“We are live!” The text sent chills down my spine. The longtime, tightly held dream came true. My magazine, Bourbon +, was available for subscription. And all the hard work, the risk and my belief that people want in-depth bourbon long-form stories….was about to be … Continue readingI’m Living the Dream
“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” – Charles Caleb Colton When Colton, the English cleric, wrote this in the 1820s, bourbon was barely a blip on the radar. Kentucky distillers were placing barrels on flatboats and just beginning their rise. Nobody wanted to imitate … Continue readingBorrowing Bourbon Equity
Earlier this year, Kentucky passed a vintage spirits bill that will allow individuals to resell spirits to licensed retailers and bars. North Carolina and Washington, D.C., have similar laws. Kentucky’s goes into effect Jan. 1, with the Alcoholic Beverage Control defining vintage as: Distilled spirits in … Continue readingFederal Guidelines (sort of) on Vintage Whiskey Bottles
In American whiskey, distillers have this odd desire to say they were the first with something. “We were the first distiller on this hill, who started on a Tuesday.” (Nobody made this claim.) “We were the first distiller here since Prohibition.” (Even if true, nobody … Continue readingThe Trouble with Whiskey ‘First’ Marketing
Dear Bourbon Drinker: Lend me your angst, palate and general disgust toward brand marketing. Take this age statement-dropping hate boiling deep within and apply it to rum. Yes, rum. It needs you. For the past decade, I’ve watched you, the bourbon geek, complain about sourced … Continue readingFor Rum’s Sake, An Open Letter to Bourbon Drinkers
Jim Beam workers voted to go on strike yesterday. The strike begins Friday at midnight if Beam Suntory and the Union Food and Commercial Workers Local 111D do not reach an agreement. It’s not the first time a major distillery’s workforce has made this decision. Here … Continue readingDistillery Strikes: It Happens