohibition, Scotch became much more popular, as it is to this day. What you're missing, Steve, is that a few years of Popcorn Sutton's Tennessee Whiskey (and others) will spoil the good name of Tennessee Whiskey. Jack fans won't notice or care, but it just might slow Jack's growth enough to prevent Jack from surpassing Johnnie Walker as world's #1 whiskey, a rank Diageo is desperate to protect.Chuck Cowderyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12191121480961526039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9082156144028140004.post-59320748241158472792014-03-18T12:50:53.796-07:002014-03-18T12:50:53.796-07:00Thanks for adding another barrel of thought and pe...Thanks for adding another barrel of thought and perspective to this conversation...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06847225242104336890noreply@blogger.com