tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post3950623243418137708..comments2024-03-19T20:31:23.141-05:00Comments on The Chuck Cowdery Blog: In Which We Retreat and Declare Victory on ‘Craft Distilling’Chuck Cowderyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12191121480961526039noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-88906900616949892222014-10-24T17:01:45.761-05:002014-10-24T17:01:45.761-05:00First off thanks for another great post Chuck. I f...First off thanks for another great post Chuck. I feel information about how a product is made and how, in what and for how long it is aged is most important. As a lover of good "juice" i really don't care how big or small a distiller is so the term craft is meaningless. The term i am after is transparency. A distiller should be proud and open about the product. A distiller should allow us to know all aspects of the process. What concerns me is all these nonsense stories which are becoming more like fairy tales and are placed on packaging were real information should be. Picture trying to sell a food product will a silly story about how your father got the recipe from a one armed elf in the forest after a riddle contest and then not putting any ingredients on the package. It is just getting silly now especially in the scotch side of things. aged statements replaced with pointless stories. It's about honest,pride and integrity not marketing ploys to distract from the customer as the distiller puts out a cheaper product at a higher price to achieve higher profit margin. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-25918034477730732692014-10-24T08:27:44.118-05:002014-10-24T08:27:44.118-05:00I don't think it is the mega distilleries that...I don't think it is the mega distilleries that have bastardized the term craft, it is the NDPs that have a better story than product.Mike Thigpennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-26269062201288223452014-10-23T21:02:34.099-05:002014-10-23T21:02:34.099-05:00For what it's worth - Balvenie is technically ...For what it's worth - Balvenie is technically an independent, family owned brand (William Grant & Sons), something I consider to be an important part of the "craft/micro" distillery designation puzzle, versus, for example, a Bruichladdich, once technically craft/micro/independent, who sold out to corporate brand Rémy Cointreau who has shares and stockholders.Austin, TXnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-14540381299495701952014-10-23T19:01:56.100-05:002014-10-23T19:01:56.100-05:00Agreed about the age statement. After all, what ot...Agreed about the age statement. After all, what other industry on the planet charges a premium due to bad inventory control. 4 year vs 8 years, means absolutely nothing about quality. Let me say it again, nothing. <br /><br />As a distiller, I love the concept of charging more for our overproduction, but it's absurd to think it improves the spirit somehow. <br /><br />In fact the ridiculous thing is that all of the old time hard core drinkers Love things like the spice of rye, then they will strive to buy something so old, it tastes like wheated bourbon.<br /><br />But I love the financial side of it. Keep at it. Make everybody state the age. It's just more money for the distillers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-41824275107610990112014-10-23T08:35:29.516-05:002014-10-23T08:35:29.516-05:00I have a word that all the distillers can use, &qu...I have a word that all the distillers can use, "Age Statement".<br />Do some proper aging, like 8 years and up and post the age on the label.<br />Everything else is just BS.Oscarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08938842148566189917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-7916400805385829712014-10-23T03:31:26.021-05:002014-10-23T03:31:26.021-05:00I like the term, Micro Distillers.
