tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post5599024405572389534..comments2024-03-17T14:10:05.912-05:00Comments on The Chuck Cowdery Blog: The Rational Way to Regard NDP WhiskeysChuck Cowderyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12191121480961526039noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-67334037841290636742018-07-08T22:40:11.548-05:002018-07-08T22:40:11.548-05:00Chattanooga Whiskey is very upfront during tours t...Chattanooga Whiskey is very upfront during tours that flagship Reserve is from Indiana until at least 2023. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11810279513224091572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-89021084146562731792017-07-22T15:36:38.111-05:002017-07-22T15:36:38.111-05:00Yes. Pogue got out of the NDP business because the...Yes. Pogue got out of the NDP business because they could no longer source whiskey that met their standards.Chuck Cowderyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12191121480961526039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-21358353586396845542017-07-22T13:54:20.575-05:002017-07-22T13:54:20.575-05:00Pogue is selling their own white dog while other h...Pogue is selling their own white dog while other home made juice sleepsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-71277165209814160992016-10-06T18:12:05.422-05:002016-10-06T18:12:05.422-05:00Rather late for a comment...but...
"Blending&...Rather late for a comment...but...<br />"Blending" is what is being done, not re-packaging. If you were given three different barrels of bourbon and had to come up to a saleable product...that is not easy. (if it were, walmart would have done it). So buying various aged-spirits and concocting a blend that is enjoyable is the "art" of the business. Marketing the product to help you feel unique is simply psychology. That is no different than making you feel good when you give money to the red cross. Psychology. <br />Sip and enjoy... remember, if it needs a dash of water... don't use tap, for gawds sake. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-43179169575568755462014-07-03T14:52:01.664-05:002014-07-03T14:52:01.664-05:00They should call themselves RECTIFIERS since that&...They should call themselves RECTIFIERS since that's all they do. rebottle, repackage, rectify and re-sell... Beware of Buffalo Distillery.. not Buffalo Trace...Whiskey Minionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09678691981813268101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-53914080414288413782013-07-09T18:11:54.913-05:002013-07-09T18:11:54.913-05:00This is a rather late reply, but (and perhaps I...This is a rather late reply, but (and perhaps I've missed it), what bothers me most about NDPs are that the small craft distillers that do make their own whiskey (Peach Street and Leopold's are big examples from Colorado that most definitely make their own) are compared to products made by the big boys.<br /><br />That's as much of a sin as the lie on the label! It's unfair and rather shitty. You have people learning to make good whiskey and putting out their efforts and you have people merely bottling others' handiwork. To me that is far more fucked up than the "glory of the story" as it were.ezweavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11562584824255906432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-86431638461838267042013-07-06T00:34:36.764-05:002013-07-06T00:34:36.764-05:00Just go to Ruffs Dale and look for the smokestack....Just go to Ruffs Dale and look for the smokestack...you can't miss it!sam knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-32065015119015531612013-06-17T09:52:03.413-05:002013-06-17T09:52:03.413-05:00Wanted to check out the old Sam Dillinger and Sons...Wanted to check out the old Sam Dillinger and Sons Distillery in Ruffs Dale Pa this weekend, apparently it's less than an hour from my house south of pittsburgh, would you know of a physical address so I can GPS it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-15696819907228277932013-06-11T17:34:17.093-05:002013-06-11T17:34:17.093-05:00I say just drink what you like. Who cares where i...I say just drink what you like. Who cares where it came from. If you like it you like it. Life is short, enjoy!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-19958925399458213902013-06-04T15:47:34.151-05:002013-06-04T15:47:34.151-05:00Thanks...I appreciate the clarification.Thanks...I appreciate the clarification.sam knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-62741191347450511412013-06-04T15:00:40.573-05:002013-06-04T15:00:40.573-05:00It happens that it did come right after your comme...It happens that it did come right after your comment, but only because it was last in the queue. When I started blogging, I wrote my own HTML. My skills in that regard are very limited so in general Blogger is a boon, but it has its drawbacks.Chuck Cowderyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12191121480961526039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-36109896007373011762013-06-04T14:57:22.216-05:002013-06-04T14:57:22.216-05:00Sam,
