Bogus Craft Whiskey

[Mr Beardsley]

I'm very much looking forward to the demise of the bourbon/whiskey popularity boom . It was better when things were cheaper , easy to get and the shelves weren't over filled with shit you never heard of while the stuff you were looking for isn't around

Agreed. The scotch boom was the precursor of the bourbon / whiskey boom. That scene got a little too rich for the average Joe so they jumped ship. I'm just waiting for the bulk of them to go back to vodka and gin where they belong

[CoreyR]

This reminds me of the company my father retired from. He was a "dough mixer," for a major baking company, for thirty years. They made Wonder bread, amongst many others. He used to tell me the only difference was the bags they put in the bagging machines on the production lines.
I remember, one time, a friend of my mothers was over and was going on and on about "Ukrops" (a much loved local grocer) bread and how good it was. She was certain it was far better than any of the "named brand breads." Dad told her, "it's the same bread." "Oh no it's not!" she replied, "I can tell! The Ukrops bread is just better QUALITY!!!" Dad tried again to explain it to her, "I bake it, it is the same recipe, same bake time, same machine. we just change the bags it goes into, that is all. EXACT same bread." "NO IT IS NOT!" She replied and she got upset about it too. The woman was just determined that the "Ukrops bread" simply HAD to be "better," I suspect it was mainly because she was pay twice as much for it that she was so certain it was higher quality. Money makes things better ya know!

[Longshanks]

This reminds me of the company my father retired from. He was a "dough mixer," for a major baking company, for thirty years. They made Wonder bread, amongst many others. He used to tell me the only difference was the bags they put in the bagging machines on the production lines.
I remember, one time, a friend of my mothers was over and was going on and on about "Ukrops" (a much loved local grocer) bread and how good it was. She was certain it was far better than any of the "named brand breads." Dad told her, "it's the same bread." "Oh no it's not!" she replied, "I can tell! The Ukrops bread is just better QUALITY!!!" Dad tried again to explain it to her, "I bake it, it is the same recipe, same bake time, same machine. we just change the bags it goes into, that is all. EXACT same bread." "NO IT IS NOT!" She replied and she got upset about it too. The woman was just determined that the "Ukrops bread" simply HAD to be "better," I suspect it was mainly because she was pay twice as much for it that she was so certain it was higher quality. Money makes things better ya know!

Yeah, funny how brainwashed society has become. Similar situation: after high school I worked at a packing plant. We packed Glad bag boxes until the boxes ran out, then Hefty boxes, then the no-name or store brand boxes... same bags, different boxes. And they all sat side-by-side on the shelves in the stores, just with different prices.

Ahh, but I digress from the topic. I'm mainly a beer drinker, but I watched a "whiskey history" program recently that inspired me to explore whiskey again. I prefer Scotch over bourbon or rye, but it all looked tasty on this program. Anyway, the show discussed how many of the Scottish whiskey makers were bought by foreign corporations as investments, so there aren't many Scottish-owned brands anymore. You know how corporations are... cutting expenses where they can. I assume this outsourcing of labor for certain production tasks plays a role, especially with professional mixers employed who can pick and choose from various casks to make whatever brand flavor they want.

That being said, I still need to read that article to see if my favorite Scotch brands are on there.

[avid]

Local craft products are their own effort, costing 50+ a bottle. What is described, or as some would say, misrepresented is 15-20 bucks cheaper

[oldbill]

I'm very much looking forward to the demise of the bourbon/whiskey popularity boom . It was better when things were cheaper , easy to get and the shelves weren't over filled with shit you never heard of while the stuff you were looking for isn't around

Yup, many of those new brands are really sub-standard in quality and ridiculously priced, this is one reason why I stick to my go to Wild Turkey 101. It has really good flavor as a mixer or on it's own (which is how I usually drink it), it's readily available in almost every liquor store and it costs half as much as the fad bourbon whiskey of the day. I've read that WT 101 is one of the best selling whiskeys on the market and I can only guess that it's because others have come to some of the same conclusions as you and I have.

[racinghoss]

The "crafting" of some (not all) craft whiskey is done after it's distilled. MGP will ship thier product to a customer, who will then barrel and age it in thier own way. A great example of this is Jefferson's. They use MGP hooch and barrel it in different char levels, different locations in thier rickhouses, add extra oak staves, or even send it to sea on a fishing boat for several months (Jefferson's Ocean is one of my favorite bottles). Each has it's own character. Don't dismiss it, or you'll be missing out on some swell swill!

[Dr Uhaha]

I've spent a lot of time at wineries that throw up 5 acres of grapes in front of their tasting room, while the grapes they use are trucked in the back from out of state. They are selling an experience.

I'm a bourbon drinker and while I will drink others, my money goes to Evan Williams 90% of the time. Tried a locally distilled hip bourbon recently and it tasted unfinished to say the least, by which I mean harsh as h*ll.

[Ronv69]

My rye is Sazerac, distilled in Kentucky. Most of my rye is actually in Old Granddad Bond, also distilled in Kentucky. I am a firm believer that any American whiskey made in Kentucky is better than any bourbon or Rye made anywhere else in the United States. The craft distilleries are an expensive joke. They can get triple the price by just saying made in Texas, Colorado, Oregon, etc. None of them I have tasted were better than Old Crow.

[Ronv69]

I've spent a lot of time at wineries that throw up 5 acres of grapes in front of their tasting room, while the grapes they use are trucked in the back from out of state. They are selling an experience.

I'm a bourbon drinker and while I will drink others, my money goes to Evan Williams 90% of the time. Tried a locally distilled hip bourbon recently and it tasted unfinished to say the least, by which I mean harsh as h*ll.

My most consumed bourbons are Old Granddad, Evan Williams, and Ezra Brooks. In that order.
The above mentioned Jeffersons is not bad whiskey, but not worth the price.

[Ronv69]

My friends own the Fredericksburg Winery in Fredericksburg Texas. They have been in the business for almost 30 years and they have never grown their own grapes. They do buy only Texas grown grapes, a lot of them from the Panhandle. They used to get them closer to home, but in the last decade a bunch of Kalifornicators have opened really fancy wineries around town and they are buying up all the grapes at inflated prices. Only a couple of the older, larger Texas wineries grow their own grapes. St. Genevive, grows their grapes on land belonging to the state and all profits from the land goes to UT and Texas A&M.
Texas doesn't grow enough grapes for the demand. Llano Estacado winery buys about a third of their grapes from out of state. Colorado, New Mexico and Oklahoma mostly. So they are still Texas Grapes. Never forget that all the wine grapes in France are grown on fine native Texas roots.