Straight
Talk
Bourbon and American Straight Whiskey continues to
approach consumers with more and better alternatives.
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 nationally, 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
StateWays I www.stateways.com I September/October 2013
27
By Jack Robertiel o