Blogger is supposed to send me an email for ...Sam,<br /><br />Blogger is supposed to send me an email for every pending comment. Sometimes it doesn't. I don't know why that is. I only see those comments when I log on. I know all the comments pending have been processed, but blogger says there are others. Then, when I approve those to post, they appear in the order they were received. I can't control that, even with my own comments. I can't, for example, put this right after your comment. So, it happens, I don't know why, but it doesn't mean anything, i.e., it's nothing I'm doing one way or another.Chuck Cowderyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12191121480961526039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-51680111674129780392013-06-04T01:44:16.204-05:002013-06-04T01:44:16.204-05:00Hi Chuck. I'm writing because I don't und...Hi Chuck. I'm writing because I don't understand the two-plus day delay in posting my comment (June 1, 1:53 p.m.), which was written in reply to an anonymous commenter who assailed the quality of a recent Michter's bottling and one of their staff.<br /><br />EllenJ's comment appeared directly after the anonymous comment for those 50 or so hours, and it bugged me immensely, as I didn't feel that anything in my comment was out of line. I still do not, and neither must you, having finally put it up.<br /><br />It bothered me so much, in fact, that I got out of bed tonight to comment again and ask why this would have happened. When I looked over the responses again, suddenly there I was, now buried in mid-thread.<br /><br />I assume this was a simple oversight. I have no idea how blog comments are presented for display to the blogger, nor how they are assigned a place in the queue, but in many years of commenting, this has never happened to me before.<br /><br />What has me a bit off kilter is that my defense of Michter's most recent release and the abilities of their master distiller never received the courtesy of being the last comment in the list, at least temporarily.<br /><br />Please understand...I'm not accusing you of anything, I just find the circumstances a bit weird. Your thoughts? Thanks!sam knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-3046559739882645552013-06-03T16:20:33.733-05:002013-06-03T16:20:33.733-05:00I'd like to see some of the big Spirit Competi...I'd like to see some of the big Spirit Competitions take the lead on showing the industry that the awards given are given to the right people inclusive...Square One AND the DRI Vodka Plant of Rigby Idaho for example OR at least classify these guys in a Merchant Bottling Category. I cant imagine A.DIas Blue stepping up tho, way to much financially at stake for his empire... but hopefully others may take the step, show some leadership.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-66673717534494235362013-06-03T16:09:03.207-05:002013-06-03T16:09:03.207-05:00Typically NDP's don't have the overhead ch...Typically NDP's don't have the overhead challenges that the true craft distiller may have.. they dont need all the equipment it must take to produce product and good product. But yet the price point has to be competitive. So these little guys and some not so little must work on low margin if doing it right.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-16588556956995808032013-06-03T14:11:29.889-05:002013-06-03T14:11:29.889-05:00@Shane Baker. Interesting promotional post about ...@Shane Baker. Interesting promotional post about your "distilling operations". Where can I purchase your products? <br /><br />On one hand, in the post above you say, "We don't want to wait 4-5 years for our Bourbon but we will, because we made it and our brand wont be ready until its ready", yet in news releases, you say that there will be some releases after 4-5 months in "small barrels". So, which one is it? Haven't distilled a drop of spirits, yet already making conflicting claims just like the NDP's you are slamming?<br /><br />Are you saying your "craft" is passing off "bourbon" aged in small barrels for 4-5 months as quality aged product? <br /><br />Props for doing what you claim to be doing in Danville, and I am sure you will make some great product. It does seem kinda silly to throw rocks at other's because you don't view their craft the same way as you do yours, don't you think? <br /><br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-43917725182148860112013-06-01T16:19:28.330-05:002013-06-01T16:19:28.330-05:00Well, it IS humorous, and that's my point. Unl...Well, it IS humorous, and that's my point. Unless you're into obscure craft whiskies, there ARE no brands that you've ever heard of that are independent of media hype. There never were.<br /><br />You ask me to give you the name of a brand I drink that is independant of media hype. I could say "Collier & McKeel", or "Woodstone Creek", or "Delaware-Phoenix", but would you have ever heard of those, let alone tasted them? Of course not, because whatever media hype may eventually become attached to them hasn't reached you yet. And I'd be willing to bet some money that you've NEVER tasted a whiskey you hadn't read about beforehand, have you?