Which in fact ...I like the term, Micro Distillers.<br /><br />Which in fact is what they are.snakeman48noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-78885628087990562922014-10-23T02:21:05.649-05:002014-10-23T02:21:05.649-05:00Hi Chuck, maybe the better way would be the Champa...Hi Chuck, maybe the better way would be the Champagne way. As you know they have been using codes/appellations on their labels for quite a while. RM (récoltant manipulant) means they harvest and make it. NM (négociant manipulant) means they buy some, or all the grapes and make the wine. ND (négociant distributor) means they slap their labels onto finished wine. And there are other codes (SR, CM and so on). Not very explicit but it's on the labels. Now yes we also suffer from over-regulation in France ;-).<br />Sergenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-79059246359583936942014-10-22T21:54:24.809-05:002014-10-22T21:54:24.809-05:00Words like craft, hand made, etc.. are non tradema...Words like craft, hand made, etc.. are non trademarked words that can and should only be used by those that choose to use them. As a small distiller (1000 liter pot still) I have no interest in using those terms, because I know they have been bastardized by mega distilleries, who are attempting to use the marketability of the terms, that proved successful for craft brewers.<br /><br />When was the last time you heard : craft winery ? Never. In fact one can almost argue that use of the word craft in distilling is now synonymous with "crafty marketing" .<br /><br />As private small distillers we just need to trademark a term under a strict and specific set of parameters that define some as yet determined scope of operations, and therein only those who fit said parameter can use said designation.<br /><br />Craft. Who cares ? In this day of Tweets, Googles, Blogs, Viagra , etc.. and every other trademarked word used to define a good or service, it shouldn't be too hard to come up with a word, and then disseminate to the public the parameters therein.<br /><br />Thereafter the appropriate distillers may choose to use said term, and the buying public may then purchase with confidence, that which is so "tagged". <br /><br />The big guys? Too bad, you're out .<br /><br />Now all we need is some neutral party, like a blogger or somebody, to work this through to the end, and save this fledgling industry from the large companies who are trying to keep their market share by pretending they are something other that what the public perceives them to be.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-81967183997522697512014-10-22T18:56:11.633-05:002014-10-22T18:56:11.633-05:00Thanks for another good article Chuck.Thanks for another good article Chuck.Oscarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08938842148566189917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-36131106337975056922014-10-22T18:00:46.188-05:002014-10-22T18:00:46.188-05:00Maybe craft can't apply to distilled spirits b...Maybe craft can't apply to distilled spirits because of the legalese involved, much more so than in beer.<br /><br />A more pointed term might be honest distillers. That strikes to the heart of what I think you are doing and care about, Chuck.<br /><br />I don't get the feeling that Jack Daniels, Makers Mark, and some of other whiskey's I drink on a regular basis don't lie to me as much as say, W.H.Harrison Whiskey does.<br /><br />I get that it is tough to make good, aged whiskey, but it isn't tough to tell me how it's made and not lie to me about it.gizmomathboynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-79583003880824970692014-10-22T17:14:34.788-05:002014-10-22T17:14:34.788-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Chuck Cowderyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12191121480961526039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-34692201295943166962014-10-22T17:09:43.691-05:002014-10-22T17:09:43.691-05:00Great post, and I agree that asking who is and isn...Great post, and I agree that asking who is and isn’t craft is not necessarily the right question. In my humble opinion, the distilleries who are associated with being ‘craft’ nowadays are those who spend the marketing dollars to ensure that consumers associate them with the word ‘craft’. Balvenie is a great example. While I absolutely love Balvenie and their commitment to keeping trade crafts alive (the juice is good too), one must ask, are they truly doing these things because they will generate a better product, or is it more about consumer perception? Are their floor maltings better than the outsourced malting facilities? Are their coopers better than those at the Speyside Cooperage? Something to note: Balvenie malts barley, but they only malt 10-20% of the barley that they use (I asked). Their distillation appears to be mostly computer controlled (I’ve seen). I’m not saying that these are negatives. Springbank, on the other hand, malts 100% of their own barley (both for them and sister distillery Glengyle), and they don’t have computer automation for distillation. But they also don’t necessarily have the image of being ‘craft’, nor the marketing budget or reach of Balvenie. Perhaps, they don’t even give a damn what people think of them in this respect. So who is ‘craft’? Lastly, there are a number of micro distilleries in the U.S. that spend gobs of money on promoting their ‘craft’ image of doing everything by hand, yet though they are distilling their products locally (not NDPs), 100% of the distillation process is executed via computer automation (steam, cooling, cuts, etc). Again, not saying that is ‘bad’, just saying let the consumer know how you are or aren't making the product and let them call it what they want. Doesn’t happen too often.M.w. Blaumnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-840930092789285091.post-41441498408624690902014-10-22T17:04:11.281-05:002014-10-22T17:04:11.281-05:00I saw that ad the other day and thought, "Eh?...I saw that ad the other day and thought, "Eh?" but nothing more. This type of distinction really only matters to those to whom it matters. How and where something is made, how ethically and ecologically correct the process may be, or what sort of chant a Shaman mumbled as they bottled and corked it are secondary to the quality of the final product, IMHO.<br /><br />Have you ever tried "organic" wine? Blech. Does the world really need sustainable, free-range Scotch?<br /><br />As for Balvenie I drink it quite often. It's very smooth, with a distinctive nose and taste, and very reasonably priced. Though I do mourn for the days when Trader Joe was selling the 12 year Doublewood for $29.<br /><br />Sorry Charlie, we don't want Whiskey with good taste. We want Whiskey that tases good.<br /><br /><i>Lots</i> of it.<br />Brad Karrfaltnoreply@blogger.com