Straight
Talk
Bourbon and American Straight Whiskey continues to
approach consumers with more and better alternatives.
By Jack Robertiel o
Call it a luxury problem.
When execs in charge of Maker's Mark last spring
announced their intent to lower the proof of their flagship bourbon, the reaction was an immediate and almost
uniform "No!" from the fans of the brand, who flooded
wine and spirit shops to stock up on what they feared
would be the last of the original, bottled at 90 proof.
Victims of their own international success and
looking for a way to maintain supply, brand owner
Beam Global seemed equally caught off-guard by overwhelming demand and the swift response from fans,
and quickly backed down, but not until the tumult once
again focused consumer and industry attention on the
stunning renaissance of American whiskey.
No major brand did as well as Maker's in terms of
percentage increase last year, but most straight whiskies
did very well, according to figures gathered by the
Beverage Information Group. Tennessee whiskey Jack
Daniel's climbed 3.1% to 4.821 million cases, Jim Beam
hit 3.153 million cases, growing by 1.4%, while Evan
Williams surged 6% to 1.431 million cases. Maker's
Mark jumped 14.4% to 1.185 million, with a surge this
spring after the announcement expected to continue the
brand's double-digit annual increase skein through this
year. Wild Turkey also grew 2.7% to 536,000 cases.
Losers included Early Times, down 1.9% to 564,000
cases, but in a sign that the flavor revolution is firmly
entrenched in American whiskey, Red Stag by Jim Beam
entered the top ten of straight whiskies by hitting
341,000 cases, a jump of 35.9%.
But the whiskey shortage at Maker's Mark, joked
about by some as a marketing ploy, is something other
American distillers lately have referred to frequently, as
the once neglected spirit is setting sales records here and
abroad.
While it didn't get as much attention, a similar
warning issued from Buffalo Trace Distillery, maker of
many of the sought after, high-end, small batch brands
like Eagle Rare and Sazerac, who last spring notified
buyers and consumers of potential shortages. "What
were trying to do is keep people aware and know the reason why we do certain things we do, like allocations and
limited releases," says Harlan Wheatley, master distiller
at Buffalo Trace. "We're trying to explain that we don't
have an endless supply and we're trying to be smart and
fair about what we ship where. Basically for all of our
brands we have a limited supply, and I think everybody
in the business is in that kind of shape today."
24 • Beverage Dynamics • www.beveragedynamics.com • September/October 2013