<br /><br />Well, don't feel alone; mostly I don't either. You just can't hardly escape media hype, and you really shouldn't pretend that it isn't an influence, because it is.<br /><br />By the way, have you ever actually DRIVEN a Rolls Royce? How about a Yugo? Do you think I have? Then what made you think I'd know what you were talking about in your comparison? Of course I do know... and that's entirely because of media hype 'cause I've never driven either of them myself :-)<br /><br />Oh, and Chuck... I used well-known Cognac dynasties as examples because they were the marketing forerunners of the bourbon whiskey industry and because their marketing hype didn't depend on fooling customers into believing that they personally grew, milled, fermented, and distilled every drop of their product, the way most of the successful post-Prohibition bourbon barons did.EllenJnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-41664613264488761612013-06-01T13:53:27.590-05:002013-06-01T13:53:27.590-05:00Oh, bold Mr. Anonymous, I beg to differ. The curr...Oh, bold Mr. Anonymous, I beg to differ. The current Michter's Original Sour Mash tastes virtually identical to Michter's from the 1970s. I did a blind side-by-side tasting recently (with others) of the new, and a high-quality sample from the late 70s, and none of us could identify a substantial difference. I believe they did their homework.<br /><br />Also, Michter's as a Pennsylvania-distilled brand was produced continually for more than 30 years. That's way more than "a very short period" where I come from.<br /><br />And lest you think I have no qualifications in this regard, know that I visited the active Schaefferstown facility multiple times between 1979 and its closure in 1990, and may have the largest stash of original Michter's in the country.<br /><br />As goes Willie Pratt, I do not know what his full background in this industry is, but, having spent the better part of a day with him last week in Louisville, and having had him review previously unseen blueprints from the 1940s of the only known commercial column/pot distillery built in this country after Prohibition (Dillinger, of Ruffs Dale PA), I was amazed at the intricate details that he identified in their various still designs without the slightest bit of hesitation.<br /><br />I'm pretty sure Mr. Pratt could indeed find a still house, even if his life didn't depend on it..<br /><br />Oh, and how about you identify yourself before you spout off next time?sam knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-71007624495233868672013-06-01T03:20:43.225-05:002013-06-01T03:20:43.225-05:00EllenJ,
I find it humorous that you talk about ta...EllenJ,<br /><br />I find it humorous that you talk about taste independent of media hype when the only brands you mention are the most hyped by the media. You make a good point about the cognac business. Key difference is that you don't have cognac producers spouting marketing BS about family recipes and decisions they make Distilling when they don't own a still. <br /><br />The problem I have with some, not all, NDP's is they are trading on reputations of brands that were made on products made for a very short period of time 30 years ago, and the current product is not even close to what it was. Michter's and Hirscch being two of the most prominent in the group. I am not saying that they are putting out bad product, but there is nothing in those bottles close to what it was. <br /><br />Julian van Winkle always sourced his bourbon from Stitzel-Weller and then Bernheim after Stitzel-Weller was shut down because they used Pappy's wheated bourbon recipe. After Diageo gained ownership of those brands his source for wheated bourbon dried up. That is when he contracted with Buffalo Trace to start producing for him. Great distillery which I am sure uses his family recipe with him overseeing production to some extent. There is a common thread of consistency in the production of van Winkle bourbons. That is the main issue here as far as I am concerned. Consistent product time after time. That is Chuck's point in my opinion. Who really has a grip on where their product is coming from, and do they really care? As I said in an earlier post if I am paying a Rolls Royce price I want to make sure it is not coming from Yugo. I trust Julian van Winkle to provide a consistent product. Not so sure about Michter's and Willie Pratt, who managed barrel inventory at BF, but couldn't find the still house if his life depended on it.<br /><br />Please give me the name of a brand that you drink that is independent of media hype. I have a sneaking suspicion that your taste is totally dependent on said hype.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-3577815068055645552013-05-31T01:21:48.762-05:002013-05-31T01:21:48.762-05:00What about those "crafts" that just buy ...What about those "crafts" that just buy their grains and yeast? Shame on them. All they do is mill it, mash it and distill it. Some don't even mill it as I'm finding out. If your not working the dirt, your cheating. All their doing is turning on their "rainmaker". Some of their glass bottles are MADE IN CHINA! You call that American made Bourbon.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-53286342555105094052013-05-30T21:00:31.537-05:002013-05-30T21:00:31.537-05:00This is one of the main reasons we began our journ...This is one of the main reasons we began our journey into distilling our own products. Not only to know who made it, whats actually in it, but to know what I'm really drinking!<br /><br />We would support any movement to separate non-producers from producers. We are a small operation and we are offering handmade spirits from grinding our own grain to filling our own bottles in bond, we feel that is the way it should be, but that is just us. We dont want to wait 4-5 years for our Bourbon but we will, because we made it and our brand wont be ready until its ready.<br /><br />Proudly Distilling in Kentucky!<br />Shane Baker<br />Wilderness Trace DistilleryShane Bakerhttp://www.wildernesstracedistillery.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-69109701207656339612013-05-30T19:42:47.665-05:002013-05-30T19:42:47.665-05:00You know I love you, John, but who's talking a...You know I love you, John, but who's talking about Cognac?Chuck Cowderyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12191121480961526039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-57806308620304845132013-05-30T19:09:22.308-05:002013-05-30T19:09:22.308-05:00Chuck, you said that, "Because I like it and ...Chuck, you said that, "Because I like it and don't care who made it," is a fair answer. It's more than "a fair answer", it's the ONLY acceptable answer for anyone whose taste is independent of media hype. Do you care where the corn is grown? Where the malt is imported from? These are vitally important to those who consider themselves well-educated in wines... and therefore distilled spirits such as brandy. Hennessy doesn't grow its own grapes. Neither does Corvousier. Do they do all their own fermenting or do they purchase what you would call "bulk wine"? For that matter, do they do ALL of their own distilling? Who cares? Well, distillers who don't grow their own grain are working with what you would term "bulk produce". Distillers who distill mash produced by others (brewers, for example) would seem to be considered by you as less than legitimate. And apparently, that category would also include marketers of bourbon who select and mix barreled and aged product from distillers that are not themselves (i.e., NDPs). Never mind that that's exactly what Hennessy and Corvoisier do, and have done for longer than there has BEEN a bourbon industry. Never mind that you've conveniently left out iconic "NDPs" whose reputation conflicts with your point, such as A. H. Hirsch and Julian Van Winkle. Even and Drew Kulsveen should be included here as well, IMHO, as should (truth be known) Parker Beam and Truman Cox.<br /><br />You know all this. And you don't even LIKE unaged white dog whiskey. So why do you keep railing at the bottlers of "whiskey that taste[s] like I want it to taste, regardless of who distilled it" as if the person producing the white dog was making some important contribution that the selector of aged barrels is not?EllenJnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-23127340753660186612013-05-30T15:24:05.298-05:002013-05-30T15:24:05.298-05:00Coming in late to the party but I can say as someo...Coming in late to the party but I can say as someone in a purchasing role at a relatively high profile establishment the provenance of any spirit is something I question when tasting. Often I'm presented with very very young, roughly made spirits that are honestly distilled and represented by folks who are passionate about what they do, and it's tough to say no to that level of passion. Just as often I'm presented with a very serviceable fully matured bourbon or rye with a label I've never seen before, and all the rep has to talk about is some old family recipe, or a heartwarming tale about someone's dad or grand dad and their dog or something...with little to no information as to the distillery, mash bill, distillation proof, barrel program, etc. At the end of the day it's all about flavor, and if you like a particular label--go for it! Drink what you like! But deliberate obfuscation leaves a bad taste in my mouth, which is why I have a harder time with NDPs that dance around the truth. Mike Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15264386662741222528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-49009521375491824412013-05-30T08:16:45.365-05:002013-05-30T08:16:45.365-05:00Peach Street and Deerhammer are the only whiskey I...Peach Street and Deerhammer are the only whiskey I drink out here in Colorado and I know exactly where it comes from. I don't even need to bother with that other BS with labeling.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com